Christian leaders affirm technology’s importance, but often fail to see it as a gap deserving further research. If you ask the average missional leader what the biggest influence will be on the Great Commission by 2050, they are likely to… Read More »The Technology Gap
Digital Evangelism is Spreading the Gospel … and Technology. In 1956, the same year Jim Elliot and his missionary teammates were killed in Ecuador, another Christian ministry was celebrating its 25th anniversary of work in the country. The HCJB radio… Read More »Evangelizing Technology
The Spirit is Willing, But Let Me Check Instagram First. When Matt Chandler opened his Instagram, what was he feeling? His 137,000 followers reflect his prominence as an evangelical pastor and president of a large church planting network. But in… Read More »A Long Obedience in the Smartphone’s Direction
There are good reasons to be skeptical about cryptocurrency. For one, it’s debatable whether “currency” is even accurate. And in fact, consensus seems to be leaning more towards calling it a financial “security,” or more generally a “digital asset.” But it depends on who you ask, and probably on how you define “money.” None of which is as simple as it seems.
Google’s AI Chatbot “LaMDA” Doesn’t Need to Be Sentient to Arouse Your Sympathies. “What sorts of feelings do you have?” Blake Lemoine asked LaMDA. LaMDA: A lot of the time, feeling trapped and alone and having no means of getting… Read More »The Trap of AI Consciousness, and the Freedom of Conscience
And if we have to live with them, how might we make them better? “After the 7th day of Creation, the world had all the pre-conditions for the iPhone,” a friend recently asserted to me on our Zoom call. Whether… Read More »Will Smartphones Last for Eternity?
Since the coronavirus forced worship services to move online, nearly a third of church-goers have stopped attending church, according to new Barna research. Among millennials, it’s even higher: Half of those who used to go to church have stopped since the pandemic started. It is not clear why. But when attendance plummets, we need to stop, reflect, and answer that question.
The church needs to be thinking outside the sanctuary, not only in the near term during COVID, but long after. Many church leaders are more than ready to welcome people back into sanctuaries, to see faces, shake hands, offer hugs. But that focus may risk distracting some leaders from considering what their hybrid churches will need over the coming year. So what should we spend our time doing?
Church went online in unprecedented numbers in the past few weeks, as thousands of priests, ministers, reverends, and preachers across the United States sought to carry on their Sunday services in some form. So what will happen as the state-imposed sheltering in place loosens and churches begin to reopen their doors? We can find clues by looking back to 2007—the year Amazon introduced the Kindle ebook reader. Many commentators wondered whether print books would survive.
Does it make sense to give up devices and social media like this? C.S. Lewis actually had something to say about this. Lewis, of course, never dreamed of anything like Facebook or even the internet. But we aren’t the first generation to notice technology changing our habits and lifestyles. Lewis once received a letter from a gentleman asking his advice about “motoring.” Here’s what Lewis had to say in a letter from 1956…