Paradigm Shifts in Technology Hurt Evangelism Efforts

Introduction

Technology is a wonderful thing. It has not only improved our way of life, it’s also has made things easier for us in our daily routines. With advancements in washing machines, clothes have never been cleaner, and done as fast. The automobile has helped us work longer distances from home. The airplane helped us stay in touch with people far away, and also travel the globe and experience different cultures other than our own. The internet and personal computer helped some of us stay home to work, and students home from the library. Within evangelism, advances in technology has both helped, and hurt the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ. In the areas of helping…the internet has been a key figure in sharing the gospel with others. Information on different worldviews is at your fingertips. We are able to network with others of the same faith, and share information with each other through e-mail, blogs, and chat rooms. Video that was only available to certain clubs are now spanned over places like YouTube, MySpace, and other private websites. But for this blog, I want to concentrate on how changes in technology hinder evangelism in the United States.

Gas Station Pumps.

One such invention that hurt evangelism efforts was the evolution of gas station pumps to what we have today. Now you may be wondering how a gas station pump can hurt evangelism. Well gas station pumps have been around for a long time. They were born in 1898, and quickly became an American icon. They were another place where guys can be guys other than the barber shop. Humans have not changed in this aspect, where every person has a “third place” to go (first and second being home and work). For men, this third place consisted of where guys can be guys, and talk about cars, get dirty, and the smell of gas was an attraction. At these stations, you didn’t buy gas from Mobil, Exxon, or Shell, but you bought it from Tony Monoco, Joe Orwell. You bought gas from people.

Between 1933 and 1970 things started to change a bit. Gas stations became “service stations”, where not only did you buy gas, but also your oil was checked, windshield was washed, and the air was topped off. Even though service was quick, it was still personal. You as an employee knew your customers and your customers knew you. It was easy to build relationships with each other, and you still bought gas from a person. Combined with car repair…you had a favorite mechanic, knew him by name, and spoke with him frequently. He was trusted more than a doctor or dentist.

In the 1980’s, self service was mainstream in most states. Even though you pumped your own gas, you still paid someone to take your cash or credit card. At this point the level of service changed dramatically…none. No service whatsoever. If you wanted your windshield washed, you must do it yourself…along with checking your oil, and tires. Air wasn’t even free at some stations. These were combined with convenience stores instead of car repair which destroyed the “third place” for men. Things were made easy…”in and out” were the new paradigm shift.

In the 1990’s, a new shift basically destroyed all hope of having a conversations and witnessing opportunities between attendants and customers. Bullet proof glass was now the ultimate conversation killer. The attendant talked through a microphone 2 feet away which sounded worse than NASA talking with Neil Armstrong on the moon.

But just when you thought it couldn’t get worse….it was “swipe the card” in the new millennium. Here all transactions were done electronically. No one was there to check the oil, windows, or air. Now you didn’t have anyone to take your money. Just swipe the card and you are good to go. This paved the way for attendentless gas stations, and you were lucky to even find water or a brush to clean your windshield. Now if you talked to customers you were labeled weird, or worse…a stalker. Just watch out…that mother of 2 may be carrying Mace. My point is that the more advanced technology gets…the less face-to-face human interaction there will be. The world in all it’s busyness has become a very lonely place.

Internet

Well if you don’t believe me yet…let’s look at the internet. Now in the beginning I showed how the internet advanced evangelism efforts…now we will look at how it hurt efforts.

Not only did the internet promote “surfing” and looking for useless information which replaced exercise and learning a musical instrument, but it limited human interaction. Email, instant message, chat rooms, replaced talking face to face. Facial expressions were replaced by “smiley faces”, “quick texts”, and coded messages. This made writing between teenagers and parents seem like the Tower of Babel. MySpace replaced learning about each other through relationships and long talks to personality profiles and surveys. Not only that, but coffee shops were created so that people can talk to each other. People paid $4.00 a latte to talk face to face…but what happened…Wi-Fi happened. And people started doing the same old thing, therefore getting the same old results.

So what am I getting at?

People don’t want to get personal with each other because the paradigm shifts in technology have prevented this from happening. People in one sense or another hate human interaction because they have been programmed by technology ignore it, or frankly, be scared of it. So where does that leave the Christian evangelist trying to witness to a person on the street, who has a hard message anyway…but now the heavy burden of sharing that message to a person who does not want, or is scared to talk.

Gospel tracts have been a key at sharing the gospel with people and not having that face-to-face conversation. They are effective against this paradigm shift for several reasons.
1. Tracts provide an opening to share your faith. When you don’t know what to talk about or how to start a conversation…these do the work for you.
2. They can do the witnessing for us. If we are too timid to speak we can simply leave one somewhere for others to pick up.
3. They find themselves in homes where the evangelist cannot go.
4. They speak to individuals when they are ready. People don’t read them until they want to. (This is a key reason right here).
5. They don’t get into arguments…they just state their case.
Of course another rule of thumb is that people don’t care what you know…until they know that you care. Have a genuine, honest interest in other people. Treat them the way that you would want to be treated. Love them. That’s the way God did it. Jesus never had a laptop, Paul never had a PDA. Get to know a person by the God given talents we were born with…our eyes, our ears, our mouths. Reach out and touch someone. Not only touch them physically, but in their heart. The quickest way to a person’s mind…is their heart.

Conclusion.

So the next time you swipe your card at the pump, give a friendly hello to the car next to you. When you are at your favorite coffee shop, ditch the laptop and PDA and have a conversation with the person next to you. Start another paradigm shift in the right direction. You’ll be glad that you did.