People in the Church need leadership that provides a strong vision of the future. Without a clear vision, how can we expect to arrive at the same place together? A clear vision helps everyone – clergy, staff, members, and constituents feel like they are part of something that really matters. The leader has to inspire others with their vision, and then guide them in pursuit of that shared vision.
When this happens, a Church will grow and develop into a strong fellowship. This builds goodwill and grace which can help in times of testing. The Church at its best is a place where everyone has a sense of belonging there, sharing in the work of Christ in the world today. This shared purpose is what makes the Church the community of faith. It is not just our belief systems and doctrinal statements – important as they are – but rather the shared vision that makes us one in Christ. May God bless the Church!
What does it take to televise the worship service? One might think that all you need are a couple of video cameras and a link to the television station, but there is more to it than that. The standard for broadcast TV is so high that it is hard to match without a million dollar’s worth of equipment. And the quality has to be there for the service to be widely accepted.
One church that I was involved with had an ideal situation. They had captured the local access channel, ensuring them an audience. They could show their worship services live every Sunday. However, they also had to provide programming 10 hours a day – 7 days a week. So they got the equipment and ran a television studio out of the church! During the day they broadcast family oriented programming. On Sundays and Wednesdays, they broadcast their worship services. And this was largely run by volunteers – teenagers at that. It just goes to show the creativity and talent of the local church.
Scheduling Staff is usually handled by internal calendars or event management systems (i.e. EMS).
But how do you schedule volunteers? Why not devise a calendar system on the Church web site that would let volunteers schedule themselves for various tasks. You would assign each volunteer a set of roles, e.g. sound technician. They could then look at the calendar and pick the days that they are available to run sound. The calendar system would then keep track of the fact that they had volunteered to run the sound desk on the particular date. If they needed to change, the system would allow them to drop that commitment of time and post the task back to the available tasks pool. Another volunteer trained in sound could then volunteer online to take their place. You might need a hot list of items that were coming up, so that volunteers accessing the calendar would see what was most needed. Overall, this would take care of scheduling volunteers for technical ministry tasks automatically.
Does such a system exist? Perhaps, but it would need to be flexible and role based. If you know of such a system, then please comment below so that others can discover it.
What is the difference between publishing on paper and on a website? In one sense, both are means of communication. The content can be the same. Yet there are many challenges that come up when you move from printed page to web page.
The flow of information is different. There is no need to spill over to the back page, because a web page can be any length. And you can use hypertext links to jump around to different sections of the article. Doing that in print was once called “programmed learning.”
Web pages lack a context. If you jump around in a book, then you know where you are based on the feel of the book. But you could get to a particular web page via links on a dozen different pages on as many sites – and that doesn’t count the results of various search engines. You have to write the web page with the notion that the user may not have seen what you wrote on the previous page – i.e. they just got here.
These are just the tip of the iceberg, but they illustrate that each media has its pros and cons. An author that writes for multiple types of media has a real challenge on their hands. A good resource on this subject is the following book:
Price, Jonathan. Hot Text: Web Writing That Works. 1st. Albuquerque, NM, USA: The Communication Circle, 2002. ISBN: 0-7357-1151-8.
Every worship service utilizes lyrics – i.e. words that the congregation is expected to sing, speak or read silently. This is typically shown via a video projector on one or more screens. But who determines the content of these slides? And what is the process whereby that content is generated every week for worship? And how do you ensure high quality in this presentation?
Overall, the worship service is the responsibility of the minister, so the minister will certainly have input to the lyrics for the service. This may take the form of Bible verses and/or creeds. Slides containing the Bible verses that are read or referenced should always be shown. Slides containing the liturgy should always match the bulletin. Other slides may contain creeds or statements of faith. Some slides may be used to make points or provide illustrations to the sermon. The minister will determine the scriptures and the translations involved. The words may even be shown in multiple languages – e.g. Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Latin, ….
Typically, the minister delegates the music to a music director or director of worship. The music director will then have input to the praise and singing in the service. This may take the form of congregational hymns, choir anthems, or solos. The music director also determines the music, but only the lyrics are typically projected. (Technology exists for showing sheet music, but this is usually only applicable to the musicians.) Slides for this part of the service should always include the lyrics that the congregation is expected to sing. If there is a screen setup so that only the choir can see it, then the lyrics to the anthem may also be viewed. This helps the choir look up from their music books and out towards the congregation.
The process of generating worship lyrics needs to be well defined. After all, the Church will use this process 52 weeks a year. One person on the technical ministry team – i.e. an editor – will be responsible for generating the worship lyric slides. They should receive input from the minister, music director, and anyone responsible for the bulletin. The style and content of the bulletin should match the worship slides, right down to using the same Bible translation for scriptures that are going to be read. There should be a defined sequence of steps involved in this process. Here is one example of that sequence:
Minister plans the worship service in advance, setting the theme, scriptures, and points to support the sermon.
Music director plans the music for the worship service, setting the songs and the specific variations to be played. For a hymn, you might have a selection of verses.
Bulletin source is prepared, setting the content for the bulletin.
Technical ministry team receives input from the minister, music director, and publisher of the bulletin. There should be a hard deadline for this – i.e. well before Sunday morning!
Editor prepares the set of slides to be shown during the worship service. This takes time, but it can leverage the content from previous worship services.
Editor publishes a draft of the slides for this coming Sunday.This should be in the final sequence, just as they would be projected on Sunday morning.
Slides are reviewed by all parties concerned. Any exceptions are reported to the editor.
Slides are delivered to the sanctuary control room on Friday at noon for presentation on Sunday morning.
The slides should always be reviewed by multiple eyes. One editor will tend to overlook certain issues; and you don’t want them showing up on Sunday morning, when they will be difficult to fix. The slide presentation software should catch typographical errors – i.e. be sure to run the spelling checker, for you can expect that somebody in the congregation will be an English teacher. The reviewers should look for quality issues – e.g. the transposition of slides in a music verse. The review process should seek to add polish to the finished presentation, not provide an opportunity to make lots of changes. IMHO, getting the whole process done by Friday noon is critical to having a slide presentation on Sunday that is high quality.
One could think of this process as a collaborative one. You could even agree to publish the prepared slides on the Church’s intranet so that they can be reviewed online. Given the weekly timeframe of preparing for worship this Sunday, this would avoid having to wait for eMail comments to circulate. Worship Presentation Software should support this process, not hinder it.
May worship always be focused on reverence and awe – Hebrews 12:28.
What are the primary elements of a video illustration? There has to be an opening image, an attention-getter. And there has to be an ending image, something you want to leave the congregation with. In between there can be anything you like to get the Word across. You can use the same content as a parable, or fall back on standard elements:
Setting – evoking a mood by presenting a background that people will recognize, e.g. the Holy Land
Theme – presenting the main idea, e.g. Love of Neighbor
Point of View – demonstrating a point of view, e.g. Stewardship
Character – developing a character through their action, e.g. Acting on the basis of Love
Whatever the content, remember that the objective is to get the congregation thinking along the same lines as the preacher. If you can do that, then you’ve succeeded.
Which video file format do you use? There are a multitude of available formats for video information. Here is an admittedly short-sighted list:
MPEG – i.e. MPEG-2
AVI
MOV
MP4 – i.e. MPEG-4
The decision as to which format to use may be dictated by the hardware and/or software that you are using. However, more and more software is able to support multiple formats. It can get rather confusing. Each format has things that they do well and things that they don’t do so well.
How do you light up the sanctuary for worship? If you have video cameras, then you need lots of light. If you have musicians, then they need light on their music. If you just have a congregation and a preacher, then any lighting will do.
Video cameras require a lot of lighting to get a great picture. If you’re using IMAG, then you need a great picture, so you probably have stage lighting installed. To get a great picture, you need consistent, white light on every spot of the stage. That can be difficult to achieve – i.e. getting the lighting even everywhere the preacher goes during a sermon. And you will find that controlling the lighting can also be a full time job for a volunteer or staff person. Worship is a very dynamic environment, so the lighting has to change to match the action. The lighting should set the focal point, whether it be the preacher or the soloist in the choir loft. This helps people to focus on the Word or praise.
St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, where he is their patron saint. Roman Catholics in the US also celebrate this day, with parades and parties and an emphasis on green. Dating to the fifth century A.D., Patrick was a Briton who was kidnapped as a teen and sold into slavery in Ireland. He escaped after 6 years and returned to his family. He then joined the Church and ultimately became a missionary back to Ireland. His is a story of forgiveness and renewal. As a result of his efforts, Christianity came to Ireland – then a pagan land. Patrick took his adversity and turned it into an advantage. The result gave him new purpose in life.
This year, St. Patrick´s Day became a controversial point in many communities. March 17, 2008, falls during Holy Week, and many Roman Catholics thus found themselves torn between celebrating the day and honoring the traditions of Holy Week. Some cities even moved their St. Patrick´s Day celebrations up to March 12th as a result.
With our large church buildings comes a problem – how do you ensure that everyone can hear the Word? An audio system is required to reinforce the sound so that everyone in every seat can hear distinctly. A good sound system makes a big difference to worship. But how do you find a good audio desk?
There are plenty of options to choose from – too many to list. But some general criteria to consider are as follows:
Number of microphones – i.e. this determines the number of channels you will need
Location of any fixed sound sources, e.g. a choir loft
Number of musicians – i.e. how big of an orchestra do you plan to have for that Christmas contata?
Location of the sound booth – e.g. on the main floor or in the balcony
Once you have some ideas about the sound system, then you can explore all of the vendors. And you will find a lot of them out there, eager to show you their equipment. (Some will even bring it on site to demo.) This is where quality and cost comes into the picture, and you will want to choose carefully to get the best value for the money.
In today’s praise, music is exciting and uplifting. But where is the organ? Churches with installed organ pipes were lifting up praise years ago. People were often awed by the majesty and power of the organ, as it filled the sanctuary with sound. Those organs still exist, but they are rarely used in worship. Why? Perhaps it is because organ music sounds traditional, and we have moved on to a contemporary sound. Or perhaps we have adopted new arrangements that call for a greater variety of musical instruments, e.g. violins. Some organs have a tremendous variety of sounds built in, but the violin is a very particular sound. Or perhaps we have just gotten tired of hearing the organ. (A lot of musicians would find that hard to believe.)
Another idea to consider is a technical perspective. Organs are often times very independent sound systems. The organist controls the volume with the swell pedal. A sound engineer is not required, and indeed they will be frustrated by the organ. They will never be able to get a balanced blend because they do not have any way to adjust the sound of the organ pipes. Perhaps we should install some sort of over-ride sub-system, whereby the sound engineer will have control. But currently, all we have is the organist on their swell pedal. And the organist is probably wanting to be heard, so they will have the pedal down. Still, there are times when the organ should be used. What do you think those times are? For example, some of the old hymns sound best with the organ playing. It is because they are so familiar with that accompaniment. Other times, the piece was written exclusively for the organ, and hasn’t been rearranged for other instruments yet.
The organ makes a mighty sound in the sanctuary, and it is a magnificent instrument. Perhaps it still has a place.
Jesus said that He did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). In saying this, He established the standard for those who claim His name. We are to be servants, not masters who lord it over others. In the Church, we talk about humility. How do you practice servanthood? Do you look for opportunities to serve that only utilize your talents, or your general skill? Do you serve with the expectation that you will be praised or rewarded afterwards, or only to be satisfied that you have served others in Christ’s name? What do you expect in response to your service? A hearty thanks, or a trophy?
These are some things to ponder on. Feel free to comment on your attitude of service.
You are currently browsing the Reflections category.
Author
Bradley Roberts has both deep roots in the Church and a long career involving technology. Browsing these pages, you´ll find a vibrant faith and a servant´s heart.