I remember my first computer – it was called a slide rule,
and when I was a high school junior it was a required and useful tool for
helping with calculations in both my Chemistry and Physics classes. I advanced
to a calculator in college and early in my business career the company I worked
for installed one of the first generation IBM personal computers. I can
remember all the staff gathered around the machine as the IBM technician set it
up, all of us wondering, “What are we supposed to do with this?”
My first home computer was an Apple Macintosh I set up in
1990. Twenty-four years and 6 models later, I am a confirmed Apple user.
Technology that was a novelty 30 years ago is now a regular and routine part of
our lives. We use our desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones for everything
from social networking to watching movies, downloading music to shopping, and
yes, even for doing work and making telephone calls!
Churches – ours included – have been slow to use
technology, limited both by knowledge and budgets. Up until a few years ago, the
“technology plan” at MPC was little more than replacing one computer each year
so that every six years each staff member got an up-to-date computer. Our
technological progress has come in fits and starts as volunteers have stepped
up from time to time to help and as generous donors have also provided us with equipment.
Part of our vision as we look ahead to our 150th
anniversary in 2017 is to develop a more comprehensive plan for how we use
technology and what we need to do to upgrade and expand its use in all its
forms. Computers, Wi-Fi, audio/visual in classrooms, and even how technology
affects and shapes how we worship are all part of the conversation. We know we
will need to look for additional financial resources both through annual
budgeting and through the planned Capital Campaign.
Our younger members, especially those under the age of
30, look to screens all day long to glean information; it is simply how they
are learning. We need to respond to that within the church: how we teach, how
we reach out, and even how we worship.
I use my laptop computer and the television screens
regularly for Bible Study, Confirmation Class and other classes I teach.
Technology has allowed me to “take” my classes beyond the walls of our building
to far distant lands and times. More and more of our teaching involves audio,
visual, and technology. Studies have shown that we learn far more when we
combine the visual with audio. It seems that even God understood this when he
spoke to Moses through the Burning Bush.
We’ve come a long way from the days of film strips with
accompanying narration and sound on a record player, but the lesson is the
unchanged: we need to look for better and more effective ways to teach,
evangelize, connect, and reach out as we take the gospel of Jesus Christ out
into the world. No, Jesus was not Tweeting when he said, “Follow
me”, and he “friends” us without Facebook. Still, technology is woven into
every part of our lives, including how we live and learn in faith.
Grace & peace,
Pastor
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