I recently found this image of Jesus taking a selfie and shared it with a friend of mine. He said, “My church has a sign outside the sanctuary that reads ‘please turn off your phones,’ but my pastor reminds me that I can follow along to the service using my iPhone app for worship. He says to the youth group we should make our faith viral, but then tells us in a sermon how we’re all distracted by social media to really live out our faith. So which is it?”

That got me thinking: Isn’t the “real world” where we are supposed be applying our faith and sharing it with others for a better tomorrow? And how can we do that if we receive conflicting messages about the tools we have at our disposal—our technology?

The truth is that technology is changing the way we live. How we worship or understand faith is no exception. And, contrary to the lamentations out there, it’s a good thing.

In other sectors of our lives, the technological revolution has played a part in leveling the field and has even allowed people to express themselves in a more authentic way. The same is true with faith. The internet is a platform for communication that levels the playing field for encounter. With access to the internet and its technologies, everyone can now virtually communicate with anyone. Using these tools in faith communities has the power to bring people together and provide a place to call home—a virtual refuge that allows for spiritual growth and understanding that can be accessed anywhere, at any time.

Technology also gives a reference for faith communities that could be used for organizing volunteer opportunities, resource sharing, public/private projects that address issues like homelessness, and environmental stewardship. Whether it’s in a laundromat or on a hike, younger generations are more often expecting to meet the spirit out in the world rather than inside a stone building. This allows for more people to participate and express their spirituality in spaces once thought to be purely secular or devoid of spiritual practice.

Authentic connections and intentional communities are needed to tackle the problems our generation faces and the deeper, more introspective challenges the spiritual life requires. Sharing of resources through the internet along with trends in online social interaction have led to greater access to religious resources and study materials.

Thanks to this technical reformation, the internet is now full of multitudes of religious texts, annotated and translated into study guides all downloadable and in some cases retweetable. There are scores of podcasts or videos from sermons and homilies, study guides and devotional meetups all offering accurate resources to anyone. With this religious literacy per capita on the rise, technology is making it quicker to share discourse between believers and condemn misinformation and violence when it occurs.

FaithTech can hold those in power accountable and allows for free and democratic participation in the creation of spiritual wayfinding. For many young people, technology has exposed hypocrisy and even criminal and predatory activity that has been hidden or covered up for decades. Technology not only helps shed light on misconduct, but also provides access to resources and support groups needed for victims of such perpetration.

What many bemoan as an exodus from faith intensified by technology’s rise is nothing more than a reframing of what a spiritual life looks like—and where it takes place. Such critiques are based on a misunderstanding that technology can only replace, not complement, one’s faith journey. Similar things were said about science, the printing press, even people reading. Such misunderstandings are only growing pains that lead to more avenues of communication, efficiency, and congregational development opportunities.

When communities misunderstand this nuance, it leads to inauthentic approaches where making church services “hip” or rebranding to suit millennials’ love of avocado toast or hashtag use is supposed to bring people back to the pews. Millennials are searching for substance, to paraphrase Rachel Held Evans, not style. No one likes to be tokenized or pandered to, so this can come off as either desperate or disingenuous.

In many ways, the American religious landscape hasn’t changed, but there are significant shifts in how people are searching for a sense of belonging. No longer are people attending religious services as the only way of leading a spiritual life. With the rise of technology as a tool for sharing with and encountering others, the spiritual life can now be experienced virtually anywhere and everywhere. Perhaps we should all keep our hearts open and leave our phones on.

Image by Ollyy on Shutterstock.