Last night I was able to read a few articles on the uses of technology in sermons. Two of them focuses specifically on the popular tool from Microsoft known as PowerPoint. One of the articles was pro PowerPoint if used responsibly and the other was nearly completely against it.
Most of the articles that i have read so far tend to have positions similar to my own. Technology is a wonderful tool that can help one through the sermon. WIth technology comes better lighting, sound systems, and props to assist with the sermon presentation. Also current technology allows the preacher to take their message to a much wider audience through the internet. Technology can even aid in preparing for a sermon. There are many online rescources that allow the preacher to delve into scripture with myriads of articles as well as numerous books and commentaries available to scour through via the world wide web. For preachers to reject this would be a bit loony. Yet it doesnt seem that there is much disagreement about this.
One of the big disagreements that i have seen is when technology can begin to take over the sermon. WHen the goal is simply to stay up to date and "keep up with the times." Powerpoint is often used, making the sermon more like a business meeting, or a classroom. Yet this is not what the sermon is for. It is meant to bring the gospel message to the people. It is a thing of beauty that if done well gives hope and guidance to its listeners.
People may argue, but bullet points and pictures flipping into their places on the screen are not things of beauty. They are often distracting and allow the preacher to slack off on their presentation. If the preacher wants someone to remember something then make, it the main point of the sermon, make it clear, and say it well. Use a picture as a background to give the people something to associate the sermon with as suggested in the article by Andrew Root.
It seems that we have this idea that new technology is always better. Yet how often have you ever heard that the movie was better than the book? I have maybe heard that once in my life and there was some disagreement. Yet in just about every book that i have read, compared to the movie i have seen, the book won out. When we get too technological, we take some of the magic out of what is being done. A person who chooses their words carefully and wisely can paint a picture that is nothing short of majestic when it appears in the mind of the listener. The picture is set up by the speaker and yet the listener's mind is able to make it in many ways its own. When a movie clip is shown in the service, the freedom of imaginationis gone. What is shown is what it is. The person cannot own the video clip in the same way that they can a story from a book. This is because the image is already created for them. This may hold their attention better in the service, but i don't believe it will stick with the person the same way a carefully crafted piece of imagery would.
This is not to say that clips can never be used in sermons, but we ought to use them sparingly, not always assuming, what is new is what is best. For as the one article hinted at, when one must always be doing what is new, one is always having to change, which can be good, but also very unsettling and cause burnout. Sometimes isn't it good to stick primarily and make adjustments to what we know already is good?
Well put, but I'd rather take the 2 hours to watch the movie. That's just me!!
ReplyDeleteI do think bad PowerPoint is a killer. Text on slides...NO THANKS!!!
What happens if the preacher makes reference to something I'm not familiar with? I consider myself well-read, and try to stay current with pop culture, but I miss things. I asked a classmate to comment on a sermon I was writing that contained a reference to one of the Star Wars movies. She said she didn't get it because she never saw the movie. If I had the ability to play that clip during the sermon, everyone would get the reference/allusion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statements. I would suggest that public speaking is not easy and use of technology can be okay in sermons as long as it is measured in its use. I think it is also important to note that in those times when you refer to books, articles, etc. one needs to be good at setting the scene for the medium quite well. The same has to be said for setting up a movie clip.
ReplyDeleteI agree with B on this. It helps to hear and see the actual context of a quoted or referenced film that I may or may have not seen.
ReplyDeleteBad power point is a sermon killer. Good power point helps you recall the sermon days, even weeks later.