Capture The Bridge

In every war there are stories about soldiers who gave their lives valiantly. They sacrificed their all to capture a seemingly obscure bridge. Why? Because the transportation of materials, ammunition and food was all dependent on the bridge. One fact drove them on, if they didn’t capture the bridge their enemies might. It was either capture it or blow it up.

Media is the most effective bridge to cross over into the world of this generation. The problem is that many churches have never been able to understand how to capture this bridge called media, so we’ve done what any army would… blow it up.

MEDIA IN MINISTRY
The concept of media ministry is not new, Jesus himself tapped into it in His’ earthly ministry. Can you see the religious scholars of his day? Sitting around at the “board meeting”…”If He’s so “spiritual” why is He always talking about fish and corn? Why doesn’t he just give them the straight word of God, bless God?”

The fact is, Jesus created man, so He knew the method to bridge the gap between Himself and them. The media we use is new, not the method. Remember, the method itself is not inspired, it can be adapted to any environment.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF MEDIA IN MINISTRY?
To bridge to the spirit from the flesh by engaging the senses to invoke the emotions (soul). How do you give a teen that has absolutely no concept of God and is completely ignorant of the Bible or any of its concepts the “straight word of God, bless God”? The same way that Jesus spoke to ignorant fisherman and farmers, YOU TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW AND USE IT AS A BRIDGE TO WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO GO.

WHAT TYPES OF MEDIA ARE AVAILABLE TO BE USED?
First, let’s define it. Media is simply any vehicle used to convey a message through the senses: sight, touch, sound, smell, and taste.

MEDIA MINISTRY: BEYOND THE LANGUAGE BARRIER.
To be able to effectively communicate with any culture you must be able to bridge the language barrier. We have to speak to them in a language they understand. Paul said, “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. " 1 Cor. 14:9-11

Many churches don’t understand this generation and can’t figure out how to communicate with them. So they say that there is no hope in saving “those ungodly barbarians”, blow up the bridge, and continue singing out of the hymnal and selling peanut brittle.

Today’s youth culture is really its own society within our society. The have their own dress code, language, ideas and philosophies. The men and women of Jesus’ time were agricultural. Their lives revolved around the land and its cultivation. This generation is “digicultural.” Their lives revolve around digital images and sounds. Television, internet, cinema, radio. Teens spend over 40 hours per week consuming media. They have been trained to speak in the language of
multisensory media.

MEDIA MINISTRY: RETENTION THROUGH UNDERSTANDING
Why is advertising on the radio cheaper than broadcast? Studies have proven that what you see and hear is far more impacting than what you hear only. Anytime you can engage multiple senses, you increase the amount of retention. Retention equals value.

Retention keeps you “top of mind.” This is what is valuable to retailers... and to you as a minister. So many times the things we speak about can be very abstract spiritual concepts. Our job as ministers is to convey Truth in a way that can be understood and applied by this generation.

Older adults can use their life experiences to create the mental picture you are trying to convey. Teens and young adults don't have as much to draw from, plus much of the bible is written with Jewish agricultural language that kids in a digital world might not be able to grasp easily, and if they can’t grasp it, they won’t retain it.

MTV captured the attention of teens through music and conveyed their message through understandable visuals. These savvy producers have long understood that teens have been trained to learn visually. Hours of exposure to television, videos and the Internet are capitalized on by not only MTV, but a host of other groups. Watch the news or read the headlines and you’ll see that their message is definitely having an effect.

If the church is going to have the same amount of success in educating this generation we have to speak to them in a language they understand. Have you ever seen some one that speaks only English try to talk to some one that speaks no English? They will use very animated body gestures and speak loudly as if volume alone can transcend the language barrier. We can shout at the world all day long and reach no one if we’re shouting in a language they don’t understand.
Don't assume they can visualize what you're talking about, go the extra mile and create the visual for them and teach them more effectively.

Of course, the Word of God can not and will not ever be replaced with props, media or any other type of visuals. The visuals are only a vehicle for bringing the Truth from the unknown to the known. The point is not merely presenting the gospel, it is presenting it effectively.

-Armando

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

A Song for Mercy

I wrote this song. The silent prayer of the wounded man that Jesus talked about in the parable of the good Samaritan and the woman caught in adultery. Would we have had mercy? I hope so.



Don’t Walk On By - © 2006. Armando Heredia

Please don’t walk on by
Please don’t cross to the other side
I’m lying here, broken and bruised
I only need one thing from you

Have mercy man, I think I’ve been robbed
Never saw it coming, took me by surprise
I’ve been walking down the wrong road
And now I’m here dying without hope

Would you walk on by without compassion?
Would you cross to the other side and
Not give from what you’ve been given?
I only need one thing from you

Have Mercy

Have Mercy On Me

Carry me away to a safe place
Don’t leave me here without His Grace
I’m lying here, broken and bruised
I only need one thing from you

Have mercy
Have mercy on me

Have mercy God, I think I’ve been robbed
Never saw it coming, took my by surprise
Naked and ashamed, exposed to the world
Trembling until I heard your words

I’ll have mercy
Have mercy on you

Let him with no sin cast the first stone
You bent down, drawing in the sand
The rocks falling to the ground
They walked away with empty hands
Because You said,

I’ll have mercy
Have mercy on you

Carry me away to a safe place
Don’t leave me here without Your Grace
I’m kneeling here, broken and bruised
I only need one thing from You

Have mercy
Have mercy on me

-Armando

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

The Last Donut

Talent, wealth, influence… if we’re not careful, we can begin to think that all of these things are about us. That’s what happened in the Old Testament with the Hebrews. God had given them His name and an understanding of who He was so that they would share it with the world around them. Instead they turned inward and began to focus on themselves.

Before we point accusing fingers, though, we have to stop and look at ourselves. Why are Christians known for their lists of rules and the things they don’t do or what they are fighting against instead of love, mercy and compassion?

Click on the photo below to watch a clip that I produced along with the acting of Beau Hollis and camera work of Mike Ekbundit.

I think it really illustrates where we can find ourselves if we're not careful.

Honestly, if you or I died right now, how many people outside of our immediate family would go hungry tomorrow? How many young people, other than our own children, would lose a mentor? How many invalids would be left without help? How many?

If being a Christian is just about going to church, then it’s not about much. What then is Christianity? What does true Christianity look and act like?

Are we fighting about the last donut when we're eating out of someone else's bag? Maybe all of these blessings we've been given weren't really ours? What do you think?

-Armando

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Collaboration: It Takes A Village?

Remember when Hillary Clinton said, “It takes a village?” Well, it’s true when it comes to creating a culture that fosters creativity. Collaboration is the cornerstone of the creative church.

I am surprised that there aren’t more comments left on these blogs. Not the ones that I am writing, I mean in general. If we, as the Body of Christ, would allow our voices to blend we could create a synergy that would affect the world. You, yes you, the one sitting in your chair, wearing your clothes, have been given a remarkable insight into His kingdom and into His heart. The remarkable thing about it is that it is distinctively yours.

We write because God gives ideas that we believe are for the Body to hear so it can respond, not just a mental assent, but an actual response. He gives you the capacity for a response so that you can collaborate with the writer, to strengthen the idea or refute it for the sake of edifying the Church. Your voice is as important in the economy of God as mine or any Pastor or evangelist.

We hear so much about the fact that the church isn’t what it should be, well, what should it be? If you have an idea or an opinion and you keep it to yourself, then how can you make a difference? How can we be a catalyst for creativity or change if we refuse to be a part of the mixture?

Comment or question, agree or refute, as Lee Stoneking would say, “Let your voice out!”

-Armando

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Are You A Discreative?

Is there a word called discreative? I guess not, because when I typed it Microsoft put that little squiggly red line under the word. I know there is an uncreative, that’s when something doesn’t have the capacity to be creative, but discreative? I just make up words when I can’t find the ones I’m looking for, sorry, discreative is when something works against creativity. Let’s take religion for example. When you perform something religiously, you have to perform it discreatively.

When a creative rises up in the midst of religion he or she is always looked at with suspicion. It is so easy for religious people to mistake creativity with rebellion. Creatives make some people very nervous, I think, because we have such a hard time staying within “the box.”

Creatives don’t think in boxes, and if you hand them one you are very likely to get it back with holes punched in it and sketches drawn on the outside of it with what they think the box should be changed into.

The reality, however, is that without the creatives in the church, it would become a stale and lifeless drudgery. The church needs to find these individuals and empower them, with great leaders guiding them, to breathe fresh life and vitality into the Body. What has happened instead is that we work on making every one the same by mistaking unity with standardization. The tragedy of the standard is that we have to pull everything to the middle, to the average, with very little room for error or success.

My friend Dan preached a message about the currency of God’s kingdom being ideas and I have to whole-heartedly agree with him. Some of the people in your local congregation, the weird ones, the ones that don’t seem to fit, may be your greatest asset, if you can allow them to stay outside of the box and be who God made them to be.

-Armando

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!