“Yet I get nervous when I regularly read how people are seeing this as their substitute for gathering, and church.” ~ for more read here
I appreciate his concern, here’s my comments:
I get nervous too … because the fact remains that many of the 40-50 people who are somehow part of our church are not that “connected” (either by choice, ignorance or simply busyness). And nothing beats good “old fashioned” face to face contact and interaction.
I’m exicted about the possibilities that technology brings and the tools that make it possible for me to even post right now. And I’m delighted with the new friendships and contacts introduced to me through the availability of these tools.
and yet, I feel there’s no “substitute” that could “replace” the “incarnational”-Sacramenal-Real Presence of another person standing or sitting infront of me (plus of course I can’t click them off – there’s a vulnerability in that). The tools of technology may enrich and allow us to explore aspects which we have missed in the past. And I think it may also “magnify” aspects (e.g. the passivity that you talked about here) that in fact is the deeper concern at hand.