HG Anba Ermia delivered a sermon at Renew your ministry conference at the East railway area, about “The Danger of Media in ministry”. Media is common among ministers and affect pastoral activity so it requires wisdom and knowledge to deal with it.
1. Solomon the Wise said .. Now give wisdom and knowledge ..
2. Knowledge without wisdom is not good .. Attend to your herds
3. What is Knowledge? spiritual affairs and how to protect against evils
4. With proper education, we protect the served worshipers from evils not by personal power and ability but by the Lord and to present our Lord properly to them to help them.
5. Difficult challenges fore-fronted by TV and media affect global, regional and Church level.
6. The media have broken distance and time barrier Now you can know all the news with one click
7. All information can be retrieved from many years ago
8. The negatives and positive aspects of the media were studied
9. In Internet and Mobile Media, media is the sender and the human and institutions are the receiver.
9. There is no doubt that the media message leaves a certain effect, media word in Arabic come from know or who knows informations and their secrets
10. Let us know that the media ignited the 25th January revolution.
11. Every material we publish people follow it and the news are remodeled to support the institution benefits or to analyse the news or to fight a particular thought and certain effects may be used to present and simplify the information.
12. Spread of false news and the publisher may not believe it is false
13. Depending on false ideas and the responsibility of the church
14. You must know that the media can destroy or build by the dissemination of danger ideas in the form of art works art such as serials or films or ads and deceive the human by proclaiming bullying as courage or escaping from problems through drug addiction.
15. Media may make people’s have a collective wrong conscience, such as emotion and pushing people against sound principles
16. Providing myths and fantasies as a fact that affects people’s minds
Is there a possibility to that media be positive?
Yes
1. There is no doubt that preventing media negativity from served worshipers is very difficult, but first we must give true love, care, containment and assistance, as if they are not fighting alone, they must be fed with confidence and support and satisfy them and their presence and recall their potential. Can you satisfy the soul with love?
2. Helping the served worshipers to understand things in a proper way. Look at what St. Mark did in the past. He founded a theological school in Alexandria to spread the knowledge of faith, it is necessary to help them to know what is right and wrong and as far as your culture and knowledge you can correct the misconceptions to spread sound values
3. It is necessary to work continuously and hardly for the served worshipers and generate new creative ideas to guide them to a better interests and not to be a stumble through media
4. Adapting the media in favor of the ministry and encourage them to use social media in a positive and useful way and be ready to respond to everyone who asks.
