May 13, 2026

In a youth hockey game (2023), a 10-year-old boy missed the final penalty shot which sealed the loss for his team. The boy blew a gasket. He screamed, threw his hockey stick, gloves, helmet and then for good measure, fell to the ground. Have any other 10-year-old boys ever overreacted? Absolutely! But this one was recorded and the video was uploaded to YouTube. The 2 minute, 40 second video showed it all and there were plenty of people who watched it. The boy’s parents tried to get the video to be removed. When it kept showing up they sued. Recently, an Illinois Appellate Court ruled that posting a video of a 10-year-old hockey player’s “tantrum” isn’t intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Technology can be a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing when it does things for us. It is a curse when it does things to us. Is it possible to use technology for good without being shaped by it? Maybe, but only if we are informed, vigilant and intentional.

One day Cathi and I were sitting on a beach, at one of our favorite and familiar places. I noticed a couple near us. The gal was looking at her phone with her back to the ocean for several hours. She was way more present in the tiny little universes that she scrolled in and through than she was in the stunning setting where she was actually sitting. But this does not surprise you. You see it all the time. At bus stops, students are scrolling on their phones. In restaurants, the same pattern appears. People do not talk to each other like before. For drivers, we had to pass a law in our state in order to get people to stop staring at the other places their phones were displaying so they could actually be present and responsible in the one they were literally in. Now the growing presence of A.I. is adding another dimension. Studies are supporting what we have suspected. The spikes in anxiety, depression and loneliness are being linked directly to the use of smartphones. I suspect that anger is linked as well.

I talk with many pastors and am observing how many of them are discouraged. I have never seen so much discouragement before. The primary reason is dealing with the anger of people in their congregations. It’s not just abusive spouses in homes, it is flaming emails, petitions, gossip and of course, social media posts. It’s a grief to one’s soul to watch someone rip another person apart with words, then walk out, cut-off, and ghost them as if other people are nothing more than a disposable Kleenex.  It happens in families and tragically in churches. I suspect that a major part of this are people who are discipled more by social media instead of Jesus.

There is much that we need to think about as brothers and sisters in the church and as parents and children. I aim to help us weigh in on this issue by addressing it, Wednesday, June 3, 2026 in the Worship Center (7p). We are calling it, “Devicelship:" How Technology is Discipling Us Instead of Jesus. The challenges and consequences of undiscerning use of technology are obvious, but the opportunities as a church family to display something infinitely better are before us as well.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: Luke 19:28-40

(The Triumphant Tragedy)