The pandemic is forcing society to ask new existential questions. What is the value of real presence and how does it impact one’s missional goals? We have spent a year in real presence isolation; shifting work, worship, and other forms of social interaction into a virtual world. Technology, specifically the Internet, has enabled a kind of social life that would have been unimaginable in all previous pandemics. The gradual transition back to some form of normalcy is forcing ma

My son, Dave, is an untramarathoner. These are races of 50 and 100 miles. The most difficult of all of these races is generally thought to be The Barkley Marathon, which takes place in Frozen Head State Park in northeastern Tennessee. The race is currently underway—starting this morning at 3:04 a.m. with a fan favorite Courtney Dauwalter participating among the 40 racers as well as three-time finisher Jared Campbell. This race was started in 1986. It was nine years before any

Second Life is a user-created virtual world that mimics real life and blurs the boundaries between the virtual and actual reality. There are virtual churches in Second Life where virtual evangelism and baptisms take place. Does the baptism of an avatar in Second Life count for eternity? Not to be out done in evangelistic zeal, there are semi-virtual churches and ministries such as God TV. Their mission is “to develop a new breed of Christian media with cutting edge creativity

There is an African proverb that states, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Dense networks are an incarnation of going together. If you're serious about making a difference in society or influencing culture, then it's time to understand the power of organizations united in a compelling cause. Social science and network science affirm that the main actor on the stage of social change is not the lone individual but the dense network. What di