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15The Cooperation of the Church with the Media as a Tool for the Implementation of Evangelical Values in the Culture
Oleksiy GORDYEYEV, Kyiv, Ukraine © o. Gordyeyev, 2011
In place of an introduction
The title of this article in the context of the "missions" issue of Theological Reflections owes its existence to the very wide semantic field of the journal's theme. The post-Soviet evangelical movement follows David Bosch[1] in the view that the nominal presence of the church[2] among people is not its direct mission. The effectiveness of a religious organization's actionshas as its prerequisite a certain kind of activity. According tothe author?s observations, if the traditional methods of the church's influence on society and the processes within it, in the countries of the former USSR, have only been studied more or less superficially, then questions about the presence of Protestant churches in the modern media and the electronic world up to the present have only been deemed worthy of afew journalistic reviews and polemical articles. Characteristically, the best post-Soviet textbooks on missiology[3] contain practically no mention on their pages of the relationship of an information-oriented society to church structures, which, in principle, declares their out-of-date status. The positions of Protestant churches are discrete, unsystematic, inconsistentand often contradictory, and are formed not by a thorough study of relevant issues, but exist because journalistsand other innovative workers in the sphere of web 2.0 have come to church.
The current status quo, in which the activity of individuals and individual churchesis apparent, given the absence of any thought-out tactics, and (it follows) any strategy, is due to the heavy psychological and social burden inherited from the only possible goal of the church in the Soviet Union—namely, to survive. However, events of the 1990s-2000s, as well as the harshness of post-Soviet society's transition from an industrial to an
Oleksiy Gordyeyev holds a Bachelor of Missiology degree and a Bachelor of Theology in New Testament Studies degree from Kyiv Christian University. He is the author of articles on church-state, interfaith and interdenominational relations and works as a reporter for the Religious Information Service of Ukraine. Oleksiy is married and serves as a preacher and musician at "New Life" church. E-mail: al_friendster.livejournal.com; gordyeyev.oleksiy@gmail.com
informational paradigm, must contribute to the formation of an adequate and appropriate approach to contemporary living in the midst of the media in the context of thedigital era.
1. The theological background forthe presence of the ecclesia in the media
We may approach the dialectical relationship between the church and the media, which, according to journalistic tradition, includes newspapers, radio, TV, movies, the Internet and the blogosphere in particular, in two key ways. On the one hand, the Orthodox-Catholic and (to a lesser extent) Protestant traditions comprehend God not as a static Being, but by using the termperihoresis, stressingthe dialogic nature of the relationship between the Persons of the Trinity. A human being, called to godlikeness, inherits a social way of life (a «social animal,» according to Aristotle) and turns monologue media into means of mass communications (hereafter, MMC). Thus, the MMC become an adequate instrument for imitatio Dei on the horizontal level. The one-sided flow of information from producer to consumer141 cannot be theologically justified.
On the other hand, the media, as part of the social palette, in the process ofthe study of relations with religious organizations, turns the conversation back onthe socio-political track («political,» in the Aristotelian sense). Theology,in this case, has to act from positions that have a direct or
indirect relationship to the life of society. This is why missiology (MMC and the mission ofthe church), anthropology (MMC and the human being as a recipient and interpreter of information), ecclesi-ology (MMC and the image of the church) and other branches of theological knowledgetake the foreground. If the link between the last two sections of theology and MMC is touched on in subsequent chapters,it is because we are paying particular attentionto the issue of the relationship between church missiologyand the calling to illuminate the religious part of society by means of mass media.
Consciously or unconsciously, ecclesiastical missiological paradigms, as convincingly demonstrated by David Bosch, have a corresponding theological basis. Content analysis of materials from the churches or publications sympathetic to religious conservative (there are not many) demonstratea directly proportion-alcorrelation between the concept of how the church understandsthe process of salvation and what image it is to present in the highly competitive, highly differentiated religious «market.»[51
In the view of believers in the former Soviet Union, the two extreme soteriolog-ical positions are Calvinism and Arminian-ism. Of course, this is an oversimplification, because itfails to include a wide range of views from exclusivism (the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council) to inclusivism (R. Panikkar, and, in his own way, Origen). However, we note that in the Arminian tradition it is appropriate
Cf. David Bosch, Preobrazovanie missionerstva I3] A. Chatskiy and D. Overton, eds., Missiologiia;
(St. Petersburg: Bibliia dlia vsekh, 1997), pp. 570- D. Bosch, Preobrazovanie missionerstva.
571. M Jean Baudrillard, "Rekviempo mass-media"//
[2] By «church» we mean here and below, the http://polite.com.ua/library/3948-.html (accessed
Church of Christ, localized for the sake of research 20.04.2011).
facilities and scientific correctness, in the countries I5] Hans Kung, Christ sein (Munich: R. Piper &
that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Co.Verlag, 1974), pp. 89-90.
to accept that, «our Lord Himself set the rule not to change a man by force. He can change him, and will change him, but only when man succumbs to Him. In this sense, he has limited His power.»[6] Followers of Calvin, denying the human ability to respond to the message of salvation (John 15: 16), stress that the Divine economy does not depend on human response because the solution for the salvation of the individual was made without his participation. Such disparate theological systems have never existed in their pure form, rather like the physics of an ideal gas; they were modified, and sometimes tended to synthetic models. However, each of them has directly influencedevery denomination's way of social thinking and interaction with the media.
The extremely consistentview of the Reformed Churches on the order of salvation (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints), with its «un-conditional election» entered functionally into conflict with the motivation and missionary style of the Apostle Paul, who «[has] become all things... to save at least some» (1 Cor9: 22). The basic question of the motivation ofmissionary work, «Whye-vangelize if all the elect will be saved,» wasbasically resolved by the logic of proof, «by the power and command of God.» That is, if an omniscient and omnipotent God commanded the church (Matt 28:1920) to preach the gospel,it has no right to deny His call. The missionary movement initiated bybelievers motivated bythe
[6] C. S. Lewis, Beda s etim N!; Poka my lits ne obreli; Stat'i vystupleniia, interv'iu, vol. 2 (Minsk, Moscow: Vinograd, 1998), p. 382.
[7] John Stott, la veriu v silu blagovestiia. Iskusstvo dukhovnogo krasnorechiia, http://www.reformed. org.ua/2/405/5/Stott (accessed 03.04.2011).
[8] Cf. an interview with Ralph Haska, pastor of the
views of Calvin, however, has not experienced a lack of creative preachers, able to speak to the times in which they live. Thus, John Stott urgeshis colleagues to «take into account the perception of the modern congregation,»171 which clearly can be interpreted as a desire to ease the way of under-standingthe gospel by its recipients. We may note thatinteraction with the media for Reformed communities is considered an opportunity forthe realization of God's plan of salvation for all people. The reverse side is embodied here (in the context of post-Soviet countries) in therelatively low media activity amongReformation churches and the undeveloped strategy for their presence in media space.[8]
It is a well-known fact that the Reformed community' strong emphasis on God's sovereignty is balanced by the representatives of Arminian soteriological thought who give strong attention to human free will and the right to choose. This fact, in our opinion, is directly related to the media. Jacob Arminius (1560-1609) argued that the paradox of biblical theolo-gy—«God calls a person to make a choice"vs. "No onecan make the right choice because of total depravity"—is solved by the concept of «prevenient grace," associated with the evangelist John's words, «The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world» (John1: 9). This auxiliary theory consists of accepting that «God in His love and goodness is active (emphasis added) in every human life, from devout Christian to atheist and conscious Buddhist, »[9] thus compensating for the human inabil-
Lutheran Church of St. Katarina in Kyiv, during which he described his lack of understanding of the media's role: http://risu.org.ua/ru/index/expert_thought/ interview/39388/ (accessed 02.04.2011)
[9] Michael Lodahl, Istoriia Boga (Saint Petersburg: Bibliia dlia vsekh, 2006), p. 46.
ity to seek God, in contrast to Phil 2:21.[10] Anticipating in part the conclusion of this article, we note that the secular media often become powerful allies in the implementation of «prevenient grace,» whichis very flexible in nature.1111 The process of missionrefracted through the prism of communication theory"teaches" that the source of information is the church and its representatives, while the information itself is thegood news of salvation through Jesus Christ by means of the church(extra eccle-siamnullasalus), and the recipient of the in-formationis society. The most complex component in this chain isthe communication channel. Traditional dataflow in an information-oriented society (personal contacts, meetings, etc.) will continue to occupy its own niche, butmodern technology and, in particular, «analog» (traditional) and electronic media are at the forefront today. It is the media that often indirectly takes on the duties that Christ Himself in His Great Commission has given to His church in the imperative mood. Thus, according to journalism theorist Vladimir Zdorovega, it was «due to oral and printed journalism... that we feel an impetus to national, spiritual, including religious, revival»1121 in Ukraine. Media, according to experts in the field, are obliged to inform the audience concerning all the important events in the life of the church (perhaps a distant cousin of narrative theology), to produce high-quality analysis and artistic journalistic materials. As in the case of an ideal gas, the absence of external circumstances and the uniqueness of the phenomenon (i.e. the church),
together with competent performers would inevitably lead to a hagiographic production that would fulfill the actual role of pre-evangelization materials that prepare people for an encounter with the gospel. In practice, relations between the church and MMC are much more complex and dramatic, ranging from recognition of the existence of religion to the «anti-sectarian hysteria» analyzed in the following pages. Thus, in the Arminian context, MMC play a special role related to the theoretically objective provision of information about the dynamics of church life. The absence of this situation in reality is largely the fault of the church, which has failed to establish good relations with the media and to become public.
2. The post-Soviet church ignores the media: Practice
Researchers often note that the semi-catacomb existence that generallyserved to preservechurch life during the Soviet period did Protestant churches a bad turn. Secrecy, «double-entry bookkeeping,» and conspiracy, combined with the suddenness of God's answer to prayers concerning the collapse of the USSR, are not regarded by national media as a relic of the socialist past. Rather, they imply that the church has something to hide. Not new in itself,[13] every suspicion during the pre-information era was dispelled by literary works offered in response.1141 In the information stage of society's development, characterized by the existence of parallelonline reality, which is no less influential in terms of the formation of the individual's ideological
[10] For everyone looks out for his own interests, I13] Peter Dinzelbacher, ed., Istoriia evropeis'koi not those of Jesus Christ (NIV). mental'nosti (L'viv: Litopis, 2004), p. 157.
[11] Istoriia Boga, p. 47. [14] For example, «Against Celsus» by Origen,
[12] Volodymyr Zdorovega, Teoriia i metodika «Against Apion» by Josephus Flavius.
zhurnalists'koi tvorchosti(L'viv: "PAIS", 2008), p. 235.
foundations,1151 the adjustment of the church's public image is in no way different from the work of professional and honest secular press center.
2.1. No alternative to providing information
According to media theorists, journalism?s priority is still the news. This is why church processes, although they are a highly specialized niche, have become a subject of interest to social and political publications-since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Catholic sources emphasize that the «means of social communication... allow us to open the Church to the modern world. They encourage dialogue within the Church. They help the Church to know the views and attitudes of contemporaries.»1161 Such a description corresponds with the general spirit of Roman Catholic documents relating to MMC, but it corresponds very little to reality. In reality, media which—in contrast to the highly skilled, elite market participants—shape public opinion, tend to look at church life from theaverage consumers point of view. In this context it is appropriate to speak ofthe "primary em-ployment» of a niche. For example, if the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic churches were guided in the formation of media policy by, respectively,Russian or Polish experience, then the Protestant community, not having strong ties with any European institutions, could not include themselves and their media in the social frameworksystem. This has far-reaching consequences in
[15] M. Perun, comp. and ed., Dushepopechitel'skaia instruktsiia Communio etProgressio (L'viv: Vidavnyt-stvo Ukrains'koho Katolyts'koho Universytetu, 2004), p. 122.
[16] Communio et Progressio, p. 125
[17] Teoriia i metodika zhurnalists'koi tvorchosti, p. 18.
I18l Ibid., p. 54
[19] Communio et Progressio, Tserkva i sotsial'na komnikatssia, p.121.
the missionary context.
The late journalism professor at L'viv, Vladimir Zdorovega, remindsresearchers of the maxim,» the one who first reports an event, fact, [or1 phenomenon, is the first to form an opinion about it.»[17] He warns of the consequences of suppressing information: «If you do not report an event unfavorable to you, others will do it, and you will be the one to suffer for it.»[18] Quite often the church has withheld urgent and topical information from journalists who react professionally to anyconcealment of truth. The danger here is that "... rumors begin to appear. These rumors are not based on the whole truth, but in place of it spreaddangerous half-truths."[19] The media use the same approach doing investigative journalism on the church[20] as they do on the representatives of the PR-departments of corporations,1211 whose responsibilities have always included PR and crisis management. Also noteworthy is the assumption that theautobiographical detail in 2 Cor5:11[22] can be applied to any conscious activity, particularly building the concept of the relationship between the church and the media. The lack of choice concerning informationis obvious:the creation of press departments is no longer seen as a sign of strategic, butrather of logical thinking.
It should also be noted that the virtual absence of evangelical churches from MMC radar (as opposed, for example, to Orthodox or Catholic churches) is not primarily due toa corporate policy of conceal-
[2°1 For a contemporary example, see http:// risu.org.ua/ua/index/blog/~0lena/40408/ (accessed 05.04 2011).
[21] Liudmila Obertinskaia, "Korporativnye konf-likty: esli by ne bylo SMI," http://esg.ua/en/page/ corp_konfl.html (accessed 05.04.2011).
[22] Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience (NIV).
ing negative situations of church life. The main reason isa lack of understanding of the role of media in the evangelism paradigm. Either way, the growth of «anti-sec-tarian» (and, in fact, anti-Protestant) publications and stories in the media is the evident effect of both behavioral patterns.
2.2. Anti-sectarian hysteria in the media
Ukrainian legislation—taken separately— is not familiar with the concept of «sect,» whether inthe sociological or journalistic-domestic sense, which is rather unusual for a post-Soviet state. However, this did not prevent a Doctor of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences in Ukraine Professor LudmilaFilipovich, in 2008 from declaring the active phase of so-called «anti-sectarian hysteria.»[23] Under the jurisdiction of this definition falls a full range of conscious and unconscious steps on the part of the media to heighten public non-acceptance of Protestants and NRMs (new religious movements). A good example is the magazine Ukrayinsky Tyzhden [Ukrainian week], whose issue number 45(54) 7-31 November 2008 was dedicated to «Sects. Bombardment with love.»[24]
Protestant churches have an ambivalent attitude toward this phenomenon. On the one hand, the apologetics departments of some confessions support the «unmask-ing» stories on TV and in print. They en-dorsethe government agencies' support of-known «traditional Protestant» denomina-
tions and approve the desocialization of new religious movements.1251 Their opponents point out thatin Ukraine, managing to preserve the delicate balance between existing freedom of conscience and the formal affiliation of the vast majority of Ukrainians to the Orthodox Church, the overly accented anti-sectarian theme of the media is not a carefully directed pressure tactic against a "sect," but rather offendsthe honor and reputation of registered (in legal order) religious organizations.1261 The diffuse nature of the Protestant church's image leads to a situation in which any reasonable (or unreasonable) criticism of a particular religious community, referred to in the media as a «sect,» extends to denominations with a history and a positive image.
«Anti-sectarian hysteria» plays a special role in shaping the attitudes of postSoviet citizens to religious minorities. Not having accurate information about the theology and social position of the Protestant churches, the public is held hostage by their pre-information status, due to the «closeness andisolation from the world of the Christian family»1271 characteristic of post-Soviet Protestantism.
In addition, we must agree that negative information flow about the third branch of Christianity is a practical reason forthe churchto ignore themedia. Unlike commercial organizations, where the function of PR is to work with mass media and respond rapidly to queries and journalistic materials, religious organizations have
[231 Liudmila Filipovich, "Antisektantskaia isteriia v ukrainskikh SMI: vidimye i nevidimye prichiny," in A. Kolodnyi et al, Religiyna svoboda: Religiia v postmodernomu suspil'stvi: sotsial'no-politichni, pra-vovi ta konfesiyni aspekty. Naukovyy shchorichnik, No. 13 (Kyiv: 2008), pp. 311-316.
[241 http://tyzhden.ua/Magazine/54 (accessed 16.04.11).
[251 Volodymyr Khmil', "Dodatkovym chinikom, shcho spryiae poshyrenno destruktyvnykh totali-
tarnykh kul'tiv u nashiy derzhavi, e zumovlena pro-galynamy zakonodavstvi vidsutnist' koordinatsii mizh pravookhoronnymy organamy // http:// risu.org.ua/ua/index/expert_thought/comments/ 29683/ (accessed 11.04.2011).
[261 IuriyReshetnikov, "Svidkiv Egovy, i ne til'ky, // http://risu.org.ua/ua/index/expert_thought/com-ments/14295/ (accessed 11.04.2011).
[271 Mikhail Cherenkov, Kul'tura vliatel'nogo men'shinstva (Simferopol: DIAIPI, 2010), p. 146.
only slowly come to believe that PR-departments are needed for creating a positive pre-evangelization picture. In this context, the experience ofthe inter-denominational association of Christian journalists and publishers, Novomedia,[28] is of undoubted value. One of its purposes is to respond to common errors of secular journalism concerning religion.
The present generation ofpost-socialist citizens is, according to experts, influenced-by the media, especially television. For this reason, it is clear that the formation of a negative image of the Protestant churches is not conducive to public evangelism (concerts, meetings and evangelism in the narrow sense of the word), norto personal contacts of believers who have the label «sectarian» imposed on them. Changing the status quo is only possible throughac-tive informational and educational work with the secular media, which will make it possible in the future to avoid the use of negative labels with respect to Protestants.
3. The post-Soviet church in cooperation with the media: Practice
In the third section we attempted to describe the situation when Protestant organizations refuse to cooperate with the media. As noted, the hunger for information is at first compensated with speculation and rumors, and then, predictably, satisfied by campaignscreating a negative image of these churches. A similar approach in its pure form is rare, mainly in authoritarian or totalitarian states, where journalism, as it was in the Soviet Union, is intend-
ed to convey the official view of the authorities. The dismantling of the Soviet system also led to a fundamental revision of ther-elations matrix between the media and the church.
3.1. The culture of objective religious journalism
Larisa Ivshyna, the compiler of an anthology of publications by the late Ukrainian journalist KlaraGudzyk, notes that «religion and the church have occupieda notable place over the last decademainly because they have gone beyond the boundaries of their internal spiritual affairs and have begun either to be actively involved in politics or to negatively influence public policy, even against their own will.»[29] Thus, religion as such has attracted much attention from MMC. To understand why the modern church's collaboration withthe mass media necessarily leads to objective coverage of church life, we must understand the specifics of the journalist's task. Members of the media work under constant time pressure and the pressure of professional standards that require themal-ways to beinformed, competent, impartial, and honest. The Pontifical Commission for Social Communications encourages the church to «provide... detailed and clear news.»[30] As a result, the church receives theopposite phenomenon tothe one discussed above in 3.2: «anti-sectarian hysteria.»
In this context, the issue is not working to incline the media to the church?s side. Theoretically, principles of fairness and balanced informationdo not allow journalists openly to support the activities of a church. However, for post-Soviet
[28] www.novomedia.ua [30] Communio et Progressio //Tserkva i sotsial'na
[29] Larisa Ivshyna, comp., Apokryfy Klary Gudzyk komunikatsiia, p. 121.
(Kyiv: ZAT "Ukrins'ka pres-grupa, 205), p. 9.
religious space, the un-discredited honor and dignity of a given denomination are still important. Taras Antoshevsky, director of the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, stresses:
«We have many examples of foreign countries where intolerant, stupid, ill-conceived publications on religious themes led to explosions and mass demonstrations. In Ukraine these events have not taken place, however the media often publishes overtly provocative materials.»1311
Protestant churches of the former Soviet Union most oftenobject to the media (especially TV) because of the use ofthe offensive and emotionally charged words «sect,» «brainwashing,» and «recruit-ment.»[321 Of course,when creating materials, the mediaare not guided by Ernst Troeltsch'sdefinition of «sect,»[331 but by traditions of Orthodox "sect-studies" usage, which frankly has no relation to national law or to scholarly religious studies. Typically in such cases, journalists seek sensationalism where it isactually quite rare. Such motivation pushesmass media workers to mix up concepts, use hidden video, and twist commentary. The obvious result is stories or articles revealing invented problems concerning «sects» and society.
Religious organizations, relying on a positive vision of the relationship between religion and MMC, should see the logical consistency of working closely with mass media. Objective religious journalism, which also serves theobjective interests of church organizations, cannot appear by itself because post-Soviet countries have had
no experience with its development. Instead, the articles that have seen the light on the pages of official publications have been synchronized with the ideology of "scientific atheism." Thus, the first step needed in this area is to bring the media to a legitimate basis. Churches can act not only as producers and consumers of information, but also as the subjects of feedback, evaluating the quality and impartiality of religious materials with their feedback, criticism.
In conclusion, it must be emphasized that a mature relationship between the media and religious structures involves not only objective coverage of the positive role of churches in the development of a democratic society, but also a rapid response to acute internal problems. In the latter case, the interests of the church leadership have run in the opposite direction to the interests of the media. KlaraGudzyk states: «... society is no longer surprised at the silence of the church hierarchy and its constant concern not to do its dirty linen in public.»1341 It should be explained that the situation is analogous to paying for the informational openness of the church to the wider community and to the spokesman of its intellect—the media. Church leader-shipalso must understand that the era of web 2.0 has deprived the church of any monopoly on the right totransmitinforma-tion. This situation is the norm in a postindustrial society: journalistsmake use of all legitimate (and often, unfortunately, illegitimate) tools for creating sharp and interesting materials about the life of the church.
[31] L'vivs'ka poshta No. 41(1073) (2011). [33] Ernst Troltsch. Die Soziallehren der christli-
[32] Cf. Ol'ha Zhyla, "Relihiynyy narkotyk" Novi- chen Kirchen und Gruppen (Tübingen: Gesammelten
nar No. 7 (22-28 Feb 2008); cf. a series of stories on Schriften, 1923), Bd.1.3. Aufl. S. 361-377
TSN channel (tsn.ua) under the title «U Boga zapa- [34] Apokryfy Klary Gudzyk, p. 21. zukhoi" presented with completely clear intentions.
Here also lies a psychological peculiarity which has the potential to facilitate the implementation of Gospel in the culture and life of the state. The population of the former Soviet Union is accustomed to ubiquitous double standards. The absence of that approach in the churches in relation to information about themselves and— mark this—church journalists, can serve to enhance the credibility of the position of Protestant churches. The media should throw light on both sides of church life: success stories and chroniclesof failure. Church leaders (especially in large cities) should also be prepared to accept that there is a separate layer of intellectual laity, who are able to represent the interests of the ecclesia at least as adequately as clergy-insiders. In any case, the experience of public service of a prisoner of conscience, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Myroslav-Marynovych is a striking confirmation of the fact. The image of the church will gain from the multiplicity of its representatives because a differentiated society will be able to finda face in the church that is consonant with it.
3.2. The demarginalization of postSoviet Protestantism
A considerable part of the scholarly and journalistic works bydoctor of philosophy and vice president of the association «Spiritual Renewal» in Ukraine, Mikhail Cher-enkov, is dedicated to an overview of the causes and consequences of the marginal-ization of post-Soviet Protestants. Understanding the implications of this concept in the context of «deprivation of an indi-
vidual's participation in meaningful social life,»[35] scholarspoint out that for twenty years Protestantism, for diverse reasons, has not been able to create a full, coherent, national culture and theology. In 2010, Vladimir Solodovnikov, who had very difficult relationships with the Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptists of Russia as well as with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, published an article entitled, «Lack of professionalism and mar-ginalization are the scourge of Protestant society in Russia,»in which he polemically pointed out that «... the body of Christ was not just divided, but became an invalid, having lost part of its spiritual and intellectual elites.»[36] Closed and isolated from world Christianity,1371 preferring negative statements in their confessional identity,1381 the Protestants of the former USSR are in need of strategiescapable of rectifying the situation and offocusing efforts on correcting the church's course. In this context, positive experience of cooperation with the media can play an important role.
Since the perception of society by contemporary people is closely connected with the influence of MMCinforming the individual about news and events, a situation develops in which:
... mass communication is able to determine not only what people think, but also what they thinkabout. For many people, reality is whatthe mass media considers real, and what the media do not pay attention to means little. Because de facto [italics mine—A.G.1 individuals and groups ignored by the media are doomed to oblivion and silence, even the voice of the
[35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginalization [371 Kul'tura vliiatel'nogo men'shinstva, p. 146.
(accessed 16.04.2011). [381 R. Wayne Stacy, ed., A Baptist's Theology (Ma-
[361 http://ukrmonitor.ucoz.org/news/neprofessionalizm con: Smyth&HelwysPublishing, Inc». 1999), p.v.
_i_marginalnost_bich_protestantskogo _soobshhestva [39 Aetatis Novae, 4, "Tserkva i sotial'na komuni-
_v_rossii/2010-01-27-1235 (accessed 16.04.2011). katsiia," p. 143.
Gospel may be, if not nullified, then
muted.[391
As a result, the mass media have created, as perBaudrillard, a simulacrum, that is, a product of digital hyper-reality. It is a holistic image, starting from a feature of reality, but then, in the process of its qualitative development, losing almost all the features of reality. For example, favorable "market" conditions may require the formation of public opinion expressed in the categorical rejection of «sects» bya country with a nominal Orthodox population, although, when studied sociologically, the picture of society's opinioncan be radically different from the simulacrumconstructed.
In this situation, mutually beneficial cooperation between Protestants and MMC can make a particular theology, religious practices, and moral and social activities of a community the subject of discussion at the city, regional or state-level— depending on the scope of the media. In the post-Soviet states we observe a paradoxical situation in which the Protestant community, in the face of unfair and poor-quality materials (forunknown reasons), respond with an information blackout, which results in a vicious cycle. In response, the media prefer to pay attention to the criminal components of church life, ignoring the positive experience of public and spiritual service ofthe community. It should also be noted that "good news" forthe media, whose standing is based on ratings and advertisers,issecondary, since it reveals no problems and gives no signs of sensationalism. That is why the following components are to be included in the information ministry policy of Protestant churches: the creation/development of press centers, the preparation of informational materials, and the training of qualified news staff.
The following assertiondemands no proof: the clergy are not competent in public relations. To deal with PR, most denominations have established press centers or appointed press secretaries whose duties include the management of information flow inside and from within the church. If we look at marginalization (whether conscious or unconscious) as the process of directing the church to the periphery of public life, the demarginalization plan will at least consist of steps that support the centripetal (toward society and the culture) vector of church life. In the context of the church press service, it is embodied in measures taken to improve the professionalism of its staff and oriented to the standard of quality and speed of response of secular corporate PR-departments. It should be noted that familiarity with the specifics of most Ukrainian churchpress departments suggests that the work of a competentecclesiastical specialist dealing with the public and the media (Bishop of Vasil'kovskiy, Evstratiy (Zo-ria)—Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate; Father Igor Iatsiv—Ukraini-an Greek-Catholic Church; Archpriest Georgiy (Kovalenko)—Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate) gives the expected result in short order. Experience also shows that, given the level of busyness and the difficulty of contacting church leaders,that the church press secretary should become an independent figure in the information space. The appointment to this post makes high moral, professional, and communication demands on its candidates.
The second step towards the demargin-alization of Protestantism and its legitimate appearance in the information arena is, as stated above, the training of qualified news personnel. This concerns press employees and supervisors responsible for ac-
tivities at regional and district levels. The main problem in this sector lies in the fact that beforetaking purposeful steps in this direction, most of the press department staff received a humanities education and gained professional experience before they became believers. That is, for example, the story of ValentinaKrytska's career—the current press secretary of All-Ukrainian Association of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. The opening of the Faculty of Christian Journalism at Kyiv Christian University[401 and of the earlier Master's program in Religious Journalism at the Ukrainian Catholic University[411 are key eventsin the context of Ukrainian Christianity. It is hoped that the training of professionals in this sector will be accompanied by the involvement of secular professionals and support in finding employment.
The third point that requires some comment is the mention of the need to produce quality informational materials. By "informational materials"we mean print media, although in a digital society this termmay signify any data, in any media, in any form. Informational transparency, as a rule, results in the systematic promulgation, necessary a priori for journalists and the broader public,of the materials required for the formation of an adequate picture of a church organization. The system-atization and regularity of this process entail the following steps: the appointment of persons responsible for filling the church web pages with timely content;the allocation of time by senior church leadership to communicate with representatives of both the secular and religious media; and the design and development of specialist ma-
[401 http://ecbua.info/index.php?option=com_ content&task=view&lang=ua&id=1169&Itemid= (accessed 17.04.2011), news discussion: http:// risu.org.ua/ru/index/blog/~Jesfor/33405/ (accessed 17.04.2011).
terials for the media containing general and detailed information about the doctrinal, social, and ethical features of the denomination. The ultimate goal of this set of undertakings is a church image that is open to the media and is ready to take full responsibility for being at the center of the social and political life of society.
4. Evangelical values in the culture
In talking about the penetration of evangelical values into contemporary culture, we mean that Christian virtues are not going to be implemented from scratch. When discussingsimilar topics, one generally takesas a starting point the time five to ten years after the declaration of independence of the former socialist republics. Parallel to these difficult socio-political events, intensive processes of spiritual and moral revival also took place. However, it was recognized that the enthusiasm that accompanied the stormy 1990s did not lead to any irreversible changes in the structure of relations between "church/authorities"; "church/society," or "authorities/society." If some states attempted to develop their own path without reference to democratic values and human rights at all, other states, in implementing religious policies resorted to the allocation of the role of «traditional confessions» (Russia, Belarus). The most stable model of a relationship between state and church interests was achieved in Ukraine, where the Constitution[421 and the profile Law «On freedom of conscience and religious organizations»[431 declares the-equal, but not in an Orwellian sense, rela-
[41] http://ucu.edu.ua/media/2119/ (accessed 17.04.2011). I42l Article 35 I43l Article 4-6
tionship of all churches and theoretically does not endow anyone withprivileges of any kind.
The theme of evangelical values incorporated into modern post-communist cul-tureinvolves a detailed segmentation of states with the consequential division of societies with consideration of their specific interests and needs. The very possibility of theological and sociological reflections on this subject demands that we restrict ourselves conditionally to the so-called «Ukrainian» version, because the balance of power in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyr-gyzstan and other nation-states was originally constructed against the Christian minority, so that the issue concerns the actual physical survival of people. The Russian and Belarusian options in this context are not suitable because of the symphony (or unity in the case of Belarus) between the Orthodox Church and the government, hindering the development of the interests of both religious and national minorities. The «Ukrainian» option alsoprovides the best backdrop for the discussionbecause the Ukrainian law'sguaranteeof the government's equal attitude to religious organizations (although it has taken a significant turn in the direction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarch-atefollowing theinauguration of Viktor Yanukovych) does not predetermine the success or failure of any church initiative: everything depends on the vision and diverse opportunities of the pioneers of the process. It is precisely the clash of interests and the subsequent confrontation that become the reason of a particular concept's success.
[441 http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me^gyHapoflH^iH _coro3jepKBeft_eBaHreabCKHX_xpHCTHaH-6anTHCTOB (accessed 21.04.2011).
[451 Preobrazovaniia missionerstva, p. 571.
1461 Ibid, pp.353-354
4.1. Internal churchcontext
It is a paradox, but when speaking of the incarnation, abstractly understood, of Christian values in the culture (pluralist, multi-confessional), we confirm that the object of initiative recognizes the need for the implementation of a «project.» In fact, domestic Protestantism is not monolithic in these matters. For example, the position of a considerable number of churches with a difficult historical fate (for example, Baptists who refused to register in 1961, now the International Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists1441) is well-known. This religious niche avoids having a direct influence on the culture. Instead, they continue to focus on direct evangelization, bringing souls into the church of Christ. This guideline comes from a corresponding missiology: the testimony of the church ispreaching inthe church, but fellowship (inter-denominational contacts) and service (social theology, political influence) are squeezed to the periphery.1451 Defining liberal Christians as a group who «focus more on the form of Christian influence associated with the gradual penetration of ideas, values, customs, etc., than on the conversion to Christianity in the narrow sense of the word,»[461 conservative Christianity has responded to this «challenge» by supporting the missionary ministry of Billy and, somewhat later, Franklin Graham. PostSoviet apathy toward cultural-social service is due to the consequences of the deliberate marginalization of Soviet Protestantism and a complete lack of experience.
4.2. Indirect influence
Fruitful interaction with the culture requires a step of faith, which is considered a high-risk zone for financial, labor, and intellectual investment. It is much easier to apply the above resources to church prop-
erty or special equipment. No one denies the strategic importance of the development of relations in the sphere of morals and culture, preferring, however, to join a well-established "innovative" practice. If we attempt to present schematically the steps for using the media for the incorporation of evangelical values in post-Soviet culture, the result will look as follows:
§ Attention to secular higher education
The neglect of completed higher education with the desired subsequent specialization (Master's level) should be remembered as a side effect ofdomestic Protestantism's growing pains. It is recommended that churches focus on the fact that young Christians are prospective students; having received higher education, they are able to be financially independent, whileChristian education in Ukraine and Russia, as a rule, does not guarantee employment. It is important that while executing their official duties they can embody the gospel ethic in the cultural life of society. Of course, this mainly concerns humanities graduates. If the importance of personal life witness is not directly dependent on one's education and activities, then receiving a humanities education scholarship lays additional responsibilities on a Christian for ministry in word and thought. In this context, encouragement to obtain a journalism degree is of particular importance because it allow-speople who are insiders in information processes to transmitChristian values.[471
§ The position of a cultural object
TrainedChristian professionals, who have an adequate amount of knowledge and relevant experience, may move from asubject
[47] "Tserkva i sotsial'na komunikatsiia," Paps'ke
poslannia znahody Vsesvitn'oho dnia komunikatsyy u
1969 rotsi, p. 230.
modus ("being described") to the initiators' modus ("describers"). In the context ofjournalism we must repeat once more the need for Christians in secular and church media. It is in the media, according to insiders of the process, thata journalist sworldview may influence, if not the facts, then the tone and manner in which the facts are presented, which is essential in describing moral and ethical issues. One can only welcome the establishment of the Christian branches of associations or guilds of journalists, lawyers, doctors and other cells that assist specialists in their professional and spiritual growth. At this point it is clear thatChristiansdo not play a significant role in secular journalism. However, systematic efforts to attract believers to this area can improve the social climate and contribute to the establishmentof harmonious and tolerant relations between religious organizations and society. «Mean-while, Christian education has used only a few of the opportunities presented bysci-entific apologetics, Christian ethics, Christian art, philosophical debates, journalism, and publishing projects.»1481
§ Movement in both directions and the creation of mass-media
Jean Baudrillard observed that the process of communication is two-way.[49] An active response to neutral or aggressive media must be accompanied by the creation of Christian response materials distributed through its own channels of information. Domestic Protestantism feels a great lack of informational channels. If it is still too soon to talk about full-fledged church television, then the situationof magazines is truly alarming. Protestant churches are in
[48] Kul'tura vliiatel'nogo men'sinstva, p. 147.
[49] "Rekviem po mass-media,"http://polite. com.ua/library/3948-.html (accessed 20.04.2011).
dire need of print media ofan open, not church-oriented type. There are, for instance, the Catholic Ukrainian magazine CREDO,[50] the Polish Roman Catholic GoscNiedzielny,[51] and the Orthodox Rus-sianFoma [Thomas][52] magazines. Creating its own media is pertinent to both the short- and long-term outlook of post-Soviet Protestant communities.
Conclusion
Communication between people reflects the dialogical and dynamic nature of the relationship between the Persons of the Trinity. Media as a tool of communication between people is a meanof transnational communication. Media play an important role regardless ofthe salvationmodel one accepts—for example, Calvinist or Armin-ian. In the first case, the media are used by the church as a platform for execution of the simple order ofJesus Christ;in the second case it is a component of «prevenient-grace.» In both instances, thechurches are expected to take volitional stepsin establishing communication with the media.
The negative relationships matrixre-sults usually in the formation of a biased
and, in fact, extremely disadvantageous information-picture for the church, which spoils relations with society. An extreme example is the notorious «anti-sectarian hysteria,» which can marginalize Protestant churches.
However, a positive relationships matrix leads to an increased role for responsible journalists as well as tothe Protestant community'sdemarginalization, manifesting itself in growing influence in cultural and social processes. Intentional bridge building to the media (mainly secular) can not only involve themdirectly in the plan of salvation, but also perform the task of indirectly creating a positive image of the church. To do this, the churches, first, must come to an agreement on the need for cooperation with the media;second, encourage young Christians to choose specializa-tionsentailing creative work in the humanities; third,move from a waiting position to the position of an active player in the informational field; and, finally, to create their own media, of no lesser quality than that of secular publications, media specifically geared to fulfill plans motivated by gospel values.
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