02.17.10
Technology and Community
Ben Reed is a guest blogger here at the Lifeway Small Groups blog. He regularly blogs for Life and Theology. You can also find him on Twitter HERE.
Is there really something important about human touch? Or should we broaden our idea of what "touch" is to include conversational touch via text messages and Tok Box conversations?
Is the current generation losing the ability to communicate one-on-one, face-to-face? Or is the ability to stay connected wherever and whenever serving to increase our communication skills?
There are certainly benefits to technology that we don't even necessarily think of, but that churches use on a regular basis:
- microphones
- speakers
- video cameras/projectors
- sophisticated lights
One conclusion that was discussed was this, "Technology can be used to enhance community, but technology alone is not enough to begin and maintain a healthy, real, and robust relationship over time." (Reid Smith)
We'll see that the healthiest groups, in time, are those that are more of a hybrid between a physical group and a virtual group. Why?
- The healthiest groups have time together outside of the regular meeting time. Technology aids that. (Reid Smith)
- If technology were absent, the result would be a less-than-optimal community life within the body of the church and leadership (when you define leadership as influence). (Carl George)
- The average person's view of church will change as technology continues to expand and grow. We as leaders need to think through how we steer people through the online church process. Do we steer them to a local church, or encourage them to consider that "online" church their "local" church? (Steve Gladen)
How does your church use technology? Do you see it as a help, or a hindrance, to building community? Can it be used as a substitute for community?
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