Monthly Archives: May 2014

Bytes & Belief Bible Study Says: It’s Not Free

SONY DSC

This week’s bible study challenged the notion that the “free” web services we enjoy, like email, social media, search, don’t cost us anything. While we might not pay cash upfront, we do pay for them in other ways that may make them a not-so-great bargain. We also dug deeper, exploring God’s Word to determine what motivates us to sign up for such a raw deal. As usual, there was lots of great discussion and engagement.

Only one class left!!! If you’re in the New York area, please join for the season finale of the Bytes & Belief Bible Study!
Class beings on next Wednesday, 7:15pm @ New York Covenant Church.
To download the (brief) slide deck from this class, contact me @bbblggr

BnB Bible Study Asks: When Does Church Stop Being Church?

Ever have such an deep, engaging conversation with someone that you lost track of time?
In a nutshell, that’s what happened during Class #4 of the Bytes & Belief Bible Study at New York Covenant Church. The class began with an exercise attempting to answer the question – “When is Church No Longer Church?”.
In other words – when do the technology tools we use in communal worship change it to the point where it is no longer fulfilling its biblical purpose? This discussion led to more probing questions, such as:
Why do Christians physically get together each week?
Can the same goals be accomplished through a live stream of service?
Can true communal worship take place over something like Skype or Facetime?
Would a Virtual Church – accessible through virtual reality hardware like Oculus Rift, be acceptable?
And if these alternatives aren’t sufficient – how do we convince a generation of Christians, many  of whom both start and maintain some of their closest relationships online, that physical presence is a fundamental part of worshipping Christ?
The lively discussion wound up taking most of the class. We had a great exchange discussing a topic that urgently needs to be addressed by today’s Church.
No lecture slides for this week, but there are still two classes left!
If you’re in the New York area – please come join us!!!

 

Bytes & Belief Bible Study @ NYCC Continues

BnB Class 3 Lecture Candid

 

The “Bytes and Belief bible study rolls on at New York Covenant Church. We just completed Class #3, which focused on the places we go online, also known as our “virtual playground”. It’s this experience online that shapes our behavior when we are in the physical world. The question is, how does that behavior affect our worship? These are the questions we are exploring in this dynamic bible study.
Want to learn more? You can start by reviewing the course slides (link below). It’s also not too late to join us live! Our next class is Wednesday May 21 at 7:15pm.
Hope to see you there!!!
To get copies of this presentation, please email me at: marcus@bytesandbelief.com

Bytes & Belief Bible Study Lesson 2 – Multitasking

BnB Class Candid_2
We’re off and running with the second week of Bytes and Belief Bible Study at New York Covenant Church. Turn-out was fantastic!
This week’s class was centered on Multitasking (and what it says about us). If you couldn’t make the class in person, the lecture slides are available here (link below).
It’s not too late to join us in person!!!
The next class is Wednesday May 14 at 7:15pm. See you there!!!
(UPDATE: For copies of this lesson – please contact me via email or @bbblggr)

 

Bytes and Belief – Technology Bible Study Begins!!!

BnB Class Candid_1
Thanks to everyone who came out to the first class of Bytes & Belief Bible Study at New York Covenant Church. We had a full house, and there was lots of lively discussion. We are off to a great start!
If you weren’t able to join us for the first class, no need to miss out! The slides from the lecture are here for download (click the link below).
I’m putting something special together for next week’s class.
Hope to see you there!!!

(UPDATE: For copies of this lesson – please contact me via email or @bbblggr)