Greg, I assume you’re right—that there must be some sociological literature “out there” which describes what we lose when we allow technology to mediate our relationships at church, whether that’s baptism over the internet or preaching through video feed. I’d be curious to read it.

But let’s brainstorm for a bit:  what’s lost?

Here are some tentative thoughts:  whenever I interact with you through a technological medium (video, phone, email, text, etc.). I present you with a very narrow slice of information according to what I want to say. I CONTROL, to some extent, what information you receive. For instance, if I’m speaking to you on the phone, you’re entirely dependent on what I want to say in the thin moment of time which comprises that conversation. You are not able to hear my words through the rest of the day. You are not able to watch my life. You only hear what I want you to hear. Same with email. Same with video. And so on. In other words, my communication with you is staged. I’m presenting you with a front. By saying it’s staged, I don’t mean it’s not true, I simply mean that it’s utterly limited to what I give you for the five or ten minutes of our phone conversation.

When I interact with you face to face, and particularly when we build our lives together, I lose control of the information you receive. You can draw conclusions based on how I speak to other people, or on how I treat my wife. Whatever I might say to you from the pulpit, for instance, becomes integrated with what you know about me from the rest of my life.

Now, if I’m practicing what I’m preaching, that will serve you, because you will see how God’s word translates into action. If I don’t practice what I preach, that will serve me, because you can come to me and warn me.

In short, technology, though helpful in some respects, cuts our communication off from a whole life view and, to some extent, hollows out the communication. Plus, it gives us an unnatural and pastorally unhelpful measure of control or autonomy in what we communicate. From a Christian standpoint, therefore, relying upon technology to mediate church relationships puts both sheep and shepherds in an unconnected, unguarded, and spiritually precarious position.

Is that fair to say?