Technology and the Family of God

I started attending church in the eighties when my family joined a small, conservative congregation. We sat in hard, wooden pews. The stained-glass windows let in green-tinted sunlight. Hymnals provided a guide for four-part harmony, and King James gave us our Bible verses. Every week, between the songs and the sermon, we passed a brass bowl with red-felt lining to collect the weekly offering.

Each week’s gathering started with Sunday school. Church members got to know one another better during our monthly “dinner on the ground,” where congealed fruit salads and boxes of Kentucky Fried Chicken served as the point of connection. Outreach happened every Tuesday night as we paired up to cold-call on our neighbors. Knock on the door, ask them about their eternal security, and invite them to church.

Thirty years later, church looks a lot different for me. Theater-style seating and professional lighting replace wooden pews and stained-glass windows. Large screens show me the words to sing during worship and the Bible verses during sermons. I send my tithe via text message while the weekly announcements roll like a television commercial.

More than the environment has changed. The way we interact with one another morphed. Sunday school became life groups that meet any day but Sunday. The monthly potluck format was replaced with mid-week catered meals. Instead of participating in door-to-door evangelism, we share inspirational videos and memes on social media.

Although our practices change through the decades, our goal remains the same. Since the beginning, the church was meant to be the “household of God” (1 Timothy 3:15 ESV). Paul’s first letter to Timothy gives specific instructions on how a church should operate, including how to choose leaders, what to teach, and how to care for one another.

First Timothy 5 hones in on behavior within the church. In general, we should . . .

• Treat one another with respect and honor.
• Take care of each other.
• Correct when necessary.

Paul also provides a list of don’ts to go along with the dos:

• Don’t gossip or slander.
• Don’t be idle or lazy.
• Don’t neglect the care of your immediate family or those in the church who need your care (widows, church leaders).
• Don’t accuse without two or three witnesses.

These timeless truths should guide our behavior no matter the worship style or small group format. The way we treat each other should never change; however, the way we interact has changed drastically.

Pick up your smartphone. Consider the ways this small, handheld gadget promotes or prevents you from following Paul’s directives. How does technology help us be the family of God? What barriers does technology create within the church?

Technology is good because:

• We’re more aware of needs because people put their business out there for everyone to see.
• We get to know people better, finding common interests and points of connection.
• We can easily share encouragement and prayer requests through text messages.

The list of its barriers is a bit longer:

• We often have a false sense of connection online, which can lead us to believe we don’t need face-to-face connections.
• We can narrow our “circle” of friends to include only like-minded people. Without friction and challenges, we don’t develop and grow.
• With so much personal information and beliefs out there, we are quick to judge and have more fuel for gossip.
• Inflammatory comments are easier online. After all, it’s one avatar speaking to another avatar. How could this hurt any real people?
• Social media encourages us to create an ideal online persona, hiding the real us.
• Pings and dings on our phones distract us from the real people right in front of us.

Technology is a tool. Like any tool, we can use it for good or evil. Within the church, we must be mindful of its power to both build up and destroy.

I recently led a hybrid small group. Some women met weekly while others joined us in an online forum. Over the course of twelve weeks, we got to know one another better in both settings. With the help of technology, we moved closer to Paul’s vision for the household of God. We ended our semester with a retreat, where women who engaged in both formats spent the weekend together praying, encouraging, laughing, and crying. It was a beautiful melding of church and technology.

In light of Paul’s instructions for the church in 1 Timothy 5, how would you rate your use of technology on a scale of 0 to 10, from bad to good? When you consider your place in the family of God, does technology serve as an enhancement or a distraction?

Kelly Smith is a small town girl who married a small town man. They have three children. In the quiet minutes of her day, you will find her at the keyboard or curled up with a book–always with coffee. Kelly believes we are created for community and loves to find ways to connect with other women who are walking in the shadow of the cross. She blogs at mrsdisciple.com.

Photograph © Raw Pixel, used with permission