For those who have not yet discovered the NBC show Community, let me give you a very brief overview. The show is built around the members of a Spanish class study group, all of whom represent a different stereotype of people who attend community college.
The group's leader is Jeff, a good-looking, former lawyer who was disbarred after it was discovered that his law degree was from Columbia...the country, not the university. He was extremely successful and lived the high-life, but has been forced to attend Greendale Community College in order to get a real degree. Britta is an unnecessarily rebellious blonde who has never really found her place in life and has come to Greendale in search of something substantial. Abed is an undiagnosable, Middle Eastern individual who is mysteriously brilliant and highly perceptive. No one really knows why he’s at Greendale. Annie was the smart, almost-valedictorian girl in high school who became addicted to pain killers and had to enter rehab rather than pursuing her academic dreams. Troy athletic, African American who was the captain of the high school football team and never cared about school until he didn’t get a football scholarship. He and Annie graduated high school together, but were in completely different social circles. Shirley is a recently divorced, African American mother of two who is going back to school to get a degree. Finally, there is Pierce, the elder of the group. Pierce has lived a complete life and really has nothing left to do, so he enrolled at Greendale. It is assumed that Pierce was really into the 60s…
It is also important to note that each member of the study group comes from a completely different religious viewpoint, which brings us to the clip. Shirley, the Christian of the group, believers that young black kids need to know about Jesus, and what better way to tell them than make a rap video? Abed, who is Muslim, recognizes the intrigue people have with religion and wonders if he can create a new one just because (that gives you an idea of Abed’s personality). Check it out…
http://www.hulu.com/watch/187118/community-jesus-goes-viral
This clip is a solid reminder that the medium is the message. If Christians try to imitate culture and do a lame job, their message becomes associated with the quality of their work. In this case, Shirley tries to make a "Christian" rap, but something immensely more interesting is just outside. As humans, it is our nature to pursue the most intriguing option.
Christians often assume that poor quality is justified by the wonderful message they are offering. I'm sure you can think of a few examples...
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