Christian Leadership Alliance
| 
1 of 4
The Digital Road Ahead
NavPress President Michael D. Miller takes a journey along the technology superhighway.| Outcomes, Fall 2009
Christian Leadership Alliance president Frank Lofaro recently interviewed Michael D. Miller, president of NavPress Publishers and senior vice president of The Navigators. Throughout his career, Miller has been on the leading edge of technology. Prior to joining NavPress, he was the founding partner and chief marketing officer for GodTube.com, and vice president of sales and marketing for LifeWay Christian Resources. Miller has also served in a number of pastoral roles. Today he writes regularly at his blog, The Road Ahead (MichaelDMiller.wordpress.com).
What is the biggest technology-related challenge for Christians today?
We live in two worlds simultaneously. We live in the virtual world, where many of us maintain relationships and do business. Most Americans are touched by the virtual world to some degree. But we also live in the physical world. The reality of blending the two worlds—which often clash—is probably the most significant issue regarding technology and the Christian faith. It's not the platforms, it's not the tools—it's the reality of two different worlds. Sometimes we give priority to one over the other. That's the big trade-off. And that is the biggest technology-related challenge for Christians in the 21st century.
How is the Christian world doing in terms of technology adoption?
Honestly, the Christian world is technophobic. We have always tended to be that way, all the way back to Gutenberg's printing press. The established church struggled to embrace it, and yet the radicals in the Protestant Reformation used that technology to print the Bible. The Internet is the same platform, only on steroids. It is massive. We're late adopters, and by nature we're wary of technology.
I believe we can be broken into three segments: digital aliens, digital natives, and digital missionaries. People may find themselves all across the spectrum. Ironically, I have found digital aliens in the middle-age category, ages 35 and up. On the other hand, digital natives are not necessarily young people. Senior adults have always been technologically advanced because they are early adopters, entrepreneurial, and they naturally understand the value of technology. The fastest-growing demographic of Facebook users right now is women over 50.
You have to realize that in your organization you have a mix. As a publisher, I have digital aliens, digital natives, and digital missionaries combined in a workforce and community. These are real issues for organizations to identify as they begin to talk about technology and new media.
635 Camino de los Mares, Suite 216, San Clemente, CA 92673 · (949) 487-0900