Lausanne World Pulse – A Call to Kingdom Journalism: Rediscovering the Integral Role of Communication in Mission
By Steve Knight
There are, of course, dangers that go along with this proliferation of media and messages. Each church and organization will have to develop guidelines for communication and set the boundaries of what is advisable and safe. But we need to encourage and equip more communicators in our churches and ministries and not allow the fears of potential pitfalls to hinder them from telling the stories that need to be told. This is yet another part of the adventure we are on as we are all called to kingdom journalism.
My hope and prayer is that our churches will reconsider (or perhaps consider for the first time) the ultimate goal of our communication and the role each one of us has to play. May God be glorified as we describe his mighty acts in our lives, in our communities and around the world.
Endnotes
1. Bosch, David. 1991. Transforming Mission. Maryknoll, New York, USA: Orbis Books, 370, 389-393.
2. McGregor, Malcolm. 2006. “What Kind of People Does SIM Need?” Serving In Mission Together magazine, Fall.
3. Center for Church Communication, About page.
4. Piper, John. 1993. Let the Nations Be Glad. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Baker Academic, 17.
5. Niringye, Dr. D. Zac. 2006. “Finding Our Place in God’s Mission.” Connections. November.
6. Friedman, Thomas. 2005. The World Is Flat. New York, New York, USA: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 8.
7. “Citizen journalism, also known as ‘participatory journalism,’ is the act of citizens ‘playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism
8. Jarvis, Jeff. “Guardian Column: Networked Journalism.”
9. “A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
10. Howe, Jeff. 2006. “Gannett to Crowdsource News.”
11. “RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS
|
Steve Knight is international communication coordinator for SIM (Serving In Mission). He writes about communication on his Kingdom Journalism blog. He and his wife Becky have three children. |
Comments on this article
Thanks all for reading and responding. I appreciate your comments and feedback very much. Keep ’em coming! Shalom. Steve
Steve K. :: 12 Jul 2007
I agree 100%! Many of the things that Steve has touched on here are exactly what I think turns alot of believers, or potential newcomers, away from the Church and Christian organizations. Communication, like in many other situations of life, is sometimes the most vital thing. Thank you Steve.
Sean :: 12 Jun 2007
My hope and prayer is that we discover what most missionaries, of any stripe, will tell you: that God is being worshipped by these “others” (however you define them) already. What we need to discard in our theological language today, in our post-everything context & contemporary missionary efforts, is this 19th-century notion of what a “convert” is. “Converts” are everywhere, even if they don’t call themselves Christian. It’s time for us to catch up with God’s vision of what salvation means for all the world. A hint, my friends – it has nothing to do with whether everyone explicitly defines themself as a follower of Jesus or not. Pax,
Dennis :: 10 Jun 2007
Enjoyed the article, Steve! It caused me to consider in a specifically spiritual context something I’ve recently been pondering in general; and that is how, in the midst of the information glut that is our current Western society, communication is amazingly ineffective. In fact, I believe people hear and comprehend even less today than in times past, when personal interaction was the primary source of communication for any and all purposes. I see it, sadly, daily; not only in my line of work, where I am paid primarily to perform and facilitate communication; but also in my various personal interactions with others. I am as guilty as any of hearing only half of what was said; often misinterpreting what was meant; filtering much of what I read; and focusing far too much on saying my piece and making my own point. Illiteracy is rampant, and many of us find ourselves constantly having to suture wounds born of failing to truly connect with one another. We have more means of communication now than was ever dreamed of even a generation ago; yet I can’t help but feel that the message of Christ suffers, as does all our communication, from the struggle against the speed, chaos and overwhelming volume (in both senses) that is the context of our lives in this age. Amongst our many words, we are often message-rich, but impact-poor.
Magenta :: 8 Jun 2007
As someone who has read Steve’s blog for years, the single greatest thing I read in this article is that Steve lives it; he lives kingdom journalism. And actually I think that is his point about communications…
Tim :: 5 Jun 2007
Great article. Well said!
Susan :: 5 Jun 2007