A half century ago, as modern media at that time became more integrated into the average home, some Christians had a tendency to become legalistic (creating lists of do's and don'ts) about movies, television, and music in their attempt to be holy and separate from the world.  It was a worthy goal but not necessarily the right approach.  In the modern church there has been a pendulum swing in the opposite direction which has resulted in widespread compromise and spiritual lethargy.  The subject of holiness often gets muddled in legalism and the subject of grace often gets muddled in compromise.  Jesus taught them both and neither legalism nor compromise are excuses to abandon the truth.  The Media Talk 101 seminar approaches the subject of media with an emphasis on following Jesus and gaining wisdom from His example, the instruction of Scripture and the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.  

Media Talk 101: Live, is a PowerPoint presentation which is geared to be interesting and hopefully convicting.  The goal is to be inspiring rather than an attempt to thoroughly cover the subject.  The presentation can be given in a single setting or else broken up into two or more sessions with breaks in between.  The length of the seminar depends on how many sessions and any time constraints that would need to be considered.  The following is a brief summary of some of the topics covered.  

Confessions of a TV addict
The speaker shares a short testimony about their personal struggles with making wise media choices and why it is important to talk about the subject of media.

What's the problem?
Media can be one of the biggest roadblocks in our pursuit of God because our lives have been saturated with wrong ideas about life.  There is a conflict between what Jesus teaches about real life and what much of media teaches about life.  There are six main themes in media that oppose God's message to us.

        1. Immoral sexuality, pornography and immodesty
        2. Violence, hate and anger
        3. Drug and alcohol abuse
        4. Despair, hopelessness and suicide
        5. Greed and discontentment
        6. The marketing of family conflict and rebellion

Media Choices: Convictions or Compromise?
What is a conviction anyway? and what is compromise?

10 Principles and Convictions...
...to help guide us safely past the spiritual roadblocks of popular media.

#1 Garbage in = Garbage out
The Bible tells us that if you "sow to the flesh" you will "reap corruption" but if you "sow to the spirit" you will "reap eternal life"  Unfortunately there are many people who are feeding the flesh through entertainment and consequently the flesh gets stronger. In the meantime they are denying the spirit and suffering from spiritual weakness.  
 
It's not just entertainment
Today's media has a huge impact on the way our generation thinks about life, about relationships, about God and much more.  Every form of media is preaching about something and even though many sit in church for a few hours a week learning about God, they often spend up to half of their lives listening to the "sermons" of the world through music, movies, websites, magazines, tv, video games and various other forms of media.     
 
#2 We have been desensitized and need to be resensitized
It is common to hear "but it doesn't affect me" as if it were some badge of honor for being able to tolerate things that God has plainly called sin.  Our body has a physical nervous system that does many things including the producing of pain.  If you began to lose feeling in your physical body there would be cause for alarm.  Likewise God gave us a conscience that is supposed to be "affected" when something is not right.  Unfortunately there are so many who have desensitized consciences that no longer feel the pain.  The Bible says that we have to train our "senses" to discern good and evil.
 
3. The Battle is not against Hollywood
4. It's about wisdom, not just rules
5. If I belong to Christ then I am called to conform to Him
6. Don't fall victim to the counterfeit life (identifying 6 counterfeits)
7. If you're going the wrong direction then change directions
8. There is power in unplugging
9. Sometimes spiritual growth requires desperate measures
10. Follow the example of Jesus