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Kevin Marsico's Blog

What would your ministry look like today Jesus?

I wonder what Jesus’ ministry would look like today? How would He communicate to our culture? What kind of stories, props and illustrations would he use? Would He maximize media? Would he have a Website, run television commercials, have his own show and unedited sirius satellite program? Would he email, blog, and podcast his messages? Might he text message his followers or post videos on “YouTube” and promote his MySpace account? How would Jesus convey spiritual truth to the average individual He encountered?

Imagine the woman at the well (John 4) encounter in today’s society. Or, maybe Nicodemus (John 3) and his private encounter with Christ. How would the conversations flow? How might Jesus convey these eternal, life changing, spiritual truths in a modern day context? Would He still use “the water of life” to illustrate spiritual thirst and “born again” for spiritual rebirth? I am not sure which medium He would use, but I am sure of this, He would use them. He would not recoil or be fearful of them. He would take the most normal, mundane, ordinary things of life in the 21st century and illustrate to the depths of our souls, deep spiritual truth that would leave us challenged and forever changed.

So, how can we, part of the body of Christ, do this as individuals or as a church. How can we engage in dialogues and invite our community to relate in a forum which may be outside of our norm, yet fits a Biblically accurate picture of how Christ would communicate? I do not have a complete answer, but I believe we must think outside of our normal paradigm of church and increase our awareness of the necessity to communicate in relevant venues.

In any context of ministry, as a good missionary, we must consider the language, culture, customs and icons of the people or community to best consider how to communicate unchanging truths in relevant ways. The goal is to COMMUNICATE, not just talk at people. (That’s another blog). It must be our desire to see truth impact lives and influence change for eternity. We must take the concepts of “salt and light” and the commandments of “love God and love others fully” to whole new levels.  I know Jesus would be doing this...I'm not fully sure how, but I am working on figuring out how to do it better.
Published Wednesday, April 04, 2007 11:10 AM by Kevin Marsico

Comments

 

Nutz4Brazil said:

Kevin,

I would tend to agree with your assessment of what Jesus would do. After all, He used natural ampitheaters to enhance His voice and messages. He used everyday events to highlight eternal teachings.  He framed His words in recognizable illustrations, using easily identified objects as conduits for truth.  If you applied this to today, what kind of tools would he use?  There are various methods of amplification, such as the ones you listed.  Would He use agricultural images in a technological age?  Probably not. He would probably use objects that are common to those to whom He was communicating. We can apply this to those to whom we are ministering.  It is possible to be over-technical in some places of the world.  Here, more simple illustrations and what used to be called "appropriate technology" works very well.  The determining factor would be who is listening. Talking to them and not at them or over them is the key.  We call that communication.

What He wouldn't do is allow these things to become His objects of worship.  The means wouldn't become the end. Jesus taught as one having authority and not as those who were repeating someone else's opinions.  This was a result of His spending time with the Father.  I think He spoke with authority because He had an authentic message.  People recognized the difference.  Here is where we may falter.  Once you get inside the door, you have to have something that keeps you inside.  Any of the modern gimmicks may gain you an audience, but you have to have a message for the audience.  As a missionary, I have no qualms in using different techniques or methods but I have to be careful to maintain the message.  The message has to come from the Master. In the final account, Jesus has to shine and not what I used to present Him, including myself.

I hope this contribution has been helpful.

May 31, 2007 10:04 PM
 

preach_da_cross said:

Hey,

I'm a pastor who is young in the ministry. The first church I pastored was very similar to the one on "Little House on the Prarrie". I was there for about 2 years, and then moved to another church. And in comparison this church is mor like the Jetson's, in that it has a complicated sound systen, multi media projector, and closed circut T.V. for nursery workers. I'm thankful for all the tools at my disposal, but I don't know how most effectively to use them. I too beleive Jesus would embrace the technology of the times, but I'm just not sure how best to apply that to my ministry.

Thanx

Pastor Dave

February 12, 2008 7:23 PM
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