Friday, July 28, 2006

15 down, 5 to go

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Atlanta Cohort Conversation

Last night I facilitated a conversation about the effects of media on persons in general and the church in particular. The discussion was invigorating for me personally and I appreciated how the different perspectives that were expressed colored the discussion. We used Shane Hipps' book, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel, and Church, as a catalyst for discussion. You can read a review of Shane's book here.

Shane elucidates the thesis of his book, or a possible thesis, here. He avers, "The problem comes from a lack of awareness for how media shapes our message in worship. When we ignore the power of the chosen media, its effects often go undetected. As a result, we fail to perceive the unintended consequences of our decisions and the ways our media undermines our message." Throughout the book, Hipps appropriates the social musings of Marshall McLuhan to show the impact of media on the church. At the cohort, I read a few McLuhan quotes to get things started:

McLuhan—“Our conventional response to all media, namely that it is how they are used that counts, is the numb stance of the technological idiot. The ‘content’ of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind."

McLuhan—“The content or message of any particular medium has about as much importance as the stenciling on the casing of an atomic bomb.”

McLuhan--“We shape our tools and afterward our tools shape us."

Continue reading... Here are a few pithy comments offered by Hipps himself:

“Relevance does not come simply from imitating culture or mirroring the techniques of Hollywood and Madison Avenue. It does not depend upon the adoption of electronic hardware in worship. Relevance is derived from experimenting with authentic and indigenous practices that emerge from the gift matrix of a particular congregation for a local community” (154).

“When electronic media are taken to extremes, we become spectators of the gospel rather than participants in the kingdom of God” (155).

“Incarnational worship is authentic and culturally engaged, prophetic and pastoral, relevant and resistant” (157).

One of the helpful ways that Hipps incorporates McLuhan's work into his own is through his appropriation of McLuhan's "Four Laws of Media" to technological inovation in church life. These four questions are crucial if we are to begin to predict the pros and cons of adopting a given medium in the church.

Laws of Media (p. 41-2)
1. What does the medium extend? (ex. telephone-ear/camera-eye)
2. What does the medium make obsolete? (ex. car/horse and buggy)
3. What does the medium reverse into? (ex. car/traffic jams and deaths)
4. What does the medium retrieve? (ex. e-mail/telegraph)

At the cohort last night we were honored to have Andy Stanley with us. Andy is the pastor of the megachurch, Northpoint and his sermons are brodcast to two satelite campuses for Sunday morning worship venues. I thought it might be especially enlightening, given Andy's presence, to use McLuhan's four laws to deconstruct the media and technology employed in the satelite service phenomenon. My attempts at doing so are posted to the right.

Andy did not choose to enagage the conversation on this point. He preferred, by his own admission, to learn from what others were saying. I respect that. Andy commented that he likes Shane's book a lot but also noted that the distinction Hipps makes between McLuhan's contention that "the medium is the message" and Rick Warren's quote, that "Our message must never change, but the way we deliver that message must be constantly updated to reach each new generation" may be an unfair dichotomy. Andy, who does not know Warren personally, thought that Warren would love Shane's book. I find that interesting.

Those of you who have read Hipps' book and/or attended the cohort last night are welcome to chime in on the discussion. Peace.

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Momentum

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Inner-city Living

Abby's car was broken into last week and her cd player was stolen. This happened while she was in class at Georgia State University, which is in the heart of downtown Atlanta. This is the second time that someone has attempted to break into her car. The first time occurred outside our condo and the inept thief was unsuccessful at even getting into the car. S/he, however, did manage to do $1000 worth of damage to the car in his/her failed larceny. Despite these frustrating experiences, I like living in-town. Everyone has tradeoffs. We sacrifice space, a garage, square footage, and safety to live in the city. It does put us as close as we could afford to be to Little Five Points, the focal area for my church plant. It is also only 2 miles from GSU. What is one to do?

This frustrating experience provides impetus to ask you all a question that has been bouncing around in my mind for a month now: how are those of us who are not poor meant to live in relation to those who are? In his, Philosophy of Right, Hegel wrote at length about the poor, whom he called "the rabble." Although Hegel contended that it is the duty of the state to care for every citizen, he was dubious that this will ever actually happen. Hegel was even more doubtful that the poor will be sufficiently cared for by private charity. He concluded that the best way to deal with poverty is to "leave the poor to their fate and direct them to beg from the public" (245).

This was a major point of departure for Marx (a critical Hegelian himself). Marx agreed with Hegel that modern society tends to create an impoverished class, whom he labels "the proletariat." He is optimistic, however, that members of the proletariat possess the means to ameliorate their lot in life. He saw the proletariat as a powerful, creative, revolutionary class whose destiny it is to topple the existing inequitable system. Hegel, by contrast, is altogether pessimistic. He maintained that poverty destroys the sense of self that is necessary for ethical living in society. Poverty, Hegel contends, gives rise to the "non-recognition of right." The "rabble" do not recognize themselves as part of the system, but victims of the system. Hegel therefore held that they fall outside of the bounds of what is right and wrong within the system and have no hope.

So, according to Hegel, the persons who stole Abby's CD player-provided they are in fact living in poverty-have not committed a wrong. Instead, their actions are a result of being forced outside of society and, concurrently, out of the bounds of ethical injunctions. Thanks Hegel! I know that Abby and I feel personally violated and victimized by this theft. Is this just one small dose of a medicine that the poor must choke down everyday? If I fail to care for the poor in my midst (by what means?) have I committed a far greater injustice to those without means to improve their lives, be it by private or governmental relief?

What do you think? When you look at a homeless man or woman do you feel optimistic or pessimistic that they can improve their lot in life? Moreover, do you feel optimistic or pessimistic that our current system in 21st century America provides the means to mitigate poverty and fiscal injustice? Or, are you with Hegel, that the poor should take it on the chin and look for handouts? How, based on your optimism or pessimism, do you relate to the proletariat/the rabble/the poor/the disenfranchised in your midst? Peace.

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CBF Emergence//First Gathering

Okay, so here's the update. Mike Young, Missions Coordinator for TNCBF, will be hosting the first of what we hope will be many conversations among CBFers about the possibilities of a fruitful relationship with Emergent Village. The gathering will be held on Thursday, July 27 in Chattanooga, TN. We will be meeting at Rembrandt's Coffee House at 10:00am, which is in the Bluff View Art District in downtown Chattanooga. We will begin the conversation at Rembrandt's and then let it spill over into lunch at a restaurant downtown. We are planning to end in the early afternoon.

So far, we expect to have Sam and Lynnette Davidson, new church planters in Nashville, along with Scott Cole and Mike Lewis, who co-pastor a new church start in Birmingham. Mike also serves as Coordinator for New Church Starts with ALCBF.

This informal conversation is open to all who are interested in broadening the emergent conversation within CBF life. If you would like to attend please email Mike Young (missions@tncbf.org) so that he will know how many people to expect.

N.B. This will not be the only venue in which we will breach this important topic of discussion. So, if you can't make it to this particular gathering, please do not be alarmed. If you can make it, however, we welcome your participation.

I have room for two more folks in my car if you are in the Atlanta area. Feel free to email me if you need a ride.

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The Sri Lankan Peachtree Race

On July 4, 2006, the three of us who constituted the WRBC Tsunami team carried an Atlanta tradition to the other side of the world, literally. We had been serving in Ambelangoda, Sri Lanka for a week at this point and we were chatting about the Peachtree Road Race, which is held every year in Atlanta on Independence Day. Lamenting the fact that we were not able to celebrate the 4th of July with family and friends, we decided to run the 6.2 miles in solidarity with our brothers and sisters back in Atlanta who were walking, jogging and running thousands of miles away. The torrential rains of late-monsoon season did not deter us, as we completed the 10 K around the time that Atlanta was kicking off its perennial competition.

In an area of the country that does not see a lot of Americans, we drew immediate attention as we jogged through the crowded streets. Our warm smiles and friendly waves elicited commensurate responses from the Sri Lankan onlookers. As we ran through the crowded streets of Ambelangoda, amidst Tuk-Tuks, motorcycles and passenger buses, I felt like we were ambassadors of good will to the people of Sri Lanka. Everybody was smiling and waving as we ran through the villages and countryside. Kids gave us high-fives and everyone wanted to know where we were from. It was an experience I will cherish for years to come. Peace.

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10 down, 10 to go

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A Hearty Welcome Home

It's always nice to return from a trip and tentatively check your email inbox only to find 225 messages patiently awaiting your attention. Lots of fun!

After 60 hours of sleep deprivation, I finally returned home from my 2-week sojourn in Sri Lanka on Saturday evening. Despite horrendous flight experiences with Delta and Sri Lankan airlines, we returned safely to Atlanta, relatively unscathed. We survived the torrents of late-monsoon season, three scorpion attacks (or at least they felt like attacks), Tamil Tiger terrorist attacks and kamikaze Tuc-Tuc drivers.

Our team worked with CBF field missionary, Scott Hunter, to build a water filtration system for a newly built village providing housing for 72 families. I'll post some reflections later this week, hopefully. Thank you to all of you who prayed for us while we were away!

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