Does the Church Have Too Many Resources?

I recently read in an article of Preaching magazine that eight years worth of sermons are downloaded every single day onto YouTube.  More and more churches and pastors are finding ways to utilize technology in their ministries.  At Cross Roads Baptist Church we have podcasts, blogs, live-streaming and archived videos of services, several websites, mass emails for our daily devotions, and a ministry app for electronic devices.

In this information age you can literally find out anything you want to know about any particular subject.  All of these resources are great and can be used to help our preaching; but I am concerned that we may have too many resources.  Is it possible that we depend too heavily upon our newfound resources while spending less time in prayer, meditation, and pursuit of the power of God?

Consider this….

Fifty years ago a man of God couldn’t Google a sermon outline.  He couldn’t “borrow” a subject from a podcast.  He couldn’t download an entire conference worth of lectures.  He couldn’t listen to a book on his phone while driving his car.  He couldn’t glean from other ministries around the world.  He was disconnected from the explosion of knowledge that we have so readily have available today.  So what did he have to do?  The unthinkable….

He had to pray earnestly, pursue zealously, and plead fervently for God to move in his heart, his preaching, and his church.  I am afraid we have replaced the power of God with PowerPoint.

I say we use all the resources we can, but not at the expense of failing to rely on the power and leadership of God.  My prayer is for the church of Jesus Christ to utilize the greatest resource we have- the Holy Ghost.