Simplicity -vs- Technology (Part Two)

Simplicity -vs- Technology (Part Two)

So what’s the appropriate perspective regarding Christianized forms of tech? Paul’s directive is insightful: “From now on, those who... use the world [should be] as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away” 1 Cor 7:31. He’s essentially saying, “Make use of it, sure; but don’t be enamored with it, don’t get caught up in it, don’t rely on it, and don’t you dare let it get in the way. The focus must always be on those things which will never pass away.” Stupidly simple, I know, but it’s not a maxim we seem to be following these days.

What if, above and beyond all of our helpful Christian media tech, we regained that which was so very good before tech ever came onto the scene? What if we returned to the radically simple proposition of verbally sharing the Word with one another? In the millennia prior to Jesus, when the Word of God was spoken, sincere God-followers paid acute attention, because they would rarely have any other means of accessing it or retaining it. They asked questions of those more experienced than themselves in order to discover more of it’s content and principles. They were directed to share it with friends and rehearse it with their children in the morning, while out and about, and again at night, lest this incomplete-yet-incalculably-precious, unwritten copy of the Bible become lost to the next generation or mis-remembered. God’s Word had to live in their day to day conversations.

Notice how this plays out when Jesus comes onto the scene. Incident #1: Andrew finds his brother and announces, “We have found the Messiah!” Incident #2: Phillip says to Nathaniel, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about...come see!” And incident #3: the woman at the well follows suit by asking her friends: “Could this be the Messiah?” Now think about this: the joyful announcements of Andrew, Phillip, and the unnamed woman would have been meaningless and non-motivating unless the concept of a messiah and the writings of the prophets had been previously discussed and mutually valued. These fishermen and outcasts not only valued the Word of God... they also discussed it with each other regularly as friends.

It’s only sensible, isn’t it? When we speak of God and His ways with the people we care about, it will heighten our mutual desire to know God, to serve Him together, and to see His Kingdom come. It will prepare us for what He wants to do. Use the media tech, yes, but don’t expect it to do the work for you; incorporate the Word directly into your relationships. And DON'T think that the limited "we're in church right now, and we're talking about God" conversations are sufficient, nor the orchestrated Bible Study discussions you may be involved in. Beyond both of these, discuss God and His ways as revealed in the Bible “on your own time,” so to speak, with those close to you.

Imagine a church whose people were preoccupied with the things of God in their daily lives and conversations... wouldn’t that be a place where Jesus might show up to do something new?

Technology -vs- Simplicity (Part One)

Media technology has deeply impacted Christian discipleship. Sure, there are all the negative, worldly influences channeled through modern media, but ignore that for a moment. Right now, I’m talking about worthwhile devotional technologies; stuff that we’ve harnessed to improve our walk with God; authentically helpful, modern add-ons to spiritual practice; media that we can warmly embrace as Christians...

A century ago, the first religious broadcasts hit the airwaves. The average person could now be blessed by speakers they might otherwise never hear, and shut-ins could vicariously enjoy the church services they’d been missing. What a blessing! But then healthy individuals began to stay home as well, amputating themselves from the Body of Christ. Many others started neglecting the voice of the Spirit, in favor of the voices of syndicated “experts” who would interpret Scripture for them, inspire them, and script their prayers for them. Christian media was already proving to be a mixed blessing.

When the Gospel made the jump to celluloid media, people actually started finding the Lord through movies! But it was, of necessity, a Gospel that had been edited, adjusted, directed and theatrically interpreted... omitting some aspects of the truth and frequently misrepresenting others. Meanwhile, the viewer was still left isolated from the Body of Christ.

In the 90's, the Bible began making it’s appearance via Power Point in many church services, and visitors could now, literally, read the writing on the wall. It was one less uncomfortable moment for the uninitiated, but it also made it easy for the already-saved to stop interacting with their personal Bibles, and easy for the returning visitor to never learn to do so in the first place.

Today, the explosion of Bible software is making Scripture more accessible than ever. We can compare translations, read trusted commentaries, and search for key verses and biblical answers to questions in just a few seconds. Nice, huh? But access to the text is not the same as familiarity with the text, and we’re becoming increasingly apathetic to that fact.

I won’t touch on Podcasts and downloads, CD’s, Tapes, or the proliferation of Christian books - the impact of each shares something in common with other categories already mentioned - yet there is still one more product of media technology we need to review. It’s the printed Bible. We are deeply indebted to Gutenberg’s printing press: through it’s advent, literate persons gained personal access to the Record of God’s works and Word across all of human history! But the more the Word of God became linked to the medium of the printed page, the more it became severed from the prior medium by which it had been communicated: people.

Process the implications a bit! I’ll post my follow-up within the next couple of weeks...

Waiting for Prestige

What do we want as the Body of Christ? What do we pray for? Often, both questions are answered as follows...

1) We want a leader who says the right things, does the right things, makes us feel loved and makes us feel inspired.
2) We want programs that are pertinent, exciting, and enticing to newcomers.
3) We want success, as measured by attendance numbers, bank statements, and site improvements.
4) We want a place where we feel good.

While I can appreciate the above factors as much as anyone, I have to point out this simple fact: there are very few small churches that successfully fire on even 3 of the above 4 cylinders. So they must forego Joy and Effectiveness until some magical moment when all this changes, right? God forbid. If Christian "success" is rightly described in the four items above, then it must be said that most of the churches found in the book of Acts never experienced it.

Maybe we need to switch from form to function.

When Jesus said to one individual, "You are not far from the kingdom of God," He wasn't pointing out that there was a megachurch located within 2 blocks of the street corner. When He stated that "The kingdom of God is among you," He wasn't informing the crowd that some impressive church ministry team had filtered in among them. Instead, He was plainly stating that the work and the power and the purpose of God was within reach of the common people - away from the respected work of priest or pharisee, outside of the fancy trappings of a temple, sans everything save Belief, Devotion, and Obedience in love. They could each step into the current of the very kingdom of God, by a simple (powerful) change in the foundation, focus, and thrust of their lives. We know of 11 average Joes who got in early on this deal and changed the world.

It's incredibly sad, in light of this, that we continue to languish. We measure our kingdom potential today by the outward appearances. We're like those in the Old Testament who whined for a king, with all the trappings [in our case: "We want what the bigger churches have!"], when God is perfectly ready to bless that which we feel is lackluster...

What if the desire, what if the prayers of the People of God shifted from a kingdom-of-this-earth mentality (outward trappings) to a kingdom of heaven mentality (soli Christo) in our pursuit of success? We've heard the kingdom of heaven terminology often and it's become familar, cursory and trite in it's connotations for us, but I'm asking you to really think through what it means.

Those who seek the outward trappings may be denied them. All the better. :) Those who seek the Kingdom itself will find doors opening as they persist in knocking. They will receive what they are continuing to ask for. They will find what they are seeking. They will have the desire of their heart fulfilled. They will see the common washed over with the supernatural. They will joyfully witness a world beginning to change around them.

Make clear before God, then, which it is that you are seeking: are you whining for prestige, or are you praying for the true power of the Kingdom?

Small Stuff

It's about 1972. Since my family will be leaving town tomorrow, a few days before Christmas break, my fourth grade teacher calls me up in front of the class to pick out a present from our class gift exchange. There had been no spending limit imposed on this exchange. I begin walking around this previously unmolested stash, shaking each gift while friends coach me on what might be inside of them (based on sound and size). Everyone's urging me to pick the present that they brought. This is cool. Then Brian blurts out that his parents' contribution was an AFX race set, that it was in the big package located at the back of the tree... and suddenly everyone wants me to pick that one.

So maybe you're out of the loop. Do I have to mention that in the pre-digital age an AFX Electronic Race set was absolutely THE ULTIMATE gift? The sounds, the electrical sparks, the trigger controls, the track lay-outs, the thrill of the race, the smell of burning electronics, the cars tail-whipping around the corners and occasionally flying off into the walls... I'd probably still play with one if I had one.

Our teacher throws me a curve by saying something like this: "Steve, you know... sometimes the most valuable gifts come in the smallest packages." I honestly give that some thought, but more than that, I think it's unfair to take such an awesome gift that noone else will get a chance at. And I must be thinking this out loud, because I hear Brian again: "Don't worry about it. Someone's going to get it anyway. C'mon, take the race set!"

Instead, I decide to be nice and choose the smallest package I can find under the class tree. Then I begin to open it in front of the class (as directed), hoping that it will be something really cool or really valuable, just like my teacher had said. I take a moment to admire what I find inside. I demonstrate to the class how one of the pieces moves, say thanks to the gift giver and return to my desk... greatly disappointed. The gift I'd received was a pencil box with a sliding cover - worth about a dollar by today's standards.

But the real story of that day wasn't about me. It was about Mike. He came up after class and said, "I can't believe you chose my present over Brian's!" He'd been ashamed that he had nothing better to give, suffering his own turmoil about what would happen when someone finally "got stuck" with his present, but was now in a state of awe and joy appropriate to a fourth grader experiencing this unexpected turn of events.
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Let's try to translate the above into church terms. You're probably aware of some "AFX" churches out there; maybe there are even some near you. They have everything that anyone could ever want, and they make you feel ashamed of your little "pencil box" church.

Don't be ashamed. Be expectant.

God has a habit of seeking out the small and unimportant - the pencil boxes - in order to showcase His glory. Why? Let me give you four good reasons. 1) Because it gets people's attention. It awakens them to a different set of values than what the world normally follows, just as my unusual choice in the class gift exchange did for my classmates. 2) Because it's clear Who should get the credit when great things begin to happen in these unlikely places. 3) Because those who have no strength of their own and no confidence in their own abilities will be much more likely to rely upon God and obey Him when He attempts to lead them forward. Have no doubt: God would rather begin with a humble pencil box church that wants to be transformed than get stuck with a self-satisfied AFX church that's unresponsive to His promptings. 4) Because it makes us feel like Mike! And by the way, God's not disappointed like I was; He knows exactly what He's getting ahead of time when He chooses your little pencil box.

Am I being simplistic? You bet. Simply put, your "pencil box" is a candidate for God's glory! We'll add other considerations later, but for now, praise God for this simple truth.

1 Cor 1:27-29, 31 "God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God... so that, just as it is written, 'LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.'" ...not in their own efforts, strategies, use of resources, etc., but simply in Him.