Published on 01/28/2008

I can grind my teeth, but God doesn't. He is busy using the latest innovations to spread his good news to more people than ever before in human history.

I had no idea how old I am until I read this morning's Wall Street Journal. I was born in 1958, when Eisenhower was president. Eisenwho? my sons would ask. My first TV was black and white, and you actually had to get up to change the channel. Eight-tracks were popular (raise your hand if you remember those and have the strength to comply).

Most of us had record players; mine was so fancy that it could play not only the big albums but also 45s. Those of you under 40 have no idea what that sentence means. My first VCR (remember those?) came with a remote attached by a wire like a dog's leash. Cassette tapes were an amazing innovation; my first cassette player came with a microphone you could use to record yourself. I was the first American Idol.

Then came the CD. I remember a preacher holding one up at a church growth conference and saying, "This little disc is a killer." He proceeded to document all the ways CDs were displacing cassettes, which were displacing records. If he were preaching his sermon today, he'd hold up your computer and say, "This machine is an assassin." The seemingly harmless invention on which you're reading these words has been busy while you were asleep, out hunting and slaying CDs by the millions. The Journal says so.

The article is titled "Beyond the Album." It reports that physical CD album sales declined 19 percent last year. Digital music is here to stay. And not just downloads for your iPod, cellphone, and anything with a battery. Downloaded songs. Singles, not albums. Last year, 17 digital songs were sold for every digital album (in 1994, the industry sold 615 million albums and 99 million singles). Now the industry is talking about transitioning to a serialized model, where bands release individuals songs on the Internet much like television networks release their content a show at a time. Just when I learned how to use my car's CD changer, the world changes again.

I can grind my teeth, but God doesn't. He is busy using the latest innovations to spread his good news to more people than ever before in human history. One Internet evangelism ministry I know documented more than a million first-time decisions for Christ last year. Digital technology is making it possible for you and me to have this conversation this morning. Paul used the latest roads, traveling advances, and languages to get the gospel to the entire Empire. If he'd had email, there's no telling how many letters he'd have written the Corinthians. So let's be grateful for a God who uses every means at his omnipotent disposal to tell us that he loves us. No matter how the world changes, that fact never will. Let's continue that thought tomorrow.