The Challenges of the Digital Age

The Christian Leader in the Digital Age

The Digital Age is upon us. In the span of less than three decades, we have redefined the way humans communicate, entertain, inform, research, create, and connect – and what we know now is only a hint of what is to come. But the greatest concern of the church is not a technological imperative, but a Gospel imperative. Keep reading

How to Preach About Technology (Don't)

Why I cringe at sermons about smartphones. Keep reading

Thinking About Starting a Blog? 4 Important Questions to Ask Yourself First

We are in a digital age, and our effectiveness as leaders will be measured in part by the extent that our influence reaches to the digital realm. Pastors are seeing the fruit of extending their ministry to the internet, and many choose a blog to be their vehicle for planting the seeds.

But should you start a blog? Facebook and Twitter are easy options for reaching people online, but blogs are a different animal. There’s a big difference between 140 characters and 640 words. There’s a big difference between and update and an essay or article.

If you have the blogging itch, and are thinking about giving it a scratch, here are some things to think about before you do. Keep reading

Four Questions to Ask When Creating a Social Media Position for Your Church

So you're thinking about hiring someone to handle social media for your church or maybe you're thinking about applying at a church that's looking to hire. Either way, it's easy to get caught up in the process and not think through some essential elements that the job requires. Here are four questions to ask when creating or applying for a social media position at a church. Keep reading

7 Things to Consider Before Sharing Info Online

I really feel that social media is both a blessing and a curse. It’s great that the days of staying connected to people involving pictorial church and family directories and managing a Rolodex are behind us. I can keep in contact with relative ease friends from both long long ago and a galaxy far far away. From the first time I signed up for Xanga ten years ago, until now, social networks have proved to be a valuable tool.

But it’s also a curse. The curse really fell when Facebook opened up its platform to anyone and everyone (rather than the days gone by of it being a network for college students). Not that I’m opposed to anyone using Facebook, but with that decision came an advent of newsfeeds being filled with photos of cats frolicking through meadows, endless threads filled with political and religious debates, and of course…the shared false story. Keep reading

Think Before You Post

Don't take what's not yours. Keep reading

Five Reasons to Put Your Phone Down for a While

It's a familiar and vaguely depressing sight. We are a culture glued, stuck firmly to our smartphones. Wander through any airport, sit on any train, and you'll see hundreds of slaves: people ignoring people, transfixed instead by the small screen that they clutch in their hands. Obviously technology can be a wonderful tool, including the internet generally and the smart phone specifically, but it shouldn't take over our lives - whoever thought that our gods would be small, handheld devices before which we kneel, figuratively speaking, in humble homage? So do yourself a favour: dethrone that god, give your phone a rest, and for good reasons. Keep reading