| The aim of this study is to explore the adoption of media ministry by American Mainline Protestant churches. Media ministry, the incorporation of digital display technologies (DDT) into worship practice, began in Evangelical churches in the US. This study is based on fieldwork at two primary sites: Ginghamsburg Church (Tipp City, OH), an Evangelical pioneer in media ministry and Christ Church (Troy, NY), a Mainline innovator. In addition, fieldwork was conducted at ten other churches, a parachurch organization, Promise Keepers, and several businesses that produce DDT media content for churches. I show how Mainline churches have adopted DDTs from Evangelical churches as a "technological fix" to solve the problem of declining membership. Because of differences in liturgical practice and understanding, however, Mainline churches produced text-rich slides, which while in keeping with their liturgical practice, do not work successfully to attract young people. Alternatively sometimes they purchase prefabricated visuals, but then they are faced with the often unrecognized problem that the content may undermine or run counter to their ideology. In my own church, I introduced an innovative "socio-technological fix" with the goal of (1) producing exciting new appealing forms of worship that would help retain, and ideally grow, Mainline congregations and (2) would be in keeping with the theological and ideological beliefs of our church. To that end I engaged laity in a worship production process that moved them from consumers to co-producers. While not perfect, the experiment may serve as a model for other Mainline churches on how to avoid the pitfalls of technological somnambulism. Artifacts do have politics and it is important for those considering adopting new technologies into their worship to be cognizant of the implications. In terms of STS, the case of media ministry provides a novel case for how artifacts have politics and the benefits of participatory design which mitigate the unintended consequences of the technological fix. |
