I've wanted to feature an interview with techno-author / lead pastor Shane Hipps for quite some time. And no, it's not just because I like his website.
I discovered his book, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture, after reading what Quentin J. Schultze said about it:
"This readable book challenges the Church to think wisely and courageously about how it communicates in and beyond worship. Shane Hipps is proof that ancient wisdom is immediately practical, that prophetic voices are still alive and well, and that great ideas are the basis for servant actions."
Dr. Schultze is professor of Communication at Calvin College and author of several great books including these two well-known publications: High-Tech Worship? Using Presentational Technologies Wisely, and Habits of the High-Tech Heart. I'm so fond of his work that I'd read just about anything he recommends.
Shane answered a few questions for me and yes, it does make me miss McLuhan and I might spend my summer reading Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man again.
Shane, can you briefly define your views about how electronic culture shapes our faith and the modern-day operation of the Church.
Electronic culture presents us with a hall of mirrors, it creates a condition of brain-bending disorientation in which the mind can scarcely discern realty from a reflection of reality, or a reflection of a reflection. This new environment erodes and reconstitutes our understanding of everything. The way we conceive of the gospel, community, leadership, and discipleship have all undergone a complete renovation during the electronic age. These changes are a direct result of the media we use to communicate.
The strangest part of all? This juggernaut force resides in our peripheral vision. As a result, it has been completely misunderstood, or ignored. Nearly everyone can see what is happening in church and culture, but few have understood why it’s happening. The answer can be found when we train our eyes to perceive the subtle yet overwhelming force of our media, regardless of their content.
Forget about what a blog says, do we have any idea how the form of a blog shapes us? As we read, debate, and respond in the blogosphere, the very medium of a blog atrophies certain capacities (i.e. sustained linear concentration, careful language patterns, and polite discourse). At the same time, it generates new capacities. It creates the mental equivalent of Pandora’s Box born of infinite hyperlinks, tickling the intellect ensuring it never stays in one place too long. It also creates in us a preference for holistic thinking, as well as imprecise language patterns to name a few.
As our intellectual capacities and preferences are unknowingly altered, it transforms our approach to the gospel and the church. For evidence, see the emerging church movement. It reflects perfectly the biases of electronic culture. This is largely what part one of my book unpacks.
Will the Church be able to operate without using / embracing / redeeming communication technologies? Should it?
I am no Luddite. Such a stance is an impossibility. The reason is, nearly everything is a kind of communication technology. Even low-tech things like the clothes I wear, the sermons I preach, and the letters I write, these are all communication technology. My interest is first to understand the way our media shape us before we critique, adopt, or avoid. In fairness, I do make recommendations in my book, but I’m careful not to give them prematurely. Too many of us are looking for quick answers, when what we most need is to be asking good questions.
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Great post, Thanks!
It’s a fascinating quote from Shane Hipps’ book, but I’ve found that time spent on line discussing on blogs, etc has sharpened my ability to use language, and caused me to become much more careful with words. I was thinking earlier today, how my ability to communicate clearly and unambiguously verbally has been lifted by my experience of writing on line. I believe it has also improved my ability to focus on one topic in depth for a sustained period of time, as I take away a thought from a blog post, read around it, struggle with it, and return to argue around it in a new way. It has released me from preoccupation with the mediocrity of television, and enabled most of my daily conversations to be with people who have something really interesting to say. After reading Shane’s quote I guess my experience must be atypical!
I’m thinking this goes on my must-read list. It occurs to me that if you are an early-adopter (as I am; and I hazard a guess that your readership tends that direction), you might (we all might) spend some thinking time (yes, allotting a portion of our intellectual budget) on “do we know what we’re gaining and what we’re losing in our specific context with the specific media we’re employing”. Believe me, I for one love to pull the squeaky shrink-wrap off of fascinating (read shiny, new) media and run with it, but I think there is really something to the notion that the the mode of delivery — the envelope in which we send the Message — can have a profound effect on how the Message is accepted/entertained/considered.
Eleanor - here are another 40 reasons to blog.
One Servant - As well as Shane’s book, I can also recommend all of Dr. Schultze’s work on this subject. And thanks again for pointing me to “Everything is Misc”.
That’s fascinating. We are struggling with the issues raised here as we try to think through making a blog which will help the homeless people be heard in our community.
Ideas, reflections, welcome!
That’s innovative. As those of us on this side of the digital divide grow in our acceptance of technology as “a basic necessity of life” we may see more social ministries distributing it to the ‘not haves’. It seems homeless people would be greatly benefited by the opportunity to stay in close touch with family members (or any supports for that matter). Good idea. Let us know if it materializes.
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