Technology and the Church

(Guest Writer - Jonathan Moss, NC) Whether you choose to believe it or not, the world around us is growing rapidly.  The sheer amount of information that is flowing around the world is growing at an exponential rate.  Even the most insulated among us are swept away every day with a tidal wave of binary code and radio waves.

It’s creepy and cool at the same time, but what does this have to do with the church?  Thanks for asking.

I am in the process of reading the book UnChristian, which describes the ways that technology connects us. The authors write, “Technologies connect young people [16-to-29 year olds] to information and each other – and power their self-expression and creativity – in ways older adults do not fully appreciate.”

If information is moving so fast and the same technology that is used to accelerate information is shaping the values of young people, then where is the Church in the middle of all of this? Unfortunately, not front and center.

We, the Church, must be willing to go to the ends of the earth to reach out to people using various methods, especially the those young people who are a part of a younger generation.  We have to make better use of social media.

That’s where all this technology and information comes together.  Communication, openness, and the political power-word of the year, transparency, must play a huge role in the  effectiveness of the Church in the 21^st century. We must be willing to spread the Gospel to everyone as they are, and more importantly, where they are. 

If we are really serious about reaching the world for Christ, then we must make use of the various avenues available to us. Only then will we reach people with the same Gospel that the apostles died for.

What kind of Social Media do you use? Can we really use social media to advance the Kingdom, or is it all a trend that is simply going to die off in a few years? 

Wanna see more on this: Check out this YouTube video.

Post-Convention Pastoring

This year's political conventions were the most memorable of any in my recent memory. The first black Presidential nominee, potentially the first female Vice-President, the gulf storms completely altering the first day of the Republican convention and an unprecedented amount of tech-heavy fanfare across the board.

Normally, political hoopla of this magnitude will be paralleled by public, political posturing by some of America's most prominent Christian leaders. But this year may be different. In the last year or two, many Christians have reacted against "the over-politicization of the American Church." (I could cite many articles and books like the recent bestseller Unchristian and We the Purple.) This year, I think many people hope that Church leaders will take the opportunity to react differently than in the past.

This is the thrust of my article for the newly-launched ministry quarterly, Neue, entitled, Post-Convention Pastoring. In it, I encourage those of us in ministry to "lead like Jesus" by avoiding partisan posturing and, instead, sticking to the issues and values that Jesus promoted.

Take a minute to read the article and let me know your thoughts and opinions.