Looking Back: The Story So Far

This is our third conversation in the series Church in Exile: Bearing God's Image in the Age of Technology. Before diving in, take some time to recap together. What stood out to you from the first two sermons and discussions? What ideas have you found yourself returning to during the week? What, if anything, has begun to shift in how you think about technology, being human, or being the church?

The Doctrine of Progress

Our culture has been deeply shaped by what is sometimes called "the doctrine of progress," the belief that history is inevitably moving forward toward something better, and that we ourselves need to keep becoming "more" than we currently are. Where do you see this assumption at work in our culture? Where do you feel its pull in your own life, the sense that who you are, what you have, or where you are is not enough?

How does technology participate in this story? What are some specific technologies in your life that promise to help you become "more," more productive, more connected, more attractive, more informed, more secure? What do they promise, and what do they actually deliver?

The Church as Restored Image-Bearers

Read Acts 1:7–8. What does this passage tell us about the nature and purpose of the church? What does it mean to be Jesus' "witnesses," and how is that different from simply being people who talk about Jesus?

If the church is the restored humanity, called to image God in the world in a way that points to Jesus, what does this mean for how we relate to technology? What's the difference between rejecting technology, baptizing technology, and bearing witness to Jesus through and with technology?

Acts 2:42 — Four Devotions

Read Acts 2:42 together before working through the next questions.

Devotion to the apostles' teaching. The sermon argued that being devoted to the apostles' teaching is not just about consuming biblical content; it's about being formed by the true story of the world through patient, repeated practices over time. What practices have actually formed you in Scripture? What practices have you neglected? Name one concrete step you could take this week. Where could technology serve that step, and what technology might be pulling you away from it?

Devotion to fellowship and the breaking of bread. The sermon described much of our technology as offering connections that don't judge us, don't ask anything of us, and don't take long. Where have you experienced this in your own life? What does it cost to share life with real people instead? Name one specific way you want to deepen fellowship in this season. How could technology serve that, and what technology is replacing it?

Devotion to prayer. Prayer is a practice we give ourselves to because we know we are not enough. What are the weaknesses, limits, or fragilities in your life that you most want to optimize, hide, or solve? What would it look like to bring them to God in prayer instead the technologies that promise to fix them?

Read 2 Corinthians 4:6–7. Why does Paul say God puts the treasure of the gospel in "jars of clay"? What does this passage suggest about how the church bears witness in a world obsessed with strength, optimization, and becoming more?

Commitments and Care

Looking across the whole series, what is one commitment you want to make about your relationship with technology? What do you want to change, refuse, or take up?

How can this group encourage and support you in that commitment over the coming weeks?