Many of us in Christian media work for a particular ministry. We may be the producer / director, or media director, or a shooter or an editor. Some are on the worship team of a church /ministry that has a television ministry. Our ministries' exposure in Christian media is regular – either weekly or daily, and quite predictable.
The question remains, is it working? Are we having an impact upon our world? Is “Christian Television” even worth watching? Does it present Judeo-Christian morals and values in such a way that our American culture is impacted?
First of all let me say that I personally am a product of Christian Television. For the past 35 years I have produced programs that have aired on CBN, TBN, PTL (INSP), CTN, DAYSTAR, and many other networks and syndicated TV stations across the country. But what does the face of Christian TV look like today? Some have described it as a ghetto. Others call it talking-head TV. Yet others see it as an infomercial for various churches and ministries – a continual stream termed ministry. But does it impact society? Now I don’t mean to be critical, but I believe it is high time we took a good look at the message, the methods, and the motives to see if we are really impacting our American society.
Let’s begin by looking at the condition of our nation and the world today. Islam is on the rise; the acceptance of sin as an alternative lifestyle is on the rise; and a switch from the good values we have had just a few decades ago is on the decline. Church attendance among the young is on the decline as well. What is the solution? Can it be found in Christian Media?
If you ask any pastor, he or she will tell you that what we all need is Jesus. He is the answer. But how do we motivate people to take the time to hear us out and learn about Jesus? If we really feel that watching our programs is the answer and the viewer doesn’t necessarily have to attend our church services in person, then the question remains, are our programs – the endless stream of sermons and Bible teaching day after day on nearly every Christian TV channel – are they doing any good? Are people watching and listening? Are our programs relating to the audience that needs our message the most – I am talking about the unsaved?
Can we as Christians in the media actually steer others to the right way – to Judaic or biblical values without sending a hostile message and without compromise? I believe we can – but we can’t do that and continue to “minister” to our traditional audience of middle-aged or older Christians who are paying the bills.
You and I both know that for the most part we are preaching to the choir. Christian television is designed mostly for Christians to enjoy. So when a ministry or minister decides that he wants to evangelize the unchurched, should his program go on “Christian Television?” Not necessarily. There are many other ways we can reach out to the lost than through Christian TV. Some have produced feature-films. Many have designed state-of-the-art websites and podcasts or God-casts to reach today’s generation, but still we are not reaching those across the oceans with the Gospel message. People in China and Japan, and most of Europe need the Gospel, too.
We may never agree on the type of program or the right medium to get the job done, but I want to challenge you who are visionaries – who are vibrant and youthful. Now is the time to use the technology that is out there to reach the unsaved in America and around the world. We have the creativity, but the realities of the situation are that we must consider the potential viewership, donor response, even ratings, as much as we consider the spiritual impact and financial return.
Some churches today think they “get it.” They have added the lights, the graphics, the awesome sound systems and are presenting today’s music in a manner that appeals to the youth of today. Quality and excellence have become bywords, but is it just a show – a program? Or is the Lord even there? Are we giving the Holy Spirit the freedom to move, to lead, to guide, to direct? Is He in control, or are we? And the ministers – some have fine-tuned their charismatic appeal, tweaked their style and made it appear as though their success depended upon the personality of the host as presenter.
I like programs that are authentic and creative – not the run of the mill variety. But that type of program requires a larger budget – just like all the whistles and bells in the church service require more technical equipment, larger staffs, more volunteers, and a larger budget.
There has to be a way to attract the “world” to genuine Christianity. Many have stepped out in pure faith and used the technology at hand in their attempt to effectively communicate the Gospel message. I applaud them for stepping out of the boat and walking on the water.
Reality secular television is becoming a “ghetto” of sorts. But the answer may lie there in that format. What if we focused upon Reality Christian Television themes? In any case, let’s use our influence in whatever state we find ourselves to be truly led by God’s Spirit, and just like 35 – 40 years ago when the Pat Robertsons and the Paul Crouches and the Jim Bakkers of the world tried a new thing and Christian Television was born – let’s see how the Holy Spirit will use this generation’s media ministers and the rest of us who work in the media to effectively reach the lost as well as teach and disciple Believers.
Let us allow the Lord to enable us to produce programs that relate to the unsaved and present the answer they are seeking and do it with excellence. Let us produce programs that are sincere as well as having excellent production values. If we are entertaining, let us put forth our Judeo-Christian values in our humor, in the situations we present. But let us make certain that we actually relate to our audience. What we present in the media must be relevant – real – and to do that we may possibly have to re-invent Christian programming. How we accomplish this on a grand scale is yet to be seen.
Let us encourage fresh vision, fresh approaches, innovative ways of utilizing websites and other methods to make our programming and media ministry relevant to today’s culture. Take for example the program series Travel The Road (TravelTheRoad).
The producers have done a wonderful job of relating to today’s culture and BTW they give the viewer the opportunity to travel vicariously and see the world through the travelers’ eyes.
I say that all of us who claim to be producers of Christian Media programming find out what this generation wants to experience in or from the media, then let’s deliver it – the reality of it, sharing the absolute truth, with sincerity, and whenever possible let’s produce programming that has entertainment value as well. And let’s weave in the Judeo-Christian values, too. Let’s utilize the technology, the new hardware, the new gear to provide the excellence, the skin, the method, but let us be creative with our message using new formats. Let’s provide the leadership to produce the programs that present themes about overcoming impossible odds, God (or good) triumphing over evil, messed up lives finding answers, etc. Let’s demonstrate through the productions our values that really show the world the reality of the Gospel and our Christian love, our beliefs, and why we believe the way we do. Let us present Jesus – our living Savior. Let us present the cross, self-sacrifice, what it means to be a real Christian. Let us present a God of miracles! Let us find the resources (the financial backing) to do it right!
I feel the urgency for each of us in whatever our capacity or sphere of influence is to seek the Lord and ask Him right now to show us what His will is for us in the media.
I know for myself, a few years back God spoke to me that one program series I was producing were off base theologically – just a bit – and that God was not pleased that I would have any part in this production. And since I could not change the concept, I had to back away, submitting to God, and quit producing that series. God just wouldn’t allow me any longer to have a part in the production of that series when it was not the Lord’s perfect will in the first place that this message even be on the air.
When we hear from the Lord and obey what He tells us to do, we will have favor and blessing. When we surrender to His will and not our own – His agenda and not ours, then the blessing will come. Everything will click!
As my pastor – Billy Joe Daugherty in Tulsa says, “Where God Guides, He Provides!” The resources will be there. God will call others alongside you to help you fulfill your vision just like Pat Robertson and The 700 Club and other similar pioneers of Christian Television caught the vision and raised the funds to launch Christian TV a generation ago.
God has you and me – each one of us in our individual spheres of influence for His purpose. For myself, I plan to seek the Lord more than ever before and ask Him to reveal just a glimpse or a vision of how He plans to use me in this next decade to influence our world – starting today – so that we as Christian producers of media resources might impact our culture with the Gospel message and enable millions to have the opportunity to come to the Lord while there is still time.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Blogging
Blogging is a relatively new phenomenon. Although writers have tried various forms of expression of thought in print, and speeches intended to be given orally, it is fairly recent to express oneself in such a non-literary form over the Internet.
Blogging is truly a postmodern method of expression that involves little forethought, analysis of content, or attempts at fairness. The thoughts that are expressed can be quickly and easily read, comprehended, replied to, challenged, or agreed with. The interaction between writer and reader evens the playing field so that often foolishness is portrayed as wisdom and wise words that have been written are challenged and seem to appear foolish. We in America especially enjoy “Freedom of Speech.” We are guaranteed this by the First Amendment to The U. S. Constitution.
However, some (may I dare say many) bloggers overstep their bounds and without showing any sense of accountability for their words – slander or libel others. Many have never learned, don’t even understand, and cannot comprehend the moral or ethical responsibilities of free speech. Educators may want to consider offering a course on Blogging or Texting. If we are not soon educated, there will eventually be lawsuits over what he said or she said, or what they did… you get my point. If what is written is an outright lie resulting in defamation of character, the one defamed has every right to defend himself or herself.
We have seen this in the November 2008 Election process as bloggers and emailers have made all sorts of accusations about candidates, parties, and their associations – much of which is baseless at best or at least comprised of distortions to truth. The half-truths and untruths are difficult to counter without the candidate appearing to be defensive or defenseless; and the whole truth may never be known. Elections are won or lost these days by public opinion – some of which is expressed through Blogging or text messaging.
As I began to write earlier, Blogging is a spontaneous expression of thought – usually not intended to be stored or even read more than once. Many of the blogs distributed through Facebook, MySpace, and Blogspot are read by thousands instantaneously. Some blog page strings grow at the rate of two to five pages a minute – making it nearly impossible for a reader to keep up with the flow of thought. The implications of this phenomenon have yet to be totally comprehended.
We know that the word “blog” was coined from a conflagration of two words Web and Log. Together the blog becomes a type of journal that can be read by the public over the Internet rather than kept private as a personal journal or diary was kept. Traditionally such diaries provided accountability and a record over time of events, times, and personal accounts during a person’s life or journey. It was a method of preserving history, expressing truth, and waxing poetic over life’s joys, sorrows, memories, and just plain facts. Since there were no videotape recorders or cameras to document “reality” for thousands of years – until this last 60 or 70 years, journals and diaries served a useful purpose. Some were published into hardbound books. Others remained handwritten. Most were kept private. Presidents and world leaders wrote their memoirs to share their views and express wisdom gleaned, knowledge learned, and appreciation for life as moments captured from throughout their entire lifetimes.
Most of these diaries that eventually became public occurred after the writer had passed away. Some autobiographies win the hearts of millions whose individual stories are told and retold. They are appreciated for what they represent – the sum of one’s life.
I can remember when I first got online about five or six years ago and decided to have an online presence. It didn’t start out as a blog but rather as an expression of e-journalism or e-publication. I “published” chapters of books I had written, sermons I had preached, lessons I as a teacher had taught to others, or as in-depth word studies on various subjects. Eventually I published these written logs on MySpace, Xanga, and other similar sites. It was sort of a personal column as a writer might submit to a magazine for publication. Of course in traditional writing and publication there is an extensive editing process that also involved proof-reading, corrections, reviews by others in many cases, and delays to getting the message out. In that sense I appreciated the electronic news media – primarily LIVE news and commentary, half-hour teaching programs, radio talk shows, and the like. These “writings” whether in print or spoken aloud had immediacy to them, a relevance that traditional print did not. And as we all know, newspapers and magazines usually do not offer much opportunity for lengthy discourses – with the exception of Reader’s Digest and a few literary or medical journal publications.
My Blogging evolved from lengthy writings whereby I had drawn on my experience as an author of published books, as a magazine and newsletter editor, and as a public speaker, to one involving short paragraphs and phrases that could quickly and easily be added as a suffix to an email.
Of course, when writing for television and doing ad copy for :30 commercials and promotional announcements, I already had experience getting straight to the point and sharing the “Who, What, Where, When and sometimes the How or Why” in a brief format. And it was based upon truth – facts – or at least was material that had been reviewed by many people prior to its publication and distribution.
Blogging, however, is a whole other animal. It is revolutionary because it provides opportunity for the masses, little-known and even totally unknown individuals to speak their minds instantly and to a global audience. Through Babylon and other translation software, thoughts expressed locally can be deciphered by many readers in many languages simultaneously.
Furthermore, there are no safeguards regarding what is being shared. In fact the immediacy and harshness of responses by those disagreeing with what has been written in the blog in some cases incite verbal tirades and the writer may become subjected to castigation, false accusations, and ridicule. It shouldn’t be so surprising that these types of posts happen almost instantaneously from total strangers in chance meetings because we come from different cultures, have varying mindsets and world views, are of different religions – or have no particular beliefs, and opposing political parties.
However, the fact that unless you are their “friend,” you probably will never have a personal face-to-face encounter with those in the dialogue or chatroom and most likely will never again have another interaction with them as long as you live gives one pause as to the impact and value of your own blogging. Being on the receiving end of brutal feedback is not a picnic. Finding yourself in n unexpected defensive position may also come at a surprise. We must be ready for these things. It goes with the territory.
No longer are our writings in the form of a column or a monologue to be ignored with no way for readers to reply without the masses having to wait for the next edition for commentary or responses to be published. It is this instantaneous communication with little forethought that has some professional writers concerned. Additionally, since there are few safeguards in place, as photos and other descriptions and accounts of one’s life are shared, the Blogger may inadvertently actually jeopardize his or her personal safety or that of family or friends.
In any case, what bloggers write is immediately subject to scrutiny of one sort or another.
And when the Blogger has been sloppy, or inaccurate, or offensive in his writings, the blog is subject to the masses’ corrections, commentary, and sometimes humiliation or ridicule. And if ignored, some readers would eventually abandon such chat rooms, threads, and Blogspots.
This article (or treatise as some may call it) does not work well as a blog. Blogs value immediacy and brevity. Conversations are the norm – not one-way tirades. Blogs are filled with emotions, temper tantrums, and expressions of outrage.
Let’s move on to the subject of Instant Messages (IM) or Texting which is an online language of itself that started with today’s youth generation using mobile devices such as cellphones, iPhones, and Blackberrys, and the like – to write in what appears at first glance to be in code using characters and abbreviations and symbols in a new form of expression of American English. Texting is really a language all its own - an online language of shortcuts that enables the sender to type more information in their message in less time. Really texting is conversational writing that has now filtered down to students’ homework and, of course, online blogs and chatrooms. It is now being accepted by teens around the worldand is quickly becoming universal.Texting raises questions of cultural implications of online communication in general. Initially it was thought that this “sub-culture of youth” would not have an impact and that it would eventually die out. But according to Nielson/Net ratings, 60% of the online population under age 17 uses text messages primarily to socialize and communicate for recreation.
We all must recognize the need to differentiate between formal writing and conversational writing. They need to know where to draw the line between formal English and using this new language in the workplace and in society in general. This type of shorthand could actually spark creativity that has yet to be seen or fully appreciated.
But, we must wonder where all of this is headed. Emails and even blogs themselves cannot often keep up with IMs and Texting devices for immediacy – although it is more wall-to-wall and personal in nature.
We must ask ourselves of how much value is all of this opinion and expression of human individuality? What can we learn about the character of the writer or the authority and believability of what is being proposed or expressed in an IM or a blog? Will anything that is written in such a form endure over time? Can it be recorded and used against the sender? The answer is a resounding “YES!” and this is a scary thought.
Could such interaction with humanity as a whole in the blogosphere bring a Blogger or Texter to popularity as a politician, or a poet, or a public speaker? I suppose this could happen just like “Joe the Plumber” sprang up as an overnight sensation in the November 2008 Election on the campaign trail and mainstream electronic media.
And what is our reaction to be? Do we just passively read blogs and attempt to decipher IMs, or do we engage in conversation with others on a deeper level? More and more bloggers will jump right in and share more than they probably should with little forethought.
The good thing is that among all classes, races, nationalities, religions, and education levels, we who blog or text are learning about the value and significance of all types of words – we place value upon others’ words and the opportunity for ourselves to be heard in the same way. We have a wonderful opportunity to hear others’ viewpoints and expressions of flitting thoughts and whims – some of which are filled with amazing truths – coming from the most unlikely sources.
Undoubtedly improvisational Blogging and Text Messaging is here to stay so long as the Internet (and electricity to power our devices) are available. Long live the BLOG and IM!
Gene Steiner
September, 2008
Blogging is truly a postmodern method of expression that involves little forethought, analysis of content, or attempts at fairness. The thoughts that are expressed can be quickly and easily read, comprehended, replied to, challenged, or agreed with. The interaction between writer and reader evens the playing field so that often foolishness is portrayed as wisdom and wise words that have been written are challenged and seem to appear foolish. We in America especially enjoy “Freedom of Speech.” We are guaranteed this by the First Amendment to The U. S. Constitution.
However, some (may I dare say many) bloggers overstep their bounds and without showing any sense of accountability for their words – slander or libel others. Many have never learned, don’t even understand, and cannot comprehend the moral or ethical responsibilities of free speech. Educators may want to consider offering a course on Blogging or Texting. If we are not soon educated, there will eventually be lawsuits over what he said or she said, or what they did… you get my point. If what is written is an outright lie resulting in defamation of character, the one defamed has every right to defend himself or herself.
We have seen this in the November 2008 Election process as bloggers and emailers have made all sorts of accusations about candidates, parties, and their associations – much of which is baseless at best or at least comprised of distortions to truth. The half-truths and untruths are difficult to counter without the candidate appearing to be defensive or defenseless; and the whole truth may never be known. Elections are won or lost these days by public opinion – some of which is expressed through Blogging or text messaging.
As I began to write earlier, Blogging is a spontaneous expression of thought – usually not intended to be stored or even read more than once. Many of the blogs distributed through Facebook, MySpace, and Blogspot are read by thousands instantaneously. Some blog page strings grow at the rate of two to five pages a minute – making it nearly impossible for a reader to keep up with the flow of thought. The implications of this phenomenon have yet to be totally comprehended.
We know that the word “blog” was coined from a conflagration of two words Web and Log. Together the blog becomes a type of journal that can be read by the public over the Internet rather than kept private as a personal journal or diary was kept. Traditionally such diaries provided accountability and a record over time of events, times, and personal accounts during a person’s life or journey. It was a method of preserving history, expressing truth, and waxing poetic over life’s joys, sorrows, memories, and just plain facts. Since there were no videotape recorders or cameras to document “reality” for thousands of years – until this last 60 or 70 years, journals and diaries served a useful purpose. Some were published into hardbound books. Others remained handwritten. Most were kept private. Presidents and world leaders wrote their memoirs to share their views and express wisdom gleaned, knowledge learned, and appreciation for life as moments captured from throughout their entire lifetimes.
Most of these diaries that eventually became public occurred after the writer had passed away. Some autobiographies win the hearts of millions whose individual stories are told and retold. They are appreciated for what they represent – the sum of one’s life.
I can remember when I first got online about five or six years ago and decided to have an online presence. It didn’t start out as a blog but rather as an expression of e-journalism or e-publication. I “published” chapters of books I had written, sermons I had preached, lessons I as a teacher had taught to others, or as in-depth word studies on various subjects. Eventually I published these written logs on MySpace, Xanga, and other similar sites. It was sort of a personal column as a writer might submit to a magazine for publication. Of course in traditional writing and publication there is an extensive editing process that also involved proof-reading, corrections, reviews by others in many cases, and delays to getting the message out. In that sense I appreciated the electronic news media – primarily LIVE news and commentary, half-hour teaching programs, radio talk shows, and the like. These “writings” whether in print or spoken aloud had immediacy to them, a relevance that traditional print did not. And as we all know, newspapers and magazines usually do not offer much opportunity for lengthy discourses – with the exception of Reader’s Digest and a few literary or medical journal publications.
My Blogging evolved from lengthy writings whereby I had drawn on my experience as an author of published books, as a magazine and newsletter editor, and as a public speaker, to one involving short paragraphs and phrases that could quickly and easily be added as a suffix to an email.
Of course, when writing for television and doing ad copy for :30 commercials and promotional announcements, I already had experience getting straight to the point and sharing the “Who, What, Where, When and sometimes the How or Why” in a brief format. And it was based upon truth – facts – or at least was material that had been reviewed by many people prior to its publication and distribution.
Blogging, however, is a whole other animal. It is revolutionary because it provides opportunity for the masses, little-known and even totally unknown individuals to speak their minds instantly and to a global audience. Through Babylon and other translation software, thoughts expressed locally can be deciphered by many readers in many languages simultaneously.
Furthermore, there are no safeguards regarding what is being shared. In fact the immediacy and harshness of responses by those disagreeing with what has been written in the blog in some cases incite verbal tirades and the writer may become subjected to castigation, false accusations, and ridicule. It shouldn’t be so surprising that these types of posts happen almost instantaneously from total strangers in chance meetings because we come from different cultures, have varying mindsets and world views, are of different religions – or have no particular beliefs, and opposing political parties.
However, the fact that unless you are their “friend,” you probably will never have a personal face-to-face encounter with those in the dialogue or chatroom and most likely will never again have another interaction with them as long as you live gives one pause as to the impact and value of your own blogging. Being on the receiving end of brutal feedback is not a picnic. Finding yourself in n unexpected defensive position may also come at a surprise. We must be ready for these things. It goes with the territory.
No longer are our writings in the form of a column or a monologue to be ignored with no way for readers to reply without the masses having to wait for the next edition for commentary or responses to be published. It is this instantaneous communication with little forethought that has some professional writers concerned. Additionally, since there are few safeguards in place, as photos and other descriptions and accounts of one’s life are shared, the Blogger may inadvertently actually jeopardize his or her personal safety or that of family or friends.
In any case, what bloggers write is immediately subject to scrutiny of one sort or another.
And when the Blogger has been sloppy, or inaccurate, or offensive in his writings, the blog is subject to the masses’ corrections, commentary, and sometimes humiliation or ridicule. And if ignored, some readers would eventually abandon such chat rooms, threads, and Blogspots.
This article (or treatise as some may call it) does not work well as a blog. Blogs value immediacy and brevity. Conversations are the norm – not one-way tirades. Blogs are filled with emotions, temper tantrums, and expressions of outrage.
Let’s move on to the subject of Instant Messages (IM) or Texting which is an online language of itself that started with today’s youth generation using mobile devices such as cellphones, iPhones, and Blackberrys, and the like – to write in what appears at first glance to be in code using characters and abbreviations and symbols in a new form of expression of American English. Texting is really a language all its own - an online language of shortcuts that enables the sender to type more information in their message in less time. Really texting is conversational writing that has now filtered down to students’ homework and, of course, online blogs and chatrooms. It is now being accepted by teens around the worldand is quickly becoming universal.Texting raises questions of cultural implications of online communication in general. Initially it was thought that this “sub-culture of youth” would not have an impact and that it would eventually die out. But according to Nielson/Net ratings, 60% of the online population under age 17 uses text messages primarily to socialize and communicate for recreation.
We all must recognize the need to differentiate between formal writing and conversational writing. They need to know where to draw the line between formal English and using this new language in the workplace and in society in general. This type of shorthand could actually spark creativity that has yet to be seen or fully appreciated.
But, we must wonder where all of this is headed. Emails and even blogs themselves cannot often keep up with IMs and Texting devices for immediacy – although it is more wall-to-wall and personal in nature.
We must ask ourselves of how much value is all of this opinion and expression of human individuality? What can we learn about the character of the writer or the authority and believability of what is being proposed or expressed in an IM or a blog? Will anything that is written in such a form endure over time? Can it be recorded and used against the sender? The answer is a resounding “YES!” and this is a scary thought.
Could such interaction with humanity as a whole in the blogosphere bring a Blogger or Texter to popularity as a politician, or a poet, or a public speaker? I suppose this could happen just like “Joe the Plumber” sprang up as an overnight sensation in the November 2008 Election on the campaign trail and mainstream electronic media.
And what is our reaction to be? Do we just passively read blogs and attempt to decipher IMs, or do we engage in conversation with others on a deeper level? More and more bloggers will jump right in and share more than they probably should with little forethought.
The good thing is that among all classes, races, nationalities, religions, and education levels, we who blog or text are learning about the value and significance of all types of words – we place value upon others’ words and the opportunity for ourselves to be heard in the same way. We have a wonderful opportunity to hear others’ viewpoints and expressions of flitting thoughts and whims – some of which are filled with amazing truths – coming from the most unlikely sources.
Undoubtedly improvisational Blogging and Text Messaging is here to stay so long as the Internet (and electricity to power our devices) are available. Long live the BLOG and IM!
Gene Steiner
September, 2008
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