Let’s Debate

Clayton Andres

Podcasts offer so many new opportunities for the church to stay connected while spreading the message of Christ. As soon as you Google the word “sermon,” you find a plethora of podcasts from various churches and denominations on just about every subject under the sun. Podcasts are a justifiable, modern way to hear God’s word in a positive and accessible manner.Online sermons allow people to still listen to their services at times when necessity renders it impossible to attend church. For example, if you are confined to the hospital, or are on a business trip, you can still keep up to date with your home church services with just the click of your mouse.Podcasted sermons are also a great missions tool. A church can spread the teaching of the Gospel to areas within and beyond their local communities. Recorded sermons allow for outreach into places where pastors aren’t always available to go, like seniors’ centres, prisons, and certain domestic and international missions trips. It also allows someone struggling in their faith who does not have the desire to enter a church the opportunity to hear some wisdom from God on their own terms.Podcasts give church newcomers a better understanding of how a specific church community operates and what their particular beliefs may be even before entering that church. People use the internet more than any other public resource, so by making sermons available online, a church puts itself right in the middle of a growing phenomenon.

Jason Brandl

The idea of podcasting sermons, or streaming them, or accessing them in any way online is not the original design of the church.  Nor does it meet the purposes of church.
In today’s society there’s an interesting shift happening.  When it comes to church, something has shifted in our cultural paradigm and we now find it acceptable to skip the service and download the message instead.
Though I don’t want to take this discussion in the direction of the abilities the Holy Spirit, there is something to be said for one presence of God in church. The Holy Spirit is (hopefully) active in church services, breathing along with the worship and inspiring each word spoken.  And yes, I do believe that the Spirit can transcend even the internet, but is it the same?
Another concern is the communal aspects of church.  Though the word “community” is thrown around in Christian circles, fellowship is an important part of the church, nay, of life, and attendance is how that is achieved.
Finally, there is something to be said for the spontaneity and the conviction any service could bring.  I think I know myself fairly well and know what my struggles are, and what I like and don’t like. So, it’s easy to browse online for that famous sermon, from that famous pastor, that has to do directly with what I’m relating to. But, it’s often said, “God works in mysterious ways” and we are taking away the mystery.
What about a sermon you don’t think you need to hear?  Does that mean God couldn’t speak to you through that service? I would emphatically argue that God can and does use those services just as much, if not more, to reveal issues or parts of ourselves we never before considered.
There is just something missing from online sermons, even if sometimes that something is unexplainable.