We live in a technological world where “next” is not what’s next but what is, completely from every angle imaginable. It what makes the news – in fact, it is the news.
We’re interested in what’s coming down the pipe and not so much interested in the small changes that may, in fact, make some of the biggest differences:
The tech world is obsessed with what’s next. It has become so used to the constant flow of new products and new companies that newness itself has been placed on a pedestal.
I’m subject to this pull as much as the next person.
What I love about the Church though is that we intimately know that we, as a people, are as much of what we can be as who we have been historically. It’s a blessing to have such a firm foundation in immovable truths!
I love technology but I will never love it as much as I love the Church, who is both the next and the has-been all-in-one, and that’s a good thing.
Martin Hathaway says
I always have great fun spotting which blogs and news sites we seem to have in common, whether it’s AVC, SVN, etc.
Ben Miller says
This is a great post. As we work in the church on technology, it is important that at the same time we are thinking about how we can do things differently, we should also think about what things we should never do differently.
Daniel Berman says
If we are obsessed with next, its the things that don’t really matter in the long run. That said it seems like we often react to, rather than expect things like persecution, difficulties in life, and perhaps ministry challenges. We shouldn’t be obsessed with the latest and greatest, but I look forward to the day where we anticipate what may come instead of being surprised by it.
Eric Dye says
Word.
Djs says
In secular culture I think many times *Next* is a substitute spirituality – to many it seems to represent the next incremental step on the road to man’s self-powered enlightenment journey in the what is expected to culminate in his self-saving journey.
The ancient problems that Next claims to be making headway toward not only persist, but grow – war, hunger, injustice.
I think believer’s need to make sure their participation in Next culture is balance while making sure that their primary joy and energy seeking is sourced from eternal things that are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.