This past Sunday in Wales, a group of elders gathered at their church building to pray. The ancient stone chapel had been without heating since a group of construction workers shut off the gas supply to the building earlier in the week, then forgot to turn it back on for the weekend. It was judged to be too cold for the morning worship service—scheduled two hours later—so the local telephone lines began blazing with elders contacting members of the church leadership team, who contacted small group leaders, who contacted everyone within their house group. It was decided to meet at an older (and smaller, but warmer) chapel building nearby. I’m not sure if the elders got to pray or not.
Unfortunately, this change of venue caught a lot of people by surprise: especially the church’s musicians, sound engineers, computer operators and the preacher. His entire message was developed as a laptop-based, visually-oriented PowerPoint presentation. Upon arrival at the old building, it was abuzz with people frantically running wires and junction boxes and speakers and a massive sound board so that the keyboard, instruments, singers, and the preacher could be heard in a room that only measured eighteen hundred square feet.
Some of the greatest movements of God happened long before the discovery of electricity, much less the arrival of computer geniuses like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. While I certainly don’t advocate wearing camel’s hair and eating wild locusts and honey, I have to wonder how many worship gatherings this coming Sunday would fall flat if some natural disaster shut down the national grids of electric power in megawatt-hungry church buildings around the globe. Thankfully, these sorts of things don’t happen with frequency, but on those rare occasions it makes one stop and think and ask a few questions:
- Are we more sensitive to the loss of electricity than the presence of the Holy Spirit in our meetings?
- Have we grown so accustomed to amplified music that we find it difficult to engage in true worship without it, whether it’s a pipe organ, a keyboard, or a five-piece band?
- What impact does technology have in a mega-church? A small, rural church? A house church? What about a contemporary church versus a more traditional church?
- How important is technology in attracting newcomers?
- Are there inherent dangers in such an attraction, like using music, lighting, and sound to draw people into a “church” where unhealthy or even heretical teaching is being promulgated?
Just a few points to ponder.
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One of the few church services that stand out in my memory completely happened by chance one snowy morning. Our old church met in the cafeteria of a local middle school and the power went out unexpectedly. It was too late to call everyone. So the musicians gathered round an acoustic guitar and a few other acoustic instruments and we sang Christmas Carols (it was Advent) and read scripture together for about an hour. It was absolutely beautiful.
Hi Bill.
Some fasinating insights there. It’s amazing how a generation has arrived at a theology of worship that is pretty much unimaginable without the advent of electricity.
Which makes you wonder … would we have such a thing as the modern ‘worship’ industry with its CDs and DVDs were it not for the presence of electricity? (Yes, I suppose it is a little hard to burn CDs without the aid of electricity. Or matches.)
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I wish that our church relied less on technology. Growing up Roman Catholic, I’m used to basic microphones and a hymnal, an organ or an acoustic guitar, choir or song leader. It worked. I’m now a member of an Assemblies of God church, and while I love the greater freedom of worship, I also get frustrated by the roadblocks of technology.
I’d like to put out a plea to church leaders everywhere… look at your congregation during a service. Not just the first few rows, but the middle and the back, around the edges and at the door. Do you see small children tugging their ears, or people covering an ear ? Maybe they have sensitive ears or wear a hearing aid and your sound system is blasting their ear drums by amping up certain frequencies. Do you see people worshiping, and then suddenly just stop and stare uncomfortably ? Perhaps they don’t know the lyrics and your worship leader is following the leading of the Holy Spirit, but technology is leaving your congregation behind.
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Excellent post!
I wrote about a power outage situation we had at church this weekend. one of my commenters gave us this post as a reference. I’ve linked to it.
Thanks for the great questions!
My thought.
Reliance on technology is the foundation for “self” worship. To rely on “something: to worship, begins us down a path of idol worship or self worship. I am sold on technology in the church, but never for the sake of glorifying technology. It is a wonderful tool, but God is always the project being worked on.
I heard a great quote today,
“Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
If we are known for something other than our Savior, I think that technology has taken the front seat.
Brent
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First of all, I would like to say I just came across these posts and have enjoyed them. I do not disagree with any of the posts here but keep in mind that society has and is evolving. And I feel that if we want to continue to reach the lost then as Christ did we have to meet them where they are. Hollywood spends millions to tell a story. As churches how much do we spend to tell our story? The story of Christ’s gift of salvation. Now I know every church does not have a multimillion dollar budget to work from, but God deserves our best. When a lost person attends your service what do they experience? Are we meeting them where they are technologically?? But most importantly what do they hear?? Do they hear God’s word through a system that was “value engineered” and that is infested with ringing, clicks, pops?? The hearing of God’s word is the most important thing that anyone hears. Value engineering undermines not only God’s word but also the time that the pastor, as well as the other church leadership, puts into each and every service.
Marty: Thanks for your comments. I guess it would depend on which model of church one buys into: the simple sharing of the Gospel from house to house and in the marketplace (which is where the lost REALLY ARE) or the multimillion dollar campuses with fitness centers, coffee shops, and lecture halls (we call them “churches”) with cutting-edge sound, vision, and lighting. The first model is missional and the second one is attractional.
Even a modest step in the “attractional” direction requires huge expenditures and, I would agree, you’d better not skimp on the quality. You can’t build a small rural chapel for less than half a million these days! If a group of Christians decides to compete in the marketplace, they become no different (in many respects) to the country clubs, health spas, shopping malls, and other businesses vying for the public’s attention; and so they MUST have great design, killer acoustics, and comfortable seating. And yes, that costs a bundle!
But I don’t think we can automatically equate spending lots of money with being effective and faithful in our presentation of the Gospel. Heresy can also be pumped through those high-tech mixers and speaker systems; in fact, the Devil himself would surely be at the top of the heap when it comes to using the latest and greatest to spread his lies.
In contrast, Jesus did not book the popular cutting-edge venues of his day: the Greek theaters and Roman stadiums. He could have done so, but rather He chose twelve men to walk with Him among their peers. They spent time with people as they went about their daily lives: buying and selling, walking from place to place, fishing along the shores of Galilee, and enjoying the various dinner parties, weddings, and other celebrations of people they knew. Jesus also joined his friends in times of grief, heartache, and fear.
This is the primary reason I’m moving farther away from the performance-based services of modern religious institutions, advocating instead a more organic approach to our life together as believers. Truth is, I’m as wearied by the “professional” sound that would please even Simon Cowell as I am by the “ringing, clicks, pops” you’ve described as “value engineering.
Hey Bill, thanks for your reply. I totally agree with you about the church’s effectiveness being dependent on how much money they spend. My experience has proven time and time again that large or small churches seem to care more about the look, and when their prettiness (if you will) drives them over budget, then the first place they start pulling from is the A/V budget. I have made many church leaders mad by asking how many lost souls have been won because your building or auditorium was so pretty versus how many have been won through hearing God’s Word??? So why is that they pull the funding from the most important tool other than the Bible?? This has always puzzled me. I also agree that there is a fine line between building a facility for God’s work and building a facility for status. I think you called it a country club. While all these amenities are nice to have and if done properly can be very effective tools for God’s work, but mostly it seems to be more for status more times than not. It would appear that our bottom lines are the same and that is that God can use any body and any size church for His glory if we can just move our egos out of His way and let Him.
I think you missed the point of my response. I’m not sure our church buildings (and their sound systems, family life centers, etc.) have anything to do with Jesus or the Christian life or sharing the Gospel with others. From my perspective, they are more of a hindrance than a help. Let’s get out among the people and tell them the good news with our own mouths, not depend upon a professional minister to do it for us.
Bill,
You are right on, my man. In my thinking, there is a new generation of young people that will tire of the excellence model of church. Instead, they will hunger for deep, meaningful, transparent relationships that help mature them in Christ.
How I long for the day that image isn’t everything!
Soli Deo Gloria.
I agree after all that is what the Acts 1:8 commission is all about. However as long as these facilities are being used to teach God’s word in then I feel it should be done with excellence which means the A/V equipment being used should be as flawless as possible.