I recently heard something that captured my attention. I happened to turn the television to one of the news channels during the Iowa caucus. The commentator was speaking to a couple of guests concerning voters. He made a statement that went something like this, “with the internet taking so much attention away from what the candidates are saying, how do you think….” And then I tuned out because my brain went into overdrive.
That statement caught my attention because it is essentially wrong. It also showed that there is a misunderstanding of the culture that is forty years old and younger. That misunderstanding is prevalent in nearly every major institution, company, or person that has not taken the time to reevaluate how this vibrant and colorful culture communicates.
This commentator was wrong in saying that attention was taken “away” from what the candidates were saying by the internet. A quick browse through YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ ) will give you some idea of this. For example, Ron Paul’s Question about the war during the presidential debate held at the Reagan Library on May 3, 2007 had, at the time of writing this, been viewed over 300,000 times since then. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hfa7vT02lA ) Even more than that, go search youtube for “presidential debate” and sort the search by “view count” and you will see that the top two have been viewed over a million times with Huckabee’s response to the question of evolution being viewed almost two million times!
No, what the candidates are saying is being very much attended to, but in a very different way, even since the last election. News channels do not have the monopoly any more. And the web is the way to get information that is detailed and specific. This culture is communicating and being communicated to in very different ways from the past.
If an institution or individual wants to communicate effectively then there must be an understanding of how this culture is communicating. Churches must also understand the nature of the communication breakdown that has taken place over the last twenty years. Those churches that are clearly communicating the simple truths of the Bible in a way that this culture can understand it are seeing fruit. By fruit I mean people coming to know Jesus Christ personally. Salvation! And guess what, it does not stop there. Churches must continue to communicate the truths of God’s Word to those people in a way that helps them to grow in their personal relationship with God.
I heard a statement recently that made me laugh and cry at the same time. “If America has a revival of 1950’s culture, most of our churches are poised perfectly to meet it.” I believe this could be a non-issue if our goal was to reach the lost and take the message of the Gospel to the world being willing to do whatever changing it takes to accomplish that mandate. The Gospel is always relevant and it demands that we be relevant as well. Speaking so a lost world can understand it’s deepest need is for salvation is so important.
May we seek to communicate in a way that the world can understand and receive it…
That statement caught my attention because it is essentially wrong. It also showed that there is a misunderstanding of the culture that is forty years old and younger. That misunderstanding is prevalent in nearly every major institution, company, or person that has not taken the time to reevaluate how this vibrant and colorful culture communicates.
This commentator was wrong in saying that attention was taken “away” from what the candidates were saying by the internet. A quick browse through YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ ) will give you some idea of this. For example, Ron Paul’s Question about the war during the presidential debate held at the Reagan Library on May 3, 2007 had, at the time of writing this, been viewed over 300,000 times since then. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hfa7vT02lA ) Even more than that, go search youtube for “presidential debate” and sort the search by “view count” and you will see that the top two have been viewed over a million times with Huckabee’s response to the question of evolution being viewed almost two million times!
No, what the candidates are saying is being very much attended to, but in a very different way, even since the last election. News channels do not have the monopoly any more. And the web is the way to get information that is detailed and specific. This culture is communicating and being communicated to in very different ways from the past.
If an institution or individual wants to communicate effectively then there must be an understanding of how this culture is communicating. Churches must also understand the nature of the communication breakdown that has taken place over the last twenty years. Those churches that are clearly communicating the simple truths of the Bible in a way that this culture can understand it are seeing fruit. By fruit I mean people coming to know Jesus Christ personally. Salvation! And guess what, it does not stop there. Churches must continue to communicate the truths of God’s Word to those people in a way that helps them to grow in their personal relationship with God.
I heard a statement recently that made me laugh and cry at the same time. “If America has a revival of 1950’s culture, most of our churches are poised perfectly to meet it.” I believe this could be a non-issue if our goal was to reach the lost and take the message of the Gospel to the world being willing to do whatever changing it takes to accomplish that mandate. The Gospel is always relevant and it demands that we be relevant as well. Speaking so a lost world can understand it’s deepest need is for salvation is so important.
May we seek to communicate in a way that the world can understand and receive it…
1 comment:
Something I noticed talking to Alex at WePod Sunday, youngsters are very, very aware of any and all contradictory statements the candidates make. They no longer rely on the new services to draw attention to them, but can instead instantly replay any moment of any debate, and reference them against any other debate. They no longer seek out political commentators, but are earnestly listening to what the candidates are saying, what they're writing, how they act. Not even television was this empowering, as debates only aired once, or twice if they were significant, and the sort of playback capability now available was rare.
Yes, there are lots of apathetic college students, and adults not over the hump, but legions of young voters are becoming active, and shouldn't be considered any less discerning then those who came before them.
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