The Tech-Wise Family
Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place
About
Reclaiming real life in a world of devices
Making good choices about technology in our families is more than just using internet filters and determining screen-time limits for our children. It's about building character, wisdom, and courage rather than accepting technology's promises of ease and instant gratification. It's about developing our heart, mind, soul, and strength when we're tempted to settle for entertainment and consumer satisfaction. And it's definitely not just about the kids.
Alongside in-depth original research from Barna Group that shows how families are wrestling with technology's new realities, Andy Crouch takes parents beyond the typical questions of what, where, and when to show us that in a world full of devices, there's a way to choose a better life than we've imagined.
"If you aren't sure how to put technology in its 'proper place' in your home, Andy will guide you and challenge your thinking."--Mark Batterson, New York Times best-selling author of The Circle Maker; lead pastor, National Community Church
"A vision for family life and faith and character so compelling and inspiring that it made me weep, made me reconsider many aspects of our home, made me profoundly thankful for this beautiful and important book."--Shauna Niequist, New York Times best-selling author of Present over Perfect and Bread & Wine
"Andy's message and model have strengthened our commitment to use technology to unite--and not divide--our family."--Kara Powell, executive director, Fuller Youth Institute; coauthor of Growing Young
Andy Crouch--author, speaker, musician, and dad--has shaped the way our generation sees culture, creativity, and the gospel. In addition to his books Culture Making, Playing God, and Strong and Weak, his work has been featured in Time, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Lecrae's 2014 single "Non-Fiction." He was executive editor of Christianity Today from 2012 to 2016 and is now senior strategist for communication at the John Templeton Foundation. He lives with his family in Pennsylvania.
Endorsements
"Getting tech wise starts with downloading God's wisdom on what it means to be human. Andy gives families the tools they need to decide together who they want to be and how technology can help rather than hinder. If you aren't sure how to put technology in its 'proper place' in your home, Andy will guide you and challenge your thinking."
Mark Batterson, New York Times best-selling author of The Circle Maker; lead pastor, National Community Church
"To be honest, before I opened this book, I expected to be challenged on the topic of screen time for my kids. I was, certainly. What I did not expect was to be offered a vision for family life and faith and character so compelling and inspiring that it made me weep, made me reconsider many aspects of our home, made me profoundly thankful for this beautiful and important book. I'll give away a case, at least."
Shauna Niequist, New York Times best-selling author of Present over Perfect and Bread & Wine
"Every day my husband and I face questions about how to handle technology with our three kids. No parent today can leave their kids to their own devices (pun intended). Andy's message and model has strengthened our commitment to use technology to unite--and not divide--our family."
Kara Powell, executive director, Fuller Youth Institute; coauthor of Growing Young
"I don't know many people who can prophetically speak into culture with more freshness and certain insight than Andy Crouch. His voice is a gift to the church and is needed more than ever right now. As a new parent who is asking all kinds of questions about raising kids in today's technological world, I couldn't have found this resource at a better time."
Jefferson Bethke, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus > Religion and It's Not What You Think
"In a tech-wise world, 'tech' is a lot easier to come by than 'wise.' Andy Crouch has written a humane, deeply thoughtful book that will be a blessing in the best sense of that grand old word."
John Ortberg, senior pastor, Menlo Church; author of All The Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?
"If your family's devices and gadgets seem to have staged a hostile takeover in your home, Andy Crouch can help. With winsome humor and down-to-earth advice, Andy will show you how to nurture a thriving home life through a wise and balanced use of technology."
Jim Daly, president, Focus on the Family
"We have never done this before: the human race has never parented with tech devices in every corner of our homes. For parents who battle the screen time, the password management, the filtering, and the begging, we finally have the book we've been waiting for. The Tech-Wise Family offers practical, positive approaches for parents to manage technology in the family and the biblical framework for why those approaches are appropriate and healthy. Modern parenting often feels like sprinting a marathon blindfolded, but voices like Andy Crouch add light to our journey and remind us of our end goal. Read The Tech-Wise Family, implement the principles, and watch your family thrive as a result."
Alexandra Kuykendall, mother of four; author of Loving My Actual Life; cohostess of The Open Door Sisterhood podcast
"Micro practices have macro implications for our lives. The rituals we adopt around the tiny computers in our pockets can either eat us alive or release us for relationship. The Tech-Wise Family is profoundly insightful and immediately practical. Crouch invites us into habits and rhythms in which technology serves our calling to be human and helps us to resist the temptation to serve the gods that glitter. It's a book I wish our family had read ten years ago."
James K. A. Smith, Calvin College; author of You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit
"Families need this book. Churches need this book. I need this book. One of the most important questions of discipleship in this digital era is how we relate to our technologies. The habits formed now could have even more important implications for the yet-unseen future. Andy Crouch guides us with brilliance, wisdom, humility, and authority."
Russell Moore, president, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; author of Onward: Engaging Culture without Losing the Gospel
"As parents of two young boys and pastors of a church with hundreds of millennials, we found ourselves repeatedly shouting 'Yes!' to Andy Crouch's call to unplug. In The Tech-Wise Family we are reminded that there is fullness of life beyond the encroachments of the cybernetic revolution."
Revs. Gabriel and Jeanette Salguero, cofounders, National Latino Evangelical Coalition; pastors, Calvario City Church
"The Tech-Wise Family is one of the most important things I've read this year. Most of us have a sinking feeling that our children (and ourselves!) have slipped into a technology haze. Andy's book has helped organize my thinking and provided practical ways to put boundaries around technology's influence. And as an educator, this book includes great lessons to ensure technology has a proper, meaningful role in our nation's classrooms."
Nicole Baker Fulgham, founder of The Expectations Project; author of Educating All God's Children
The Author
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Andy Crouch
Andy Crouch--author, speaker, musician, and dad--has shaped the way our generation sees culture, creativity, and the gospel. In addition to his books The Tech-Wise Family, Culture Making, Playing God, and Strong and Weak, his work...
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