Tag Archive - Shane Hipps

Is Online Community “Real” Community? Answer This Question Please…

March 31, 2009 in Technology-Social Media with 16 Comments

Asking whether or not online community is real community is really not even a good question, or the right question in my opinion, but it’s one that everyone seems to be asking.  Lots of people have already answered that question but many are continuing to wrestle with it.

I think online community is real community, and just by the fact that we are having that conversation, or asking that question tells me it does exist, otherwise it would be a moot point.

Now sure, we could go on from there and talk about what kind of community it is I suppose, but I believe it’s community.

This conversation recently was stirred up by Shane Hipps interview at National Pastor’s Convention where he says virtual community is virtual, but not community. Anne Jackson says it’s connection, not community. And Scot McKnight says it isn’t that simple to answer.

Tell us what you think: Is Online Community, Real Community? Why? Why Not?

Some Midweek Technology: Controversy, Convergence, Creativity and Fun

March 25, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media with 2 Comments

A couple of things in the area of technology and some of the social media tools we use–caught my eye this week. And I wanted to share them with you because I think they are of great importance for us as we think through and wrestle with the implications of our technology and our theology.

twittervoice3dscreenshot3-thumbFirst, as I have mentioned before, one of my favorite blogs is John Dyer’s, Don’t Eat The Fruit. I love his tagline, “technology is fast, but redemption is slow.”

Well, John in his free time decided to create a Twitter application for fun, but that also reflected in his creation what words could not. And his design has a very insightful theological approach. In the post TwitterVoice3D: Creativity, Chaos, and Order in the Online World, John says this:

Twitter is an amazing showcase of human creativity. Yet, as with all human creations, it needs to be ordered. If one were to fully join the conversation of Twitter, one would have to be on it all day, all the time, every minute. But to be creative as God intended us, we must order it, rather than let it order us. In a sense, we have to go against it’s nature as chaotic and discarnate and choose to make it orderly and use it for incarnate ends.

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