|
June 2002 Table of Contents
Cover Story
Coming Soon To A Church Near You
Visiocentric Ministry - Capturing a Visually Stimulated Society
By Jeff Brockelman
Pastor of Worship, Grace Baptist Church
Knoxville, TN
Reality TV...Coming to a Church Near You! In the last issue of The Communicator, Jerry Evans wrote a terrific article called "Reaching an MTV World with an AM Radio". It certainly is a provocative statement. The title suggests that we live in a world that is saturated daily by the visual and technical and that as we reach out to our world we are doing so without the benefit of new technology which the whole world has embraced and is using with tremendous success. Obviously, technology can be helpful in presenting the Gospel. God has inspired the creation and use of technology that He may draw men unto himself and be worshiped all over the world. So why do we as Christians have such an aversion to it? Perhaps it’s because we just don’t know enough about it. The reality is that we are put off by the idea of having to delve into something we know nothing about. I would like to tell you that it’s OK to feel that way but it’s not OK to limit yourself in ministry. These are powerful tools for reaching people for Christ and touching them at the point of their deepest need. It’s time for all of us to take a reality check.
When you stop and think about it, it’s not just the genXer’s that are tuned in to this reality. It is people of all ages and walks of life, from the baby in the nursery to the homebound senior adult who has no other communication with the outside world. Our
children come home from school and "tune in" to their favorite program. Husbands come home from work and watch the news. In offices and homes all over the world people turn on their computers and watch illuminated screens that follow stock markets, give up to the minute news briefs, watch live video feed of people living their daily lives, communicate with each other via chat rooms and instant messenger. We live in the information age so the access and availability of information is tremendously fast and valued. Let’s discuss the three most important reasons why we enjoy and use visual forms of technology.
Reality #1: we are a people who love entertainment. Research provided by Statistics on Television’s Impact, a study cited in
1998, shows that the average viewing time per-day, per-home is 6 hours and 47 minutes. Add to that the incredible access to internet entertainment and time spent surfing the net and you can quickly surmise the high regard families put on visual forms of entertainment. Every week people come to our churches and sit down and look for signs of reality, the one they live in every day. They want to know how this Gospel relates to their lives in 2002. The fact is that most of us are far from using multiple
sensory learning styles to which our world responds. We appeal to only one type of learning style when we sing or preach - auditory.
If you are a visual learner or kinesthetic learner you will not always get it. The incredible popularity of the internet and TV
makes the visual style of learning the most common way people take in information or are entertained. Obviously, our focus in the
church is to reach people with the Gospel and worship God, so entertainment is not the goal. The practical application for us
is that we must get their attention long enough to get the message across. We must engage them to think about God and their
relationship to him which leads us to.....
Reality #2: we are people who value communication. We live in the Information Age where the #1 website hits go to world news.
People are interested in what’s going on around them. This often leads to a sense of insecurity because of the political and social
unrest that permeates our world. They need to hear the reality that God is in control, loves them and can be trusted. Every
church is in the business of communicating. It is the key to all we do as pastors in trying to get the message of the Gospel to our
world. Do you communicate just like you did in the 50’s, 60’s , 70’s, 80’s or even 90’s? Do guests feel they have stepped back in
time when they come to your church service? The world has become more sophisticated in its ability to communicate and the changes
in communication come at a much faster rate than ever before. We must keep up! Not for the sake of ‘keeping up’ but for the fact
that people are changing in how they receive and process information. The more ways we can get it into their heart and mind the better the results. Does your worship ministry communicate?
Reality #3: technology has changed to the point that it has become very ‘interactive’. We interact or respond to technology in a way that wasn’t even available 10 years ago.
How does your church respond to the choir specials or music within your church? Are they even asked or expected to have a response? Does your worship ministry intentionally seek that response? If you do want a response, then the effective communication of the words and music must play a huge roll in getting the message across. Excellent musicianship is very important but how do you
really interact with the audience to show them Jesus? The exciting thing about learning and teaching is that when you use
video/media that interacts with your audience it requires their participation. When participation is required then your message
goes a lot farther. People are thinking and engaging their mind and heart towards Christ.
Several years ago I found myself frustrated. I knew the communication we were giving could be better. I believed that
communication was the key, but how did I take that next step and show them what I was trying to communicate in worship. At my
former church, I had been very creative by using drama and video, with music because of the availability of these resources, but in
my current church I had no facility to make videos or even screens to show them on. My sound guys didn’t even know what a click
track was or how to put all this together. It was at this time that Jerry asked me to do a premier of "Experiencing God - the
Musical". I listened to it but knew it needed more. It needed the visual expression to make it work. I wanted to show Abraham
and Isaac, Noah, Moses, and the many characters that are mentioned in the music. So I prayed, "God, please help me to be able to
communicate this message", because I believed it was an awesome work - it just needed the visual help to put it all together and
make it more impacting. How could I accomplish this task? There was nothing that looked hi-tech about me or my church but God
heard my prayer. I had no idea how God would use it but we put it together and it worked. I say all of this to encourage each
minister to realize God has given us all abilities and gifts, and when we dream the impossible God works through us to bless His
kingdom. We tapped into the revolution of DVD technology and the advent of this very project started something that had never been
done or tried in Christian music. Now you are seeing companies releasing music projects that come on DVD with visual/interactive
communication that is effective in reaching a lost world for Christ.
How do we take all this information and use it in a practical way that can make a difference? First, look for ways to introduce the visual during the music portion of your service. Many of you have a screen or screens for word projection and perhaps even image magnification. Why not put the words to your choir/vocal specials on the screens with a nice background so that people can follow while the choir sings. Used effectively, PowerPoint, Song Show Plus, etc. can be tremendously effective tools in worship.
Find a church that does it well and learn from them. Send your volunteers to training to give them the tools they need to
accomplish the task. Second, look for resources that will give you the opportunity to use quality produced video with your choir.
J&J is now releasing a new single song DVD that I produced for Easter called "His Truth Still Marches On" which is a great song
from Integrity released on the "Alicia, We Win" CD. It is a song that outlines the message that everything else in the world will
fade away but God’s Word will stand forever. It has a lot of 9/1/01 footage in it that makes it tremendously impacting. But don’t wait for publishers to do all the work! Be creative! Think about the message you’re wanting to communicate and ask God to
give you the thoughts to help you bring it to life. Look around you - there are many people in our churches today that have video
filming, editing experience. If we truly believe that our job as ministers is to equip the church for ministry, then involve people
in ministering by using their talents and gifting. Develop a media ministry even if you don’t have any equipment.
The truth is I am just like most of you. I’m a Worship Pastor who is trying to stay one step ahead, dare I say it, even one week ahead of the busy ministry pace we all encounter. Why add one more thing to our list of "to do’s"? If we perceive
technology to be an extra headache because of our lack of knowledge, we must change our perspective. The testimonies of the
decisions made and the lives touched are evidence of God’s awesome power to use us all, even though we may not have the expertise we
think we should have. The reality is that God is using technology to get the Gospel message out to a lost and dying world. What wasn’t a reality in my ministry 4 ½ years ago has now become an awesome reality. God has given us the ability to put in new video and recording studios, and has allowed us to go to the next level in showing the world we live in that Christ is the only reality that really matters.
Back to Top
|
