When the Medium Shapes the Message

Whatever technological medium is used to convey a message inevitably becomes part of that message, sends a message, and shapes that message.

I want to believe (and still try to insist) that technology is morally neutral, and that it's what we do with it that allows it to be used for good or evil.  But at the same time, I realize that embedded within that is a subtle reality that the moment we encode any form of communication into a specific medium, that medium inevitably shapes the message.  For example, how many of us have met plenty of people who are absolutely convinced that the Bible is - and has always been - in printed form, in 1600's Shakespearean English, and who can't conceive of the possibility that there was a time when the Word of God was a voice, etched in stone, then a living Person, later encapsulated into a set of scrolls, and now today in bound print form.  Many parishioners today also struggle to understand how the Word might be online or in a smartphone app with hypertext and multiple translations.  The words are familiar, but the form has changed, and so it makes many churchgoers uneasy.  In my line of work with educational hypermedia and digital church contexts, I enjoy seeing the Word of God transmediated into video form or immersive media, but I have seen plenty of pushback from ardent followers who can’t stand the possibility that online and digital forms could be every bit the Word of God as a bound, printed Bible in 400-year-old English.   

 

Don't believe me?  Try removing the Word from the context of a Bible in print form in the typical Midwestern Protestant church in the U.S. and see what happens!  Check out how differently a live discourse by Jesus might come across to a first-century audience on a hillside than it does to us today as written text in a printed, bound book.  Try suggesting (or reading from) a newer translation of those words into the colloquial expressions of today's English and watch the sparks fly!  Or try re-rendering the Bible in its original form (letter, scroll, etc.)... 

 

One time awhile back a church I was pastoring was doing a terrible job at living out the teachings of the New Testament (it wasn't for lack of biblical knowledge, though, as they had one of the highest participation rates I've ever seen for adult Sunday School and evening Bible studies; they just weren't "getting" it and living it; they were good at telling others how to live, but didn't do well at aligning their own lives to it).  So I took a couple of chapters from one of the N.T. letters (James 2 & 3) about favoritism, quarrels & disputes, prejudice, and the need to put others' needs above our own (the stuff we were having a problem with) from a modern colloquial translation, printed them off onto regular paper in a handwriting font, crumpled it up and re-smoothed it a few times to make it look well-read, and folded it up into an airmail envelope...and then I introduced it by saying, "Friends, we've received a letter from one of our missionaries who's been serving faithfully overseas but has heard of some of our challenges, and he took the time to write us and share some advice about how to live out the teachings of Christ amidst the struggles we're facing."  And then I pulled out the crumpled "letter" and read it. 

You could have heard a pin drop.  It was poignant, personal, and convicting...one of the hardest-hitting messages I've "preached."  The missionary obviously knew our situations and people and saw through our pretenses and went straight to the heart of the matter.  A couple of our dearest and most mature saints smiled when they realized what I was doing, but most were in deep thought, perplexed, sullen, or even angry.  Some were furious afterwards, and a couple of them challenged me on it and said, "How dare you read anything from the pulpit other than the Word of God," and one even threatened to call my District Superintendent and report me for this "heresy"!   

So that night I explained that what I had read WAS the Word of God, the missionary was none other than the biblical James, and you've got that "letter" in your Bible (and I had them turn there to see it for themselves and pulled out my crumpled letter and read parts of it to compare).  The problem, I explained, is that we've gotten so comfortable with the printed text form of our Bible that we're not hearing it like it was originally written...to a church just like ours, from a missionary (just like those we support), about real issues and challenges we're facing in the life of the church and in living out Christ's teachings.  The way I read that was exactly how James sent it; it wasn’t until many centuries later that his encyclical was gathered and bound with other Scripture into a printed volume.  Hearing it that way, it became very real to you, didn't it? 

I remember my Greek professor, Gordon Dutile, telling stories about reactions he had received from church folks when he read Scripture.  He was fluent enough in the original languages of the New Testament that he didn't preach from a modern translation but would instead read directly from his Greek New Testament, translating as he read.  He shared stories, though, of many times when parishioners asked him what translation he was reading from or challenged him, claiming that what he read couldn't have been the Word of God because it wasn't in the familiar translation they grew up with.  Once someone even questioned its validity because it had a burgundy hard leatherette binding instead of black leather.

It reminds me of this parody video I enjoy which re-creates what it might have been like to introduce bound print volumes to Medieval-era monks who were used to papyrus scrolls:

As hilarious and implausible as that might seem, having spent two decades implementing new technologies in educational and ministry contexts, I can relate quite well; I have had many conversations with people that went much like that!

And a big part of the problem is that we presume that new forms of media must follow the same norms and conventions as the familiar ones we have grown accustomed to, which inevitably limits our ability to embrace the features that make the new media format an improvement.  And in so doing, often we struggle to make the conceptual leap behind how it's an "improvement" because we have only seen and appreciated the former medium.

Maybe we need to stop dissecting the Bible as set of propositional truths for teaching (and for telling other people how to live) and instead read it the way it was originally delivered, as the Word of God to us on how we're supposed to live as a body of Christ...in the form and language that best communicates with our heart?!! 

Strange Days of Great Hope & Opportunity

This is not the first time the Church has had to meet in homes during a crisis.

Illustration of a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

It happened in Moses' day, Elijah's day, and Jesus' day. It happened during the early Church period as well as in the Dark Ages.  It happened during the time of Patrick, the days of Martin Luther, during the time of the Wesley brothers, and during the time of air raids, war, and Holocaust. This is neither new nor something to fear.

We've endured persecution and plagues, several dozen times throughout our history at least: Times when we weren't welcome to meet in larger facilities and times when even being seen meeting with other Christians meant immediate arrest and likely death. And in all those times, the Church has thrived...and grown...exponentially.

In fact, much of what we refer to as the "New Testament" was written as circular letters to groups of Christians meeting in homes who couldn't gather in public places, and about three-fourths of those letters were written by someone who was locked up or under house arrest or even living in exile. Some of the earliest church multipliers in Jesus' day were people delivered from "incurable diseases" and demonic affliction, and rather than welcome them in His entourage (giving them "stage time"), Jesus encouraged them to stay put and instead be a living witness to a life transformed in their immediate family and community.

At its core, we are an ἐκκλησία "ekklesia" (the called out ones). Not the "people who meet in a building," but the people who live and love differently...the people who face adversity with courage and still have enough love to share with others in need. The people willing to speak truth with conviction, whether or not it suits our own best interests, a people who know the difference between what we have a "right" to do and what IS right to do.

We've been a movement since Day 1, and we are at our best when we are creative innovators who find new ways to BE the Church in our culture no matter the challenges. Our confinement to fancy buildings dedicated for church use is a relatively recent invention (and a rather inefficient one at that given the larger) scope of how life change happens).

What an awesome opportunity for the Church #MadeNew to arise!

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.? Or Myopic Nostalgia?

Millions of Americans will celebrate the legacy and accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. today, oblivious to the well-documented fact that MLK's Christian faith was the very foundation, substance, and rationale behind all of the reforms for which he advocated.  An ordained Baptist minister, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as a tangible application of the teachings and principles of the Bible, and he organized multiple marches based entirely on the principles of non-violent resistance which were derived straight from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (inspired by Gandhi's example, who also derived his understanding from the Sermon on the Mount).  King's legendary "I Have a Dream Speech," indisputably ranked as one of the greatest speeches of all time (by nearly every speech and rhetoric group there is) is laden with Biblical imagery, metaphors, and concepts, and its principles and applications cannot be rightly understood nor accomplished apart from Christian faith.  King is undoubtedly an example of Christianity lived right and it is good that that we celebrate.

Sadly, he will be referred to tens of thousands of times today as a "civil rights leader" and praised for his civil rights reforms, but seldom will he be called a "pastor" or "ministry leader," even though this was his primary identity while he was alive and how he was most often introduced.  Rarely will those who laud his accomplishments acknowledge the source of his reforms was his Christian faith nor that the inspiration for his efforts was the work of Jesus in his life.  This is cultural appropriation at its most perverse: Celebrating the outcome while repudiating the means, claiming the results while distancing oneself from the motives, iconizing the messenger while categorically denying the man behind the image, and categorically reducing the sum total of a ministry leader's tangible application of Jesus' teachings to a mere accolade of "civil rights reform."

Ironically, thousands of those who detest Christianity and who most vehemently protest Christians' insistence that it is impossible to separate one's beliefs from behavior in public and the marketplace and that Christianity is only rightly expressed when it is lived out as Jesus taught will simultaneously champion King's legacy today while categorically rejecting the efforts of dozens of other well-known "activists" who have stood up to heavy-handed societal and governmental injustices and chose instead to live and act according to the teachings of the Bible, even when it's unpopular or has been made illegal to do so.  Have we forgotten that King was beaten, jailed, criticized, condemned, and ostracized for his actions?  

Indeed, many who praise King today would have vilified him in his day. Right now there are dozens (actually hundreds) of Christian leaders who at this very moment are facing lawsuits, unjust fines, repossessions of their property and shutdowns of their businesses simply for choosing to live out the teachings of their faith in practical, tangible ways where they live and work, amidst a society that would rather Christians keep their faith private.  One day their efforts, too, may be championed as "civil rights reform" and their beliefs and behaviors validated, but right now it's a living hell of fighting an unjust system which seeks to silence all dissenters rather than embody the civil discourse and mutual respect which enables a civilization to thrive.  And sadly, many of their worst critics are those who claim to share their faith but think it's preferable to keep such matters private.  I, for one, am grateful that King chose not to keep his faith to himself!

Yes, let's give the man his due today.  Martin Luther King, Jr's life and legacy deserve to be celebrated.  But please don't stop there, or you'll simply be doing him and his legacy lip service, invalidating his efforts by disassociating the reason for his reforms from the outcomes he achieved.  Instead, work to end the tyranny of persecution no matter the source (even when it's us) and no matter the recipients (even when it's somebody we don't like or can't stand).  And don't even pretend that King's work is finished or try to rest until "the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."  Until the day comes when King's descendants "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," King's dream has not yet been realized.

King's speech (transcript, audio, & pics) can be viewed on American Rhetoric's "Top 100 Speeches," where it is #1: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Obsessed With the Wrong Kingdom?

Sage wisdom from Jeff Piepho, pastor of Revolution Church (Salina, KS)...

If you've ever had trouble sleeping because "that person" might get elected, but you've never had a sleepless night praying for someone to be saved...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If your blood boils when you hear candidates lie, but your blood never boiled because of your own sin...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If you've said "Trump" or "Hillary" or "Gary" or even "Jill" more than "Jesus" lately...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If you have said that "Christians have a duty to vote!"...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If you spend more time trying to convince people to vote a certain way than you do trying to share the gospel and save them from the fires of eternal hell...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If you find it more embarrassing to pray for someone, than to share your political ideology...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If you spend over an hour watching a Presidential debate, but "don't have time" to do serious Bible reading and prayer...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

If you are more fired up by/annoyed by/excited by political discussions than you are by sermons...
          ...you might be obsessed with the wrong Kingdom.

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him
who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not

grow weary and lose heart."      ~ Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Written by guest blogger Jeff Piepho, pastor of Revolution Church (a contemporary Brethren in Christ congregation in Salina, KS).  A graduate of Biola University, Jeff obtained a Masters degree in Christian Apologetics.  He is politically informed and involved, but knows how to keep his priorities straight.  Jeff hosts a popular weekly radio show called Truth Revolution, which is where “faith and reason meet” as each week he and associate pastor Dave Waggoner tackle science, mathematics, archeology, and logic, integrating them into faith, Biblical studies, and religion. Truth Revolution can be heard on thirteen radio channels and podcasts, as well as broadcasts on YouTube: Truth Revolution Live!

Copyright © 2016 Jeff Piepho (used by permission).

The "Pokémon Go" Phenomenon: Friend, Not Foe

I was one of those ministers in the early 90s who was adamantly opposed to Pokémon and I strongly felt that no Christian should engage in it, and further, that parents (& churches) should protect their kids from it. I had just come out of Bible college, was in some of my first youth ministry assignments, and although Pokémon was all the rage then, I did my research and concluded that it was a doorway to alternative (Eastern) spirituality. In hindsight looking back, it's hard to believe that trading cards could lead people into demonic possession, but we had some pretty convincing information back then (albeit a bit overhyped and exaggerated), and when I saw a few episodes of the cartoon show later, my worst fears were realized because they DID portray some clearly Eastern religious themes which contradicted Christianity. However, as a student of semiotics & future studies (a Biblically-informed trendwatcher) with many geek friends these days, I've been really watching this Pokémon Go phenomenon from its earliest announcement, and to be honest, I prepared for the worst. Instead, I've found that it's not at all what I imagined (or feared). I have been playing it with my 14-year old son as a way to not only engage with him but also find out why it's so popular and determine whether there's any concern. As an active player, I HAVE YET TO FIND A SINGLE SPIRITUAL CONCERN. We're now 9th level (of some 20+), already have a few "rares" (higher level characters), and have played around with "evolving" a few characters into more powerful ones, and I simply cannot find a single thing in the entire game/app to criticize or condemn, and nothing which suggests an agenda of alternative spirituality. If Niantic (the American company which developed the app in coordination with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company) had ulterior motives in releasing it, I certainly can't find evidence of that. On the contrary, it's just fun! It IS quite addicting because you want to collect them all, and like all games and activities, it does raise time management issues. I've also read some accounts of people doing stupid things while playing the game (driving, walking off a cliff, mobs chasing a rare appearance, etc.). But the game itself isn't the problem here; it's people not using common sense, failing to balance work & leisure, and/or doing stupid things because they've allowed themselves to get caught up in something without proper boundaries. People do that in all sorts of areas of life, and much of our ministry deals with the fallout from that kind of stuff. Beyond that, however, I see lots of positives. It has forced millions of kids and young adults (& even middle-aged adults) to get out from in front of the TV, Netflix, Xbox, and computer and WALK (we have, too), and since most of the PokéStops and gyms are churches, community buildings, and civic interest features, it is quite informational. I have walked alot in this game and found all kinds of neat historic markers and information about my town's heritage, things I never would have discovered if I hadn't been trying to chase down an elusive virtual Pokémon character who was missing from my Pokédex (collection). It's positively transformative on a community, too. I used to avoid my town's downtown square at night because of the several bars which surround its perimeter, but now it's a happening place overrun by Pokémon Go players! (the last few nights, I've counted well over 50 players of all ages, including entire families and groups of teens playing together). I've met and talked with more people on the square and in local parks this last week while playing the game than I have met in the last 2 months combined! We're total strangers, but we immediately have something in common to talk about. I can understand the hesitation to embrace the unfamiliar (especially if you grew up in the 80s or early 90s and know its checkered past). But past misperceptions don't equate to present realities, so I encourage you to look beyond those. I can't help but think that God can use this for Kingdom potential and that a wise ministry leader would look for opportunities to engage! (the pic here is what our downtown courthouse square & vicinity look like within the game)

Bored Naysayers

The arrival of 2015 brought with it a deluge of articles from a variety of  news outlets, all acknowledging that Back to the Future II was set in 2015 and then critiquing all of the things which didn’t come to pass as imagined.  Unfortunately, most of these articles are are misguided in their facts - about both the movie and technology - and are overly critical.  So as a die-hard Back to the Future fan who graduated that magical year (1989), allow me to counter their shortsightedness.

First, it’s not Oct. 21st (the date in the “future” when Marty McFly arrived), so these articles' criticisms are 9 months premature.  With technology innovation, that timeframe is like eons.

Second, we DO already have many of these technologies:

• Video calling (through Skype, FaceTime, and a variety of cloud-based webconferencing systems) are fairly common now, as well as card-based financial access like Marty used in his call from Needles.
• No, we don’t have flying cars in common usage…yet, and no, our cars don’t all have angled designs modeled after a Lamborghini on steroids.  That looked cool and “futuristic” in 1989 but it turns out it’s not that aerodynamic.  However, flying cars do exist: Check out the AeroMobile and the Terrafugia Transition.  It may be a few years before they’re practical and their usage is widespread, but B2TF wasn’t too far off.
• No, we can’t hydrate a pizza in 30 seconds…yet, and such machines aren’t in common circulation.  But all of the technology involved already exists; we can dehydrate and rehydrate food efficiently both on planet Earth and with lightweight space food for astronauts. It just isn’t that practical or lucrative of an idea. 

There are also many more of B2TF’s technologies which currently exist or are in beta stages, just not in widespread usage yet:

• A prototype of self-tying power shoes has been developed and its inventor is actively trying to get them to market: http://youtu.be/k_Efr2TaEPo
• Hoverboards do exist…sort of.  Two models have been proposed and working prototypes of them are in circulation (one is even trying to release them by the Oct. 21st date).  I’m not impressed with either; their inventors struggled with some very obvious practicality issues and I don’t think either of the current solutions reflect B2TF’s design intent at all, but I am certain my kids will get to enjoy something very similar to Marty’s hoverboard within my lifetime.
• Robots filling your car up at a fuel station may be non-existent, but we have robots in active use now for nearly all repetitive tasks, from vaccuming your floor to milking a cow to machining a car or laptop.  And let’s not forget the electric cars with inductive charging stations like the Tesla which make B2TF’s depiction seem archaic compared to what we have now.  It’s not that we can’t, it’s that in general the public is simply not ready for trusting their car fueling to a machine…yet (but we’re getting closer to it since we have no problem paying at the pump with automated systems).
• We also don’t quite have an indoor garden center fruit dispenser.  But with all of the advances in hydroponics as well as the 4x4 gardening movement, it’s only a matter of time before something along these lines becomes a practical reality.

The two things they didn’t get “right” were Jaws 19 and the Cubs winning the World Series.  But keep in mind, these supposed “predictions” were satire anyway: Nobody wants to see 16 more editions of that movie; we’ve long since moved on to piranhas, anacondas, and vampires.  And the Cubs winning a World Series?  Well, as this article suggests, don’t give up just yet; what seemed impossible in 1989 isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

So what on earth does this have to do with church communication?  Church folk are notorious for being bored naysayers, criticizing every new idea, approach, and innovation.  And most of the time, we don’t have our facts straight nor even take the time to understand what’s really being proposed before we shoot it down.  In so doing, we make a cynical media seem lame in its debunking of ideas.

An irrelevant but well-timed question or a critical and skeptical groan from a respected board member can kill a Spirit-inspired idea before it even has a chance at consideration.  Much of the science fiction I read as a kid has become today’s technology, and I continually admire those thinkers of the past whose revolutionary ideas seemed preposterous back then and now are commonplace.  As my mentor pastor Jess Gibson often said, “He that says it can’t be done should not interrupt the one who’s actually doing it.”

Creativity and innovation are gifts from God which reflect His character and He delights in it.  Negativity and criticism are foreign to God’s personality and anathema to His character.  Therefore, use your words carefully (Matthew 12:36-37); take care to ensure that you're encouraging your pastor and church leaders as they explore innovative ideas to solve tomorrow's challenges.

Religion's Demise & the Victory of Jesus: How I Know He Lives

You ask me how I know Jesus lives?

Well, it’s not because some kid nearly died and claims he saw grandpa and the kid’s stillborn sister.  And it’s certainly not because some popular TV preacher says a lunar calendar’s normalcy for an event that happens every few hundred years is somehow prophetic.  Or even because some people find significance (or opposition) in political leaders who take advantage of the gullible and betray a nation’s history and purpose.

Those examples of syllogistic thinking just reveal how desperately mankind clings to hope & change…as well as how biblically illiterate and undiscerning people are, especially many who sit in pews of all stripes & colors.

Nor is it because the haters have managed to produce anti-Christian films that sell at the box office by stirring up controversy, playing to Protestantism’s biggest weakness (mindless protest).  We were played, and it’s downright embarrassing how often we keep falling for such overt hucksterism.

No, such examples simply reveal how ignorant of  truth we are and how much we want to have something to believe in, even if it means fighting in support of the enemy of our soul without even realizing it…at the expense of the very community and people we claim to love and opposing the very spirit of unity our Lord prayed we would embrace.

Further, these inadequacies only reveal that the problem IS religion – mankind’s attempts to appease (and please) God.

Sadly, most of what our world sees today isn’t Jesus, it’s religion.  Ridiculous, ill-informed, misguided, lame beliefs passed on to unsuspecting and undiscerning patrons who shove it off on others without thinking about the consequences.  Religion isn’t the opiate of the masses (that’s an understatement); it’s death and depravity disguised in altruistic form.  It’s deception at its most heinous: Pretending to be that which we are not in the hopes we can convince ourselves we’re not as bad as we really are.

And when we act religiously rather than Jesus-ly, no wonder the world rejects our message (after all, Jesus came to OPPOSE the very system our human nature likes to perpetuate).

In Jesus’ life and ministry, I see firsthand somebody who understood this full well…somebody who saw the depravity of man and the nature of God and exposed both for who they really are.  And the world has never been the same since.

Civilization has seen many “good men” and great prophets and leaders with noble intentions, but none that comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable like Jesus did.  Not only did he unconditionally love the lowliest of lowly, defend the innocents, embrace the outcasts and misfits, and redeem those society said could never be; He questioned those in powerful positions, challenged their authority and misaligned beliefs, and overthrew their petty systems of self-reinforcement.

He did not establish a Church and neither did Peter or Paul.  Jesus founded a way of life, a living relationship that transcends and transforms.

And in His very death He played the ultimate April Fool’s joke on the biggest sucker of all: His critics and enemies believed they’d finally silenced Him while in the midst of their celebration He was providing for our salvation and toppling their authority because even death could not hold Him.

I know I serve a risen Savior who’s in the world today because I’ve seen two things:

1. I’ve seen God at work in the big and the small things of life: Things science still cannot begin to explain (or which science finally confirms that God has said all along), irrational beliefs that bear out and make sense only in light of an otherworldly existence, the creative potential of innovation that bears the stamp of a genius designer, and selfless redemptive actions that even altruism can’t account for.
2. And I’ve seen the alternative.  I’ve seen the hopelessness and depravity of man and know firsthand the reality of evil – and know full well that man (or woman) at their very best can’t even begin to fix the mess no matter how much we try to brag otherwise.  I’ve seen the worst we can dish out and know it only echoes what the Bible already says is the problem, and I’ve seen the best we can do and know it falls dismally short, affirming yet again what God already told us was true.

Religion has had its day for thousands of years, and you’d think mankind would get a clue sooner or later that it simply doesn’t work.  You can’t fix stupid, and that’s all it does.  It perpetuates systems of control which keep us from experiencing what’s actually real (and yes, it IS a “matrix” of sorts).

But Jesus?  That’s another story!

Jesus has been consistently changing the story of humanity, re-framing the rigidity of religion, changing people from the inside out, and empowering people to redemptively transform society ever since.  And I see firsthand the impact when He speaks and I listen…I love the opportunity to participate with Him in doing the very things He lived to do and died to enable.

And I, for one, am very glad He’s alive and well and living in our world today in the hearts of genuine believers.  There are lots of religious pretenders, but the people who actually know Jesus personally and live out His mission in the world around them are a much smaller lot...and they’re out to change the world.