Yesterday, I listened to a conversation between people who are grapling with the shift that is facing tranditional print media as they come face to face with the present digital age. These are dedicated people to their industry who are seeing a major decline in traditional subscriptions to their magazine and are discussing ways to turn the trend around.
There are great people with great ideas on this call but I honestly think they have yet to realize that we are not dealing with a "trend" we are dealing with a "shift." One is temporary the other is foundational. Trends can be predicted and manipulated. Shifts are changes that are so massive that it is impossible for things to return to what they were.
Ask youself these questions.
1. How much reading of printed material do you choose to do?
2. How much reading do you consume online or in digital format?
3. How much has reading as a habit decreased in your life over the last few years?
4. Where do you turn to get your news and information first - the newspaper, broadcast news, or the web?
These are just a few questions that people are grappling with. To those who understand what is happening, they are already building new constructs that will be able to run on this shifting foundation. Others will find that time and energy will be wasted away.
In regards to the church, are we relying on tradtional media to spread the word about our churches or are we strategically building in ways to set our people up for positive conversations about our church and there by leverage our greatest asset - our people - to gain ground in the shifting culture?
The shift has begun. Are you ready for it?
