Tossing his backpack on the bed, he flips on his computer and logs onto the Internet. Maybe mom and dad will get me a high-speed cable modem, like the one Chris has, he thinks Jeremy shuffles through a computerized playlist of recent MP3 downloads. The story of the Internet s effect on our culture is only beginning to be told. But one of the greatest stories not yet told is the Net s impact on the church. The Net fosters interactivity, and young people who have grown up with cyberspace have little experience with passive media.
Bible studies can be much more engaging than a traditional in-church study.
Within the church walls, ministers should take a hint from cyberspace and incorporate visuals, sound bites and other learning aids in their sermons. Be networked, not hierarchical. The Internet is the most decentralized, antihierarchical communications medium ever devised. It facilitates the fast and free flow of information, and institutions not willing to work in this new environment will lag behind others. As Jeff Zaleski explains in his book The Soul of Cyberspace, the online world will favor those religions and spiritual teachings that tend toward anarchy and that lack a complex hierarchy.