[I sent the following email in answer to a question from a friend:]
Hi!
No, there is nothing inherently wrong with using large scale processes and mass communication to train people to do micro church. Recall that Jesus and the first apostles and evangelists did preach to crowds. And some parts of the New Testament were purposely written with the express intent that they be circulated widely. I could be wrong, but I think writing was the most advanced, wide-reaching communication technology of the day!
Nevertheless, there is more than one thing inherently risky about this stuff. Namely, it can too easily:
- distract sender and receiver alike from actually living out the message,
- distort the message as we subtly begin to prioritize reach over fidelity,
- intoxicate with power, and
- put the easily measurable things (e.g., conversion rates, audience size) above the more important, harder-to-quantify things (e.g., faithfulness, hope, and love).
So we keep watching and praying that we may not enter into these temptations. We use these tools, but always vigilant against their potentially corrupting influence, which you and I have seen again and again. Maybe it’s kinda like Bilbo and Frodo using the Ring.
I should add that there’s also nothing inherently wrong with a desire for reach itself—provided that the desire is itself merely an extension of a desire for the good of the hearers and not some generalized desire for audience or impact. This can be hard to distinguish, but we must learn. Do we actually care about these people specifically?
Specificity can be a good indication we’re pointed the right direction. Paul really really wanted to preach the News in Rome. He also loved his Jewish brethren so much that he made it a point to preach in synagogues first every time.