Christian Statwhoredom: Reflections on the Church's Use of Technology
The market is flooded w/ religious bloggers, of which I am complicit.
So just had a great convo w/ Ron Pai and the RCC staff about technology in the church and how it’s revolutionizing Christendom, much like the Gutenberg press had done centuries before. I mean, think about it; other than business folks and scholars, who uses technology more than the Church? Blogging, twitter, skype, you name it, religious technophiles comprise an important and large segment of the technosphere. Enter the idea of “statewhores” or in more accurate parlance, “stathoe’s” (did I spell that right?) who are basically in it just to get noticed, trying to rack up stats on their websites. But isn’t that what the game’s about? Getting noticed?
This is where I’m thankful for the words of Henri Nouwen, which speak in marked contrast to (some of) the emerging church parlance:
“I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self… the leaders of the future will be those who dare to claim their irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows them to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success, and to bring the light of Jesus there.”
“Stardom and individual heroism, which are such obvious aspects of our competitive society, are not at all alien to the church.”
Both of these quotes are from Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus under chapters appropriately titled, “From Popularity to Ministry” and “From Relevance to Prayer”. I’m so grateful for these words, working in my soul right now. Which is why I was so thrilled to hear in Eugene Cho’s interview of Dave Gibbons that his (Gibbon’s) fav book on leadership is the above book by Nouwen. You kind of see why God uses such people in big ways.
So what did u think about the above quotes by Nouwen? Are we called to be relevant or irrelevant, as Nouwen says? In Christianity, is there any place at all for the ambition to be noticed? Or are we all to be passive and ambitionless?
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I love Nouwen, and I believe his words will always be relevent. I admire you who daily or at least regularly blog for the world to see and respond. Especially I admire those who bring conversation and consideration of Jesus for the world to read. Once read the subject of Christ is in the head and then can go to the heart.
The internet reaches the world, and yes, one is vulnerable as they put their thoughts out there for the world to accept or reject. Whatever the reason for ones writing is between them and God, I pray that when you represent the Church the words are such that lead to Christ, not self. When we blog about our beliefs in Christ and how this belief fits in with the actions of our society, and how it may compliment or contradict the “Glitter of success” proto-type, the light of Jesus is in it.
We write to be read, noticed. I say, shame on a church or an individual if they do not take advantage of whatever technology is available to spread the Word that is in their mouth, heart, or in this case hands. It’s like the parable of the ten talents in the Bible, we must use it or lose it.
Sorry for being so long winded, I used to be very passive and ambitionless, Christ came into my life and changed me.
Jay – great to see u today!