The application and development of network technology have played a positive role in the growth of the church and believers. However, some pastors have questioned whether the online churches are real churches.
With the development of technology, the church in the metaverse has come into view. In some countries, VR churches have appeared, using 3D technology to create and simulate real gathering scenes. At present, some churches in Hong Kong are already trying.
Although mainland China has not yet seen the emergence of VR churches, the three-year pandemic has made online ministry more popular.
Many pastors see that online meetings increase the inertia of believers and make them lose their sense of awe for worship, while pastors are unable to get to know their followers. In order to prevent the loss of believers, some pastors take care of those who do not want to go to in-person worship by providing livestream services, which increases the burden of ministry while holding online meetings.
Pastor Y who has served in Northeast China for many years, said bluntly, "In my opinion, the Internet church is not a real church." There are several reasons why he does not approve of Internet churches.
Christians can't fellowship with one another in online churches.
Pastor Y explained that in the church, there will inevitably be friction and conflict between believers. But at this time, we can see each other's sins and learn how to forgive and accept each other. As the Bible says, "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." This is how our lives are honed and matured.
However, he doesn't think that online churches can do that. While the network can provide pastoral care, it cannot fulfill its function as a fellowship.
Role models and believers' faith practices can not be seen in the online churches.
The church is not just a place to hear the words of God. Believers can also go to "see" the life of the pastor and follow it.
Pastor Y believes that what changes a believer's life more than what they hear is what they see in the pastor or preacher. Just as Jesus said, "Come and see," when he called his disciples, the believers of the early church followed the example of the Apostles, so change in the lives of believers today requires a true example.
Internet churches are so chaotic that it is difficult to distinguish between true and false.
The Internet is a chaotic place, and not all groups that provide online pastoral care are legitimate. Many of them exist for fame and fortune.
Pastor Y has the inside scoop on some of the churches with popular webcasts. Many people now use the webcast to create exposure. They would show off how many people they had attracted online. and how many followers they have. Some of them do this for fame.
Compared with the people who simply make a name for themselves, there are more people who do this to make a profit. Some people may use some means to get an offering. Pastor Y said that a brother used to follow a pastor to do online ministry, and at the beginning of live preaching, although he put energy into it, no one offered. Later, that preacher first gave money to several co-workers, 200 yuan each, and let them take the lead in offering after the number of people in the broadcast room increased. As expected, many people followed their example and offered. That brother found that they were not really believing the gospel but profiting from it, so he left that online ministry team.
Some online preaching sometimes causes divisions among other churches. Some people who like to listen to sermons on the Internet may report problems with their churches to the pastors of the Internet church. Sadly, some dishonest online church pastors often judge their churches as problematic or heretical based on one side of the story, resulting in church divisions. When a church has problems, believers may turn to online churches. The essence of some online churches is to "assemble sheep" and "gather offerings".
Pastor Y also tried online pastoring during the pandemic and received high traffic in a short time. But after the pandemic was over, he chose to immediately shut down the online gathering and resume the in-person gathering. A co-worker told him, “Pastor, look, they make so much money through livestream preaching!” But when the pastor went to "observe," he found that believers and preachers were exchanging emojis of kissing and hugging in the broadcast room. Pastor Y thought it was unsaintly.
Pastor Y acknowledged that there are pastors who genuinely want to help believers who are unable to attend physical meetings by providing spiritual resources and spiritual support. But he warned that people who accept online pastoring must be careful because many people may rely on the Internet to "make a living".
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
