For Churches, Content Isn't King

| By Scott McClellan | Found in Communication, The Web | 14 Comments

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You’re probably familiar with the refrain, “Content is king!” But what does that really mean? Here’s Wikipedia’s take (for whatever that’s worth):

The phrase can be interpreted to mean that – without original and desirable content, or consideration for the rights and commercial interests of content creators – any media venture is likely to fail through lack of appealing content, regardless of other design factors.

In other words, a media venture can’t subsist on aesthetics alone. Your blog, your podcast, your tweets, your website, your newsletter, and your sermons all need good content in order to offer actual value to an audience. Makes sense, right?

Here’s the thing: the local church is not a media venture. Media ventures tell its story and spread its message, but the local church is not a media venture. Thus, content isn’t king.

Houston Clark from Clark Pro Media helped me understand this. He pointed out that all the religious media (content) he could ever want — sermons from the best communicators in the world, great worship music, challenging books, articles, and blog posts — travels with him wherever he goes via his iPhone. If fantastic content is always available, there has to be another reason to come to your church.

That’s why I don’t believe content is king in the local church. In fact, the more I think about it, I don’t think any one thing is the most important thing in a local church. Maybe there is a congress of things that are vital to a local church, things like community, mission, and service. Sure, content is in the discussion, but I don’t think it’s the king.

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  • http://www.arbor.edu Nate Evans

    I think this is a great idea to consider. Shane Hipps talks a lot about this idea in "Flickering Pixels" but just says it a bit differently, "The medium is the message." This has been transformational for me to think about over the past few months – The way we live our lives is a story in itself, whether we like it or not. Are we telling good stories that reflect growth, love and Christ's-likeness?

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  • http://worshipVJ.com proctor

    crap… i guess i have to delete that quote from my visual worship slides/notes.

    in the area of video production, we always say "content is king" b/c you can focus on software, computers, HD projectors, cabling, cameras, etc…. all the "gear"…but if you are putting crappy pictures and pixelated "content" (or content without good design &/or message), then what's the point?

    i'd rather have crappy projectors and PowerPoint with stunning images rather than the latest Mac, HD projectors, and pixelated lo-rez cheesy loops/images.
    extreme examples, but just sayin'.

    However, if we apply this discussion to "visual worship"…then i guess we'd have to think about/approach our visual media/production/worship-leading as a "congress of things….(all) are vital to (visual worship), things like community, mission, and service."

    maybe that's what the visual aspect of church (and those leading it each week) are missing these days: community, mission and service. (not just talking about the message of our "content" here)
    Maybe the problem is we focus on "gear" and even the "content" too much. we become a great production house, but somewhere along the way, we forget that we're also the Church.
    hmmm……

    #thingstowrestlewith

  • Katie

    I think I would have to agree. In the world we live in people encounter us on many levels before then encounter our content. The "congress of things" can either work together in harmony or can be at odds. If you only worry about content you end up at odds. But if you don't worry about content you also end up at odds.

    Unfortunately I think we've bread a generation of Christians who care so much about the content and protecting the content that they forget the purpose of the content. The content is not intended to be simply that. The content exists for transformation which requires action. Perhaps thinking "content is king" is what got the church at large in America to the place it is today. It would seem to me that churches who are growing and have "it" are those who understand that content isn't king.

    proctor, great thoughts in that last paragraph. so how do we bring community, mission & service back to visual worship? or is it a case where we can leverage the power of visual worship to bring community, mission, & service back to the church? hmmmmm…. i'm going to go ahead and agree #thingstowrestlewith

  • http://bensimpson.squarespace Ben Simpson

    Interesting. I would challenge you in one way: I think where we miss the point is that we are the content. To quote Hauerwas, the church doesn't have a social ethic, the church is a social ethic. Therefore, our life together (and as individuals transformed by the gospel to become persons capable of living moral lives) constitutes the "content" we present to the world. In other words, the content that matters is our people, not our media.

    Just a thought. And, when I saw your headline, I thought, "Scott is right on. For churches, content isn't King. There is someone else who has that title. And we follow Him."

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/ScottMcClellan ScottMcClellan

    Great thoughts, Stephen, Katie, and Ben! Each of your perspectives is helping me challenge and develop this idea in my little brain.

  • peterfromhorwich

    Really enjoyed reading this discussion. The post made me think of the Cory Doctorow quote "Content isn't king… Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about."

    Relating this to my local church experience, we're inspired to act, to change, to love by the conversations – and relationships that the conversations are part of. We're moving away from focusing on presentation and performance being important to us, as you say " there has to be another reason to come to your church". That reason is perhaps the conversations and relationships to be had there.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/ScottMcClellan ScottMcClellan

    Exactly, Peter! Perhaps content (sermons, small group curriculum, music) best serves its purposes by initiating, catalyzing, or reinforcing conversations, community, relationships, mission, etc.

    To me, the fact that a life-changing small group could be formed around some pastor's curriculum (not your pastor's) or some writer's book (who doesn't attend your church) suggests that you produce/broadcast isn't as important as what you host, facilitate, ignite.

  • http://myasr.net Alex

    I would agree with this in that each medium we pass information through has it's own say in that content. Nate hit it on the head, although he attributed the phrase which comes strait off the pages of Marshall McLuhan. The mediums we use have almost as much say in what we are trying to say as what we say to begin with.

  • http://www.praytel.net/blog Kevin Shorter

    I disagree. Content is still king! The idea of content is king is not for traffic but for search. Search engines cannot distinguish from a pretty site and an ugly site although it does make a few guess from the coding and page load time. Content determine whether the site search engines offer up match what people are searching for. Hudson may not bookmark a church site for their content, but when he is searching for something, the search engines will offer up a church site if the content matches. Therefore content is still king.

    With regards to returning visits, content is still king, but it is no longer content in the form of text. Content in the form of unique materials keep people returning. Are you offering something substantial and of worth. This may filter into other devices such as iphones, but the content, such as sermon downloads, newly written songs, devotionals, etc. keep people returning to your site.

    If God calls a church into existence, that church has something to offer to the community God has given it to minister. Putting things online adds to the on-going discipleship of that community. Again, content is still king.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/ScottMcClellan ScottMcClellan

    Kevin,

    Thanks for you comment, but this post wasn't about websites or SEO at all. It's about the life and mission of the local church.

  • http://www.thejakers.com/asides/show-and-tell-links-of-the-week-for-121306 Show and Tell: Links of the Week for 12/13/06 | thejakers

    [...] it comes to the Church, content isn’t king. So argues Scott [...]

  • http://churchresearch.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/collide-magazine-%c2%bb-blog-archive-%c2%bb-for-churches-content-isn%e2%80%99t-king/ Collide Magazine » Blog Archive » For Churches, Content Isn’t King « Alternative Church: Research

    [...] via Collide Magazine » Blog Archive » For Churches, Content Isn’t King. [...]

  • http://www.praytel.net/blog Kevin Shorter

    Dear Scott, I admit I have a bent toward websites and thinking online, but I would still argue that content is still greatly desired. Even if a local ministry's calling is to provide a growing community of believer for support and fellowship content is still necessary to provide the focus and clarity to the group. Content provides the means for the vision to be communicated. Without a clearly stated vision the ministry will be distracted by the whims of differing opinions.

    With that said and your focus on the ministry itself, it is impossible to argue anything to be king except Christ Himself. The ministries content is important, but so is prayer, calling, etc. Ultimately the ministry should focus on whatever Christ leads them to focus on and since Jesus makes that decision, He is King! And, as a ministry follows Him, He will draw in the people He wants.