Dan Andiacco is the Communications Director of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and experienced journalist and expert on the media. In his book Screen Saved Andiacco looks at the effect modern media has on culture and the church and suggests ways that the church can respond. Since words have the ability to transform we should be concerned that the words communicated though the media are transforming people, and the church must respond.
One response is to disengage from the media. Here churches hold onto traditional liturgies and practices and avoids using anything that could remind people of today’s mediated culture. Another response is to hold onto as many old practices as possible as a way to challenge the teachings of the mediated culture. And a third response would be to adopt as much media technology as you can and use it to communicate the gospel.
Andriacco observes that we lead hectic lives primarily driven by the media and its commercial message of accumulating greater wealth. He suggests that the church should combat this with a Lenten media fast. Ministers, however, must get out of the cloistered lives to see for themselves what the media is doing it they are going to respond to it. That way ministers can help their congregations deal with the harmful effects of the mediated culture while still using some media techniques to engage in Christian formation.
From my own experience I have found that silence is difficult. I like to have the TV or radio on all the time, even if it is just background noise. It keeps me from getting lonely. But I realize as a Christian that I need quiet time to meditate on scripture and pray. So Andriacco’s idea of a fast from the media would be good for me. It would allow me to listen for God. But the media fast should only be considered for active Christian. Christian evangelism requires that we speak the language of the people. That language is the language of the media. So we need to use the media to communicate our message of hope and bring people into the churches. The churches must be places where people feel safe and at home. Thus there should be good sound systems and video presentations. Christians should aspire to excellence. That way what we do will be attractive to people from a mediated culture. But we should not adopt all of the principles of the culture.
There is a distinction between principles and techniques. Although these are related and affect each other it is possible to adopt a technique without adopting the cultural principle that normally goes with that technique. For example television commercial are usually used to get someone to buy something. Christians have used commercials to get people to buy Christian things, like a worship service, music or books. When this happens the Christians have adopted both the technique, commercial, and the principle, buy more. But what it we ran commercials that said, “Slow down”, be quiet and pray”. We would be using the commercial technique without the commercial principle of “buy more”.
The tasks for Christians therefore is to us the media techniques, but find innovative ways to undermine the principles the media techniques usually communicate.
[1] Dan Andriacco, Screen Saved, Peril and Promise of Media in Ministry (
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