God is Great! As proof, powerpoint sermons are beginning to not totally suck
The days of the hip, 21st Century church feeling the need to use 42 powerpoint slides during a 20 minute sermon are, thankfully, quickly fading as congregations and Pastors realize that people can’t read and listen at the same time. Don’t get me wrong…I love the options this technology brings to the church. I have received some great messages in which the speaker has leveraged powerpoint effectively and seamlessly. I have also attended sermons where I wish I had simply downloaded and read the slides instead of pretending to listen while reading the slides.
The idea of simply making a slide saying what the preacher just said is nearly dead. While this idea seems to flow from conventional speaking wisdom, when used as an ongoing principle…it’s just distracting. Also fading from Sunday mornings are Super-cool slide transitions that feature a Klingon battleship disintegrating one slide, and the resulting debris coalescing into the next slide. They are really mega awesome, for sure…but are again just a distraction. Through the grace of God, we have come to realize that the over use of tools like flashy transitions is an affront to God punishable by eternal damnation in the fires of Hell. But let’s not ban laptops from our sanctuaries because we failed (at first) to grasp the true strengths and possibilities of “multimedia”. I would like to believe that we are moving into an era where powerpoint and other technologies are viewed as a means to expose our congregations to the best of the rest of the preaching universe (the other gifted orators, communicators, Christian animators, film-makers, etc ). Guess what? On the internet, you can still hear Billy Graham and MLK preach! Want to spread (or counter) the ideas of Rick Warren or Jimmy Swaggart or Rachel Hollis or Rob Bell or Brant Hansen or the Kardashians? What better than hear it from the horses mouth, along with your additions/subtractions/concerns/emphasis? Don’t have an Eden Ministries or Cody Deden or NOOMA in your congregation to put together a film of your idea? Good News…THE church has many of them in the congregation, and many of them could use the support of your ministry…and they are as close as youtube!
In the world of the internet and unprecedented access to ideas, styles, approaches, and commentaries….it’s astounding to me that I’m not exposed to wider range of content on Sunday morning. I don’t mean to replace the preacher…but let’s face it…the preacher’s Sunday job is not to deliver a message….the preacher’s job on Sunday morning is to ensure that A Message is delivered, in the most understandable language and approach appropriate for a given congregation, for a given Sunday. Frankly, I would assume a bit of arrogance and ego-stroking in a pastor that feels they must craft every word in every part of every message on every Sunday. But I think I covered the subject of “guest speakers” in a separate rant that pastors may find equally offensive.
Let me circle back to the beginning….Powerpoint is great, if used as a tool. Pastors and Lay speakers….If you don’t need a slide, don’t make a slide. If you need a slide, reference the slide. Remember…people can not pay attention to you AND pay attention to the slide. Also remember this…youtube and the internet is full of absolute crap…but there are also some astounding examples of electronic media that make complex ideas clear. So…pastors…are you “stuck” on a way to explain some idea….maybe you’re stuck on what the refusal to stand for justice does to your spirit? Think you can explain that better than MLK Jr did at Brown Chapel? I hope you can, and I hope you do. MLK is a genius of persuasion, but we need different ways of approaching a message, and your new approach may lead to my “aha!” moment. If so…go for it! But if you’re stuck…if it’s Saturday afternoon and you keep staring at the words in front of you, mumbling something like “hmmm…I guess that’s ok”….might I humbly suggest you “compromise” and bring in some backup from the world’s most accomplished speakers, writers, artists, theologians, comedians, musicians and film-makers in the world? I thank you in advance.