This letter to the editor of the online Adventist Review can be found here
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Ready or Not
In the online article about Internet evangelism, the question was asked: Where is the Internet taking the church? The implication to this question is that the Internet is so pervasive that it will take the denomination someplace with or without our cooperation. That is reality.
The power of the Internet to present the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the public does not depend upon the knowledge and cooperation of the organization. Few people realize the magnitude of material about us that is openly available to the public. Some of this material is available in a manner that its author did not intend at the time of posting. Specialized and general purpose Internet search engines send out computer programs called bots that search the Internet and classify posted material for future access by the public.
I once wanted a list of Seventh-day Adventist Junior High and High School principals, I obtained one by using a specialized public search engine. I once plugged my name in to a general purpose search engine and came up with a number of posts I had made on a controversial issue in Adventism. Those posts had been made in specialized forum and in a section that was not open to the general public. But those posts were available to the general public through that search engine.
Several years ago the General Conference ran a forum that allowed somewhat free discussions of Adventism and its issues. That forum closed due to changes in administration, questions about its focus, and probably financial issues. Its closure resulted in the birth of a number of Internet forums attempting to take its place. People who search the Internet for places to discuss Seventh-day Adventists can find a number of them. They differ in their relationship to the denomination. They may appeal to liberal, moderate, conservative, fundamentalist, or historic Seventh-day Adventists. Some are dedicated to challenging Seventh-day Adventist life and practice. Others are dedicated to supporting it. Some are highly secret, and require vetting before one is given access to the forum. A few are set up in a manner that they are effectively reachable by millions of people. Their memberships may range from mostly Seventh-day Adventists to mostly people who are not affiliated with us. Whatever the face of these forums, and the size of their audience, they are presenting the face of Adventism to members of the general public. In many cases they are molding the beliefs and orientation to the Seventh-day Adventist Church of those already affiliated with us, as well as those seeking information about us.
Our exposure on the Internet has been mixed. At the high end the Ellen G. White Estate has made a great amount of material freely available to the general public, and has equipped its website with a search engine that allows people to find the material for which they are looking. At the other end lie local churches, some of which use the Internet very well, and others that do not use it at all. Then there are those discussion forums. They generally operate with little to no supervision of church leadership. I will not attempt to predict where the Internet is taking the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But it is taking this denomination on a journey. Where the Internet takes us may depend in part upon the extent to which the organized church gets involved in the Internet.
Gregory Matthews
Denver, Colorado
Click Here
Ready or Not
In the online article about Internet evangelism, the question was asked: Where is the Internet taking the church? The implication to this question is that the Internet is so pervasive that it will take the denomination someplace with or without our cooperation. That is reality.
The power of the Internet to present the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the public does not depend upon the knowledge and cooperation of the organization. Few people realize the magnitude of material about us that is openly available to the public. Some of this material is available in a manner that its author did not intend at the time of posting. Specialized and general purpose Internet search engines send out computer programs called bots that search the Internet and classify posted material for future access by the public.
I once wanted a list of Seventh-day Adventist Junior High and High School principals, I obtained one by using a specialized public search engine. I once plugged my name in to a general purpose search engine and came up with a number of posts I had made on a controversial issue in Adventism. Those posts had been made in specialized forum and in a section that was not open to the general public. But those posts were available to the general public through that search engine.
Several years ago the General Conference ran a forum that allowed somewhat free discussions of Adventism and its issues. That forum closed due to changes in administration, questions about its focus, and probably financial issues. Its closure resulted in the birth of a number of Internet forums attempting to take its place. People who search the Internet for places to discuss Seventh-day Adventists can find a number of them. They differ in their relationship to the denomination. They may appeal to liberal, moderate, conservative, fundamentalist, or historic Seventh-day Adventists. Some are dedicated to challenging Seventh-day Adventist life and practice. Others are dedicated to supporting it. Some are highly secret, and require vetting before one is given access to the forum. A few are set up in a manner that they are effectively reachable by millions of people. Their memberships may range from mostly Seventh-day Adventists to mostly people who are not affiliated with us. Whatever the face of these forums, and the size of their audience, they are presenting the face of Adventism to members of the general public. In many cases they are molding the beliefs and orientation to the Seventh-day Adventist Church of those already affiliated with us, as well as those seeking information about us.
Our exposure on the Internet has been mixed. At the high end the Ellen G. White Estate has made a great amount of material freely available to the general public, and has equipped its website with a search engine that allows people to find the material for which they are looking. At the other end lie local churches, some of which use the Internet very well, and others that do not use it at all. Then there are those discussion forums. They generally operate with little to no supervision of church leadership. I will not attempt to predict where the Internet is taking the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But it is taking this denomination on a journey. Where the Internet takes us may depend in part upon the extent to which the organized church gets involved in the Internet.
Gregory Matthews
Denver, Colorado
