Wednesday, March 16, 2005
The Message and The Medium
The simple gospel IS Jesus Christ. Everything else is our coming to terms with that. Having said that, I worry about some developments in the church these days.
Barna reports:(HT: SmartChristian)
The term 'evangelical' now has more political meaning than it does spiritual. So much so that there is a seminar scheduled for April 4 just to help the media know how to properly use the term. (Again, HT: SmartChristian)
Why do I feel troubled by these trends? There is nothing wrong with Christians discussing Christianity in media (better not be or I am in deep trouble with this blog!) There is nothing wrong with Christians exercising their political franchise. But then there are many things that it is not wrong for a Christian to do, but those things do not define, constitute, nor comprise Christianity, nor are they an acceptable substitute for a relationship with the living God.
That word "relationship" is very important. We worship an incarnational God; a God that took on the form of man; a God who knew that the media He had provided (the law) was not enough, He had to incarnate and become the law (media).
Jesus spent a good bit of His earthly ministry denouncing the religious political institutions of the day. It is clear the Sanhedrin clung more to their institutional and political power than they did to their God -- after all, they put their God to death, in large part because He threatened that power.
What can be accomplished politically to the glory of God? We cannot bring salvation to the world through politics. The best we can hope for is to create a mission field wherein our message will be heard more easily than it might in other circumstances. In some ways I worry that Christian political action is really selfish, we want a society that is comfortable for us -- Fine, but should that be our primary concern?
We worship an incarnate God. We worship a God whose very Word was incarnate. This, in part, explains why I know the necessity of preaching but am skeptical that it alone can accomplish the transformation of our very selves that God has in mind for us.
For Christians to be active in all aspects of human endeavor is important, because that is incarnation. A Christian in the media incarnates, in some incomplete sense, the Word; likewise, a Christian in politics. That said, media and politics are not the end, but simply the milieu.
This, by the way, is why I think there is no substitute for personal devotion -- the daily attendance to reading scripture and to prayer. Such keeps us focused, not on our vocations and avocations, but on who we are in those fields.
Jesus Christ is the message, all else is but the medium.
Barna reports:(HT: SmartChristian)
Radio and television are the most popular Christian media, but faith-related Internet sites as well as religious magazines, newspapers and books also enjoy significant exposure. Although these religious media are a supplement to a church experience for most people, millions of individuals rely upon one or more of these media as their primary source of spiritual input.Andy harnesses this article to call for increased church strategy about blogs. Agreed, but can media, television, radio, magazines, or the internet ever be the "primary source of spiritual input?"
The term 'evangelical' now has more political meaning than it does spiritual. So much so that there is a seminar scheduled for April 4 just to help the media know how to properly use the term. (Again, HT: SmartChristian)
Why do I feel troubled by these trends? There is nothing wrong with Christians discussing Christianity in media (better not be or I am in deep trouble with this blog!) There is nothing wrong with Christians exercising their political franchise. But then there are many things that it is not wrong for a Christian to do, but those things do not define, constitute, nor comprise Christianity, nor are they an acceptable substitute for a relationship with the living God.
That word "relationship" is very important. We worship an incarnational God; a God that took on the form of man; a God who knew that the media He had provided (the law) was not enough, He had to incarnate and become the law (media).
Jesus spent a good bit of His earthly ministry denouncing the religious political institutions of the day. It is clear the Sanhedrin clung more to their institutional and political power than they did to their God -- after all, they put their God to death, in large part because He threatened that power.
What can be accomplished politically to the glory of God? We cannot bring salvation to the world through politics. The best we can hope for is to create a mission field wherein our message will be heard more easily than it might in other circumstances. In some ways I worry that Christian political action is really selfish, we want a society that is comfortable for us -- Fine, but should that be our primary concern?
We worship an incarnate God. We worship a God whose very Word was incarnate. This, in part, explains why I know the necessity of preaching but am skeptical that it alone can accomplish the transformation of our very selves that God has in mind for us.
For Christians to be active in all aspects of human endeavor is important, because that is incarnation. A Christian in the media incarnates, in some incomplete sense, the Word; likewise, a Christian in politics. That said, media and politics are not the end, but simply the milieu.
This, by the way, is why I think there is no substitute for personal devotion -- the daily attendance to reading scripture and to prayer. Such keeps us focused, not on our vocations and avocations, but on who we are in those fields.
Jesus Christ is the message, all else is but the medium.
