Writing: The Technological Church

Seminal media critic Marshall McLuhan was “continually amazed at the reluctance, often the downright refusal, of people to pay attention to the effects of media, and at their hostility to him for what he revealed. They included those, clergy and lay, who enthusiastically embrace the latest technologies without regard for their effects. Such people are blindly eager to make the Mass or the sacraments, or the congregation the content of each new gadget or technology that comes along — in the interest of ‘bringing the Church up to date’ and ‘making the Church relevant.’ They are quite innocent of the power of these forms to transform their users — innocent but not guiltless.”

When asked, “As a Christian, have you examined the effects that such a context has on the Church and, more precisely, on faith?” McLuhan answered, “I would prefer that most questions of that sort be dealt with by theologians, but they do not seem to be interested” (McLuhan The Medium and the Light)

We’re interested, sir. We believe deeply in theologically trained media artists. The Moody Media Lab’s curriculum is founded on “theologically informed media ecology.” An often untread area of thought that is a distinctive academic expertise of the program. Every student is introduced to concepts that challenge everything they thought they knew about communications, media, and the implications for the Church.

One of the obvious joys of being a professor is introducing new students to the ideas and content most exciting, interesting, and important to you. As new faces enter the program, it is impossible to know how each student will respond and what will become of the ideas you have tried to put in their head.

Eventually, each one will be seated across the desk ready to propose their final project. What begins with the same core academic content every student receives ends in projects as diverse as the number of students in the program. A creative adventure indeed.

One of these students, with a portfolio full of impressive work — from a beautiful documentary film to practical technical expertise to promising academic research — wanted to take on the academic challenges of media ecology.

What started with a reading list transitioned with a question: What if you encapsulated what we teach here in a way local pastors might respond to and benefit from…what if you started, “Dear Pastor…”

That energy resulted in a project called: The Technological Church. An eight-part series addressed to pastors. This essay was accepted into the Media Ecology Association’s national conference — about as high of honor any student in the field could hope to achieve. She also presented this work at Moody’s annual Pastor’s Conference.

A note from author Jessica Huntrods:

Please allow me to introduce myself. I’ve never studied Greek or Hebrew, I’ve never preached a sermon or even taught a youth group, and I’ve never led worship. I’ve never had to make difficult decisions like how to guide a congregation in participating in the sacraments or how to structure a liturgy.

I’m not a renowned theologian, but I am a theologically trained artist and communications professional. I study technologies to see how they affect the people who experience them. And I’m learning from scholars in education, literature, technology, sociology, history, theology, and media studies to see what observations and perceptions they can offer the people of God. The more I study, the more I’m convinced that they have things to say that are far too important for the church to ignore.

Maybe you’re the sole pastor of a small church plant and you’re just trying to keep the doors open. Or maybe you are on staff at a church with thousands of members and a budget that allows for every possibility you could dream of. Either way, you probably don’t have time to read thousands of pages of communications theory. There’s no time in your schedule for a sociological research project. You’re probably pretty skeptical about all this to begin with, and if we’re being honest, it’s not your area of expertise.

But it is ours. We theologically minded communicators and artists, we’ve spent years studying and creating and asking questions and searching for answers. We’ve spent most of our lives wondering if there’s a place in the church for us, and we long to use our gifts and knowledge for the benefit of the body of Christ. We believe we have important things to say about the life of the church. We want to have conversations with you about how our technology changes the way we perceive our faith. We want to speak about how communications studies can help our understanding of theology and liturgy. We want to find wholeness, presence, and reality in a world of fragmentation, isolation, and deception.

We’re just not sure those are conversations most church leaders are interested in having. So here’s what we’re asking of you church leader: let’s have a conversation. We’re not asking for a position of leadership. We’re not even asking you to make a bunch of changes in your church. But we are asking for a place at your dinner table or at your favorite coffee shop. So please, listen. Make room for us. We’re convinced it will be worth your time. And we hope this essay is just the start of that conversation.