Reaching the Diaspora: Streamed Worship and Preaching in the Lutheran Church of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia and Ecclesia
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Luther Seminary Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary Doctor of Ministry Theses Student Theses 2020 Reaching the Diaspora: Streamed Worship and Preaching in the Lutheran Church of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia and Ecclesia Timothy Paul Stringer Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Stringer, Timothy Paul, "Reaching the Diaspora: Streamed Worship and Preaching in the Lutheran Church of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia and Ecclesia" (2020). Doctor of Ministry Theses. 60. https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses/60 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses at Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. REACHING THE DIASPORA: STREAMED WORSHIP AND PREACHING IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA, CULTIVATING KOINONIA AND ECCLESIA by TIMOTHY PAUL STRINGER A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Luther Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MINISTRY ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 2020 © 2020 by Timothy Stringer All rights reserved ABSTRACT Reaching the Diaspora: Streamed Worship and Preaching in the Lutheran Church of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia and Ecclesia by Timothy Paul Stringer Streamed worship has been happening in the Lutheran Church of Australia since 2013. Who is it reaching? Where is it reaching? Is it connecting them to community and the church? Is the preaching reaching the people who gather outside of the physical church buildings? Is there anything we can do to improve the reach, the connection and the sense of belonging to the wider church even when living remotely or kept away from regular worship by illness, disability or work commitments? This exploratory case study seeks to find these answers and more and then to offer ways forward for the building up of the church through streamed worship. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis project has been a joy and a challenge. I have learned so much about myself and the context in which I serve during this research. I want to thank the people of Calvary Lutheran Church, Greensborough and Thomastown Lutheran Church for allowing me to embark on this journey. You have been gracious, helpful and supportive throughout. Pastor Richard Fox and the team at Lutheran Media have also been open and receptive to my questions, queries and ideas and have made this project possible. My advisor Dr Richard Rehfeldt who came on board for the thesis project was a constant source of encouragement and help. The members of Roxby Downs Lutheran Fellowship, who without knowing it, were helping prepare me for a time such as this. My wonderful cohort of unique servants of our living God, you have blessed me immeasurably through who you are in Christ and this shared journey of learning together. Dr Trudi Skene whose insightful Aussie editing skills were a true blessing, and everyone who contributed to this research in any way, you know who you are, thank you. Finally, thank you to my loving, supportive and encouraging wife, who was also studying throughout this project in her area of vocation, and my children who were studying in various fields of their own. Our understanding of academic rigor has grown exponentially, and we are all keen to enjoy life after study and research for a time. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................ vii 1. THE STATE OF THE NATION ...................................................................................1 Personal Insights ....................................................................................................1 The Streaming Phenomenon ..................................................................................3 The LCA Offering .................................................................................................4 The Australian Context ..........................................................................................6 Project Outline .......................................................................................................7 Summary ................................................................................................................9 2. KEY THEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS ...........................................................................11 Introduction .........................................................................................................11 Diaspora ...............................................................................................................12 Koinonia ..............................................................................................................16 Ecclesia ................................................................................................................19 Summary ..............................................................................................................21 3. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? ...................................................................................22 The State of the World ........................................................................................22 Online Worship ...................................................................................................23 Online Preaching .................................................................................................28 The Sacrament Issue ............................................................................................32 Networks vs Groups/Institutions .........................................................................34 4. GATHERING FROM THE DIASPORA ....................................................................37 Methodology ........................................................................................................37 5. A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY ...................................................................................42 Introduction .........................................................................................................42 Survey Data .........................................................................................................43 Web Analytics .....................................................................................................66 St Michael’s Hahndorf .................................................................................67 Good Shepherd Toowoomba ........................................................................68 iv Facebook Insights .........................................................................................68 6. ANALYSING THE ANALYSIS .................................................................................70 Strengths ..............................................................................................................70 Weaknesses ..........................................................................................................73 Suggestions for Future Research .........................................................................75 In Summary .........................................................................................................78 7. WHERE TO FROM HERE? .......................................................................................80 Project Value .......................................................................................................80 Creating Online Communities .............................................................................82 Personal Growth Through This Research ............................................................89 Closing Comments ..............................................................................................92 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................113 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CTICR Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations DSTO Doctrinal Statements and Theological Opinions (LCA) FIFO fly-in, fly-out LCA Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand NRSV New Revised Standard Version UCA Uniting Church in Australia vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Figure 1 Which streaming site? ........................................................................................ 44 Figure 2 Respondents by postal code................................................................................ 46 Figure 3 With whom do you watch? ................................................................................. 47 Figure 4 Where do you usually access the stream? .......................................................... 48 Figure 5 Age distribution .................................................................................................. 49 Figure 6 Service location accessed