If we’re going to work with real people, we need to think about what people are already doing and work with them not against them. A friend of mine recently decried the fact that young people in his church were reading the Bible on their phones instead of a book. I challenged him: “Do you really care how people read the Bible? We used to have only scrolls!”

Continuing with yesterday’s theme of how technology can enhance our ministry, it’s always worthwhile to think about what we can do, not about what we can’t. For example, I wrote four blogs on what I learned from Greg Ogden in a virtual conference I would never have heard of or had an opportunity to attend if COVID-19 hadn’t canceled the planned live event.

Someone referred me to From iPhones to iGod: The Rise of Digital Spirituality. The article is filled with examples of how creative people are leveraging technology to deliver all kinds of spiritual content (not all of which, Bible-believing Christians would support!). But that’s not the point. The point is that in addition to delivering church on-line, people are telling Bible stories by video in The Bible Project and encouraging spiritual formation with a game similar to Pokemon Go: Follow JC Go!

It’s not referred to in the iPhones to iGod article, but I’m on the mailing list of Revelation Media, who have already produced Pilgrim’s Progress and are working on iBible. From what I’ve seen, I recommend their work.

I admire the creativity of people trying to get the message out there. It doesn’t advance the gospel to criticize the medium nor the messages we don’t agree with that some are propagating.

I’m reminded that a few years ago, Starbucks began putting quotes from various people on their coffee cups. The large church we were attending at the time, began to rethink whether or not they should continue to sell Starbucks coffee from the coffee shop in the church atrium since the church didn’t agree with all of the quotes on those cups. By contrast, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, wrote to Starbucks: “Will you put one of my quotes on your cups?” The answer from Starbucks: “Yes.”

I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.” (Luke 16.9, MSG)