The%20Internet%20Church

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The Internet Church
Responding to the Great Commission in the Digital
Age
Walt Wilson September 26, 2000
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Vision for the Internet Church
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations
...
The opportunity to reach every man, woman, and
child on the face of the earth in the next decade
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Internet No longer just a fad - a
globalphenomena
1 in 40 world-wide has been on line New web
page every four seconds - now 550 billion
documents 1 billion users by 2003-- one-sixth
of global population Asian users will triple
by 2003 E-mail exceed USPS delivery in US
Computers now outsell TV sets in US and
Japan 43 are sold for home use US e-commerce
will top 2.3 trillion by 2003
Global impact on worlds, trading, business
process, economics, politics and social systems
Source MIT Media Lab
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Business to Business and Business to Consumer
connection now indispensable
Intranet/Extranet applications to grow 500 in
00 Corporations being linked in kieritsu
fashion for supply chain management and
community Schwab moves 2.5 billion in
securities every month Yahoo serves 170
million pages every day Cisco sells 22
million every day on the Internet FedEx
delivers 1.5 million pieces every day linking
business and consumers 1.5 million cars will
be sold on the Internet in 2000
Business process efficiencies have set the stage
for the never satisfied consumer who expects
everything immediately
Sources American Management Association
DataQuest
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The Internet experience now becomes a part
ofyour company and your product
New rule The network becomes the market
Everything shifts from atoms to
bits Manufacturing Supply chain Sales
Support Marketing
Business Communication
Information content and site experience now is
a part of overall product quality Brand
image will be largely determined by the
coolness of the experience
In the digital economy, everyone is at risk
if their customer isnt linked to the business
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Dramatic new rules are changing post-modern
social structures

• 1. Computers are no longer about computing

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Dramatic new rules are changing post-modern
social structures

• 1. Computers are no longer about computing
• 2. We are witnessing the death of distance

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Dramatic new rules are changing post-modern
social structures

• 1. Computers are no longer about computing
• 2. We are witnessing the death of distance
• 3. Time no longer means what it used to mean
  

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Dramatic new rules are changing post-modern
social structures

• 1. Computers are no longer about computing
• 2. We are witnessing the death of distance
• 3. Time no longer means what it used to mean
• 4. Global systems now face radical discontinuity
  

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Dramatic new rules are changing post-modern
social structures
1. Computers are no longer about computing 2. We
are witnessing the death of distance 3. Time no
longer means what it used to mean 4. Global
systems now face radical discontinuity
Most churches will operate next week as if its
1958
Lyle
Schaller
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Whats really going on here?

• Silicon Valley technology is changing the world

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Silicon Valley changing the world?
Wrong...
Change this big is being orchestrated by God
and is not the invention of man
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Watershed events in human history
The Fall The Flood The Birth of Christ
The Crucifixion The Resurrection Pentecost
After each of these events nothing was the same
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Weve seen events like this before
Then
Now
US UK
Alexander the Great
- Common language
- Common language
US Department of Defense
The Roman Empire
- Military network (information superhighway)
- Military network
The result -- Gods purpose
The result -- Gods purpose
- Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand
- Christians carried the Gospel

• People often dont see when God is the process of
  redirecting history

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This is the Internet moment in human history
After this, nothing will ever be the same...
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Professor Peter Drucker on the pace of change

• When I was born (1908) the world was not much
  different than that of Abraham, Isaac
  and Jacob.
• 
  

November 4, 1997
Leadership Network conference
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Professor Peter Drucker on the pace of change

• When I was born (1908) the world was not much
  different than that of Abraham, Isaac and
  Jacob.
• 
  

November 4, 1997
EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED
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Yogi Berra
The future aint what it used to be ...
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The Internet is not about technology -- its
about the Great Commission

All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you And surely I am with you always,
even to the very end of the age. Jesus Matt
2818-20
... even to the end of the (digital) age
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How then should we react?
?
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you

• What then, is my reasonable response to the go
  imperative of the Great Commission, given that I
  have a global communications network - readily
  available to me - easy to learn - into which
  people are entering pointed spiritual questions
  about Jesus Christ ???

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Understanding our call and our potential
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Aligning our call with our potential in
the Digital Age
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations
...
The opportunity to reach every man, woman, and
child on the face of the earth in the next decade
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In the Digital Age information converts from
atoms to bits
Bible Atoms Bits Weight 4
pounds 0 Mass 50 cubic inches 0 Cost
70.00 0 Readers One billions
The Holy Bible
The art of printing books will be as relevant in
2020 as blacksmithing is today.

Nicholas
Negroponte
The Media
Lab, MIT
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Gods question to the 21st century American
Church will be ...

• What did you do with the bits I gave you ?

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Understanding the tsunami coming at us ...
In North America alone, 88 million people
between 2 and 22 by 2002
1. Bits will be part of their natural
landscape 2. Apple Computer is right
they will think different ( ly )

They will be computer and Internet savvy
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The rules will change overnight
12 of adults (25 million) now rely on the
Internet for religious expression - E-mail -
Chat - New Groups Under 20 years there is a
pronounced bias for Internet Those who are
wired are expecting Internet will be part of
their religious experience
By 2010 we will probably have 20 of Americans
(55 million) relying primarily or exclusively on
the Internet for religious input
George Barna
Source Barna Research Institute
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How the Internet is being used
Adults 24 years and up News and information
Mail e-commerce

A TOOL
8 - 24 years All of the above -- plus
Socializing and communication Personal
entertainment Recreation and distance learning

A WAY OF LIFE
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Where the church is fumbling the ball
1. It has underestimated the impact and amazing
growth of the Internet 2. It has
undervalued and miscalculated the social
significance of the Internet 3. It has not
understood the global nature of the Internet or
made the right connection to the Great
Commission 4. It is lagging in strategic
development of new models of communication
which leverage emerging technologies
I do not know a single business leader who is not
hungry for more knowledge of the Internet and how
to integrate it into his business
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CASE STUDY
How many look at the Calvary Church site ?

Daily average hits 1,000 Average
month 30,000 Present annual run rate
360,000 Countries in the world
28/32 every month Monday is the most
popular day Activity is 7/24/365 with 1100PM
to 100AM being in top 10 Growth has increased
100 each year
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you
People across a borderless, timeless world are
seeking spiritual answers. Jesus has
commissioned us to make disciples of them.
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CASE STUDY
Who is looking at Calvarys site ?

Top Fifteen Corporate Domains
Sun Micro Systems 2,795 Hewlett-Packard 2,400 A
pple Computer 1,896 Pacific Bell 1,700 Fujitsu C
isco Stanford University Intel NASA Silicon
Graphics, Inc Tandem Boeing Hitachi Lockheed Micro
soft
Many are telecommuters plus after hours
inquiries on company intranets from the home
22 million telecommuters 49 million offices at
home
There is evidence of real spiritual interest in
corporate America
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CASE STUDY
A typical month will bring in 30 countries from
across the world
Top Fifteen Countries United States (including
US military abroad) Canada United
Kingdom Australia Singapore Japan Sweden Korea M
alaysia Mexico Spain Germany Brazil Norway Columbi
a

English Speaking
Other Languages
Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations...
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A simple extrapolation reveals future potential
Based on the current inquiry level, if the
WWW grows according to MIT forecast
In the next 5 years Calvarys global Internet
ministry will reach out to Every
hour 708 Every day 17,000 Every
month 510,000 Every year 6,200,000
Evangelization will be global Discipleship
will be local
We must have something significant and timely to
share about Jesus Christ every hour of every day
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Why is this technology of such great interestand
appeal to people ?
Interactive exchange of information
(communication) without Race Culture
Ethnicity Nationality Gender Physical
appearance Age Language Speech affect or
accent Emotional barriers
The built-in biases that exist between people are
removed, producing communication in its purist
sense
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George Orwell could not have beenmore wrong
Streaming technologies are bringing full
spectrum experience Many are praying in real
time links There is no geography or physical
place Congregations are moving closer to
community with technology The on-line
experience is creating closer communities
For where two or three are gathered together in
My Name, there am I in the midst of them

Matthew 1820
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What to think about as you move into the
Digital Age at your church
Traditional methods of outreach and
communication must be transformed The audience
will be outside not inside The work of the
senior pastor will change The church is now in
bits as well as atoms New strategies are
required for outreach in the post-Christian
Internet era The church will have to enter the
17 inch world
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Some questions to be asking .....
How do we ... Leverage new learning's about
trends, organization, skills and technologies
? Integrate the on-line church into the
physical church ? Think about your work
differently ? Protect doctrine and the
authority of Scripture in cyberspace ? Appeal
to a world now clicking on instant answers and
not water down the Gospel ? Use Internet to
revitalize the church in the new millennium ?
Computer networks are now a crucial battleground
for the minds and souls of people across the
world
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Some applications for Internet technology
1. Outreach - evangelism - 20 FAQ's with answers
from Scripture - Who is Jesus? 2. Scheduling
and event communication - A service to members
and those who are seeking 3. Community Internal
- e-mail, prayer requests External - Chat -
individual ministries 4. Distance Learning -
Bible courses, doctrinal training across the
earth 5. Ministry - tapes, books, messages by
topic, broadcast - e-mail and direct response (
individual) 6. Channel Master - the church of
Silicon Valley (welcomes you) - Internet ready to
go

And surely I am with you always, even to the very
end of the age
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How the learning organization changes
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How the learning organization changes
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How the learning organization changes
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How the learning organization changes
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How the learning organization changes

New Behaviors
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Vision for the Internet Church
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations
...
The opportunity to reach every man, woman, and
child on the face of the earth in the next decade