One of the conversations that I had this past Thanksgiving holiday with a few friends studying in seminary was the idea of the pastor’s library going away – or being greatly diminished – in its current form. A traditional pastor’s office is filled floor to ceiling with commentaries, narratives, resources, and Bibles of countless translations. In some circles, this is probably seen as some metric of validation towards the ability of that pastor to teach (or teach effectively).
With my friend and I standing in front of the Christian resources section of Barnes & Noble this past weekend, I openly stated that this view might be a thing of the past. We might be seeing the last stand of many of the shelves that are noted here. My friend, totally building an impressive library of his own, not only disagreed, but maintained that he’d be the last person purchasing books in order to keep things from going all digital. He admitted that he’s had issues with screens and workflows, and this centers on his perception (as it does my own).
Yet, as I stood/sat there, I wondered. Yes, we have iPads, Nooks, etc. and there’s almost no need to purchase a book at retail given the amount of tools at our disposal to price compare at places such as Amazon – yet, there’s something to be said for that library. That collection of books that commands reflection, contemplation, and usually the kinds of questions that can only be answered when sitting in the midst of just the covers of the mosaic of thought around The Faith.
That being said, the conversation he and I had evolved into not getting rid of all books, but looking for the appropriate context for digital versus print. I wrestle with this often having now an iPad at my use. There are some books (I’ll change term and say collections) that are better in a digital format not because they are contemplative, but because their value is best met when connected to other sources of information. Logos’s library stands out here as an example of what resource material that has a common index and considers that each component is a part of the whole can look like.
Other types of readings might be better left in print. I think about one of the books that I’ve read in the past (The Alchemist). While an excellent book, I don’t read that in the same way that I read The Next Christendom that I’m very comfortable in reading on my iPad. The reflection-like characteristics of The Alchemist in a print mode lends itself better to that type of reading.
Nevertheless, I think some pastors might be better served in investigating and considering ebook readers or tablets*. I’m not sure that keeping the method of how one comes to a reflection or the sources used in making a specific point should sit on a shelf. These links can and should be shared with the community so that discussion around “how” to study also meets the current common question of “what” to study.
In respect to the library, it needs to stay as a place of reflection. But, maybe it needs some better windows (with shades) so that reflection and revelation isn’t anymore held behind a curtain as something mysterious.
*Church Tech Today recently published an article on the current slate of ebook readers and their value to pastors.
Update: Today, Google announced and opened Google Books, a browser-based eBook reading service.
The Solo or Siloed Conversations of Faith and Tech
Monday, February 14th, 2011The tweet was answered by John Dyer who said:
It caused these follow-up tweets:
The trek for an answer to this (often to myself) asked question took me to Scripture first. Hearing verses before context, I started looking at a few items:
And while there are verses in those that soften my heart, they don’t address the matter that sits at the core. Another person in a twitter conversation put it nicely:
Lanier is the author of a book that I’m reading now (You Are Not A Gadget). So far in my reading, I’m impressed on the same line of questioning: where is the Body speaking and engaging the conversation around computer technologies in a way more meaningful than numbers, revenues, and tools? After reading this quote from Lainer’s book, I had to put it down (iPad running Kindle) and reflect, where are our conversations:
Where do we speak and live into lives? There’s the education of kids, as well as adults who still have much to pass down. There’s an economic system built on secrets and misunderstood histories. Yes, there’s censorship, and there’s also exploitation of the very resources that build communities (people, fresh water, safety). If Christ is the bread that binds, it doesn’t matter if we are on a social network “doing church” if the greater parts of our community can’t even use a computer (mobile or otherwise) to get a job because our computer labs are closed to non-members, understaffed, and/or fronted by leaders who resist the approaches others have done in their own neighborhoods.
Dr. Philip Jenkins (The Lost History of Christianity, The Next Christendom,etc.) recently came to Charlotte to speak. I was able to make the last half of his second (and final talk). One of the points that was intimately clear was that we have no choice about the changing faces and patterns of the Christian faith on the global stage. USAmerican mainstream deonminations either need to adapt to the changed/changing demographics of their communities, or be marganalized into small and mostly echoing relics of a faith that was once relevant. There’s value in what every faith community offers, but none of that can be communicated through solo or siloed efforts, there’s a larger narrative to the implications of faith in these merged communities, and (as I discussed with him afterward) a similar discussion being played out with mobile/web.
Efforts like Digital Disciples and the Digital Bible Society are great, and these are the kinds of efforts that more of the Body should be taking part in. But, we also should be noticably involved projects such as OLPC’s One Laptop Per Child, discussions such as the implications of WikiLeaks on media and content, and working out the theological answers to the social implications of mobile across generations.
So Body, what are you doing? And does the rest of the Body know anything about what you are doing? Is an injection of Jesus into tech culture just something one group does at a time, or is it isolated to certain conversations only? I’m of the persuasion that IT won’t exist much longer (am not alone in this thought) – what will you do when digital isn’t an appended layer to faith, but is an active and integral part of how communities will engage the validity and experience of their faith? Will the conversation about what we do in tech be meaningful or just noise?
Tags: Digital Bible Society, Digital Disciples, education, implications, innovation, iPad, Kindle, Lainer, Luke, Matthew, mHealth, OLPC, relevance, Sterling, You Are Not A Gadget
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