Recently, I finished the book “Flickering Pixels” by Shane Hipps. This is not a feat to take lightly as I am not much of a book reader. It’s a weakness I struggle with constantly. I really wish I loved to read books…I really do. But it’s just not a natural means of entertainment or enjoyment for me. People are constantly saying “Oh, you HAVE to read _______.” Sometimes I take their word for it and jot it down, but very rarely (like every Haley’s Comet orbit) do I actually read it. Mark Zurowski (who I met in Thailand) was one of those guys recommending a book, except he gave me his own copy…and the title was “Flickering Pixels”. Man, am I glad I read it!

The basic message of the book is that the medium is just as important as the message, so much that the medium becomes the message itself. The two can’t be separated. The medium Hipps chooses to focus in on is technology. The whole book is a journey of unveiling the stealth-like influence and power that technology has in our lives & faith. I felt as if I was led to the backstage of the Technology Revolution and was shown what was going on behind-the-scenes. Everyone’s all hyped up on media & technology these days, but very few go exploring through the back hallways & secret passages of this thing. Another good analogy might be “The Wizard of Oz” and the moment when the man behind the curtain was revealed.

There’s so much to process after reading this book. There’s no way this one little blog post can contain all my thoughts (good, bad & cautious). But I can tell you this, it has profoundly impacted my view on technology and it’s proper relationship to both my daily life, leading others in worship, & training others to lead worship. I’m not saying that I completely 100% agree with every word in the book…like I said, I’m still processing. But the overall message & many of the stories told definitely back up a lot of what I’ve been thinking and wrestling with lately.

Here’s an excerpt from the book, which has been the single most memorable section of the book for me:

“Information alone is strength without coordination. We become a danger mostly to ourselves when we have it. Understanding is the ability to coordinate that raw information in meaningful ways. Understanding creates a certain enthusiasm. We can direct our knowledge toward potentially useful ends — but we may also be a danger to others. Wisdom, however, is knowing how, when, and why we use our understanding; wisdom is settling into our understanding without being too enamored by it.”

I think this can be applied to so many areas. The Internet, social media, visual media, art, etc. Think about the area of technology you lead in your church, and read that excerpt again keeping that area in mind.

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Here’s something to think about: with access to all these new motion backgrounds, software capabilities, magic box devices, projection techniques, intelligent lighting, etc… that alone is like having “information”. But I think a majority of our creative church subculture is in the “understanding” phase right now. We are learning how to wield our knowledge/information/gear/creativity & apply it in meaningful, worshipful ways. There is a sense of enthusiasm & excitement when this happens. And we’re very enchanted by it all. However, we haven’t really obtained “wisdom”.

Hipps goes on to write that “unfortunately, [this] Age does little to encourage the development of wisdom. This requires time, experience, contemplation, patience, suffering, and even stillness to obtain.” And with the current fast-paced climate of our culture (and sadly, even some churches), things “never settle long enough to allow for the emergence of wisdom. We are left instead with ‘the conceit of wisdom rather than real wisdom.’”

I want this message to be an encouragement to the Church. It’s so easy to become critical and point fingers, but the reality is, we all need to slow down. I need to slow down. This means turning things off once in a while. Or choosing times to lead without all the bells & whistles. It’s in those times of silence when our souls are quieted, our creativity gets some breathing space, & wisdom is nurtured.  And I really REALLY desire this for all of us.

Well, there’s a few other dog-eared pages in this book that I might have to write about later. We’ll see. But for now, I highly recommend that you go and pick up a copy for yourself. Connect with others in your community that have read it. If you can’t find anyone, then buy your worship leader or pastor or volunteer a copy and initiate some conversations with them about it. It might just revolutionize the way you approach media. Just maybe.

Thanks Mark! You were right. :)