Alternative Literacy?

Alternative literacy?

One statistic of great interest to missionaries is the literacy rate of a given country. The literacy rate is an estimate of what percentage of a population is able to read and write. The reason the statistic is important is readily apparent. If a nation or people group has a high level of literacy, then literature, such as tracts and books, can be a significant part of the outreach program. It means the people are able to read not only a gospel tract, but subsequent discipleship and training for ministry can use written material. If the population is largely made up of illiterates, then both evangelism and training must be approached from a completely different direction. In fact, many missionaries entering primitive cultures are required to teach their people to read, and some are even required to distill a heretofore unwritten language into written form. Then, and only then, can the Bible be translated and the people taught to read God’s word in their heart language.
It is an interesting fact that although the United States has a relatively high literacy rate, very few of us actually devote much time to reading. An article published by CNN/Money in 2004[1] quoted then NEA chairman Dana Goia telling the Associated Press, “It’s no longer a case of Johnny can’t read, it’s Johnny won’t read.” American Association of Publishers’ president Pat Schroeder attributes the decline in book reading to “all the other alternatives that compete for your time”. "The Internet, cable TV, and computer games, account for much more of the trend away from books," agrees another.
An alarmist would say we’re forgetting how to read! Actually, it’s not so. We know how to read. We do read when we must, but our preference as a nation is not to read. We still seek information; our information simply comes from sources other than hardcover books.
So what does this mean to the church? Some would say nothing, quoting (or misquoting) 1 Corinthians 1:21 and loudly proclaiming that the gospel is to be preached (orally) and anything else is unbiblical. They are convinced that anything other than “straight” preaching is using worldly methods for God’s work. They become indignant at the idea of using television, radio, drama, videos, web-sites, or even PowerPoint© displays in an attempt to reach a particular audience.
The answer may lie in our understanding of the purpose of any kind of media. Media, in whatever form, is used to link individual cognition with social phenomena. That is, media communicates the ideas of a culture or society to the individual members. Television is not anti-literacy. It is alternative literacy. Just as a book, it is a tool used to convey a message. In performing its function, it is a very effective tool.
When we returned from the mission field, I was immediately impressed with the great usefulness of two new tools, the cordless screwdriver and the cell phone. We already had both phones and screwdrivers, but for the vast majority of uses, these simply worked better.
Recently at Grace we have begun to utilize a number of tools to make our message clearer, more accessible, or more attractive. Like any tools, they cannot in and of themselves perform work; they simply enable us to work more effectively. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and the Bible does contain all truth necessary for our lives. These things do not and will not change. But the means to convey truth can change, and should change if we are to keep our communication relevant in a continuously evolving culture.
We are leaving the era of Christian radio. We are full in the midst of global internet access, podcasting, digital audio and video recording, cell phones and Blackberrys. We must recognize not only the opportunity, but the obligation to take the message of Christ and reach people wherever they are.
I heard another brother recently make the statement, “We have the greatest message in the universe. Why would we wrap it in toilet paper”. Why indeed?

Just a servant,

Bro. Tom

[1] Christie, L. Endangered, the American Reader. http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/09/news/bookreading/