Whatever and the Web
18 01 11 21:42 Filed in: Reflections
Having spent a good chunk of my life serving churches, I have a lot of church-involved friends who I am probably about to irritate. They may not like hearing me say that far too often, church technology stinks. (Have you looked at any church web sites recently?) There might be a nice way of saying that, but I’m not sure what it is. Sometimes the naked truth needs to be naked.
I suppose it has something to do with the reluctance with which many Christians approach the cutting edge of technology, fearful that it may cut them. I understand that. I consciously avoided texting for several years until it dawned on me that I was missing out on another way to tell my family I loved them. I continue to avoid jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. Blame it on my age if you want; I was born just before the baby boom, and as one who straddles two worlds, I sometimes embrace technology the way I would embrace a porcupine.
I was amused (but not surprised) to discover today that a church I know has a page on facebook, placed there, I would guess, by one of its members. However, nobody knows the page is there, and it contains no information at all beyond the church’s name. Worse yet, the page boldly declares “0 people like this.” Not even the person who created the page? I’m pretty sure that’s not the message this group of believers wants to convey. (Okay, I know you want to go check to see if it’s YOUR church. Go ahead; I’ll wait....)
I am blessed when I come across a church web site that is thoughtfully designed and communicates clearly. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I think the best church web site I have seen belongs to a little congregation of less than 50 people who don’t even have a building. But they know how to use contemporary technology to connect effectively. I used to wonder how (or if) Jesus would have used the web until I remembered that God created a web and called it the church.
Whatever you do - even technology? - do it all to the glory of God.
I suppose it has something to do with the reluctance with which many Christians approach the cutting edge of technology, fearful that it may cut them. I understand that. I consciously avoided texting for several years until it dawned on me that I was missing out on another way to tell my family I loved them. I continue to avoid jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. Blame it on my age if you want; I was born just before the baby boom, and as one who straddles two worlds, I sometimes embrace technology the way I would embrace a porcupine.
I was amused (but not surprised) to discover today that a church I know has a page on facebook, placed there, I would guess, by one of its members. However, nobody knows the page is there, and it contains no information at all beyond the church’s name. Worse yet, the page boldly declares “0 people like this.” Not even the person who created the page? I’m pretty sure that’s not the message this group of believers wants to convey. (Okay, I know you want to go check to see if it’s YOUR church. Go ahead; I’ll wait....)
I am blessed when I come across a church web site that is thoughtfully designed and communicates clearly. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I think the best church web site I have seen belongs to a little congregation of less than 50 people who don’t even have a building. But they know how to use contemporary technology to connect effectively. I used to wonder how (or if) Jesus would have used the web until I remembered that God created a web and called it the church.
Whatever you do - even technology? - do it all to the glory of God.
blog comments powered by Disqus