Technology Task Force—Let’s Get Started

by Pastor Dave

Friends in Christ,

I cannot WAIT to get started with the technology task force at First Lutheran!! In my estimation, we are long overdue…as Lutheran’s and as First Lutheran.

One of the resources we’ll be using as a Task Force is written by Kent Wilson, a Lutheran pastor. The title of his book is “For the Sake of the Gospel”. He writes:
“My college alma mater recently refurbished its football stadium. The renovation included a state-of-the-art scoreboard that sports a ninety-foot-wide screen. When I visit people in their homes, it’s not uncommon to find, even in humble abodes, fifty-inch-plus large-screen televisions. The local sports bar in my former town of 6,800 has ceiling mounted TV’s viewable from every angle. The dashboards of many new cars include LCD displays for a Global Positioning System. Many truck stops now have free wireless Internet service.

And, it’s not just the young people who are accustomed to all this new technology. It’s nothing new these days to have parishioners over eighty send e-mails to their children and grand-children, some of whom are several states away and others who are available around the block.”

And then, after offering many more examples and illustrations…he writes:
“Until the last few years, just about the only place in the world where you wouldn’t find a screen was in the local church!!”

And then, after a brief journey walking through this cultural shift that has taken place, he writes:
There’s no reason why congregations can’t begin sharing the faith from our heritage with the technological tools of today. It’s a cultural adaptation made for the sake of the Gospel.

Tim Eason, in his book “Media Ministry made easy” offers this same advice to the church. He writes:
“Take a close look at our culture and the dominant forms of communication in our world. Television, movies, the Internet, and music each play vital roles in our society. These powerful methods of telling stories have influenced lives more effectively than any other means of communication ever known to humankind. The Church has the awesome responsibility of taking the message of Christ to all nations. If we are going to accomplish this great commission, we must take advantage of the tools available to us that will allow us to communicate more effectively and in a way that is relevant to our society.”

Our Vision Council agreed…as technology was one of the top three visions that surfaced in the Vision council visioning process. I Agree…

First Lutheran has a history of seeking to be up-to-date with utilizing the languages of our culture as tools to Open Doors to Life in Christ. For me, this is one more step…a big step at that…that is essential to our effectiveness in reaching people with the Good News of Jesus. Just as the Lutheran church was born (and spread like wildfire) because of the new technology of the time (the printing press), so today, the church needs to seek out these new languages of the people and “sanctify them” for the sake of Jesus.

Are you interesting in joining the Technology team for this adventure?? Please let Judy or me know of your interest as we’re ready to get this Task Force underway.

See you in Worship,

Pastor Dave

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