Catalyst 09: Shane Hipps

8 posted on October 8, 2009

POSTED IN: Blog Posts, Conferences

In this session Shane Hipps, author of Flickering Pixels, shared about what and how we communicate our message in today’s digital world. Don’t forget to keep checking in over at CatalystBackstage.com

Shane Hipps – The Medium Is The Message

Christianity is fundamentally a communication event
“The methods change but the message stays the same.” i.e. You have to innovate your methods otherwise the gospel becomes increasingly irrelevant.
The medium, in fact, IS the message – how you say something as much as or more than what you say
What you use to communicate will determine how your message is heard and received
The content of any particular medium is like the slight-of-hand that a magician performs. While we’re distracted the message is subtly communicated
In advertising there is a big difference between the printed words and images. Our brains process them differently. When you present your views in an essay format, it invites argument. However, when you present your opinion using images, it represses the logical side of our brain and causes us to become more accepting of the message.
Mark 2:22 “No one pours new wine into old wine skins…” Jesus makes the emphasis that the wine is new as well as the wine skin. In other words, you must update your methods and your message. The gospel of message has changed through the years depending on who it was being presented to, where they were at and at what time in history they were from.
And yet, the ever-changing gospel never changes. How is that possible? Look at a picture of yourself when you were a baby. You look, act and function completely different now than you did when you were a child…and yet, you are still the same person.
The look, function and feel of a mustard seen is completely different than the look, function and feel of a mustard tree. And yet a mustard tree cannot exist without that tiny mustard seed. They are the same and yet always changing. The leaves that grow on the tree do not invalidate the mustard seed.
The DNA of the gospel will never change (love wins, grace is free, etc.)

I haven’t read Shane’s book, Flickering Pixels, yet but I want to after this talk. Your thoughts?

TWEET THIS

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 2:42 pm and is filed under Blog Posts, Conferences. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Comments

Share yours!

Visit My Website

October 8, 2009

Permalink

1 Kurt Libby said:

I watched an interview where Rob Bell interviewed Shane early this spring on this book. After reading your post, I almost think it is a must read if you’re going to validate his position. I think that without hearing him out entirely (more than an interview, a blog post, or a one hour presentation) it would be easy to write him off. You either think he is saying “Don’t use any technology” or “Change the gospel to make it more appealing.” I don’t think he is saying either, but to really get what he is saying might take reading the book because the end of the argument doesn’t seem evident in any medium where I have encountered him.

Also, he just seems really freaking smart. But that’s beside the point.
Visit My Website

October 9, 2009

Permalink

2 Joshua Skogerboe said:

Hey Brad. Love your blog. Thanks for blogging Cat09 for those of us back at home. Much appreciated.

My plan as I read your bullet points was to make a comment cautioning against the “ever-changing message” of the Gospel that never changes. It was smacking a bit of “let the message be shaoped by the culture” when I really deeply believe the message ough to be shaping the culture instead.

However, I’m tipping my hat to Kurt above. His encouragement to hear Shane’s point of view in context is well written and well taken. I give Mr. Hipps the benefit of the doubt.

Bless you both Kurt and Brad! Thanks again.

-joshua
Visit My Website

October 9, 2009

Permalink

3 Brad Ruggles said:

Trust me, I was wondering where he was going with some of my points myself. However I understand the difficulty of delivering a complex and controversial message like that in just 30 minutes. His points intrigued me and make me want to go back and read his book.

If you or anyone else get a chance to read Flickering Pixels I’d love to know what you think of it.
Visit My Website

October 9, 2009

Permalink

4 Clayton Bell said:

I didn’t hear the message but enjoyed the book. It’s a little unfinished in it’s prescribed execution, but the idea of the medium changing the way we receive and interact with the message I thought was spot on. The medium, IMHO, doesn’t change the truth of the message (Jesus is Lord, we need salvation, sin is real) but how we interact with and process this truth.

I think the real question to ask is- with the advent of YouVersion Live, how will the ability to cleanly interact with a mass audience DURING a message change the way messages are presented? YV Live is a medium-changing device. No longer will sermons have to be monologues with one response at the end (alter call/raise hand) or dialogues (Q&A) where you have no idea what’s coming from the audience. You can have a NEW way of preaching.

How about THAT!?!
Visit My Website

October 13, 2009

Permalink

5 Tyson said:

I was there and listened to the talk and just didn’t get it. I was mainly confused…Saying it doesn’t change yet it changes? Maybe, the other guys are right, just need to read his book.