Is Everything Content?

Not everything is content. There, I answered the title question without burying the lede. In a former life, I co-hosted a podcast, and to bring value to our audience, we posted on social media, wrote blog posts and short stories, recorded subscriber-exclusive commentary tracks (to listen to alongside a movie or TV show), and posted 50 podcast episodes a year (one a week except for Christmas and New Year).

It gets exhausting, especially when everyone involved is also in school full time and has full time jobs. In an effort to continue to build an audience and make the show successful, a lot of energy went into deciding if any task or project was worth the effort if we never made it available to the podcast audience. At least a lot of my energy went into trying to answer that question. The constant nagging at the back of my mind burned away much of the desire to be creative for the last few years of the show. I loved doing that podcast and have made some amazing friends because of it, but when it ended, I knew something had to change.

This is why I limit my “content creation” for Disciple Gaming Ministry to the articles I write, typically once a month, and the social media posts that go out several times a week. Of course I’m building other content to supplement the RP2 page, though RP2 isn’t my focus at the moment (I’m actually working on a Daggerheart Campaign Frame to help gamers play a God-focused game in that system).

When it comes to social media, you’ll notice I don’t post pictures or videos of the games I run. At the moment, many of the games are either at a church hosting minors or at an unaffiliated game store and coffee shop. To respect the privacy of everyone involved, especially those who aren’t adults, I don’t take pictures of people (one of the habits I picked up doing the podcast). And, let’s face it, the players in my games are there to help tell a story together, for those gathered. Not to become content for my ministry. More importantly, I’m not there to turn them into assets but to show them the love of Christ in a context and setting they may not be used to.

See, when “everything is content,” I have a tendency to start thinking about all interactions in the context of what I as a “creator” and they as a potential “subject” can get out of it, making it a transaction rather than an opportunity to minister to people. Humans are not commodities. They are the Very Good creations of a loving Creator, made in His Image (Genesis 1-21).

This is why most of the content I create is intended to be entertaining or thought-provoking rather than demonstrative. Showcasing what I do at Disciple Gaming Ministry is best done in person, in my opinion, since I’m focusing on in-person relationships. That being said, there are some opportunities to see what I do on this very website, and I’m developing ideas to expand those resources.

In the meantime, know that, if you play in any of my games (unless it’s something pre-planned as a recorded event), the conversations, stories told, and activities enjoyed will be for the exclusive benefit of those at the table. You’re not playing in a DGM game to be farmed for “value.” You’re there because you are Valued by God and deserve to do something fun that also honors him. So, again, not everything is content. In fact, most things I do are for the primary purpose of building relationships, both with other gamers and (more importantly) with God.

Sources and Notes

1 At Disciple Gaming Ministry, we encourage people to read the Bible using an accurate translation that is also easy to understand. With that being said, the translation we use is the ESV® Bible. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.