"Analog Church" (Jay Y. Kim)

TITLE: Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age
AUTHOR: Jay Y. Kim
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020, (216 pages).

This is a strange time to be reading this book. With much of the world locked down due to the coronavirus crisis, many churches are forced to conduct services digitally. They meet via virtual rooms. They see each other's faces (when the cameras are turned on), as well as the physical environment they are in. More often than not, they put on their best looks when online. In a digital environment, things are made to look more like zeros and ones, metaphorically. As the world becomes more digitized and virtualized, we have a challenge of trying to make human connections as authentic as possible. Knowing the limitations of technology is one thing. Making extra effort to bridge the gaps is another. In this increasingly hybrid community, we don't really have a choice. Digital Church is convenient but not necessarily practical; fast but not necessarily effective; comfortable but not necessarily authentic. Author Jay Kim takes a closer look at the differences between analog and digital communities and points out why digital connections can only go so far and are ultimately inadequate for true connections. He cautions readers against adopting a sense of what CS Lewis calls "chronological snobbery," which is another way of preferring new things over the new. True enjoyment and happiness comes not with the latest and greatest gizmos but the down to earth relational activities we do, especially those face-to-face. Otherwise, we reduce human relationships to convenience, efficiency, and even status updates. The latter especially is merely a tip of the understanding the iceberg of a person. One can post an emotional status now and a minute later feels totally opposite of what was posted.
Trouble is, what is updated online does not necessarily stays the same all the time. Things change. People change, but the online updates are only as accurate as the latest update. For all updates are but snapshots in time. Moreover, electronic mediums can only capture a figment of one's personality. Kim makes several good observations when comparing and contrasting digital vs analog. He notes that the main connection digitally is the camera, rather than the persons involved. For with the camera comes the temptation to be relevant at all costs, even if it means playacting. Taking a leaf from Marshall McLuhan's thesis about the medium being the message, he points out that the key to spirituality is transcendence rather than relevance. What he means is that kingdom matters are often contrary to worldly concerns. He turns against the fallacies of digital communications and points out at least three major negative influences. He critiques the relentless speed that forces us to keep pace beyond our ordinary rhythms. He notes the wide array of choices that render us confused and trapped amid the lack of knowledge of what is most appropriate. He warns us against the rise of individualism that digital technologies promote outwardly and cultivates inwardly. Worse, the triple promises of speed, choices, and individualism are presented as positive and productive values when they actually are contrary to true relationships. For speed makes us impatient; choices make us shallow; and individualism leads to isolation. I can identify with these, especially the metaphor of the front door, the kitchen, and the living room. Digital mediums are great when it comes to introducing and welcoming people at the front door. However, when it comes to the living room and the kitchen where most interactions and deeper communications are made, we need analog. Kim summarizes the call of the Church in three ways:

1. To gather when the world scatters.
2. To slow down when the world speeds up.
3. To commune when the world critiques.

The author covers three broad themes of worship, community, and scripture. On worship, beginning with a story of how one non-believer stopped coming to his church because she finds church like another "rock concert atmosphere." We are reminded that worship isn't limited to singing. It is whole body participation. For those of us with a nostalgic memory, we would remember the shift from repetitive singing to hymn books; from hymnals to projectors; and from overhead projectors to PowerPoint; and from PowerPoint to YouTube. All of these instruments of worship are leading our eyes in the name of relevance to wherever the technology is taking us. There is that subtle shift from harmonizing to individualizing; from congregational singing to performance watching. Kim covers a wide repertoire of modern worship elements that range from watching sermons at home to expectation of their pastors trying to emulate the star preachers. Sadly, this raises a new generation of copycats rather than creative preachers. Worship needs to be transformative and not mindless repetitive or reproduction of the latest and greatest ideas. Witnessing for Christ is the call of the Church; not watching performances of stars.

The book gets better as Kim makes many insights on community and scripture, both crucial to the meaning of worship. He compares the ancient building of the tower of Babel to the modern technological Babel where man seeks to control and circumvent everything that God had intended for. Technology has become a way for self-accomplishment and selfishness. He laments the new generation's ability to think deeper in an environment of quick thinking and shallowness. Interestingly, he observes how we tend to lower our expectations of others through the nature of digital babbling. This requires some explanation. This lowering of expectations is more about "superficial caricatures of others" rather than their abilities. Instead of assuming and drawing out the best of others, we superficially attach what we want on others and dumb our own ideas down on them. This damages community in more ways than one. Kim also distinguishes between "online church" and "Church online" preferring the latter over the former. This parallels Sherry Turkle's observation of the former being "alone together." A Church online is one where people gather and participate regardless of medium.

One disturbing discovery is the way many digital applications are designed with slot machine mentality. Kim cites a certain Tristan Harris who basically critiques these technological applications for their tendency to realign people to the organizational interests rather than to humanity's best interests. Subtly, the app creators aim to make people refresh the page frequently in the hope of seeing something they want to see, just like slot machines that tempt people to keep pulling the lever in the hope of landing the big prize. This is worth reflecting upon more thoughtfully instead of uncritical use.  On Scripture, I appreciate the reminder that Christianity is a "bookish" faith, written to be heard and read, not downloaded and kept in our digital devices. Do read till the end of the book for the author to explain why the subtitle of the book is a bit of a "misnomer."

My Thoughts
This is one of the most thoughtful books on technology and faith that I have read. Let me offer three thoughts. First, technology is making us put on individualistic weight. The other day, I was thinking about the reasons for binge watching. I grow up in an era of watching TV serials where episodes are released once a week. Before each new episode, we would gather together as a family after dinner and sit in the living room sofas waiting for the next exciting continuing episode. This became a routine we enjoy every week in front of the family TV. Nowadays, we have Netflix and all kinds of streaming services that allow us to stream many TV serials without having to wait. We watch it anytime instead of the weekly scheduled time. We watch it anywhere in our own rooms. We watch it on any devices convenient to us, even away from home. No longer do we bother to wait for the episodes to arrive. We simply wait until the entire series could be streamed and we can then watch at our individual convenience instead of using it as a time for family togetherness.

Second, Kim makes an important point about the decrease in qualitative value because of technology. In looking at the comparison between analog and digital, I note that there is also the difference in terms of quality. Jay Millar says it well when contrasting between modern MP3s and vinyl records, that "digitization is the peak of convenience, but vinyl is the peak of experience." This reminds me of the camera zoom lens. Digital zoom can magnify many times more compared to optical zoom. However, when it comes to quality, optical zoom beats out digital hands down. I cannot help but feel that a digitized generation have compromised quality for convenience. In doing so, they miss out on the true experience that only analog can provide.

Third, this book could be misconstrued as a technological Luddite. Perhaps, the author has been overly critical of technology that the book appears lobsided toward the negatives of technology in the Church. Probably, the book is geared more toward those who have blindly accepted technology as a good thing and uncritical about the way they use their digital devices. I understand where Kim is coming from. Some people may quote the Bible's teaching about the distinction of money vs the "love of money" as the root of evil, and apply that to technology, to say something like technology like money is neutral. I remember one of my theological professors assert that technology and money are never neutral. They are principalities of the world used by evil forces in this world. In an increasingly sinful and greedy world of commerce, there is no such thing as a win-win scenario on the use of technology. We need to be watchful and to be careful in how we use them. Thanks to Jay Kim, we have a book to remind us to do just that.

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Inter-Varsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.