Part Two: Christians And That Technology Thingy: Do We Really Need To Change?

(This is part two; to check out part one click here.)

……………………..

The story of Tyndale translating and then mass printing the Bible shows the importance of technology for the Christian Church. His horrible death also aptly shows how resistant we as the church can be to technological change. The church leadership of the time earnestly believed that the way of the past was the way for the present and the future; which is still the thinking of some in the church today.

As Eric Hoffer stated,

In times of change, learners achieve great things, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

Being open to asking questions, to examining our practice and seeking improvement is absolutely essential to avoiding one of the most common and most serious mistakes made by churches and organizations: Continue reading »

Filed under Future, Social Media/Web 2.0, resourcing | | Comment (1)

Christians And That Technology Thingy: Do We Really Need To Change? ——- Part One

Intro: This is part one of a paper I am presently writing. The other parts will be posted in the very near future and eventually the whole paper will be offered under my ‘Articles for Download’ Page.

————————–

When you think of technology no doubt you bring to mind computers, mobile phones and the like… but actually technology is nothing more than that which assists us in making our tasks easier.

So with this definition, a pen is a wonderful marvel of technology. Invented in 1938 by the Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro who had noticed that the type of ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He decided to create a pen using the same type of ink. The thicker ink would not flow from a regular pen nib and Biro had to devise a new type of point. He did so by fitting his pen with a tiny ball bearing in its tip. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper.

Do you use a pen? Or do you prefer to dip a nib in an ink pot? Stupid question you might think, but when the pen hit the market it faced seriously stiff resistance as people were used to the old approach with the ink pot. Kind a weird to imagine that the common pen drew such resistance but it is a fact of life that most new advancements meet resistance; and the church is quite fantastic at resisting new things. A famous example is the story of William Tyndale. Continue reading »

Filed under Future, Social Media/Web 2.0, resourcing | | Comments (3)

A glimpse of the future of reading?

Much of technology at the moment is about portability, holding huge amounts of information, cool user friendly design and wireless capability. A good example of this is the Kindle by Amazon books which is an electronic book reader that can hold up to 300 titles. Books can be purchased through Amazon over a wireless link and downloaded to Kindle in just one minute. Each title is considerably cheaper than the paper version, and the cost of the e-book includes the wireless ‘rent’. There are also a huge number of newspapers, magazines and blogs available. It presently costs are rather steep US$399.

A couple of issues straight up: a) it is sold out and customers are having to wait months to get one;

b) sadly they are only shipping to the US.

Check out the following user review/rant by Scoble click here.

The Kindle represents a major shift in how we relate to books. Check out my post Linked with the Future by clicking here for a prediction of what could be. I would now add, reading the Bible electronically, daily devotions received via wireless…

Check out the great demo video of Kindle below:

Filed under Bible Engagement, Future, Gadgets | | Comment (1)

Unplugging

On a typical day I rise before 6am and literally the first thing I do is turn on the computer. Once my shower is complete, with a bowl of cereal in my hand I have my first ‘monitor and me’ session. I check out my email, facebook, my blog(s) and if I have time, scan my news reader. And so begins a typical day of mostly staring at a monitor. I have become convinced that I must be available and ready to respond. Whether through instant message, email or a comment on this blog, the expectation is instant interaction.

 

It is amazing to think that not that long ago people sent letters to each other; how bizarre to think that you would write a letter and 4 weeks later you would get a response! Now everything is Continue reading »

Filed under Future, Self Care | | Comments (6)

Changing Culture: changing church?

Many churches are facing the very real prospect of becoming an irrelevant oddity. We are witnessing significant cultural shifts that demand we reconsider some of how we do church. And much of it is driven by the internet.

 

The first major shift in society is Continue reading »

Filed under Future | | Comment (1)

Linking with the future

Diary for November 4th, 2011.

It is incredible to recall how back in 2007 the only contact you had with people at church was when you physically saw them once a week at the service. I remember a few keen people would attend a Bible Study, but most limited their experience of ‘community’ to a Sunday morning. Where would we be without Linking Technology today? What I love about Linking Technology is the ability to communicate and connect at any point in the day. I simply write or record a video/audio message and almost instantly my church community receive a copy. Community isn’t achieved through hurriedly summarizing the week over a cup of tea after the service, but about being involved each day. Continue reading »

Filed under Anglican, Creativity, Future, Gadgets, Leadership | | Comments (3)