I asked at a meeting with several internet ministries last year if there was a methodology to their behaviors/intentions to use the web as a connection point for evangelism and discipleship. I was concerned in many respects, because while I was listening to a group of people passionate about sharing the fruits of their faith, I heard very little about understanding the implications of being in this space. This magazine takes the posture of bearing to understand the implications of mobile before and during sharing the passions that make mobile a suitable addition to the toolkit of ministers and developers alike. To that end, we poke a ton – its unique and then some. And then… its not all that unique at all:

…Corman believes that the spread of “hacktivism,” which first made mainstream headlines when Anonymous attacked the Church of Scientology in 2008, demonstrates that “those who can best wield this new magic are not nations. They’re not politicians. The youngest citizens of the Net don’t even recognize allegiance to a country or to a political party. Their allegiance is to a hive. In some ways this is very exciting. In other ways this is terrifying.” The terrifying part, for Corman, is that the Web gives individuals immense power without instilling the “compassion, humility, wisdom, or restraint to wield that power responsibly.”…

Read the rest of In the Battles of SOPA and PIPA, Who Should Control the Internet at Vanity Fair

What do you get about this level of access, security, connectivity, and affordance? Do you understand that content isn’t king, the person who designs the user experience is king – and you are simply a steward of one part of the field? Are you concerned about DNS activities? Or, does your mobile lifestyle begin and end with those communications which happen without the facilitation of global cables, interested governments, and occasional support of standards bodies?

Nothing about tweeting a post embeds compassion, justice, or even the hope of the Gospel into the Internet. That only comes when that tweet intersects with the personal reality of the person reading it. Its relevant (and therefore points to salvation) when its personal. Nothing more, nothing less. This isn’t a magic hat. Nor is it the best thing since sliced bread (though, you can argue that there are probably more mobiles than sliced bread in the hands of folks and that might be near-correct). What do you understand about the implications of telling people to go see announcements on Facebook – when you are also not teaching them about Facebook (or Internet) addiction? The two go hand in hand in terms of lessons – as well as hand in hand in terms of how you lean on these communication technologies for the prosperity of those reading/listening/watching.

Do you need to understand everything about how the Internet and mobile works in order to do ministry? No. Should you know as much as possible about the implications of it not working for whatever reason – whether you can solve it or not? Yes. And its to that end we exist in this space… its not that unique at all, just an acknowledgement of something different amongst the hype of the moment.