Nope…Christian media is NOT the Answer!

What? I’ve given much of my working life to Christian media. My focus at MEDIAlliance is Christian media. Is this some new revolution? Some new technology? Some new tool?

No. I’m just looking into God’s Word and trying to be sure what we do is on target, that our hearts are right, and that we are understanding the power the Lord gives us. And I found the answer in the Old Testament. In 2 Kings 4 we read of a woman who was kind to the prophet Elisha by building him a room on her roof. In return, Elisha blessed the woman who greatly wanted a son. The prophet told her in one year she would give birth to her first son. And she did.

Fast forward some years, and this treasured boy dies. And the mother heads straight for Elisha. She obviously felt the man of God could do something. Elisha starts out with her to her home where her dead son is lying. Then Elisha does something unusual. He sends his rod…his staff…ahead with his servant with the instructions to lay it on the young dead boy.

Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child’s face.” Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.” 2 Kings 4:29,31 NLT

Why did the prophet do that? Undoubtedly, he knew of how God had used a rod in the past to do miraculous things. It worked before, right?

If we had been writing the story the boy would have been revived and been playing in the courtyard when his mother and the man of God arrived. That’s not what happened. The boy lay in the room dead. What went wrong? It seems Elisha knew right away.

The prophet went into the room with the boy alone and did something unusual. The Bible graphically describes how Elisha lay down on the boy,“…placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands.” (v. 34)

I think we can easily see the picture of Elisha lying prone on this young boy, totally covering him. He does this twice and then the boy revives. Amazing.

I really thought about that in relation to what we do in Christian media. We see God at work and we celebrate these amazing things. I have great stories of hundreds coming to Christ, or even one person who could only be reached through Christian media. So why am I saying Christian media isn’t the answer?

Christian media is only the way…one way…that God’s message and the power of the Holy Spirit gets transmitted to an individual. Useful tools, but not the reason someone’s life is changed. It is God. His power at work. It is the Gospel. Today’s media tools are just that…tools. If the technology changes, the Gospel will still be the power that changes lives.

Notice something else about this story. It wasn’t until Elishatotally committed to bringing that boy back to life that it happened. The prophet couldn’t just send a servant with a tool. It took total commitment…total investment…for the work to be accomplished. For all of us who use Christian media…radio, television, social media, the internet…we can’t just “phone it in” and expect great things. It is never the tool that brings about a change in someone’s life.

Christian media isn’t the answer. Our total commitment to God and what He wants to accomplish will make the difference as we depend on the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.