Why we’re launching a forum
Image: AG
Back in February, Simon outlined how Crossring is getting more sociable. We have recognised that the way people use the Internet has changed dramatically over the past decade since Crossring was launched, and even in the two years since we brought it back online. As people conduct an increasing amount of their social lives online, many Christians are beginning to think through how we can be a global church in this “digital space”.
We have been very encouraged by the growth of the Big Bible project over the last few months. Headed up by Bex Lewis of CODEC (at my old haunt of Durham University), the Big Bible project seeks to get Christians living out their faith in the online world as well as the offline one.
Their latest project is called #digidisciple: a group of over fifty people have committed to write for the blog on a regular basis, thinking through the whole range of issues surrounding Christian witness in the digital space. Simon and I will both be contributing within the next ten days or so.
I’m passionate about projects like that because I firmly believe that we, the church, should be present where people are gathering together. The book of Acts shows the apostles heading from town to city, from the Jewish synagogue to the Greek debating chamber, living out their faith among the society and culture of the places they found themselves in. If Paul were alive today, I’m sure that not only would he write a blog but he would be an avid reader of other peoples’.
Most of the Crossring Team keep blogs and Tweet with fervour: we know how powerful a tool the Internet can be in bringing people together. Moreover, we have a strong desire to see people read the Bible and have their lives transformed by God’s spirit as they do so. Most of our resources draw from and point to the Bible as the focus of our online community.
That is our vision: to vanquish the idea that the Bible is just for Sunday sermons and quiet times; for discussing over coffee but not computers.
Our Daily Reading is published to the website at midnight each day, giving a devotional reflection on a verse or two. They are designed to be quick to read, but we hope the message of those verses will stay with you for the day. We would love to see people responding in the comments section, sharing how God has used those verses to speak to them that day.
Our articles are longer, and tend to be more methodical – we’ll soon finish a double-marathon run through the whole of Mark’s Gospel in 52 articles. Even at that depth, the articles barely scratch the surface and each reader would respond to them differently. We’d love to learn from, be inspired by, and, yes, be challenged by those who respond in the comments beneath each article.
Above all, we want Crossring to be a place where people can work through Bible- and Christianity-related issues together. That’s why we’re pleased to announce the imminent return of the Crossring Forums. We want to provide a safe, non-threatening space where Christians and non-Christians alike feel they can ask their questions and venture replies.
We will give full details of the forum, its discussion policy, and more in the coming days. In the meantime, please browse the redesigned website and get discussing the articles you come across. We have rebuilt the website to better accommodate a forum, with a solid focus on the content. We have also made it easier to get in touch with the writers, especially via Twitter. Hopefully you will find the whole site easier to navigate and clearer to read with a much enlarged font size; we will, of course, respond to any feedback we receive.
I’ll see you in the forums soon!
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Ali grew up in London, but is currently at university in the North East of England. He helped to re-launch Crossring in 2009, and has acted as Managing Editor of the website since then. He occasionally dabbles in photography and web development - he also designed and maintains the Crossring website.
What's On Crossring
Crossring is a community of Christians who meet together online in fellowship around the Christian faith and the Bible.
As part of our active lifestyle of prayer and Bible reading, we are currently reading a small section of the Bible together each day and sharing our responses to it with each other. We also publish a short devotional thought on a key verse or two from each day's passage to prompt prayer or reflection.
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Please feel free to browse the website. If you wish to participate in the Forums, however, you will need to login or register with us to help keep the spammers at bay.
On the Forums
Reply To: Online Discipleship Type thing?
by Phill Sacre 09:47 24/05/13
Online Discipleship Type thing?
by clairelucas 12:43 15/05/13
Reply To: Hi I'm Rhonda
by Ali Gledhill 06:46 09/04/13
Reply To: Hi I'm Rhonda
by Simon Lucas 21:47 07/04/13
Reply To: Hi I'm Rhonda
by Phill Sacre 12:50 23/03/13
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The forums are often the most useful part of a site, it seems to me.
But I do think you mean the ‘imminent’ return of the forums, not the ‘immanent’ return of the forums ;)
I could try to pass ‘immanent’ off as a theological joke, but I don’t think I’d get away with it. I’ve edited the piece, anyhow.