How has and Technology and New Media affected Ministry in the Local Church?
A Qualitative study on Technology, Culture and Religion.
Marquette University College of Communication
Justin Lester
Dr. Daiderick Ekachai
Table of Contents:
Research paper – Page 3
Reference List – Page 21
Appendix – Page 23
Outreach Research – Page 24
Transcript – Page 26
Technology has affected the way many normal tasks are completed. It has changed the way that people communicate. It has altered the way that teachers distribute materials. It has created competition in advertising, the job market and has created new avenues of communication in many different areas of life. One of the places that technology is having a great deal of impact, both positive and negative is in the local church. For many parishioners the tradition of religion, such as Sunday morning worship services, an easily accessible pastor and the community among believers on a weekly basis, is what makes the “church” stay the “church.” In the postmodern era, the “church” has transformed from staying in the four walls of the traditional community of believers to an easily accessible religion that can be found at anytime. The church has changed; some believe for the better, some believe for worse.
The integration of technology into the church made it clear that the world is larger than the four walls of the local community church. It has created a group of Christians who are bound together in ways that are unimaginable. From blogs, live internet worship, and social media, the church now has the ability to be present at all times. Theological scholars and biblical literalists argue that the problem with an emphasis on new media is it changes the message that the church is commissioned to deliver in Matthew 28:19-20. It reads:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (NIV)
The message is clear, to teach the nations about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The argument that is raised is the altering of the method of the ministry to find creative ways to show the method to individuals who are not familiar with the traditional form ministry has been done. The question is then raised in this postmodern world, how has the inclusion of technology affected the way ministry is done outside and inside the Christian church?
This topic is important to me because I serve as a youth minister and media director at my local church. My position requires I communicate with members of my ministry with new media. I have seen how technology has had an impact when used correctly on growth in numbers, and also how when used incorrectly can lead to poor results. At the same time, I have seen churches who use no new technology or forms of communication have some of the most spiritually strong Christians in a small church.
In an era where Christians today live in a world which is hardened by sin, there is an ever increasing conviction on the church to discern the times and develop strategies that will look quite differently from the way they have been doing Church for most of the past century and reach the Church of the future. In 1 Chronicles 12, during the time of King David's reign, the sons of Issachar gained a reputationof being men of wisdom who were able to discern the signs of the times. Through their wisdom they were able to join David to help take control of the nation of Israel from Saul. Like the sons of Issachar, the Church stands at a crossroads of a tremendous historical opportunity in religious history. 21st Century Issachars must keep their fingers on the pulse of rapidly changing times. They must be knowledgeable of current events, needs and trends. In doing so, they can become familiar with this contemporary generation in order to be able to communicate the gospel effectively, making His message relevant to people's lives. Making the message relevant does not mean that we change the message, it simply means at times it is necessary to change the method not the message of how we do ministry.
Culture
The question can be raised, why is it even important to study technology? As the 1990’s and the 21st century dawned on America, technology was changing at a rapid pace. It has continued to develop and change to a point where it is almost necessary to participate and be apart of the move of technology. Richard John Neuhaus recently analyzed society as it relates to religion, culture and public life. In his work he writes on that the association the three have from a political, religious and cultural stance. When it came to the postmodern culture and the togetherness of media and faith, he said that, “their exclusions (media) will also prevent secular Americans from learning about the beliefs, ideas, and motivations of large numbers of their fellow citizens” (Neuhaus 2008, 64). People are open to discussing their ideas, values and beliefs, new media has become that tool.
S.H. Hosseini in their article regarding Religion and Media conducted qualitative research regarding the integration of media and religion over time. He writes, “Technology is not a mere tool, but is an emergence and revelation. In other words, technology is a reality in a sphere where this revelation and evolution takes place” (Hosseini, 2008, p. 61). Our culture is dictated by the technology used. No longer is it possible to stay content with occasional communication with parishioners, because integragation of technologic advances has forced a change. Hosseini references Neil Postman who has conducted much of the research regarding the opposing views of technology and religion. Postman introduces the term “techopoly.” He posits, “Culture has to fine its reality and validity through the domination of technology” (Hosseini, 2008, p. 61). This techopoly is what has altered the culture of in the 21st century. It has created communities of people, even when they are alone. Therefore, tn order to be culturally close, ministerial leaders need to find ways to interact with their parishioners because that is the only way that the church can be understood in the way it desires. To address that, Karine Barzilai-Nahon looks at four different dimensions of religion and their interaction with the internet in their article, “Cultured Technology: the internet and religious fundamentalism,”. These four dimensions are hierarchy, patriarchy, discipline and seclusion. Their research lead them to develop the concept of “cultured technology” which shows how religious sects interact with their communities via the internet. She said that this cultured technology is a requirement for religious groups because it gives them meaning in their communities (Barzali-Nahon 2005, 27). Meaning can then assist in the changing and altering of the portrayal of the church through technological means.
What makes the culture of a society so important to the well-being of the Church in making sure media is used properly to reach people? The church has to keep its finger on the pulse of the culture in order to fully reach them. Stig Hjarvard in his article, ‘The Mediatization of Society” says that, contemporary society is permeated by all different forms of media, so much so that media may no longer be conceived as being separate from culture and other social institutions. He focuses this work on his major concept of mediatization which describes the influence media has on politics and culture. This concept has become into its own separate entity in that that has its own logic that other institutions have to adhere to. He says, “an institutional perspective by no means precludes a consideration of culture, technology or psychology, but provides a framework within which the interplay between these aspects can be studied” (Hjarvard 2008, 110). Media has become important to the 21st century culture. Barzali-Nahon also suggests that the extent to which technology can be culturally modified creates opportunities for community members to express themselves (Barzali-Nahon 2005, 26). The internet culture has changed everything when it comes to the message of the church. While televangelism was able to make Christianity relevant in the infancy new forms of communication, new ways of mass communication have changed those means. This techopol-ized culture has given rise to a new type of person who uses media to express themselves as well as give self-reflective commentary on what they believe and know.
The Method and Message
Outside the Church
The times have changed, the message in the bible has not. Technology has partially affected the message, but main part of ministry that it affects is the method in which ministry is done. Jesus in his commission to the church says to reach “all nations.” The way was not specified. New technological integration in the method of ministry has been met with a lot of criticism and praise.
Technology, especially the internet and social networking, has opened a world of resources for the church. It has given forums of discussion for new Christians to discuss with others and form relationships with people, both saved and unsaved who may not attend their local church. This computer mediated communication is what has ben added into the way ministrycan be conducted. Lily Kong in her research on community in Religion and technology found that community and space is very important to the way ministry is done with new media and the church. She writes, “Rituals such as sacrifices and commemorative rites have cohesive and revitalizing functions.” She continues, “They establish perpetual communion and renew the consciousness of the group” (Kong, 2001, p. 409). Members of a local church now are not only able to learn from their local pastorbut,can form relationships outside of the church with others. Because of the ease and simplicity of technology in communication, outreach has been affected in both a positive and negative way. The article, “Five ways to use technology for outreach” writes that the main four mediums that have altered the way ministry is done are: e-mail, blogging, podcasting, websites and gatherings. Aaron Spiegel, Nancy Armstong and Brent Bill conducted a qualitative research study on how different churches utilized this new media and found out that churches are on the forefront of this new method as many businesses are. E-mails are sophisticated, Pastors update and encourage members daily with their personal blogs and services are posted online with podcasting so that members who were not able to attend service and can be apart of it on their own time. They said that this technology doesn’t “replace attendance at religious services, but they do offer a welcome supplement for congregation members and a low threshold introduction to religious life as practiced by a variety of traditions” (Spiegel, Armstrong and Bill 2007, 14). Communication via the internet often reaches levels referred to as hyperpersonal communication: communication that is more intimate and sociable than that found in offline interactions. While they are not able to see each other, relationships are still formed and fostered in the process.
Websites have also affected the way churches reach out. Churches are really exerting effort onto stressing the impact relationships have with people in the church on their websites. Lynne Baab took a look at websites of six different mainline Protestant churches in her article “Portraits of the future church: a rhetorical analysis of congregational websites.” She wanted to see how the different churches presented themselves on the internet. This rhetorical analysis found that the churches portrayed family atmospheres and involvement among members. The websites of the larger churches resembled more of what 21st century church members would find appealing to see. There were albums of pictures of the members of the church, live streaming video and the ability to contact the pastor immediately. They were art filled full of diversity. Mark Simpson believes that a multidimensional web presence for ministry is essential for the growth of any church or ministry. His recent research in 2010 details the importance of having a social network web presence when it comes to ministry. Websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are vital to outreach and ministry, different than it was ten years ago because, it allows the pastor or ministry leaders to communicate quickly and constantly with the parishioners and keep them involved in the ministry. He writes that, “Simply having a ministry website is no longer enough to establish a web presence.” He continues, “Today it is important to have a multidimensional approach that included not only an information network, but a social network as well” (Simpson 2010, 101). The church has an obligation to be an important part of the parishioners lives. Baab commented, “The emergent church websites sample a place where people can hang out, be themselves and whatever they want” (Baab 2008, 173). Websites were conforming to the culture of the society around them. Churches understand that in order to reach people they not only need to grab the attention of people but also show the visitor what they want to see about the church.
Website involvement with technology and new media is seen as a positive tool my many, it is also viewed as a very negative way of spreading the gospel by a large number. In simple terms, Neuhaus describes how negative technology can be on ministry, “biblical scholars who are unable to give a clear account of how to read the bible as a text that teaches compelling truths.” (Neuhaus 2008, 65). Churches entertain instead of teach. Stewart Hoover and Jin Kyu Park in their work, “Religion and meaning in the digital age” examined how the internet and religion play a part of the Christian walk. Their research dealt with how it has affected how people grow in God, and their quest for information. Two terms that defined how they framed their research are “religion online” and “online religion.” Online Religion reflects the makeup of the internet in religious interaction, whereas Religion Online is an organized attempt to use traditional forms of communication to reach people. Both of these give people an opportunity to receive, learn, interpret and understand religion, the only problem is that this culture exists in an “online religion” phase. Technology has advanced where it has not become traditional, it is radical and its use constantly changes and motivates new ways of communicating leading to some interpretations that are not good for the church.
Another view on the negative impact of technology in media is in Brent Waters article where he writes on technology and how it gives problems to ministry in “Technology as a problem for Christian Ministry.” His main argument centers around “secularism.” Because of the inclusion of technology, the church has moved from religious motivation to moral motivation. He addresses how preachers have constructed messages that give listeners moral motivation based upon their understanding of the truth instead of what the bible actually says. Ministry should care about the growth of the members in a spiritual way, but according to Waters the church has confused its moral and spiritual responsibility. Therefore pastors are having worship to grow the membership, not to grow its members spiritually. Technology has only compounded the problem because it has let the church move into social networks, websites and podcasting. “As a symbol, it is subject to interpretation…” He later continues, “Technology can be interpreted as a symbol of human arrogance which will result in environmental collapse and totalitarian regimes in a mad dash of materialistic greed” (Waters 1987, 388). Churches are doing ministry along with the secular movements, yet this ministry is not effective. Pastors are not informing their people, they are just affirming the norm of the culture in their message. Instead of the pastor or minister having moral stances on issues, they are to agree with the culture or may not have a following of parishioners to keep them successful. In a sense, the church has become dependent on technology to grow their churches instead of evangelism and reaching out to people.
New media and technology change so rapidly that the church has to stay on the forefront without compromising its purpose. Colin McAlister in his article, ‘The Church and Modern Media” addresses Christianity and the change that media has brought to the ministry. He writes:
Given the potential in terms of audience and influence, the whole enterprise has become highly competitive and lucrative – with morals and integrity too often being sacrificed on the altar of greed and ambition. So the church faces a real dilemma either embrace the new technology or remain a dinosaur. (McAlister 2010, 42)
The church finds itself at a place where a lot of ministries have haphazardly thrown together a ministry that incorporates technology and prays that God makes up the difference to sustain the ministry if everything fails. Waters suggests an aggressive ministry insists that it as an understanding of truth and its use of technology does not outweigh the importance of the message. (Waters 1987, 389) Churches and ministries have almost used the method too much that the message has become secondary. The internet and new media is always at the interpretation of its reader. There is no hierarchy, dominant denomination or church. Everyone is allowed to enter and participate and give opinion. The church just does not have the power or wherewithal to distinguish between the work of Christ and the work of the local congregation.