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Blessings and Curses of Technology
A Response to Al Erisman's 'The Face-to-Face Gospel and the Death of Distance'
To facilitate a truly global conversation, we ask Christian leaders from around the world to respond to the Global Conversation's lead articles. These points of view do not necessarily represent Christianity Today magazine or the Lausanne Movement. They are designed to stimulate discussion from all points of the compass and from different segments of the Christian community. Please add your perspective by posting a comment so that we can learn and grow together in the unity of the Spirit.
I often awake at 5 AM, not quite ready to get out of the bed. So I click a preset button on my mobile phone and for the next hour or so listen through a book of the Bible. I couldn't have done this just a few years ago.
Even in the days when audio Bibles in mobile phones did not exist, there were quite astonishing technologies revolutionizing the way we could interact with the Bible. Just 15 years ago I installed an online Bible on my personal computer and on the computers I sold. Using Strong's Concordance, I found myself, a layman, comparing the English text with the original languages. Indeed, it was a celebration of "the death of distance" between modern English and the original languages of the Bible. I could now prepare more detailed notes for use in a Bible study or a sermon.
Since I am now able to listen to the Bible almost anywhere and anytime, I can convert wasted time into profitable time. And ministry? The audio Bible in the fingernail-sized 1.5 GB MicroSD is increasingly my gift to those who admire my own audio Bible.
That is not to say all technological developments have a positive contribution. When from the pulpit my eyes fall on a member of the audience texting as I preach, I am rudely reminded of the disorienting impact of technology. When someone tells me their e-mail address has been hijacked and is now being used to send out invitations to porn sites, I feel both angry and helpless because I know such evil will continue unabated.
I do not desire all that is traditional to give way to technological approaches. I don't want technology to replace the intimacy of my personal conversations with brothers. I have gotten used to new recorded worship choruses that use more instrumentation than voices, but I'd still rather be part of a congregation where I sing old Christian hymns, even if the words are now projected on a screen instead of read from a printed hymn book.
Sometimes technological advances are outright retrogressive. Very personally, to cite only one example, all the floppy diskettes on which I "saved" important notes are now unusable, while my written scrap pads from the 80s still survive.
The key, therefore, is to understand what best fits the context and then do our best to apply technology appropriately—for ourselves and for ministry. As part of the human race we will suffer through poorly designed PowerPoint presentations or agonizing conversations over a poor connection. And think about when brethren "spam" others with e-mails laden with 5mb attachments, causing the recipient to grudgingly pay per megabyte to receive the unsolicited mail. Not prudent. However, we know the dark side will apply to any development—technological, social, or cultural. We live in an imperfect world, where we still see as in a mirror, albeit much clearer mirrors than the brass types of the first century.
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Jenifer Manzo
I really appreciated this conversation. I think so often the Christian community gets left behind in major changes happening in the world. We were behind on Abortion and I think we are behind on technology but hopefully not quite as much! I do have one concern though - it has to do with the video. Sometimes creating robots in the image of man (including emotions) can come across as playing god. Maybe that's just my old-school bringing up but it makes me nervous. There is such a fine line between creating things that will help people while at the same time creating something that would be used for destruction. That being said though I really appreciate seeing Christians out there who are working to stay in the fore-front of this rapidly developing area. Hopefully more and more Christians will be willing to do the same in other areas as well.
Shannon
I was struck by what Wha-Chul Son's statement about a paradigm shift. We facing the ramifications of the advances in technology. The advances will not stop regardless of our positive or negative feelings about them. Our thinking should now address what we are going to do. We should also consider how our biblical worldview will influence our use and distribution of technology.
Michael Pavek
This was a great article that is leading me to explore how we use technology at our church. We're discussing doing a video podcast of our sermons and are looking for ways to actively engage people online to spread the Good News of Jesus' Salvation.
Marilyn Adamson, United States
I especially liked the question, "Does real preaching require real presence?" I personally am very grateful for Paul's preaching in Romans, though Paul is not with us. Written form was God's means of getting the gospel to millions, without preachers being face-to-face with millions. Same with Billy Graham on TV. Now we have the opportunity to give the gospel to those searching while in their homes, offices or college campuses. It no longer is only at our choosing....people who do not yet have a relationship with God are searching, taking the initiative on Google, asking questions like "does God exist?" I'm so glad we can provide an answer to the millions whom God is wanting to draw to himself, like at EveryStudent.com. I am grateful there is no distance between our message and those wanting to find it.
Alan Young, Australia
An excellent article. I am struggling with the issue of the use of modern technology in the church. It has now reached the stage where we don't need to take our Bibles to church because the scripture readings are all on the screen. Our young people read from their Ipods and mobile phones. Are we losing the importance of knowing how to use our Bibles? Does it really matter?? Carrying ones Bible used to be a sign of our loyalty to the Lord.
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