Cloud technology

Luke 9: 28-36
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
February 7, 2016 – Science and Technology Sunday

            “Mulder, the internet is not good for you.”

            So said Dana Scully to her partner, Fox Mulder, during this past Monday night’s episodeof “The X-Files”.   When the TV show first began in 1993, the internet was still a novelty, with America Online just beginning to offer public service.  By the time the series had ended in 2002, the dot-com bubble had burst and the internet was ubiquitous.  Since then, Google’s search engine eclipsed Yahoo like the sun over the moon, plus we saw the birth and rise of eBay, Amazon, and the seemingly omnipresent Facebook.

            Now we go to the internet for almost everything.   

• Need a recipe?  Type in whatever seemingly unconnected ingredients you have and presto, 10 different ideas for dinner.   
• Need directions, the weather report?  Keep track of what you eat, how many steps you take in a day?  There’s an app for that.   
• Crowdsource a kids’ project, how to repair the ice dispenser in your refrigerator, or even crowdsource a sermon—no problem.   
• Say what you’re thinking in 140 characters or less.   
• Read your news, express an opinion.   
• Start your own website.   
• Kickstart your project with online funding.   
• Pay your bills.  
•  Get your music not only from iTunes but Spotify and Pandora.   
• Watch videos on YouTube.   
• Livestream sports games or whatever else you’re into.  
• Subscribe to Hulu and Netflix.   
• And not only that, but you can also do it all on your phone.  

One day, like the dial telephone, cassette tapes, and slide rules, cable TV just might become a thing of the past.  Gasp!

            Like it or not, barring some major catastrophe, the internet is here to stay, and with it, the many ways it can organize our lives and our life together.  Who has been to our SignUp Genius page to volunteer for something at church?  This morning I’m going to show you how easy it is.

            Three out of the four lectionary readings for today either tell a story or refer to God speaking to God’s people from a cloud.  God is still speaking to God’s people, but the cloud technology has changed.  However, for some of us, when we enter the cloud, we can still become somewhat overwhelmed by the power this internet cloud has in human lives.  But if we get into the habit of using some kind of digital organizational website, it just might transfigure the way we do church—less time spent organizing, making us more nimble, more responsive.  So, here goes.

The internet is replete with cartoons lampooning church and technology.

 

We're so old school it's funny.

See how long it takes for us to adopt new technology?

Well, this might be taking things a bit too far.

Above is a screenshot from our weekly announcements. Near the bottom, after the lectionary readings, is where you can like our Facebook page and the link for our SignUpGenius page. If you're reading this on your computer, click on this link to go to the SignUpGenius page.

This the first page you will come to.

When you scroll down, you will see upcoming Sundays and the opportunities for ministry that are needed for each Sunday.  Under each one is a description of what you can volunteer for.  Click on the Sign Up box for what you'd like to do.  You can also see who you'll be serving with.  (I've crossed out the names that were on this page.)

You need to either create a SignUpGenius account or you can sign in with Facebook.  You will receive an email confirming what it is you have signed up for.

You will receive a reminder email and you can also add this to your online calendar.

That's all there is to it.  Each week I encourage you to click on the SignUpGenius link in the weekly announcements and see what is available and how you can serve at the New Ark.

          Technology has the power to revolutionize, to transfigure anything it touches.  In the 15^th century it was the printing press that was the advent of the Reformation in the 16^th c., enabling not only the Bible to be read in languages other than Latin, but allowed Martin Luther and others to have their works published hundreds of thousands of times in their own lifetime. 

            Now it is the internet in which revolutions have their advent, movements for change have their birth and the potential to spread globally.  Indeed we truly are a part of a worldwide web, interconnected and interdependent, on the cusp of a new age of human evolution.  It is good that we are here.

           

            And yet nothing can replace congregational singing.  Or receiving communion from the hands of a sister or brother.  Or serving someone a meal or helping them through a difficult time.  Or having ashes actually smudged on your forehead to remind you that nothing lasts forever.  Not even the internet.

            Jesus didn’t go up the mountain alone.  He went with a couple of his closest friends.  That, by far, is the best technology, the most radical science that Love has ever found.  Amen.