Remarkable video from Chris Milk (who has previously worked on the Johnny Cash Project) and friends at Google who have produced an experimental HTML5 multi-screen video called The Wilderness Downtown, based on Arcade Fire’s new song We Used To Wait:

• It is optimized for the Chrome browser, but works in any modern browser that can handle HTML5.
• There are several screens running concurrently. Some take personalised Google Streetview and Google Earth shots, based on the user’s entry for the address they grew up at. The Streetview clips are based on the revolving pan-shots from their camera cars and the Earth shots are manipulated in various ways. Presumably the raw Streetview clips are unavailable to other developers wishing to do the same? Development story.
• Other screens are based on a child running, and are seen by all users. This imagery relates to the song lyric which perhaps could have been beneficially scrolled on another screen.
• At the end of the video, a screen pops up inviting you to write a letter to the child you once were. You can also submit this as a ‘postcard’ to The Wilderness Downtown, and also apparently respond to other people’s postcards.

Pain, hope and healing

The concept is thought-provoking (read recent online comment) and the lyric deals with issues of pain, bewilderment and hope, which are therefore valuable conversation starters. There’s big potential to use in a youth group or discussion setting. Some leaders are already considering how to use it as a component of an outreach meeting. It’s also a concept that could be adapted to extend this ministry potential.

If you are looking for healing, go here.

View the presentation here. To see what it looks like, below is how one user made a video capture from their computer with their own birthplace clips:

What do you think? How do you respond to the lyric and imagery? How can we use this video and the ‘postcard to our younger self’ concept to start people thinking about pain, healing, and the good news? Please share your thoughts using the comment button below.

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For instance, Ed Stetzer comments on his own article about Issues Evangelicals Must Face.

There’s also the whole vexed question of whether/how church can be done online. Interesting post from Steve Fogg on how an outsider blogger reacted to online LiveChurch. To get a sense of some of the issues involved in this question, read SIM Church by Doug Estes.

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• Michael Kosmas is a pastor in London, who uses a monthly film discussion club for outsiders to come, watch a significant film, and then discuss spiritual themes within it.
• LiveChurch run a fun outreach called At the Movies, which even includes decorating the church meeting area as, say, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, or the Bat Cave.
• Such an approach would be hugely strategic for India, where Bollywood movies are a hugely important part of the culture. This could be either in face-to-face meetings as described above, or as online evangelism. The dramatic growth of the film-making industry in Nigeria, termed ‘Nollywood’, provides similar opportunities on that continent.
• Short movie trailers, installed on a mobile phone, are yet another conversation starter.

If are interested in using Manga for evangelism, visit Next Manga. See also our page on digital opportunities for Japan.

And treat yourself to the wonderful Studio Ghibli anime films from Japan. Here’s a taster:

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The 2-day Forum 2010 Webcast is also free, but will not be archived.

Internet Ministry Conference in Grand Rapids is set for October. Check this and other events including London and Dominican Republic here.

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OurChurch.com would like you to complete a short survey about church use of Facebook. It’s purpose is to understand how to help churches use Facebook appropriately, and research like this is vital. Please complete it, whatever your level of experience with Facebook.

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His new book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains has just been released in US, and publishes in UK 1 September. He himself has obviously retained sufficient concentration to write a 276-page closely-argued study, and maintain an interesting blog Rough Type! It’s getting good reviews, and provides much food for thought. “Nicholas Carr has written a Silent Spring for the literary mind,” says one reviewer.

Of course, the broader changes to the culture wrought by digital media have been discussed by Christian books such as Flickering Pixels and The Millennium Matrix. Now Carr is looking at how these changes are being outworked in our brains. His conclusions are certainly worth discussing.

Dr Quentin Schultz of Calvin College has also written on related issues: check his blog Communicating Faithfully.

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More videos from The Skit Guys

More videos from Belair Drama

See also: How to avoid Christianese | More about jargon | The 99 Per Cent Problem

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There are growing opportunities for mission agencies to integrate many different digital evangelism approaches into their existing ministry. Our new Open Letter for mission staff highlights the needs and opportunities.

Please pass this on to anyone working in cross-cultural mission, and blog or tweet about it. Please also republish it online or in print.

And how can this letter be improved? Is there anything else it should cover?

Add your thoughts using the ‘leave a comment’ link below, or email.

Read the Letter

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I blame Bob Monkhouse. I trace my huge enjoyment of comedy, and attempts to make others laugh, largely back to his Mad Mad Movies TV programme.

All he really did was show clips of old slapstick – Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, The Keystone Cops and the rest. And I was hooked at the age of about seven or eight.

Do Not Adjust Your Set, the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, The Goons, Tony Hancock, the classic films of The Marx Brothers, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore and on through Monty Python, Fawlty Towers etc to today’s sketch shows and stand-up comedians.

You see, I believe God hard-wired something into all of us that helps us see the funny side of things. And it doesn’t just help us keep life in perspective – laughter is actually good for us. It releases all sorts of endorphins around our bodies, lessens tension and stress and helps us relax. And the best comedy can be tremendously life-affirming, positive and joyful.

So when, more than 15 years ago, my boss on the evening paper where I was working suggested I go and do an article on “this new comedy club thing” – and as part of it have a go at the open mic spot – I didn’t need persuading.

It was very scary, it was over quickly, and I think somebody laughed at one point. But it was great fun. For some years I threw myself into writing in my spare time, with a little modest success – some paid-for work for comedians like Joe Pasquale and Adrian Walsh, a line used here or there on BBC Radio 4’s News Huddlines, and writing material for comedy agent Brad Ashton.

“I never thought I’d run a comedy club”

But I never thought I’d be organising and running a comedy club – let alone launching our town’s first ever Comedy Festival. The former saw the light of day after a one-off gig with stand-up and actress Jo Enright back in November 2008 – demand soon saw an isolated event become a quarterly regular.

Why? Several reasons really:

1. Comedy is a life-enhancer – we have a family-friendly ethos at our club, so the material and humor is suitable for any age from around 12/13 upwards. Enabling people to enjoy a good laugh together with all ages is a really positive thing – especially when the audience is a good mix of Christians and those outside the church community
2. God loves laughter – I really believe that. He created the duck-billed platypus! The Old Testament prophets used drama and satire to deflate the pomposity of those who misused their authority and abused the weak and vulnerable. Jesus himself told stories with a surreal edge (a man with a plank in his eye?!), spent time with those on the fringes (publicans, sinners and Samaritan women), and loved a good wedding party (see Cana). It’s great for people to see that a church-run club can happily dispense with the idea that Christians are anti-fun and don’t have a sense of humor.
3. Comedy disarms people and makes people think – many of the acts we book are Christians. Their faith may not be explicit in their material, but they bring a joy and a quality to their entertainment that is hard to disguise.

It’s also true that when people laugh, their defenses come down – and positive concepts and intriguing questions can be smuggled into the heart.

Our comedy is very wide-ranging, from jokes to observational storytelling, one-liners to the surreal. We’ve had comedy magic, performance poetry, and silly songs. There’s endless variety.

And it’s great using a non-church venue for this kind of event – there’s a bar for people to buy a drink at our regular venue, and people instantly feel comfortable and at ease. That’s often not the case when people come into a church building, with a whole host of baggage and expectations attached.

It’s easy for people to invite friends, neighbors and family members, and an evening of comedy is a relaxed, non-threatening occasion. It’s perfect for chatting in between acts, and building friendships.

So please …

• consider how you or your church could use humor as a bridge-building tool
• pray for Christians in comedy – for good audiences, for the joy of shared laughter, for something of the divine twinkle of God to be seen, heard and sensed
• pray also for those who can write positive, entertaining, life-affirming comedy

Finally, to quote Mr Monkhouse: “They laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian. Well, they’re not laughing now …”

• See more resources on humor and storytelling. Also Google’s links to other Christian comedy information. This article is freely available for republishing in print or digital media.

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In the West, there are many amateur storytelling groups, and even some professional storytellers. I have sat completely entranced in the storytelling tent of a local summer festival.

Listen to a 30-minute BBC radio program about the art of storytelling (only online till 16 August). Storytelling is a wonderful skill to learn, and hugely valuable for any form of evangelism or Christian communication.

Why is this so important? Because we are hard-wired for story, even babies who cannot yet speak. It is the lens God gave us to interpret the world and our place within it. In our new ‘digital communication culture’, visual storytelling is becoming even more significant. We need to learn the skills to embed truth within story, as well as find embedded truth within the stories told by others. It’s what Jesus did.

There are some Christian groups available to give training. See
Christian Storytelling and other links.

Related resources include Visual Story Network and the International Orality Network.

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