Online Church #8: Handling Conflict, Bodily Presence, and Gathering Together

As we establish expectations for participants in an online church, cultivating leaders and setting practices for Christian worship, it is important to remember that the digital world is not a "disembodied" experience of the physical world, but an extension of it.

No community exists without conflict between its members, and the susceptibility of social media to dehumanization makes conflict even more common and more volatile. Throughout his letters to the church in Corinth, Paul demonstrated ways to address conflict and challenge conduct that was contrary to the wisdom of God.

A complete examination of each instance of correction is beyond the scope of this series, but we may say that he used a wide variety of rhetorical tools in different contexts—irony, sarcasm, self-deprecation, accusation, apologetics, and gentle reproach, to name a few—as he sought to orient the church around the posture of cruciformity according to the wisdom of God.

In the same way, we cannot identify a single particular method of reproach and reconciliation that is likely to work in every situation. We should acknowledge that the skills and judgment required to facilitate community in an online context are at least as broad and critical as the ones required for a physical context. Training in conflict resolution and the skills for having difficult conversations should be an integral and ongoing part of every member’s discipleship journey and participation within the group. Training ought to be even more emphasized for those functioning as group moderators.

Private Messaging

In addition, the tendency of social media to devolve into objectifying other users may be exacerbated by one-to-one private messaging, because such messaging leads to a privatization of the community experience, creating sub-groups within the cell group in which individuals may spread rumors or sow dissension.

Although there are legitimate uses for private messages between group members, most groups will find that shared communication (communication that is available to be seen by the whole group) is best for fostering a sense of commitment to the community. The transparency of shared communication allows for accountability within the group.

Just as Paul’s letters were read aloud to the entire community, shaping their identity as one body, so ought our digital communications to be primarily presented before the whole body. A commitment to openness in group dialogue is critical to the function of a “round table” form of ecclesiastical leadership.

Open and Closed Groups

While openness within the group is a key to an online ecclesiology, that openness does not necessarily need to translate beyond the bounds of the group. Social media has created an environment in which privacy is a constant concern.

On many social media platforms, open groups and conversations can be shared publicly out of the context of the group’s discussions and with an intent to cause harm to the individual who originally posted, and such a distribution of private conversations (meant for the group members) is damaging to the integrity of the group.

Even on social media platforms that allow for closed groups, such as in Facebook groups, malevolent individuals can take screenshots of text-based conversations and share them publicly. While there are instances where public groups make sense, particularly as an entry point for outsiders to engage with the church community, most of the cell groups ought to have a level of privacy to protect group members and the honesty of their conversations. Within a cell group, an individual ought to feel confident that they can share their struggles and questions without fear of reprisal.

With a proper posture and a constant attunement to flattening the hierarchical social positioning of group members, the digital context can be a healthy place for growth and community. It is vital, though, that this digital community not become a retreat from the physical world, but an extension of it.

It is tempting, particularly for technology enthusiasts like me, to fantasize about a world where one’s entire life can be lived through a digital medium with no interaction with the physical, but that is not the trend that we actually see playing out in the world around us.

Instead, we see the digital world extending and supplementing our physical existence. In our consideration of an online church, we must similarly resist using online tools to displace the physical world in which the body is rooted and into which Christ was incarnated. Such escapism is antithetical to the very mission of the church, because the church cannot work to reconcile the world to God if it is not present in the world.