Technology & Churches

In his posting, "COMMENTARY: Sunday mornings are broken, Tom Ehrich offers churches and pastors a five point program for moving forward.  In his second point, he states, "use today’s tools (especially technology) to reach today’s people, who are largely diverse, scattered, isolated and not joiners."  He is correct that use of technology in churches is important, so much so that the point almost seems to be a no-brainer.  It is a basic premise of church life that congregations must live in the age in which they find themselves, that we must be "in the world but not of the world."  In the early 21st century, being "in the world" means living in the world of communications technology.

A study release by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research entitled, "Virtually Religious: Technology and Internet Use in American Congregations," indicates that the majority of religious congregations "get it" to one degree or another when it comes to using that technology.  As of 2010, 90% of congregations used email, 69% had a website, and 66% used and had both.  Some 34% had both a website and a Facebook page, and 67% were using visual projection equipment of some sort in worship.  There are gaps in the use of modern media for congregational life, but the trend is clear.  Especially in the last 10 years or so, there has been a decided move toward modern technology.  The report also observes that there is a connection between the overall health of congregations and their use of modern communications technologies.  High technology churches tend to be healthier and more vital.

None of this is actually new.  In past generations, churches have adapted themselves to the printing revolution to such an extent that we don't even notice all of the print media we use in worship including esp. hymnals.  When "desk top publishing" became available with the invention of mimeograph machines, churches began to publish newsletters and use bulletins on Sunday mornings.  The development of audio technology led to the use of sound systems.  All of this is taken for granted today, but we should not underestimate the importance of the adoption of older technologies as forerunners of the use of today's technologies.

Looking forward, we had better get used to technological innovation in congregational worship and life.  The arc of technological change is trending upward at an ever increasing pace, and the truth is "we ain't seen nothin' yet."  The challenge of being in the world is only going to become more pressing in the days to come.

Paul's Four Commandments for Church Life

Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, as we have it in the New Testament, closes with a brief set of injunctions on how the Jesus community in Corinth should carry forward.  Working from several English-language translations and paraphrases, however, II Corinthians 13:11 seems confusing.  The translators and paraphrasers render the verse in quite different ways.  For example:

• American Standard Version (ASV): "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind; live in peace: and the God of love and peace shall be with you."


• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): "Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."


• Today's English Version (TEV): "And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you."


• The Message (MSG): "And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello."


• Laughing Bird Paraphrases (LB): "Sisters and brothers, I finish my letter by wishing you every joy and offering these last words: ........- get everything on track; ........- take courage from what I’ve said; ........- seek consensus; ........- live in peace."

To take just the first injunction: being perfected (ASV), putting things in order (NRSV), striving for perfection (TEV), keeping things in good order (MSG), and "getting everything on track" (LB) are not all the same thing at all.  Wright's Kingdom New Testament translates this injunction as "put everything in order."  The old J.B. Phillip's translation takes a different tack, "live in harmony."

The other injunctions are similarly variously translated or paraphrased.  Taken together, however, we come out with something like this:  (1) Paul called on the brothers and sisters in Corinth to get their act together and move from a disorderly life together to one that is more orderly.  (2) He enjoined them to pay attention to his advice to them and take comfort from his words.  (3) They were to reach a meeting of the minds on the key issues facing them in their life together.  They were to live in peace with each other.

We might call these Paul's Four Commandments for Church Life and summarize them more briefly as: [1] strive for a clean political process; [2] pay attention to scripture; [3] work for consensus; and [4] in all things behave peaceably.  Do these things, and the God of peace and love will be manifest among you.  That is, first, as a church works through differences it should do so openly and without political games, attempts to coerce members into a forced agreement, or dividing into contentious factions.  Second, just as Paul called on the Corinthians to heed his advice, which should have carried the weight of apostolic authority for them, so we should pay special attention to the Bible as our source of authoritative guidance.  Third, the goal of the members of the church is always to seek a meeting of the minds where points of difference or even conflict occur.  We can take this to mean that church members seek to understand each other's viewpoints and concerns, seek to discover consensus in their differences, and not allow differences to  destroy their deeper unity in Christ.  Finally, the fourth commandment sums up the intent of the first three: live in peace.  Where churches follow these four commandments, the Spirit will be clearly present in them.   Amen.