It’s impossible to escape the digital age. We’ve all seen the memes, right? The ones with the adult “iPad kid” who really needs to “touch grass” or of the seasoned individual who feels they need to print out their emails to “save” them.
The truth is, most of us live somewhere in between the memes. We’re neither technophiles nor analog-only hermits. In a world where our attention is our most exploited commodity, we need help figuring out how to navigate it all.
The season we now refer to as “the pandemic” saw the church rush online; it was a gift of accessibility. But it also left us with a whole host of new questions. Are we losing something? Can discipleship happen through a screen?
Navigating the Digital World
As it turns out, the Bible doesn’t give us a verse about TikTok. But Scripture does have much to say about what shapes our hearts. As writer Samuel James argues in his book Digital Liturgies, the internet isn’t just a tool—it’s a habitat,1 an environment that trains us to think, feel, and believe. It’s formative, sometimes in ways that are at odds with the way of Jesus. We must be on guard against allowing hot takes to override careful thought and outrage to overrule charity.
Still, the answer isn’t to smash our smartphones. The problem isn’t with the online environment itself. It’s a heart problem. As Jesus says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 12:34).
Seek Good
The digital world is a new habitat we must navigate, seeking good. At the same time, we must be sure our brokenness doesn’t pull us into the darkness.
The answer to discerning navigation can’t be outright rejection of the online world. To retreat completely would mean abandoning opportunities to make disciples—including digitally available peoples. The internet is a great tool—a gift even. Discipleship can happen online! However, this doesn’t mean we should accept it unexamined.
Consider Past Examples
Christians are to navigate challenging cultural waters just as we have with other cultural seaways. Thankfully, there is nothing new under the sun.
Consider Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council—the group debated: Should non-Jewish Christians become culturally Jewish and be circumcised? Also think about when Paul addressed the issue of eating meat from pagan feasts in Corinth (1 Corinthians 8–10).
In modern eras we’ve navigated enlightenment, industrialization, democracy, and world wars, and have had to rely on the Spirit and Scripture to do so.
We can rely on the teachings and wisdom of the Christian tradition and Scripture to continue guiding us. It is possible to follow Jesus in an online age. We can ensure that Jesus forms us rather than giving in to mindless or restless scrolling.
Intentional Shifts in the Digital Word
Let’s consider three intentional shifts to guide your digital life and discipleship:
1. Cultivate Habits that Create Space
Spiritual habits have always guided God’s people toward holiness amid wider cultural shifts. One powerful aid is the church calendar.
Beyond Christmastide and Eastertide, days like Pentecost, All Saints’ Day, and Christ the King Day can orient our lives around a holy timeline. They pull us from the stories shaped by the digital stream into the story of a redeemed world, reminding us that we belong to God’s kingdom and heavenly culture.
We also need daily rhythms that include silence and focus. This habit is about changing our default states, not necessarily deleting apps (though that may be necessary too). Ask yourself:
- What if you designated your lunch break as a “phone-free” zone?
- What if you charged your phone outside your bedroom at night?
- What if you gave your first fifteen minutes of the morning to reading a psalm from a physical Bible instead of scrolling?
As Samuel James writes, creating margin with your time and choosing healthier digital habits is about voting with your attention, repeatedly, for the person you want to become.2 I love that!
These small habits are like digging irrigation channels, directing the water of your attention toward what gives life.
2. Prioritize Physical Connection
Humans are wired for embodied presence. Sociologist Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, recently confirmed that social isolation is more acute than ever. The great irony of our connected age is its loneliness. As Putnam noted, social media is not unadulteratedly bad, but it is not the solution to isolation either.3
We can have 500 friends online and no one to sit with us in a crisis.
The digital world can facilitate connection, but it cannot replicate incarnation. This is why local church is not an optional accessory to the Christian life; it is its essential discipleship workshop. Discipleship happens in the messiness of handshakes and shared meals, off-key singing (well, for some of us), the communion line, and slightly forced conversations over bad coffee.
Online church serves a purpose, especially during a pandemic, but it’s a poor substitute in the long term. Again, as James notes, “form creates meaning.” The digital habitat shapes everything to its own image. 4
On the other hand, the gospel is fundamentally embodied; the Word became flesh.
The digital world can facilitate
connection, but it cannot
replicate incarnation.
While discipleship can occur on screen, its depth will always pale compared to intentional, offscreen, face-to-face connection. So, use the digital space, just don’t expect it to be what it can’t be—a replacement for physically sharing space.
3. Be Anchored in the Promise that Satisfies
On anxious, tired, or even bored days, the screen’s call can feel overpowering. I get it. And I also get that the answer can’t be more willpower. We need a better promise than our own strength.
The digital world sells cheap promises: You will be known (through likes), secure (through information), and happy (through novelty). Yet, these promises, even kept, never satisfy.
Virtual popularity isn’t intimacy; increased knowledge often only increases anxiety (because we have more to worry about). Novelty-fueled happiness is fleeting—it wanes as the novelty wears off.
Look to God for What Only God Can Give
The desire for popularity, knowledge, and happiness manifest a deep ache for what only God can give. Take a moment to reflect on these truths, with God:
1. We will be truly known.
Humans are first known by God (Matthew 10:32). This divine knowledge is reflected and made real within the fellowship of the church (1 John 1:3, 7). Everyone will publicly recognize us as believers when we are revealed to all creation (Romans 8:19), and our names will be made famous through Jesus (Revelation 3:9).
2. We will be truly secure.
Humans are secure only in the arms of the Good Shepherd (John 10:18–19). Nothing can snatch us away from God’s grip (Romans 8:38–39), and God’s peace, like a mighty military guard, protects us against all foes and circumstances (Philippians 4:6–7). This security is manifested through God’s church, where you and I will always belong and not be cast out (John 6:37–39). Even when we sin, there is always hope toward restoration and forgiveness (Galatians 6:1–2).
3. We will be truly blessed.
Circumstances may alter emotions like happiness, but they cannot plunder our blessedness. We are guarded by the peace of God (Philippians 4:7) and anchored in the hope of our coming glory (1 Peter 1:6–9).
Be anchored in the fulfillment of God’s promises. He has made good on what no one and nothing else can—online or otherwise!
Let Jesus Be Your Guide
So, whether you’re a digital guru or more of an analog hermit, it’s vital to recognize that Christians aren’t meant to escape this age. Instead, we aim to navigate it in the way of Jesus. We won’t navigate it perfectly, but we can make sure our course is set in the right direction.
You may begin by creating space where a psalm echoes louder than a notification. Or, maybe you’ll prioritize a handshake over a text message.
When the endless scroll whispers, “you’re missing out,” remember the promise that meets your deepest lack: “Come to me,” Jesus says, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Article by Jeff Stone.
- Samuel James, Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age (Wheaton: Crossway, 2023), p 167. ↩︎
- Digital Liturgies, p 171. ↩︎
- Sachin H Jain, “Robert Putnam Practically Discovered Social Isolation: Here’s Why He Says It’s Time to ‘Join or Die,’” Forbes, August 1, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/sachinjain/2024/07/21/robert-putnam-practically-discovered-social-isolation-heres-why-he-says-its-time-to-join-or-die. ↩︎
- James, Digital Liturgies, p 176. ↩︎
