Technoministry

by Dan Cler

May 2006

Technology in the Ministry - Introduction - Part I

Technoministry, over the coming months, will focus on the changing times that we live in and effective use of technology in the gospel ministry.  As with anything new, people are often leery of technology and the rapid change that has been foisted on our society. 

By way of introduction, I would like to talk about the use of internet.  It is true that the internet is used for some very evil purposes, including pornography.  By bringing technology so close to the home, there is an inherent danger and we must constantly guard against this.  Just as television ruined multiple generations, the internet, if we are not careful could do the same.  As Christian's we need to be careful about anything new that the world has to offer.  The Bible says in Proverbs 24:21 "My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:"

Even though almost any technology that exists can be used for evil intentions, it can also be used for the glory of God.  Take music for example.  God created music for the purpose of worship and to bring glory and honor to himself.  Lucifer, who was part organic and part non-organic, was the principle in charge of music before the throne of God (Ezek 28:13).  Just because Satan himself has something to do with music does not make all music bad.  However, because he was heavily involved in the creation of music then and now, we must be careful with the music we create and listen to as Christians.

I feel if we are circumspect about how we walk and use technology wisely and prudently, it can be of benefit in many areas of the ministry.  The internet is a prime example.  It can be used to help proclaim the gospel and used to help a church grow through an effective web-site.  However, I would be very careful with its use.  Satan can often use a good thing (proclaiming the gospel, researching for a message, listening to preaching) to get someone into a bad thing (pornography on the internet). 

An example of being circumspect is properly guarding the internet coming into your house.  I personally would use a high-quality protection service that is run by Christians to block pornographic and other content coming in through my internet connection.  An example is Bsafe Online.  Yes, it is a pain sometimes dealing with and setting up technology like this.  It is also a pain for a guy that works on a 60 story building to use a safety harness too, but when he falls I bet he really appreciates it.  Services like these that actively use aggressive technology to block pornography are far beyond what Microsoft puts in Internet Explorer.  Yes, it cost to have good protection like this, but so does divorce court when you loose your family.

Regardless, once the Christian has properly protected himself from the evils that lurk on the internet, the benefits of its use can be great.  I use the internet heavily as a research tool.  Search engines are probably one of the most useful internet tools that exist.  The internet allows me to learn new things that I can use in the ministry.  For example, about two years ago, I knew very little about music recording.  Through the use of the internet, I was able to learn that it is possible to do very high end recording with digital audio recording studios using a good PC.  We were able to use this technology to record the Old Paths Quartet's first full-length CD.  The internet allowed me to select the proper kinds of equipment and obtain reference material to aid in the recording process.  Throughout the project, I continued to use the internet to fill in gaps of knowledge and acquire additional software.  Granted, being a geeky engineer helps.  Either way, we produced a recording that was way better than I ever anticipated by the grace of God.

In the coming months, I will try and highlight applications of technology and how they are of benefit to the ministry.  In some cases, I may go into multiple month articles to cover complex topics.  I realize that these articles are not going to appeal to everyone.  But not everyone is called to the same ministry.  That is one thing that is unique about the body of Christ.  We all have different gifts and helps.