Dream Awakener

  craig in action 
  Originally uploaded by Kris Kros.

It has been commonly parroted in Christian circles that “The message must never change, but the methods must change with each new generation.”  This statement seems to miss the significance of the medium in shaping our perceptions, our worldviews, our identity, our relationships and our institutions.  Marshall McLuhan’s wisdom seems more rooted in reality when he says, “Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication.”

Globalization is the fruit of the new forms of media, media being defined as tools we create as extensions of ourselves.  The idea is that we create tools and then the tools recreate us.  New technology, new transportation, and new communication networks all at faster speeds have created what is known as globalization.  The various new mediums have created a global village where time and space have been redefined and have blurred boundaries in which the old world had created, like the nation-state.  This new world has given rise to new international and transnational entities that are shaping the future with increasing influence. Where do the power(s) of these new mediums want to take the world?  What is the mission-shaped church’s role in the context that we find ourselves in?  Tune in tomorrow as we take a further look at a Future-Shaped Mission.