Few technological innovations have burst on the scene so rapidly or taken hold so quickly as the World Wide Web -- the graphical interface which allows average computer users to take advantage of the global connection of computer resources known as the Internet. Over the last three to four years, the Web has transformed the Internet from a relatively exotic method of transmitting research data to a bustling marketplace of commerce, ideas, entertainment and religion.

In fact, religion is one of the big growth areas of the Web. Churches, denominations, parachurch groups and individuals have hustled to carve out their own interchanges on this "Information Superhighway." Hundreds of churches in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and beyond have established web sites, ranging from relatively simple one-page information areas all the way to multi-level sites with hundreds of pages of Christian resources. Add to that the ministries and faith-based organizations that have established an Internet presence, and you quickly realize that this is one contemporary movement that pagans don't have all to themselves.

And increasing numbers of ministers are finding that the Web offers a unique new delivery system for information and ideas that can impact their work -- including preaching. Imagine yourself a preacher prior to the invention of the printing press; then imagine how that single invention would have transformed your daily activity. Within a generation, ministers may well look at the development of the Web the way earlier generations would have viewed Gutenberg's creation.

But you and I don't have to wait that long to take advantage of this innovation. The Web contains enormous resources that preachers can use today in enhancing their study and effectiveness. Here is a brief sampling of some of the resources already available (and remember -- more are being added weekly):

Preaching Resources on the Web

One of the most obvious resources (at least to me) is the Preaching magazine web site -- particularly Preaching On-Line, the new on-line journal produced by the publisher of Preaching. While the Preaching web site offers selected samples from the printed publication, Preaching On-Line consists of entirely new materials (primarily sermons) which will not appear in any other form. Preaching On-Line is not an electronic version of Preaching; instead, it is an entirely different publication which provides new and different resources. If anything, it is an electronic supplement for the printed version.

Because of the limitations of print, Preaching cannot include even five percent of the material that is submitted annually. (If it did, you'd be holding a book the size of the old Sears Roebuck catalog!) Preaching On-Line enables us to showcase far more quality material than could ever appear in Preaching, and offers preaching ministers an enormous new treasure-chest of sermon ideas, exegetical insights, and useful illustrations. The cost is $29.95 per year (or a six-month sampler is available for $19.95); subscribers receive a new password each quarter. A one-month sample issue is available to preview at no cost; to review it, go to: http://www.preaching.com/preaching. You can order on-line, or by calling 1-800-288-9673.