Joanna La Fleur serves with Alpha Canada and also has her own ministry called “The Word Made Digital”.
Joanna emphasizes the pervasive nature of digital technology in modern life, likening it to the water we swim in, and highlights the need for self-awareness and learning how to navigate these digital waters effectively. She also acknowledged both the opportunities and concerns associated with digital platforms, as utopian promise has moved into such things as addiction and manipulation.
To navigate these waters well the importance of understanding a church’s unique mission and vision cannot be understated. She advises small churches to keep online activities low-key and focused on connecting with their existing congregation, suggesting that small churches could benefit from curating content from other sources rather than trying to produce high-quality, original content. Small church pastors and church leaders need to be curious and seek out diverse perspectives to avoid being trapped in their own echo chambers. Of interest to small churches, Joanna highlights the importance of in-person connections and the limitations of digital interactions.
Finally, Joanna’s main piece of advice for small church pastors and leaders? Try new things, share those experiences with their congregation, and don’t be afraid of the internet and digital tools.
Show Notes from Joanna:
- https://www.practicingtheway.org/ is a resource for getting phones in their proper place in our life. Spiritual disciplines and plans to work through a “rule of life” for how we want to organize our days around our values, not our screens
- For “how to” people should check out my video tutorials on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/joannalafleur
- For “theological insight” people can check out more of my podcast interviews with expert guests https://joannalafleur.com/podcast
- Barna Group leads with research, data, tools on navigating our cultural times in all categories and staying up to date on the pulse of the church in this Digital Age https://www.barna.com/
- Analog Church by Jay Kim considers how the digital age has revolutionized our culture and our church communities. And in interview him on my podcast so you can find more on the topic there!