This is a Guest Post by Nate Beaird.
In ministry, this is my mantra; “The message is sacred, but the methods are not.”
We go out of our way to find the best way possible to reach people. I didn’t say “the newest, craziest, most ‘techy,’ outlandish, or scandalous, way.”
I said the “best” way.
When I write/speak about leveraging technology for Christ, I try to be very careful to make it clear that to use cool or fancy technology just for the sake of using it, is missing the point. If you can’t tie what you’re doing to the message …it’s just clutter.
Sometimes our creative team has to scrap ideas that are cool. We made a decision a long time ago that our creative elements are not the message – they are there to support it. So as painful as it is-things get scrapped, or put in “the archive” for future thought.
A great example of how your media doesn’t have to be the most advanced to reach people, is our wooden cross (pic above).
This 10 ft. cross is covered from top to bottom, as well as the arms, with pieces of paper. Each of these pieces have five names on it of people that our members are praying will find Christ this year. In almost every area, the stacks are at least four layers thick. A specific prayer team is committed to pray for the names on this cross, and several of the names have indeed found Christ this year!
One of the oldest pieces of media in our history, paper, stapled to a wooden cross. This symbol has touched lives, and held our members accountable to the people who’s names they’ve written down. The Message of the Cross can stand on it’s own – God doesn’t need us to make it cooler or more attractive. It’s not for His sake we do these things, it’s for our sake. Sometimes we need visual reminders of what God’s done for us. I also think it’s part of our job to create an atmosphere where a person can allow God to speak to his/her heart.
Old media. Old symbol. Powerful Message. Lives touched.
Daniel_Berman says
I once heard about a situation in WWII where a mission had to be flown with specific set of airplanes that were not designed for the task atleast according to manuals. So what did they do? They threw away the manuals and rediscovered what the plane was actually capable of with the load it had to carry.
Never throw away the message, but I wonder if we get blinded by the flash and bling of all the technology around us sometimes. Maybe we throw away the manual of our expectations, (not our theological understanding) and consider all the methods which have been used to communicate the gospel since the time of Christ.
Wooden crosses, sheets of paper, icons? I mean the original icons made in the first century. What have we turned away from in Ancient Christianity just because it doesn't fit within our denominational outlook on the Christian life?
Graham Brenna says
True. Our sanctuary cross is still wooden as well. I recently put some sweet LED strip lights on the back of it to make it pop more… but it's still wooden nonetheless. 🙂
Nate Beaird says
Hey, I don't see anything wrong with mixin' a little "Old School" with some "New School" right!?
Graham Brenna says
word up 🙂
Josh R says
I personally think that this article is so true. But i also think its wrong. Technology is a great ministry tool. The world is changing to a more technologically advanced society. For the same reason that we use pen and paper, and not chisel and limestone. But i feel as long as the technology is not the reason for the church and the message doesnt become watered down due to the technology, that technology is a good thing. As long as the message is the center, its all good.
Nate Beaird says
Josh,
I couldn't agree with you more! If you read my blog or have visited my church you know that we leverage all kinds of technology, and in some interesting ways. But sometimes, in certain messages, the BEST way, is not always the most flashy way…ya know?
Great thought!
Josh R says
Yeah i know exactly what you mean.
Santos Samayoa says
Thanks enjoyed this post, really looking for the BEST way to relay the message, sometimes is the simplest way.