photo credit: escapedtowisconsin Just a couple of quick thoughts: Spent the day with a friend that I had known as a blog/facebook/twiter friend for some years but only just met in real life today. Man the world of the Internet is great, but real-life connections are just so much better! It is awesome how we managed to cram weeks of conversation into several hours and yet found that we were very much on the same page in everything we talked about! A shared meal does more for fellowship and friendship than weeks of online interaction, but on the other hand new technologies are making connecting with people and ministering to them so much easier! It is an incredible time to be alive! Last night I spent half an hour on the phone with some dear friends of ours who are in a time of transition in their ministry. They have left the familiar territory of their past denominational structures and have cast out into the unchartered and unfamiliar seas of what the Lord's Spirit is leading them into. Exciting but terrifying all at once. They are relating with an "online/virtual church" community that is providing guidance and support to them during this time of transition. New technologies mean new ways of connecting with people and all very life-giving. One story is of an online friendship that evolves into a real-life meeting and friendship, the other involves a transition from real-life church relationships evolving into having new online connections for ministry. The game is still the same, but maybe with these new technologies we have new tools in our toolbox that we should be using to maximum effect.