Connect 18: The Australian Christian Media Conference

Kathleen and I are traveling in Australia and New Zealand speaking at a number of churches as well as the conference of the Christian Media and Arts organization. This is a remarkable group that includes radio and television stations, program producers, filmmakers, digital media creators, and leaders from across the media spectrum.

I’m writing this not to go into detail about the event, but to let you know what amazing things are happening with Christians working in media throughout Australia and New Zealand. Arnie Cole and Rick Dunham just completed a massive research report on the state of media engagement in the country. I’ll be sharing that in coming weeks, but I’ve always been impressed with the desire here to base decisions on real research rather than personal likes or dislikes.

To make change happen successfully, it needs to be based on facts.

I’m also very fascinated with what the team at The Center for Public Christianity is doing engaging mainstream culture in the country. Kathleen has been sharing about the #MeToo movement and it’s impact on the media industry in the United States. I’ve been sharing from my new book “The Way Back: How Christians Blew Our Credibility and How We Get It Back.” My book has really echoed a desire from participants to be authentic and live out our lives as Christians, and has been a powerful thread through the entire event.

We’ve taught at this conference multiple times over the years and we feel a special kinship with our brothers and sisters in Australia and New Zealand. This is an incredibly creative and visionary group, and media leaders in the United States have so much to learn from these amazing leaders.