|
|
||
|
Bristling with Antennae
When two of John’s disciples wanted some identifying information about Jesus (“Where are you staying?”), Jesus didn't give them a number for an address. He said simply “Come and see” (John 1:38-39). About the closest you get to an address anywhere in the Bible is the directions Ananias was given: “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus” (Acts 9:11). Damascus must have been an advanced metropolis in that it actually had a name for some of its streets. Among the artifacts I found in my Dad's possession after his death was a postcard he had received from his Dad when he was about four or five. The card was addressed simply with his name, the town and the state. That evidently sufficed to get it to him even though he lived in the country. Things have gotten a lot more complicated since then. When telephone service first began, people were assigned a five digit number with a word prefix (as in Pennsylvania 6-5000). They designed that system because they assumed that words were easier to remember than numbers, and five numbers were about the maximum anyone could retain (though often you didn't even need to remember those numbers if you had a friendly telephone operator). Social security numbers arrived in 1936. Numbers for postal zones in large cities came into being in 1943. Telephone numbers became all numeric in the 50s and expanded to include an area code. Zip codes were added to mailing addresses in 1963, and the zip +4 numbers were attached twenty years later. Credit cards, originally used simply as charge cards, began to be widely used in the 60s. IPs arrived in the 90s with the development of the Internet, and widespread cell phone usage has additional numbers to your contact information.
In the past, the numbers of people with whom you could share information was physically curtailed. Even with microphones and amplification, there were significant limitations. Now, as some bloggers have discovered, you can instantly reach thousands, many of whom you have never met nor have any idea of who you are. But there are also problems. Not only can you reach many others. Many can reach you. Not only can you more easily influence, you can also be more easily influenced. And because of the way information comes to us, separated from the personal clues, tone of voice, and body language so necessary for understanding, not always is it easy to separate truth from falsehood. I'm surprised I hadn't heard about something like this sooner, but I recently learned of an e-mail that a pastor had sent that was altered and then forwarded to numerous others in the congregation. Digital technology is after all a "virtual" reality. What appears real sometimes isn't. Now you too can incite a mob! There are additional issues as well: who "owns" this information? (see following article); what does one do with it all?; how do you sort out what to attend to?; what is this state of being constantly "on" doing to us?
Then, there is that matter of what to do with the unwanted information. I would guess that I now have to spend at least an hour a week deleting unwanted e-mails, and I believe that the amount of time this requires is continually growing. One learns to make quick judgments---helpful in weeding out chaff but discriminatory of subjects and people that require patience But the most significant issue may be what happens to us when we are the recipients of more information than we can adequately assimilate. Sometimes it is difficult to separate your own ideas and beliefs from those of others. Identity becomes diffuse. God designed us for relationships. But he also established Sabbath for rest and reflection. Do you really need to have your cell phone on all the time? Do you really need to check you e-mail twenty times a day? Wouldn't you at times feel better if you just took a walk and let your mind wander, without knowing the address of your destination? “Come and see,” Jesus invites. You don't need to dial a number to pray. Policy
It is increasingly important that congregations have written policies that govern these matters, which all employees sign when they begin their employment. Here is a portion of a sample policy governing use of communications equipment from Lake Community Church in Minnesota:
Due to space limitations, this is only a small portion of the policy. To receive a copy of the entire policy contact Jeanette West, Office Manager, Lake Community Church: jeanette@lakecommunitychurch.com. Machine Talk
In Christ’s Service, Roger Kruger (402) 978-5670 (direct line and confidential voice mail) This e-mail newsletter is an endeavor of Partners in Caring, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc. I envision it as a way to share ideas, resources, and conversation about the joys and struggles of ministry. I welcome your input. Feel free to pass it on to friends. If you wish no longer to receive copies of this newsletter, please reply with “unsubscribe.”
|
As nearly as I can calculate it, the sum of my identity now stands at 4,418,421,889,298,260. This is the sum of the various numbers that identify me: zip code, phone numbers, social security number, credit card and bank account numbers, and IP address. I suppose I could have included various other account numbers that have been assigned to me, but I didn't want to do that much work. My vocabulary for counting gets shaky after I get beyond a billion, but if I am not mistaken, that number means my identity is now in the quadrillions. If only that were my value as well.
Now, as you go about your day to day life, you are bristling with antennae and ports---access points, most of them accessible by a number, to which and from which information, money, and other assorted junk incessantly flows. You are like a walking computer server. Like the World Wide Web with its network of interconnected computers, people have connected themselves to one another and are engaged in constant communication. According to the Scientific American, approximately one-third of the US population uses the Internet every day. The number who read or write e-mails on an average day grew from 57 million in June 2004 to 74 million in September 2005. The number who used a search engine grew from 38 million to 59 million.
The benefits of this are many. For one, your ability to share ideas and to influence others has expanded exponentially. Benjamin Franklin once went to hear a sermon by George Whitefield during the Great Awakening. He wasn't that interested in hearing what Whitefield had to say. Rather, he spent his time wandering around the edges of the crowd, counting people. He was curious whether some of the things he had read in the Greek and Latin classics were true---namely, whether it was really possible for a single person to address thousands of people at one time. 
With the mountains of available information, it is increasingly difficult to know what information to attend to. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink takes the optimistic approach to this, affirming our ability to think intuitively. But it also seems likely that we more easily opt to pursue the ideas that strengthen and confirm our own beliefs and tune out those with which we disagree. Thus, rather than be exposed to more information, we end up receiving less. It is like high school all over again. Cliquishness makes us feel better by creating instant affirmation, but we also learn less when we no longer have to confront differences. 
A related issue is the matter of who "owns" the sermons, Bible studies, music, and other items you have produced for your congregation. According to "work for hire" laws, all of the above is the property of the congregation unless you have signed a legal agreement about intellectual property that stipulates something otherwise.