Obsessed with Pokémon Go? Don't Be Ashamed.

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2016

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The world can be divided into two camps: people who are playing Pokémon Go and people who haven’t realized what they’re missing. Drew Dixon falls in the former camp. An avid gamer and editor-in-chief of the nonprofit Game Church, the Nashville resident has spent the greater part of this month catching Pokémon, while exploring his city and making new friends. Earlier this week, Dixon wrote for The Local Church on what Christians miss by turning the gaming phenomenon into a recruitment tool. “I’m beginning to suspect that by plotting ways to leverage Pokémon Go to get more people in their pews, many churches are missing out on the exploratory, community-building spirit that makes the game such a powerful cultural force—the same spirit, in fact, that represents its greatest opportunity for churches nationwide,” he wrote. One question churches might start asking themselves instead: ”How could we possibly engage in this game redemptively in a way that would be loving to our neighbor and would celebrate something in creation that is good?” Dixon joined Morgan and Katelyn this week to discuss the allure of video games, how churches have positively responded to Pokémon Go players, and why we love to play. Plus, everyone shares their favorite game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.0	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.
0:14.5	Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.
0:21.9	If you really want to reach gamers, then you need to take an honest interest in their hobbies.
0:26.4	You know, it's really hard to reach out to someone like that if you're like, well, at the
0:29.4	end of the day, I think what you do is pretty stupid.
0:37.0	You're listening to Quick to Listen, the Christianity Today podcast where we go beyond hashtags and hot takes and set aside time to explore the reality behind a major cultural event.
0:46.8	I am Caitlin Beatty. I am the print managing editor of Christianity today. This week, we will be discussing, you might have heard of it, Pokemon Go, this wildly
0:56.6	popular game that you play on your phone that churches are using to draw people in. Hey, Morgan.
1:05.0	Hey, Caitlin, how are you? I'm doing well. Have you been playing Pokemon Go? Have you been addicted to it since it came out a couple weeks ago?
1:12.9	I've had some other things going on in my life, so I have not gotten into it, but I'm definitely tempted. I kind of feel like an old person if I don't try it.
1:23.4	Well, this seems like the podcast then that might convince you to give into temptation.
1:27.1	Right. We have a great guest to convince you to give in to temptation. Right.
1:31.8	We have a great guest to help you along that journey this week.
1:34.2	So today we're joined by Drew Dixon.
1:39.8	He is the lead editor of Explorer, the Bible for students, which is part of Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville.
1:41.1	But we're bringing him on today because he's the editor-in-chief of Game Church. They are a nonprofit that's dedicated to bringing the message of Jesus' love, hope,
1:49.3	and acceptance into the culture of video games. Drew, it is so great to have you here. Yeah,
1:55.1	so good to be here. And to talk about my new fascination, Pokemon Go.
2:03.2	So yeah, that's great.
2:08.8	Well, as our listeners know, all the topics that we talk about on this show come with a lot of tension and conversation, and we try to go deeper and get to better conversation about
2:15.8	the topic at hand.
	...

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