Adapting to Digital Discipleship?
Most readers don’t consider me a Luddite when it comes to technology, but some may be surprised that I tend to be a slow adopter when it comes to new stuff. Consider:
I recorded three of my own CDs before I actually owned a CD player.
My first cell phone was a late-90's Ericsson (I don't own one now by choice).
My first iBook was second generation.
My current MacBook is second generation.
Our iMac is second generation.
Our iPod Shuffle is second generation.
Our iPod Nano is second generation.
My iTouch is second generation.
Our current video player is a 12-year-old dying dual VHS/DVD player, but I don't even know what options are out there if/when it goes.
It took me a year or so to come around to Twitter, but I'm liking it (enough) now.
Here's where I've been more on the technological front-end of things:
With the exception of a six-month sabbatical in 2005, I've kept one of several blogs since August of 2003 (TwentySomeone (2003-2005), Seminary Tychicus (2005-2007), and Second Drafts (2006-present).
I was on MySpace and Facebook pretty early (a fact students still don't believe).
I got a Gmail account as soon as the service was available. I also got in early on GoogleWave as well, but the tide is out right now on that, at least for me.
I suppose the main observation I make is that, with the exception of Twitter, I tend to be on the cutting edge of technology when it's free; anything I have to pay for I tend to wait to see how it turns out (and it usually takes a cycle to justify the money, though if I had the money, I'd likely spring for Apple's rumored iTablet the first time around).
What does any of this have to do with the price of eggs in China? I'm getting there.
This weekend, an acquaintance emailed about an opportunity to do some research that would eventually be part of a website/database designed to be a systematic approach to (for lack of a better phrase) "digital discipleship.” Pastor/author John Ortberg seems to be the main name attached to this initiative (though there are several other endorsers), and while I'm not that familiar with Ortberg's present ministry, I know he was involved with Willow Creek for ten years in the area of spiritual formation.
Spiritual formation, apparently, is what the site is all about; in fact, it claims it is "the future of spiritual formation" (no expectations there). Co-founder Eric Parks sums it up this way: "I like to think of it...as the eHarmony for my spiritual life, but instead of finding a mate, it discovers how I'm wired and how I grow best." (Note to Parks: the comparison to eHarmony is not going to win me over to your product. Bad analogy.)
After you complete a three-minute survey, the site apparently helps you discern what your spiritual needs are, how you best learn, and how you can grow and best connect with God. The site then customizes a plan - "a spiritual guidebook for life" - that covers four areas: time (practices); mind (books, videos); relationships (mentors, groups); and experiences (service). It then pulls and ships all the materials you need right to your door, prints email reminders for what you're supposed to do each day, and somehow tracks your spiritual progress in real-time.
But wait, there's more! If you're a leader who uses the site with your congregation, you can get "a spiritual dashboard of insight into how your church is growing...on a live and on-going basis...with real data, in real-time, and about real growth."
Here's my question: Is my hesitancy to support this "digital discipleship" justified or is it just another example of my technological tendency to slow adaptation/adoption?
From my perspective, the pros are that the technology seems well done, and for someone with absolutely no spiritual help, I suppose I could see how this could be useful initially in self-analysis and resource selection.
But the cons run along the line of the rampant individualism this could promote, the dependence on database diagnostics rather than the Spirit of God for one's sanctification, and probably just how Parks ends his video with "Let it help you find your way" (creepy).