Alan Hirsch stated that “the Gospel is transmitted along relational lines.” In other words, people are introduced to the brilliance of Christ through relationships between people. These relationships can take on a few different forms:
- Wide. A pastor or preacher has a “wide” relationship with the people who come to hear her or him speak.
- Deep. Think of your best friend, a spouse, family member or roommate. You know more about this person than you probably should.
- Wading. These are people whom you interact with on a level that’s deeper than acquaintance: Your neighbor, personal trainer or a co-worker.
With some varying degree, almost all of our relationships fall into one of these categories.
Technological Relational Lines
Why is this important? Because it is through the bonds that God translates the reality of Christ to others. He utilizes our connections with other human beings to share something of himself: His light, truth and created reality.
Throughout the course of human history, communication in these relationships has morphed and integrated with the prevalent technology of the day: Written word, telegraph, telephone, radio, television and now, the Internet. The relational lines through which the Gospel can be transmitted continue to develop, becoming more comprehensive and complex as we evolve.
I believe the human race is experiencing one of the largest shifts in communication since the invention of the printing press. Perhaps even more so. As such, we need guides, early adopters and forerunners to navigate these new technologies and show us how to use them. Use them for:
- Commerce
- Education
- Finance
- Social Interaction
- Religion
What’s Religion Got to do With It?
That last reason, religion, is why I believe your church’s next hire must be a digital pastor. A digital pastorate involves more than just opening a Twitter account and getting a Facebook fan page for your church. A digital pastor is someone who is forerunning the technological advances in communication and integrating them faithfully into the life of his or her local church. The digital pastor has a firm grasp on the abilities, possibilities and dangers of technology in communication. A digital pastor is someone who can establish, maintain and build relational lines in an online community setting.
It is doubtful that humanity will stop one day and say, “Gee, that Internet thing was sure a great little fad. Look how silly we all were! Time to move on.” The Internet will not go the way of bell-bottoms and perms. As the Internet becomes more integrated into everything we do, the Church will necessarily need to understand how to best leverage it for the Kingdom of God. This is the job of the digital pastor.
Ultimately, the digital pastor is not unlike the millions of other pastors throughout history: Their end game is always relationship–establishing relational lines through which the Gospel can transmit–but their methods are those of the 21st century.
I had a great conversation with a missionary friend the other day. He works and lives in an atmosphere that is very different than mine: A intensely liberal college campus, rated one of the top party schools in the country. So when we found ourselves landing on the exact same ideas about what God was up to in the Church, we knew it was bigger than just us.
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