Is This Technology a Threat or a Blessing to the Church? You Decide.

Mike Holmes | September 1, 2009 | View Comments Comments

I just read this post from Kerry Bural…and I must admit it shook me up. I showed it to my wife, she looked at me, and said the exact same thing I said when I saw it alone: that’s crazy!

Here’s what Kerry believes regarding technology:

“To be clear, I’m not advocating that we should follow every technological trend the world throws at us. In fact, if we’re not prayerful, thoughtful and intentional about how (and for what purposes) we utilize technology, we could be sucked into a distracting and expensive black hole. I do believe, however, that we should be willing to grapple with technological questions and not bury our heads in the sand when faced with them. Does technology provide opportunities for us to connect with people with whom we would otherwise not connect? Through technology, are we able to communicate the Message of Christ more effectively?”

What he makes are good points…so why was I shaken up?!

I was shaken up because even though I saw the good this new technology could bring…I also saw the evil it could do. Technology, like money, is a medium…and a medium itself is never bad. But the medium becomes evil when placed in an evil man’s hand. And don’t forget… we live in an evil world.

But don’t we (as believers) have the obligation to “redeem the times”? Or as Paul says, “Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity.” [1] Doesn’t technology grant us new opportunities? And as long as we “understand what the Lord wants”, shouldn’t we use these opportunities to glorify His Name?

You decide.

Ultimately, like Kerry says, these new technological advances must be embraced prayerfully and purposefully…but they must be embraced.

But without further ado…here’s the video that shook me up (watch it all…its not that long anyway. Get some popcorn, get off your feet, and relax a little):

Colossians 4:5 (The Message)

Filed Under: Christianity Today, Ministry

Bob Wagner

I agree that the church needs to use whatever technology they need in order to effectively minister to their flock. However I have seen where technology can easily become the main reason people go to church. The great sound, the multimedia presentations, The fancy power point presentations, the movie clips, the ability to text the pastor while he is teaching. All are great, but if this is the way you attract people, you will always have to stay up with technology. There are even churches that have a larger budget for multimedia and sound than they do missions and benevolence! There has been a swing in worship services, where once people went to church to actually worship God and use the mourning bench (altar) and now they are going to see the latest movie clip or drama presentation. Some larger church services even look like Broadway Productions. Surround Sound, Fog Machines, Dancers, Drama, Movie Clips, never even doing an altar call if they even still have one.

Then I have also been in services that had none of the above and the spirit of God was moving so strong that people were getting healed, delivered, and under such holy spirit conviction they actually ran to the altar with tears in their eyes crying out for Jesus to save them. I have even witnessed people say, they were drawn into the church like a magnet and lay their guns and drugs on the altar. Others would walk in the door and the spirit of God would be so strong strangers would ask; "What is that I feel?" and when you tell them it causes them to hit their knees.

If the word of God and the power of God is not strong enough to cause people to come to the church maybe there is not enough word or power of God in the services.

From my experience if the church would spend more time on their faces praying than they do doing sound checks, God would be doing awesome things in, to and through the church and people would come to experience Him rather than what man can do.

Get the spirit of God moving and HE will draw men unto Him and it wouldn't matter if people had to sit on a bale of hay in a barn; they would run to church and not want to leave.

Like Les wrote: Keep the main thing the main thing and all will be fine.

Great Discussion Mike!!
Les Szpakowski

I suspect, from seeing the Church be so slow, so defensive, and so frightened at embracing what Capone has so eloquently illustrated, i.e., if God has invested His creative spirit in(to) man, then let's use it for God's glory!

Now, that said, the means must never obstruct the message. So, let's by all means use technology and indeed every means at our disposal to spread the central message of God's redemptive love, and keep the main thing, the main thing.

Have a great day, and love others, even if they just don't 'get it'!
Capone DeLeon

IT TIME TO TAKE IT BACK!

God is our creator and he created us in his image, so we have not only an inherent need to create we have a responsibility to do so. It is the Lord who is the Creator and satan is just a thief. He can't create, he can only use the creations to twist them and distort them. Technology is one such creation that satan has twisted and distorted.

The internet is a marvelous creation of communication and connection, this is what we are supposed to be doing for the Lord, communicating his word and connecting with other Christians. However with satans hand in the pot we now have a creation where porn sites out number Christian sites. Is that the fault of the creation? No it is our fault for not using the technology to it's fullest to glorify the Lord.

We need to take back technology and use it for the Kingdom. If we are united and supportive of each other, we can take over the internet. If one porn site goes up, we need to put up 10 sites that will bring glory to the Kingdom. That is how we take back God's creation.

For me it's not even about keeping up with the times or appealing to the audience, which is Great in and of itself. To me it is about not leaving these tools in the hands of the enemy, if we are busy using it it become harder for satan to use it. It's being a good steward of what God gives us.

My other passion is music and that works the same way. Music is not evil, but evil can come out through the music they sing. That is why it is so important for me to produce as much music in my lifetime as I can in an effort to combat what is out there.

Take that Technology brother and make it sing for the Lord, because if you don't satan is ready to do something with it if you won't.

God Bless,
Glen Copple

Like the car, a gun, a baseball bat, a Bible, or a 3-piece business suit, it all depends on how you use it. We are well aware of abuses of each of the above mentioned items and many more things not listed. The computer, projection screen with slides or animations can promote immorality and evil or Christ and godliness. It's all on how it is used.

I used the computer heavily in writing and formatting the Getting To Know Jesus Bible study series. I am now using the Internet to tell the world about this non-denominational life-changing Bible study of every event in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Our church uses video technology with the worship songs and occasional sermon illustrations to communicate worship, God's truths and reach today's culture. The people we are trying to reach today use computers, Internet, video, texting, social networking and much more. It behoves us to use these same technologies to appeal to these crowds or lose them to the evil that is so prevalent out there.

God bless you as you are looking for ways to help others in Getting To Know Jesus.
Jim Yarborough

I know Kerry, and Kerry' s mind never stops . I think we are fortunate God called him into the ministry and most of his ideas go into trying to reach people for the kingdom of God.

Kerry is right, as a part owner in a technology company I am amazed everyday with concepts and ideas that come from all different directions.

The fact is the ideas are coming, from believers and non believers alike. I think the real difference is the ORIGIN of the ideas for Christians is the Master and thus it will be a master piece of synergy when all the pieces are woven together for his glory. This is direct contradiction to the idea that random concepts and products with no masterpiece blueprint working to mold the end product will result in anything other than the sums of the individual parts.
Michael Holmes

Jim...you are so right. Thank God we have him on our team:)