Book Review: Discipling This Generation for a Digital World

A few years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Greg Bitgood in his role coordinating The Vancouver Symposium on Christian Education.  Greg is a leader of leaders and has a huge heart for discipling students.  He is particularly interested in the pervasiveness of technology in our society and how that ultimately impacts our opportunities to spread the gospel and invest in the hearts and minds of our students.  Two years ago at the conference, Greg generously shared copies of his book Discipling This Generation for a Digital World.  I finished up my Ed Specialist degree a few weeks ago and finally have some time to read things that I’d like to read.  Greg’s book was one of my first choices and I read through it in 2 days.  Tons of great things to think on in my role as a high school principal in a Christian school that is integrating technology in all that we do.  In our quest to be innovative, we also want to make sure that we are being intentional with our discipleship strategies.
Greg’s book is a great resource.  He would be the first to stay that a lot has transpired with both technology and education since he wrote this a few years ago, but most of his points hold true even if the platform has changed a bit.  Through a variety of historical narratives, parables, and otherwise hilarious personal anecdotes, Greg paints a great picture of what the future holds for those of us seeking to disciple students in a digital world.  I’d encourage educational leaders to read this and share it with their teams to spark some very necessary conversations.

I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those below…

  • If our world is changing, a notion we seem to have to prove to some, then how does this affect the way we live our Christian faith?  Does it affect how we disciple?  Does it affect how we raise our kids so that they will stay true to the faith?  Should we be equipping our upcoming church leaders in ways that will prepare them for the changing cultural environment or is it good enough just to teach them how to use PowerPoint?  Should we escape and head for the hills or should we engage and login?
  • If we will start asking the right questions, perhaps we will start finding the right answers.
  • Our Christian faith has weathered many storms throughout the last two millennium but how do we prepare for what’s coming: the integration of man and machine, the connection of the human psyche to the vast resources of the internet, technologies that work at the atomic level and the new art form of genetic manipulation?
  • To become a missionary is to give up not only the homeland but also the feeling of belonging in the homeland.
  • 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (The Message) Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
  • The innovations of all of these technologies facilitates greater platforms for our fallen-ness to spread and grow.
  • Evangelical Christianity continues to be distracted with a  shortsighted view of the future.  Discipleship has often taken a back seat to eschatology.
  • The digital world and the internet have dismantled the old authority structures that protected the dissemination of knowledge as their chief source of power over the masses.
  • “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the Word of God.  I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.  God help me.  Amen.  Here I stand.  I cannot do otherwise.”  Martin Luther
  • If the movable type press released a reformation of change, the internet will unleash a full out revolution.
  • Communication technology training should be compulsory in the same way as any other core subject in our high schools.
  • We must allow transparent and accountable relationships into our lives.  The Apostle Paul exhorted us in 2 Corinthians 4:2 (The Message) We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
  • Globalization 1.0-the key agent of change, the dynamic force driving the process of global integration was how much brawn-how much muscle, how much horsepower, wind power, or later, steam power-your country had and how creatively you could deploy it.  Globalization 2.0-the key agent of change, the dynamic force driving global integration, was multinational companies.  Globalization 3.0-the thing that gives it its unique character-is the newfound power for individuals to collaborate and compete globally.
  • “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
  • Information is becoming an “ism,” a religion with its own set of morals and ethics.  If something can be known, then it is immoral to not be able to find it.  People are worshipping everyday at the computer screens of this new religion.
  • Do we concentrate our focus on teaching “facts” that can be easily googled at any time or place, or should we focus our attention on teaching our students how to search?
  • Google doesn’t forgive, nor does it forget.
  • “We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.” 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (The Message)
  • Technology has a habit of sneaking up on us and captivating our lives before we realize what is happening to us.  These transcendent technologies can be very deceptive; are we able to discern their potential before we accept and commit to use them?
  • Are you preparing yourself for the decisions our culture will press upon us?

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