WINDSOR, ONTARIO – I was glued to my seat as David Kinnaman spoke to the audience of pastor-care advocates. The President of the Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses, he spoke about the church’s lack of mission, and the lack of resilient disciples in most of our churches.
Kinnaman’s 2011 book, You Lost Me, argued that the church has a dropout problem. Research at the time showed that 59% of Young Adults who claimed a faith upbringing had left the church. New research shows the problem has gotten even worse.
What accounts for such a mass exodus? Kinnaman and his co-author argue that our culture is “especially and insidiously faith repellant.” The biggest culprit, they contend, is our smart devices, which have created a digital culture that actually works against us.
As a result, believers are swimming upstream, fighting to maintain their values and their faith beliefs in a culture that is becoming increasingly opposed and in some cases hostile to these values and beliefs.
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” by Jonathan Haidt, is making a big splash. Published in March 2024, it has been touted as “a must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.” It is “Erudite, engaging, combative, crusading,” according to the New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice).
Haidt gives readers a glimpse of the true horror of what happened not only in the U.S. but also elsewhere in the English-speaking world, and believers would be well-served in reading his book.
In the Old Testament God promises that if His people will follow Him and worship Him alone, they would be blessed. But He warned them that if they were disobedient, He would bring judgment. Invading armies would conquer them and take them into captivity. His message inevitably falls on deaf ears, and the nation is exiled.
Imagine what it was like to be a Jew living in Babylon. How hard would it be to resist adopting the culture in which you’re thoroughly steeped, while trying to keep your own faith and religious views alive? One of the goals of taking a conquered people into captivity was the systematic dismantling and eradication of their culture, and the assimilation and adoption of the invading empire’s culture and values.
This is happening today. The average person spends 6 hours and 40 minutes per day on screens connected to the internet, adopting the culture. Gen Z (born between 1996-2010) averages around 9 hours of screen time per day. We have not been taken into captivity physically, and we’re not living in a foreign land, as the Israelites did, but the Internet and our smartphones have created a “Digital Babylon,” and too many of us are prisoners of the cultural war.
Our “smart” devices have created a digital environment that is slowly eroding our values and our faith. This is what it means to live in “Digital Babylon.” More people are discipled by their cellphones than by their pastors and elders.
How can we resist and develop resilient disciples and resilient pastors while living in “Digital Babylon?”
At the very least, resilient disciples and resilient pastors will:
1. Cultivate a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus.
This goes beyond attending church and involves developing habits that will keep you connected with Jesus. This kind of relationship and these kinds of habits are hard to form and maintain on your own, so seek to get plugged into a community of believers where you can share your life and be encouraged to walk with Jesus. Ask your pastor for help.
2. Develop cultural awareness.
It’s important to know what you believe and why you believe it. The stronger your theological foundation is, the more aware you’ll be of what’s happening in the culture and the easier it will be to discern when the culture’s values are opposing your own.
3. Take steps to get discipled and determine your mission.
Resilient disciples are eager to “obey everything” Jesus has commanded, and they are involved in God’s kingdom work. By taking steps to determine your contribution towards God’s purposes, you’ll be much more engaged and less susceptible to drifting relationally.
Do not be satisfied with the status quo. Be bothered every time you see a family of four out for dinner with everyone on the cell phone. We cannot live like this.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Garth Leno is the Pastor/Planter Care Specialist with the BSCM. He serves in a similar role with the Canadian National Baptist Convention, and he is the founding pastor of The Gathering Church in Windsor, Ontario, a church he planted with his wife, Patty, and a few of their friends.