The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World

by Keith Anderson

Provides both practical and theological perspectives on using media appropriately and pastorally.

Rapid cultural and technological changes through the last two decades have changed the context for ministry. The development of digital social media and advances in affordable, mobile technologies have dramatically changed the way most people interact with others, communicate, organize, and participate in communities.

The Digital Cathedral is a warm embrace of the rich traditions of Christianity, especially the recovery of the pre-modern sense of cathedral, which encompassed the depth and breadth of daily life within the physical and imaginative landscape of the church. It is for anyone who seeks to effectively minister in a digitally-integrated world, and who wishes to embody the networked, relational, and incarnational characteristics of that ministry.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2015

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will the church of the future look like? How will we remain agile, attentive, relevant, and alive? In this book Keith Anderson demonstrates both practical solutions, and avenues of engagement rooted in deep faithful living and a changing culture of how we "do church".

I especially appreciated the multiple examples of vibrant, "out of the box" ministry that is reaching people where they are. Rather than simply offer a completely "new" lens - Anderson also effectively links the history of change in the church of the past to now. "Digital" is an important view - but so is the "cathedral" of the past in its community role and use.

As someone involved in how the church considers restructuring and relevance I found this book a helpful guide and reminder of what we may be called to be. I highly recommend this to those readers considering what relevant church might look like in the future.

[Hannah Bergstrom de Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book helpful as I continue to pastor through a pandemic that requires almost everything to move to online interaction. The theological perspective as well as the ideas shared where great sparks for my own re-imagining of minstry through this time and as we continue to evolve. It was a helpful and reassuring read.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book an excellent combination of how ministry is being done creatively, within and outside the walls of a church. We are living in world where people are thinking differently about faith, God, and how it may or may not relate to their lives. How do we as leaders connect, meet with, and build meaningful relationships in todays digital world? I found the book informative as well as thought provoking.

[Ryan Motter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I picked up because pandemic. The current time in the world is serving as an incubator of sorts for Anderson’s now 5-year-old ideas, while largely removing the incarnational requisites he asserts. As such, this book doesn’t read so much as a “this is what I think will happen” so much as it does a baseline list of fundamental reorientations to the church’s future. As such, I feel like the book is ripe for a revision/editing or perhaps a sequel after our continued life together in quarantine, reflecting on what’s been learned in our collective experience/experiment in fully digitally integrated church.

[Nicki Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you work in technology, you probably think I'm crazy for even picking up, let alone finally finishing, a book copyrighted in 2015. Those six years are like decades in the digital sense. Yet, as I read Anderson's words, I knew we - as church leadership - still do not get it. The lessons in this book can still be worked through and used today. It is not old news and forgotten words. It is still very viable.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful book that looks at the church's engagement with the digital world. The only thing that kept it from being 4 stars is that, published in 2015, it is already outdated. Anderson acknowledges that new forms of social media and platforms will arise but he couldn't have known that COVID would push all of us to livestream worship, etc.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keith Anderson is one of the most insightful commentator on American Mainline Christianity today. His attention to the spiritual and religious practice of ordinary people in the world beyond the church doors allows him to explore these practices for opportunities to enrich and extend ministry practice in particularly creative ways. The Digital Cathedral is a must-read for 21st century ministry leaders and practitioners who want to remain engaged, relevant, and meaningful in a dynamic religious world.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anderson poses much food for thought in what it means to be on mission in this digital age. I am not sure that I ever quite bought into the virtual world we inhabit as being a substitute for the brick and mortar monstrosities that dot the world's face. The chapters all offer subject matter worthy of discussion as the basis for delving further into faith matter in the modern world.