The Great Refactoring of 2020

chrislim · January 14, 2021, 7:32pm

I love the vision @jonathansanford and imagine if we could physically build such a space!

One side note related to the spatial software concept. I graphed out the books of the Bible by number of words:

They look kind of like mountains! Who wants to hike the “enchantments” of Scripture?

It was interesting the feel the “weight” of the old testament this way and to clearly see similarities between books in their length and location. We’re applying some of these concepts to the concept art/prototypes right now. I’m noodling on your vision as well to see what could make sense in the infinite canvas space we were working with.

jonathansanford · January 14, 2021, 10:49pm

Susan, I was reminded when talking to Chris of Exodus 36:1-7 where God stirs the hearts of his people to apply their skill and their possessions to build the tabernacle. I don’t think such a vision is “impossible”; especially with the great and generous God we serve. Much greater though than we can accomplish through our own individual efforts.

Chris, as I thought more about my picture and about using spatial / visual cues to help orient where you are within the greater text I came to a similar idea. What if anywhere the word “tree” was in the Bible there was a beautiful tree next to? What if the story of the Ten Commandments wound itself around a great mountain? Or if the Red Sea parted for the story of the Israelites fleeing Egypt? And what if you could “fly” to zoom out to survey the landscape and descend back into the hall where you wanted to read? Care would need to be taken that the theatrics don’t distract from the text itself but done right could help orient and inspire participants. I think the goal would be awe for God and His word; and a deeper understanding therein.

Something like the Bible Project might be a good resource or inspiration (they have a whole resource on trees in the Bible). I am also trying to track down a visual from my pastor on how the books of the OT fit together historically that might be a good guiding principle for the organization of halls.

SusanW · January 15, 2021, 3:16am

Oh, I agree! And yes, I’ve been looking through the Bible Project’s resources a lot lately. They are doing some really beautiful and innovative work.

jonathansanford · January 15, 2021, 6:42am

Excuse my poor drawing skills; just getting some more images / thoughts out on what this could look like. There could be doors with related scriptures on them which teleport to the respective hall for that scripture. There could be desks which you can collect scripture and texts and other media on as a form of organizing your personal or group notes which can be saved and recalled at any of the desks throughout the library. There could be windows looking out on landmarks which somehow tie into the general section of scripture you are in (per my previous comment). I was picturing avatars as circle heads with wispy incorporeal bodies.

jonathansanford · January 15, 2021, 5:52pm

How does audio play into this? Can we bring in soft music or scripture reading (e.g. what the Dwell app provides)? Users should have control on how much environmental, social and media volume they receive (but how to not make that clunky?). We should probably have visual cues on avatars to communicate how much they can hear their environment so other users don’t try talking to someone who can’t hear them (e.g. by showing headphones on their avatar). Maybe volume control can be a combination of a mute switch and smart (directional?) audio mixing based on focus (you hear more of what you are looking at).

As for desks; we would need settings to control who can edit or even view the content you are curating on a desk. Is it personal or for a group? Can others outside you / the group see your content or not? Again visual cues could be helpful to indicate an avatar is viewing something you can’t also see (e.g. sunglasses?).

SusanW · January 15, 2021, 7:33pm

These are all great ideas. Jonathan, I wonder if you’d mind if I copy/paste these posts to a new “Development” thread? I think this is an idea we could legitimately develop or at least get developers talking about and it will be clearer if it has its own thread (and be easier for me to direct Twitter/Facebook traffic here).

jonathansanford · January 15, 2021, 8:30pm

Good idea. Feel free to start a new thread and copy / paste as you see fit.

chrislim · January 21, 2021, 12:56am

Do we have a name for this concept? Is it the “medieval library” that we might use as the name for a new thread?

Tying in the thoughts from my article and yours, I think there’s something to be said for being “embodied” in a virtual space, whether its in the VR style of “Second Life” or the cartoon style of “Among Us” or even Google maps marker of one’s location. It also makes me think about how people move in the virtual space? Is it the mouse cursor, a touch on a location, keyboard/wasd, eye tracking, something else? And is sound projected into the space or is it an ambient property of the environment too?

jonathansanford · January 21, 2021, 4:03am

I agree; embodiment is crucial regardless of how abstract, cartoony or “real” the environment is. I think spatial audio (you hear louder / closer things more) is also a huge way to enable sub conversations and atmosphere.

As for naming I don’t like “medieval” because that limits the inspiration to only one time period. “Grand Library” or “Grand Library of the Bible” is more what I was thinking since the focus is on provoking awe in the Creator through His word and the works of His people throughout time.

jonathansanford · January 21, 2021, 5:57am

As for movement, and even for the fidelity with which the virtual library is presented (e.g. 2D vs 3D vs VR, lofi vs hifi), I think it can be open to whatever the user is comfortable with and their platform supports. I really like movement controls of The Witness for iOS; touch where you want to go (even far away) and it walks you there at a normal (or running) pace. For other platforms you can also use wasd or controller to move. I can see this extended even more to typing in a verse reference (e.g. John 3:16) and your avatar automatically finding a path and walking there. This would help convey the size of scripture and even sometimes take you through unexpected unrelated scripture on the way to your destination.

jonathansanford · January 22, 2021, 7:57am

How can a new layout of the Bible in two or three dimensions (instead of just one) allow for new insight into the word? I am reminded of Professor Horner’s Bible Reading Plan which interleaves passages from all over the Bible into your reading each day in an ever changing pattern. I have personally found it to be an excellent way to appreciate the breadth of the story of the Bible because it lets scripture enlighten scripture in new and fresh ways. Another example of this concept is “The Story” by Max Lucado which I have not read but seems to be a condensed Bible which pieces passages of scripture together to tell the grand story of the Bible in a shorter read. How can we use creativity like this to enable new insight into and appreciation for the word of God (without overshadowing the word itself of course)?

chrislim · January 24, 2021, 11:30pm

I like that idea of novel juxtapositions of Scripture! Here’s one concept we’re working on where Scripture is laid out in 2d and you can navigate it as if you were in Google Maps. If you zoom out you see more of the Bible, if you zoom in you can read the text. And you can navigate through the Bible (maybe like Horner’s system) as a series of Points of Interest on the map, frame by frame.

On the map we can show connections between Scripture at a high level via arcs that users’ can click on and traverse (maybe like GitHub’s beautiful globe visualization).

And to support the parallel reading of Scripture, texts could move around to “make space” for a few snippets of other passages to appear side by side with what is in the user’s focus.

jonathansanford · February 3, 2021, 3:29am

I have been thinking lately on what some different use cases or modes might be for interacting with this digital space. Here is what I have come up with so far:

Casual interaction - user has 5-15 minutes and just wants to explore / look something up quick. This might be because they are bored or just want to quickly reference something.
Deep personal interaction - user intentionally sits down to engage with the experience for their personal Bible study for an extended period (30+ minutes)
Long exploration / discovery - user sits down for a longer (30+ minutes) period for unstructured exploration discovery of new content / conversations. This is likely social.
Scheduled group time - user logs in at a predetermined time to meet with a group either for group study / instruction / church or for just hanging out together.
Coffee shop - user is present in but not directly interacting with the space; maybe while working or doing something else. They can hear and see what is going on but it is on the periphery for them (maybe on a second screen or a sidebar). Similar to a coffee shop it provides background noise can also provide a sense of side by side work / spontaneous interaction commonly found in an office setting. It allows the user to passively soak in the word (maybe the background noise includes a recording of someone reading the word) and be present with other believers even in a secular work setting.

chrislim · February 15, 2021, 10:08pm

These are great contexts Jonathan! @jodie do you feel like our mockups are able to test these kinds of ideas?

dilbertdad · April 6, 2021, 4:10pm

Hey Chris. Someone suggested I read your piece on the Great Refactoring. Finally got around to it. Love your thoughts and ideas.

I’ve been thinking about issues of the Church for some time. Seems like it might be helpful to evaluate the impact of 2020 and COVID in part through the lens of how people view the church, and the strategies churches have adopted for reaching people. For example, church growth strategies have dominated the space for some time, yet Gallup just announced church membership falls below the majority for the first time. Tells me that too many churches have not been addressing the true needs of people.

The ones I talk to desire relationships and true community. I just wonder if we focused a little more on the interpersonal components and relationality of Jesus, and less on pure entertainment, if we would be seeing less degradation.

Curious about your thoughts on this…even though it may be a bit off topic from what you wrote about.

chrislim · April 7, 2021, 7:38pm

Great to have your thoughts Curt! I just read a Facebook post this morning that aligns with your thinking.

I think organizations have a hard time accepting the fact that authentic relationships and true community cannot be artificially constructed through church programs, small groups, Sunday productions, educational curriculum, etc.

Natural relationships tend to form around familial and geographical bonds. Task-oriented relationships form around shared goals. Interest-based relationships form around shared hobbies and experiences. Fan-based relationships grow around celebrity personalities. Ideologically-oriented relationships form around shared ideas and beliefs. There are other foci and different churches reflect a different selection of foci to grow community.

But I think Christians have a far deeper basis for relationships and community that is often overlooked and worth pondering at length: the mystical communion of saints in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 1 John 1 comes to mind:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

Regardless of modern church membership/attendance or programmatic adherence, each person who has faith in Christ is continually immersed in the authentic fellowship of the Father and the Son and every other believer across time and space through the Holy Spirit.

That’s incredible!

So instead of presenting itself as the source of life-changing programs or even loving relationships and true community to meet people’s needs–which has resulted in deep hurt and disappointment from failed promises–institutional churches can view their primary vocation as witnessing.

The local church isn’t so much promising to meet your need for community as it is testifying to you that the true friendship and loving community you deeply long for exists in Jesus Christ made possible through his death and Resurrection. It testifies that you belong to this community through faith in Jesus and have immediate and continual access to it through the Holy Spirit.

In this way, the church doesn’t “overpromise and underdeliver”–rather it “underpromises and overdelivers”.

Why? Because as communities of believers are reminded of their union with one another in Christ and their shared inheritance in the Kingdom of God, it produces the fruit of love for one another, which gives people a foretaste of that community they so deeply long for.

dilbertdad · April 7, 2021, 9:02pm

Chris, thanks. Lot’s here!

I think there’s more to the church’s vocation than witnessing. What if the church was a catalyst to community and relationships. When I look at the first century church that’s what I see. Yes, they reached into the community and people came to faith. But the principle way they did it seems to be through community and providing for the needs of people.

I certainly agree that the church has missed it in many of these areas–not just in overpromising and underdelivering, but in completely failing to recognize its role in spiritual community and helping people understand what it means to live a dependent life, a life WITH God, and not just FOR him, a life of discernment in what God is doing in my life and heart.

I think if the church did what you described at the end–reflected true LOVE for others and for God–people wouldn’t be able to stay away because they DO deeply long for that reflection of who Christ is.

chrislim · April 8, 2021, 12:13am

Ya! I think the church is a catalyst, but existing structures can get in the way. Doesn’t mean the structure didn’t serve a purpose at one time, just that the environment has changed and with the internet, perhaps less is more when it comes to structure…(i.e. discerning God’s work in one’s life doesn’t require alot of what we typically associate with church today.) I’ve personally benefited so much from relationships that were catalyzed by a common cause in Christ (often across multiple churches/denominations/nonprofits). Amidst the pandemic my core friend group has come from 4-5 different local churches!

By the way, in saying the church fails in its role in spiritual community, do you consider that a failure of it’s leaders or of the community itself?

One thing I wanted to clarify is that when I use the word witness as a vocation, I don’t solely mean personal evangelism, or altar calls, but more that the community itself is the witness, the testimony, the illustration, the evidence that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Sort of like when Jesus told his disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34‭-‬35 NIV that’s witness too.

dilbertdad · April 8, 2021, 2:42am

Thanks for the clarification on “witness”. Makes sense. Totally agree.

No, I think the failure of the church is a failure of leadership, which means it hasn’t helped the community understand what it means to exist in community and in dependence and communion with God. Here’s why I think that.

We started a nonprofit 11 years ago to help resource the church in the area of formation, which is to say, relational growth and health with God, with others, and with ourselves. As soon as small groups were given these resources and a trained leader in facilitation health small group dynamics, community and love flourished. People said they had never experienced this before in a church environment.

So, no, I don’t think the problem is inherently in the church, or in the community, but in leadership’s awareness of these needs and how to effectively address them. Instead, we focus, for example, on intellectual growth alone as a means to forming people in Christ. It isn’t enough. Intellectual growth/biblical accuracy was an important step for the church to take. But intellectual knowledge does not equate to a formative experience. Or we give people a fun experience, which as we’ve seen in the last year, becomes an easy thing to forgo with so much else occupying our attention. Or we give people an emotional experience without helping them understand the meaning of emotion as a component of spiritual development and Christlikeness.

By the way, if you keep tracing this failure back, you have to go to where pastors/priests were trained–their churches and seminaries. So there’s plenty of responsibility to go around. But the good news is that these are not hard problems to solve, once leaders understand the true nature of the problem and has the tools to solve them. That doesn’t mean it is fast. It takes time. But it can absolutely be done and is being done in a few communities. (As an example, Peter Scazzaro’s book The Emotionally Healthy Church talking about his experience is one example.)

chrislim · July 15, 2021, 3:57pm

A friend of mine coined the term “the Great Virtuality” to describe what he sees the church undergoing:

He references how the model of “church as messenger/herald” has been extended by going virtual while suggesting that “church as body of Christ/community” has been hindered.

Although being physically present is far from a foolproof way to hold our attention, we are much more likely to be spectators than participants in online ministries. Moreover, the further away we get from rich, loving, intense bonds, the higher the challenge for stewardship.