Bible Students

A reflection on “Preaching Technology” by Powery

This reading was a helpful overview of one of the most relevant decisions of pastoring today: How will pastors interact with the world through technology? Pastors should be intentional about how they answer this question, being willing to take criticism and understand both the advantages and disadvantages of using technology, specifically the internet, in their preaching. 

First, technology is a real and present thing in today’s world. Churches will be left in the dust if they attempt to see technology as a fad which is inconsequential to their ministry. Technology does not only mean posting sermons to the internet. Technology can be used in many ways, including as visual media for sermons, discipleship and under-shepherding materials, and online seminary usage. However, one of the most front and center issues regarding technology is how technology should be used in preaching. 

Technology makes messages able to be viewed at any time for anyone online on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube. Full sermons and sermon snippets can be viewed without difficulty. Sermons can be reviewed, slowed down, sped up, paused, and easily consumed by anyone who desires to. In that sense, the use of the internet for sermons is a great way to publish information for it to be readily available to anyone who desires it. Additionally, other kids of technology are especially helpful for ministry. 

Visual media is a great advantage for teaching in sermons. Many people, especially in a technological age, are visually-centered and understand information in far more depth when it is presented in a visual form. Presentation slides with photos and outline notes are easily presented at the front of the church during the sermon for people to follow along to. Further, discipleship and under-shepherding materials can be easily published online or printed in order to be distributed among the flock for a greater reach. Small groups, for example, can use sermon-based curriculum, created using technology and distributed in order to lessen the burden of lesson prep for smallgroup leaders and drive home the points of the weekly Sunday sermon. Lastly, seminary courses or pseudo-seminary courses can be a fantastic use of technology. 

Seminary and pseudo-seminary courses are something I fully intend on using. By this point, I have taken around 60 Bible or ministry related courses through undergraduate and graduate schooling. These classes can be easily turned into a curriculum for leaders in the church or the congregation through directly using the lectures, books, and rubrics in order to teach an unofficial seminary class, and in doing so give easily accessible seminary-level education to anyone in the church who wants to further their education. This is an excellent use of technology, especially when Google Classroom portals can be created which give easy access to online lectures, reading, and reflection expectations. Additionally, they are a great place for submitting reflections for feedback from course facilitators. This is something I intend on implementing, as it is a simple implementation of a great resource for the whole congregation. Additionally, technology can be used to give actual seminary sources, either through the use of a third-party seminary in the case of giving accredited seminary education to church leaders and congregation members, or through the pastor teaching seminary courses. Sermons, additionally, can be used as the basis for seminary-style online courses, which serve a different purpose than regular Sunday sermons, but highlight the great advantage of using technology. 

Now, while seminary-style education is a fantastic use of technology, as outlined to by the book through the use of online sermons and teachings, there are also many disadvantages to depending on technology for pastoring. Preaching is only one part of pastoring. The personal and relational aspect of pastoring is lost when there is a screen between the pastor and the congregation. Pastors need to have incarnational preaching and incarnational discipleship in order to pastor well. Incarnational, in this context, refers to the way pastors are to love their congregations through living life with them, showing them what it means to live the gospel and by giving personal accountability. Personal accountability, exhortation, and admonishment are lost when the pastor is behind a screen. When congregations are able to pause, fast-forward, and otherwise interrupt an online sermon, they lose the immediacy of the message. When sitting in on a live sermon, the person is forced to listen, whether they agree or disagree. Of course, they can leave, but this is at the cost of a great social disapproval. However, online, the individual can change the channel or close out of a video at a moment’s notice, as soon as the program or video is uncomfortable. Online sermons can not be a replacement for in-person pastoring, as pastoring can only be done in person and through incarnational living. One point which was especially telling of this in the book is when the author underlined the ridiculousness of a grieving family listening to a funeral service through a video recording. The work of the pastor must be personal, not distant. 

Finally, in my own life, I have seen the advantages and disadvantages of online and in person preaching. I was greatly educated and greatly influenced by the online presence of preachers, especially pastor Mike Winger (https://www.youtube.com/@MikeWinger), during my senior year of highschool. One thing pastor Mike did to avoid the complete lack of interaction between himself and those who listened to his online videos is a weekly livestream where he seeks to answer 20 questions about the Bible. I have listened to many of these and benefited greatly from his mission and vision of living biblically. Through all of his Bible question and answer livestreams, he has an underlying goal of having his audience think biblically for themselves about all of life’s questions and problems. 

Additionally, as one last point of personal attestation, I can definitely underscore the point of the author that when online, people are often detached from their speech. In other words, people will say whatever comes to mind without fear of consequence. This usually results in hateful online speech, which would never be said in person, because of the fear of social pushback. However, I would say this is actually an advantage online. The straightforward hatefulness of others toward even my own Christian Youtube videos has been a quick and easy segway into the problem of man’s inner evil. Where it may be unclear in an in-person conversation where someone lies, as they do not want to be confrontational, online many people are willing to give their frustrations openly, which allows for a direct diagnosis of their problem, that being a hateful spirit toward God. Overall, there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to technology, but in my view (defended by the reading, I believe) technology should absolutely be used as a supplement in ministry, as long as it does not seek to replace in-person pastoring and ministry.