Blog Post No. 31 - Reading Time 4:15

Somehow I just knew the technology was going to give me fits this past Sunday morning. I enjoyed many weeks without a hitch, but then Apple began with their updates again. These were not to fix anything, they were to prep their customer base for their new operating system coming out this fall. In other words, they will force you to update by injecting problems into your current programs that will be fixed by updating to their latest OS.

So these updates were not like many previous bug fixes and security issues, they are planned obsolescence. At Calvary we operate on very old systems that actually run third party patches to make them compatible with the newer operating systems Apple releases.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I guess you could say I’m setting myself up for these headaches and disappointments, but we simply do not have the resources for the latest and greatest new computers. Granted our Macs are 16 years old now. We’ve kind of fallen behind because I began putting them in when I came to Calvary back in 2009. Before they just had a laptop projecting lyrics on a screen. Now we have a network hub managing 12 Macs, two Macbooks, and several iPhones and iPads.

In addition to that, we now upload videos to YouTube, produce printed materials, use computer accounting, and manage our own self-published website.

I said all of that so you can see what goes on in my head while I’m trying to preach. My son, Stephen, does a great job of trying to manage these problems when they arise during the service, but sometimes it’s just a house of cards and completely collapses.

Dealing With It

I probably could have dealt with that, but on Sunday the presentation was on-again, off-again, numerous times. It was to enough perplex my mind so that I lost focus of what I was trying to share. As a result, I left church that morning feeling terrible. As I mentioned, before I somehow knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t know how to prevent it. I even asked the Lord before the service to just make it work. It did before the service, but during the service it all came tumbling down.

The technical providers say, “Just put in all new stuff.” That’s not going to happen. Others say if you can’t do it right then don’t do it at all. That’s not going to happen either.

What’s actually going to happen is we are going to make the best of it until God shows us another way. Besides, it’s not as upsetting to the congregation as it is to me. I get frustrated in the midst of it and lose my focus. This prevents me from concentrating on the message at hand and losing my place multiple times.

For now I’ll go back to printing out my message on paper and having with me in the pulpit just in case, like I did the last time we went through this. However, solving the issue last time meant purchasing a new iPad. Not a cheap way out for me. My old one, which Stephen bought for me years ago, would no longer update and became incompatible with our system. This is my third iPad since I started preaching off of them 15 years ago.

The End Game

I apologize for anything that sounded confusing on Sunday, but I’m not a multitasker. I cannot keep my train of thought while I’m constantly restarting the programs, routers, and wireless connections in the background.

Sometimes I wish they’d just leave you alone and not constantly update your computers. I tried to use some old ones as is just to surf the internet, but now they even say that the browser on them is no longer compatible with their updated websites.

However, as long as technology helps us reach more people and keeps our current congregation in touch with our activities we will foray ahead.

So pray for me on those days when things don’t go as planned. I still don’t seem to handle it well emotionally, even after all these years. I’m sure you can relate.

Until next Monday, may the Lord bless you! Pray for us!

Pastor Brian Jenkins

Calvary Assemblies of God

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