Greg Davis - Technically Speaking

In our ever increasing digital world which is rich in content delivered in many forms including the television, mobile devices (not just cell phones), computers, mp3 players, and more, it is easy to become very attached to ‘digital living’. So attached in fact, that we forget how to live without them.

 

I don’t believe there is anything inherintly wrong with modern technology, but like many things in life, too much of it can be a bad thing. It can become difficult to pull away from these devices and the digital nature of our lives today. We can easily fall into the trap of needing to always be “connected”.  I don’t believe the trend in technology will be changing anytime soon - it will become more and more pervasive in our daily lives.  I also don’t believe we should shun it either. Our culture is going to be faced with the ever changing face of the technology frontier probably until Christ returns. Our challenge will be to learn how to keep technology the servant and not the master of our lives. To be a part of it and understand it so that we can use it to help the Church be effective and relevant.

As part of that “training”, it is important to have regular time where you pull back, unplug and allow yourself to live the ‘analog life’ again.  I really appreciated the “Living Analog” episode that Matt & Rob did on the “Geeks & God Podcast” a few weeks ago.  The irony of it all… we actually need to unplug on a regular basis in order to get more done. It spurs creativity, productivity, relationships, clears our minds and gives us time to spend with God.

Don’t become a ‘Dilbert’.  Stay in touch with your ‘analog-self’ and you’ll be glad you did!  

 

This weekend we remember the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is easy to do this in the frame of mind like we might remember Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day. We know the facts but we treat them as distant events, not really important to our daily life. 

This weekend, I encourage us all to remember the personal nature of what Christ did. He did not die on the cross for just ‘all humanity’.  He died on the cross for me.  He suffered the beatings and the torture for you.  Even if there was no one else, he still would have done so. That just blows me away. 

No matter what Easter service you might go to, or what style of worship you may enjoy, I hope we all can remember the absolute personal nature of what Christ did and what that means to us.  May that encourage you and remind you that God has great plans for you. Christ didn’t die for mediocrity.  He died so that we might have life and have it abundantly! He has paid the price, laid down the ransom that we might be free.  He didn’t do it for the godly or the rightous. He did it for the ungodly, the broken and the dirty.  What an Amazing Grace that is!

I bet you’ve never heard Areosmith’s Steven Tyler sing Amazing Grace before.  Remember, there is no one too far from the love of Christ!

 

For 2008, one of my goals is to grow closer to Christ and I felt that I a new perspective was in order to help with that.  Thanks to Brian Bailey who shared about Solo: The Uncommon Devotional  in this post.  It is a very different but interesting approach to studying God’s Word. I have been enjoying its easy of use and its daily format which is broken into four parts of:

• Read
• Think
• Pray
• Live

It is easy to use which is especially important to helping me be more constant with it. It allows you to dive into the scripture, but encourages you to really dwell on what the Lord is saying to you and allow the message of it to really come alive. One of the things it encourages you to do is to keep a prayer journal.  Being someone who can usually express my thoughts and feelings better in writing, I do find this especially helpful to me.  Being the natural geek, I have also found it easier and more meaningful for me to keep my prayer journal in the form of a blog (which I keep private) that I can access anywhere (and even post to from my mobile phone).

Along with this I have also started using the new online Bible, YouVersion, from the guys at LifeChurch.tv.  I’ve added their intro clip below in which Bobby Gruenewald and Terry Storch talk about what it is all about, but in summary it is a very interesting way in which you can not only study the Bible in many different versions but also share your thoughts with others and make links to video, pictures and other sites that help you relate to the passage.  It is a revolutionary new method to Bible study that allows you also grow and learn from others.  I’d recommend giving it a try - nothing to loose when the price is FREE!

Organize - YouVersion empowers you to organize the content that’s important to you!
Share - Simply share meaningful content with anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Community - YouVersion makes it easy to connect and collaborate with others.
Contribute - With YouVersion you have the power to share your content with your closest friends, family, or anyone online!

 

 I hope you find the method that works for you and that you allow the Word to get into your heart and mind so that your ministry will be all that it can be in 2008!

I hope this Christmas finds you enjoying the birth of our Savior and spending meaningful time with friends and family. As 2007 nears its end, it can be easy for those of us in technical ministries (and anyone who does volunteer work at Christmas time) to be extra busy and feel the added pressure that comes with the extra work of December worship celebrations.  Take some time to thank those you serve with especially at this time of year. 

Christmas is an especially magical time for children. Remember what it was like when you were a child?  The mystery of what would be waiting for you under the tree on Christmas morning or the special times with your friends or family can forever be in our memory.  Why then as adults do we loose that wonder and become so serious?  In Matthew 18:2-4 it says,

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)

I have to believe we all would do well to be more childlike in our attitudes toward life, work and our spirituality.  We should stop being so serious and stop taking ourselves so seriously.  In this post from Think Simple Now, we are reminded of the simplicity and characteristics exhibited by children:

• Trusting (my favorite)
• Delight
• Present only in the moment
• Forgiveness
• Uninhibited
• Strong Emotion

As you read those, have you noticed how many also describe Jesus?  Kind of eye-opening isn’t it?  If we are more childlike in this way, I believe we will be more Christ-like, more effective in our place of service, and better friends and spouses as well.  Some things to try in 2008:

• Focus on the now - don’t worry so much about the past or the future. Give you whole attention to the present. Be fully engaged in what you are doing.
  
• Approach with wonder -  Try looking at everything from a new perspective, even things that are familiar. Think about what is different that you haven’t noticed before (you might be surprised!)
• Laugh & play - Do the things you enjoy in life.  What makes you happy?  What makes you smile?  Find those things and make time for them. They are that important.  Tell jokes, smile and help others to the same!
• Be spontaneous - children are great at this (and so was Jesus). Do things “just because”.  Run around the house, skip, buy and give gifts, don’t over think everything - just respond to your feelings. Let yourself express what you feel.
• Practice acceptance & forgiveness - What could be more important?  As Christ taught us -  love our neighbor as ourself.  Ever notice how quickly children can forgive each other (or us) after they have been wronged?  Too often we keep ourselves from forgiving because we are too concerned with who was right.  We will experience greater peace if we just let it go and allow ourselves to just forgive - plain and simple.
  

I hope you will join me in trying to put some of these into practice this coming year.  Do you have other ideas or suggestions on how to be more childlike?  I would love to hear them!

Thanks to Brian Bailey for highlighting Bono’s acceptance speech at the NAACP awards (how’s that for a surprise?).  A great reminder about what we as Christ followers are called to do.  As a tribute to Bono and U2, the group Roots even did the following number… enjoy!

This past winter, in mid-February, we had a snow / ice storm which left a few inches of snow on the ground covered by a nice layer of ice. Nice that is for sledding!  It came down at the end of the week so on Saturday I took my kids sledding at nearby Brandywine Creek State Park.  It was great, the ice covering was so hard you didn’t sink down and all. The sleds went very fast down the hill! I took a turn and found out that plastic sleds are very hard to steer on ice.  I ended up tumbling off of the sled which didn’t seem like a big deal, at least not right away. 

After I got up and made the way to the top of the hill, I realized the pain in my left hand wasn’t going away. I took off my glove and saw that my pinky finger was very swollen and it was throbbing with pain. I didn’t sled any more that day and 10 days later when I realized it was still hurting a fair amount and was still very swollen, I went to see the doctor. The x-ray easily confirmed I had broken it!  

It has been about 6 weeks now and for the past 2 weeks, I have been getting hand therapy to regain proper movement and range of motion in the hand and finger.  It’s kind of a silly thing - breaking your little finger while sledding with your kids, but the healing process has reminded me that transformation to a renewed finger doesn’t happen quickly or at one time.

I recently read this article called True (and False) Transformation by John Ortberg, published by Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal in the summer of 2002.  I highly recommend reading this article it full. It brings to light some behaviors and actions that trap many of us in the church.  A major point that I was reminded of was how easily we can forget what true transformation is and what is required to have it.

John points out two counterfeits that we who profess to follow Christ tend to pass off as transformation:

• Settling for the minimum
• Only look the part

He also discusses Paul’s words of the way to true transformation in Romans and 1 Corinthians.  Here we are reminded that there is a major difference between doing something versus training to do something. It is a subtle point, but a very major one when it comes to spiritual transformation.  We would do well to remember our limitations and to train well and be prepared.  As John says in the article,

If the Holy Spirit is calling you to break patterns of sin, merely trying leads to frustration, but deliberately training leads to change.

 As I endure the therapy and the painful exercises to stretch and lengthen the tendons in my finger, I think about how we must do similar stretching and enduring of sometimes painful spiritual exercises in order to be transformed into the person God wants us to be. No matter how hard I try or how much I want it, I cannot will my finger into being healed. It requires lots of training.

 

In his post today, Bob Kauflin had a very interesting devotion on the topic of pleasing God.  For those of us who serve on technical teams (sound, media) we often think we are doing what we do to please God, but are we?  Have you ever stopped to think ask yourself the question, “Why do I serve on this team”?   

Sometimes we don’t even realize what motivates us on a human level.  Many of us can fall into the trap of seeking approval of others and getting praised for what we do.  I don’t mean to say that it is wrong to say “thank you” or “good job” to someone who gives of themself in service to God.  But for those that do serve we do have to be careful about our motivation.  Do we get disappointed if we feel we did a great job and it went unnoticed?   Would we continue to serve even if nobody ever said “thanks”? 

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Gal. 1:10) This is a powerful reminder from scripture that we most always be on the alert and think about our motivations.  A sinful man, we need to remember that even godly service can be twisted and distorted if done for the wrong reasons.

However, we must also remember that it is only through the sacrifice that Christ has already made that we are fully justified before God.  Nothing we do to please God can make Him accept us.  In fact, it is God who enables us to even be able to please Him in the first place! For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13)

Don’t give up trying to please God. Serve Him and serve Him well, but do keep it in perspective and make sure you are doing it for the right reasons!