Remote Control or Remote Chaos?

From grocery stores and airports, to restaurants and the urban intersections of Tokyo, London, Johannesburg, Toronto, New York, and beyond, our visual senses are bombarded daily. Today, video screens can be found just about everywhere: cell phones, mall checkout counters, vehicles, and even fuel pumps. Is it any wonder that a growing number of churches are also incorporating the use of projected video in worship?

As cultures become more visually attuned, many believe churches need to learn new ways of expanding their bandwidth for preaching and worship beyond the auditory channel. This is especially challenging for preachers who have been trained to connect to the ears far more than the eyes.

In many congregations, it is no longer enough for preachers to simply say the word—we also need to show it in order for the message to be embraced.

Historically, this conversation should not come as anything new to the Church. For many centuries prior to the Enlightenment, Christianity understood the importance of communicating visually. The prevalence of religious artwork, furnishings, sculpture, stained glass, and architecture were, in part, intended to communicate the biblical story to the illiterate masses. Yet with the advent of the printing press, the spoken and written word became more prominent in the Church as ever-increasing numbers of Christians became literate.

In many corners of the world today, the challenge may not be so much that people are unable to read. Instead, the today's issue may be that a growing number of people prefer to gain information by means other than the printed page. What are the implications of this for the church?

Those who support the use of electronic visual media cite a number of reasons. "We need to speak today's language," many leaders say. Others point to younger generations, believing that they are somehow more "visual" than their older counterparts. Still others are more pragmatic, recognizing that visual media in preaching and worship can be helpful to those who are visually challenged, regardless of age. Unfortunately, in some cases church leaders report they invested in video projectors, computers, and screens simply in order to keep up with other churches in the community.

So what happens after a church makes these initial investments? Has anyone considered how electronic media can impact a church's ministry? What kind of ongoing training can be offered? Who will lead this ministry? What are the best ways to convey visually what is spoken and sung each week in worship? How might electronic media shape a worship experience, or even the sermon, differently?

Sooner or later, church leaders are likely to face these important questions. Too often, they are addressed after the fact as older, donated equipment fails, or frustrated, poorly trained volunteers quit, or exasperated worshipers tire from media that is distracting, not well-designed, or poorly presented.

As an advocate for the use of visual media in ministry, I want to underscore my belief in its ability to convey biblical truth today much in the same way that stained glass did centuries ago.

I have seen time and again how sermons that are supported by a dominant biblical metaphor can have power within a visually-attuned congregation. By the same token, I know the horror stories shared by various congregations. Who hasn't been frustrated by media technicians unable to display song lyrics in sync with the melody? I have felt nauseated by motion videos, devoid of Christian content, swirling onscreen in the background, or an endless procession of mountain lakes, ocean beaches, and sunsets that feel more like a salute to nature than a call to worship the Creator.

As a tech team member myself, I have been stymied by worship leaders who carelessly communicated a list of songs and failed to indicate the precise words that would be sung. This resulted in the worship team singing one line while the congregation sang something quite different from their on-screen cues.

Often, I have wondered who considers which graphics are appropriate to the overall worship theme, or whether a well-meaning layperson who works with PowerPoint on the job is gifted to assist the church's worship without even a basic understanding of aesthetics, religious symbolism, or artistic design. Few of us would argue that worshiping congregations should not sing simply because their musicians are less than stellar, yet this argument could apply when it comes to electronic visual media.

At first glance, I am tempted to ask if we should not use it if we will not use it well, especially in a culture that readily recognizes high quality visual communication. Fortunately, I believe there is a way forward that does not require us to unplug the projectors and tear down the screens. Technology will not make poor preachers good. Electronic media offers no hope of making good worship great apart from two keys:

• The active presence of God in both preparation and practice.
• A biblical metaphor that finds dominance in the sermon and in the corresponding visual message.

Through the informed use of a dominant biblical metaphor that shapes the sermon, imagery, and music, electronic visual media can dramatically support our preaching and worship in ways that add meaning to our visually attuned congregations.

Local churches and ministry leaders are fortunate to have a multitude of cost-effective resources available to assist them in this area today. A simple Internet search offers abundant links to helpful blogs, high quality imagery that is legally available for free or at minimal cost, helpful books, workshops, and user groups where pastors and laypersons can become more adept in learning to communicate visually.

As with any new life lesson, we first often have to face bad habits that must be changed. Many pastors will need to think differently about their preaching—this time with a visual audience in mind. Nothing magical exists about using visual media—congregations are not remotely-controlled by its use. As a result, it is no longer sufficient for pastors to simply hand over their sermon manuscripts to someone who is charged with making them "visual."

The prayerful identification of a visual metaphor in the Bible must be the starting place for all those who preach, lead worship, select music, and design graphics. When coupled with prayer, planning, training, encouragement, and ongoing congregational support, this kind of creative partnership is incredibly effective in connecting with today's visually-attuned people.

Jay Akkerman is professor of preaching at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), where he also directs NNU's graduate theological on-line education program.

Holiness Today, September/October 2008

Please note: This article was originally published in 2008. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.