By A. Dru Kristenev ——Bio and Archives--July 6, 2017
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“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” -- Matthew 18:20Does Zuckerberg assume that two or three gathered in a chat room or bantering on Facebook constitutes a church since he designed the medium that brings them together? Nowhere can the virtual contact of a cyber association supplant the spiritual relationship of Christ that binds individuals. The Apostle Paul speaks of how members of a church are much like members of a physical body, in that they each have special gifts that, when they come together, creates a spiritual body united in faith.
1 Corinthians 12:11-13 “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (KJV)Although people using social media to communicate may express similar intellectual concepts, what’s lacking is the capacity to share on the deep level that occurs in the physical presence of another individual or group of individuals. A phone, Skype or Facetime conversation is better than nothing, but a voiceless, faceless online chat can never take the place of gathering together in faith to worship, study and pray. Church is a personal and spiritual connection with others in faith that cannot be established by typing some characters into a smart phone.
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Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.
ChangingWind (changingwind.org) is a solutions-centered Christian ministry.