Participation in digital culture may school people of all ages in basic components of discipleship, including a sense of incompleteness that encourages experimentation with alternative identities; a willingness to be influenced and changed by outside forces; and an adherence to particular structures and habits that shape participation in an ongoing movement of identity-building.
In light of Luke’s description of Jesus’ life and ministry, I can imagine that “Online Jesus” would seek to cultivate peaceful conditions in our technological landscape, especially conditions that support people who are poor and oppressed.
For congregations to become centers for refuge and relief, they need clearly to proclaim hope; they need to advocate and resource church- and community-based ministries for those potentially at risk for suicide.
Congregations large and small can use finance to break cycles of gender-based violence and promote just economic practices right in their own communities.
We serve a God whose abundance knows no end, and we live in a world sore in need of signs and deeds that offer hope and embody the discipleship Jesus challenges us to embody.
The challenge for me and for many other Christians is to realize that the pews of many churches in the United States hold persons who voted for Trump. In fact, they may have voted for him precisely because they agree with his views as stated previously—views that may be abhorrent to others in those same congregations.