There are growing numbers of people taking a scholarly approach to studying ministry & technology.  I have a larger and larger list of scholars appearing on my reader these days.

So I’ve decided that over the next few weeks, you’re gonna meet some of my brainest friends and check out what they’re studying, evaluating, testing, hypothesizing, and just, well, all that kind of stuff.

Kicking off this “blog of the weekend” series, let me introduce you to Dr. Dave, as he’s called around here, aka Dr. David Bourgeois, a prof. at Biola University who blogs at Lessons from Babel.  I’ve observed Dave’s work for a long time, had the privilege of hearing him speak and even shared a meal with him.  He is an absolute pioneer when it comes to studying online ministry data.

His newest course involving Internet ministry launches next semester and in preparation, Dave recently contacted me asking if I had access to any online ministries who are pioneering corporate prayer on the internet.  Specifically, he’s looking for people praying together online, via text or voice.  In exchange for the info, the good Dr. is allowing me to audit (I mean crash) his course, so I responded.

Do I?   How about this example from the LifeShare online challenge hosted by LifeChurch.tv where I got to pray with people from all over the world.  Unfortunately, although you can get the live mogulus stream you won’t get to see the saved chat with visitors from across the globe.

You’ll be hearing more about Dr. Dave’s upcoming class here soon.  In the meantime, he’s also asking for other examples so if you’ve got links, post ‘em here.  He’s looking for options where there are interactive prayers going on (i.e. not like great services like Kindle where you can post a prayer.)

Who do you know who’s pioneering the work of online interactive prayer?    And while you’re thinking, add a feed from Lessons from Babel.

image: GodTube

21 years ago, I visited Jerusalem for the first time.  One of the many stops on our trip was the Western Wall (aka – Wailing Wall).  Seeing the particular physical place where people poured out their requests to God really made an impression on me. 

Several years ago I got a picture in my mind of a similar wall, only this one was online, a place where people from all over the world could leave their "Dear Heavenly Father"…..electronically. Recently, I was reminded of this picture because today, electronic prayer sites are increasingly easy to find.  As we see more specialization on the web, 24/7 prayer pages like this one will likely become commonplace. 

Electronic prayer examples are easily searchable.  GodTube provides it's subscribers their own prayer wall.   Third party developers are creating Facebook prayer applications so Facebook members can notify one another of their need for prayer. 

Kindle is a free worldwide social prayer network that helps people form prayer groups to share their prayer requests with each other.  Kindle, in particular, displays huge potential, as the developers anticipate the forming of specialized groups within Kindle where intecessors are matched with individuals who need prayer for specific issues.

I've personally struggled with the "disconnect" associated with technologically mediated prayer.  And yet, at the same time, I've experienced incredible personal benefit from electronic prayers, specifically, in times of crisis as well as during seasons of elongated suffering. 

So, here are a handful of questions surrounding online prayer in the metaverse:

Would you use an online prayer service?

Do you see drawbacks of online prayer?

Do you see benefits of online prayer?

Do you think online prayer will grow in popularity?