Epiphany Systems

Epiphany Systems was formed at the end of the dot-com era in 2000 as a sister company that handled our technology maintenance, hosting and technology licensing. Since that time we have prayed about pushing this ministry out, but the timing was too early. Two obvious reasons topped our list:

1. The user base wasn’t ready or mature for the systems we wanted to deploy
2. The technology was expensive to develop and we did not have the economies of scale to make it affordable to all churches.

As the years advanced, new paradigms caused technologies and perceptions have become adopted. We have pulled some blogging excerpts from What is Web 2.0? by Tim Riley, published 9/30/2005, and italicized.

The bursting of the dot-com bubble in the fall of 2001 marked a turning point for the web. Many people concluded that the web was overhyped, when in fact bubbles and consequent shakeouts appear to be a common feature of all technological revolutions. Shakeouts typically mark the point at which an ascendant technology is ready to take its place at center stage. The pretenders are given the bum's rush, the real success stories show their strength, and there begins to be an understanding of what separates one from the other. These emergent companies brought vision and new understanding to the way the Web was understood.

Prior to 2001, the church had decidedly made simple efforts to be present on the net. Some churches surged ahead by developing custom applications that would serve the communication needs of the body, handle event registrations, ecommerce and emailing.

While trying to understand the web, most churches couldn’t wrap a vision around the emergent technologies for several reasons:

1. They were too expensive to deploy
2. There wasn't enough user participation
3. The web was an "out there" idea while the church was "right here"
4. There were no on-line paradigms yet for community, prayer, or connectedness

Consequently, the bulk of Christendom ended up with e-brochures developed by programmers, volunteers, or 15-year old nephews of someone in leadership, who seemed inclined to all things technical. These drastically failed to represent the heart and experience of a community. Renewal was needed spiritually. The church web site provided little compelling evidence that it would have a future and a hope.

Joe Randeen interviewed John Wimber of the Vineyard on KingdomRain.net. Wimber said, "Historically, every move of God produces new music. Often the new songs were simple style and used contemporary settings – the popular music of the day, if you will. God raises up teachers and leaders who have emphasized the importance of praise and worship, and this produces the dividend of hearts ready and receptive to the work of God in the lives of God's people." I believe the same can be said of the internet and the new web concepts in Web 2.0. As we move into 2008, there is great need for spiritual renewal in the hearts of the social tech generation. I see a move of God in the church, among “open” social-tech generation leaders, and through web environments like those we implement at epiphanysystems.com . God's move seems to be advancing in technology to produce a Church 2.0, a Kingdom advancing as one on-line, as far as the internet is concerned.

What exactly is Web 2.0 or Church 2.0? This article is an attempt to clarify just what we mean by Web 2.0. In our initial brainstorming, we formulated our sense of Web 2.0 by example:

Google's service is not a server--though it is delivered by a massive collection of internet servers--nor a browser--though it is experienced by the user within the browser. Nor does its flagship search service even host the content that it enables users to find. Much like a phone call, which happens not just on the phones at either end of the call, but on the network in between, Google happens in the space between browser and search engine and destination content server, as an enabler or middleman between the user and his or her online experience. This is church on line. Among the community and between the community and God. And when technology acting as middle man is enabling spiritual renewal in hearts and minds, and God-worship in the context of a social group, and invitations of the Holy Spirit, church is happening. (If you have a moment, review your Ecclesiology and see if it does not apply to the internet).

There are recorded conversations of salvation experiences, discipleship and even healings. Yes on-line healings, where people are prayed for and miraculously healed. (However, authors preference is to be in person, because I want the internet to supplement community in the natural; it’s just that Web 2.0 has way outgrown my personal preferences).

The church has before her a great move of force on-line that is so strong and unified, that no other in the history of man has called together so many into community with each other and God.

Some of the implications the church will experience (from personal journal entries and prayer):

• The church will break through denominational walls linking people with like interests instead of creed.
• The church will shepherd two linked congregations, on and off-line, and visitors passing through both will be a typical occurrence. Relational commitments to a local body will be high where communities are sustained in both areas.
• God will bless the church to invade and re-claim on-line territory that has stolen our hearts and minds, and those of our sons and daughters through other world-views and pornography.
• The church will need to constantly produce and manage more content and information than in years past (i.e. published works, meetings, content, events, photography, audio, video media).
• The church will experience a radical paradigm shift, new ministries, organizational and structural changes and possible philosophical splits.
• The church needs to work to preserve our history and creed and teachings that have gone before us.
• The church will experience barriers and resistance against Church 2.0 but will have breakthroughs like a waterway finds a new path around an obstacle.
• The church will be asking WWJP? (What Would Jesus Post?)
• The church will hit an all-time high in missionary sending and resources for missional work.

The church will come to understand Kingdom theology in new ways, not because of some Christianity-is-on-the-internet-now worldview, but because the socio-tech generation is completely and culturally shaped by Web 2.0.