Podcasts are a wonderful thing. I listen to
several in the course of a week (I posted about my listening habits here).
But I'm more than a little mystified and concerned by the church's approach to
podcast--as I have been about the church's approach to radio and television.
Judging from most churches' podcasts and
vidcasts, the sermon is what really matters. In fact, from all appearances, the
sermon is practically all that matters.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a preacher. I love
the Bible. I love preaching. I believe God still uses "the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21, KJV), as well as
to inspire, grow, encourage, and admonish the saints.
But preaching ain't all there is to worship. Why
do we "podcast" (to verb a noun) as if it is?
I suppose it is understandable, to a degree.
Prayers may not always translate well in a podcasting format. Copyright issues
limit churches' ability to include music in a podcast. Drama and dance would
work for video but not audio. And so on.
But still.
Is it about "celebrity?" Do we exalt
famous preachers to the exclusion of congregations? Is it because we can hear
worship music on KLove or Air1? Is it a sign that we find prayer
"boring?" Or is it something else?
Whatever it is, it seems to be more pronounced
among evangelicals. For example, a daily prayer podcast I use often (mentioned
in the post I linked above) comes from an Episcopal Church in Maryland. Roman
Catholic podcasts (as well as radio and television) present diverse aspects of
prayer and worship. But for some reason, evangelical churches rarely feature
elements of worship besides the sermon.
Is it just me? Am I all wet? Or have others
noticed this as well?
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