Calling a Lifechurch.tv experience virtual seems a bit odd since even their in-person services are mostly virtual (they have multiple campuses/services in multiple states that broadcast the sermon – performed at lifechurch HQ in Oklahoma City – via satellite).  But this past Sunday a few friends and I crashed the truly virtual LifeChurch.tv service in Second Life – an online, virtual world with 7.5 million inhabitants and a real economy.  Kester in London and David here in Phoenix joined me for the experience.  Here's a short pictorial account of our experience: (click on the images for a more detailed look)

With no sign of Kester in the lobby, David and I grab some coffee and step into the sanctuary.  Looks almost identical to the three other Lifechurch.tv campuses I have seen. There's not a ton of people, but more than I expected.  The worship is piped in live via Quicktime.  People are raising their hands and shouting praises via the chat tools.

David and I make our way to the left-front of the room to get a better view.  Most people are sitting (with the usual 4-seat buffer), some are standing with their hands raised.  David (whose second life identity is a white haired hobbit? named Sonipa Jie) gets bored and shows me some karate moves he learned.  Still no Kester.

We take our seats in the front row and look around.  I am still holding on to my Lifechurch.tv coffee cup unsure of how to put it down. This is a good angle to catch a glimpse at the variety of worshippers here.

Not even through one song, David and I become tired of just sitting while watching singing heads. We rush the stage and stand around there for a few minutes. No one bothers us, no one even says anything to us. We've heard these SecondLifechurch.tv services often get disrupted by streakers.  The threat we pose is insignificant when compared to nudity.  So we hop off stage and after a few minutes, leave Second Life altogether.

An hour later:

I log back on to see if maybe Kester got the time wrong.  I meet up with him behind the church building .  He isn't wearing any clothes. He says he was at the service on time, but got kicked out because of his nudity.  Being new to Second Life, he has no idea how to put on his clothes.

After a few minutes of talking about the experience, some others approach us and ask Kester to put on some clothes.  He puts on a pair of underwear.  Strangely enough, they are satisfied with this much clothing and leave us alone.

Kester has posted a much more insightful glimpse into our experience on his blog.  Check it out.