The Medium Is The Message

    David Platt, in his book RADICAL, makes an interesting statement; namely, the church is the only organization that defines itself by what it does not do!  After getting over the shock of that statement, I began to think about how God’s people as individuals and the corporate body define themselves.  We are a people who do not smoke or drink hard liquor.  We are a people who do not engage in sex outside of marriage.  We are a people who do not swear or take God’s name in vain.  My list of defining God’s people by what they do not do could go on and on.
    I wonder what would happen if we turned these statements around so that God’s people defined themselves by what they do.  For example, “we do not smoke or drink” becomes “we are a people who are concerned about our health and physical well-being.”  God gave us our bodies as a gift and we take care of them.  Or, “we do not engage in sex outside of marriage” becomes “we care about developing deep relationhips built on mutual respect and love.”  God gave us physical attraction for another and that attraction reaches deep fulfillment in a permanent relationship called marriage.  Or, “we do not take God’s name in vain” becomes “we are a people who tell the truth and wish others well.”
    I also wondered how we describe Epiphany to anyone who happens to ask if we go to church and if so to what church.  Would we say, Epiphany is not a fundamentalist church; or, Epiphany does not take every word of the Bible literally; or, Epiphany does not discriminate by gender?  What would happen if we turned those statements around so that; “not a fundamentalist church” becomes “we celebrate different experiences and understanding of who God is and how God loves us.”  Or, “we do not take every word of the Bible literally” becomes “we believe biblical authors tell God’s story using the media and culture of their day.”  Or, “we do not discriminate” becomes “we rejoice that every man or woman is free to contribute their abilities and skills in advancing God’s love in the world.”
    If I was to describe Epiphany, this is how I would do it.  Epiphany is a church that believes it loves Jesus which requires it to serve its members and non-believers in Jesus’ name.
    As I write this, suddenly I thought of Marshall McLuhan’s book, THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE.  It seems to me that stating who we are as God’s people is much more powerful when we say what we do and less effective when we say what we don’t do.
Pastor Pete