I am always curious to see what technology has in store for us. As this lengthy web video shows, there is room for the online world to contribute to our lives in EVERY setting. We can interact with a single device to learn about everything we see, to record our lives, and to control our transactions. It can effect our relationships, our purchases, and our travel plans.
The key questions I have begun asking myself is: “where is this information coming from? & Are these sources trustworthy and unbiased?” My fear is that a device will come along that is extremely helpful, but extremely biased, and that it’s bias will lead us to act maliciously toward a group of people, a specific country, or against the church.
Continue reading about New Technology: Metadata for Everything
If you have a desire to meet and be used as a witness to non-Christians, then you MUST have a look at this powerful networking tool. It’s one of the biggest evangelism fields I know of. Think about it: a listing of local groups that meet for the specific purpose of discussion. Search by interest, search by zipcode. Join a discussion of travelers or photographers or atheists.
A common statistic in evangelistic conversations today is the Christian’s isolation from the non-believing world. I believe this is a technological blessing that helps earnest people to stretch their social network for the sake of the gospel How many secular social gatherings do you find yourselves in?
Have a look at the local networks in the top 20 results from my area, then think about surfing www.meetup.com for yourself and getting involved in a local discussion or two.
Continue reading about Online Social Networking Part 2: Meetups…
The world is changing so quickly…it’s almost unthinkable to attempt to consider the future. A huge number of children will solve problems and work in jobs that do not even exist today… This begs the question, how should we seek to prepare leaders of the future church???
Watch this video, then have a look at my suggestions below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9nmUB2qls[/youtube]My suggestions:
1. Teach them to accurately interpret the Word of God, and create a foundational center of information where the people of the world can go to find a trustworthy source of those interpretations. Because the word of God does not change, and if we can give people the universal principles of the Word of God, they can apply it effectively.
2. Make the major task of the church to train up leaders of character and effectiveness for future generations. If our main task as a church is leadership development, then one thing is for certain: We will multiply our influence, rather than see it diminish. We cannot simply judge our progress on our own performance. The acid test of our lives should be that we ensured that more people would carry our work on after we’ve passed away.
Continue reading about Another Reason Why Ministers Need to Immerse Themselves in Culture
Loved, I repeat, LOVED the unconference last week. I can think of nothing better than the time I spent there, hearing the discussion between 50+ people over their use of technology for the gospel. What was gained from the time? Here are a few thoughts and links.
First and foremost, I added a host of twitter contacts, so that I can keep track of relevant blog posts and updates in the lives of those who are like-minded in their use of technology.
Secondly, I surfed through and began using a number of new internet applications, integrating Twitter with by blog, utilizing the Twitter search features to expand my network, and finding ample connection to ministry-minded individuals via ROOV.com.
Finally, I had a number of key concepts strike me during our discussions over the use of the internet. Here are the footnotes:
- People share their lives/thoughts/experiences like never before–but they are doing it in the online arena. Where else can you learn about people’s favorite books, see pictures of their adventures, and hear their laments over the toils of life. Sure, they don’t share marriage issues, or personal vices, but following the details of their lives for years can open the door to knowing them well enough to engage them in those more intimate conversations.
- People can connect with others nationally and internationally in ways that are not physically possible, especially in closed countries, and in forming these connections, can facilitate things like Community groups, one-on-one discipleship, Theological Education, and sustaining missions partnerships.
- People in today’s society are intensely mobile (travel a LOT). How do we encourage a depth of discipleship in a world that by default leans toward surface meetings? It seems to necessitate the use of technology.
- We need to look at the portal of the internet through the lens of people’s spiritual gifts and passions. The gift of evangelism can find special expression via the internet…and we need to help guide people with that gift to the right tools.
- How do we define church? We need to come to a conclusion on this issue, then use the definition of church to help us frame what we are doing online.
