Online Christian Preaching 2000

The internet has transformed the way in which humans access information and communicate with each other and its impact on Christians has been profound. The internet has created an online Christian community worldwide and has facilitated the dissemination of the Christian message to an unprecedentedly large global communion. Religious leaders are now taking their ministries into cyber-space; podcasts and streaming of religious services mean that the reach of every pastor goes way beyond the boundaries of parish, city, or state. With the help of social networks, such as Facebook, it is now possible to create active and close-knit communities of religious followers. But this huge technological change may also have had a profound impact on the way Christians worship and their attitudes to the established Church. The internet offers an unrivalled range of perspectives, answers, and interpretations, which is readily accessible to all, sometimes called the “democratization of information.” People may feel that they no longer need an authoritative figure, who is a representative of a hierarchical organization, to explain, enlighten or offer guidance. Social media has given a voice to those who are not pastors and many spiritual seekers are choosing to go their own way, outside the parameters of the Church.