FROM THE EDITORS
Marshall Shelley
July 1, 1987
Remember the ads where a soprano hits a stratospheric note, a crystal goblet shatters, and the announcer asks, "Is it live, or is it Memorex?"
I recently taught a twelve-week class on "Theology in Plain Language" to the combined junior high and senior high students at our church. Several times during those weeks as I performed mental (sometimes physical) gyrations in an effort to make doctrine come alive for this hard-to-impress bunch, I felt the disadvantages of having to perform "live."
One drawback, of course, is being compared to the people on Memorex. The class atmosphere would never be confused with the sight-and-sound experience of an Amy Grant concert.
My well-meaning but low-budget (not to mention low-talent) efforts would never be as spellbinding as the professional up-front communicators.
I sensed again what one pastor expressed this way: "It's tough to preach when I know some big-name preacher has already covered this topic-and done it better than I ever will." The experience forced me to rethink the advantages of teaching live rather than simply replaying some Memorex recording at our people.
Then I read about a teachers' conference where a consultant was explaining how videos could improve education. When he finished, one older teacher raised his hand and said, "But a VCR can't put its hand on a boy's shoulder and tell him, 'You can do better, Dave.' "
The teacher knew that life-long change is more likely when the message comes person-to-person.
...
But, according to Mark, that decision didn't "take" until a few weeks later when he injured his back and required surgery. People from the church where he'd begun attending repeatedly visited him in the hospital.
"My wife and I couldn't believe that these people, who didn't ...
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