Page 25 - Digital Church in a Lonely World

I think of my own children, who get to hear the laughter and play of other kids.

I think of the sound of a person coming out of the waters of baptism as the room erupts in applause
and spiritual joy.

I think of a family for whom, as I was preaching, I felt the stirring of God in my heart. When the
service ended, I looked around for them, but they were gone. I remember running out of the church and

into the parking lot, where I found them just in time and told them of God’s love for them. They went
on to become long-term members of the church. It’s hard to run after someone online.

Call me a mystic. I speak only of my own experience, but I know what it is to be so moved in a physical
church service by some kind of collective public experience that some would label the presence of
God. I’m not always sure what to label things, but I know I have been immersed in such real and deep
experiences that have moved my heart and that exponentially transcend anything I have experienced
live streaming a church service.

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