Unless the Lord builds
Digital is a part of life, but how can we use it well, for human flourishing and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. We’re hosting an event to keep the conversation going around digital in the personal, professional, ecclesial and missional space.
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Stronger digital is an online event happening 20-23rd September that will bring speakers together from across different spheres of society to share their experience of using digital, what they’re learning and what we can do to prepare as the digital landscape continues to evolve and change. Here are a few working assumptions:
Digital is here to stay.
We’re all impacted by digital
Your work is dependent on digital
Your personal life is surrounded by digital
Your church has an opportunity to use digital
As a network, Stronger has been seeking to resource Christians and encourage the Church in whatever sphere she finds herself by hosting conversations, offering coaching and curating space where learning, inspiration and collaboration can take place.
We have a few focus areas: Leadership and influence; Kingdom and Culture; Digital and social; Communication and media; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Business and finance. We think that these are important things that we should be talking about and hearing about and working together in to grow in the strength of the Lord. In fact, we believe that God is wanting to strengthen the hand, the voice, the heart of the Church in the UK at this time. That’s why we’re going to keep hosting annual Stronger conferences each January, and host other events like Stronger Digital at other times during the year too.
Unless the Lord builds
In preparation for Stronger Digital, we have been struck by the verse from Psalm 127 ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, they who build it labour in vain’. We’re holding onto this during the run up and broadcast of the conference.
You may have come across this Psalm before when quoted in churches in relation to a building project, or a vision drive. Psalm 127 is a Psalm of Solomon, the son of King David, the son who built the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6). The point that the Psalmist makes is that without God, it’s just empty. It’s lifeless. It’s just dry bones (to mix metaphors).
The nineteenth century preacher G Campbell Morgan said, ‘no house building is successful which leaves God out of account’. That’s exactly it.
“the motto of Edinburgh is a Latin phrase Nisi dominus frusta which means ‘without the Lord, frustration.”
We also discovered in one of the commentaries that the motto of Edinburgh is a Latin phrase Nisi dominus frusta which means ‘without the Lord, frustration’. The sentiment is the same. We so often try and invite God into our work, and ask him to bless it, but God often says to us, ‘come and join me with my work, I’d love to involve you’. The former is in vain. The former leaders to frustration. The latter leads to productive, anointed, creative, Kingdom fruit.
What was it that Jesus said? ‘I only do what I see my father doing’ (John 5.19). Even as a child he knew that he was to be about his father’s business (Luke 2.49). Which makes much more sense when we read John’s words about prayer: ‘if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him’ (1 John 5.14-15). When we’re joining in with God’s work, our hands, our voices, our prayers align with God’s will, and something powerful takes place.
Digital for good
When it comes to digital we’re convinced that this technology is available to steward for human flourishing and for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. God isn’t particularly impressed with different tools or methods. He’s not thinking ‘wow, this TikTok platform is pretty swish’. But he is concerned about the good news of Jesus getting out to the world around us.
Think about the way technology has been used for good in the past. Yes it has been used for ill too, but perhaps each of us in our own spheres and working on the small parts of the bigger picture, if we all seek to join in with God’s work, might we not see some really exciting and even extraordinary things in our generation?
“God wants to build through you. He wants to use your voice, your skills, your passion, your faith in the context, communities and companies that he’s placed you and he’s given you a tool...”
For some of you, learning more about the practicalities of showing up on social media is the key thing for you. You feel God leading you into that space. For others you’re leading a business, charity, or church and you’re trying to figure out what does all this talk about Web 3 and the metaverse mean for my organisation. There will be some who are connecting with people in the gaming world and again feel a sense of faith and vision when you show up there. You might be a software engineer, a coder, a web designer, a parent, a neighbour and church worker, someone who just seems to find digital an interesting topic and you don’t know why.
God wants to build through you. He wants to use your voice, your skills, your passion, your faith in the context, communities and companies that he’s placed you and he’s given you a tool that creates a gateway to both your neighbourhood and the world at the same time.
Think of all the hours that can be taken up trying to beat the algorithm, stop the scroll, and create something that goes viral. Whether it’s social media, Web 3, AR, VR or crypto, God calls the Church to go out in the strength of His Spirit, to be salt and light, and allow God to breathe life through the work of our hands.
Stronger digital (20-23rd September)
Stronger Digital will help shape opinion, bring visibility, and equip people for key aspects of the new digital landscape we live in, enabling Christians to take a courageous next step in faithfully responding to Jesus' invitation to follow him.
It’s a live online hosted event across 4 days (20-23rd Sept) that invites speakers/contributors to help us look at digital from different angles (social media; online community; web 3.0; digital; communication; gaming). Key questions we're asking: What's coming (preparing); what's happening (reflecting); and what do we need to know (learning).
This isn’t aimed at churches but the Church wherever the Church spends her time, Sunday to Saturday, scattered throughout society, developing websites, coding new software, leading a church, starting a business, engaging with friends on social media, connecting with their colleagues remotely.
You can see some of the speakers and partners over on the event page.
We look forward to connecting with you soon.
