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    The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion
    The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion
    The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion

    Written by Tim Challies

    Narrated by Adam Black

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    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateApr 19, 2011
    ISBN9780310591702
    Author

    Tim Challies

    A pastor, noted speaker, and author of numerous articles, Tim Challies is a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere. Tens of thousands of people visit Challies.com each day, making it one of the most widely read and recognized Christian blogs in the world. Tim is the author of several books, including Visual Theology and Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History. He and his family reside near Toronto, Ontario.

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    Reviews for The Next Story

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      "Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right." -- Charles SpurgeonHonestly, I wasn't really interested in reading a book about technology. However, technology is a huge part of my husband's life (as an IT specialist), so he asked me to order The Next Story after watching the book trailer. While I wasn't interested in the subject matter, I absolutely love reading books with others and discussing the ideas therein, especially with the love of my life. Since it was important to him, I decided to seize the opportunity and read along. I am so glad that I did!The Next Story is an important book for all of us who are living in the world but not seeking to be of the world. As Christians, we should use technology in a decidedly different manner than those who are not living for the glory of God. Challies asks, "How has the digital explosion reshaped our understanding of ourselves, our world, and, most importantly, our knowledge of God?" (pg. 12).He writes: "...every technology brings with it both risk and opportunity" (pg. 36). We must realize that technology, like all other created things, "is prone to draw your heart away from God, to distract you and enable you to rely on your own abilities rather than trusting God" (pg. 24). However, "it is not the technology itself that is good or evil; it is the human application of that technology" (pg. 25).Challies wisely realizes that "...for most of us, avoidance [of technology] is not an option, nor is it necessarily the most biblical, God-honoring response...Our task, then, is not to avoid technology but to carefully evaluate it, redeem it, and ensure that we are using it with the right motives and for the right goals" (pg. 32). He writes: "We need to seek to understand how a technology will change and shape us before we introduce it to our lives" (pg. 61). It will change the way that we think with regard to content (what we think) and process (how we think).Challies raises a lot of great questions; some of which he answers, while others are left for the reader to answer as a means of personal application. This isn't a book that legalistically dictates when you can use technology, for how much time, etc...though Challies does recommend that the reader set boundaries.The Next Story deals with many practical issues including communication, distraction, thinking, and idolatry, all the while encouraging the reader to examine his/her heart and teaching how to apply the Gospel. Although Challies examines each of these topics (and others) specifically with regard to digital technology, the content of this book could easily be applied more broadly and is relevant to us all.All in all, this book is an interesting and thought-provoking title and an excellent choice for those wishing to think Biblically about technology and living life to the glory of God. Highly recommended!*Many thanks to Zondervan for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!
    • 2/5
      From a recent review "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." This has been a very helpful book that has given me insight into the impact that technology has on my life each and every day. Well worth the read.
    • 4/5
      Thought-provoking discussion of how the digital revolution has impacted our thinking, our culture, and our spiritual lives. Tim Challies has put together a very helpful discussion, being both even-handed and Biblical. These are not the rantings of a technology-hating rambler. Tim is thoughtful in both the areas of theology and technology. As a technology leader at a Christian ministry, this book gives me much more to think about.
      If you are a gadget-loving Christian, you should read this book.
    • 5/5
      The book is framed as a pragmatic discussion promising the reader suggestions on more faith-filled and deliberate way of living in the digital world, but the reason I recommend it is that the reader gets more than that. In his discussions about distractions, mediated reality, and wikis Challies gives great teachings on the purpose of the Christian life, the personal nature of Christ and his community, and the nature of Truth. Essentially, because of the book’s context, i.e., living in a digital world, he’s able to explain spiritual truths in a way that probably much easier for non-philosophers to grasp their significance. Doctrinally, it’s solid and appropriate for Western Christians from any tradition.
    • 4/5
      Good book. Lots of good points - the digital world is eating away at community and how virtual community fails to replace it with the same quality of relationships, How in this easily distractable digital world we have so much information that we are failing to turn it into knowledge and then wisdom. I just wish he could have written more about a reasonable response to these real problems. Hopefully that is another book.
    • 5/5
      Very helpful overview of the various aspects Christians must consider when evaluating the role of digital media in their lives.
    • 5/5
      Tim Challies book The Next Story is a masterpiece in its field. The book effectively engages with all the primary practical imports of technology to drive home the principle that using technology for the glory of God is both a challenge and an opportunity for Christians (blurb).Challies book is quite unique, in a Christian book field with few comparable books. Three things, however, make it a book to treasure.Firstly, Challies deals with technology from the inside. As a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere, author of Challies.com, which receives over 20,000 hits a day and editor of DiscerningReader.com, Challies is not only qualified but competent in his field. From the very first page, the reader is impressed by his approach: one characterised by a reason, born out of experience, but not overly cautious. He rightly recognises that both an ‘unqualified embrace’ of technological advances and ‘strict separation’ are missing something vital, a ‘biblical, God-honouring response’ (32), yet bestows more respect on the latter. Challies attitude exudes a balance and competence that captures the reader’s heart.Secondly, Challies approach to the subject of digital technology is grounded in one simple principle: look deeper (39). He rightly discerns that we are ‘prone to be quite lazy in our thinking about technology’ (41). Thus, his book promotes not rigid legalism but a rationalism that will benefit every user of technology, Christian or otherwise. His book deals with core principles of technology; by referencing communication, distraction, information and authority, the maxims which he uncovers will remain timelessly relevant in a rapidly changing field.Thirdly, Challies writes to change. Not to change technology, but to change people. Or rather, to point his readers to the only source of change – the true wisdom found in Jesus Christ. In a world of Facebook-frivolity, he declares that “shallow words reveal a shallow heart” (79) and champions instead a life “submitted to the One who is Truth” (82). Most chapters close with a comprehensive Application section and Questions for Reflection. Challies’ Epilogue is a summary of how his book has changed him and articulates his deepest desire simply and succinctly: “I want you to take what’s true and have these things shape your relationship with technology in a way that suits your unique situation” (193). Rather than be shaped by our technology, Challies urges us to shape it for the glory of God.Challies book accomplishes its mission. It takes the reader on a journey of understanding in a world we travel every day, but hitherto had only a dim notion of where we were really headed. It breathes clarity into confusion and cultivates technological confidence in an age of digital dictation. The sincerity of the author and his steady reliance on Scripture ensure that, for every reader, the next story can truly be His story.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
    • 4/5
      In The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies seeks to show how technology affects us, changes the way we live, has costs as well as benefits. He also challenges us to think deeper, want more from life than the shallow thinking that comes with so much of the technological gadgets we surround ourselves with. This deep thinking includes the perspective of a Christian who believes in an almighty God who calls us to be holy.The first section points out some truths about technology - why it is necessary and also why it is often destructive. He recounts a history of technology up to the digital explosion, showing how each advance in technology brought great benefits but also many changes, and some costs.The second section discusses 6 ways our lives have changed due to the digital technology available to us. He discusses how our habits of communication have changed. And how most of our communication is mediated rather than face to face. Last month I read Pride and Prejudice, which is a book very much centered around gatherings, long personal letters among friends and family, and travel for in-person visits. Tim Challies points out much of this has been sacrificed and is now considered inconvenient in the age of email and blogs. He picks on using email instead of phone calls, as many consider phone calls an interruption. I choked on this a little bit, as I remember as a child thinking that a phone call was an interruption and how we should strive to not be at the mercy of the ringing phone. But his point was that we would rather send a quick email than spend time really talking to someone by phone (or even video conferencing).He also talks about being distracted and how the demands of technology to switch tasks and check so many different things are robbing us of our ability to focus and spend longer amounts of time working and thinking. He follows this up with a talk about how we want more and more information, but spend less time really seeking true knowledge or wisdom.The last two chapters cover the way we are losing a concrete idea of truth and authority, leaning more toward the wiki version of truth by consensus rather than truth by facts as studied and explained by experts. And he covers the weird way we want to be visible and sacrifice privacy for much of that. Even if we aren't worried about being visible, the convenience factor very often drives us to give up our privacy and allow a data trail to be collected, collated, and analyzed.Many times through the book I would have the thought that I am nothing like what he is describing. I don't think this was pride thinking that I am not that bad. Just shock that so many other people must be this addicted to their technology. I can still find plenty to convict me of my own habits with technology, desire for more and more information, and ability to be distracted. I also agree with his premise that if we keep watch over our lives with our theology in mind, knowing Jesus as our living Savior and seeking to please Him and live our lives to God's glory, we will need to and be able to evaluate our habits, including those using technology, with discernment.A worthy and sobering read. Much more descriptive than prescriptive, as he says was his intent. Food for thought. Will we take the time to think it through and take action?