It's a complaint that many people voice today: “We are becoming too disconnected from one another in the digital world.” An oxymoron, really.
The digital world and all its opportunities—cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype, instant and text messaging, and so on—are actually designed to bring us together in communication at the drop of a hat no matter where we are or what we're doing, right? And yet, it's true, this instant communication from anywhere means that we don't necessarily have to get together in the same place to talk and relate to one another. So is it really the loss of face-to-face, in-the-same-physical-environment-at-the-same-time interaction that a number of people believe is missing?
No matter where you fall on the issue, it seems that church leaders, design professionals, and product manufacturers are working together to both take advantage of existing and emerging technologies and to figure out a new way to merge in their presence. In the digital world, there's less paper to shuffle, less need to be in the same room to get on the same page. But there is also a drive to more effectively use existing physical space within a facility—whether corporate or church conference room—to collaborate on ideas without the walls of traditional office spaces separating co-workers or team members.
To get a feel for the ways that the use of technology may be driving us to create physical spaces that more closely link us together in collaboration, see “Thinking Outside the Office” by Cathy Hutchison in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of WFM.
Consider this question: How is your church's physical space changing as a result of advances in the digital world? Maybe your facilities are getting smaller with a more compact and focused design perspective. Maybe you're merging your church with another church to reach more people yet take up (and pay for) less physical space in the process. Take a look at our feature project coverage of Genesis the Church in “Church Merge,” also in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue. In Genesis's instance, using less physical space is bringing more people together. Again, an oxymoron.
