When I survey the current landscape of church technology I see near-endless possibilities and I get amped and excited beyond belief.
At the same time I see factions, denominational divides, egotistical playgrounds, and die-hard dogmatism as it relates to technological execution and practice.
I see liars, cheats, scammers, posers, “social media gurus” and those that could care less. I also see ingenuity, class, innovation, creativity, thought-leaders, and those that deeply care about technology and it’s impact and affect on the Church and beyond.
And the criticism is equal (and vitriolic) on both ends of the stick…
Where Do You Land?
This is more personality-driven than anything really but I continually ask myself if I am being effective and productive with what I’m currently doing and if it’s being driven with excellence. It’s somewhat of an internal competitive motivation and spirit perhaps.
But here’s one thing that I’ve learned: You will be hated and you will be loved. It is a both/and type scenario.
What I’ve decided, at least internally, is that to survive in the church technology space you must simply be fearless – take fear away from being hated and fear or anxiety of being loved too much.
Obviously the former has it’s merits: The more innovative one’s ideas the more it stretches and challenges current paradigms of thinking and that simply offends people.
But the latter also has the same qualitative value as well: Being free of man’s approval unshackles the bonds of creativity so that the future can become our reality.
So be fearless and trust God for the results, timing, and especially man’s opinion.
[Inspired by AVC]
Matt Harrell says
Amen.
John Saddington says
🙂
JayCaruso says
This is great stuff.
What bothers me and I see this a LOT particularly from Christ followers and I don’t like it. John you’re right that we should be fearless, but at the same time, we as Christ followers have to be sure that WE are not the ones doing the hating. There is always room for valid and constructive criticism.
But often I will see somebody will link to something on their blog (and I won’t be passive-aggressive here. I am talking in my example about Matthew Paul Turner’s site Jesus Needs New PR) and make derisive comments or offer some snark and the next thing you know, the comments section is filled with people who hand out grace by the boatload to others but seem to take pleasure in piling on the subject at hand.
What, that person is not deserving of grace? It’s ok for that person to be mocked, derided and slammed? How does that build up the kingdom? And what does it say about us as Christ followers if that person sees inbound links to his site and goes and reads the bile being directed at him. How are we supposed to expect hearts to change?
It’s unfortunate because I think Internet gives us a sense of security that allows us to say things about and to somebody online that we would not say to them in person.
John Williams says
I think it’s okay to disagree with someone publicly about a statement they made publicly,or something they did publicly, if the point is to create a constructive dialogue. I don’t think the method of discussion matters (satire, parody, etc..) as much as the intent.
I don’t think it’s okay to use your platform to launch an ill-intentioned attack on someone’s character (the only motivation is to make them look bad).
Constructive criticism is always about ideas, beliefs, statements, and actions, not about people – though sometimes we have a hard time disconnecting them. We have a way of thinking “that person is wrong” when we really should mean “I don’t agree with that idea/statement/belief/action”.
We are not always going to go about it the right way, especially when emotions get involved, but my hope is that we can all get better at what we do. Just because we disagree does not mean that we can’t coexist.
Kyle Gilbert says
Oh, this post nailed me! I was thinking about this earlier this afternoon – considering how my personal desire to have everyone like me (and the decisions I make) just isn’t realistic. I was wondering if I could get past my insecurity and make some hard communication decisions, even if people will like me less.
Thanks, John, for the post.
Brian Barela says
thanks for this john.
someone just sent me this link:
http://www.praxischurch.com/the-praxis-blog/im-quittingsocial-media/
an acts 29 pastor ripping on tech and “quitting” facebook (although he made this announcement on a blog).
hard for me because i’m moving my wife and three kids across the country BECAUSE i believe using social media more effectively in Campus Crusade will bring more people into the Kingdom.
fearless is a great word indeed.
John Saddington says
gotta stand strong! convictions… are convicting.
Jim Gray says
“Being free of man’s approval unshackles the bonds of creativity so that the future can become our reality. So be fearless and trust God for the results, timing, and especially man’s opinion.”
…..good wisdom that we all need to hear….
John Saddington says
glad you thought so.
Lauren Hunter says
Thanks for the inspiring post, John! I feel like beating my chest and reciting lines from Braveheart or something. It’s frustrating for those of us on the church technology front when we are met with resistance from our own churches. This has been the case with me for 8+ years and my church until very recently, and the progress is SLOW, let me tell you. It’s hard not to give up and move on to other things. Yet, I still have a passion for connecting people through technology that rises above my own church family – it’s the worldwide family of Christians that matters.
Keep up the awesome blogging. You are an inspiration!