To further illustrate from my old entry on how technology or the Internet has become so much part of lives in terms of societal, economical and political, last Friday there was a quirky report by the Straits Times that a Singaporean, Kelvin Lim was one of the chosen top 20 candidates vying for a $10,000 US blog scholarship with his blog.

Can you believe that?! Blogging also can earn scholarship leh???

Winning People through the Internet 

But that is exactly how the Internet and with the likes of blogging or web blogs have been recognised as being a powerful tool to reach, impact and influence to a global audience with low cost (even free) and best of all, no gatekeepers.

In the US where the Presidential campaign is currently running, candidates Hillary Clinton, Stephen Colbert and Senator Barack Obama are quick to captilise on the Internet media outlets such as blogs, YouTube, online forums and social networking sites like Facebook to win voters.

On Facebook, approximately 330,000 people have joined the “Obama 2008” feature. And of those supporters, nearly 330 people are daily contributors to the Obama section of Facebook, adding pictures and quotes and participating in online discussions.

The Cyber World: An Extension of Our Real World

With this understanding in how people are proliferating the Cyber world, I believe we (Christians) should and must stay relevant with these changes around us and to capitalise on the Internet as a powerful tool to reach, impact and influence.

What if the Church is able to engage people effectively in the way these politicians do.

Wouldn’t that be awesome?

We need to take the pulpit out of the four walls of the church and into the world.

Shining In the (Cyber) World 

Just as Jesus taught us to be the Salt and Light of the world, similarly we must also be the Salt and Light in the Cyber world. Where there is people to be won, Jesus would be the first to be among them.

The consequences of us not entering and engaging in the Cyber world  would lead to the imminence control by “evil and darkness” who will distract, deceive and destroy people from knowing the Truth with lies and deceitfulness.

Furthermore, just as we (His Church) strive to be consistent in living out Scripture in our real world, we must and should also do likewise in the Cyber world especially in this Digital Age where it is very much intertwined with the real world.

Nonetheless, the dangers of temptations are just as real in the Cyber world as it is in the real world. Therefore, be on guard and alert that we might not fall trapped into sin in the Cyber world.