Bent Out of Shape
I Must Be in The Front Row
New Website, The Table, and Twitter, oh my! Navigating Relationships in a Changing World
As the words echo from the great prophet, Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changin’.” Meanwhile, in my other ear I hear the great wisdom of the Beatles, “Don’t pass me by.” This is the quandary…the struggle, the tension. It is right here that I am thankful for great mentors that have lived and taught, that this is right where we are to enter and live.
The pace of change around us is happening at warp speed. As a community, we have lived through many great advances and changes. Case in point, a pastor makes a point about societal change while referencing songs from the 60’s. Yet arguably, the pace of change is unlike any of our prior experience. So as we live in the tension of change and participation, consider the Millenial generation (30 and younger). For Millenials, technology and social media are part of the indigenous language in the world they know. I compare this to the concept of truly knowing another language is when you think, or dream in that language.
As we think about community, living as missionaries right here at home, hospitality that welcomes the unchurched, and our relevance with our own young adults and youth— learning the language of the indigenous culture around us is important. Two weeks ago, I was at a conference that shared the importance of embracing social media in reference to our relevance to younger generations. The speaker held in juxtaposition his initial thought of smart-phones from a couple years ago compared with the necessity his smart-phone has become in his daily ministry. He posted, in real time, a picture of the conference with comments already posting live on the screen. He commented that from his initial resistance, the smart-phone had become a tool he couldn’t live without. Immediately, a voice from the crowd rang out, “You wanna bet, I still am just fine with the phone hanging on the wall.” Right here was the tension—the resistance. His point was made exactly right here…
It is a reality that our front door to the church— our curbside appeal—has become our website. The vast number of those seeking to visit a church begin with searching the web. In a fast changing technological world, it is necessary that this be a good first impression. It is with great thanks that we acknowledge Josh Ullom and our technology committee have given our website a full makeover. Please take a moment and
visit https://old.spiritoflifeav.org. This is the hub for sharing news about our church, our calendar, a new blog, our mission, and our ministries.
Additionally, we are now active on Twitter. If you are adventurous, check us out at
https://twitter.com/SpiritOfLifeAV, , or follow the twitter link on the upper right hand corner of our website. We continue to be active on Facebook which can be found in the same location.
With the idea that we are living as missionaries in an indigenous culture, I am excited to welcome many of these changes as good news. Throughout history, the gospel has flourished in the mission field when it is accessible to the people in their language.
In closing, I share with you how grateful I am for the connection my children share with my mom. Their primary form of communication is through texting. While my mom could have been the voice in the assembly that hollered, “wanna bet—I do just fine with my phone on the wall,” it is through embracing change that relationships happen. And it is relationships with our relational Triune God that we find that this is what it is all about.