This summer I worked with Dr. Baer in preparation for the Scroll program, or the Wabash Institute of Theology for Youth, which was funded by the Lily Endowment. I want to thank Dr. Baer for giving me this opportunity, as I learned a lot about technology and how I can use it to glorify God. This summer, I spent seven weeks preparing for our program at the end of July, so I had to find many companies that use technology to promote the Christian faith and various films that showed technology’s negative and positive impacts on our lives. During the week of our program, which took place from July 22nd to July 30th, 14 rising sophomores and juniors from Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, South Carolina, and Maryland participated in our program to better understand how they can use technology to impact their relationships with others and God positively. Dr. Baer and Mr. Homer Twigg, who graduated from Wabash in 2008, taught classes throughout the week, stressing the importance of positive technology use.
We visited many different high-tech companies, such as Catholic Concepts in Indianapolis, the Subaru manufacturing plant in Lafayette, and Northview Church’s Carmel campus, as well as ministries that help struggling addicts get back on their feet, which include Trinity Life Ministry in Crawfordsville and Restoration Sawmill in Lafayette. These site visits gave me great insight into how companies use technology to promote the Christian faith and how some are helping struggling men become closer to God. These were powerful experiences for me because I had never thought about how technology can genuinely negatively impact our lives, as many of these truths are hidden from us in various ways. As a Religion major, I found this week to be a great learning experience because we need to think deeply about how technology is negatively influencing us and how we can alter our technology use so it doesn’t negatively impact us, our families, or our relationships with God any further. Once again, I would like to thank Dr. Baer for giving me this amazing opportunity and all those who participated in Scroll for making it a powerful learning experience.
