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Several years ago, I wanted to become a true member of the church. Let me explain.
For more than 30 years, I was a preacher every Sunday at any church I attended. I have preached as a pastor, acting pastor, or guest preacher. I never saw church on Sunday mornings from the pews or chairs. I wrote an e-book called I Am a Church Member, but I didn’t have the perspective of a church member, at least in Sunday morning services.
Eight years ago I declined almost all invitations to preach. I wanted to be active in my local church as a church member, not miss Sundays as a preacher in some other church.
It has been a blessing.
And that is revealing. Let me give you an example.
I saw several other people in the church with their smartphones or tablets, probably as a virtual Bible or taking virtual notes. For those of you who can see from my point of view, I also noticed that many of those who had virtual devices clicked on the notifications they received. They were visibly distracted and visibly distracted me. By way of confession, last fall I looked at the merit of a church member while looking at the week’s school football rankings. I’m ashamed to say that I watched more time than I deserved.
Recently, I went to watch the videos in my hometown and found that the previews insisted that everyone turn off their phones and other virtual devices.
I suppose theaters have higher standards than churches in this regard.
Do I have a grumpy old legalist? Maybe. But listen to me.
Frankly, I have an explanation for asking church leaders to inspire their members to turn off their electronic devices. Here are seven explanations why.
1. Smartphones and tablets are distracting to the user who sees them. I see him every week. I rarely see church members looking at their smartphones without some type of notification popping up. Of course, they can’t wait to read the notification.
2. Smartphones and tablets distract others. I wish I wasn’t one of those prone to distraction, but I am. When that light on someone’s phone catches my attention, I immediately turn to it.
3. Smartphones include addictive content that contributes to an intellectual aptitude crisis among young people. If you doubt the veracity of my statements, do some studies. For example, read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Check out his studies on how social media on smartphones is reshaping the minds of our young men and women. Look at the dramatic buildup of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among Generation Z once they start having a smartphone with access to social media and other destructive sites. Frankly, I don’t need to give tacit approval to regular smartphone use by reading my own smartphone in church.
4. La most churches have many features for reading the Bible or taking notes during worship without the need for a smartphone or tablet. I inspire pastors to download Bibles in the pews in the translation with which they preach to the fullest. The biblical text can be put on a screen. It’s easy to position a definition of sermon in the bulletin. Most churches also have pens in their places of worship. You don’t want to have a virtual device even if you haven’t brought a published Bible.
5. La typing increases retention more than a keyboard. I was once surprised by the number of studies that proved this claim. When you take handwritten notes, you’re more engaged in the sermon and retain the content more effectively. By the way, your pastor will be encouraged when several church members take notes.
6. Smartphones create a feeling of isolation. Again, there are many smart studies on this topic. Meetings in worship centers should be a networking experience because we are involved in shared network activities, such as reading our Bibles, taking notes, listening to the sermon, or composing a song. and praise God together. The smartphone sends us more to isolation than to the network.
Church members speak of wrong priorities when they use their worship services with smartphones. Even if we remain focused on the biblical text and sermon, we might implicitly tell other church members that we are more focused on the telephone than on the God we worship.
I know we cannot force members to turn off their phones during worship services. I also know that many churches have allowed or even encouraged this practice for so long that it will be difficult to oppose it. However, I hope you will listen to my concerns. I think they are genuine and omnipresent.
I’d love to hear your opinion, whether you agree with me or not.
Originally on Church Answers.
Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers, a network and resource for church leaders. Prior to founding Church Answers, Rainer served as president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. Before joining LifeWay, he worked at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. for twelve years, where he served as founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977 and earned his Master of Divinity and Ph. D. degree. graduates of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
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