Worship in HD

Scott McClellan from Collide recently posed the question, “Technology is…“, asking readers to fill in the blank.  Not one to stand back from debate, I threw my hat in the ring.  Technology is … not enough.

You may remember my recent post (oddly enough, in response to Scott’s interview response on technology in the church) talking about whether or not technology can “save the church.”  I said it then and I’ll say it now: It’s all about the message.

Technology is wonderful, it’s powerful, it’s transforming; but it’s not enough.  Technology has changed our way of life, how we see ourselves, how we see each other; but it’s not enough.  Technology draws crowds and helps us speak in ways we could not speak before, but it’s not enough.

Unless we get the message right, unless we understand what binds us together in this life, technology is just noise.  It’s static.  It’s a distraction from the truth.  It’s not enough.

When asked if “media and technology would save the Church from low attendance and irrelevance”, Scott McClellan from Collide Magazine thoughtfully responded “No”.  He then went on to say that “authenticity trumps gadgetry any day”.  I LOVE that statement.  But as much as I love his answer, I have to disagree with it.  Otherwise, this would be a boring post, right?  Now, it’s easy to criticize after-the-fact, I probably would not have responded as cleverly as Scott did to such a question.  But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I have to disagree - sort of.  My answer would be “Yes and No”.  “Oh, brother”, you might say.  Well, hear me out - I think Scott would agree.

I agree with Scott’s response (”No”), because our first and foremost responsibility as a “Church” is to be authentic, and to let that come across in every aspect of ministry.  Using technology is only secondary.  I personally think that even the technologists are still figuring out how to effectively use the myriad tools available today.  Technology should be used to enhance the worship experience, not to drive it.  At it’s core, worship is the same today as it was 200 and 2000 years ago.  It’s people gathering together and worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and embracing the claim that Jesus was who he said he was.  People will always find ways to communicate that message to others.  And that leads me to why the answer is also a resounding “Yes!”.

Now first of all, let me say that I’m not validating the question itself by answering “Yes”.  See my previous response to the question itself.  By saying “Yes”, I’m saying that technology can be used to help save the Church, insomuch as the Church now has an incredible tool to reach people that were previously unreachable, or simply not being reached.  We have incredible tools at our disposal that help us reach out to find people where they are.  Just look at what Lifechurch.tv has done with their online ministries.  They’ve leveraged technology to build the church - that is, the body of Christ.

In summary, I do love Scott’s response to the question.  I also think that technology can be used to reach people where many churches have failed, and win people to Christ.  Considering that the Church is the People, yes, I think it can help save the Church.  But only if the message is authentic…

Scott McClellan at Collide Magazine was recently asked by a reporter if he thought technology would “save the Church from low attendance and irrelevance“.  It’s interesting to me how the person asking the question reveals their presupposition - that the “Church” is indeed suffering from low attendance and irrelevance.  Oddly enough, the question itself is irrelevant, precisely because “Church” is now being identified as a thing - like a building, or a specific denomination.  Christ’s church was a band of rebels who met wherever they could, and the Gospel spread like wildfire.  It had nothing to do the tools that were used, but the message and how it was internalized.  If a “Church” experiences low attendance and/or irrelevance, then it has failed in its purpose and mission.  That has nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with the leadership.  The problem is that churches are run by people, and people fail.

Scott’s response was “No”.  What say you?  More to come…

To piggyback on our past post, “Designing a Worship Service“, designing a worship service should happen with a dedicated, closed team of staff or volunteers (as the case may be).  There are four things I believe you need to do in order to effectively design your worship service:

1. Don’t only look to the future, you need to examine the past.  I think a meeting to design a worship service should start with this.  You need to look at what you’ve done before, how it was received, and whether or not you felt the desired goal was accomplished.  Start with the last month or just the last week.  Should you try that order again?  Should that new idea be a regular part of the service?  What went wrong?  What went right?  Let your past experiences guide your team in your pursuit of excellence.
2. Make sure to get the right people together.  Your team should be small, and should consist of people who control all aspects of the service.  Let your team members’ passion come forward, and let them each challenge the group to continually improve every aspect of the service.
3. Don’t leave God out of the equation.  It’s easy to be focused on the flow of creativity and ideas when putting together a worship service.  Don’t get me wrong, this is a time to be creative; but it is also a time to sense God’s leading in choosing songs, skits, videos, and all other aspects of the service.
4. Agree on a specific goal, an objective, for each service.  This may come from the sermon, or it may come from somewhere else like a powerful worship song, a touching video, or a compelling skit.  I believe you should design your service around that single, Main Idea .

Craig Groeschel shared this benediction at the 2008 Leadership Summit, and I thought I’d share it here.

May God bless you with discomfort…
At easy answers, half-truths,
and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger…
At injustice, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears…
To shed for those who suffer from pain,
rejection, starvation and war
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness…
to  believe that you can make a difference in this world.
So that you can do
what others claim cannot be done.

Happy Thanksgiving.

This is sort of an all-things blog, not JUST about “worshiping in HD”.  So when I come across something really good, I like to share.  Rindy Walton recently posted:

Authenticity is an important value when speaking of church leaders. We want leaders to be real, open, honest and genuine. We want leaders to share their questions, their struggles and their stories. We can relate to a leader who has ‘been where we’ve been’. Authenticity fuels connection and relevance. But is that what we really want? Are leaders really ‘allowed’ to be authentic and what happens when they’re not?

Someone recently pointed me to a Perry Noble podcast where he had an incredible message and challenged his congregation about pornography.  What made his message ring home was that he quickly identified with the struggles of many men by explaining that he, too, struggled with pornography and overcame the addiction.  In “traditional” churches you never hear something like this from the pulpit, probably for fear of uproar and expulsion.  At it’s essence it’s pure authenticity, and I believe it’s necessary to effectively reach people.