Over a month ago, I challenged myself to become a more effective evangelist. I had been reading several books on the topic of focus and three of them mentioned a single strategy to remain diligent in my work over a long period of time. My issue had always been a lack of consistency, so “The Red X Strategy,” as it was named, seemed like the obvious choice to break my inconsistent habits in order to produce more content.
“The Red X Strategy,” also known as the “The Seinfeld Strategy” (from famous comedian, Jerry Seinfeld who promoted the idea) is a simple way to measure your consistency in your work. Each day you complete a task for your work, in my case writing anywhere from 500 to 1000+ words, I would draw a large red “X” on my calendar. As the days went on, the red Xs would interconnect like a chain wrapping around each week. I liked seeing this chain and I didn’t want to break it.
The result? After 35 days straight of merely showing up to write every single day, I had produced 21k+ words, 2 short eBooks drafted and revised, a rebranded catechetical curriculum, 5 book covers designed as added client work, and more quality time than I had ever had with my family than I had ever had before. On top of that, I finished my first 5k run and even managed to squeeze in 6 new blogposts.
It was a VERY productive 5 weeks.
The Bible tells us that the “Red X Strategy” is based on solid, theological values:
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
-James 1:5-8
When we are inconsistent with our lives, we are “double-minded,” always thinking about multiple projects to the point we live double lives. On one had, we desire to fulfill our own will and on the other, we desire to satisfy God’s will for us. The problem is, we are blinded by our passions and we are unable to discern what exactly is God’s will.We find ourselves ignoring our loved ones in order to pursue our passions or vice-versa, and we never really find a happy medium. We never arrive at wisdom, but we do pile our to-do list higher and higher.
We cannot gain wisdom unless we focus. This is one of the reasons I believe Jesus died on a Cross, because when the two beams were placed, one of top of the other, they create crosshairs, a single point of focus that we must always have in our sights in order to achieve our ultimate goal: that of our salvation.
With Christ nailed directly to the middle of the Cross, the blood that poured from his body turned the sacred wood into a “red X” in which our journey towards sanctification begins. To achieve anything worth achieving, you must focus, pick up your cross, and follow Him. When you align your will with God’s, he gives you wisdom, which results in right judgement of your priorities, consistency in your work and, most importantly, peace of mind in knowing that all of your efforts are focused on completing one, primary task:
Let’s face it, it is time to admit that we can no longer go without the Internet. We love our devices but, what are they doing to our souls?
In an effort grow closer to God…
We tried digital detoxing.
We tried going on social media fasts.
We tried erasing the addictive games.
We tried to maintain inbox zero.
We even tried going to the store instead of buying everything on Amazon.com
And we failed.
With every unlocking of our home screen, we swipe and scroll without control and we wonder with a tinge of guilt what we can do to live a spiritually charged life with our devices, because we certainly cannot live without them anymore.
If that sounds like you, I’ve got great news in this post. Allow me to present the 5 ways that you can use your technology to grow in your relationship with God.
Pray
There are millions of apps that can help you pray more using your device. I use only one, the Divine Office App on the regular, usually twice a day. The reason I only use one app to help me pray is simple, prayer is a natural state of Christian living and apps are not natural. I like to have my mind free from screens when I pray and to do that, I make sure to limit my capabilities of praying using technology. When I am preoccupied with a reminder “ding” that tells me it is time to pray, I am more likely NOT to pray (or feel guilty for not having prayed during the “ding” moment). When I can’t keep up with reading the Bible throughout the year, I tend to not focus on the spiritual depth of actually reading the Bible, which is its intended purpose.
The Divine Office allows me to replace my Breviary, which is a rather thick book with many ribbons that requires multiple pages to turn for each prayer. With the app, I can pray with the Liturgy of the Hours more efficiently, which frees up more time to do other things to solidify my soul.
Study
Holy men and women would from the past have given their limbs to have the same access to historical and Biblical documents we have today. Right now, you can find almost every religious archive to ever be recorded and read it for free (and in their original languages if you are a polyglot). Think about the possibilities of developing your love for God if only you focused your energy toward studying his marvels. Whether you are attracted to the philosophical proofs of his existence, the theological cases for his love and mercy, or even the scientific facts that lead us to honor his creations, there are limitless possibilities to knowing, loving and serving God when it comes to internet usage.
Here are two ways to get started:
Enroll in online courses
Many universities and colleges offer online courses both for credit and for fun. My two favorites are Holy Apostles College and Seminary, which offers the lowest cost for their entirely online Masters and undergraduate programs as well as some free online courses to get you started.
Also, I’m partial to my online learning platform, the Dominican Institute, which offers courses for all ages (and it is always adding more).
Hack your Spiritual Education
Search for answers to your theological and philosophical questions by sifting through websites, participating in online forums, and watching orthodox videos on the faith. I’ve learned more on the internet from YouTube than any other source and guess what? It was completely FREE. Granted, I had to be careful about who I learned from (there are a lot of crazies out there), but it is easy to find the ones who speak the truth. More importantly, the internet provides you with a wide spectrum of doctrines of which you can compare one with the others to successfully analyze who speaks more truth. You are no longer limited to listening to just your pastor, you have the whole world to learn from.
Create
Technology offers us a myriad of ways to be creative. The artist can now make digital paintings using highly advanced tier apps. The film enthusiast can create movies and post them instantly on YouTube for their fans to view. The writer can draft, edit, review, and even publish their own book and put it into the market without having to spend months working with a publisher to get their work into the world. You a creative side because you are made in his image and likeness and thus, you too have the ability to create. Capitalize on that desire and make something good, beautiful and true. The world needs your creativity because without it, you cannot evangelize.
Connect
The word “community” has taken on a new definition over the past decade. It has gotten to the point that teenagers who own devices spend more time interacting with people via screens than they do in the flesh and adults aren’t too far behind. An Instagram “like” takes the place of a spoken compliment about how much we like our friend’s new haircut. A Facebook “thumbs up” removes the need to tell a colleague why you too think dessert should be eaten at every meal because why reserve it for just dinner?
Technology has a tremendous amount of potential when it comes to building communities and strengthening the souls of those who log on. It is important to note thatnothing will ever be more valuable than the face-to-face interactions we have on a daily basis. There are huge benefits to physical proximity when it comes to the development of our minds, bodies, and hearts and if we commit ourselves to limiting our screen time to activities that enrich our community, we will have more time to take part in true, in-the-flesh interaction that our souls so direly need.
Here are a few suggestions when it comes to living out a Christian life while online:
Post spiritual things on the internet, but mix them with other posts that are secular by nature, but still important to you. I post a lot about God, but I throw in a lot more about my family, Harry Potter, and the Detroit Pistons.
Spend time analyzing your friends’ posts always looking for ways to enliven their spirituality.
Send direct messages or emails over comments. They mean more and they don’t call attention to yourself, but they focus on the person you are connecting with. If you really want to go for a direct hit, send the person you are trying to communicate with a handwritten letter. THey’ll appreciate it more than you may ever know.
Retreat
Sometimes, we need to get away from our realities in order to examine our current state with more depth. So, we take a step back and perhaps a day off of our regular responsibilities to examine our conscious, figure out where we are in life, and where we want to be. This is called a “retreat” and it does wonders to our spiritual growth.
Many people retreat from their daily routines by pulling out their smartphones. However, I would argue that most of what we do on our phones during these times of “retreat” are not geared toward building up our spirituality. On the contrary, we distract ourselves from our responsibilities and ultimately, from God, because we are tempted to waste time instead of becoming more productive through our screen usage.
That’s why I would recommend taking a break from technology. To the extent that you are able (because I know we need to use it for work, school, etc) take a break from accessing your screen during a designated time each week. Replace the time you would typically be scrolling endlessly with something that will build up for faith, perhaps something from this list I’ve offered you in this blogpost.
+
Technology has the capability of making our lives more efficient, more spiritual, more Christian. but we must be intentional about how we use it in order to make it work for our salvation and for those we serve.
There are countless other ways to live a good spiritual life in the digital age.
Comment below with the ways you use technology to grow in your faith.
It was so good, I had to call him up and interview him about it:
My review of Why I Am Catholic:
Each chapter in this book could be its own book, but Brandon takes the necessary chunks from each argument for God and dissects them with clarity and precision. Brandon’s ability to synthesize each topic with brevity is ingenious. From proving God’s existence to demonstrating Jesus’ divinity, his explanation on these topics range from 1-2 pages in most instances. In fact, he somehow managed to explain the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist in a mere 2 paragraphs, and he did so with remarkable eloquence (check page 66 if you don’t believe me!).
The book is logical and at times humorous. It is not an academic dissertation with thousands of citations from educational journals and teachings from the Church Fathers. On the contrary, it is lightly sited and more like a reasonable dialogue between friends at a coffee shop than a theological debate.
When Brandon does site sources, he has chosen mostly secular sources. He also inserts blips of humor and a barrage of comical (and profound) quotes from G.K. Chesterton whom he quotes more than any other source (including the Bible!) which makes for a light-hearted, yet meaningful message that says “The Catholic Church is all things good, true, and beautiful… and it has a great sense of humor!”
One of my favorite parts of this book is Brandon’s explanation of the Church’s relationship with the homosexual community. The two world’s seem to be as different as far as the east is from the west, but in a globe of sincerity and love, Brandon brings these two topics together almost magically, allowing the reader to experience the love and logic of God through the correct means of sexual expression, one that supersedes mind and body and reaches toward divine perfection.
If you or someone you know belongs to the religious group known as the “Nones,” meaning those who are not affiliated with any religion, then do them a favor and get them this book. The chapter titled “The Partiers” is enough to convert most of the world’s population.
This month, we are giving away two copies of Shane Kapler’s masterpiece Marrying the Rosary to the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Scroll to the bottom to enter the giveaway.
I had the opportunity to interview Shane Kapler about his latest book, Marrying the Rosary to the Divine Mercy Chaplet. In our exchange, we talk about his prayer life, how everyone can increase their own devotional time, and how his life has changed since he began fusing these two prayers together.
Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, author of Champions of the Rosary had this to say about Shane’s book:
“What better union could there be? What incredible fruit will come from this form of devotion! I’m quite certain that St. Faustina Kowalska and St. John Paul II would both be very pleased to witness the marriage presented in this book. ”
Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, author of Champions of the Rosary
If you’d like to purchase your copy of Shane’s book, it is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook through En Route Books and Media.
The Burdick household has had a steady supply of sidewalk chalk stashed in the garage for the past 7 years and I can safely say that this invention of artistic genius is exactly the kind of toy that God had in mind when He invented “play.” Why, you may ask? Because sidewalk chalk is the most theologically sound piece of playery that has ever existed (andG.K. Chesteron agrees!).
Consider the following arguments:
1) Sidewalk chalk is finite in the hands of a toddler yet infinite in its ability to create.
The tiny hands of the four year old must measure the grade and make the pavement beautiful until the chalk has turned into a nub.
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that a perfect explanation of what our mission is as humans, to allow the Creator to use us, His finite creations, to make His world beautiful until our bodies are worn down into the weakness of old age?
2) Sidewalk chalk has one purpose: to make the cold and gray sidewalk look beautiful so as to give joy to the the drawer.
My kiddos create concrete masterpieces every time they go outside and they could not be more proud of their art. I can only imagine what God feels when He sees His own image and likeness flourishing in the comfort of his grace.This is SO much better than the evilness of Play-Doh which hardens into tiny little pieces that separate and multiply themselves as they maim the carpet with heartless deceit.
3) Sidewalk chalk is diverse. It is made up of various colors and it comes in many shapes and forms.
DC Talk sang it best:
“A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an Artist’s heart
By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope.”
-“Colored People”, DC Talk
4) Jesus probably would have used sidewalk chalk.
“But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.” -John 8:6
It was a little dusty in the towns where Jesus’ performed His miracles. I’m sure He would have totally used chalk to write the Good News on the Roman road system there. If not Him, then at LEAST His disciples who would have drawn thousands of arrows pointing to wherever He was.
5) Chalk disappears.
Theology serves its purpose in the mere attempt to discover and learn more about God. And yet, St. Paul tells us that understanding God completely is impossible on this side of eternal life:
“O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” -Romans 11:33
Although it is impossible to understand His ways, we constantly thirst for knowledge of God in much the same way that a child strives for perfection in their artistry of sidewalk chalk. We seek a masterpiece that will never fade away in the storms of life, an image that can be permanently tattooed on our concrete hearts so as to turn them into flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
What pictures are you drawing on the street corners of the world?
What obra maestra have you sketched into eternity?
What masterpiece have you allowed God to create through your daily grind?
–
Ever wondered how to build up your child’s intellectual abilities to understand the Catholic faith? We’re doing that for FREE at the Dominican Institute. Sign up for Tiny Thomists today.
