No, I’m not referring to Paul’s dramatic conversion on the Road to Damascus Acts 22:6. Rather, I want to consider lighting in the sanctuary where there are video cameras. The cameras need a lot of light in order to generate a good picture. Typically, that means stage lighting is needed. Now stage lighting is an art in itself, and well covered elsewhere, but what does it do to worship to have all of that wattage? Does it make it harder for the legally blind to see? And does it affect the worship service?

I think it has an impact. Specifically, those who are on stage can easily feel like they have been blinded by the lights. This reduces the connection between people on the stage, e.g. the pastor, and the congregation. If the pastor can’t see them, because of the glare of the video lights, then the pastor can’t tell from their faces whether the Word is getting across or not. This can be a problem for a pastor. What do you think? Do you have stage lighting in your sanctuary? And how do you use it?

How do you time the worship lyrics? This is a question that I have often pondered as I was running the presentation software. If you change the slide too quickly, then people may get lost. If you change it too late, people will feel confused if they don’t know the song. The timing needs to be close to the mark. But how do you determine where the mark is?

I’d like to find a good psychological study of this question. It would need to address the reading speed of the congregation, since that is a factor. It would also need to address the pacing of the music, since that is also a factor. Would it be possible to come up with a precise rule for timing the slides? What do you think? I have often used the last line or even the last word as the point where I press the down arrow to move forward. And the software has a response time, which is measurable. For that matter, the video projection system has a response time. There ought to be some way to factor all of this together.

A lot of Churches are switching from printing their newsletters to eMailing them. This has tremendous advantages:

• Cost: The incremental cost of another paper newsletter is postage and handling, which is going up May 12th. The incremental cost of another eMail newsletter is zero.
• Timeliness: A paper newsletter can get delayed in the mail, arriving days after the target date. An eMail newsletter may get delayed 20 minutes, but still arrives the day it was sent. (However, there are issues with Spam to contend with.)
• Turnaround: To edit a paper newsletter, you have to print it and pass it around so people can add edits. To edit an eMail newsleter, you just eMail the draft to everyone and solicit comments. Then you have to redact the comments and re-edit the original copy. Nothing gets lost.

Given all of these advantages, most people would conclude that it is a no-brainer to switch to eMail Newsletters. However, there is a learning curve involved. You have to learn the software that generates these newsletters. It can get as complicated as writing a web page, since it involves HTML. There are some powerful tools available, but they also tend to be expensive and require training. I wonder if it is worth it. What do you think? Does your Church have a newsletter, and how is it distributed? How many people does it go through on the way out the door? Is there an efficient way to handle this process? Please comment below.

What is your favorite Church web site? Which ones do a great job of telling you about the Church? I’m looking for the best example in each of the following classes:

• Mega – i.e. over 1,000 members
• Large – i.e. 200 to 999 members
• Small – i.e. under 200 members 

 Please comment and let me know what you think.

Gone are the days when you had to use transparent plastic sheets on overhead projectors. And that’s a good thing, for you could never get the alignment right. Now there are software packages available to let you present information to the congregation easily. Here is a review, based on my own subjective ratings, of what is available out there:

Worship Presentation Software Review

From time to time, I’ll update this table, so please leave your comments as to which one is your favorite. Be specific as to why you like it best.

How do you show prayer using IMAG? Perhaps you show the pastor praying on the video projector, larger than life. Or perhaps you have a still that you use. There are pros and cons to showing the pastor. If the pastor is the type that likes to move around when they’re praying, then you have to follow them on IMAG, and this could be all the way across the stage. If the pastor is the type that stands in one place, or even kneels, then the IMAG probably looks devout and appealing. It just depends on who is praying. What does your church do?

Prayer is a topic that gets a lot of attention, and rightly so. But how do you pray? What is the level of fervor that your prayers take? Are they fresh and meaningful, or are they just recitals by rote of previous prayers? Some people even think that you need a prayer mantra, a word or phrase that you repeat over and over again. Here’s a video clip that looks at prayer in a different light. Hopefully, you’ll find it insightful.

How Do You Pray?

Welcome to Ministry and Technology! This blog is dedicated to all of those servants in churches who use technology to enhance the Gospel message. May you find here a useful resource for those times when you struggle to find the balance between the two. Here you will find articles and discussions on various topics encountered in the church, from how to’s to whys to where can I find it. Come check it out frequently, as things will change daily. May you be blessed by your time here.