“Utopia is Creepy”: Five Thoughts

I first became aware of author Nicholas Carr a few years ago when I read his book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. That book really affected the way that I think about digital technology and social media and was one of the best books I read that year, so I was excited to also take a look at Utopia Is Creepy and Other Provocations. This book is a bit different in that, rather than being a sustained treatment of a subject, it is a collection of blog posts and essays written by Carr between 2005 and 2016. It covers a range of topics regarding technology and its continued effects on our world. Here are five ideas that stood out to me:

We work for technology

One of the draws of social media is that, in most cases, it is free to use. As a ‘consumer,’ this seems like a great deal. It’s almost as though tech companies let us use these services out of the goodness of their hearts. Carr points out, however, that it is our engagement with these services that allows them to be profitable. He writes:

The members of social networks may think they’re just ‘sharing’ their thoughts, interests, and opinions with other members, but actually they’re working for the companies that operate the networks…It’s a modern kind of sharecropping system. Like plantation owners in the American South after the Civil War, a social network gives each member a little plot of virtual land on which to cultivate an online presence, through the posting, for instance, of words and pictures, and then the social network collects the economic value of the member’s labor through advertising (or, less frequently, through subscriptions or the sale of goods). (p. 31)

For us, it’s worth remembering that using social media is a two-way street. We use the service, but the company also uses us. We need to at least recognize this fact if we are going to be wise in how we engage with social media today.

The erosion of patience

Technology is speeding up, and with it, the pace of our lives is accelerating as well. I remember when my family first got an internet-capable computer when I was a kid and we began using AOL. It took a couple minutes to log on (accompanied by that terrible crunching sound of dial-up internet). Each page would take at least a few seconds to load. But today, all of these things happen almost immediately, and I get annoyed if there is any delay. This speeding up of technology, Carr writes, is having an effect on our ability to wait for anything. He explains:

If we assume that networks will continue to get faster–a pretty safe bet–then we can also conclude that we’ll become more and more impatient, more and more intolerant of even the slightest delay between action and response, between desire and its fulfillment. As a result, we’ll be less likely to experience anything that requires waiting, that doesn’t provide instant gratification. That has cultural as well as personal consequences. The greatest of works–in art, science, politics, whatever–tend to take time and patience both to create and to appreciate. The deepest experiences can’t be measured in fractions of seconds. (p. 206)

I would add “spirituality” to Carr’s list of art, science, and politics. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, after all (Gal. 5:22). Often, the fruits of obedience and faith take awhile to come. As technology speeds us up, is it also making it more difficult for us to practice that patience needed for a mature Christian life?

Music as activity

In one article written in 2015, Carr reflects on the Google Play Music service, which curated music playlists to go along with various activities a person may engage in. So there would be a playlist for barbecuing, one for daydreaming, one for family time, one for working out, and so on. Carr points out that this approach takes a certain slant toward music. He writes that from Google’s viewpoint, “Listening to music is not itself an ‘activity’–music isn’t an end in itself–but rather an enhancer of other activities, each of which must be clearly demarcated” (p. 208)

When I thought of my own habits, I could see what Carr is talking about. I listen to a lot of music, but often, it is simply background to whatever else I am doing. I’ll listen while I’m driving, or while I’m working in my office, or while I’m doing chores around the house. But I rarely would take time to just listen. Since reading Carr’s book, I’ve been trying to change that. Each day I’ve been listening to a complete album in my music collection–not while doing something else–but simply to listen and soak it in. And I have to say, it’s been an enjoyable part of my day!

Forfeiting privacy

There is a truth about technology that most all of us know but few of us want to admit: There is no real privacy online. Every click and keystroke is recorded somewhere. It used to be that people feared that the government (“Big Brother”) would one day seize the population’s right to privacy. Today, we gladly forfeit that privacy as we browse and post online. In an article originally written for the Wall Street Journal, Carr writes:

The greatest danger posed by the erosion of personal privacy is that it may lead us, as individuals and as a society, to devalue the concept of privacy, to see it as outdated and unimportant. We may begin to view privacy as something that gets int he way–a barrier to efficient shopping and socializing. That would be a tragedy. (p. 258)

That article was written 2010–just a few years after the introduction of the iPhone. Now, ten years later, I wonder how our value of privacy has changed even more. Is it something we care about anymore?

Politics via tweet

In an article written for Politico Magazine in 2015, Carr reflects on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his use of social media. It is interesting to read this article now that Trump has been in office for almost four years. I think, “Oh man…if 2015 Nicholas Carr only knew!” Carr is skeptical that a medium like Twitter can or should be a way for politicians to communicate and warns that it can reduce important discourses to trivial nonsense. He writes, “Social media favors the bitty over the meaty, the cutting over the considered. It also prizes emotionalism over reason” (p. 316). He goes on, “Political discourse rarely benefits from templates and routines. It becomes most valuable when it involves careful deliberation, an attention to detail, and subtle and open-ended critical thought–the kinds of things that social media tends to frustrate rather than promote” (p. 320).

Regardless of where you stand politically, I think Carr’s warning here is important to hear, and that it has actually played out over the last few years. Twitter is a poor place for political discourse. Nuance is lost. Careful thought isn’t rewarded; a snappy punchline is. The world today feels chaotic, and I wonder how much of that is due to the fact we have turned important discussions over to a medium never designed to carry them.

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Utopia is Creepy covers a vast array of topics related to digital technology. I found some of the articles really great, and others less gripping, but that is part of the nature of a book like this. I would suggest The Shallows as a better introduction to the topic, though this collection of blog posts and essays also touches on a number of important topics that are all too easy to overlook in our technology-saturated culture today.

“Faith for Exiles”: Five Thoughts

What are practices that help young believers remain faithful and resilient in the world today? That’s the question that David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock tackle in Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon. Kinnaman is the president of Barna Group, which does a lot of statistical study of the religious practices of our society, and Matlock is the former director of Youth Specialties.

Faith for Exiles fits alongside two other books written by David Kinnaman: unChristian (2007) and You Lost Me (2011). unChristian explores the attitudes that unchurched, young adults have about the church. You Lost Me examines reasons that young adult who were raised in the church often end up leaving the church. And now, Faith for Exiles turns the attention to young adults who do stay connected to their faith and to the church.

I had a chance to read Faith for Exiles recently. Here are five thoughts from the book that stood out to me:

Digital Babylon

Kinnaman and Matlock use the term “Digital Babylon” to describe the world we live in today. Like the Jews who were in exile in ancient Babylon, we find ourselves in a world where the values at work are not the values of God. A wide-ranging array of beliefs and ideas fight for our attention and our devotion. Our modern-day Babylon is “digital” because the pressures we face are so often transmitted to us through our screens. We have an entire world available to us at our fingertips, and often that world is indifferent or even hostile to God’s kingdom.

This is important for Christians, and especially ministers, to remember today. Kinnaman and Matlock point out, “Screens disciple” (p. 25). The people in our churches spend way more time with their devices than they do in our churches. How are those devices discipling them? What assumptions can we no longer take for granted as we communicate the truth of God? The world today is radically different than it was and is changing all the time. As believers and servants of God, we need to understand our culture and wisely discern how to live and minister in the midst of it.

How many young adults are resilient?

Barna has done a lot of research into the religious backgrounds and practices of young adults. In the breakdown of this information, Kinnaman and Matlock look at young adults (18-29 years old) who were raised as Christians, and divide them into four groups: prodigals, nomads, habitual churchgoers, and resilient disciples (p. 33). The focus of the book is on the resilient disciples, who are defined as those who attend church at least month and engage with their church other than worship attendance, who trust in the authority of the Bible, who are committed to Jesus and affirm basic facts about him, and who desire to transform culture as followers of Jesus.

According to the book, 10 percent of young adults who grow up Christian fit into that category. In one sense, it’s great that this many young disciples are experiencing a robust faith. On the other hand, it also means that 90 percent of young people who grow up in the church are not experiencing that kind of faith today. This should be a wake-up call to the church and it’s leader (me included!) We need to think long and hard about how to not only keep young Christians attending the church, but how to develop a resilient and living faith in them.

Making a decision too early?

In one passage, Kinnaman and Matlock make an interesting observation: The median age at which resilient disciples made a decision to follow Jesus is higher than it is for those who eventually leave the church. Young believers who prove to have a resilient faith tend to make that decision slightly later than others.

Based on this statistics, the writers make this suggestion: “Don’t rush a decision to follow Jesus” (p. 60). There may be wisdom in this, at least as it comes to our children. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not against children making that decision (I decided to be baptized when I was nine). But we need to make sure young people making that decision understand what it actually means. We don’t want to squash their enthusiasm, but we don’t to set them up to have a faith that lasts. As Kinnaman and Matlock write, “It appears that resilient disciples are more likely to make a decision to follow Jesus when they know what they are signing up for” (p. 61).

Pastor as Marketer

In another passage, Kinnaman tells of a conversation he had with a teenage girl who had left the church. She explains that she didn’t really have good friendships in the church. When asked about the youth minister, she said, “that was part of his job. He’s paid to be a marketer of church to teenagers” (p. 120).

I wonder how many other people in our churches see pastors like that. That causes me some pause, because I’m one of those pastors! It challenges us to reflect on how we can build genuine connections with those under our care. How can true relationships be built within the church without it comes across as phony or pre-packaged?

Danger in Safety

Our contemporary culture is obsessed with safety. Our society is becoming increasingly risk-averse in almost every area. In her book iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood, Jean M. Twenge exposes how the emerging generation has made safety into a core value, and how this can make young people unprepared for the real world (pp. 143-177). Along a similar vein, Kinnaman and Matlock question whether our concern for safety is hampering young believers whom we are seeking to shape into resilient disciples. They write:

…the Christian community – including parents, church leaders, and other well-meaning stakeholders – sometimes works at cross-purposes with regard to young disciples’ participation in countercultural mission. We try to keep them insulated. We helicopter-parent them. We imagine that safety and security are kingdom values. We want them to change the world around them, but only at a reasonable distance. We like the idea of countercultural mission, but in practice, here in exile, it’s kind of terrifying. (p. 192)

Following Jesus has never been safe. Jesus never promised it would be. If our goal is to protect young people in every way, we’re going to have a difficult time preparing them to be resilient disciples in Digital Babylon.

I wonder how the current pandemic will only heighten our cultural value of safety. How will months of social distancing affect how our young people interact with the world in the long term? Will they retreat only further into the “safety” of the digital world? Will they be willing to heed Jesus’ call to “deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Lk. 9:23)? How can we faithfully invite them into the risky and dangerous life of mission?

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I really enjoyed reading Faith for Exiles, just as I enjoyed unChristian and You Lost Me. Actually, maybe “enjoyed” is the wrong word, as there are a lot of gut-punches here! But if you’re a Christian parent or a minister, I would say that this book is really helpful. The world that young believers are growing up in is much different than it was only a few years ago. Kinnaman and Matlock provide insights into the challenges that young Christians face and suggest how we can raise the next generation to be resilient disciples who follow Jesus well in the exile of Digital Babylon.

“Renovation of the Heart” by Dallas Willard: Five Thoughts

This is already the third post I have written this week…after only writing three posts in the previous four years! I say that only to caution that this frequency probably won’t be maintained, but as I’m trying to get things off the ground again, I thought it may be helpful to have as much new material as I can.

With that said, this week I decided to become a “real” blogger this week, pony up a little bit of cash, and simply the URL. So now you can find us here at http://www.davidheffren.com. I figure that if I spend money on the blog, I’m more likely to actually write on it. It’s the same reason I sometimes buy new running shoes. If there’s one thing I hate more than exercising, it’s wasting money.

I’ve been thinking about things that I could be writing about, and that led me to today’s post and what I hope will be a reoccurring theme here. I’ve always been a big reader, though sometimes I’ve been more lax in that area that at other times. However, since the pandemic hit and I’ve had more time at home than normal, I’ve been trying to spend more time reading. I thought it might be helpful (and maybe even fun!) if, when I finish a book, I shared a few highlights or ideas that stuck out to me. This will be most useful to me than anyone else, I suppose, as it will help me digest what I’ve read. But maybe you’ll find something interesting here as well or decide to check out the book yourself.

Last week I finished reading Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ by Dallas Willard. So without further stalling, here are five thoughts from this book:

1. This book is about spiritual formation. Normally, we might think of spiritual formation as something that is a uniquely Christian topic. But Willard points out that all people have experienced spiritual formation, because all people have spirits that have taken one shape or another. He writes:

Spiritual formation, without regard to any specifically religious context or tradition, is the process by which the human spirit or will is given a definite “form” or character. It is a process that happens to everyone. The most despicable as well as the most admirable of persons have had a spiritual formation. Terrorists as well as saints are the outcome of spiritual formation. Their spirits or hearts have been formed. Period. (p. 19)

2. Throughout the book, Willard uses the term “apprentice” where most other Christian writers would use the word “disciple.” He doesn’t really draw attention to this word-choice, but it does become noticeable as you read along. This may be a helpful way for us to think about what discipleship is. The goal of an apprentice is to learn from and eventually become like their master. The same is true of disciples of Jesus. We follow Jesus, learn from him, and follow his example of life with the goal of becoming more like him. If you’re around church for long, you hear the word “disciple” so often that it can be easy to forget it’s meaning. Seeing a different term used serves as a good reminder of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

Everyone’s spirit has been formed. Maybe it’s been formed by Christ, or maybe it’s been formed by culture, by family, by education, by media, or by any of the other influences in our world. The role of the church, then, isn’t just to lead people in a process of spiritual formation. We lead people into spiritual transformation. None of us are blank slates when we encounter Christ. We come already shaped in some way, and we allow Christ to begin to reshape us into his image and character.

3. Willard reflects on the difficulty (or even the impossibility) of making a decision to obey Christ in the moment of temptation or crisis if a person has not adequately prepared themselves to face that situation. He writes:

I will not be able “on the spot” to do the good thing if my inner being is filled with all the thoughts, feelings, and habits that characterize the ruined soul and its world. Rather, if I intend to obey Jesus Christ, I must intend and decide to become the kind of person who would obey. (p. 90)

This is so true. In order to live righteously, we can’t choose to live righteously only in the moment of decision. We must choose to do so before we meet that point. Willard calls this “Training ‘Off the Spot.'” An athletic metaphor may help here: If a professional basketball player wants to excel, he can’t only play basketball during the game. He must train himself in practice so that, when the game comes, he is ready for the challenge. We need the same approach to our discipleship. This is why spiritual disciplines (things like Bible intake, prayer, worship, community) are so key: They form us into the kind of people who are ready to obey God when the time comes.

4. Near the end of the book, Willard writes something that I initially found pretty shocking to read, and I imagine many other church leaders would be surprised as well:

It is, I gently suggest, a serious error to make “outreach” a primary goal of the local congregation, and especially so when those who are already “with us” have not become clear-headed and devoted apprentices of Jesus, and are not, for the most part, solidly progressing along the path. Outreach is one essential task of Christ’s people, and among them there will always be those especially gifted for evangelism. But the most successful work of outreach would be the work of inreach that turns people, wherever they are, into lights into the darkened world. (p. 244)

At first glance, it may seem Willard is bashing evangelism as a task of church, and we may think, “Wait, isn’t evangelism what the Great Commission all about?” But what I think Willard is pointing to is the fact that, for evangelism to be effective, is must come from disciples of have truly experienced transformation into the character of Christ. Church outreach does little good if the people of our church are not growing into Christian maturity. The most effective evangelistic tool is a life that has been changed by Jesus. In our desire for outreach, we can’t afford to neglect the work of spiritual transformation.

5. The previous ideas I’ve highlighted have all been ones I’ve found helpful, but there is one area of Willard’s presentation about which I still have questions. One of the main ideas of the book is that we must be transformed in six essential areas of our human nature: our thoughts, feelings, spirits, bodies, social relations, and souls. Willard describes what each of these human dimensions are and how they relate with one another. But if I can be honest, I have always been confused by discussions that seek to differentiate the “spirit” from the “soul” of a person, and I can’t say that Willard clarifies this for me. He says that the role of the spirit is “to organize our life as a whole.” He then later writes that the soul is “that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self.”

Now I will admit, I have never done a deep study on the concepts of soul and spirit, or looked at how the Bible uses these different terms. But the way Willard explains them seems confusing to me. I’m curious if any of you have heard a helpful differentiation of what the spirit and the soul are and what they do?

Overall, I found Renovation of the Heart to be a helpful book in directing my attention to the importance of character formation from the inside out as I seek to obey Jesus more and more. This is the second book I have read by Willard (the other is Spirit of the Disciplines). His writing style can be a little dense, so you need to be ready to pay close attention to some complex arguments. But if you’re able to slow down and soak in what he is saying, I think you’ll find a lot of useful material about the our nature as human beings, a vision of what Christ wants to do in our lives, and some practical steps to take to be transformed into the image of Jesus.