5 Warning Signs for the Church in a ‘Facebook Culture’

By: American Decency Staff

One of my favorite childhood memories is watching Star Wars in the theater in 1977. I (along with an entire nation) was awestruck. Nothing like that had ever been done before. We were all sucked into a new world of spaceships, lightsabers, strange creatures, and distant galaxies. But of all the things that caught the average viewer’s attention, the amazing technology of the future was doubtless near the top of the list. What would it be like to have robots with personalities, to hover above the ground on a “land speeder,” to play “chess” with virtual holographic images, and to have lost limbs restored with robotic parts?

Of course, these very things have been largely realized today. In fact, I noticed that when my own son watched Star Wars on DVD a few years ago, he wasn’t amazed by much of anything technological—some of it probably seemed pretty realistic to him. He was mesmerized instead by the fast-flying ships, lightsaber fights, and fun action scenes. We live in a world where technology advances at such a mind-boggling pace that we hardly have time to stop and be amazed by it. We feel this today particularly in the area of “social media” like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Periscope, and just plain ol’ texting. We are (supposedly) more connected, more in touch, in better communication than ever before. 

Yet as I think about my son’s future, and even about life today, I have to ask the question: What effect does “social media” technology have on the way we view the church? On the way we conceive of life in Christ’s body? Much of social media is positive, of course. And the church has certainly leveraged this technology to advance the cause of Christ. Moreover, I can’t miss the irony of writing about the adverse effects of technology on a website. Nevertheless, I do have some concerns—and so should you.

Here are a five characteristics of a “Facebook culture” we must reckon with as believers: 


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