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Five Ways to Use Your Phone for the Glory of God

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No device in history has impacted our lives as much as the smartphone. Most people pick up their smartphones every 12 minutes. Phones have changed how we communicate with each other, how we shop, how we entertain ourselves, how we travel, and much more. You don’t need to be a cultural critic to know some of these changes haven’t been good. I wrote about many of those hazards in my previous article. Smartphones can be a time-waster. They can seduce us into accepting the world’s value system. But, pastor, don’t miss this either: Your smartphone also can be a tool for God’s purposes. Being a disciple in today’s digital world isn’t about ignoring technology. It’s about learning to use it for good. Here are five ways you can disciple your congregation to use their smartphones to pursue God’s purposes. 1. We can use our phones to express our worship. God told us how to worship him. We’re to do it “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 NCV). But he didn’t tell us where to worship him. We can and should worship him anywhere and everywhere. Smartphones can help us do that. We can listen to worship music in our cars, in our offices, and at the gym. Of course, worship is much more than just music. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. When church members give to their church through their smartphones, they express worship to God. Doing so is just as much of an act of worship as placing their giving in an offering plate at church. 2. We can use our phones to fellowship with other believers. We usually think of smartphones as something that breaks the connection between people because we’re spending too much time staring at screens. But the opposite can also be true. Our smartphones can help us build relationships—if we use them well. Social media is a great example of this. It won’t take you too long on social media to see people tearing one another down. But 1 Thessalonians 5:11 gives us another way to respond: “Encourage each other and build each other up” (NLT). We should spend our time on social media encouraging others rather than tearing them down. In fact, the best time to encourage others on social media, via text, or any other way is when you’re discouraged. God will multiply what you give others, so when you encourage others, you’ll be encouraged in return. 3. We can use our phones to help us grow spiritually. You can find hundreds of phone apps to help you grow spiritually—including Bibles, Bible studies, sermons, etc. You can use any of those apps to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NCV). I talk to people all the time who struggle to grow spiritually because they aren’t making it a daily priority. I’m sure you have those same conversations. You can’t grow physically on one meal a week, and you can’t grow spiritually by getting in the Word just once a week either. God has given us tools like smartphone apps that can help us bring God’s Word into everyday life. We can study the Bible on our daily commute. We can read the Bible when we’re in line at the grocery store. 4. We can use our phones to expand our ministry opportunities. We need to begin thinking about our smartphones as a place where we can serve others. Think about how often we come to social media looking for what we can get out of it. Next time someone wants to argue with you on social media, don’t argue with them; pray for the person instead. Ask yourself, “How can I minister to this person?” David didn’t have social media in his day, but he asked himself this question: “How can I repay the Lord for all the good that he has done for me?” (Psalm 116:12 GW). Think of all that God has given you. Thanks to social media, you have wider access to pray for and serve others if you’ll take advantage of it. 5. We can use our phones to extend our witness. When Jesus told his followers in Acts 1:8 to be his witnesses in places around the world, it wasn’t even possible for them to do that easily. Today, you don’t need to leave your home to be a witness for Christ. You can sit in your comfy chair and in your pajamas and share the Good News about the Lord, and it can reach the entire globe. Every person in your congregation can do this. We carry a tool with a global reach in our pockets. No other generation of believers in history has had that opportunity. Let’s train our congregations to be digital disciple-makers, not digital-dividers.

Recent Articles

When God Won’t Let You Look Away

“If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon.” Isaiah 58:9–10 (GNT)What’s been weighing on you lately? Not the petty stuff. The things you can’t shake.The family that’s one bill away from collapse. The kid who keeps showing up hungry. Or the quiet prejudice that never announces itself—just leaves bruises.This is the “normal" that never should’ve become normal. That kind of holy disturbance might actually be a gift.Esther felt it too. When the threat against her people became real, she was “deeply disturbed” (Esther 4:4 GNT). It didn’t just make her anxious. It pushed her toward a costly step. She prayed. She sought counsel. She chose faithfulness over self-protection. Then she acted.A lot of pastors feel disturbed right now—and tired. You’re writing a sermon, doing a hospital run, trying to make sense of the budget, and your phone still lights up with another crisis text late at night.It’s easy to assume you have to fix everything you notice. You don’t. But you also don’t have to ignore what God has put in front of you.Isaiah 58 describes a life that refuses contempt, refuses oppression, and feeds the hungry. And it ties a promise to that kind of life.When you lean toward justice and mercy, God doesn’t leave you stumbling around in the dark. God guides you. God strengthens you. God supplies what you can’t manufacture on your own.So here’s a simple Monday question to carry into your week:What is one need God is putting within your reach—not so you can save the world, but so you can love your neighbor with integrity?Maybe it’s a conversation you’ve been avoiding. A person you need to see. A practical gift. A small act of advocacy. Or a team you gather so you’re not carrying it alone.Let the disturbance do its work. Then take the next faithful step.

Trusting God When Results Take Time

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways.” (Psalm 37:7 NIV).Pastor, you may not hear the word fret much anymore. It’s an old word that simply means worry. And if there’s one thing ministry can stir up quickly, it’s worry.You worry when things are moving too fast and you’re trying to keep up. You worry when things feel painfully slow and you’re wondering why God hasn’t acted yet. You worry when you look around and it seems like other pastors, other churches, other ministries are succeeding while you’re still waiting.Waiting is hard—especially when you’re responsible for people. But choosing to wait patiently on God instead of fretting is a powerful act of faith. It’s a declaration about who God is. When you wait without worry, you’re saying, “God, I trust your timing more than my pressure.”That’s why Scripture says, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways” (Psalm 37:7 NIV). God knew comparison would be one of the greatest sources of anxiety for his leaders.One of the fastest ways to drain your joy in ministry is comparison. When you focus on another pastor’s platform, another church’s growth, or another leader’s results, you stop paying attention to what God is doing right in front of you. And comparison always leads to fretting.But God didn’t call you to someone else’s assignment. He didn’t ask you to carry someone else’s results. He asked you to be faithful where you are.Worry won’t help you do that. Worry is worthless. It can’t change yesterday’s sermon. It can’t control next Sunday’s attendance. It can’t speed up God’s process. It only steals today’s peace.That’s why Scripture gives such practical counsel: “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers” (Philippians 4:6 MSG).Worry never changes anything—but prayer does.So as you step into this week, pastor, resist the urge to rush God or compare yourself to others. Be still. Wait patiently. Trust that God is at work even when progress feels slow.You don’t need to fret this season. You need to pray—and keep walking faithfully in the calling God has already placed on your life.

How to Cooperate as God Works in You

Pastor, you want to see fruit—in your life and in the people and ministry of your church. The Bible calls that “the fruit of the Spirit”—“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23 NIV).These nine qualities describe the character of a mature disciple and the kind of leader you’re becoming.So how does God grow this fruit in you? He uses a process. Here are two facts you need to know if you want to cooperate with that process.1) Spiritual growth is a partnership.Paul writes, “Work out your salvation . . . for it is God who works in you” (Philippians 2:12–13 NIV).That’s not a contradiction—it’s a paradox. You don’t work for your salvation. You work out what God has already put in. In a physical workout you develop muscles you already have; in a spiritual workout you cultivate the new life God has already given you.God has a part in your growth, and you have a part. He provides the power—but you need to flip the switch. Your job is to cooperate with what he’s doing.2) Spiritual fruit ripens over time.There’s no such thing as instant spiritual maturity. It takes time for fruit to ripen—and when you try to rush fruit, you ruin the flavor. The same is true in ministry. You can accelerate activity, but you can’t microwave character. God grows fruit season by season.How to Cooperate with the Spirit’s Growth ProcessImmerse yourself in Scripture. Read, study, memorize, and meditate so God’s Word reshapes your thinking.Pray honestly. Talk with God about everything you’re facing. Invite the Spirit to search you and lead you.Surrender daily. Give the Holy Spirit free rein—no compartments and no conditions.Receive your circumstances. Trust that God is using both pleasant and painful seasons to form Christlike character.Respond like Jesus. Ask, “What would Christ’s love, patience, or gentleness look like right here?” Then do it.God wants to produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life and leadership. Will you cooperate with him in this life-changing process?

Tell God How You’re Feeling

“[God] has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead. . . . And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.” Lamentations 3:4–6, 8 (NLT)If you’ve been in ministry long enough, you know what it feels like to be poured out and still feel empty. The sermon is preached. The hospital visits are made. The hard conversations are had. And yet, sometimes, instead of joy or peace, all that remains is silence—and sadness.Maybe it’s a critical email after a long Sunday. Maybe it’s watching your church shrink despite your best efforts. Maybe it’s conflict in your leadership team, or the quiet ache of seeing people walk away from the faith. And in those moments, you wonder, Where is God in this?Jeremiah knew that feeling well. In Lamentations, he’s not giving a neat theological answer—he’s groaning. He says, “[God] has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. . . . And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers” (Lamentations 3:4, 8 NLT).Sound familiar?It might surprise you that such raw emotion is in the Bible—but it’s there for a reason. Jeremiah didn’t bottle it up or try to sound strong. He didn’t pretend everything was okay. He poured it all out before God.Pastor, you don’t have to stuff your emotions either.God isn’t intimidated by your questions. He doesn’t flinch when you’re angry, exhausted, or confused. You’re not less spiritual for being honest—you’re actually stepping into a kind of worship that leads to healing.If you try to keep all that pain inside, it will find its way out—maybe through anxiety, resentment, even burnout. But when you give it to God—every ounce of frustration, fear, and fatigue—you start to find space to breathe again.God doesn't need you to be strong for him. He already knows your heart. So tell him the truth. Not the polished version. The real one.He can handle it.And more importantly, he’s not going anywhere.

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