:: The Telephone Game ::

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Shane Hipps’ new book, Flickering Pixels, is a quick, thought-provoking, humor- and example-laced read that carries an important message on faith and technology. His premise is that technology and new methods will always inherently change the attempted message; that the method/medium itself becomes the message (p.25). It’s like the “telephone game” on a macro scale, where one kid whispers a secret to the person next to him, and it gets passed down the line, often becoming confused or mis-stated as it goes. This miscommunication and change, Hipps notes, has the ability to impact many aspects of life, faith, etc.

In a light-hearted and convincing way, He walks through several aspects of life, focusing on the shift from spoken word to written word to images, and thus from one side of the brain to the other and back. In Christianity, he asserts that these shifts move from holistic to linear/cognitive and back. He explains new technology’s effect on memory and tradition, community, imagination, relationships, anonymity, conflict, the church, and faith including the gospel message. The effect can be either positive or negative on these areas of life, as the substance and message changes. It is positive in some lights because it allows for re-packaging and new ways to interact with age-old concepts, but it is negative in that through these new media, the original message can be lost.

One of the most dangerous shifts, says Hipps, occurs in the gospel message: it has gone from a holistic, communal, life-encompassing message to a linear, “then-and-now,” bullet-point change, and is even now becoming a subjective message, meaning different things to different people – the danger here is going out of balance from God’s “progressive revelation” in scripture to assume that God is still revealing new truth (a changing message – p.156-7). If this is the case, then anyone’s understanding of the gospel can be valid, no matter how heretical, and despite the methods or the messenger, the single true message is lost. (sidenote: I think we all must be careful of this, and not give permission for it in the name of changing methods). Hipps rightfully asserts that there must be a balance – that we must be aware of the changing message and work within it.

Since the goal of this tour is to ask questions and think critically about the book, I need to say that while Hipps raises great points that we must all take to heart (more on that later), there is a nagging little thought in my mind: first, I’m not 100% convinced that the media/method of delivery is inherently the message, or that any medium is inherently negative – when my TV is off, it’s no message at all; it’s the choice of show coming through it that’s the message. Likewise, the internet doesn’t inherently change the message of the Gospel unless the messenger delivers it improperly. Or different musical styles – rap is just beats, rhythms, and notes in and of themselves – it’s the lyrics added to the method that delivers the artist’s message. Even his example of “1337 talk” (p.136), the message is no different than teens have had for decades; the only difference is the method of delivery.

But all these things (media/methods) CAN overpower the message if the messenger isn’t enormously careful, can dumb us down, and can turn us off from the fullness of the message. And I can’t help but think Hipps would agree – maybe that’s even his subtle point as he asks readers to think: there’s a tendency toward this – it can happen, and if we’re not careful, then it will happen, and we lose that balance.

So… the greatest impact of Hipps’ insights are as two-fold: First, as people who make use of ever-changing media/technology (as Hipps does – using spoken word, written word, and visual image to communicate his message in the forms of sermon, audio podcast, website, blog, video, & books), we must guard the message we’re sending, lest we take it too far and allow the method to overpower it. We must use the medium to clearly communicate the original message, without letting the medium change/overpower it – we must “learn to use them rather than be used by them” (p.14).

Second, as we are all constant messengers and recipients, we must all be aware of the influences and media/methods constantly surrounding us; instead of assuming a 30-second perusal of Wikipedia or an opinion of a friend as truth, we must be more aware of these influences, and must take the time to pause and look back to the original message – to go to the first kid who whispered the message, and make sure it hasn’t been changed or replaced as it was passed down the line.

Bottom line: Flickering Pixels is a great book that has caused me to “live in my head” since I read it, and as Hipps’ claims sink in, they challenge and push me in a good way, that would be great for communicators and discerning listeners everywhere – thanks, BlogTourSpot, for the book and the chance to review it.