I had the most amazing technological experience this morning. Surprisingly it was not in BestBuy or Circuit City not even on eBay. In fact it was the last place on earth that I would ever expect to have a technological experience. I consider myself fairly astute in techno-geekery, but this stuff was some of the best uses of technology that I have ever experienced. Believe or not I was at the dentist!
First of all, and most importantly, the high tech dental office has digital x-rays. This is too smooth because they utilize 90% less radiation than the older type of x-ray machines did. But better yet are the instant images which appear on the screen and those can be enhanced and enlarged at will.
In addition to that wonder of wonders, there are new technologies being employed at drill level, the brush level, the repair levels and so forth. It is one of the best applications of the modern technological advances that I have seen.
Now when are we going to play smart like this in the church? I think we have done well at the audio-visual level, but lag sorely in other areas. Of course you as a blogger and a reader of blogs, are not in the mainstream of the church. You are an early adopter. You are on the cutting edge. As missionaries Jeff Singfiel and I have been experimenting with podcasting and video-podcasting. I believe we are the only CMA missionaries to have done so thus far, though I believe many more will soon join the fray, because the technology to make it happen is amazingly simple and available to everyone.
What is flabbergasting to me is how few pastors have taken advantage of our efforts and shown these video-podcasts in their churches. I have had only two pastors utilize them to-date. This is not a complaint, but rather an observation that we Christians are rarely early adopters. Moreover we are distinctly unwilling to spend the money to be technologically on par . . . we feel it unnecessary and often I am told it is unspiritual.
Clearly I disagree. I have been blogging for over three years and I think that I reach more CMA people per week than most other folks. Mind you this is not a competition, but rather an opportunity to make modern knowledge work for the Kingdom. And I did not even mind the dentist today.
First of all, and most importantly, the high tech dental office has digital x-rays. This is too smooth because they utilize 90% less radiation than the older type of x-ray machines did. But better yet are the instant images which appear on the screen and those can be enhanced and enlarged at will.
In addition to that wonder of wonders, there are new technologies being employed at drill level, the brush level, the repair levels and so forth. It is one of the best applications of the modern technological advances that I have seen.
Now when are we going to play smart like this in the church? I think we have done well at the audio-visual level, but lag sorely in other areas. Of course you as a blogger and a reader of blogs, are not in the mainstream of the church. You are an early adopter. You are on the cutting edge. As missionaries Jeff Singfiel and I have been experimenting with podcasting and video-podcasting. I believe we are the only CMA missionaries to have done so thus far, though I believe many more will soon join the fray, because the technology to make it happen is amazingly simple and available to everyone.
What is flabbergasting to me is how few pastors have taken advantage of our efforts and shown these video-podcasts in their churches. I have had only two pastors utilize them to-date. This is not a complaint, but rather an observation that we Christians are rarely early adopters. Moreover we are distinctly unwilling to spend the money to be technologically on par . . . we feel it unnecessary and often I am told it is unspiritual.
Clearly I disagree. I have been blogging for over three years and I think that I reach more CMA people per week than most other folks. Mind you this is not a competition, but rather an opportunity to make modern knowledge work for the Kingdom. And I did not even mind the dentist today.
1 comment:
Well of course that's because Hollywood is the devil's playground you know, and the TV, and the internet, and . . .
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