Tony Miles, a “Media Chaplain” (love that title) in the UK, reports in Mayb2day on some provocative ideas of Andrew Graystone, the new Director of the Churches’ Media Council:

“Many church leaders are blissfully unaware that there is a revolution underway that’s every bit as radical as the invention of the printing press. Five years from now we will either have learnt to minister in a digital environment, or we will be its victims. Analogue churches won’t survive in a digital age.

“For a church, going digital means … learning to use contemporary communications tools like email and podcasting, rather than photocopying the weekly newssheet. It means developing a language and a mindset – even a theology – that embraces digital culture.”

I agree – up to a point. Five years seems a bit extreme to me. I suppose it depends on your definition. For faiths like mine, dominated by the well educated and well off – yes, he’s absolutely right. I wonder, though, about poorer communities, where faith can manifest in different ways. My hope is to talk to friends in churches and communities unlike mine, and report on my findings. How long can an analog church survive may be my first question.

And what do you, the blogoscenti, think? Do you know of churches still in the digital dark ages – that don’t even use email? If so, how long do you think they can remain that way?

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