Modern Philosophy of Media in Church
by Anthony D. Coppedge, CTS
Yet this one area has been the sole function (usually) of the senior Pastor. Why? Sure, a gifted speaker can "work an audience" and be considered "really good." But ask any of your church attendees - believers and those who are just searching - to tell you about the previous week's message, and many (most?) can't. WHY?
Here the entire week is spent preparing for this major weekly event - countless hours go into it - but all too often the results are minimized. WHY?
Years of training, reading, studying, teaching - all for diminished results. WHY?
"But just one person saved is worth it," some will reply. Yes, one is worth it; but why be satisfied with only one? WHY?
What if a team of people helped craft a message every week? What if concepts and ideas were developed by several people instead of just the senior Pastor? What if the theme, metaphors, examples and content were pre-planned so that each member of the team could prepare - instead of just the senior Pastor?
What is it about crafting a weekend message that limits the Holy Spirit to completing the message on a Friday or Saturday night (or - sigh - Sunday morning)?
I've heard it explained before that God is the God of order; not chaos. God could have done Creation in .0000000000001 nanoseconds. But He chose to take his time. He planned. Wow. Why don't many churches?
The main reasons I see are lack of leadership by pastors and lay church leadership, lack of vision by these people, the politics of money and �turf protection� in the church and the blind adherence to �traditions� that are man made and not scripturally mandated.
"Our Pastor/staff/leadership doesn�t understand how long it takes to produce quality media," some might respond, "so we can't use Media like the mega churches do." Have you gently shown them what is possible if you have time? Have you explained the time-sensitive nature of producing compelling media?
"We're a small volunteer-run church," reasons another. "There isn't the staff to do the planning." Really? Lay leadership would, I bet, be thrilled to be involved with something as awesome as a weekend service!
"We don't have the money," states a third. Have you asked for it? Has a vision been cast by the leadership to use the effective retention-building tools of modern Media? Does the congregation understand the need and value of reaching out and reaching in with greater results?
If it is indeed this simple to implement, why aren�t more churches using media? Because, I believe, most find that it's just easier to "do church as usual." It doesn�t require change. It doesn't rock the boat. It doesn�t make waves.
It�s time many churches changed, rocked the boat and made some big waves with modern media!
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