Some of the changes (Metamorphosis) occurring around us are very transparent and can be easily observed and analyzed. The concept of the so called “technological changes” is relative to people’s perspective. Some of the things a group of people would consider new are just normal for many others. My 3 year old, for example, flips the channels over our HD TV, plays with her toy-laptop (which can do math and word games, and much more), and later in the evening places a DVD into a portable DVD player, skips to the track she wants to see, and even in some cases changes the language from English to Spanish; all by herself.
My 60 years old father, who lives in Mexico and not too long ago was an elementary school teacher, now leads a team of engineers installing computers and internet access via satellite link in all the elementary and middle schools, as part of a government initiative to keep up with technology. This, however, is nothing new for the school kids who, in most cases, are wondering what took the school administration so long.
Here in Dallas, Texas my father in law gave me a demo on the way he’s taking classes via Video Teleconferences. He is so familiar with the equipment that it took him about 30 seconds to turn it on, get a link, and explain and show me, in simple words, all the things you can do in class. He is 50 years old.
I’m 38 years old. Some will say I am young (all of them close friends… very close friends). Most will say, very politely, that I’m a grown up man. I work with computers. If you pay attention to this last phrase, it doesn’t give you any specifics. Why? Because everybody works with computers, these days. It is such a common term. So is the internet; and very soon, internet TV. TV and internet will become one, and, of course, radio will also be right there; and so on.
Most of the changes surrounding technology are transparent. They occur so fast and are so intuitive, because they try to mirror our way of looking at things, so they’re easy to adapt. How many people can you persuade to read a book? How many more people can you persuade to watch a movie?
The internet capabilities are growing at such a fast pace that if it has not caught up with you yet, it will, very soon. If we consider all this, we have to admit that evangelism through the internet is here and, as Christians, we have to take it seriously and, most important, take full advantage of it, especially if you firmly believe that this opportunity comes from God.
You will hear different stories from people. Some will support the idea, some will not. But the facts will continue to show every day: It has happened so many times during our time on this earth, it makes it look predictable. But at the same time it presents a challenge. We have to decide whether we face it or not. However, our decision will not stop other ideas to appear in the often called Information Highway.Think about it for a second, as a Christian. If someone asked you to write something on a public board full of messages, what would you write? Would you post a message related to the good news that Jesus Christ brought to this world? Or would you just look at the board and post nothing?
Antonio Acosta.
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