Are we drowning out the Holy Spirit? When does technology just get in the way?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 01:17PM It's a Sunday morning and you can feel the reverence as individuals quietly gather to worship the Almighty God. Within minutes, the drums start banging, the powerpoint images flash across a huge screen, the sound system amplifies the music that compels the people to join in singing with voices long-drowned out by the high-tech speakers. The spotlight illuminates the glowing cross. Its a worship "experience" on the highest technological level. The question is, however, has the technology made God more or less visible?
How about a less flashy example. You get a new phone and figure out how to text using just your thumbs. Cool. You send fun little messages to each of the guys in your youth group. They think you are so "happening!" As you sit and text more "hey, dude!" messages, two youth groups kids wander by unnoticed.
Technology can provide a GREAT way to get students' attention. It can be an effective way to build connections with the students you work with. It can also add to the noise. If you are thinking about using some piece of technology, whether it be some cool video in youth group or a new Facebook page, stop and think about what the technology will give you--and what it will cost you. Just like any tool, whether it be a hammer or a text message, technology needs to be used purposefully. If the tool will help draw your students closer to Jesus Christ, then use it. If the technolopgy is really cool and even a little fun, but does nothing to build important relationships or focus a message, then think twice.
Our students have a lot of noise in their lives. Whether it be t.v., IPods, cell phones, video games, or computers, they probably don't need more of the same. In fact, sometimes what they need is silence. Its a scarey thing. But silence might be what it takes for them to hear God's small, still voice. Maybe a youth group event that disconnects students and focuses on silence would be more flashy and attention-getting than an expensive video or high-tech game. Maybe a meeting at McDonald's or a walk down the sidewalk with a student would do more connecting than a thousand text messages.
So, before you get all wired up, think about what you want your technology to do. Instead of yelling louder through the technological noise, you may just want to send a whisper to softly touch the heart of your kids.
Reader Comments (3)
Peggy, wonderful comments.
I appreciate how you didn't automatically assume that technology automatically make God less visible - just that the potential is there every bit as much as in a Church where the mystery of God seems to have been forgotten in the midst of "well I like those old hymns, they make me feel good."
When I talk to people about making use of technology in worship I always do it from an Ancient-Future perspective. Technology can't be allowed to replace the mystery of encountering God in the liturgy of worship - but it can be used to connect to people who are used to seeing things "on-screen," while simultaneously leading people into the contemplation of the mystery of God.
The problem is, using technology this way takes thought, reflection, and work - and the local church has been in the mode of "practical" and "keeping the doors open" for so long that it's like breaking a drug-addiction to shepherd folks in that direction (whether technologically dead, or thriving).
Well, if you think about it, "technology" can be anything from a hymnal to a laser light show. I can imagine what the priests thought when the first hymnals hit the pews. It provided a whole different way of thinking--they may have been afraid their parishioners would pay more attention to the text instead of the entire worship experience. Less memory and internalization of the ideas and more reading.
Thats probably true with the technology of our age. We are changing the way we think. According to Ellul, we have become visual thinkers, processing everything from love and war to grace and salvation from a visual perspective. As a result, we should be aware that, if we want to educate people and move people, we probably need to include the visual--whether it be through sermon stories or videos.
You're right, though, it takes intentionality--thinking through why we are using the tools we have.
Thanks for your insight!! It really makes me stop and think if I am being intentional about the media I use with my students.
Peggy,
First off, thank you for presenting in my adolescent culture class today. Your discussion was very interesting and I can't wait to page through your book. As for this post, I work as a sound and light tech in Benson Great Hall (Bethel University’s main auditorium and worship space) and it’s a daily battle for us as technicians to figure out what enhances the experiences and what is simply technology for technology sake.
This year, Bethel has decided to revamp it’s weekly chapels to include more colored lights, video backdrops, and a set for each chapel. Essentially upgrading the ministry to the latest technology. The desire for the change was to try and get more students to attend chapel. By changing the look and feel of chapel, the Campus Ministry hope was to make chapel feel more like the church’s Students attend. On the surface this is great, facility trying to make worship experiences relevant for students is awesome. However, boiling this idea down, it seems to me, that this experience is a simple economic transaction. Is this what the Christian worship experience always ends up being? Does our desire for change and technology drive our worship churches to fall into a trap of loving money?