My father tells me that when the school bell rang at Olympia HS in 1963 there was a “mad dash” of hip cats and happening chicks to the nearest TV to catch the beginning of a new television show that was broadcast live from Philadelphia with no thought to the inconvenience of the time zone difference for the unfortunate throngs who happened to live on the West Coast. American high school kids from coast to coast were glued to their TV screens every day to watch their favorite bands perform live in front of a throng of hand-picked, attractive teens who were showcasing their skill at flawlessly executing the latest dance craze for the cameras. Dick Clark’s American Bandstand revolutionized the way the world could experience music. It’s hard to even remember a time when the ONLY way to experience your favorite band was to listen to their LP or shell out to see them live…IF they happened to play a show anywhere near where you lived.

Then it all happened again on August 1st, 1981. At 1 minute after midnight a new station was launched with the intent to broadcast yet another way to experience music….namely music videos. As “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles echoed its phonographic sounds into homes all across America, a new age was born. By lunch time, an estimated 500,000 TV sets were tuned to the revolutionary channel and, once again, it was soon hard to remember that we used to have to wait until a specific program was broadcast to see our favorite pop bands “Whip It” or engage in a “Thriller”.

And so, we at Mars Hill West Seattle find ourselves on the cusp of yet another technology-driven revolution. Mars Hill Church will be utilizing the technilogical breakthroughs available in the 21st century to reach more people than ever with the message of The Gospel this Sunday. Though, at first, it will surely be somewhat of an anomalous experience for many; the fact is that, in time, we will be hard-pressed to remember a time when the ONLY way we could hear Pastor Mark was to drive from Kent, or Alki, or Bothell, or Edmonds, or even Kirkland to a dimly lit warehouse in Ballard where we would strain to see him all the way up at the front of the huge room, then squint at our Bibles as he preached.

The day may come, in fact, that we may chuckle and shake our heads at the days when we couldn’t travel instantly from anywhere on earth to be challenged by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word as a Mars Hill pastor preaches live (well, he’ll be a flawless hologram of course) in the new, 1 million square foot outdoor auditorium in the Mars Hill Church eco-bubble on the moon.

So you might want to think twice before you click “delete” on all those MH Vodcasts you’re downloading, because someday some rich, counter-cultural kid who refuses to “sell out” may pay you a fortune for your retro Mark Driscoll.