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!!!