The Social Networking of the Believers?

If you’ve haven’t heard the term “social networking,” then you and Rip Van Winkle have a lot in common. 1

With the ubiquitous reality of Facebook and Twitter and the zillion other ways we virtually connect, culture has been irrevocably changed in less than a decade. 2   Every company seems to have a Facebook page (we’re way beyond the age of just having a company website) and wants me to LIKE them to access special offers. And the term “social networking” has become common parlance. (What did we say before?)

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I explored the website for the proposed building of a new Victoria & Albert Museum in Dundee, Scotland that it would include, among other things: “great social networking spaces…” 3

By this they mean, of course, a café, chairs, and museum gift shops. But it got me thinking.

Many churches have a “fellowship time” after the service. We talk about “Christian fellowship” being important. But “fellowship” is always one of those elusive words, a bit of Christianese that most of us would be hard pressed to define in a way that would make sense to anyone outside the faith. So could we simply replace “fellowship” with “social networking?”

I tried to imagine this with a non-religious example: “The Social Networking of the Rings.”

facebook
NEWS FEED

Frodo  is now friends with  Aragorn, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf , and  Boromir.

Frodo  Starting long journey for Mordor today!
Merry : LIKE
Pippin : LIKE

Gandalf  On my way to Rohan. Fly Shadowfax!

Gandalf  changed his profile picture
Merry:  Love the new look in white!

Sauron  can see you.

Frodo  feels strange.
Sam  I’m concerned about you.

Pippin > Sam  What’s wrong with Frodo?

Sam  doesn’t like  Gollum .

Aragorn  is now in a relationship with  Arwen .

Merry  thinks  Treebeard  is great.
Pippin : LIKE

It doesn’t quite do justice to the blood, sweat, and tears reality that this motley fellowship endured. What’s missing of course is the on-the-ground, face-to-face interaction. It mattered that Sam was there in person with Frodo on the way to Mount Doom. Without him, Frodo never would have made it.

In my bible, Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) is preceded by the title “Fellowship of the Believers.”

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

What stands out to me is the commitment the early believers had to really be in each other’s lives. (“They devoted themselves to fellowship.”) They ate together, worshipped together; they knew which people had need and they met it out of their own supply. It was embodied. They connected face-to-face in a way that mattered.

I can imagine their relationships to be similar in quality to those the Fellowship of the Ring enjoyed. Fellowship that meant people were really on the journey with you and would be there to help you keep going when you got discouraged or wandered off the right path and were taken in by temptations. (Galatians 6:1-2, Hebrews 3:13)

That seems to be much more than social networking.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching . Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

PS - If you want to explore this topic more do a search on CruPress Green for “community.” Tons of interesting articles and studies will pop up.

1. Just in case you don’t know who he is.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle
2. Facebook came into being in 2004.
3. “The V&A at Dundee will have great social networking spaces…”  http://vandaatdundee.com/your-future/project/what-it-will-be/