The Center for Gospel Culture Blog

Blackberry Harvest  

Justin RuddyMarch 09, 2010 

John Lee, manager of the last working farm in Boston, MA (Allandale Farm), reflects on the dangers of bringing his Blackberry with him to the fields. While acknowledging that without it he would “get less done more often than not,” he offers this perspective on how life in the fields has changed in light of new technologies:

 
“I am never alone any more in my fields.  Quiet mornings or quiescent evenings on or off the tractor are frequently interrupted for no good reason as far as I can fathom. It is not as though I am communing with the lettuce, but if I am going to be a successful grower, I do need to pay attention. I need to notice which predator is preparing to wreak havoc in my whatever and not [know] that some blazing irrelevancy is awaiting my intemperate attention.  Multi-tasking in the fields may be less personally dangerous, but it sometimes provokes me to fits of untimely forgetfulness for which I need to double-time later.” [1]
 
We might benefit from metaphorically applying his thoughts to both Christian devotion and ministry. While new technologies and social media platforms can provide us ways to become more efficient and/or connected, on the flip side, they offer plenty of opportunities “to get little done while thinking we are accomplishing something significant.”
 
What have been the effects, positive or negative, of new technologies, social media, etc., on your devotion and/or ministry? How can these tools be used wisely in service of the gospel?


[1] Lee, John. “Farmer’s Diary: Stolen Time.” Edible Boston. No. 15. Winter 2010. p. 19. Read the whole thing at http://www.ediblecommunities.com/boston/winter-2010/farmers-diary.htm 

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