ATLANTA (WordNews.org) Aug. 15, 2012 – Leaders of ministries and organizations involved in Christian broadcasting and electronic media gathered here during the past two days to discuss some of the top issues, concerns, and opportunities facing them today.
Organized by the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), the Summer Innovation Exchange gave those in the industry – marketing/PR representatives, CEOs, station managers, sales executives and social media experts — a chance to share best practices for more effective ministry and outreach.

Ron Harris, senior vice president of NRB who organized the event,  called it “a unique opportunity to exchange best ideas with your peers in the industry, and to learn how others approach the challenges faced in this critical day.”

Word News posed some question to Harris regarding the event. Here’s what he had to say:

Word News: What is the Summer Innovation Exchange?
Harris: The Summer Innovation Exchange (SIE) is an opportunity for key NRB members and other ministry leaders in the communications realm to gather as peers and discuss the challenges and opportunities for proclaiming the Gospel by way of the electronic media. The challenges may relate to the medium, technology, funding, management, culture, legislation, and other key areas.

WN: How long has it been in existence?
Harris: The SIE has been held several years, though this format hasn’t been used in three or four years. It offers a mid-year opportunity for both information, inspiration, and networking in the best and broadest sense of the word.

WN: What led to its creation?
Harris: The creation of the SIE came out of a desire to bring key NRB members together in a brief format to accomplish what is more difficult to do at our main convention held in February/March in Nashville. The mid-year timing works to give the attendees to focus more intently on a few key questions and needs, rather that the broad range of meetings and activities that characterizes the NRB Convention. Again, fellowship…a sometimes overused word…is a key element.

WN: Where are ministries lacking today regarding utilizing technology?
Harris: All ministries that use media in their tools are looking to find the most effective way to reach their audience. The technology and culture’s use of it change rapidly. Yesterday’s “cutting edge” is tomorrow’s old news. Media ministries want to use all the tools to their best advantage. Old technologies, like radio and TV, still have great impact. Yet younger generations gravitate to not only different communication technologies, but new styles of communication. We find that some ministries are way ahead of the curve in utilizing new technologies. Others are seeking the best ways to use the Internet and social media. A meeting like SIE allows us to come together and learn from our peers, taking new information back to our ministries and organizations. It is a great step towards effective communication of the Gospel in today’s culture.

WN: You find support for being cutting edge in the scripture.
Harris: There is a great passage in Habakkuk 2:2 that alludes to the use of media to carry God’s message to those in the busy traffic patterns of life. Habakkuk has been waiting for God to speak to him, to give him answers for life in a dark and sinful world. When the Lord did answer, he said, “Record my vision.” If you look into the background of those words, God was saying, “Write this message from me to the people.” He says to place it on tablets, with the clear implication to make the message plain for those in the busyness of their life to quickly grasp the Lord’s Word and take it with them as the went through the paces of their daily existence.
The technology of that day was clay tablets, somewhat like our billboards today. The idea was that the letters were to be carved large enough and cleanly enough, and placed in the marketplace, so that folks could quickly grasp God’s message. Today’s technology is somewhat different, but the idea is the same. Whether it is radio, TV, Internet, social media, we are to carefully take God’s message for the people and plainly place it in their path, their marketplace, so that they may grasp it, understand it, and take it with them in the traffic pattern of their lives.

WN: What do you hope results from this conference?
Harris: Our hope and prayer is that the SIE is the kind of event where we learn better how to carve clay tablets, where to place them for the most effective impact, and then see what God does when His message impacts the lives of our friends, family, neighbors, or even those in other lands.