My thoughts on faith, books, and life in general
I just finished reading The Next Story by Tim Challies. I really enjoyed it! I believe this book is a must-read for pastors, and anyone who wants to better understand and confront the new realities and theological issues of the technological world in which we live.
Author/pastor/blogger Tim Challies does a great job at highlighting some of the new issues and realities that confront us as users of technology today. This is a topic that needs to be discussed, and Challies may be one of the first to take this issue on and discuss it in depth.
The book in divided into two parts: the first reveals the new realities that surround us in the technological world in which we live. Challies reminds us that we now live in an era, “after the digital explosion,” i.e. the information age brought about through the advent of the internet. He challenges us to be discerning as we allow new technologies and gadgets into our homes and into our lives. He suggests that we ask questions of our technology, such as:
“Why were you created?”
“What is the problem to which you are the solution, and whose problem is it?”
“What new problems will you bring?”
“What are you doing to my heart?”
These questions will better help us determine whether a new technology is helpful to us, whether we need it, or whether it could actually be harmful to us. In asking these questions (and others) we begin to look critically at the technology that we allow into our lives and the impact it will have upon us. Too often we fail to ask questions and our lives can become driven and complicated by our technology instead of being enriched or simplified by it.
The second part of the book deals with some specific issues that our technological era raises and new challenges we must confront. These are issues like the growth of communication, along with the new possibilities and dangers that come with our increased capability to communicate (being “plugged in” and “tuned in” 24/7). He discusses mediated communication (i.e. communicating through some device as opposed to im-mediate, in-person communication). New forms of communication bring new possibilities and pitfalls of which we must be aware. We’re reminded that although new forms of communication may promise anonymity, we are still responsible for our words and actions.
One of the issues that he tackles was that of the distraction our multi-media society has fostered. I found this especially applicable in my own life. It’s helpful to recognize that our society and our technology offer us a continuous stream of stimuli, all of which seem to demand our attention at once. This has led to a kind of attention-deficit society. Challies offers some ideas for confronting this, and shares from his personal experience how he has dealt with this problem.
He also talks about the proliferation of information and how the “glut” of information can obscure what is truly important. He discusses the issue of authority in a wikipedia culture, where anyone and everyone can have a say, and consensus determines truth. Finally, he discusses our increased visibility and diminished privacy in this new era; reminding us that we all leave a digital data-trail wherever we go – both online and off.
Even as one whom Challies calls a “digital native” (I grew up in a world with the internet and cell phones), I learned quite a bit and have been greatly challenged to look more critically at technology. Perhaps one of the biggest points made in the book is that we can honor God with our use of technology, or we can dishonor Him. Technology may be a-moral, but we must make a conscious decision about how to use it and be aware that as we do so, we are changed by it.
Once again, I highly recommend this book and believe it will greatly aid anyone who is interested in leading a Christian life in today’s society.
I received a copy of this book from Zondervan, and agreed to review it. I was not required to write a positive review.
