I mentioned these two examples because friction can enable and disable the expansion of an idea. The internet has amplified many great things, but this new frontier has introduced further questions. For churches, the lack of friction encouraged ministries to start streaming their services regularly with very little critical thinking about the broader strategy of online. The shift happened in 2016 because Facebook Live became a free feature to anyone with a Facebook page and most churches jumped on the opportunity.

I’m excited for this new ebook called “State of the Online Church” eBook. It’s the most extensive survey of what is actually happening with online church. No opinions, but real data. I partnered with Vanderbloemen and Pushpay to conduct the survey and visualize the results.

All I can think about is the fallacy of equivocation when someone says an online church isn’t church. A great example of this argument is in a recent NY Times opinion piece where the headline was "Internet Church Isn’t Really Church.”

Have you heard about Virtual Reality Church yet? It’s caused quite a stir in Christian circles. Check out his multiple features on Wired, CNN, and Today Show. I’ve gotten the chance to get to know the founding pastor DJ Soto over the last year. DJ is one of the most outreach focused guys I know and the stories coming out of VR Church back it up, but often that isn’t enough to make “Christians” happy. I’m a bit sarcastic with my use of “Christians” because many have embraced VR Church’s endeavors while others have criticized.

Every ministry has their approach. Every church does ministry a bit different. The Bible does provide a framework, but its pretty open-ended on how you do “church.” Now that doesn’t mean many are doing church wrong and few are doing it better. There is a range, but I find the common criticism of many online ministries more a reflection on American church.

I did feel church planting needed to be disrupted and online church ministries as well. Not sure if this is the answer, but I pray more ministries consider this approach. If I could buy the stock, I would go all in.