Column from the Middletown Journal
by Pastor Dave Kepple
March 10, 2001


"In this post-modern, electronic culture, when so many of us are excited about the communication possibilities that abound on the Internet, perhaps it would be well to remember that God has a 'home page' on this earth. It is found in the human heart. Just direct your internal web browser to unconditional love -- point, and click. In the old days, they used to call it prayer."

I wrote those words in December 1996 in a Christmas day column for my former employer, the Dayton Daily News. It was an exciting time in our household, as we were in the process of getting our first modern computer -- complete with a connection to the Internet.

In the more than four years since then, even as I've undergone a transition from newspaper reporter to pastor, there's been a whole lot of clicking going on. Not surprisingly, the Internet has proven to be a wonderful tool for ministry. Clearly, I'm not alone in that assessment.

The Feb. 19 edition of Christianity Today magazine provides an update on the impact of the World Wide Web on churches and clergy, based on results of a survey of more than 1,300 congregations by The Pew Internet and American Life Project. Among the findings:

* 20 percent of Internet users in the United States get religious and spiritual information online, making it more popular than online banking (18 percent of Internet users) or online auctions (15 percent).

* 81 percent of clergy use the Internet to gain information for worship services.

* 82 percent of clergy use e-mail to connect with parishioners.

The magazine goes on to suggest that if the Pew study's findings are correct, church web sites are well on their way to becoming community-building tools.

Well, DUH!

We've been building community via the Internet at our church for nearly two years via "Union Chapel Online" -- a developing cyberspace ministry within our congregation. The ranks of our e-mail subscribers (I like to call them the "Union Chappies") have grown to include church members, friends and extended family linked together by regular e-mails with the latest information on prayer needs and church activities, along with various news tidbits, humor and inspirational items. In January, we also launched our own web site, proudly named "Union Chapel Online" in honor of its e-mail progenitor.

You might say we are Wired for Christ!

Of course, we all know that terrible snares and authentic evils exist on the Internet, and those are not to be taken lightly. But on the whole, I have been very pleased by the many different ways the Net has aided our church's ministry -- and been a source of encouragement to me.

For instance, I bet not too many lay persons know about a home page called the "Desperate Preachers Site." Although it has expanded in many ways since 1996, the DPS was originally a site for online pastors to share their thoughts about the weekly Gospel lesson from the Revised Common Lectionary. The lectionary dialogue is still the best thing about it, because it means clergy from Trenton to Timbuktu can bounce sermon ideas back and forth (bulletin board-style) with other preachers. I've even put in my own two-cents occasionally.

While there's no substitute for personal contact, I do believe the Internet can help clergy in many ways now and in the years to come. When you stop and realize we've only begun to enjoy the fruits of this technological revolution, it boggles the mind.

With all that said, however, I've still yet to find anything on the Internet to compare to God's home page in the human heart, and the global web of love the Holy Spirit nurtures day by day.

And unlike my Internet Service Provider, God has never let me down.


* The Rev. Dave Kepple is pastor of Union Chapel United Methodist Church in Madison Twp. The church's Internet web site is at: www.gbgm-umc.org/unionchapel-oh/