[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7rWjnp7p7g[/youtube]
If you aren’t familiar with the fine work of Lee and Storme at eleven72, the video above, entitled “Who Is eleven72?”, may not be a good place to start. While you do get a good idea that they are good-natured, funny guys, you’re probably better off watching the videos on their site to get a feel for what kind of media they typically create. However, their man-on-the-street video did get me thinking.
They probably set out to make the video knowing that most of the people they interviewed would have no idea who or what eleven72 was, and then everyone would get a good laugh out of it. But then I wondered what would happen if a church took a camera crew to a busy part of their community and asked, “What is ____ Church?” Or maybe, “What do you think of _____ Church?” My guess is that the results could either be really encouraging or really uncomfortable.
Your church members’ hearts might soar as a member of their community says, “_____ Church really helped me out last year when I was at the end of my rope. I know I call on them when I have a need that I can’t meet on my own.” Or your audience might squirm as the guy down the street reports, “I tried it out once, but no one looked me in the eye or introduced themselves because of my tattoos.”
Given the unpredictable and potentially uncomfortable nature of a project like this, most of us probably aren’t willing to give it a shot. However, I can’t help but thinking that it could also be one of the most convicting and impacting videos a church could show to its members. A video like this asks and answers the question, “How do the people to whom we are called to communicate the gospel perceive us?” Hopefully the adjectives and anecdotes used by the interviewees will sound like something that could be applied to Jesus rather than the Pharisees. If not, at least you know where you stand in your community–and where to begin changing how you engage the world around you.