'm waiting for the day when, if you tell someone 'I'm from the Internet,' instead of laughing they'll just ask, 'Oh, what part?'" If you don't know where this quote comes from, then you are probably not "from the Internet." If you are "from the Internet," and you still don't know where this quote comes from, then you probably selected it, quotes and all, and Googled it. If you didn't know "Google" was a verb, then you're not even close to on your way to being "from the Internet."

In Christian circles, there is often a distinction made between "The Church" and "The World." But The World is so much more than just a world - it's an Alternate Universe; a vast array of thought and humanity divided into little clumps. As we open "The Portal" today, we visit one of these clumps: The Internet.

It's easy to write off the Internet as a tool or mere source of information, but there is a brand of humanity that finds its home on the Internet. They regularly visit social forums and Web sites such as Digg.com, YouTube, Reddit (in the deepest areas of the Internet, MySpace will get you laughed at) and post comments, make friends and learn what's going on in their sphere of interest.

In fact, Internet culture, or cyberculture, is made up of so many different types of people that it's a lot like a little, intangible version of Earth. The biggest difference is that on the Internet you can go anywhere instantly with a click, and the most important difference is that on the Internet there are no social church forums. This is a significant phenomenon, given that before the invention of computers the most popular social forums were churches.

It's impossible to write all about the Internet in one little column. Search Wikipedia for such things as memes, lolcats and leetspeak, and you'll get the idea. The point is that the Internet is not just a tool. It's a mission field. It's not hard to start relationships with people on the Internet. Leave comments on Web sites, use Instant Messaging services like Google Talk (AIM is in the same boat as MySpace), and play online video games, and you'll get people's attention.

The worst thing you could do is ignore the Internet as a mission field. Even when someone's front door is locked, you can usually get through their firewall.