Does Christianity have a future ? Part 5

The Body of Christ must do a better job of telling our stories. Let’s face it. The media culture tells stories that are interesting, intriguing, exciting, and full of drama, passion and energy. In contrast, the way we tell our stories are boring and lifeless. We have removed the mystery and intrigue from our storytelling. That’s not what Jesus intended. In Matthew 13:34-35 the scripture says, “Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people. This is as the prophet said: I will speak using stories; I will tell things that have been secret since the world was made”. NCV Jesus was a master storyteller. He is our model for how we should tell stories to the media culture and the church of media. Everybody loves a good story. One thing I think we can all agree on is that Jesus was not boring. His stories were full of mystery and intrigue. He never told a story as if he were teaching a five-point sermon. He was wise and understood the audience had to participate in the storytelling process because the message contained in the story would only be truth if they came to that realization themselves.

George Miller, a renowned filmmaker, said in an interview in 1998 that organized religion had removed much of the poetry, mystery and mysticism out of our religious belief. This caused people to look for answers to their questions about spirituality in other places. He considers the cinema to be today’s new place where people gather and worship as they once did in church. Miller also believes that the cinema storytellers have now become the new priests. I agree. Christians can find common ground with the church of media because we both embrace the power of stories. Eighty percent of the Bible is told in the form of a story. The media culture crisis becomes an opportunity when we realize we need to tell stories just as Jesus did by making them artful, authentic, mysterious and intriguing. Our media missionaries must reflect this viewpoint because the future of Christianity may depend on it. Stories from the Bible make the best stories because they contain the truth.

The church of media seeks a common language and lifestyle. Media missionaries need to reflect what a true Christian community looks like. We have failed in this effort. So what is a Christian community and how does it function? Acts 2:44 says “All the believers were together and shared everything. They would sell their land and the things they owned and then divide the money and give it to anyone who needed it. The believers met together in the temple every day. They ate together in their homes, happy to share their food with happy hearts.” And Acts 4:32 says “The group of believers were united in their hearts and spirit. All those in the group acted as though their private property belonged to everyone in the group. In fact they shared everything.” NCV

So what went wrong? Does the Body of Christ as we know it today sound anything like this? One of the reasons why the church of media is so appealing is because it offers community and common beliefs. Our faith is scattered in a thousand pieces. We have no unity. Christians in the first century were of one heart and one mind. They were not playing at Christianity. They lived their faith by a common lifestyle and exhibited love, forgiveness, generosity, and respect for others. As long as we are continually influenced by the media culture, the Body of Christ will never come into full unity and reflect the true nature of a Christian community. Why? Because we will put our wants before the needs of the community. Not only have individual Christians committed this offence but also the church itself in some ways has become more important than the Kingdom of God and those Christ came to save.

Friday Part 6