{"id":32330,"date":"2022-09-10T16:05:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-responsibilities-of-a-christian-technologist-in-a-digital-age\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:05:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:05:21","slug":"3-responsibilities-of-a-christian-technologist-in-a-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-responsibilities-of-a-christian-technologist-in-a-digital-age\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Responsibilities of a Christian Technologist in a Digital Age"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Simon Abrams on Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Helen Gibson<\/em><\/p>\n

In our technology-obsessed, digital age, do Christians\u2014especially those who work as designers, coders, and technologists\u2014have a unique responsibility?<\/p>\n

Stephen Olmstead thinks so.<\/p>\n

Olmstead, who serves as vice president of product strategy for the InVision app, argues that technology is inherently good, but it leaves us with a \u201ctechnological imperative,\u201d or a unique responsibility to ourselves and others as we consume and create technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now in that digital age, and there\u2019s a lot of responsibility that comes with these new areas that we\u2019re digging into,\u201d Olmstead said. \u201c… These are unknowns. These are kind of sticky situations, but as believers, I believe we\u2019re called to lean into that, to be leaders of those new technologies. Not to sit by the sidelines and wait till they\u2019re figured out, but to be the ones who help charting that path.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recently shared this idea at Lifeway\u2019s Faith Leads Tech conference. Faith Leads Tech was a one-day, single-track conference designed to bring together followers of Jesus Christ who, like Olmstead, are focused on technology and innovation.<\/p>\n

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The three-fold technological imperative<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What is the technological imperative? In a broken world, Olmstead said Christians in technological professions have a responsibility to ask, pursue, and lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat brings us back to understanding our place in the world,\u201d Olmstead said. \u201cWe understand we\u2019re in a sin-fallen world. Doubly, it increases our responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

First, he said Christian technologists should ask God for strength and wisdom in their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe our mandate as believers is to ask God for the strength and the wisdom to pursue what He has for us in the field of technology,\u201d Olmstead said. \u201cAsk Him for wisdom. Ask boldly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, he said Christians should actively pursue innovative ideas and solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot just sit there, not just wait for some divine intervention, but let\u2019s use the skills we have now to lean in and start to craft the next wave of technology that can serve the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, Olmstead said Christians should lead others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you\u2019re all here today,\u201d he said, addressing the crowd of designers, coders, and technologists attended the conference. \u201cYou\u2019re all leaders in the tech field. It\u2019s our job to help motivate others and get them excited about what we can do for the Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, these three responsibilities\u2014to ask, to pursue, and to lead\u2014represent a certain sense of boldness, Olmstead said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a call to be bold as we push into the next wave of what the Lord has for us in whatever field we are in,\u201d Olmstead said. \u201cWhether you\u2019re a coder, whether you\u2019re a designer, whether you\u2019re a product manager, [this is] boldness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The faith of a [peanut] seed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To drive his point home, Olmstead shared the story of one particularly innovative figure\u2014botanist and inventor George Washington Carver. Olmstead described Carver\u2019s life as an example of someone who humbly asked, faithfully pursued, and boldly led.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGeorge Washington Carver was determined to use his skills to help the people around him, and in this case, it was poor farmers in the rural south growing cotton,\u201d Olmstead said.<\/p>\n

As the story goes, Carver found himself confronted with a problem.<\/p>\n

He saw poor, rural cotton farmers struggling as they watched their fields produce less and less each year. So, he developed a solution. He introduced these farmers to the idea of crop rotation, using peanuts as a way to restore some of the nitrogen in the soil, resulting in improved future yields.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t just develop this idea and test it in a laboratory, though. Carver shared it widely.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went around in a wagon and started to teach farmers. \u2026 He would teach them and be patient and walk them through the process,\u201d Olmstead said.<\/p>\n

Carver\u2019s solution, though successful, had some unintended consequences. It led to a surplus of peanuts\u2014so much so that massive quantities of the legume ended up rotting away in storehouses.<\/p>\n

So, Carver came up with yet another solution. He invented more than 300 products made out of peanuts, and he created a market for these new products, Olmstead said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe demand for peanut-based products skyrocketed. He used two instances of technology to solve a problem that helped man,\u201d Olmstead said. \u201cToday, Carver is credited with saving the agricultural economy of the rural south.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olmstead ended his talk with a quote about Carver\u2019s life and legacy:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is reported that once Carver prayed, \u2018Mr. Creator, show me the secrets of your universe.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Little man, you\u2019re not big enough to know the secrets of my universe, but I\u2019ll show you the secret of the peanut,\u2019 was the reply.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Olmstead said that was a great way to think about technology. \u201cIt\u2019s not always these big, massive sorts of things like we think about these earth-shattering technology changes. Sometimes, it\u2019s as small as focusing on a peanut or a mustard seed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story of Carver\u2014and our current technological imperative\u2014illustrates a valuable lesson for technologists, designers, coders and anyone seeking to solve problems in our current digital age, Olmstead said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrothers and sisters, let me exhort you,\u201d Olmstead concluded. \u201cThink big. Ask the Lord for wisdom. Pursue that and teach others.\u201d<\/p>\n

To watch Stephen Olmstead\u2019s full talk \u2014 in addition to 20 other talks, interviews and presentations \u2014 <\/em>purchase the Faith Leads Tech conference recording<\/em>. To learn more about Faith Leads Tech, <\/em>explore the conference website<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Helen Gibson<\/h2>\n

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Helen is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n