How Technology Has/Has Not Changed Ministry

A Quick Quiz:
A. Technology has changed the way we do ministry
B. Technology has not changed the way we do ministry
C. Technology has both changed and not changed the way we do ministry
D. Scott, your making my head spin!
(Correct answer at the end of this blog)

Yesterday I was struck by how much technology has changed the way we do ministry.

When we first went to Klemtu 16 years ago, it had not been that long since there were phones in all the homes. People used to frequently speak of the 'one phone' that was in the Band Office. If you wanted to call someone, you had to go to the Band Office and wait your turn. Until recently VHF radios were the primary way people spoke to one another in the village. They are still there but now people talk on the phone, on cell phones, on line and thru web sites. Things sure have changed.

Yesterday, I was visiting with Rick at St. Paul's Hospital in the city of Vancouver. Rick's mother Betty is in the Intensive Care Unit there and is very sick. Rick and Betty are from Klemtu. Things have been back and forth as to whether Betty would recover. Today there are signs of improvement for which we are thankful.

I took Rick to Subway for lunch so that he could get a break from sitting in the hospital waiting room all day, day after day. He said he appreciated the meal even though he did not feel like eating.

But it's a new age.

Not only are there telephones in everyone's houses in Klemtu, almost everyone has a cell phone now. The whole time Rick and I tried to visit, one or the other of us was interupted by text messages coming in. At one point Rick looked up at me and said we looked like a couple of geeks spending all our time texting people. I said that I thought if we wanted to get any visiting in with each other, we would need to text each other right there at the table.

Things have certainly changed alot over these past 16 years. We use the internet and cell phones to keep people in touch. A few years ago when our good friend Glen came to live with us as he died of cancer, we would send picture and email updates back to the village every few days. The pictures would be made available in the school, at the band office and other places.

We now have these three websites (Ministry Updates, Family Updates and Devotionals) to better communicate with both you, our Ministry Partners and with you, our Native friends and family. We take pictures on our cell phones and send them to our email account and into our computer. We use Skype to talk to people on line. We....

I was also struck by how technology has not changed ministry.

It is still the personal relationships that are the most effective way to share Christ with people. The new technologies are something that can enhance that, but never replace that. Face to face time spent with people is still critical. A phone call would not have been as effective as spending time with Rick. A shared meal speaks more than any text message could. Sitting quietly together in the waiting room can not be replaced by any volume of written words on Face Book or any other website.

Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same!

(Correct Answer: C or D, or C and D)