Okay. So I know technology changes faster than we realize. I understand the church sometimes lags behind in the technology race. I understand that sometimes it’s okay to. But when I ran into this article, I couldn’t believe how far behind we are, as the church. The article was from June of 2006, yes, six months ago. For those of you who will not read the article, it speaks of how good PowerPoint can be to enhance a service, how cell phones can be distracting in a service. PowerPoint. Was the article talking about how helpful PowerPoint can be? Powerpoint 2 came out in 1987. Stop….let it sink in. Yep, that’s almost 20 years ago. Granted, you can do alot more with PowerPoint today with adding sound, tables, and much more complex variables. Cell phones being intrusive to a service? Of course, but who doesn’t know how to put the phone on vibrate or leave it off completely. That’s not the technology’s fault. It’s the old “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” argument. Phones going off during service don’t irritate me, the person who doesn’t turn it on vibrate or off, irritates me.
I liked that the article brought out the point of PDA’s. I enjoy having SmartBible on my Treo, in 2 different versions(NASB & KJV(for the ‘I hate anything new’ crowd)). I have a copy of God’s Word anywhere I am. Anywhere. I don’t enjoy the stares I get while in church, following scripture with the pastor, on my cell phone. I guess people don’t get it sometimes. Technology can be good! Christians can use all different types of technology to not only enchance their personal walks, but also to spread the gospel.
When reading the Rev. Goodier’s remarks about accessing the Bible on a PDA, did you catch the almost dare I say, arrogance? “It can be a convenience.” Of course he still carries around his pocket sized copy of the Bible. So what’s the problem? Is it because it’s not on paper, or because it’s on a cell phone? Am I reading it wrong? Then he’s back to the PowerPoint. Geez, give me a break. He’s acting like he’s using a technology no one’s ever heard of. Point of Interest: my eight year old nephew can put together a PowerPoint presentation. I’m scared to imagine what the good Rev. might say if he came into one of my church services, powered with MediaShout and it’s use of moving backgrounds and animated words. I would guess it might be a while before he explores the amazing world of DigitalJuice.com.
It’s my same old complaint. The church will stumble on to some form of technology that helps their spreading of the gospel, only to find out that the business world has been using it successfully for years, sometimes decades. It’s like thirdfloorthoughts commented on 12/14/06, we need to be operating ahead of the curve, not behind it. It’s time to put away our petty preconceived notions about different technologies and use what we can to reach this world. Believe me, someone is going to reach every person in this world. The question remains, will it be us or the world? The world’s got a pretty good head start on us. It’s time to stop arguing about issues that we are scared of and start using technology to get things done. Sounds pretty simple to me.
Until next time.
Filed under: Church Business, Future Planning, Multimedia, Outreach, Public Relations, Resources, Technology, church
i have been quoted, i am humbled… again, i think that you make very valid points… the other thing that i feel this points out, and would be curious as to your take on, is the lack of the “know-how” generation within the church, if not at least within leadership… i was reading the top 50 most influential Christians, and while i have the utmost respect for the men on the list, there was, to my knowledge, one man under 40… i get that with age comes wisdom and influence… but, i fear that there are knowledgable, capable, technology-equipped servants and ministers that are sitting in churches untapped… sorry, got a little preachy there… thoughts?
Preachy? Not at all. I, like you, understand that it takes a while to gain influence, especially in something as big as Christianity. I believe there is a lack of simple know-how on the part of the church. I think the reason is lack of interest or care in the general body of Christ. I think most Christians believe that God can do anything (as do I) and if He wants the church to stay up to date, He will do it. Which I also believe is true. I think where they miss the ball is that the method He chooses to stay up to date, is us. We have to be the ones who are current.
I believe more and more younger Christians will start to be the influencers. We have to be. In order for the church to survive, we need the younger generation to become the influencers. I think that as media becomes more important in the world it forces us to stay more up to date with it. Which is the reason I created ChurchForward, to give the smaller church at least the opportunity to have an affordable website. Beyond that, even who we consider the ‘young’ influencers like Andy Stanley and Ed Young, Jr. aren’t as young anymore.
My fear is the same as yours, that there are many technology equipped servants in the pews who are ready to be great leaders. The problem is many times the leadership in their church isn’t able to spot that and utilize it for the Kingdom. I think we lose alot now and will lose even more in the future unless leadership finds a way to spot and then tap into that God-given talent.
Well, I guess I know what the blog will be tomorrow! So I thank you for that and another great comment.
For those of you who are looking for video backgrounds for your worship services, you might want to check out Studio 1 Productions at http://www.studio1productions.com they have a large selection of video backgrounds at a fairly low price. Just a thought