I suggested something along these lines of this article from the South Carolina State in response to some questions from Jordon Cooper a while back: it turns out that churches (laggards at recognizing the benefits of the Net in general and weblogs in particular) have recognized the benefits of podcasting, and now constitute a large and growing segment of the podcasting spectrum (I found the link via largehearted boy).
Congratulations to congregations that have seen this opportunity to use what they do best to their advantage; I’m delighted that St. Luke’s makes our sermons available as mp3s, along with some of the choral music (don’t miss the Biebl “Ave Maria”), and it wouldn’t take much to rig them up as podcasts.
The startling discovery that provides the take-away line for this article, however, must be repeated here: “Religious podcasters said they like the medium because it’s an inexpensive way to reach the masses.” Really?
That last line is ludicrous. It’s a great way to preach to the choir (which is a completely approriate metaphor here). But it won’t bring in any new ‘masses.’