Earlier this year, Fr. Chris Metropulos spoke to an audience at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology about the critical need for a vital and active Orthodox Christian media witness in America. The full text of that stirring speech is now available.

Greetings, my brothers and sisters. I am here today to speak to you about the ministry of our Church that I am honored - truly honored - to lead: the Orthodox Christian Network, the national media ministry of our bishops in America.

Courage

But first, I want to speak with you about the spirit that is behind this work, and the spirit which I believe needs to be behind all of our work as the Body of Christ in this world. As I reflect on not only what it is that OCN does, but on how and why, I find myself reaching for old words that we don't hear used much anymore. Words like honor. Words like courage.

One of the greatest Christian writers working in media today is a woman named Peggy Noonan. Peggy, if you don't know her, is a lovely New York Catholic woman, a former presidential speechwriter who has written powerful biographies of Ronald Reagan and of Pope John Paul II. But her most moving work was written in tribute to the New York City policemen and firemen who were killed on September 11.

Looking back on that terrible day two weeks later, Peggy wrote these words:

"We all of course know the central fact: There were two big buildings and there were 5,000-plus people and it was 8:48 in the morning on a brilliant blue day. And then 45 minutes later the people and the buildings were gone. . . . 5,000 dead . . . and more than 300 firemen. . . . Most of the 5,000 dead just happened to be there, in the buildings, at their desks or selling coffee or returning e-mail.

"But the 300 firemen didn't happen to be there, they went there. In the now-famous phrase, they ran into the burning building and not out of the burning building. They ran up the stairs, not down, they went into it and not out of it. They didn't flee, they charged."

Go And Do

Think of the parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable, our Lord helps the young lawyer recognize that the Samaritan showed himself to be a true neighbor by showing mercy. Jesus tells the young man to "go and do likewise." He tells the young man to take action. He tells him that he shouldn't flee from his neighbor in need - as did the others who passed the injured man in the ditch. Instead, he should charge - as the rescuers of September 11 did, in to those burning buildings.

We all need to be reminded that this teaching was not just for the young lawyer. Christ desires that each of us will also follow this call. We are all called to not just understand and embrace our Orthodox Christian faith - we are called to be active and merciful neighbors to all our brothers and sisters in this world. We too are called to "go and do."

In our modern age, we're engulfed by words. I've heard it said that in the 20^th century the devil tried to destroy the Church by forbidding the words of its message to be spoken. And that in the 21^st century, the devil is instead trying to destroy the Church by diluting its message with a tidal wave of wasted words. We've become so beguiled by words. It has become so easy for us to talk, and not to act.

Now, this might seem to be a strange message from someone who leads a media ministry. But I don't believe there is a conflict at all, for one simple reason: Because the Orthodox Christian Network, the national media agency of SCOBA, is dedicated to educating the Orthodox Christians of America about this call to action at the heart of our faith, and inspiring them to embrace their role in sharing the light of Christ with the world.

We read in the Book of Acts of how St. Paul engaged the people of Athens as he "disputed . . . in the market daily." Closer to home, North American evangelists like St. Innocent and St. Jacob used the ideal technology of their time and place - ocean-going kayaks - to travel from island to island in Alaska spreading the light of Orthodoxy.

Are we living up to these examples today? Are we using all of the resources which God has given us to equip our fellow Orthodox Christians for their work in this world? Are we helping them engage on a daily basis with their faith? Are we showing them how our Tradition speaks to all of the modern challenges they face? Are we witnessing to our society as a whole?

Brothers and sisters, I'm afraid that the answer to all of these questions is, simply, "No, we're not. We're not doing enough. In some cases, we're not doing anything at all. We are failing to live up to the command of our Lord, and the legacy of the faith that crossed seas and converted nations."

Buildings On Fire

We live in an age of buildings on fire. Our society is like a burning house. The people of this land desperately need the living water. They need the saving message of our faith. They are thirsting for truth. They are asking spiritual questions and seeking spiritual answers. Yet, it's been said by religious scholar Richard Neuhaus that the influence of the Orthodox on the general culture in the United States "escapes detection." Can our country afford for us to be a faith which "escapes detection"?

But one reason we fail to come to the rescue of our neighbor whose building is on fire is because our's is burning as well. There are more than two dozen religious confessions with more followers in America than Orthodox Christianity. There are perhaps a million and a half Orthodox Christians in our nation today, which means that as a percentage of the total population our numbers have actually decreased over the past decades.

It is true that our Church is about much more than numbers. That numbers cannot measure the strength of our spirit. Yet we all know that the spiritual strength of our parishes has suffered from many blows, and that far too many of our own people do not understand their faith, do not marry in the faith, do not raise their children in the faith, do not turn to the faith for the answers to their daily challenges.

We must be people of courage. We must be the kind of people who will run in to burning buildings, not out. And not just those of us here - but all of the Orthodox Christian faithful of America. I applaud everyone who feels called to a life of professional ministry. But we must remember that it is prideful for us to believe that we alone are responsible for the work of the Church in America. It is not true. Our calling is to, in the words of St. Paul, "equip the saints for the work of ministry." We must raise up our fellow believers. We must educate, and we must inspire, so that we can unleash the laity and create a generation of Orthodox Christians of courage.

The Mission Of OCN

This great task is summarized in the mission statement of the Orthodox Christian Network. The mission of OCN is to transform lives by celebrating the life-giving joy of communion with God as known by the Orthodox Christian Church. Utilizing modern communications technologies - radio, the Internet, DVD's, podcasts, television and more - OCN strengthens the Orthodox communities of America by providing the resources they need to inspire the faithful; raise up the children; call back the wayward; and reach beyond to their towns and cities.

Let me tell you a little more about OCN. Our flagship program is Come Receive The Light, a weekly syndicated radio program, broadcast in over 120 cities across America and via the Internet in more than 130 other countries.

OCN began over 10 years ago as a way for one parish to use radio to share the Good News of Orthodox Christianity with their local community. By the grace of God, today Come Receive the Light has become a national platform for the most compelling stories and voices in Orthodoxy today.

Now OCN has launched a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week internet media resource - The Ark. The Ark provides programming throughout the day teaching the faith and declaring the timeless beauty of our Orthodox Christian Church, and is customizable for local parishes. Every one of OCN's Share The Light Parishes is now eligible to receive their own customized version of The Ark for their web site, featuring local parish announcements, news about upcoming events, Sunday sermons, and more.

Creativity

All of our work at OCN, by the grace of God, is focused on nothing less than the transformation of lives. Now, there is no doubt that over our 2000 years of existence, our Church has created and nourished holy and sanctified traditions and practices for the transformation of lives. And God forbid that we lose one jot or tittle of our inheritance, of the great treasury of our faith.

But at the same time, we must remember that our God is the God of yesterday, and the God of today, and the God of tomorrow. We are called to use the talents and resources that we are given today for His greater glory. We are called to creative, in the image of our Creator.

My good friend Fr. Luke Veronis spoke about just this. Here's what he had to say:

"On the one hand, [Orthodoxy] is unchangeable. But I love this quote from one of the greatest theologians of last century, Fr. Georges Florovsky: "Orthodoxy cannot be maintained simply by inertia. No tradition can survive unless it is continued through creative effort." How many of us think of Orthodoxy and creative effort in the same sentence? And yet, it is extremely Orthodox. If we want to be faithful to what it means to be Orthodox, we must become creative. Not changing our doctrine. Not changing our faith. But adapting to the realities that we face and presenting our faith in ways that are meaningful and relevant."

"Presenting our faith in ways that are meaningful and relevant." Are we doing this today? Do we recognize ourselves in this teaching? Are we presenting our faith to our own communities using all of the tools at our disposal, let alone to our society as a whole? I don't believe we are. But thank God, our bishops of SCOBA - all of our Orthodox Christian hierarchs working and thinking in concert - have recognized that this is a great need for us today, and have commissioned OCN to begin responding to this need. This is why OCN is creating tools to assist Orthodox priests, ministries and parishes across the country.

What do you think St. Paul would have done with the technology available to us today? With the tools of modern printing, radio, television, and the Internet? Would he have said, "No, I could use radio to reach millions, but I'll only speak to those I can visit with in person." I don't think so. St. Paul is an example for each and every one of us. We are, like him, called to the ministry of Christ. How dare we not at least attempt to follow his example, and make the best use possible of all the tools at our disposal?

Speaking The Truth In Love

Fr. Luke went on to say:

"We must begin by asking ourselves, "Who are we? Why do we exist? What is our purpose?" Each of us as individuals have to ask this. And also as churches - in our local context, in our cities. Why are we here? The church is not meant to be a cultural club, which many of our churches are unfortunately. Nor is it meant to be an individualistic sacramental feeding station. . . . Both are a heresy we fall in to too often. The two main characteristics of any healthy, dynamic church need to be, number one, that it's a worshipping community. And number two, that it's a witnessing community. And they're connected. The more we worship and commune with God, the more we're able to offer an authentic witness to the world around us."

In his Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes, "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." Who does God want to speak the truth in love? Us. Every one of us, each part of His Body. Every Orthodox Christian is called to be an authentic witness to the world around us, to speak the truth in love - to speak with both words, and with deeds. Yet how can our people speak the truth, if they don't know the truth? And how will they learn the truth unless we use every means at our disposal - the pulpit, and the microphone; the retreat, and the website - to educate them, inspire them, and help them find their way to a knowledge of our Lord?

We are all called to the work of ministry - Orthodox laypeople as much as Orthodox clergy. It is our work together. Yet, like with any challenging work, it falls to each of us to perform different tasks. In our most crucial work, the Divine Liturgy, some of us - the clergy - are conduits for the empowerment of the Holy Sacraments. Others assist at the altar. Others read the Scriptures. Others support the Liturgy through music. And others perform the indispensible work of following the Liturgy attentively, strengthening us all through the strength of their prayers.

The case is exactly the same in our other ministries, like Come Receive the Light and The Ark. Some of us use our voices to record the programs. Others work tirelessly behind the scenes, to ensure that all of the technical dimensions of producing audio programming are accomplished with the greatest degree of quality and professionalism possible. And others build up the ministry through the sharing of their financial support.

A dedicated community of believers with diverse talents, from diverse backgrounds, working to spread the Gospel of Christ. This is our vision for OCN, and it is also the vision of all of our bishops. The mission of SCOBA is to "create and foster ties of unity among the canonical Orthodox Christian churches and their administrations for a stronger and more visible witness to the Orthodox Faith." We are stronger together than we are separately. And we will need all of our strength to accomplish the work of our Lord in this land.

Repositories Of Grace

Let me return once more to Peggy Noonan's tribute to the rescuers of September 11. Her essay I quoted earlier continued with these words:

"One after another they slapped on their gear and ran up the stairs. They did this to save lives. Of all the numbers we've learned since September 11, we don't know and will probably never know how many people that day were saved from the flames and collapse.

"Brave men do brave things. After September 11 a friend of mine said something that startled me with its simple truth. He said, "Everyone died as the person they were." I shook my head. He said, "Everyone died who they were. A guy who ran down quicker than everyone and didn't help anyone - that was him. The guy who ran to get the old lady and was hit by debris - that's who he was. They all died who they were."

"The firemen were rough repositories of grace. They were the goodness that comes out when society is cracked open. They were responsible. They took responsibility under conditions of chaos. They did their job under heavy fire, stood their ground, claimed new ground, moved forward like soldiers against the enemy. They charged."

I embrace these words as a challenge, and I encourage each of you to do the same. We are called to save lives. We are called to be brave people who do brave things. We are called to take responsibility under conditions of chaos. We are called to charge in to action. We are called to be repositories of grace.

As great as the sacrifices of these rescuers were for the sake of the earthly lives of their neighbors, how much greater should our sacrifices be for the sake of the spiritual lives of our neighbors? We will all answer to God for what we have done with the talents and tools He has given us. What will we answer? Will we be able to say that we did all we could to follow His will, to build up our brethern so that we could all together reach out to a world in need of salvation? Will we be able to say that we did all we could to spread the light of Christ?

Brothers and sisters, I ask you to help me to build up a ministry that reaches out to those in need - first, to our own communities. And through them, to our world. This will take courage. It will take boldness. So, let me leave you with the words of our great missionary saint of America, St. Innocent of Alaska: "For a person animated by true love, there is nothing difficult, terrifying or impossible."

Thank you and God bless you.

Fr. Christopher Metropulos is founder, host, and executive director of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) and the Come Receive The Light national Orthodox Christian radio program (www.myocn.net). He is pastor of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he and his wife Georgia are raising their six children.