Jay Kim is a staff pastor at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, where he oversees leadership and teaching. He also serves on the leadership team of the ReGeneration Project and co-hosts ReGeneration Podcast. Jay is featured in an in-depth interview in the March/April 2020 issue of Outreach magazine and has just released his first book with InterVarsity Press called Analog Church. Jay and his wife, Jenny, live with their two kids in Silicon Valley.
Key Questions for Jay Kim
-How can the church responsibly approach the Digital Age and what does that look like?
-What has worship become in the Digital Age? What do we need to beware of?
-What are some examples of analog worship?
-Can you explain what you mean when you say digital is great for information, but poor for transformation?
Key Quotes from Jay Kim
“Digital technologies have this way of masquerading as 100 percent helpful mechanisms for connecting us with one another.”
“The Digital Age is driven by three crucial values: speed, choice and individualism…When those values go unchecked for long enough, which they have, they turn really vicious.”
“Those values stand in stark opposition, in direct opposition in my opinion, to the path of discipleship to Jesus.”
“The speed of the Digital Age is making us not only lose our appetite, but it’s making us lose our aptitude for anything that isn’t instantaneous.”
“We [church leaders] have to constantly check ourselves. Are we compromising the very intent and design of discipleship to Jesus for the sake of the efficiency of the Digital Age?”
“Faster is not always better. And in particular, when it comes to following Jesus, slow and steady wins the race.”
“Every word that is translated into the English word ‘worship’ in the Bible is actually what I would call a whole-bodied, participatory word.”
“Worship biblically is actually incredibly physical. It’s about the entirety of our bodies expressing the inner reality of our surrender to God.”
“The Digital Age and its technologies are disembodied, non-spatial realities…I can feel like I’m connected to you without ever physically being around you.”
“When we sing songs together, are we just entertaining and performing? Or are we actually inviting participation?”
