How valuable is online fellowship?

[W2L]

As I recall, I think it was you that posted that thread about applying prosperity teachings back into spiritual applications. Thought I'd give you a congrats on that one. They are indeed able to be used on higher levels that they may know. Was watching The Word Network yesterday, and one of them on was giving a short teaching on when David's men were in the cave, and how by spending much time in training they became skilled in using weapons with both hands. Of course, he fairly quickly bounced back out to making appeals for people to send in offerings, but for a second there he was bringing some really good stuff.

Love it when it comes at you from least expected sources.

Thank you, yes that was probably me.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

It should never be a substitute for meeting and sharing the Eucharist with real life flesh and blood people. Christians participating in discussions online from all parts of the world are a fine thing yet the Eucharist and receiving fellowship in person is a million times more important.

 

[W2L]

It should never be a substitute for meeting and sharing the Eucharist with real life flesh and blood people. Christians participating in discussions online from all parts of the world are a fine thing yet the Eucharist and receiving fellowship in person is a million times more important.

Thanks for your opinion. What value do you place on fellowship online?

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

Thanks for your opinion. What value do you place on fellowship online?

I don't know what online fellowship means beyond talking to each other in a forum and perhaps offering prayers for others if asked. Fellowship has an Apostolic precedent in the community gathering in person, sharing a meal and returning to their lives. Talking online is less valuable than having communion with real people.

 

[Hillsage]

Btw, on your use of milk-toast, this word is also in use, but I believe the expression was originally milquetoast. Just a heads up, Hillsage!

Your brother,
Hidden

And my Hidden brother comes out of 'hiding' with a revelation....as to my misuse of this expression. Well, not above being publicly corrected, but also having enough grey hair not to 'trust every word', I did go google your 'loving exhortation' so I could in all humbleness confess publicly. Instead, I find a definition I didn't expect.

Your noun milquetoast is defined as; noun, ( sometimes initial capital letter)
1. a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated:

Whereas my adjective use of milk-toast was defined as; adjective
1. easily dominated; extremely mild; ineffectual; namby-pamby; wishy-washy.

Now, having had to 'sergeant at arms', at the request of a sister with a '10 year olds' Sunday-school class; and also one with a terror or two 'present and accounted for', your milquetoast definition certainly did not apply to all the children. BUT my milk-toast definition of what was learned there, was 'right on' as I posted earlier.

So, in spite of my wanting to prove I can be corrected publicly, in all humbleness, you will just have to await another 'more opportune' time brother.

And, just so this 'E-fellowship' doesn't go sour, I want you to know that every 'smilies' face posted above is a hopeful defusing of anything taken negative by you.

Now everyone also will hear my 'caveat' concerning 'ONLINE FELLOWSHIP'. I try to put 'smilies' in a lot just to get people to understand where my heart is in the post. All to no avail too often. Sometimes I'm certain that the "prince of the power of the air" controls an 'smilies switch' where a 'nana nana na na finger' is stuck in the nose after I hit send. It is just an ever present danger with this medium....where I've been 'playing/fellowshipping' with God's children for 12+ years.

 

[W2L]

I don't know what online fellowship means beyond talking to each other in a forum and perhaps offering prayers for others if asked. Fellowship has an Apostolic precedent in the community gathering in person, sharing a meal and returning to their lives. Talking online is less valuable than having communion with real people.

Thank you for your opinion.

 

[W2L]

Online fellowship has been a huge blessing in my life.

 

[Unix]

To me, online fellowship, at best, means being able to discuss details about Christian things, even technical details that have a narrow audience, because of being able to find people with as great an interest.
Also, online I'm able to delve the depths in English, whereas in person the constraints of the small local languages are often forced on me so that I don't get appreciation for my knowledge about sources that can be found in English only or that sustain a higher quality in English than in the small local languages.
I'm trying to fellowship with a German person who is very interested in theology, it's just that I'm waiting for when the phone conversations that all find to be a good idea, will happen.
But there are limits to online fellowship too, partly because there is so much material available in English, namely that few have similar sets of books as I have, or even use the same Bible versions for the same parts of the Bible as I do. I do hear people talking about most of the same Bible versions as I use, I just don't know which parts they read from them.
I would be so happy if I would find a few persons who would discuss the same things from the exact same sources with me and to be able to find some friend among them. I'm lacking synergy. I've been in this state of partial loneliness for a while now, and I would like to make a good impression on some,. on forums, in local Churches, and break out of the worst part of the isolation I'm in. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing in particular to remark about the tenets of faith I believe in, I just want to delve more deeply into research, reading the Bible even more (I already read it about 45 minutes a day on an average) and having some partial impact on something in an edifying way:

I don't know what online fellowship means beyond talking to each other in a forum and perhaps offering prayers for others if asked. Fellowship has an Apostolic precedent in the community gathering in person, sharing a meal and returning to their lives. Talking online is less valuable than having communion with real people.

 

[Hidden In Him]

...having enough grey hair not to 'trust every word', I did go google your 'loving exhortation' so I could in all humbleness confess publicly. Instead, I find a definition I didn't expect.

Your noun milquetoast is defined as; noun, ( sometimes initial capital letter)
1. a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated:

Whereas my adjective use of milk-toast was defined as; adjective
1. easily dominated; extremely mild; ineffectual; namby-pamby; wishy-washy.

Alas, it would appear Google has nit-pickingly betrayed me. I've been smited! At least I wasn't too "milquetoast" to take you on, though.

 

[JESUS=G.O.A.T]

Im not sure i agree that one can get more of God in a Church as apposed to online fellowship, but i thank you for your reply.

Read the fellowship and the power of unity with others in the NT you'll be sure then trust me. and NP man


Another thing I find is that it's harder to persuade people about christ or bring people to christ online as well then in real at least in my experience in ministry on the pulpit and off/ vs. reaching online


In the end right now you seem unsure in your position at the moment, I would just suggest more study and you'll come to a conclusion. God bless

 

[brinny]

Online fellowship has been a huge blessing in my life.

Amen! Mine too, brother!!!

 

[W2L]

Read the fellowship and the power of unity with others in the NT you'll be sure then trust me. and NP man


Another thing I find is that it's harder to persuade people about christ or bring people to christ online as well then in real at least in my experience in ministry on the pulpit and off/ vs. reaching online


In the end right now you seem unsure in your position at the moment, I would just suggest more study and you'll come to a conclusion. God bless

Ok, thank you.

 

[W2L]

Amen! Mine too, brother!!!

Thanks brinny.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

we need more positive threads like this one

 

[W2L]

we need more positive threads like this one

Amen. Thank you.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

I have no problem with online theological debate, encouragement and lively banter among believers, but I do not consider it fellowship. I used to, though. I feel that online relationships represent a strong illusion of closeness. You think you have friends, but when hard times hit, they're not going to be there for you. Even when good times hit, they're not going to be there. If you don't believe me, then try inviting someone from the forum to dinner sometime. Get someone to help you move. The excuse is distance, but a true friend could take the time off and buy the airplane ticket. At the end of the day, these are only words.

Online forums have their place, for certain. It's one place where a person can talk to people from all over the world at any time. It's not a church meeting, though. It's not even close.

1. Online relationships are anonymous. There's no accountability. Most of the time your "friends" are people you've never seen, whose real names you don't know, whose phone numbers you've never called.
2. Online relationships are easy, but by similar reasoning they're also cheap. There's no real investment, no commitment, no inconvenience. If someone makes you uncomfortable, you can make them disappear with a click.
3. Online relationships have no physical proximity. I've walked into churches and felt the Holy Spirit. I've walked into most and felt nothing. I walked into one and felt a demon. What I feel when I'm online is more a factor of my own situation than that of an online "location," which is something that doesn't even exist.
4. Online fellowship is public, vulnerable and recorded. Sooner or later persecution is going to come. All online relationships and this entire network of believers will be dissolved, at best, or used to track us down and destroy us, at worst. Physical word of mouth may be less effective a mode of communication, but offline relationships and communications are much harder to trace and intercept. This may not be much of an issue, yet, but when the hammer does fall, it will be too late to form the necessary real relationships if they do not already exist.
5. Rites cannot be performed online. Communion cannot persist online. Nor can baptism. Church offices are not held. Tithing and offering, along with all that the cash flow means to local and missionary efforts comes to a crawl. Your online mentor cannot marry nor bury you.
6. Marriage. It's going to become an issue not just for the church, but for society at large. The distance, socially, between people is increasing with the advancement in technology. You can see it in nations such as Japan, who had this level of technology before us, that while we sustain a great number more relationships, the ability to form close relationships is greatly hampered. This has its effect on courtship and marriage. More so, it has a strong effect on the ability of a person to meet and develop a close and meaningful relationship with a member of the opposite sex who not only happens to be a Christian, but also has similar doctrine and values (denomination). People love to berate the diversity of Christian doctrine, but the fact remains that it does exist, and a marriage needs more agreement than simply that Christ died and rose again.

Before countering my argument, I beg that you test my points by answering these questions to yourself. Don't reply online:

1. What is my real name? Am I a good Christian, and how do you know? Do I have any bad habits that I need to break?
2. What are the chances that you would be willing to take time off work and fly across the continent to sit down to dinner with me? If you become bored of this forum, will you continue participating, or will you quit and watch television?
3. Perhaps you've felt the Holy Spirit while participating in an online discussion, but did the group feel it?
4. If the internet is censored or shutdown tomorrow, how many of your online friends will you still be able to find and communicate with?
5. How many baptisms have we witnessed in these forums? How many times have we had communion together?
6. If you were single, do you honestly think there would be any chance of meeting and developing a relationship with the right person in this forum?

 

[W2L]

I have no problem with online theological debate, encouragement and lively banter among believers, but I do not consider it fellowship. I used to, though. I feel that online relationships represent a strong illusion of closeness. You think you have friends, but when hard times hit, they're not going to be there for you. Even when good times hit, they're not going to be there. If you don't believe me, then try inviting someone from the forum to dinner sometime. Get someone to help you move. The excuse is distance, but a true friend could take the time off and buy the airplane ticket. At the end of the day, these are only words.

Online forums have their place, for certain. It's one place where a person can talk to people from all over the world at any time. It's not a church meeting, though. It's not even close.

1. Online relationships are anonymous. There's no accountability. Most of the time your "friends" are people you've never seen, whose real names you don't know, whose phone numbers you've never called.
2. Online relationships are easy, but by similar reasoning they're also cheap. There's no real investment, no commitment, no inconvenience. If someone makes you uncomfortable, you can make them disappear with a click.
3. Online relationships have no physical proximity. I've walked into churches and felt the Holy Spirit. I've walked into most and felt nothing. I walked into one and felt a demon. What I feel when I'm online is more a factor of my own situation than that of an online "location," which is something that doesn't even exist.
4. Online fellowship is public, vulnerable and recorded. Sooner or later persecution is going to come. All online relationships and this entire network of believers will be dissolved, at best, or used to track us down and destroy us, at worst. Physical word of mouth may be less effective a mode of communication, but offline relationships and communications are much harder to trace and intercept. This may not be much of an issue, yet, but when the hammer does fall, it will be too late to form the necessary real relationships if they do not already exist.
5. Rites cannot be performed online. Communion cannot persist online. Nor can baptism. Church offices are not held. Tithing and offering, along with all that the cash flow means to local and missionary efforts comes to a crawl. Your online mentor cannot marry nor bury you.
6. Marriage. It's going to become an issue not just for the church, but for society at large. The distance, socially, between people is increasing with the advancement in technology. You can see it in nations such as Japan, who had this level of technology before us, that while we sustain a great number more relationships, the ability to form close relationships is greatly hampered. This has its effect on courtship and marriage. More so, it has a strong effect on the ability of a person to meet and develop a close and meaningful relationship with a member of the opposite sex who not only happens to be a Christian, but also has similar doctrine and values (denomination). People love to berate the diversity of Christian doctrine, but the fact remains that it does exist, and a marriage needs more agreement than simply that Christ died and rose again.

Before countering my argument, I beg that you test my points by answering these questions to yourself. Don't reply online:

1. What is my real name? Am I a good Christian, and how do you know? Do I have any bad habits that I need to break?
2. What are the chances that you would be willing to take time off work and fly across the continent to sit down to dinner with me? If you become bored of this forum, will you continue participating, or will you quit and watch television?
3. Perhaps you've felt the Holy Spirit while participating in an online discussion, but did the group feel it?
4. If the internet is censored or shutdown tomorrow, how many of your online friends will you still be able to find and communicate with?
5. How many baptisms have we witnessed in these forums? How many times have we had communion together?
6. If you were single, do you honestly think there would be any chance of meeting and developing a relationship with the right person in this forum?

People can fail you in a Church too.

 

[W2L]

I feel that people are threatened by online fellowship, or at least this discussion about it. They feel that if we allow ourselves to promote better online fellowship, that it will somehow replace the Church.

 

[OzSpen]

Sharing the word together, loving each other.

We can share the word together, but I don't know how we can love each other in this cyber environment.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I feel that people are threatened by online fellowship, or at least this discussion about it. They feel that if we allow ourselves to promote better online fellowship, that it will somehow replace the Church.

Really? The Church would feel threatened? You mean each denom. Church?