Book 8 of 2011 -- Theology in a Digital World

This one was recommended to me when I was musing on FB about doing a paper on the use of technology in worship planning and presentation.  (I may still do that paper some day -- when I have the time).

It is not a new book.  I had to order it used.  But what amazed me was how prescient it is, for a book written at the beginning of the Digital Age.

Lochead was, as they say, and "early adopter" of internet possibilities within the United Church of Canada.  He was in fact a pioneer of ECUNET back in the day.  In his intro he says that the first chapter came to form in 1984.  Now I remember 1984.  THink Apple IIe.  THink DOS.  THink those lovely green screens.  The only exposure most of us had to modems and inter-computer communication at that time was movies such as War Games.  In fact a decade later, when I was doing my first internship, modems and ECUNET/othe internet things and so on were still something very few people were doing (and a 28.8 modem was the top of the line).  ANd yet what Lochead describes is eerily accurate to what we have now.

THis was a good book.  An introductory book to be sure.  But a good read.  Lochead raises important questions that still need to be explored, especially as we live into the reality of a social media world.  Given that I am still mulling the concept of doing a DMin exploring what it means to be the church in a Digital World I am really glad this book was suggested to me.