Everyday Sabbath: How to Lead Your Dance with Media and Technology in Mindful and Sacred Ways

by Paul D. Patton, Robert H. Woods Jr., Nathan Foster (Foreword)

The authors, writing as scholars of communication and media, demonstrate how God’s great gifts of media and technology can rob us of everyday Sabbath and impede spiritual growth if not faithfully stewarded through a process described as mindful media attachment. Mindful media attachment helps to promote the “holy habits” of sacred intentionality, sacred interiority, and sacred identity. These “three sacreds,” which arise from a proper understanding of the “grammar and language” of media and technology, ultimately allow us to avoid treating media and technology as ends in and of themselves and to avoid divided affections that drain energy, purpose, and kingdom service.

“How do I order my life well in a hyper-mediated digital world? Decades ago, Neil Postman proposed the role of ‘loving-resistance fighter.’ Today, Patton and Woods invite us into the ‘how’ of loving resistance-in-practice through an ancient and now-alien principle—Sabbath—that provides a restful, working path of life that’s in the digital world but not of it.”

—Calvin L. Troup, President, Geneva College



“A brilliant and thoroughly delightful work—engaging, yet not frothy. The fruit of years interacting with college and university students, this book nicely bridges current chasms between academia, technology, and smartphone-driven pop culture, providing a prophetic critique of today’s techno-digital culture from the biblical perspective of Sabbath. The authors teach Sabbath through tracing paths of sacred intentionality, interiority, and identity. Most of us affirm Sabbath once a week; here is sound guidance for everyday Sabbath, twenty-four seven.”

—Howard A. Snyder, Professor of the History and Theology of Mission, Asbury Theological Seminary (retired), International Representative, Manchester Wesley Research Centre, and author, The Problem of Wineskins and Salvation Means Creation Healed



“As a pandemic rages we have all been forced to communicate and relate through social media. ‘You’re muted’ is a common refrain that is both commercial and wearisome. How do we balance the good and bad of our increasingly socially mediated days? Certainly, it’s a delicate dance that needs insight, caution, and encouragement. I can’t think of two better guides than Paul Patton and Robert Woods or a more timely book.”

—Tim Muehlhoff, Professor of Communication, Biola University, and codirector of the Winsome Conviction Project



“Everyday Sabbath is a much-needed and a most relevant digital media literacy resource for spiritual formation. An invaluable tool, it affirms the gift of media and technology while directing us to pathways of spirituality of resistance to passive consumption of digital media. Complete with how-to techniques for cultivating everyday spirituality in incremental moments, the book is a timely wake-up call to live into one’s timeless love of God and care for the neighbor.”

—Glory E. Dharmaraj, President, World Association for Christian Communication-North America

Genres: Christian

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2021

Reviews

[Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every good book enlarges your world, but Everyday Sabbath: How to Lead Your Dance with Media and Technology in Mindful and Sacred Ways shows you how to enlarge your world for yourself — by practicing what Patton and Woods call “The Three Sacreds”—Sacred Intentionality, Sacred Interiority, and Sacred Identity. While this book will equip you to “dance in the light,” that is “mindfully,” and to avoid “dancing in the dark,” or in “a trance dance” (“mindlessly”) with pop culture; the benefits move far beyond your “dance with pop culture.” Patton and Woods give you a plan to imitate the mind of Christ, so you can experience everyday sabbath — a life energized with renewed purpose — seeing every moment as “an opportunity for serious and joy-filled play and sabbath rest.” There are only a few books I read every year, this is now one of them. I am confident you will do the same.

[Stinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely worth the read. While I found some arguments overstated, the authors made several shrewd observations about our modern relationship with popular culture via digital media. I think the book, though less than 150 pages, could have effectively been shortened and strengthened by the removal of certain sections. The authors' drive to have three "sacred"s, each starting with the letter "i" hampered the general thrust of the work that our relationship with pop culture should involve careful self-examination and wise selection with regards to content and engagement.

[Michael Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am of two minds regarding this book and whether I would recommend it. The different attitudes depend on the intended/potential audience. The value of the book is entirely dependent on the reader’s starting point.

For those swimming in the pop culture soup, I highly recommend this book. The authors have taught the lessons of this book to undergraduates for years. For such an audience, likely fully submerged in pop culture, the book would be of immense benefit. It offers an array of practical helps for anyone struggling to extricate herself. The explanations of Reward Viewing, Relief Viewing, and Resignation Viewing were spot on and very helpful diagnosis of the problem. The Let’s Get Practical sections at the end of chapters and the Discussion Questions would be very helpful to someone trying to wean himself off pop culture, especially media. I find their thoughtful analysis of the problems caused by media and digital technology compelling. Their focus on being intentional in everything we do, cultivating our inner life, and being secure in our identity in Christ is a great way to frame the discussion of media consumption. For these readers, I see great potential benefit.

However, for those already extricated from the tyranny of pop culture, I would not recommend it at all, for it seems to be calling us back into it in a (meaningful, moderate, intentional) way. But why? The authors insist “Sabbath is under constant assault by our digitally saturated culture.” But they encourage engagement with the assaulting forces. Since they admit that “anything beyond moderate doses of spectatorship lends itself to an unhealthy passivity” (page 129), why dabble in it at all?

It seems like a false dichotomy: intentionally engage pop culture or you’re a Luddite or Amish (p. 7). They say the book is not about “suffering for the sake of some misguided religious conviction.” I don’t feel I am suffering in the least. Choosing to think on things which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, is not a misguided religious conviction, it’s a biblical command (Phil. 4:8). They seem to assume the choices are 1) absurd cloistering, 2) their way or 3) total surrender to pop culture. Is there another option? I think there is and would have liked for them to engage meaningfully with people who choose to avoid (to the extent possible) the constant assault rather than dismissing them out of hand. I feel like I am being asked to dumpster dive into pop culture in hopes of find a nourishing tidbit for all my troubles. I choose to go somewhere more reliable for a good meal.