Texting in church: Good idea or bad?
Sermons are going high-tech at a church where the pastor encourages members to ask him questions via text message.
A few churches here, and others across the country, are beginning to allow their members to send text messages to the pastor – even during his sermon – that might answer some burning question of the day or maybe even change the course of the pastor’s prepared remarks.
In a story for Tuesday’s Post-Dispatch, we learn that the Morning Star Church in St. Charles County has been dabbling in just such 21st Century communication during their services. Rev. Mike Schreiner said of the experiment that texting has already improved the dialogue between him and his congregation, and also energized many of Morning Star’s younger members.
“Lots of people say this is cool or edgy, but that’s not what its about for us,” said Schreiner. “Its really about staying true to our mission to meet people where they are.”
Another church, Windsor Crossing Community Church in Chesterfield, tried using congregational texting about six months ago to take a poll during a worship service, but had not yet experimented with questions for the pastor.
Maybe allowing texting during sermons will help keep you from nodding off during the pastor’s talk.
Does your place of worship allow its congregants to send text messages to its spiritual leader during sermons or services? Should they?
neat!
Let the machines go people!! It’s sad. People can’t take one hour away from a machine to sit and listen to someone?
How about having the sermon on HD TV? Maybe the text messages can run across the bottom of the screen.
This is a sad day when you encourage cell phones in Church. I agree with AJ, this is NOT the place for this, there will be phones ringing all over the sanctuary, (key word; sanctuary) as people will not turn them off! It is a sad day when people are more in love with their cell phones than they are with their spouse or God! Some technology should be restricted from the public, every dork with a cell phone actually thinks they are important! HA!!
WTF? Pardon the french, but WTF? You’re kidding . . . in church?!!!
I think it’s a great idea. If the pastor is open to dialogue during his sermon. It’s a great way to get people to respond who normally would not open up publicly. The only problem is I need to update my old antiquated cell phone and learn how to text message.
Our church has not started this yet but I would be very open to it!
Just another gimmick from a “just what’s happing now church.”
I’m just pondering the logistics here. Let’s say 200 people are at a Sunday service and 50 of them have cell phones with texting capabilities and 30 of them have issues they want to address. I’m sorry, but unless you want to sit in church all day, there is no way the preacher can simultaneously text with 30 different people about a variety of issues. Don’t get me wrong. Nothing more boring than a canned “Be Good” sermon. I think congregation participation is a good thing. But maybe it should be a call-in or email system where people can bring up their concerns during the week and the preacher can address them during the Sunday sermon. If the church really wants to do the immediate text messaging thing, maybe they should have a special “Sunday School.” I just don’t think a regular religious service is the place for the high tech scene. Whatever happened to the concept of Worship???
If it’s all about opening the thing up for suggestions or questions, why not just have a question and answer session time where people can raise their hands? If you’re too embarassed to ask your question in front of others, or if it’s something that would be only relevant to you, then why not just talk to the person one on one at another time?
absolutely outrageous–this is asinine and desperate. If you cannot put down your phone for ONE hour and give attention to someone or something else, then you should stay at home…perhaps you can have breakfast with your phone…take it out to ihop or something.
Technology has invaded every aspect of our daily lives. There needs to be some sort of haven or sanctuary where the use of gadgets is looked upon as inappropriate-that USED to be places like theaters, but we all know how many a**-holes use their cell phones there.
Now church??? This is surely a sign that things have gone WAY too far.