About Erik's Videos

I'm not at all supprised that people are resisting the use of A/V mastery. I can see their point, I mean, it's very much been the worldly way of doing things since the 80's, and all it does is keep us from personal contact, right? I wonder if the "rejectors" also were of the generation who trusted Walter Cronkite. I mean, he was the source for public opinion and news for a long time. Maybe before he came along, they thought TV News to be a poor reflection of the newspapers. If that's the case, maybe we need a church A/V Walter Cronkite. Oh, wait...weren't the Billy Graham crusades put in popular public venues like stadiums, and broadcast the world over? Oh, well, I guess he was wrong, and the countless souls saved by his ministry were "false salvations." After all, he did exploit the media the public were receptive to.

As a Communication Studies Major, I've come to understand that the sender of the message is responsible for its success. Don't get me wrong, God is the original sender, and "God brings the increase" as Paul said. As communicators of the Gospel, it's our duty to find the venues by which people will recieve the Gospel. Some people need object lessons, others arguments, others formulas, others analogies. Some need to see the Christian life lived out to prove its worth, others need a stranger to come along and de-rail their false perceptions of life, death, and eternal judgement. Some people are moved to accept by a song. But images? No, it couldn't be. I mean, Jesus didn't use imagery at all, did He? And He certainly didn't take people's circumstances and frames-of-reference into account in order to create a shared reality of understanding the Kingdom, did He?

Please forgive my sarcasm, but my point is that if Jesus left the Throne of Heaven to die on a cross, and met us here, sharing in our life and speaking to people according to their own frame of reference to save them, shoudn't we? I don't remember a commandment saying "Thou shalt not edit the videos, neither use audio clips or art to reach the people. For ye shall be a boring people unto Me."