Friday, March 30, 2012

America’s fastest growing church

Media has moved from a position of popular entertainment, which includes movies, television programs, music, internet, and social media, to a place where it has now become a media culture. A media culture occurs when our shared consciousness as a people or a society reflects the views, ideas, and beliefs of our media and entertainment, which has now combined to create a force that has never existed in the history of our society. It’s impossible to distinguish where culture ends and where media begins. No space exists between the two.

The media culture has created a new church and a new place of worship that is without a physical address. Its members are unaware that this new church exists or that they are a part of it. It is America’s fastest growing church--the church of media and entertainment.

The members of this church are searching for the truth, but they must experience truth in order for it to be authentic. They are highly influenced by postmodern philosophy. They seek connectivity and two-way communication. They desire to express their views and opinions about life and interact with those who have different views. Social media and You Tube are an intricate part of their lives because they want to be involved in the process. That’s why many in this church make and distribute their own media. They are searching for the truth but do not want to be told what the truth is. They seek a safe place where it’s easy for them to fit in and where they are not required to do anything.

Whether you realize it or not, this media culture does exist. For the majority of the population, it is nothing more than trivial entertainment or harmless popular culture. But I believe this media culture is a crisis for our society. And for committed Christians who are concerned about their faith, it is undoubtedly so because Christianity has lost its impact on the culture. Media and culture have merged to create a “media culture”. By doing so, it is capable of controlling the hearts and minds of this generation. More importantly, the media culture is moving into a position where it will control the direction of Christianity. But perhaps the greatest crisis we face is when we fail to respond to the opportunity the media culture crisis presents to the Church.

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