Mission Frontiers 45, 3 (May–June 2023) and 45, 4 (July–August 2023)

The May–June 2023 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles devoted to the theme of ‘The Gospel Goes Digital’.

Here is the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘New inventions have always been met with some controversy and skepticism at first as believers wrestled with understanding the new technology and its biblical implications before adopting it to the glory of God. That process continues in our day at a breathtaking speed. We should seek to use every tool that science can provide to help spread the Gospel. But we cannot just sit back and hope that the scientific community will always use these new technologies wisely. The Church needs to be actively involved in guiding the application of new technologies from a biblical perspective.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

The July–August 2023 issue is devoted to the topic of ‘Mobilising the Church to Reach All Peoples’, with the blurb as follows:

Jesus’ last words to His disciples and to us in Matt. 28:18–20 were to go and make disciples of all nations (ethne/peoples), baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded us, which also includes this command. For 2,000 years, this command to make disciples should have been one of the first things taught to every new Jesus follower after they repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus for salvation. But unfortunately, this command has, too often, been forgotten and ignored by the Church. This is why we still have over 7,000 unreached peoples according to Joshua Project, and why we still have a challenge of mobilizing the Church today.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Jennifer George and Rachel Siow Robertson on Joy and Digital Technology

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):

Jennifer George and Rachel Siow Robertson, ‘Designed for joy? Reflections on the Creation and Use of Digital Technology’, Cambridge Papers 32, 1 (March 2023).

Here is the summary:

‘As digital technologies become embedded into our places of work, education, and leisure, many people have voiced concerns about their adverse effects. Daily technology seems often to either drain our pleasure or promote pleasures which are detrimental. This reveals a need to distinguish between pleasures which support or diminish wellbeing when it comes to the design and use of technology. We argue that a theological and psychology-informed notion of joy can help do this, informing goals for the design and use of digital technology.’

Theos Report on Data and Dignity

A new report from Theos has been published:

Nathan Mladin, Data and Dignity: Why Privacy Matters in the Digital Age (London: Theos, 2023).

Some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘It’s becoming old news: we are continually tracked, analysed, and profiled by private companies and governmental agencies. Our data is hoovered up and used to predict and manipulate our behaviour. Indeed, the use of big data and algorithmic systems is on the rise in our world. A new cultural and economic order is here: surveillance capitalism or what this essay calls the “surveillance system”. […]

‘Of the many concerns raised, privacy is never far from the top. But what is privacy? Most often, it is seen as an individual’s right to control their data. But this is not enough. If it is to serve us well in resisting dehumanising applications of technology, privacy must be re–imagined around a truer, more rounded view of what it means to be human.

‘Drawing on Christian thought – though anticipating overlap with other religious and philosophical traditions – the second half of the essay sketches a conception of privacy rooted in the notion of dignity and based on the sort of creatures human beings are: embodied (with limits and susceptibilities to be honoured rather than violated for gain); relational (made for relationships of trust and mutual care rather than exploitation); agential (with a capacity for intentional action to be upheld rather than undermined).

‘Privacy is not dead, nor should it be allowed to die. Privacy is a form of neighbour love in the digital age.’

More information can be found here, a summary here, a video introduction here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.

Patrick Parkinson on Loneliness

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):

Patrick Parkinson, ‘The Loneliness of the Digitally Connected’, Cambridge Papers 31, 4 (December 2022).

Here is the summary:

‘Loneliness used to be identified as an issue particularly for the very elderly who have lost partners and friends through death; but now the loneliest age group in our community is the under-30s. These are the digital natives who typically have a large number of connections with people through social media. This paper explores the problem of loneliness in western societies, particularly among young people, and the reasons why digital connections with others are insufficient to satisfy the human need for relationships. Finally, it suggests some of the implications for the work of churches in pastoral care and outreach.’

Jonathan Ebsworth, Samuel Johns, and Michael Dodson on Surveillance Capitalism

The latest Cambridge Paper from the Jubilee Centre is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here), this one by Jonathan Ebsworth, Samuel Johns, and Michael Dodson:

Jonathan Ebsworth, Samuel Johns, and Michael Dodson, ‘Surveillance Capitalism: the hidden costs of the digital revolution’, Cambridge Papers 30, 2 (June 2021).

Here is the summary:

‘We are in the midst of a digitally-enabled industrial revolution. As with previous revolutions, this one is attended by both benefits and perils. In this paper we examine a business model called ‘surveillance capitalism” that funds the free services of this digital revolution. We describe the model itself; demonstrate the intrinsic dependence on deception, addiction, and exploitation; and suggest practical responses that individuals and communities can take to face these challenges with hope and assurance.’

On (Not) Meeting Together

The below is an excerpt from an email written for the congregation where I am one of the pastors.

As some of us have discovered, and as several well-researched pieces are telling us, meeting by Zoom (other video conferencing apps are available!) can be emotionally draining.

As you’d expect, it’s down to a mixture of reasons. The physical proximity of each other when we get together has a way of stirring all our senses, much of which is lost when we connect via screens. Then there’s the constant presence of our own image as we interact with others, which raises our self-awareness and affects how authentic and available we are in the conversation. Zoom works well for lectures, or for formal meetings with rules about who speaks, but is less suitable for more interactive meetings when more than a few people are present. Even on the fastest of internet connections, the slight delay in saying something and it being registered by others on the screen can play havoc with the natural rhythms of how we normally communicate with each other. Those who have studied this area draw attention to unwritten rules about eye gaze, turn taking, and our reliance on microsecond timing. We have to work harder to process non-verbal cues like facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language, and all this consumes a lot of emotional energy.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m grateful to God every day for the provision of technology which allows us to connect during this time – as families, friends, and colleagues, as well as a church – and I still get a happy rush when I see all the windows opening on the screen of my laptop. Plus, we should probably think about putting some online provision in place when this period is over, for those who are housebound.

Even so, I’m missing our gatherings, and I hope you are too.

I’m missing the smell of freshly-baked lemon drizzle cake when we meet for housegroup, the sounds of chinking mugs as drinks are prepared in the kitchen, the hubbub of catching-up conversations between friends, the way someone is able to detect by the slightest flicker of a look in our eye that the day hasn’t gone so well...

From beginning to end, the Bible makes it clear that God designed us to be embodied creatures – and social creatures too! The blessings of the digital age aside, church isn’t meant to be an experience we consume, like the latest series on Netflix, from the comfort of our sofas. Our gathered worship is meant to involve our physical togetherness in one place alongside people with whom we experience the highs and lows of real relationship.

It’s reminded me that there’s an important ‘horizontal’ aspect to our worship which we sometimes miss in our concern to get the ‘vertical’ aspect right. Our moments of gathered worship are not merely a place for our individual expression of worship upwards to God, but the place for the Spirit’s transformation of us together as the body of Christ. And it’s our immersion in the life and relationships of the gathered church that forms us and equips us to be God’s people in everyday life.

Lovely though it has been to meet via Zoom on Sunday mornings and at other times during the week, I’m looking forward to when we’re next able to gather, and I hope you are too.

The Bible in Transmission (Spring 2019) on Millennials

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on the theme of ‘Millennials’.

I have taken the ‘tasters’ of articles below from Chine McDonald’s editorial.

Chine McDonald

Editorial

David Kinnaman

Getting to know the next generation

Christianity to Millennials was often seen to be hypocritical, judgemental, boring and irrelevant. While these views present challenges to mission among Millennials... Kinnaman points to something... even more concerning: ‘The most common millennial response to religion in general and Christianity in particular, is neutral or none at all,’ he writes.

David Ford

How can the church in Britain help Millennials engage with the Bible?

David Ford asks how the Church in Britain can help digitally savvy Millennials engage more meaningfully with the Bible. His piece draws on... research commissioned by the Bible Society and undertaken by the CODEC research centre in 2017. 

Matthew van Duyvenbode

Millennial Catholics in England and Wales

This is also a generation that cares greatly about the world around them. Matthew van Duyvenbode’s article... explores... how this age group emphasises the expectation of helping others. In the 2017 survey, 21% ranked ‘helping others’ as their top aspiration, more important than lifestyle options such as ‘having close friends’, ‘being happy’ and ‘living in a safe environment’. Overall, it ranked as the fifth most likely aspiration. 

Jason Shields

Transmitting faith: Black and minority ethnic churches and the Millennial generation

The exploration of the unique challenges of black majority churches’ engagement with Millennials... once again reiterates that while there are overarching themes when it comes to reaching 20s and 30s, there are also particular cultural challenges. In his fascinating article, Jason Shields explains: ‘One of the biggest shifts the BME Church is encountering is the increase  in black consciousness of Millennials. The history of Christianity and its involvement in slavery has been a particular sticking point as many black Christians attempt to reconcile their Christian faith and the history of the Church’... This article gives real insight into the different ways that churches are reaching Millennials and how those black and minority ethnic Millennials are in turn reimaging their faith.

Hannah Stevens

Church in a digital age

One of the key themes that emerges from these pages is authenticity. In her discussion of the place of social media and other digital technologies in the life of the Church, Hannah Stevens reminds us of the importance of the physical presence of open and accessible authentic communities that provide opportunities for spiritual growth.

Pete Wynter

Millennials, authenticity, the Church and its mission

Pete Wynter... makes the same point: ‘if the church cannot learn to speak with authenticity it will not communicate in an intelligible language to Millennials.’ He argues that the culture of the Church needs to change, that leaders need to learn to become more vulnerable if they are to communicate with authenticity.

Chris Auckland

The John the Baptist generation

Chris Auckland writes about the economic and political environment that has led to the positive aspects of Millennial behaviours... ‘We are in crisis; the system is letting us down, and no one is listening. That is why we are the John the Baptist generation, because we are shouting in the wilderness to warn you of what is to come, because it is going to be so much worse. We are not the outliers, we are the warm-up act.’ It is a stark warning to which those who lead churches must pay attention.

The Bible in Transmission (Autumn 2018) on Reconciliation

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on the theme of ‘Reconciliation’.

I have taken the ‘tasters’ of articles below from Tony Graham’s editorial.

Tony Graham

Editorial

Sarah Hills

From Estrangement  to Communion: A Theology of Reconciliation

Two of our contributors, Sarah Hills and Gordon Kennedy, remind us that this ministry of reconciliation begins with the transforming grace of God, the wounded healer.

Glenn Jordan & Pádraig Ó Tuama 

Sharing stories: Narratives, Reconciliation and Public Theology in Ireland and Britain

Our second article comes out of the Corrymeela community in Northern Ireland. Established in 1965, Corrymeela’s mission is to ‘transform division through human encounter’. Here Glenn Jordan and Pádraig Ó Tuama discuss, with a focus on the book of Ruth, the importance of creating space to share stories and the power narratives have to confront and transform. As we approach the centenary of the partition of Ireland and face the uncertainty of the UK leaving the European Union, Glenn and Pádraig challenge us to examine ‘the stories that will affect our civic, bordered, political, religious and relational realities. These realities invite deep and complicated reflection on the past, and the ways in which the stories told (or not told) of the past can affect the practice of the present.’ What sort of society do we want to become?

Gordon Kennedy

Broken Relationships

Two of our contributors, Sarah Hills and Gordon Kennedy, remind us that this ministry of reconciliation begins with the transforming grace of God, the wounded healer. As Gordon states, ‘if we long to see reconciliation in our relationships with one another we must begin with our reconciliation to God our Father.’

Fleur Dorrell

Believing is Seeing: Reconciling Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus Paintings

Our need for God’s grace is highlighted in Fleur Dorrell’s reflections on Caravaggio’s two paintings of the Supper at Emmaus based on the story in Luke’s Gospel. Here Fleur explores ‘how Caravaggio uses symbol and revelation to reconcile art with reality and faith with salvation to open the disciples’ eyes to Christ’.

Elizabeth Oldfield

Loving your Digital Neighbour: New Media and Reconciliation in an Age of Incivility

As technology drives changes in society, significant interpersonal challenges emerge. As David Goodhart argues, social media has amplified our differences and the tone has changed. We are living in an age of increasing incivility. So how do we deal with difference and what practical steps can we take to help restore broken relationships? Drawing on her own experience of social media, Elizabeth Oldfield reflects on what it means to love your neighbour in a digital age.

Ian Christie

Reconciliation with the Earth? From Ecological Violence to Peacemaking with the Creation

In our penultimate article, we return to the subject of war – our war on nature. Ian Christie argues that in the face of a worsening ecological crisis we need to urgently rethink our ethics and values. The potential for ecological reconciliation is real and Christian communities can take a lead and be ‘exemplars of new ways of living and cooperating that demonstrate reconciliation’ with God’s creation.

R. David Muir

The Windrush Generation: History, Memory and Racial Reconciliation

Social divisions are not new, as David Muir outlines in his account of the Windrush generation, who experienced significant racism and discrimination. ‘The Church can, and should be, the place where all people feel welcome and accepted.’ However, more needs to be done to make our churches more inclusive and our society more cohesive.

Paul Williams

Afterword

Guy Brandon on Social Media

The latest Cambridge Paper from the Jubilee Centre is available online, this one by Guy Brandon:

Guy Brandon, ‘The Medium is the Message: the Spiritual Impacts of Social Media’, Cambridge Papers 25, 3 (September 2016).

Here is the summary:

‘The internet, smartphones, social media, instant messaging and other related technologies have had a dramatic impact on the way we communicate over the last 20 years, and therefore fundamentally how we relate to one another. Since we are relational beings, made in the image of a relational God, these far-reaching changes have innate spiritual significance. The pervasive nature of communications technologies means it is often hard to gauge their true effects on us, but exploring and understanding the implications for our lives and relationships is vital if their use is to be meaningfully aligned with our faith.’

Mission Frontiers 37, 5 (September-October 2015)

The September-October 2015 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles looking at ‘Setting the Scriptures Free in a Digital Age’.

Editor Rick Wood writes:

‘In this issue of MF we feature the tremendous power of God’s people to speed the completion of desperately needed Bible translations when average Jesus followers are empowered to take ownership in the process of Bible translation. The spread of digital technology along with crowdsourcing Bible translation methods within a people opens the door of hope that we could actually see a Bible translation in the language of every people group that needs one in just the next 10 years... This convergence of digital technology and crowdsourcing in Bible translation has earth shaking potential because the word of God is the essential element in the growth of the church within every people. Likewise, the current lack of Scriptures in many peoples is hindering the spread of the church and the gospel...

‘[I]ndigenous churches around the world that lack adequate Scriptures in their languages are starting to take matters into their own hands—empowered by new digital tools...  They are refusing to be dependent upon outsiders to find the time to get around to them and are taking ownership of the translation process.’

Individual articles can be accessed from here, and the whole issue (3 MB) can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Theology and Ministry: An Online Journal

From St. John’s College Durham comes Theology and Ministry, ‘a peer-reviewed annual publication featuring innovative work at the interdisciplinary interface of theological study and ministerial practice and reflection’, which ‘encourages the rapid and inexpensive on-line publication of distinguished work, making articles available to a world-wide readership at minimal cost’.

Bravo!

The first issue is available now, with articles and reviews downloadable from here.

All the pieces look interesting, but the first one particularly caught my eye, by Richard Briggs and Pete Phillips – ‘The Bible as Augmented Reality’:

‘This paper explores the notion of the Bible as “augmented reality”, a phrase used to refer to the addition of a layer of digital data superimposed upon our normal field of vision. We look at some points of contact between this notion and that of the Bible as the Church’s book and a light for its life. We then turn to various reference points for thinking through this image more widely, in literature, theology, and philosophy. A final section considers initial areas for further exploration in developing the image, as one among many useful ways of thinking about the Bible in today’s world.’

Second Nature

Second Nature – ‘an online journal for critical thinking about technology and new media in light of the Christian tradition’ – is still fairly new, but looks interesting and helpful.

Lausanne Movement on Media and the Gospel

The current topic focus from the Lausanne Movement on the issues raised in The Cape Town Commitment is media.

There is a summarising piece by Naomi Frizzell – ‘Media and the Gospel: A Call to the Global Lausanne Community’, urging us to take seriously:

• Media awareness – ‘The need for greater understanding of how media messages shape individuals, families and societies; and the need to develop skills of critical evaluation and response.’

• Media presence – ‘The need for a new emphasis on working in the mainstream news and creative media, from a Christian perspective, with professionalism, creativity, integrity, and courage.’

• Media ministries – ‘The need for courage, creativity, innovation, and integrity in using every medium to its full potential to communicate the gospel and biblical truth.’

Several short essays and responses exploring the topic further are available from this page.

Collin Hansen on the Challenge of Christian Journalism

Having posted a piece last week on journalism, I thought I’d link to this short piece by Collin Hansen on ‘The Challenge of Christian Journalism’.

Here’s how he concludes:

‘Journalists that would serve the church will fulfill a catechetical calling. We are teachers who help other Christians understand a world created by God but corrupted by sin. Our investigative work reflects the biblical reality that we live in the “not yet” of the coming kingdom, a time when our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We expose the sin that imperils believers so that they might be prepared to defend themselves in the power of the Holy Spirit.

‘Yet, we also live in the “already” time, when the Father is working in glorious ways to spread the saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is good news, and journalists have been called to tell it. With a little help from preachers, we just might be able to encourage the church with a new, more edifying approach to media.’

Don’t Stop the Press

[I contributed this week’s ‘Connecting with Culture’ from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. There were a number of possible topics to write about this week, including the London mayoral and local elections, and the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, but I opted to reflect on World Press Freedom Day.]

World Press Freedom Day, observed annually on 3 May, was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1993. It provides an opportunity to celebrate the principle of press freedom, draw attention to those areas of the world where such freedom continues to be repressed, and pay tribute to journalists who have faced harassment, imprisonment, or even death to bring news to the global public.

Proceedings surrounding this year’s World Press Freedom Day are considering the power of media freedom to ‘transform societies’. That might sound somewhat grandiose were it not for recent events in North Africa and the Middle East. News of the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi, a vegetable peddler in Tunisia – following the confiscation of his cart by the authorities – went viral through a convergence of mobile technology, social media and satellite TV, lighting the touch paper of unrest, arguably giving birth to what became known as the Arab Spring.

Back in the UK, somewhat ironically, the Leveson Inquiry into ‘the culture, practice and ethics of the press’ rumbles on. The full report is still to come, but the process has already reminded us that freedom can be abused, that there is a line between careful investigative journalism and callous invasion of privacy. Perhaps we have also seen something of our own complicity in sustaining a culture which expects access to news of the scandals and tragedies of others.

At the same time, it would be unhelpful if the Leveson Inquiry demonised journalists and discredited their profession. Those whose understanding of the world is nurtured by Scripture know that journalism (like sex, money and politics) is not inherently evil in itself, but can directed in beneficial ways and misdirected in harmful ways. And those whose lives are shaped by the good news of God’s work of restoration begun in Christ can be confident that in this arena (as with sex, money and politics), redemption is possible.

Indeed, signs of God’s grace can be seen in every instance of truth-telling, of professional integrity, of communicative skill, of honest reporting which treats people with dignity and serves the welfare of others. And we can pray for and support those who work hard to do this, often in difficult circumstances, confident that in God’s grand design ‘there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open’ (Luke 8:17).

Links

UNESCO, World Press Freedom Day 2012.

The Leveson Inquiry.

Christians in Journalism.

The Church and Media Network.

David Aikman, ‘Three Callings of a Christian in Journalism’ (2002).

Arne H. Fjeldstad, ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Christians in Journalism’.

Eli Pariser on ‘The Filter Bubble’

Thanks to my friend, Conrad Gempf, who brought my attention to this TED Talk by Eli Pariser on the ‘filter bubble’, about how personalised search might be narrowing our worldview.

‘As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there’s a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a “filter bubble” and don’t get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy.’

Princeton Theological Review 17, 2 (2010)

The most recent Princeton Theological Review (available here as a pdf) is devoted to ‘The Church After Google’, and contains the following essays:

Philip Clayton

Theology and the Church After Google

Brett McCraken

The Separation of Church and Status: How Online Social Networking Helps and Hurts the Church

Rachel Johnson

Gospel Truth in the Age of Google

Ched Spellman

The Canon After Google: Implications of a Digitized and Destabilized Codex

Matt O’Reilly

Faith Comes From Hearing: The Scandal of Preaching in a Digital Age

Neal Locke

Virtual World Churches and the Reformed Confessions

Travis Pickell

‘Thou Hast Given Me a Body’: Theological Anthropology and the Virtual Church

Henry Kuo

Hacking into the Church Mainframe: A Theological Engagement of the Post-Informational World

David Congdon

Travis McMaken

Theo-Blogging and the Future of Academic Theology: Reflections from the Trenches

Brian Brock

Theological Blogging: A Contradiction in Terms?

Book Reviews

Encounters 31 (2009) on Technology and Mission

This issue of Encounters from Redcliffe College explores how technology in general, and digital media in particular, is impacting mission. It takes in a number of key issues, including ‘the role of IT in mission, the place and potential of internet-based evangelism, and the vital importance of video for engaging with the current and forthcoming generation of new missionaries and their peers’.