wfn.org | Keep up with technology

[BethAH <BethAH@mbm.org>]

July 18, 2001
Beth Hawn
Mennonite Board of Missions
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

July 18, 2001

Keep up with technology, Mennonite Media directors agree

HARRISONBURG, Va. (MBM)  Every religious group [throughout
history] that has resisted a new medium, which was becoming
dominant, has lost ground in society, said Kenneth J. Weaver,
quoting communications analyst Thomas Boomershine during a 1999
gathering of the Council on Church and Media.

In his 43 years with Mennonite Media (1956-1999, mostly as
executive director), the now-retired Weaver saw many changes 
mostly related to technology  take place in the area of media
ministry.  Current director Burton Buller (1999 to present) may
see as many or more changes in even less time.  With Mennonite
Media celebrating its 50th anniversary this month,
Weaver and Buller recently took time to reflect on the agencys
role in communicating the gospel.

Expounding on Boomershines argument, Weaver explained that
throughout history, whenever a new medium came on the scene,
religious leaders often resisted any association with it at
first.  One of the earliest illustrations of this principle was
the advent of the printing press in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Many Protestant groups used the press to make the Bible available
to the common people, while the Catholic Church did not.
Anabaptists also became involved with publishing pamphlets early
on, and Protestant and Anabaptist groups saw explosive growth as
a result.

Weaver pointed out that embracing the dominant medium of
communication has been the primary task of the church throughout
history, going all the way back to the Apostle Paul, who used the
idols of Athens to connect with the people there in Acts 17.

Therefore, the church needs to use mass media and learn the
language of todays culture, just as an overseas missionary needs
to learn the language in order to learn the culture, according to
Buller.  When we cant speak the language of the culture, we
also miss a lot of what the culture is about, he says.
The principle of adapting to the dominant medium of the time has
guided leaders in Mennonite Media efforts since they first began
producing a program in 1951 that eventually became The Mennonite
Hour.  The challenge of finding new ways to get the attention of
the audience is what kept Weaver in the same line of work for
more than four decades.

One example of this adaptation was the very first public service
announcements that Mennonite Media (then Mennonite Broadcasts,
Inc.) produced for Mystery Theater, a program that aired on the
CBS radio network in the 1960s.

We couldnt be overtly religious up front, so we usually tried
to start with themes or subjects that we thought the audience
would have interest in, so we were working on format and
content, Weaver said.

Whereas more emphasis was put on format back then, content is
king today, according to Buller.

Because of technology, the processes of communication have
become simpler and much more accessible, he said.  So
specializing in one type of format is not as important.  That
makes finding creative individuals all the more crucial
nowadays.  However, these individuals still need to keep
learning new skills and equipment as necessary.

In the 21st century, many media agencies have integrated their
TV, radio and Internet reporting, a practice known as
convergence.  Similarly, when Mennonite Media staff produce a new
video, they usually consider how the content of the video will be
presented in web or radio format.

As executive director, Bullers role lies mainly in strategic
planning and visioning of the agency and acting as a liaison
between staff and church leaders, a role that continues work
begun by Weaver.

The key to the success of this organization was my running
interference with the broader church agencies and leadership for
creative program people who were the geniuses at work, Weaver
said.

Creative staff people with vision, who are willing to take risks,
have been the heart of Mennonite Medias work all along.  Fifty
years ago, four young students from Eastern Mennonite College had
the idea to do a radio program as an outreach at a time when
Virginia Mennonites were not even allowed to have radios in their
homes.

With communications technology changing and expanding more
rapidly than ever today, Buller will not speculate on what the
future might bring.  On the other hand, he says, the
opportunities for which the church has prayed for so long are now
here.

Now that the opportunities are here, we have two possibilities:
that the church will grab that opportunity and try to make an
impact, or we abdicate the possibility of evangelism to
Hollywood, he said.  So what kind of commitment the Church
really has to being prophetic in this culture, is a question that
we continually ask.

The network TV documentary currently in production is one such
opportunity that Mennonite Media has taken advantage of recently
for the first time.  Titled Journey Toward Forgiveness, the
program is scheduled to air on ABC-TV in December.

* * *

Kent Fellenbaum                              PHOTOS AVAILABLE