THE PENDULUM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1 7. 2010 // PAGE 5
Delivering tlie message
Panelists discuss impacts of megachurches on communities
Jack Dodson
News Editor
While megachurches are often
associated with television shows
where thousands of people sing along
to a band in a packed stadium, their
hands in the air and eyes closed,
these churches can have an impact
on the communities that surround
them, according to panelists at Elon
University’s Religion and Media
Conference on Monday night.
Elon community members nearly
filled LaRose Digital Theater to
see the conference, which was
organized by the university’s School
of Communications, the Truitt Center
for Religious Life and the Society of
Professional Journalists and took on
the topic of megachurches and how
they interact with media.
The conference was the second
offered by the school dealing with
issues of religion in the media. Last
year’s conference was a full-day
event.
“All houses of worship are very
complicated, fragile institutions, and
1 think they’re hard to explain and
hard to understand why they are the
way they are,” panelist Ken Garfield
said.
Garfield, formerly the religion
editor for the Charlotte Observer and
now Director of Communications for
Myers Park United Methodist Church
in Charlotte, joined Tim Riddle
and the Rev. Walter Mack for the
discussion. Riddle is the director of
communications at St. Mark’s Church
in Burlington and Mack, a 1989 Elon
alumnus, is the pastor at Union
Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.
Garfield said because he’s worked
both in journalism and for a church.
he has a unique perspective on the
way churches work.
“I always thought churches were
fascinating when I covered them, and
I think they’re even more fascinating
now that I work for one,” Garfield
said.
One question at the panel asked
whether “megachurch” is a derogatory
term.
“1 don’t think a megachurch is
a derogatory term," Mack said. “1
think what you have to do is define
tbat for people so that when you say,
‘we are a megachurch,’ I think it’s
good to come back to say that we are
also interested in individuals and in
building relationships."
As far as the role of pastors in
megachurches compared to those
at smaller churches. Mack said the
teachings and ideas are essentially
the same, just presented in a different
way.
“There’s many pastors and
teachers who are teaching the same
theology (as pastors on television),”
Mack said. “Those (on television) that
we know well put a lot of emphasis on
media, media investment, marketing
and packaging their messages.”
Garfield said if a pastor is able to
reach an audience effectively through
his preaching, that person retains the
status as a preacher easily.
“If (a pastor) speaks to people in a
way that touches their heart, he’ll be
here for 30, 40 years," Garfield said.
Mack said growing up in a
traditional black church that placed
its emphasis on the gospel, preaching
and social issues carried over the
practices to his current ministry. His
church is one that places importance
on social issues, he said, and one of
the programs the church uses is to
provide a conference for drug dealers
in the Winston-Salem area for three
days.
“We talk with them about the
choices that they’re making and how
they can transition their lifestyle, the
purpose that God has given them," he
said.
Those who attend then graduate
the program, he said, and in the first
conference, 42 of 147 drug dealers
who came “gave their life to Christ."
The role of technology is important
at megachurches, where videos are
abundant, but shouldn’t be placed
above the message, agreed the
panelists.
“Our goal with technology is to use
it to help communicate the Gospel
with as much clarity as possible.
That’s it. That’s the only reason we
use it," Garfield said.
Garfield said the churches that
are as big as some of the ones on
television run the risk of making
growth their goal.
“You entertain them, as opposed
to challenge them, make them feel
uncomfortable, make them squirm a
little bit,” Garfield said.
He said he watches “The Basement"
on the inspirational network in
Charlotte, which is a show about how
a megachurch puts together its drama
productions for the week.
“To me, it is so creepy," he said,
“because it’s very self absorbed."
While the panelists grew up in
different religious scenarios —
Riddle as a Methodist, Garfield as
Jewish and Mack in a black church —
they agreed on the idea that getting
the message to the community is the
most important thing megachurches
need to do.
Greensboro applies
for Google fiber
optics Web access
GOOGLE from page 1
the Web to gain support. He said
hitting more mediums like RSS,
Facebook, blogs, texting, Reddit,
YouTube and Twitter would help
the effort.
Turner outlined three
aspects of the plan to get
Google to come: community
excitement and interest, getting
Google’s attention and having a
substantive application.
Turner said there’s one aspect
of Greensboro that could be a
hook in the application.
“Colleges," she said. “What
that typically signals is
innovation, forward thinking,
and I think that embodies
Greensboro."
For her, the fact that
Greensboro has seven colleges
and universities would be a draw
for Google.
The city is seeing effects of
the run-down economy take
hold of jobs in the city with
an unemployment rate at 11.4
percent, according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
“Greensboro is not immune
to what the rest of the state is
feeling,” Turner said.
ForOvittore, the job prospects
are appealing.
“Where do these kids go
when they leave college,” he
said, referring to students
of the Greensboro colleges
and universities. “They leave
Greensboro and go to cities that
have jobs."
JUSTINE SCHULERUO | Photo Editor
Overcrowding in library leaves
staff searching for solutions
Eva Hill
Senior Reporter
From scholarly journals
to copiers and computers,
Elon University’s Belk Library
provides tangible reserves
and a convenient study
environment for students.
But, the library has recently
become overcrowded with
books, tables and other
materials.
Shelving space is limited.
Some books are even stored
in faculty office areas. The
library was designed 15 years
ago, when the university did
not expect student enrollment
to be as high as it is today,
said Kate Hickey, dean and
university librarian.
Library staff members
are working on short-term
solutions because of the
lack of space. A small off-
site facility in the Arts West
building stores lesser-used
materials.
Katie Nash, special
collections librarian and
archivist, said she is well
aware of an overabundance
of books and materials in the
library.
“Books are transferred to
the Arts West location once
every two or three weeks,"
Nash said. “When students
need books that are located in
the off-campus site, they fill
out a form, and it takes about
24 hours to get the book on
campus.”
Sophomore Taylor Shain is
rarely inconvenienced when
he visits the library.
“1 mainly come to the
library to print something
and study," Shain said. “On a
few occasions 1 couldn’t find a
study room, but I’ve had very
few problems.”
For long-term solutions,
an addition is planned
for the library in The Elon
Commitment strategic plan.
Space would be added on to
the library to expand the
building as a whole.
The library hasn’t begun
planning this addition, and it
will likely be five to 10 years
before any changes take place,
Nash said.
Mechanical shelving is used
to preserve floor space and
hold various reference books.
According to Hickey, the
shelves are very expensive.
“We keep hoping for more
solutions," Hickey said. “The
library is 10 years old and
we’ve just simply outgrown
it."
Study rooms, computers
and desks are often scarce
when many students choose
to study or work in the library.
Junior Kelly Bednarski said
the library is more crowded
during certain times.
“I’m not really
inconvenienced at night, but it
gets crowded during the day,"
she said. “It’s often hard to
find a computer."
Senior Monica Kobelinski is
a student worker in the library
and said Belk experiences the
most overcrowding during
exam times.
“1 wish there was a fourth
floor, a few more computers
and more study rooms,”
Kobelinski said. “1 think more
people would come if we had
more space for studying."
Hickey said she hopes
change will come, but not at
the expense of students.
“We’re reluctant to sacrifice
student comfort, so book
storage is secondary," Hickey
said.
Elon reacts to
tuberculosis
outbreak at UNCG
Jack Dodson
News Editor
Tuberculosis made its way to the campus of the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro, last month causing the
school to take preventative measures to stop the disease from
spreading.
One student went to the school health clinic complaining
of cold and flu-like symptoms. When he received his chest
X-ray results, it showed he was sick with something more than
the flu.
“Medically, his lungs did not look well, so they immediately
admitted him to Moses Cone (hospital)," said Helen Hebert, the
associate vice chancellor for university relations at UNCG.
Three days later, the student was diagnosed with
tuberculosis and still remains in the hospital.
The Guilford County Department of Health came in to
control efforts help maintain the situation. Hebert said that at
first, the school did not tell anyone when they found out that
it was tuberculosis because the university wanted to speak to
the student, his classmates and members of his residence hall
before releasing the information to the public.
Hebert said there wasn’t widespread panic on the campus
when the notice was put out. But, about 600 people needed to
be tested for the disease.
“We knew it would get around the campus," she said.
Of all the students tested, Hebert said about 28 are being
treated as positive.
Kitty Parrish, Elon University's director of health services,
said the disease would elicit a similar response at Elon. Any
time a tuberculosis case comes up on a campus, the county
department of health would have to step in, she said.
Parrish said part of the problem with tuberculosis, is that
it's a slow-moving disease, which could affect the ability to
test a student right away.
She said passing of the disease takes more than just basic
contact.
“If you just went and had class with someone, but you
weren’t around them, you wouldn’t get it,” Parrish said.
She said all incoming freshmen are tested for the disease,
but most come back negative.
Parrish said she’s never seen a case of tuberculosis at
Elon while she’s been here and when she’s seen it at other
institutions, it causes strong community reactions.
“People do tend to overreact,” she said. “If we had someone
who had a positive test, we would just take care of it from
there.”