It is easy to take cheap, abundant, reliable electricity for granted. And it is easy to hold the presumption that it will always be available to run whatever equipment we have available. So you chain power strips together and keep plugging electrical devices in – i.e. ad infinitum.
However, there is a limit to how much current any one circuit will bear. I have discovered that the hard way. And there are places in the world where electricity is unreliable – also another personal discovery. What do you do?
We all need to be conservation minded about electricity. We need to only power up those devices that have a purpose, and not just leave everything running because it is convenient. A recent TV spot recommended disconnecting the cell phone charger when not in use. Sounds like a good idea. And we need to assess the load we are putting on circuits, lest we put them in an overloaded state (i.e. if you cause more electricity to flow through a wire than it was designed to carry, you increase the risk of fire.) Most powerstrips have a built in 15 amp circuit breaker, so that limits the number of devices on any one circuit – no matter how many powerstrips you chain together.
In foreign lands, electricity is not necessarily reliable. You can add surge protectors, UPSs, extra generators. However, you can not always guarantee that the electrons will flow reliably. You need to be conservation minded, and choose which devices to power when needed.
Multi-media is well established. In essence, any time you use more than one media – i.e. visual, audio, etc… – you are doing multi-media. But what happens when you mix live drama with video? This could be described as multi-faceted media.
The logistics involved in doing a combination are pretty intense. Not only do you have to have the audio channels all set up to work together, but you also have to have lighting coordinated down to the second. Preprogramming these sequences will help, but the timing has to be perfect to make it come off well. This opens up a whole can of worms in terms of possible things that can go wrong. But if done well, a multi-faceted media presentation will capture the attention of the congregation in a new way.
Growing up, I remember having sword drills with your Bible. The idea was that the Bible study leader would call out a verse, and you would turn to it as fast as you could. The first person to get there got to read the verse. You had to really know where things were in the Bible for that to happen.
In the context of a sermon, you could easily get in the situation where you are having a sword drill on screen. How fast can you look up a verse and put it on the screen? If you know it in advance, you obviously have an edge, but what about an extemporaneous reference to a scripture by the preacher? Your presentation software should be able to look up and format a verse reference on demand in real time. That way, you can deliver for the sword drill on screen before the sermon is over.
Easter is really a Miracle. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an incredible event. When it happened 2,000 years ago, it was unheard of. Today, even with the best of medical science, it can not be duplicated. It surely is a miracle that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Why did God do it? To prove to us that He had the power! And that power is what saves our souls. Had Jesus not been raised, His message would have just died with Him. Yet, because He was raised, His Gospel message continues to spread all over the world! Thanks be to God. Christ is Risen!
Count down video segments are useful for coordinating the showing of a video with another event. In the motion picture industry, they were originally used to synchronize the sound with the picture (i.e. when they were on separate media.) Here is an example of a 10 second count:
Is there any point in including this type of segment in production video clips? Or is it just an annoyance? What do you think?
At Easter time, we look for ways to reenact the Passion of Christ. In so doing, we gain new appreciation for the Way of the Cross. Jesus walked that way, knowing full well that death waited for Him at the end of it. And more excruciating still, He knew that one of His own, Judas Iscariot, would betray Him.
Bringing the Crucifixion to life has been the subject of many movies. The sophistication of computer graphics can take us there – at least visually. But some would raise a concern about the gory nature of the crucifixion. After all, the Romans perfected the art of brutal torture and death. The barbarity of the cross is incredible. How far should the Church go in showing the gory parts of the Crucifixion? To a culture that is in many ways innoculated against violence, this may not seem like much. But to those who are trying to stem the tide of violence in our culture, it may be a big deal. We need to approach the subject of Good Friday with sensitive hearts and open minds.
Everyone seems to be security conscious these days. And you even have to be concerned about security in the Church – of all places! Because our doors are open to the public, anyone can walk in. And that means the sinners and the criminals get to come in the door. With all of the news lately about incidents within the Church, you need a security policy. And the support staff needs a certain amount of training in handling security situations. Here is one article on designing such a policy:
Most Churches today have a global reach. Many call it missions. In the past, it was focused on one Sunday out of the year, and there was usually a special offering which was passed on to the Global Mission program of the denomination. Today, it is not uncommon for a single Church to sponsor multiple, short-term mission teams to foreign lands. They may be engaged in general evangelism, or specialized in technology. These mission teams go forth to support missionaries in their activities to fulfill the Great Commission. And they are succeeding.
One example of this is Africa. Once called the Dark Continent – because it was completely unreached – it is now the home of 400 million Christians. And the Churches in Africa are now starting to send their own missionaries out – to other parts of the world. You could say that they now have a Global Reach of their own. It is exciting to see what the Church is doing in this day and age.
Remember the old song, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one?” Why not add a feature to your web site to let people count their blessings in life. It would allow people to share the blessings that they had received, and express their gratitude. You could then have a composite report show up. It might read something like “234 people blessed by Good Samaritans this week.” This would in turn inspire others to share their blessings with the congregation.
There is a lot of joy in the Christian life. Sometimes we fail to perceive that, given how many things people gripe about. By counting the blessings of the congregation, we might change that prevailing attitude that says things are negative. Let’s turn it into a positive attitude. God is Good!
The writer of the Revelation states, “I am making everything new!” REV 21:5 NIV. As this new year begins, I am reminded that God continually makes things new in our lives. He applies grace to bring us renewal.
Christmas is a Wonderful Time of Year, and worship takes on a new dynamic. The Advent season brings all sorts of special events. These demand more from our technologies than at any other time of year. Special lighting might include lighting the Advent Candles so the person in the back row can tell that they were really lit. Musical cantatas celebrate the joy of Christmas with praise and even drama. Do you or do you not mike the baby Jesus in the manger? The end of the year brings many opportunities to take advantage of our technical ministry capabilities. There are special videos, special music, and unique lighting requests – e.g. Christmas trees in the back of the choir that need to twinkle. And all of this plays out before record crowds. All the more reason for advance planning and development long before December rolls around!
Of course, Christmas has deep spiritual meaning. Coming from the Church tradition of the Christ Mass, there is a significance that transcends any other season. The Christ is born means that God is incarnate, stepping down out of Heaven to walk among us here on earth. How and when are not so important as the why of that event. But you can expect that the minister will have a special sermon series that focuses on that question. And perhaps that demands a new, refreshing way of looking at things. So a new look to the videos may be in order. Or a new style to the website may be just the thing to help visitors find Joy in our Savior’s Birth! Yes, Christmas is a Wonderful time of year, and a tremendous opportunity to apply technology to worship in new ways!
Merry Christmas and May the Light of our Savior strike your eye in a new way this coming year!
In designing a video clip, you have many objectives. To get a lot of great shots is probably on your mind as you shoot it. To find just the right transition effect is probably on your mind as you edit it. But what about the thinking you expect in your audience as they watch it. There is a tendency to make it as plain and specific as possible. But there are times when you want to leave the congregation thinking about something. In the Bible, there are numerous paradoxes designed for this purpose. How can that rich man enter the eye of a needle? Who is my neighbor? Jesus knew His audience. He didn’t always tell jokes – although we have some evidence that He had a great sense of humor. But He did challenge His audience to think about the implications of what He was telling them.
One occasion where you might use a Video that makes you think is right before the sermon. It will serve as a transition from whatever happened before in the service. And it can leave the congregation asking a particular question. The preacher then goes on to answer the question that’s on everybody’s mind. A well designed video can do that, rather than just getting everybody to laugh. But it will take some coordination between the preacher and the videographer. And the preacher will have to be comfortable letting the video serve to make His first point, which otherwise would be to ask the question that he wants everyone to be thinking about. It can be done, and it can free up the preacher to focus on articulating the answer. The video can leave people thinking, and thus challenge them to engage all the more in the words of the sermon. For here is the answer, the Word of Life!
One of the amazing things about the Bible is the fact that we have so many ancient copies of it. This might be expected, since it was so revered. But the Bible in antiquity survived incredible persecution, as well as the ravages of time. No other ancient text has been so well preserved. The writings of the ancient Greeks have survived, but only just barely. The Bible is available in well preserved copies dating from the 1st century A.D. Indeed, here is a link to a copy of the Psalms dating to 40 A.D.
Electronic copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls are available. The question is when would we need to project these, or interact with them in worship. In some Churches, the scriptures are read in their original languages, but usually we worship in the local tongue. This is one of the consequences of the Protestant Reformation. And the scriptures have now been translated into thousands of languages – i.e. thanks to the Wycliffe Bible Translation effort. But you could show the scripture passage in both the original language and in the local language. All it would take would be a well formatted screen. Would that add to the worship experience? Feel free to comment below.
Before people will commit their time to a ministry, they want to know what will be expected of them. Ministry descriptions that are specific and written are important because they give people the information they need to make a commitment.
Why not have a section on the Church’s website where there are ministry descriptions for volunteers. The idea is that this is a job description, but for a volunteer position. By reading through these, a potential volunteer would have a better idea about what is going to be involved. This usually helps people make up their mind to commit to a volunteer task. The Ministry Description could include any or all of the following sections:
Description of the Volunteer Position
Amount and Frequency of Time Commitment
List of the Skills Required
Ideas on Training (e.g. technical hands-on)
Benefits to the Community of Faith
In addition, there should be a table showing the number of volunteers that are needed in each area of the Church’s ministry. This could be the overview page showing all of the open positions. Hopefully, this would decrease as people volunteered, until all positions were filled.
God has blessed the community of faith with tremendous gifts and graces. Using Ministry Descriptions will help tap that resource, so that the mission of the Church can be fulfilled with excellence!
There are many translations of the Bible available to us today. Here is one list of current English translations:
21st Century King James Version
American Standard Version
Amplified Bible
Contemporary English Version
Darby Translation
English Standard Version
Holman Christian Standard Bible
King James Version
New American Standard Bible
New Century Version
New International Version
New King James Version
New Living Translation
The Message
Today’s New International Version
Worldwide English
Wycliffe New Testament
Young’s Literal Translation
Each of these has advantages and disadvantages, which we could easily debate for a very long time. What is important is that each Christian read the Bible, and they can choose their favorite translation to do so. All translations of the Bible tell the incredible story of Jesus the Christ, and we should accurately handle that story (2 Timothy 2:15). What does it take to do that?
Whenever the Bible is presented, it should be accurately quoted. The book, chapter, and verse should be indicated clearly. The translation used should also be indicated – i.e. by an abbreviation such as NIV for New International Version. This enables anyone viewing the presentation to go look up the passage for themselves. They can easily find the specific verse. I usually find that there is a lot more to the passage than we have time to present, so I often go read the context. Just reading the whole chapter will usually give you a good sense of the context, but you may also want to dig into passage using a concordance. See the article on Bible Study Tools for more ideas on Bible study.
Modern megachurches are dependent on technology. Any time you gather more than a hundred people together, you need some sort of technology to enhance worship. At the very least, you need an audio system, so that everyone can hear the sermon. Ideally, you should be able to hear the Word clearly in every seat – i.e. even in the back of the balcony. In addition to that, most megachurches offer video screens. Typically, this shows the lyrics for the songs, so no one needs a hymnal. But it can also show the preacher in a way that everyone can see clearly – i.e. IMAG. For those at the back of the room, this helps them follow the sermon. However, now we have moved into video technology; cameras, switchers, video projectors, and one or more video screens. And with the video, it becomes possible to show video clips as illustrations, announcements, and points of transition in the service. The technology allows the congregation to literally go anywhere; e.g. you could easily show Jerusalem’s wailing wall during a sermon about the Temple. And other types of technology lie on the horizon, awaiting development. The possibilities are limitless.
However, with the technology comes a dependence. What happens if the electricity goes out because of a storm at 3:00 AM on Sunday? If the service is held, the preacher may be preaching by candlelight. There needs to be a fall back position; e.g. a generator to run at least some lights and the sound system. And if you can’t show IMAG, can a battery powered camera at least record the sermon? You could then put the sermon on the Church’s web site for those who couldn’t come because of the storm’s damage. And a satellite congregation may have to resort to listening to an extemporaneous sermon by the local pastor.
We worship a big God, and we are blessed with technology to enhance that worship. But we need to make sure that we think through the issues of our dependence on that technology. That doesn’t mean we reject the technology and go back to smaller congregations. It does mean that we understand our priorities for using the technology should we encounter issues. Sunday worship will go on, but we may have to fall back to a different technical configuration on various occasions. We need to be prepared to do that, rather than panic at the circumstance.
How do you direct visitors on your web site? It seems like an obvious question, but there is a subtle side to it. Sure, you expect Church visitors to check out your web site before they show up at the door. After all, they have all week to look. But how do you direct them to the information that is most critical for them deciding on whether to come or pass your Church by? You have to look at the Church web site from the perspective of a visitor. Make sure to present the following information directly off the home page:
Worship times and places
Upcoming Worship Theme or Series
Information about Sunday School for all ages
General directions and map
Layout of the Church buildings
Phone number to call if they have questions
If you do this, then potential visitors should be able to answer their questions prior to coming. And you can expect that they’ll know this basic information before they walk in the door. (Be sure your greeters are familiar with it, too, just in case a visitor doesn’t have web access.) You can then help them start down the path to joining the Church.
There are lots of Bible study programs available now for smart phones. When smart phones got sufficient memory (i.e. megabytes), Bible study applications started coming out. Here are just a few, along with comments:
QuickVerse PDA
Based on the PC program QuickVerse, this version is designed for the Palm OS. It allows you to have multiple translations, as well as commentaries and dictionaries. You use a hierarchical search tool to find a specific verse, i.e. select the book, chapter, then verse. It allows you to attach personal notes to specific words in specific verses.
Available on the iPhone, this Bible study program takes advantage of the finger based user interface. To find a verse, you start with an alphabetical list of the books – i.e. just like the contacts list. You select a book, then you get an outline showing chapter numbers and section titles. You then select a chapter and you go to the beginning of that chapter. You can then easily scroll down through the text to find the verse in question.
Acro Bible takes advantage of the iPhone’s user interface. It actually works quite well, allowing you to keep up with even a preacher citing verses rapid fire. And the text is easy to read even in low light, given the iPhone’s backlit display. But note that if you want to add a personal note, the note is attached to the whole verse, not the individual word.
Why not have a New Members page on your web site, complete with video clips? The idea would be to let each new member record a video clip right after they joined. The topic would be their personal testimony of faith. This is appropriate as a witness to their faith. In most Churches, joining requires that you either profess your faith or reaffirm the vows of membership. The video clip would capture a word of testimony from each person that the community of faith would then be able to see outside of the Sunday morning event. Families could share together or separately. Each clip would be limited to 3 minutes.
The assimilation of new members is an ongoing challenge in many Churches. This idea would give that process a jumpstart. Staff could review the video as it went up on the web site to tailor the assimilation plan for each new member. Other members of the Church could watch the new member’s video and identify like interests. The video clip would make each new member more visible, and open opportunities to get involved with various small groups based on shared life experiences. This would open the door to new members, who might otherwise stay put in the pew. Video clips would stay up for about a month, and then rotate out as others joined.
If you have all of the lyrics for the songs on screen, then why do you still need a bulletin? Many Churches have decided to drop the paper bulletin, since all of the information was a duplicate of what appears on the video screens anyway. However, there are still some advantages to having a paper bulletin:
People can take home the paper bulletin.
A printed page can be written on; for example, you can have a sermon outline.
People still like to have something to read before and after the service.
You can put stuff in the paper bulletin that you don’t have time to announce.
Does your Church still publish a paper bulletin each Sunday? If so, what do you put in it that is different from the information content of the worship presentation? And how do people in the congregation like it?
How do you respond to others when they insult you? Do the words of Jesus to “turn the other cheek,” Mat 5:39, come to mind? Or do you start plotting your revenge, even for what others would call a minor insult? Jesus was well aware that we have enemies. Long before He was flogged, He had no doubt felt the barbarity of Roman soldiers. If a Roman soldier was marching through your town, he could order you to carry his pack for a mile. It didn’t matter that you were on your way home after a long and tiring day. It didn’t matter if the interruption affected your time critical business deal. You still had to do it – i.e. just because the soldier ordered you to. If you refused, he could kill you; that was Roman law. Sometimes you don’t seem to have a choice; you have to endure the insults of others.
Jesus suggested a different response – i.e. out of grace. Let grace cover the insult. Let grace enable you to respond in a way other than what your instinct tells you. Jesus knew that there is spiritual power in responding out of grace to those who hurt you. He proved it on the cross. In doing so, you will experience grace anew and you will find joy.
So the next time the boss orders you to do something that feels like an insult, respond in grace. You will then find that the task will be a joy. And rather than doing the minimum to satisfy the demand, and that sloppily, do your best. In so doing, you will prove your excellence and professionalism. And the boss will take note of that.
With the emphasis these days on web 2.0, there are new opportunities for the Church. What if we used the web to create dialogue groups following worship? The congregation could join these groups and participate in a dialogue during the week after the worship service. These groups would focus on the sermon, discussing it together. A moderator would be needed to help keep the group on track. The preacher could participate if so inclined. The purpose of the group would be to reflect on and let the sermon sink in. It would not be an opportunity to put down the preacher or reject his message. The opportunity for people to deepen their faith is great. Would this work in your Church?
The technology for this already exists. It could be implemented as a blog or web log, whereby members could sign in and write their comments on each sermon. The main posting could be a summary of the sermon. By limiting comments to existing members and moderating the discussion, the spammers would be limited. It would also be helpful to come up with rules of etiquette for these discussion groups. The moderator could be a staff member if appropriate. The time frame for the comments would be the week after the sermon was preached. That would put a time box on the discussion, since a new sermon will come along after a week. The preacher could read these comments and gather feedback on the sermon that would take a 100 phone calls to elicit. So this becomes a win-win situation.
One recent development in worship lyrics uses a moving background. This departs from the previous technique, where you used a static image as the background for your worship slides. Now you can have a dynamic background for the song lyrics. You can even use live shots, but more often you want something that is simply a moving background. The movement helps keep the congregation’s attention.
So how do you pick a moving background? First of all, you should ensure that you maintain good contrast between the words and every frame of the moving background. Otherwise, people will have trouble reading the words while singing. For example, you should show white text on a dark color; or you could show dark text on a light color. Secondly, the moving background should be designed so that the words dominate. If someone glances briefly at the screen, the words should stand out in their mind’s eye. Thirdly, you should choose a moving background that matches the lyrics. For example, a song about creation could show a moving background that was a scene from nature, e.g. a babbling brook. A song about the God of the universe could show shots of the stars. By following these principles, you increase the interest of the congregation in watching the screens.
How does your church use moving backgrounds? Feel free to comment below.
In most megachurches today, you will find video cameras. The cameras are there to record the service, so that it can be distributed via DVD, CD, CATV, or over the Internet. Along with the cameras, you will usually find stage lighting. These are sophisticated, computer controlled lighting systems that can light up the stage like daytime. You can easily have so much light shining that the preacher might well observe that he has been “blinded by the light”. This is not a reference to Paul’s dramatic conversion on the way to Damascus (i.e. Acts 22:6), but rather an observation that the light is overwhelming. It makes it hard for the preacher to see the reaction of the audience. This affects the pacing of the sermon, e.g. making it difficult to pause for people to laugh at a joke. The dilemma is that to get good video footage, you have to have a lot of light on the subject. How do we ensure that we have excellent lighting on the stage without disconnecting the preacher from the congregation?
The first step is to make sure that the lighting is well designed. It should be even all the way across the stage, so that the far left is as well lit as the center. The stage should have appropriate back lighting, so that people look three dimensional and not flat. And it should be well diffused, not glaring and bleak. When we pay attention to these issues, we will make sure that we do not walk in darkness, for we have the light of life – John 8:12. And people will get more out of the sermon.
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!
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.