Reformers have certainly never had to deal with this issue; However, this is certainly a problem that we face today and has important implications for the fertility of a pastor’s ministry today. Just as this problem has arisen as a result of our growing technological advances, We also have strong views on this subject, many of these opinions are nothing more than preferences and yet there are still pastoral problems that must be considered if we, as pastors in the technological age, want to avoid unnecessary distractions, in order to be more fruitful and effective. Here is a basic pattern that every pastor should consider when determining the type of resources he will use when seeking to administer the Word of God to God’s people:
The age of your congregation is very important for discerning these problems. A pastor can sit by a sick person’s bedside and read the Word of God on an electronic device and be found reading it with someone under the age of 40, rather than someone. over 40, that’s always the case. Simply because a younger person is likely to be more “technological,” this doesn’t mean that reading on an iPod isn’t a distraction for these people, as would be the case with an 80-year-old.
- These decisions should be made based on your level of trust in the people you work with.
- How well do you know them? How well do they know and understand you.
- And even expect you to use a Kindle when reading God’s Word? I always suggest making mistakes as a precaution.
- If you’re visiting an 80-year-old widow who doesn’t have a computer and doesn’t yet know what the internet is (trust me.
- Those people still exist and are proud of them).
- It’s probably best to always have an impression of God’s Word.
- May God read with her.
- She may think you are trying to trick her if she can’t see her “Holy Bible” printed in front of you.
Making this decision is based not only on the person’s commitment, but on where he exercises a ministry where others may be. I believe that hospitals, funeral homes and similar traditional institutions, where many types of people from different backgrounds and ages will be involved, Pastors should realize that some may interpret the electronic device that you operate as a substitute for the Bible and as a distraction. Think of the disbelievers present who may wonder what you are reading. “You could read anything there, how do I know it’s the Bible?On the other hand, in your small group of Bible study students, where everyone reads on a Kindle or iPod?A physical Bible may seem strange to you.
Since many pastors have their own opinions on this issue, each of us should avoid being legalistic on this issue. The Word of God is no less the Word of God in printed form wrapped in a very elegant colored blanket with a giant cross on the front. , or in the small version on your mobile phone. Are we going to stop this from becoming the next controversy, just the King James Bible?[King James only] and just consider it as it really is: a preference. Is it a reliable translation of the Bible and a reliable and authoritative print or electronic copy of that translation (of which there are many)?It is the Word Dios. No make it a more serious problem than it should be.
Our effectiveness in service to our people ultimately has nothing to do with the means by which we read it, provided that it is the infallible, infallible and powerful Word of the living God, God, by his Spirit and his living and effective Word. , it is he who transforms and impacts people, gives that word and does not rely too much on the instruments for which you read, but do so in a judicied way that avoids any distraction from God by operating what he does for his word. in the life of his people when his shepherds preach it faithfully for the good of souls.
Lately I read the Bible regularly on my iPad mini, but you will always find me with a printed copy of the Word of God when you enter a funeral home, a hospital room or the home of an older saint. I am not using my iPod when I preach, not as a theological principle, but because of my fear of relying too much on technology. Each pastor must determine his or her own level of comfort to include the blessings of technology as we should, but he must also be aware of all the unnecessary perceptions that exist and that can hinder his efforts to care for souls.