A Collective Problem Needs a Collective Voice

A 4,200 year old story, The Tower of Babel, might provide us with the most powerful framework for how the Church can address technology today.

Hear us out…

In Genesis 11:6, after seeing the city the people had built to honor themselves, God said:

“The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”

We all know how the rest of the story goes. To keep the people from glorifying themselves above God, God confused their languages and scattered them throughout the earth.

But the operative lesson for all of us is the power—the God-acknowledged power—that lies in a group of united people speaking one language.

And the best news is, contrasted to the people in Genesis 11, we are united in building God’s Kingdom instead of ours.

As we can see from the story, the idea of accomplishing something as a collective group of people is not new.

This is, effectively, collective action.

When it comes to technology, we find ourselves as a society experiencing a “collective action problem.”

While American economist and political scientist Mancur Olson introduced the concept of a “collective action problem” in 1965, Jonathan Haidt re-introduced the term in recent years with this definition:

“A collective action problem is a situation where an action would be beneficial to many people, yet if only one person takes the action while others do not, it becomes too costly for that individual. Consequently, it's unlikely that any one person will take the necessary action.”

In other words, we can all know something is a problem, but if we don’t address it together, we won’t be able to solve it.

Does this sound familiar?
“But Mom, I’m the only one without a phone!”
“Everyone has Instagram but me, Dad!”

We are dealing with a collective action problem.

Or maybe for ourselves: “I wish I could just get off all social media.”
Why don’t we? Because we don’t want to miss out. We can’t be the only ones.

If only there were a group of people with a shared set of values who wanted the best for their friends, family, and world.

If only they met every Sunday.
Maybe they have a school, but not a traditional school; a school on Sunday.
A Sunday school.

And maybe they could meet on Wednesday too.
If only their kids all met together in a group.
A group of youth.

And what if these people not just met as a large group, but in tinier gatherings too.
You could call it a mini meetup.
Or small group.
Or maybe you could call it a life group if you want to sound different.

:)

You get the point.

We as a Church, you as a church, have done the hardest part.

You have formed an organization of people who share a culture, ambitions, and values.
Your organization is broken into smaller groups of aligned people.

This is incredibly challenging to do (as you already know), but when it comes to this topic, you have completed 90% of the work.

Now all we have to do is speak the same language as a group.

Haidt, a noted atheist, might have recognized this phenomenon before we have. He says:

“Religious communities have the ability to set norms and put subtle pressure on the whole group. And that’s magical because all of this is based on a set of collective action problems. Acting alone, we find it really hard, but if we act together it becomes much, much easier.”

If the most influential voice on this topic who does not even share our faith recognizes the opportunity for the Church, surely we should embrace it ourselves.

It begins by recognizing the power of a united voice, leveraging our existing collective structure, and then speaking the same language together.

“After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”

Change feels impossible alone. That’s why Reclaimwell is designed for teams to create cultural momentum around intentionality through united effort.