Addicted to technology

During the past few weeks I've spent some time with our seven grandchildren.  Only the two youngest ones do not have cell phones, and I've noticed that those who do cannot keep their hands off of them.  I might add that the oldest is almost 14.  For editorial honesty I must admit that I have the I-Phone 4 which I use to make calls, send texts, check e-mail, and search the Internet for information I need before I can get to my computer.  But, the amount of time I spend on my phone during the day can be measured in minutes, not hours like the younger people spend.  Some of my grandchildren will send more texts in a day than I do in a month.  This post is not a rant against technology, but I do want to offer a couple of suggestions to church leaders.

Churches need to look at how they are making use of the various technologies available to them today.  Does your church have a blog that people can check out?  Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Your youth ministry especially should be sending out tweets on a regular basis to stay connected to your young people.  I still know too many smaller churches that don't even have voice mail to receive calls into their church office and to give out valuable information such as worship times.  Not using the technology that is available today really says that a church is not interested in growth or reaching new people because they are failing to use the most cost effective tools for outreach there are today.

Church leaders also need to talk about how technology can take over a person's life if they allow it to.  Sitting in a restaurant the other evening I noticed a family of four all on their cell phones while eating dinner.  What kind of family meal is that?  I seriously doubt that any of them were dealing with a life-and-death issue on their phone.  People can become, and have, just as addicted to techology as they are to drugs, alcohol, or any of the other addictions we commonly talk about in our sermons.  It seems to me that it would be very suitable to warn in a sermon about becoming a slave to technology.

Of course, we can only preach on such topics if we are modeling it ourselves.  Ministers can become just as addicted to their "time-saving" devices as anyone else.  If you're struggling with quality family time, turn off your phones, both home and cell, during meal times.  Let your voice mail pick up calls after a certain hour each evening.  You can check the message and respond if it's a true emergency; otherwise you can let it go until the next day.  Despite what some seminary professor may have told you, you do not have to be available to every person in the world 24/7/365.  Jesus modeled that for us when we read there were times He went off by Himself.  He purposely separated Himself from others even at times when they felt they "really" needed Him.  I think this is an important reminder especially for those of us who are bivocational.  Use technology wisely to make life and ministry easier, but refuse to become a slave to it.