But is it true and/or fair??
I linked yesterday to a post on what biblical (a loose term) material we are consuming as Christians. Justin wants to know if his thoughts in that post are true or fair. (If you didn't read his post - now's the time - click here)
The short answer is yes, but I especially wanted to pick up on the idea that iTunes has changed the diet of Christian material we consume.
There is no doubt that many Christians on the internet (at least) listen to more preaching from the likes of Driscoll (I do) and Bell (I do not), than Stott or Packer or Carson. In some ways I think this is good, because it opens up new horizons in preaching methods and shows us different contexts in which ministry is done, but why the change?
Here are some of the reasons why i think this is the case:
1. We want to be able to listen right now. I don't really plan to listen to recorded sermons - I just decide on the spot when I've got a free hour. This morning as I was doing the washing up before work I decided to put one on. When this happens, I'm much more likely to drop by Mars Hill's site and choose something I can hear right now, rather than go to KCC's site, download a form, print it out, fill it in, send it in the post (seriously - do they think we're really going to this?) as well as pay! Not likely.
2. Many decent bible teaching churches haven't yet discovered the wonders of the Net. As far as Sydney goes there are not a great number of churches that are posting their sermons on-line, and even less that offer podcasting. (We do!) If we can't get it on line then we won't listen. Sure it is a bit of work to get this happening in a local church, but even if only the local congregation listen - at least it is a much better way to catch up on a missed week than ordering the CD or tape (what's that?!?)
3. There are not enough good Christian book retailers. For non-inner west Sydney-siders, Moore Books is too far away. Koorong, despite being a great place to meet your wife (yes - that was where we met) seriously sucks in providing decent reading material - yet they are the only stores of their type in the north/west. It is much easier to log on and download some junk off the net or read a blog than go to a good store an hours drive away.
4. Many evangelicals who do use the net spend more of their time arguing about Bell, or the emerging Church, or some other "Christian political" (if that's the term?) topic and other movements than actually writing anything that is edifying or designed to point us back to some solid, bible based meat. If all you're talking about on your blog is the rubbish that you came across and how bad it is, then of course your readers are going to go find it and listen to it for themselves.
I'm sure there are other reasons. Thoughts?
5 comments:
Fair call Sambo.
I started to have a look at Justin's blog which linked me to someone else which then linked me to read up on Bell and his Velvet Elvis thing...
I didn't get into any of it really mostly due to time but then had the same thought as you - was any of this really helping me in any way other than to sate my curiosity?
The answer was no - it didn't help me prepare for Bible Study on Romans 2, research what 'saints' and 'Saints' are, read the Bible nor did it encourage me to pray (maybe for those who don't treat God's word with humility).
I too listen to downloaded sermons that I can get for free (at MKC on the weekend I was asking myself the question when are KCC going to get their act together - but I think finances might be the cause) but almost all of it is recommended or from a source that I trust (Media Church, St Paul's Carlo, etc).
As far as bookshops go, Koo-very-wrong is 15 minutes away and I've only ever bought Bibles or commentaries from them (20% 0ff this week) which is pretty safe.
Those are my thoughts at least.
Interesting post Sam. I agree. There are some good sermons online to listen to, as well though, so perhaps we should be engaging more with those on our blogs? Would that encourage more people to listen to better sermons?
I thought that one comment in particular on Justin's post was interesting - that we now more often listen to sermons than actually read our Bibles for ourselves. I know that this isn't true for you, but I'm sure it's true for many, and has been true for me in the past. This is obviously not good, and worth thinking about some more.
So, what solutions do you think there are? Some blogs seem to discuss more profound things than others, but then ideas start to become elitist and snobbish...how many 'profound' theologians can one person quote etc. It is a fair point that the more we blog about the ECM etc, the more we seem to engross ourselves within it.
I really like your posts about what books you and Soph have been reading together.
There are tons of online sermons, location is irrelevant just search http://www.religious-podcasts.net to find sermons inline with your faith.
Thanks for the comments Ruth and Matt, I think you're absolutely right Ruth. It is a tragic day when we are reading our bible less than listening to sermons.
In terms of solutions, we can't singlehandedly change the blog world, but we do have control of our own blogs, (as well as our real relationships!) I think we need to model talking about the scriptures, how they are impacting our lives, and how we are learning to trust our father in heaven. That kind of behaviour is catching...
Hey Samr.
Took me a while. I made a response -- kind of, in the form of my own clarification...
Sorry to take your readers away from your Blog.
(Come straight back here...)
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