Video Savior (Part II)
When asked if “media and technology would save the Church from low attendance and irrelevance”, Scott McClellan from Collide Magazine thoughtfully responded “No”. He then went on to say that “authenticity trumps gadgetry any day”. I LOVE that statement. But as much as I love his answer, I have to disagree with it. Otherwise, this would be a boring post, right? Now, it’s easy to criticize after-the-fact, I probably would not have responded as cleverly as Scott did to such a question. But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I have to disagree - sort of. My answer would be “Yes and No”. “Oh, brother”, you might say. Well, hear me out - I think Scott would agree.
I agree with Scott’s response (”No”), because our first and foremost responsibility as a “Church” is to be authentic, and to let that come across in every aspect of ministry. Using technology is only secondary. I personally think that even the technologists are still figuring out how to effectively use the myriad tools available today. Technology should be used to enhance the worship experience, not to drive it. At it’s core, worship is the same today as it was 200 and 2000 years ago. It’s people gathering together and worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and embracing the claim that Jesus was who he said he was. People will always find ways to communicate that message to others. And that leads me to why the answer is also a resounding “Yes!”.
Now first of all, let me say that I’m not validating the question itself by answering “Yes”. See my previous response to the question itself. By saying “Yes”, I’m saying that technology can be used to help save the Church, insomuch as the Church now has an incredible tool to reach people that were previously unreachable, or simply not being reached. We have incredible tools at our disposal that help us reach out to find people where they are. Just look at what Lifechurch.tv has done with their online ministries. They’ve leveraged technology to build the church - that is, the body of Christ.
In summary, I do love Scott’s response to the question. I also think that technology can be used to reach people where many churches have failed, and win people to Christ. Considering that the Church is the People, yes, I think it can help save the Church. But only if the message is authentic…
