Gospel Tech with Nathan Sutherland

By PurposelyReligion & Spirituality Christianity Education Parenting Kids & Family

Gospel Tech with Nathan Sutherland episodes

October 05, 2021 86. What Can We Do About Pornography?
Pornography is real and it is hurting our children's minds. 7/10 tweens and 8/10 teens will encounter nudity or content of a sexual nature online (Bark, January 2021). So what can we do? A lot! There is great hope for this conversation and very practical, loving steps we can take to help our children know what love is, what God says about their bodies and sex, and how to handle pornography when they run into it (because odds are they WILL run into it in this digital world).
45 min
September 28, 2021 85. Seven Small Bytes For Healthy Tech
What can we do with the Gospel when it comes to tech? What can we do, starting today, to apply the tech to our lives in faith? Today's conversation gives seven steps every family can take that put the Gospel at the center of our tech lives in practical ways, and that will challenge all of us to trust God more in areas of our lives that can be easy to excuse because they're "not that bad". Let this episode encourage you to see God for all He is, and see the amazing hope and opportunity there is in loving God and using tech.
47 min
September 21, 2021 84. A Great Reminder For Back To School: An Interview with Roger Smith
Roger Smith is a 30+ year educator, the VP of a national sports camp, a parent of two young adults, and a major advocate for young people growing up in a tech world.
Roger has been on the front lines of education since the advent of the personal computer and the internet. Now his elementary school students show up with smartphones and are issued school laptops. In today’ interview he shares encouragement for parents, timely reminders, and some impassioned challenges for how we can fight for our children in this tech world.
50 min
September 14, 2021 83. Why Do We Need Transparent Tech?
We need to have transparent tech. Many of our digital devices are branded with the idea of freedom, privacy, and personal exultation:

Our shows are selected based on our preferences.
Our social media is populated by people who follow us.
Our devices are encrypted and personal.
Our online identities are easily obscured or hidden.

Yet instead of online anonymity healthy tech means we:

Avoid digital secrets
Apply the Gospel in action
Have a plan for what to do when tech is unhealthy

Today's gives practical steps we can all take to ensure our tech is transparent.
35 min
September 07, 2021 82. Back To School! How Can We Keep Our Tech Healthy?
It’s back to school time!
So how do we keep our technology safe? Or, for many of us, how do we push tech back into the normal little box we used to keep it in?
Today we’re going to talk specifically about how we can prepare for this new season of school and tech in three areas:

our home networks and devices
smartphones
specific steps for safe tech times and places
38 min
August 31, 2021 81. Social Media, Comparison, And The Lie Of Pastor Porn
We have a problem with comparison. We are constantly trying to decide if we’re good enough for God, as parents, as citizens, based on how we perceive we rank to those around us. It’s for this reason social media is so devastating to so many of us. We are constantly bombarded by our inadequacy but, unlike the Gospel, social media offers us no recourse.
This is a problem in our personal lives, as it leaves to spiraling anxiety and depression, poor sleep, and lack of general satisfaction, but it is also detrimental to our spiritual lives and the lives Christ has called us to as His Church.
Today we’re tackling this conversation, and my hope is we’ll come out of it more prepared to love, repent, and be the body of Christ.
38 min
August 24, 2021 80. How Can We Create Amazing Analog Adventures?
It can be easy to tell when our children are unhealthy with their tech (check out episodes, 71, 54, 53, 49 and many others!), but what should we do about it? One of my all-time favorite options is the Analog Adventure. Today we'll discuss how we can find real-world outlets for energy and creativity that our children will love to do and that will inspire more of who God has created them to be rather than distract from his purpose and plans for them.
41 min
August 17, 2021 79. Should My Child Use Social Media?
Should our children be on social media? This conversation can feel loaded. Kids often believe it includes a request for a smartphone (because which kid honestly would prefer to use social media from a shared public computer?) and parents frequently have no idea what to make of most of the apps out there.
Today we're going to clarify that there is, in fact, a Biblical standard for social media. We'll talk about how we make these big decisions with our children, what parents need to know in order to be informed, and what benefits and potential pitfalls we should expect when stepping into the world of algorithm-controlled relationships.
31 min
August 10, 2021 78. Should My Child Play Video Games?
Should our children play video games?
More than 2/3 of Americans play video games, and it's a fairly even split between males and females (although mays tend to put in the most time). So there's a good chance our children will ask us if they can play video games, and we want to have an answer built out of the Gospel not simply our opinions or feelings in the moment.
In today's conversation we'll look at video games versus some of the other favorite entertainment tech options (social media, shows, music), and remind ourselves what the Gospel says about our gaming.
Then we'll walk through how we can help ensure gaming stays a benefit, not a distraction, to God's purpose for them.
Finally we'll address what to do if and when gaming gets out of control—how to spot it and how to lovingly intervene.
33 min
July 30, 2021 77. What Are You Living For?
What gets you out of bed every morning? There is a difference between making through today, and living with the legacy God has given us. Legacy is a word fraught with the middle school trauma of poorly-executed motivational speeches. We have come to think of legacy as the influence we have on the world after we're gone, but is that what the Bible tells us? Today we're going to discuss how legacy is less about what or who we become, and more about being who God has made us in Christ. It isn't about carpe-ing the diem or achieving some scrap of success. It's about living in light of a greater hope, looking to those who have lived long, and not so long, yet reflect the hope available to each of us today through God's saving work in Christ Jesus.
38 min

About Gospel Tech with Nathan Sutherland

From the publisher's feed

Gospel Tech is a resource for parents who are feeling outpaced and overwhelmed as they raise children in a tech world.

Our goal: Equip parents with the tools, resources, and confidence they…

need to raise kids who love God and use tech.

Gospel Tech’s mission is to equip families to love God and use tech. We want to empower parents to:

Talk about healthy tech
Communicate the Gospel
Connect the hope of the Gospel to their everyday tech lives

Introduction to Gospel Tech
Three years ago I (Nathan) started Gospel Tech as a ministry to help connect the Gospel to the daily tech lives of families in practical ways. As a middle school teacher I saw a need for intentional, Gospel-focused conversations about tech. Tech was creating more distraction than inspiration in the classroom, and I saw the need for more than just new habits—there was a desperate need for new hearts.

Gospel Tech bridges the gap between scary tech conversations and the hope of the Gospel. With engaging stories and practical applications I bring Gospel-centered tech solutions families can apply in everyday life.

Gospel Tech Resources Beyond The Podcast

The Parent Tech Workshops: A two-part series addressing:
- How should we handle Tech’s Big 3 (smartphones, gaming, pornography)?
- How do we make tech safe at home? (two types of tech, tech health, and building tech trust)

Youth Talks:
- The Tech Talk: Use the best tech on purpose, not for purpose.
- The Hope Talk: A conversation about our goals, purpose, and how making a mistake doesn’t make us a mistake.

The Family Tech Framework: A two-hour workshop where families leave with the words to say and the plan in place for healthy tech at home and in daily life.
- Part 1: Talk It Out: Parents learn key points of discussing healthful tech.
- Part 2: Walk It Out: Families work together to create a Family Tech Framework customized to their needs, goals, and season of life.

At the end of the day our children aren't problems to fix, they're people to love. We need to point them to the purpose and hope available in Christ, in the work he's already done to make them new and to call them on to good works, and then use tech from that hope. This is why I love to say that in Christ we use tech on purpose, not for purpose.

That's the goal of Gospel Tech. Thanks for letting me be on this journey of parenting with you.

-Nathan Sutherland