*****WARNING! This is a rant off the top of my soap box so for those with weak stomachs, take a pass.*****
Recently I heard someone make the point that we as Christians today & churches today seem to DEPEND on technology to spread the Gospel. I really thought that through & started to agree the more I thought about it. That we (not all, but some) are getting lazy & soft in our "duty call" as Christians. We are depending too much on technology & the ease it gives us in spreading the Word. If we have a website for our church with instructions on how to believe & be baptized, that's less contact on our part. Do we KNOW the person really understands? We haven't been there to study with them to see their growth & understanding. Or instead of a prayer request phone chain in the church, e-mails. What about an automated phone call cancelling services? What if the overhead projector is down? Can the preacher give his lesson? If the flat screen televisions aren't working, how will we read the scriptures or get the song numbers to turn to??
I personally finding it VERY distracting when someone is having "technical trouble" and so servies are haltingly interupted to fix the issue like we don't know how to go on. PLUEEEZE!!!!
The internet & information age has helped the churches of today there is no doubt or question there. Technology has furthered some of the churches progress & ability to minister. I have seen several people baptized through the English Bible courses through e-mail in Japan. It's a way to reach people through teaching them English using the Bible. Use their curiosity in the Word as well as their ability to communicate through international e-mails. But where is the line? Why bother to bring your Bible to church anymore? They'll have the scriptures & songs up on the screen for everyone to see. During the sermon there's no need to turn to the scriptures because it's all typed out for you. And it IS bigger print than my Bible has. Shoot! Who needs a Bible? I have my PalmPilot with a scripture program loaded into it! I can point & click and bring up any scripture I need to. That's not distracting at ALL! Just to kids in a 12 pew radius.
My fear is anymore it's getting more unique to have human contact with our souls we're trying to win. Hurricane Katrina helped us get back in touch with gathering physical supplies & taking them to those in need. Physically getting up & doing something. Taking things to shut-ins & widows. Does anyone remember the verse in James where we are called to look after the widows & orphans? How about their groceries, medicines, lawns mowed? Making sure your flock & those in need, have their needs physically met. Or are we more concerned about the youth group or young marrieds? Everyone has needs & it is important to not neglect our youth as they are the church of tomorrow. But are we leading by example? Showing them WHO is important in the congregation? That each one is important & has their place to fullfill?
Churches with the loudest bands/choirs/instruments, worship services & most charasmatic preaching, are the ones winning the prizes for most pews filled. Do you think there's some award waiting for you somewhere? "I Entertained the Masses & All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt". Pews are packed with people now a days waiting to be "moved" during their worship service. Waiting to FEEL "saved" & "born again". Wanting to attend a church where it's like watching an interactive television program rather than being there to learn & lift one another up in encouragement so we can face our week "in the world". Are you there to learn from the Word of God, or be kept awake by the happiest, loudest service?
We might find it old fashioned to door-knock anymore, and I have no doubt many would be scared to open their doors very wide in this day & age. But I hope that when we go & preach the Gospel, as Jesus instructed his disciples in Mark 16, we really will GO & not just wear a t-shirt with the name & location of our church building hoping that brings some curious people in on Sunday. We'll actually SEE the person or really get out an old worn copy of the Word to show the scriptures that tell us as sinners to repent & be baptized, rather than present our case like it was a board room full of CEO's impressed with the latest techno gadgets we're using. It wasn't THAT long ago many Christians gathered in homes to worship in secret & it was all done by lamp or candlelight. We're called in Mark to "go out into all the world & preach the Gospel". Matthew says to let our lights shine and I don't think he means laser pointers people. Technology should be an asset to our ministry, not the sole means of winning souls.
****stepping down from soapbox now*****
3 comments:
I never payed attention to it growing up, but once I chose an art education I realized how devoid of art many churches are. Substance over style, I suppose, a tip of the hat to the first Christians who met in homes or catacombs. Another oft-cited reason was an aversion to idolatry, or the over-emphasis on symbols. It certainly is interesting how churches that would not hang a painting of the Last Supper twenty years ago are now hanging big screens on their walls.
The church building I have been in that most triggered a mood of worship? The Catholic cathedral in Little Rock. Holy. Cow. Vaulted ceilings, statues, marbled pillars, paintings, stained glass, crosses. Despite containing not a single megapixel, the holy relic in the box up front was mood-setting (despite the fact I was telling myself it was probably the bone fragment of a mule and someone decided it belonged to Saint Whatshisname).
I'm not necessarily against multimedia. I'm not against iconography. What matters, as Julie pointed out, is the Word. The Good News should be able to sell itself. Any good idea or truth should cut through defenses like a hot knife through butter. Hiding it inside a spoonful of sugar might get people in the door, but many begin to equate Christianity with entertainment or even a psychological "high" --- a high that is rarely sustained. Christianity is not a promise of good times or perpetual fervor. It is rooted in faith, based on God's words. I see way too many people that are gung-ho about being a Christian, but are frighteningly ignorant of Scripture and don't apply the Scripture they DO know to everyday living.
In our age, with computers, television, video games, and mass media... it is SO alluring to take the toys we live with each day and try to use them to evangelize. I'm not saying that's wrong. Nor does, Julie. Is there a point, however, when the message gets lost in the medium? Is there a point where technology skews our priorities?
I agree with the essence of your post, if not every point in it. The main thing, as you said, is to make sure you're spreading the gospel through real, authentic relationships with the lost, whether that be communicated through emails or time spent poring over the printed Word together.
Certainly we should be careful that technology does not take over the spotlight and diminish the simplicity of the gospel message and its power to save and illuminate. But I think it would be shortsighted to disregard the huge place technology now occupies in human communication, and we should strive to take advantage of the pathways that have already been paved into people's homes and lives--TV, internet, etc.--when we consider all the different ways the saving message can be communicated.
Nothing will ever take the place of human interaction in spreading the good news and serving each other (I'm not a fan of the automated prayer line, for example), but there's no reason that we should not use the tools that are available to us as we make those connections to the lost.
For sure, the message should never be watered down for mass consumption, or obscured by "entertainment" in our services. There definitely is a fine line to walk here, and I think most churches are struggling to find it.
I agree with a lot that you say, but I do know technology has allowed many open doors. I can now "facebook" my college kids when they are missing to find out what's up. And, I have a former co-worker who is an atheist that links to my blog and I pray she reads mine regularly.
But, the downside I see is the growing up of a faceless generation. My college students would rather text me or e-mail me, or IM me than call me or meet face to face. Although that allows for a great way to stay connected, it shouldn't replace old-fashioned verbal communication.
***stepping off my soapbox now***
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