This is part two of a series of posts on What to Do When the Next Generation Finally Comes to Church. It may be helpful to read the previous post in order to understand the context of this article.
Postmodern young people have grown up in a very
technological world. They have come to expect technology to play a significant
role in their lives. Because postmodern people grew up surrounded by
technology, it is the only way many of them know how to learn. Churches can use
this to their advantage by becoming good at utilizing such tools.
If we as leaders do not know how to use technology,
we may want to invest some time in learning how. There is nothing unbiblical
about projecting the words of the songs or the notes from the sermon on the
wall. It does take time to prepare, and it does take some advance planning. It
does impact the level of organization that is required to put a worship service
together. However, churches that want to reach the next generation do not mind
investing time and effort
into such advance planning.
It might be worthwhile to consider what the Bible
says in 1 Corinthians 14:40, “But everything must be done decently and in order”
(HCSB). Using technology in the worship service is simply taking that planning
and organization to another level.
Technology can also be used before or after the
worship service to encourage discussion and Bible study. Facebook is a great
tool for posting review questions or to initiate follow-up discussions based on
the sermon. Many churches have small-group ministries. For many young people, Facebook
groups are one expression of the small group of the future. When we invest time
and resources to learn how to use technology effectively in worship services and ongoing
ministries, we will reap rich rewards.
Dr. Tony, I would like to comment on both this message about technology and bivocational ministry. Have you heard about TalkFusion? It is a way to send video email and have online Bible studies and stream video. It can also be used to create an income stream. Also Village Missions is all about sending Pastors to rural churchs fully funded. Pastor Maury / mizpah@hcc.net
ReplyDeletePastor Maury,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about TalkFusion. It is not something I am familiar with. Will have to check it out.
I do know about Village Missions and have great respect for them. However, I'm not sure it is healthy for a local church when an outside entity supports the pastor over a long period of time. It is wonderful to have outside support when a church is first starting, or if it goes through a short term financial crisis, but propping it up with outside funding forever leads to a sense of dependency in the congregation. We have seen this over and over again, both in North American and around the globe.
Once again, thanks for your input.
Terry Dorsett