Film, TV and music are powerful forces that have created the 21^st Century. 21^st century Christians believe that God who invades both time and space has also gone before us and has prepared the hearts of people to receive the good news about Christ.

Rather than fearing modern culture – instead of taking a steady retreat from pop-culture should we not become the timeless church of the 21^st Century of today and see that modern thoughts and philosophies present an opportunity for us to speak of Jesus Christ?

Allow me to quote Terry Mattingly from his book Pop Goes Religion... “If you study the statistics, the typical modern [European] is much more likely to be exposed to a new religious insight or doctrine at the mall or the movie multiplex than in a traditional sanctuary. This is how modern [Europeans] spend their time, spend their money and make their decisions. Day by day, they have evolved into mass-media disciples.”

Should we not feel comfortable walking the malls and movie theatres invading today and bring grace and truth? As we walk our cities should we not have a sense that Christ has gone before us? Should we not actually be searching for those moments of divine connection?

Let me quote George Barna & Mark Hatch in their book Boiling Point... “The world of entertainment and mass communications through television, radio, contemporary music, movies, magazines, art, video games and pop literature is indisputably the most extensive and influential theological training system in the world.”

Should we not see the multifaceted world of communications as our world and isn’t it time we stepped up to the plate and become the story tellers of our day – the translators of our day? Rather than retreating from this world should we not seek to become the articulators of truth and theology – should we not see the resonance and boldly convey God’s truth?

Christ has gone before us. If we closely look around us we will see that there is Christian resonance. There are distinct signs that Christ has prepared a platform for us to communicate – if we are going to touch our 21^st Century world as a 21^st Century Church we must recognize where Christ has gone before us – we need to see the signs of His presence.