Mohler: "If you are not present on the Internet, you simply do not exist, as far as anyone under 30 is concerned"

….and you may not exist to some of those who are over 30 too :)

Can one be a Luddite AND a Pastor?

What if a Pastor were to eschew:

• Owning a car?
• Using a word processor?
• TV viewing?

What would be wrong with that? And why?

Increasingly, people search for churches by visiting websites. If they do so, they probably won’t visit unless you have a good website. We have had an influx of new visitors in the past few months, coincidentally, just after we revamped our website and added a lot of new information, and began uploading video blogs, sermon PowerPoints with audio, and other ministry videos. Most of them stated they heard about us by our website. I’m not saying our website is amazing, but I am saying your website is an important presentation of your ministry.

Personally speaking, being in the military, the internet is the way we researched new churches. We got orders, we searched for churches in the area and prioritized which ones we would visit before choosing one.

I am the last generation that did not have mobile technology in middle and high school. It is a fact of life now. I am forced to confiscate cell phones and tablets before Youth Group lessons! An internet presence is very important.

Where do you live? Who are you reaching? How does it affect your ability to serve?

• Living in most places in the US, it would be quite difficult to serve in that role and not drive a car. Unless you are in a major metro with public transit, it is needed for how we live here as much as knowing English is.
• Using a word processor is not as necessary, but again, if you are ever going to communicate with people other than verbally, it is pretty important. One could copy handwritten pages, I suppose, but it would be much less efficient (not to mention many would struggle with being able to read what was written).
• TV viewing- well, that one I submit is not only easily disposed of, it is actually becoming a growing trend… We haven’t had “TV” for over a decade, practically speaking, though we do have a computer, DVD player, and streaming video…

I worked as an assistant for a pastor who was essentially a Luddite as far as computers go. Even there, he still had to get others to do things for him all the time (either the secretary or me). I talked to him on the phone the other day, and he referenced asking his son to print out some things here at SI so he could read them. All I’m saying is you can’t really escape some things, no matter how much you might be reluctant to.