Foreword
Recently I attended a Christian convention, on a beautiful mountain, in a timeless setting. Australian Christians
have gathered on this hill for many decades to find food for their souls. The message, the mountain, and the manner
of preaching have never changed, not in 50 years. Then I read this book by Thomas Hohstadt and I thought: not even
a mountain top faith can survive the digital flood that is coming. Thomas Hohstadt has written a new book about
the church. Not another book about the church . . . there are millions of them . . . but a new book. That is to
say, it is a new book about the new church which is still somewhere over the digital horizon. I found the book
both disturbing and exhilarating. It is disturbing because it rightly demonstrates that the church of yesterday
and today is doomed. No amount of pentecostal fire is going to prevent the institutional church from burning to
the ground. Indeed it is probably hastening the day. The book is exhilarating because Thomas has immense theological
talent and learning. This book is not a doomsayers diatribe, but a prophet's vision wedded to a scholar's learning.
This is a book about the digital revolution and its impact on the way in which we encounter the Word, and the way
we form communities. The book also offers a powerful analysis of "this generation," which is the generation
that is to inherit the digital earth. The 21st century church that they will inherit (and probably construct) is
one that you and I can scarcely imagine. Our roots go back 500 years, and it is hard to think in any other terms
than the church as we know it. The church of the 21st century has not even been planted yet, but Thomas has given
us a clearer idea of what it is probably going to be like. This book is now on my table as a must book to share
around.
Australia, 1999 David Bell, Author, Cyberchurch