I can't stress enough how important I think this day is and how delighted I am that it's happening. I've said it before I know - but the media is so important, so powerful, makes such a direct impact on the way we live, that as Christians we can't ignore it.
The media is one of those things that's such a constant, such a norm nowadays that we encounter it all the time without realising. It, right now, is changing people's minds, slipping into our subconsciousness, forming opinions, creating and destroying stereotypes. People like to think it doesn't, but I believe it has a very firm grasp on the way we think, and yes, maybe we often gravitate towards media that already conforms with our view of the world, but some of it is more dominant than others, and of course makes a huge impression on those who haven't yet worked out who they are or what they believe.
I think this is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness in churches about this giant that encompasses our world. To learn about its beautiful and ugly sides, about its complications, its impact, the people who have the most control over it, and most importantly, to seek some much needed direction from God about our place in it.
This is so important because we have got to get to a stage where we're engaging positively with the media - with newspapers, television, radio, film, social media, and stop simply complaining about what we don't like. It's about time we went beyond our cute little Songs of Praise bubble and started engaging with and helping to create television, news articles, blogs, websites, adverts that challenge the status quo where it's needed, that are filled with truth and justice and speak, whether directly or indirectly for the glory of God, media that is bold and relevant to more people than just us. Media can't be a little side project or add on for us any more, we've got to do it properly.
I'm delighted to say that I have encountered some amazing people who are on fire for Jesus and who are brilliantly talented in their chosen field, who have deep wisdom about how the media operates and how God wants us to go about creating and engaging with it, but the industry needs more people like that, and both them and it need the support of surrounding Christians. In short, we need to take action, and where does action through God start? In prayer. In prayer God enlightens, strengthens, equips and inspires us. It's where God initially sends us out. It's where we actually come back to Him and admit that He's the one in the know and in control. As mentioned earlier, the media is a powerful, complicated, often beautiful, often dangerous thing - we need to go back to the most powerful, the most wise, most beautiful, omnipotent one.
I urge anyone who is a part of a church to engage with this day on some level. You don't have to suddenly drop everything in your life and start a career in television or anything, just pray for us crazy people that have. Maybe use it as a chance to learn how what you watch is made, how it affects us, to have a discussion with someone about what they read in the newspaper, or maybe even pick up a camera and see what you can do. It could be anything, but please let it be something. There's no such thing as 'just' a prayer.
The official website for the initiative is here. Read it, get involved. Otherwise I'm going to come to your church and hijack your microphones and projectors. I know how to do that, I work in the media.
