The Church And The Network

As a pastor, NPH reads a good deal of writing about the state of the church, its current institutional malaise and bright hope for the future. Books like this and blogs like this are only the best expressions of what seems to be the consensus view among protestant church leaders in America: the church has to be less attractional and more missional; it has to stop trying to bring people into the church and start taking the church to people. Alan Roxburgh, featured in the video above, is one of the main proponents of that view.

Here's the realization we're now making, thanks to the Jeff Jarvises of the world: TV has the same problem. Consider this quote from a CBS executive: "We can't expect consumers to come to us. It's arrogant for any media company to assume that."

Gulp.

TV networks are coming to terms with the reality that consumers have gazillions of options when it comes to entertainment content, and fewer and fewer of those options force them to endure advertising. So companies like CBS are shifting their focus from trying to attract viewers to their network and instead trying to get their network content out to where those consumers already are, namely Youtube and other web-based entertainment venues.

Here's NPH's frightening thought: is a "missional" church mindset just the latest example of the church taking a cue from consumer culture? Or is it the other way around?