re: “What Would You Miss?”

I wrote this as a comment to Camron Ware ’s post called “What Would You Miss?”

And I know I’m young. And I need wisdom. And I have a lot to learn.

These are just some of my thoughts and feelings.

——————————————

i don’t mean to boast here. i boast only in the Cross and what He’s done in me and through me. and He’s allowed me to travel to hundreds of churches across this world and to see some pretty amazing things. and I can honestly tell you that from my perspective, it would be a very healthy thing for all churches to once in a while practice turning everything off. yes, even lyrics on the screen. We have developed an unhealthy dependence on technology, and now we act like we have to have it to ‘enhance our worship’. i’m not saying that it doesn’t enhance worship, i know that it can when USED PROPERLY and TASTEFULLY. But so many times we don’t approach technology with that perspective. I either see churches use it half-heartedly and without excellence and the end result is horrible, cheesy and distracting in my opinion. on the flip side, i see churches go the other extreme and place way too much attention on the creative and “innovation” and it comes across as a big show, in my honest opinion.

i have been guilty of both, by the way.

so i think it would be really healthy for the leadership, volunteers & congregation to go through the tension and awkwardness of not using technology for a month or two. I promise you it will be weird and chaotic in the beginning. but like all things new and different, you will strangely get used to it.

What about the lyrics and being able to follow? Is the point of worship to be able to follow along with the words to every song? what if you just let it wash over you? what if you entered into dialogue with God during the music instead of singing every single lyric? Sticking with familiar songs will help in this tension.

What about sound? Wouldn’t it be beautiful if there was an acoustic worship service, and if you were in a large room, songs started from the front rows (where they could hear the worship leader’s voice on stage) and then the anthem just grew louder & louder!

What about the volunteer? There are many more ways to serve each sunday than hitting the spacebar, running lights, or pushing faders. It would be good for volunteers to simply engage with their congregation in worship…and enter into conversation and dialogue with others in the community that Sunday. I have a sneaking suspicion that sometimes we let our “gifts” define us…and pigeon-hole us…and we find our identity in what we do instead of finding our identity in Christ and in the Church Family He’s placed us in.

I promise you this TENSION will sharpen you, cause you to reevaluate your current surroundings and possibly even redefine the way you look at worship. You will find God in this tension in a new and beautifully messed up way. And that tension will enhance your worship way more than a motion background ever could.

and this is coming from a VJ by the way…this is my fulltime job & passion.

I will leave you with this. Look at Matt Redman’s church Soul Survivor. Mike Pilavachi saw that “worship” was getting out of hand…and it was being defined by “singing the songs”. So he pulled the plug. and the church went a season without singing ANYTHING during WORSHIP. The result was a stronger Church and a shifting in what true worship was supposed to be.

and then Redman wrote “the Heart of Worship” coming out of this season of silence. A song that could very well be one of the most powerful & convicting songs of our time.

what a testimony.

Remember…God isn’t found in the fire, the quake or the wind. He is found in the still small whisper of a voice. So go for it…embrace the visual silence.