There is one theologian who has shaped my ministry more than any other, and she’s probably not who you would expect.
She has red hair, an eclectic group of friends, and believes in music as an essential aspect of how we express our thoughts and feelings.
Yes, I am talking about Ariel, from the 1989 Disney classic, The Little Mermaid. And most specifically, I continue to find myself impacted by her profound theological statement: “I want to be where the people are.”
This incarnational theology is essential for all ministry, especially digital ministry. You see, virtual is not the opposite of real. Virtual is the opposite of physical, and they are both real.
When the church chooses to avoid digital spaces, we are ignoring the spaces where people live their real lives.
And when the church steps through these digital doors to meet people where they are, how they are, as they are, the church is living into the call of the incarnation, to be where the people are, for the Word to become flesh (and perhaps fresh?) and dwell among us.
But wait, you might be saying, don’t we choose how we will show up in these online spaces, showing only a portion of ourselves and not our true self? Of course! But what aspect of life, especially in public spaces, is this any different?
Yes, we choose how to show up in our profile picture, what photos we want to be tagged in, and how to perfectly craft that status update. But we put the same (if not more) care into what we wear on a Sunday morning, who we talk to, and all the ways we show up.
As online spaces become more and more prevalent, they will continue to be spaces where people show up.
From Discord servers to social media accounts to YouTube comments to Twitch livestreams to emails and text messages and DMs and all the ways we find community and connection, these are real spaces filled with real encounters.
Yes, they might be mitigated by bits and bites, but there is still a human on the other side of the screen, camera, and keyboard.
When churches and faith leaders show up in digital spaces, we are following this call of Jesus (and Ariel) to be where the people are, to be the word made flesh that dwells among us.
But let me be clear about one thing. This does not mean we use online spaces as a new approach to marketing, to invite people to church or get them to buy whatever we’re selling.
It’s easy to turn the Internet into a digital bulletin board, posting livestream and registration links and reminding everyone what time church begins.
Rather than using the Internet to tell people to go to church, what if we saw these online spaces as the place where church can happen?
Rather than directing people somewhere else, we need to show up where the people are.
Instead of idolizing the brick-and-mortar spaces of our past, we need to be intentional and creative about the ways we are incarnational in the pixels and pulpits of our present and future.
The call to ministry has always been the same: be where the people are. And as more and more people are showing up in spaces online, the church and her leaders must continue to do the same.
If we’re really honest, we will quickly discover that there is no such thing as digital ministry. Because it’s all just ministry.
It’s not like digital ministry is for some people and then other pastors just do “regular ministry.”
We are all called to do ministry where we are, when we are, present with the people we are called to serve. And in the world we live in today, where people are present and connected via digital platforms and devices, our ministry must do the same.
If your ministry is not present or connected with the people you are called to serve, can you even call it ministry? If Jesus had stood off to the distance, separate from the people, could we even call it incarnation?
You were a “digital minister” long before the pandemic. Don’t believe me? When was the first time you sent an email to a congregant? Because that is digital ministry!
What we do need to do is be more intentional, more theological, more pastoral in the ways we use digital content and spaces for ministry.
We can’t take these digital waters for granted but must learn to swim in them…not for the sake of jumping on the next big trend, but for the sake of being authentically present with the people we are called to serve.
The youth pastor doesn’t do all the youth ministry (or at least they shouldn’t). Instead, they model and invite the whole congregation into an intergenerational ministry.
The justice pastor doesn’t go to the protest so you can stay at home. They lead us all in the ways we are called to work and live for justice together.
The digital minister doesn’t do digital ministry so you can just do the things you learned way back in seminary. They peer into this brave new world and help us all take steps forward to be, not just where we might be going, but where we currently are.
“I want to be where the people are” is an echo of Jesus’ own life and ministry, and maybe, just maybe, it can be an invitation for our ministry, as well.
Rev. Jim Keat is the minister of digital worship & education at The Riverside Church in New York City and the director of Online Innovation for Convergence. He is also a digital consultant to various progressive faith agencies and organizations. He is the producer of original media projects from The Riverside Church such as Bible in a Minute, The Word Made Fresh, Church of the Long Run, Be Still and Go, and more.
