Even the least technical among us are being pressed from all sides by advances in digital technology. We rely upon computers, cell phones, and the Internet for communication, commerce, and entertainment. Yet even though we live in this 'instant message' culture, many of us feel disconnected, and we question if all this technology is really good for our souls. In a manner that's accessible, thoughtful, and biblical, author Tim Challies addresses questions such as: * How has life---and faith---changed now that everyone is available all the time through mobile phones? * How does our constant connection to these digital devices affect our families and our church communities? * What does it mean that almost two billion humans are connected by the Internet ... with hundreds of millions more coming online each year? Providing the reader with a framework they can apply to any technology, Tim Challies explains how and why our society has become reliant on digital technology, what it means for our lives, and how it impacts the Christian faith.
The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion
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Tim Challies knows technology and he knows the faith. So, when he writes on the intersection of technology and faith, it's a must read. The Next Story gives solid counsel to living out the gospel in the context of today's rapid progression of technology. -- Ed Stetzer <br><br>
About the Author
A pastor, noted speaker, and author of numerous articles, Tim Challies is a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere. Over 20,000 people visit Challies.com each day, making it one of the most widely read and recognized Christian blogs in the world. Tim is also the editor of DiscerningReader.com, a site dedicated to offering thoughtful reviews of books that are of interest to Christians. Tim is the author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and Sexual Detox. He and his family reside near Toronto, Ontario.
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More About the Author
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I write books and blogs for fun while doing web consulting for a living. I worship and serve at Grace Fellowship Church, edit Discerning Reader and am a co-founder of Cruciform Press. My books include "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment," "Sexual Detox," and "The Next Story."
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of the most important issues facing the Church today is how to engage with the culture and to bring it the saving message of the gospel - without becoming like the culture. This issue has special relevance with regards to the digital communications that seem to govern and rule our lives.
I can't think of a person better qualified to address the place of the Christian in the midst of this digital explosion than Tim Challies. Challies is both a solid Christian with a Reformed background, as well as someone who is intimately familiar with the effects of the digital world on the lives of Christians. Challies is not only a web designer but also a very popular Christian blogger and book reviewer.
This past year, I've read a large number of books dealing with exactly the issue of how Christians should engage the digital world all around us: "The Next Story" is to date the best book I've read on the issue. There are a number of reasons for this. First, Challies ties what he says back to a theological foundation for what he writes. He brings a distinctly Christian perspective that avoids the extremes of jumping on the digital bandwagon or of being afraid to use the new technologies. Instead, he advocates what he calls "disciplined discernment," a trait that he himself manifests throughout the entire book. Second, Challies deals with a large number of relevant issues. While he provides something of a theological basis for what he says, he also writes about the particular issues that are most relevant to the digital world. In this way, "The Next Story" bridges the gap between theory and practice, between theology and real life. Third, Challies has provided what I think is the best overall discussion of the impact of the various digital technologies on our lives and souls - as well as the best discussion of some of the things that we as Christians must practice if we are not be to distracted and led astray by this omnipresent digital world. Throughout "The Next Story," Challies has read and interacted with the best thinkers in the area of media and its influence in our lives.
Let me be more specific about a few of the issues with which "The Next Story" deals. While the book is a little slow in the beginning, Challies really hits his stride in Part 2 of the book when he shows us how to put the theory into practice. In Chapter 4 on Communication, Challies hits the nail on the proverbial head when he dissects some of the ways in which digital communication can become idolatrous: we have fashioned idols of productivity, significance, and a desire for information.
Chapter 5 is even better, when Challies discusses the nature of the mediated world we live in. He sustains an important discussion of the way that digital technologies are disembodying us or "disincarnating" us. One all too real example is the notion of how in the digital world identity is fluid and something we create for ourselves. We take "avatars" for ourselves, and multiple ones at that. We begin to think of ourselves as something apart from our bodies and as beings we can re-create in any image we desire to. We also pursue "networked individualism," based not on a real community but only on the basis of similar, ephemeral shared interests.
Chapter 6 deals with Distraction, a topic I'm keenly aware of as a father of five children and as a high school teacher. Distraction, Challies argues, leads to shallow thinking, which in turn leads to shallow living. And the truth is that we are all more distracted by our digital technologies than we recognize. Even multi-tasking turns out to be highly overrated as a strategy for dealing with our communication overload.
One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 8, on Truth and Authority. Challies' reflection on the "authority" that Wikipedia has developed for itself is worth the price of the book all by itself. Isn't it a little scary that the number one page that shows up on Google for almost any search is Wikipedia, an encyclopedia which has only relatively poor oversight and which has been known to have inaccuracies? What happens when authority is based on popularity, rather than expertise, tradition, or revelation?
Make sure you read the Epilogue, in which Challies reveals to us some of the ways in which he personally has learned to combat the challenges of the digital world. In so doing, he begins to teach us some of the spiritual disciplines we will all need to undertake if we don't want the digital technologies to distract us from Christ. Challies also provides additional suggestions at the end of each of the chapters in Part 2 of the book.
Highly recommended for any Christian who wants to live more faithfully in this digital world!
Here's an outline of the book so you can better see the flow of Challies' thought:
Part 1
Chapter 1 - Discerning Technology
Chapter 2 - Understanding Technology
Chapter 3 - A Digital History
Part 2
Chapter 4 - Speaking, Truthing, Loving, Living (Communication)
Chapter 5 - Life in the Real World (Mediation/ Identity)
Chapter 6 - Turn Off and Tune In (Distraction)
Chapter 7 - More is Better (Informationism)
Chapter 8 - Here Comes Everybody (Truth/Authority)
Chapter 9 - Seeing and Believing (Visibility and Privacy)
Epilogue- The Next Story and the Next Story after That . . .
I can't think of a person better qualified to address the place of the Christian in the midst of this digital explosion than Tim Challies. Challies is both a solid Christian with a Reformed background, as well as someone who is intimately familiar with the effects of the digital world on the lives of Christians. Challies is not only a web designer but also a very popular Christian blogger and book reviewer.
This past year, I've read a large number of books dealing with exactly the issue of how Christians should engage the digital world all around us: "The Next Story" is to date the best book I've read on the issue. There are a number of reasons for this. First, Challies ties what he says back to a theological foundation for what he writes. He brings a distinctly Christian perspective that avoids the extremes of jumping on the digital bandwagon or of being afraid to use the new technologies. Instead, he advocates what he calls "disciplined discernment," a trait that he himself manifests throughout the entire book. Second, Challies deals with a large number of relevant issues. While he provides something of a theological basis for what he says, he also writes about the particular issues that are most relevant to the digital world. In this way, "The Next Story" bridges the gap between theory and practice, between theology and real life. Third, Challies has provided what I think is the best overall discussion of the impact of the various digital technologies on our lives and souls - as well as the best discussion of some of the things that we as Christians must practice if we are not be to distracted and led astray by this omnipresent digital world. Throughout "The Next Story," Challies has read and interacted with the best thinkers in the area of media and its influence in our lives.
Let me be more specific about a few of the issues with which "The Next Story" deals. While the book is a little slow in the beginning, Challies really hits his stride in Part 2 of the book when he shows us how to put the theory into practice. In Chapter 4 on Communication, Challies hits the nail on the proverbial head when he dissects some of the ways in which digital communication can become idolatrous: we have fashioned idols of productivity, significance, and a desire for information.
Chapter 5 is even better, when Challies discusses the nature of the mediated world we live in. He sustains an important discussion of the way that digital technologies are disembodying us or "disincarnating" us. One all too real example is the notion of how in the digital world identity is fluid and something we create for ourselves. We take "avatars" for ourselves, and multiple ones at that. We begin to think of ourselves as something apart from our bodies and as beings we can re-create in any image we desire to. We also pursue "networked individualism," based not on a real community but only on the basis of similar, ephemeral shared interests.
Chapter 6 deals with Distraction, a topic I'm keenly aware of as a father of five children and as a high school teacher. Distraction, Challies argues, leads to shallow thinking, which in turn leads to shallow living. And the truth is that we are all more distracted by our digital technologies than we recognize. Even multi-tasking turns out to be highly overrated as a strategy for dealing with our communication overload.
One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 8, on Truth and Authority. Challies' reflection on the "authority" that Wikipedia has developed for itself is worth the price of the book all by itself. Isn't it a little scary that the number one page that shows up on Google for almost any search is Wikipedia, an encyclopedia which has only relatively poor oversight and which has been known to have inaccuracies? What happens when authority is based on popularity, rather than expertise, tradition, or revelation?
Make sure you read the Epilogue, in which Challies reveals to us some of the ways in which he personally has learned to combat the challenges of the digital world. In so doing, he begins to teach us some of the spiritual disciplines we will all need to undertake if we don't want the digital technologies to distract us from Christ. Challies also provides additional suggestions at the end of each of the chapters in Part 2 of the book.
Highly recommended for any Christian who wants to live more faithfully in this digital world!
Here's an outline of the book so you can better see the flow of Challies' thought:
Part 1
Chapter 1 - Discerning Technology
Chapter 2 - Understanding Technology
Chapter 3 - A Digital History
Part 2
Chapter 4 - Speaking, Truthing, Loving, Living (Communication)
Chapter 5 - Life in the Real World (Mediation/ Identity)
Chapter 6 - Turn Off and Tune In (Distraction)
Chapter 7 - More is Better (Informationism)
Chapter 8 - Here Comes Everybody (Truth/Authority)
Chapter 9 - Seeing and Believing (Visibility and Privacy)
Epilogue- The Next Story and the Next Story after That . . .
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Digital technology is everywhere. We all know it; we see it (or not), experience it, live with it, use it, and are surrounded by it all the time. From cars to cell phones to shopping to reading, 'the digital explosion' is as good a phrase as any to characterize our time. However, there are many important questions to ask in the face of this explosion. Questions like: How has life and faith been changed by these technologies? How does out constant connected-ness affect us? And what does it mean that we are under surveillance most of our lives? These, and more, are the questions Challies addresses in this book as he seeks to help the reader know how to think about technology as a Christian.
Challies first spends three chapters examining how we have arrived at this place of digital explosion. He then lays out three principles to keep in mind while evaluating technology. 1. It is a good, God-given gift. 2. It is under the curse, just like everything else. 3. "It is the human application of technology that helps us determine if it is being used to honor God or further human sin." With these in mind, Challies explores 5 major issues: speaking the truth in love (communication), mediation and identity, distraction, information, truth and authority, and, lastly, visibility and privacy.
Next is a book which contains some great insights; it is an important addition to Christian literature. There is a great need for teaching and good material on how to think about technology rather than what to think about technology. There are simply too many new things coming at us to fast for us to rely on other people to determine for us what we ought to think and how we ought to react to each new item. This is, above all else, the great strength of Next: That it seeks to aid the reader in just this way, despite only succeeding at times.
Challies words were particularly penetrating as he spoke, in various places throughout the book, about how technology or information can easily become idols in our lives. Of all the problems of technology this age-old issue is the worst; it is a must-have discussion in most of our churches.
Unfortunately, Challies has also written a very inconsistent and, at times, shallow book. He does not keep to his own definition of technology, nor the list of three points he makes about technology (which I noted above). At times he speaks as if it is the application which makes a technology good or bad, and at times he does not. Frankly, I find point number 3 to be naive at best; the instrumentalist approach to technology is widely and, in my opinion, rightly rejected. The fact that we can use technology for good or ill is an obvious, and overstated, truth. The deeper truth is that technologies affect us in ways independent of how we use them. Challies bounces around the instrumentalist approach, affirming it here and denying it there. He notes that technology is a good gift of God but several times writes as if it were merely a necessary evil. Which is it? Further, his thoughts on mediated vs. unmediated communication are a muddle at best; skip that chapter.
Overall, the best chapters in this book were on distraction and information. This is where Challies theological insight is keenest and where he focuses on idolatry and how technology, in general, is affecting us. The rest of his book was both philosophically and theologically weak. Yes, technology is under the curse, but what do we do with that? Challies never says. His conclusion is that we just need to think better about technology. While this is certainly true it is not enough. In many cases, technology itself inhibits better and deeper thinking. I would put a much stronger emphasis on digital fasting than Challies did, as well as on several other time honored practices of the Christian faith.
Conclusion: 3.5 Stars. Conditionally Recommended. This is a good, and needed, book on the intersection of technology and faith. It is worth reading. Be aware, however, that it contains a subtle but extremely negative view of technology and has embedded within it several areas of naivety in regards to what technology is, how it affects us, and how we can or should respond.
Thanks to EngagingChurchBlog for the chance to review this book.
Challies first spends three chapters examining how we have arrived at this place of digital explosion. He then lays out three principles to keep in mind while evaluating technology. 1. It is a good, God-given gift. 2. It is under the curse, just like everything else. 3. "It is the human application of technology that helps us determine if it is being used to honor God or further human sin." With these in mind, Challies explores 5 major issues: speaking the truth in love (communication), mediation and identity, distraction, information, truth and authority, and, lastly, visibility and privacy.
Next is a book which contains some great insights; it is an important addition to Christian literature. There is a great need for teaching and good material on how to think about technology rather than what to think about technology. There are simply too many new things coming at us to fast for us to rely on other people to determine for us what we ought to think and how we ought to react to each new item. This is, above all else, the great strength of Next: That it seeks to aid the reader in just this way, despite only succeeding at times.
Challies words were particularly penetrating as he spoke, in various places throughout the book, about how technology or information can easily become idols in our lives. Of all the problems of technology this age-old issue is the worst; it is a must-have discussion in most of our churches.
Unfortunately, Challies has also written a very inconsistent and, at times, shallow book. He does not keep to his own definition of technology, nor the list of three points he makes about technology (which I noted above). At times he speaks as if it is the application which makes a technology good or bad, and at times he does not. Frankly, I find point number 3 to be naive at best; the instrumentalist approach to technology is widely and, in my opinion, rightly rejected. The fact that we can use technology for good or ill is an obvious, and overstated, truth. The deeper truth is that technologies affect us in ways independent of how we use them. Challies bounces around the instrumentalist approach, affirming it here and denying it there. He notes that technology is a good gift of God but several times writes as if it were merely a necessary evil. Which is it? Further, his thoughts on mediated vs. unmediated communication are a muddle at best; skip that chapter.
Overall, the best chapters in this book were on distraction and information. This is where Challies theological insight is keenest and where he focuses on idolatry and how technology, in general, is affecting us. The rest of his book was both philosophically and theologically weak. Yes, technology is under the curse, but what do we do with that? Challies never says. His conclusion is that we just need to think better about technology. While this is certainly true it is not enough. In many cases, technology itself inhibits better and deeper thinking. I would put a much stronger emphasis on digital fasting than Challies did, as well as on several other time honored practices of the Christian faith.
Conclusion: 3.5 Stars. Conditionally Recommended. This is a good, and needed, book on the intersection of technology and faith. It is worth reading. Be aware, however, that it contains a subtle but extremely negative view of technology and has embedded within it several areas of naivety in regards to what technology is, how it affects us, and how we can or should respond.
Thanks to EngagingChurchBlog for the chance to review this book.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great help in thinking theologically about the massive influx of information
April 5, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
If you are interested in how a Christian worldview sees the current tsunami-like influx of media technology, this is a book to read.
What is wonderful about the book is that it won't tell you what to think about technology, but it strives to help with how to think, theologically, philosophically, and technologically, about different facets of the information tidal wave.
Seeking to help us gain a better understanding of the nature of our current technological scene, Tim gives a brief overview history of the progression of technology, offering good insights such as the fact that prior to the nationwide expansion of the railroad, no information in the world travelled faster than a horse. (Though, I'd question the outcome of a race between a horse and carrier pigeon perhaps?). This was followed shortly on by the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the television, and the Internet. In short, in a short 150 years, the entire nature of information flow has been fundamentally altered.
We are not dealing simply with a new tool we need to know how to master, we are dealing with a new reality, requiring new skills, new disciplines, new discernment, and fresh thought. Ironically, if we are to succeed, we must implement these new modes of operation using ancient wisdom. Tim helps bring this to bear.
He then goes on with some practical implications of this new reality, again not giving us methods and how-to's, or what-to-think's but rather the more helpful how-to-think-about's. One of my favorite concepts he unpacks is the idea of "mediacy". Most of our communication no longer happens face-to-face, but through a medium (e-mail, text, phone or voice chat, video chat, etc).
This medium, by definition acts as a "mediator" (something that stands between), and it has effects on the communication. As I learned in my 101 speech class in college, the medium literally distorts the message, and so requires effort on the part of the communicator and receiver in order to understand properly. Understanding how various media impact your communication will help you apply the correct effort.
This book is worth a read.
What is wonderful about the book is that it won't tell you what to think about technology, but it strives to help with how to think, theologically, philosophically, and technologically, about different facets of the information tidal wave.
Seeking to help us gain a better understanding of the nature of our current technological scene, Tim gives a brief overview history of the progression of technology, offering good insights such as the fact that prior to the nationwide expansion of the railroad, no information in the world travelled faster than a horse. (Though, I'd question the outcome of a race between a horse and carrier pigeon perhaps?). This was followed shortly on by the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the television, and the Internet. In short, in a short 150 years, the entire nature of information flow has been fundamentally altered.
We are not dealing simply with a new tool we need to know how to master, we are dealing with a new reality, requiring new skills, new disciplines, new discernment, and fresh thought. Ironically, if we are to succeed, we must implement these new modes of operation using ancient wisdom. Tim helps bring this to bear.
He then goes on with some practical implications of this new reality, again not giving us methods and how-to's, or what-to-think's but rather the more helpful how-to-think-about's. One of my favorite concepts he unpacks is the idea of "mediacy". Most of our communication no longer happens face-to-face, but through a medium (e-mail, text, phone or voice chat, video chat, etc).
This medium, by definition acts as a "mediator" (something that stands between), and it has effects on the communication. As I learned in my 101 speech class in college, the medium literally distorts the message, and so requires effort on the part of the communicator and receiver in order to understand properly. Understanding how various media impact your communication will help you apply the correct effort.
This book is worth a read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food for Thought
Tim Challies has written a very thorough yet practical book on how we engage technology today. For the Christian, he raises some very important questions regarding a riding our... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Matt
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent Overview of the Intersection of Theology and Technology Going...
I reviewed Tim Challies' book "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment" about a year ago. I used to subscribe to his blog, but in an exercise similar to one he recommends in "The... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Eric S. Mueller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought or Distraction
In 1800, people could travel no faster than they had at the time of Christ. But change - massive change - was afoot. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Glynn Young
3.0 out of 5 stars
Objectivity In Question
Tim Challies describes himself as a "self-employed computer guy with no seminary or Bible college education. Read more
Published 11 months ago by __
4.0 out of 5 stars
We need this book!!
In 2012, I believe that I am now the only person in the universe under the age of 35 without a cell phone. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Chad Oberholtzer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worldview Matters
Canadian pastor, author, and blogger Tim Challies has long been recognized as an insightful voice on cultural and technological issues facing the Church. His website (Challies. Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Lonas
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful Look at Our Digital Ways
"Today, in our digital world, we spend much of our lives beyond Gibraltar, beyond accountability through visibility, able to say and do and look at and enjoy whatever our hearts... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Amo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best on the subject
The Next Story, by Tim Challies, should be required reading for anyone born after 1980. It deals with how we must adjust our technology to our faith, not vice versa. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Michael B. Spotts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much Needed Read
The Next Story by Tim Challies is a book that all Christians who are involved with social media (and that is many of us) should read. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Shirley Rempel
4.0 out of 5 stars
I appreciate the work, I disagree with the theology
First, I think that while there are some issues I disagree with, I think this is a book that needs to be read by almost everyone that wants to think seriously about how we as... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Adam
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