“How am I using the technology in my life?” And, “How should Christians approach the use of technology?” “What are the benefits, drawbacks, and in what ways might technology adversely affect the Christian life and the church?”.

I can remember sitting at the airport gate awaiting the call to board my flight. As I sat and awaited the gate-agent’s announcement, I was engrossed in my book. With highlighter and pencil in hand I was busily reading, marking, and pondering the book’s arguments and contents and interestedly exploring the footnotes at the bottom of the page. As I came up for a breath of fresh air and to stretch my hunched neck, I looked around the terminal and saw people walking by. It struck me, however, that most of the people were holding smartphones. Some were multitasking—they were walking and scrolling through texts, tweets, and internet content. Some were talking on their phones while others were listening to music through headphones. As I scanned the airport gate, I noticed how many people were using smartphones and tablets. The people using devices vastly outnumbered those who were sitting idly or reading hard-copy books. My mind was drawn to several different ideas. I thought about lemmings plunging off a cliff—each individual creature following others off the edge regardless of the danger. Another thought came to mind—a passage of Scripture: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). In that moment I vividly saw how influential screens are and wondered how much they shape our lives.

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