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When we talk about using media (new, old, visual, or otherwise), it's important to first understand what media are and why media exist. So, what are media? Webster defines "medium" as "a means of effecting or conveying something." For our purposes, a medium is something that allows a message to be communicated, where previously it had been impossible.

In this sense, the answer to "why do media exist" is obvious. Any form of communication needs a medium—whether it's a human voice, an MP3 file, a video camera, or anything else. But here's a question with a less obvious answer: Why do we use a new medium over an old one, even if the old one worked (and still works) just fine? For example, why do we now use those Bluetooth earpieces instead of our cell phones (and here, I'm referring to the people that wander around the mall or the airport with earpieces, not those who use them for safety behind the wheel)? And, for that matter, why did we start using our cell phones instead of our regular phones?

Of course, the obvious and oft-repeated answer to these questions is convenience: Earpieces are more convenient because you don't need to use your hands; cell phones are more convenient because they are mobile and not bound by a cord. But is an earpiece really more convenient than a cell phone, or did we just invent that idea because it feels like not having to use hands should be an improvement?

The point here is that often, it seems like a new medium is employed because it is new, and not because it is thoughtfully considered to have more merit than another. But this is only natural. Throughout history, anytime a new medium is introduced, people react to it, not in terms of what it is or what it should do, but rather, what it can do—how we might use it. Christians—always in search of a communicative booster shot—are often at the forefront of these early negotiations of new media.

When cinema hit the scene in the early twentieth century, churches were among the first groups to explore its potential for education and evangelism. Before pastors even knew what the moving picture was, they were thinking about how they might use it to their advantage (well, at least those who weren't trying to shut down the neighborhood nickelodeons).

Consider this perspective of Dr. William Carter, a Presbyterian pastor from Brooklyn, who, in 1929 at the "Community and the Motion Picture" conference, heralded the possibilities of film for the Christian:

We need a vision of the future, especially a future affected by the use of sound pictures. We should stress the development of the religious motion picture for constructive teaching, for religious education, not merely in the Sunday school but in the church itself. There are 195,000 churches in this country, Protestant and Catholic, and there is no reason why we should not use the talking picture to hear the greatest preachers and the greatest choirs in the country. We could send those pictures to the smallest churches where they have never had the opportunity to hear the great preachers. Today between 15 (percent) and 20 percent of the churches are always vacant. We could fill up those seats by means of motion pictures.

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