Second Church?

Much has been written recently about Second Life and the power of social networks. I suppose a lot can be said regarding the power of the web to connect and build communities that cross time and space effortlessly. The question I will pose here is how will the church respond?

Many of the technologies (and I am a technologist at heart) that power these growing collaborative communities are often placed under the umbrella term Web 2.0. So, will we have Church 2.0 (web powered collaborative communities of faith)? In fact, a Google search of the very term “Church 2.0″ reveals the conversation has already begun!

But I wonder? One of the basic components of much of this social sharing is the concept of an avatar (a virtual persona). Especially in a community like Second Life where you pick your name and build your own person (and personality). Imagine 12 disciples running around and never truly facing each other or interacting directly with Christ face-to-face.

Faith is intensely personal, yet fully realized in vibrant community while technology is often intensely non-personal. As for shared communities like Kaneva , MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and Xanga (among others) the members often portray themselves as well — not necessarily who they really are. So what does this say about church 2.0 and new entries like GodSpace (a Christian social network). Will avatars mask reality? Can you walk into Second Life and really start a church without physical community and transparency?

It is clear that technology can empower communities of faith (more to come on the many options in future posts) but will the distance created between two individuals behind keyboards and internet connections allow for the work of transforming lives through faith in Jesus Christ to take place? Or will the church retreat (as it often has into physical buildings) into Christian on-line communities. Clearly the conversation is just beginning!

You never know, the person surfing through a virtual life may in fact be more transparent then the one sitting next to you on Sunday morning. The Great Commission still calls us to not only seek out the ends of the earth but the ends of the virtual earth as well. So who is up for Second Church?