technology cannot be one of them.
Evangelicals must enter upon a critical path in relation to the technology it uses. This
requires that we initiate Socratic dialogue with technology. Ask, "what is this technology
capable of performing and what is it not capable of?" The creation of web sites and uses
of e-mail are means of communicating faster and transmitting more information. We
should not attempt to make technology perform tasks it cannot do; nor should we make
claims for technology that glamorizes it and feeds its divine mystique, such as the
Internet is capable of creating genuine Christian communities.
electronic devices like TV, radio or the telephone why should we think it will form
around a computer? The Web may be helpful for gathering information or expediting
correspondence, but Evangelicals should not lose themselves in the claims of an
electronic community. Nor can Internet services replace live worship services with the
excuse that this saves money, a pure example of technical thinking, believing that the
church best serves people by telling them to stay home and gather around a computer
screen instead of going to church. This also is the problem with video preaching.
Outreaches of megachurches form groups around a videotape or live broadcast of the
service instead of a live pastor.
issue cannot be settled by applying good ends to more or less neutral means. This
neglects the nature of technology and suffocates any critical interaction.
but we must recognize them. In establishing boundaries we ask not only what is the
nature of technology? But more importantly what is the nature of ministry and
revelation? What is salvation and what is evangelism? How does replacing church
attendance with an on line community lead to growth? Can an electronic means deliver
personal involvement demanded in ministry? Marva Dawn notes that seeing a screen on
Sunday morning may not be what people need if they see one all week long.
Valley Community Church in Southern California broadcast services over the Internet and even encourage
people to stay home to watch the services; Willow Creek Community Church in Indiana also broadcasts its
service over TV and video tapes its messages for small groups affiliated with the church but are not in
driving distance (Verla Gillmor, "The Next 25 Years" in Christianity Today [November 13, 2000], 54).
This goes beyond supplementing the church's ministry with mass media outlets to replacing pastors and
teachers with video. The human element appears lost in this approach because of the impossibility of
questioning, interaction, disagreement, affirmation and participation.