I'm in a bit of dilemma, well, perhaps dilemma is too strong a term, however I do face a conflict.
Last night I attended a presentation on church lighting, smoke machines and lasers. We are in the midst of a slow going youth room redesign project. And, don't get me wrong... I know that if you can't see the speaker’s lips it's hard to discern what he or she is saying. I get that. We do need lighting. The dilemma part, though, is that I'm in youth ministry, and in youth ministry things are a bit different than the Sunday morning adult worship services experienced all across America. We live in a generation where super computers are held in the palms or our hand and the media blitz is at an all time, staggering, height. We know more about Tiger Woods and whom he, um..., keeps company with than we know about anyone else, or care to know about, in our lives. Our teens are geared toward fast moving, thumb nail bytes of information at the click of a button. This trend is making it more difficult for newspapers to deliver the news because there's a generation of readers who know what it is to receive short 160 character text messages of info, and the papers' dilemma is how to get this generation to read a full news print article.
So, I'm in this presentation last night and the salesman was doing his thing to pitch to about 5 different churches what his company has to offer in the latest of lighting technology for church platforms and stages. At one point, he begins to talk about a preacher delivering his sermon and how he can use lighting to create a dramatic effect by "painting" the platform red or blue to achieve the desired mood that the speaker is stressing in his sermon. I turned to a youth pastor friend of mine sitting beside me and said, "We don't really need the Holy Spirit any longer do we?"
The thing, too, that I don't want to do is to necessarily demonize technology. After all, pen and parchment in the Apostle Paul’s day was their ancient version of the laptop. Painted iconography was used to tell, or show, stories and to teach biblical truth – again, technology. Technology isn't the problem, however I have this deep, guttural feeling that it's easy for the ministry to add an effect, such as lighting, smoke, lasers, than to seek and pray and agonize for the true Light who illuminates mankind's hearts. It's much easier to write a check, add some lighting, sound equipment, motion effects, lasers, etc. than it is to make bloody our knees in seeking God with anguished spirit. Plus, it makes us more competitive with our competition down the street, right? And I’m not talking about some bar or night club… no, the competition nowadays is other churches! If we through in some Starbucks coffee, doughnuts and a pastor with cool glasses and a penchant for taking spiritual truths, hipping them up, and forming life groups to discuss the talking points at some hip city location then you have a modern church recipe for modern day church success. All too often what we end up with is an ultra hip social setting that produces ultra hip church attendees and rarely, if ever, do these attendees go on to holiness in Christ. As our pastor put it so aptly, and strikingly, this past Sunday morning, we erect altars to God next to or between the altars of Baal and the Asherah poles (see Judges 6).
I know, I know, the devil is using all the technology and lighting to keep teens distracted in the social settings we call the world. And, if we don't compete with him using the same tools, then we will lose that generation. I don't know if we've looked around lately, but we've already lost them..., and we've used the greatest materials technology has to offer. Maybe dilemma isn't too strong of a term after all.
Technology isn't the devil and can be used to enhance a setting. However, what is the devil is letting anything be a replacement for the true fire on the altar of God. Any illegitimate fire on the altar results in certain death... maybe that's why we've lost a generation to counterfeit fire. We’re too cool for school…
First, great article. Have the same thoughts myself. It is wonderful that you take time to consider these things.
ReplyDeleteI have several thoughts on this, They are random so I will not labor to put them into some kind of format. Also some are neutral in nature,,, because I don't know what is right but just present them for thought. K?
- Has the Devil convinced us that the tools that attract youth, to the world, are the same tools that God would choose?
- Do we need these tools, to be honest, because we have settled to function in a nature that will never be spiritual? Perhaps we have resigned that we will never be able to do it God's way, so this way is next best thing?
- I can use a hammer to build a Habitat for Humanity house. Jeffery Daumer used a hammer to kill some of his victims. So is the hammer good or evil. I agree with your caution to demonize technology. I don't think that God has a problem with technology, because things are neutral. It is when things become a substitute then there is an issue. In a way this makes them an idol.
- I think there is validity to being culturally relevant. Paul became all things to all men. Perhaps part of the test is asking does our relevancy negatively affect our gospel?
- Can the Holy Spirit move in smoke or lights? We may be careful not to channel the working of the Spirit into a single way of working. And with that thought: where/when does the Holy Spirit work. Is the Holy Spirit confined to working only in the church setting or does He continue to do His work daily, in those we minister to?
- Does the smoke/light become a distraction or an reinforcement of our message?
- Is a lectured sermon enough. Even if the power of God is in it, is the individual listener, providing a lack of interest in spiritual things, captivated because of the Spirit's moving? There are great men who preached great powerful sermons (e.g. Edwards, Moody...etc) that caused many in the house to fall on bended knee, but we read little about those individuals who walked away the same.
- I think, too, we must never forget that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. We are off track when we expect technology to change lives.
- Spiritual people are interested in spiritual things. Paul even tells us that the natural mind cannot understand the spiritual... those things are foolishness. So, do we have a task to captivate the natural mind, in order to help awaken the spiritual?
- Are we able to be anointed in the midst of technology? Since we are responsible to deliver the message, is the bottom line whether we delivered the message God wanted, in a way that is backed up by His Spirit and His word? And with this thought: I think we need to understand that God choose to use us as His vehicle. He could do all things supernaturally but He chose to use the natural to talk to the natural; going as far as making Himself flesh and dwelling among us.
- We are asking people to step out of the familiar world that they are comfortable with, to step into our world? Are there ways to make that transition easier for them? Are there ways that people can come to our church without the blinding effect of walking from darkness into light? Are we suppose to make it easier to come to Christ or is that left totally to God? If we make the transition easier, does there need to be ways that we measure the spiritual impact we are actually making, as opposed to the impact that is made thru technology?
- Are we truly winning people to Christ and making disciples? This needs to be our greatest measure.
Okay... These are some thoughts I had. Again without a clear "yes" or "no" in my mind, on the subject, I have to ponder these points.
Great thoughts on your part.