I just got back last night from being part of the FutureGen conference. I did a couple of workshops there, and also did an interview with Zach Lind in a main session and the next day Zach and I did a workshop together about church and culture. Zach is a drummer and I really appreciate his perspective on things. He is a good reader and thinks a lot about emerging church issues and culture and the church in general. We both share a passion about breaking out of Christian sub-culture as well as seeing "evangelism" not be what it normally is thought of. We've gotten to hang out a few times and I imagine one day he shall be a prolific author of some sort in addition to being in a rock band.
Zach, myself, two of Zach's friends, Doug Pagitt, Bobby and Kyle and a few others went out to dinner one night and had this really fantastic conversation with Shane Hipps who was there. Shane is the author of the book "The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church".
It was really a mind blowing conversation, as Shane was discussing how the way we meet in church does communicate and even change the message. I think after the past blog entries about how I felt that pews communicate a message, Shane was affirming this but saying it intelligently backed by a lot of wisdom.
We talked about the need to be constantly asking why we do what we and what theology it communicates. What we teach through what we do - and how what we do and our usage of technology can change how what we teach about things even subtly. Shane was talking about how the medium is the message.
Shane is not against technology at all, but he encourages us to think through what we are doing when we make change. One example he gave of a positive use of technology is using video screens for projecting lyrics of worship music. He shared how when we use hymnals, it promotes an individualistic sense of community where people pretty much stare down in isolation looking at the hymnal. But with video screens, it allows people to all be looking at something in unison, seeing other people and a broader sense of being in a group, than an individual. There are a lot of negative examples of what technology can communicate, but this was one positive thing.
I bought his book at the conference, and am just reading it now, but it really is fascinating. I felt more affirmed about thinking of how a room set up does communicate about values. But the funny thing was the next night we were at a church building that was one the most amazing places I have been in. The worship meeting had a monstrous stage with a gigantic, humongous, momma video screen behind the whole stage. It seriously was the size of Coldplay's back video wall on their last tour. When the band was playing they had the most flashy videos, all kinds of images moving fast on the whole entire background of the already monstrous sized stage.
They also had two other monster video screens up that showed the speaker or the band members while they played in Goliath-like proportions. Doug Pagitt used his cell phone and snapped this photo of me as a joke while I was talking up there - so you can see the size of the jumbo side screens (which were dinky in comparison the huge screen that was behind the entire stage).
But if you at the photo closer, and look just to the right of the jumbo screen, you also can see another incredible thing which is why I posted this photo. They had the drums on a riser 14 feet above the stage. So the drummer was so incredibly high. Kind of like Tommy Lee from Motley Crue way up there. I was amazed seeing a drummer so high up in the air in a worship band at a church gathering. I couldn't stop looking at that drum riser the whole night.
They also had what seemed like laser lights that were moving all around the entire room as the band played worship songs. Even those fancy lights like the ones that Coldplay was using on their last tour which shot around the entire sanctuary and had lights moving in patterns and swirls, kind of like fireworks.
Please understand, that I love the usage of videos and imagery in worship gatherings. We do at Vintage Faith Church as we do project art images on the side walls and do have video screens. But the large size of this place and the incredibly fast pace of the videos were actually making me dizzy sitting there. I am a drummer, so I kept wanting to watch the drummer - but looking at him up in the air made me stare at the jumbo screen behind him that was moving so fast I kept getting woozy and dizzy. I couldn't look at him too long and kept having to pull away so I didn't get light headed to where I would fall off my chair to the floor.
After all the talk we had the night before, and then being at this church (here's another photo Doug took with his cell phone of the worship band where you can see the size of the huge wall screen that filled the entire wall behind the band and had images moving and flashing on it the whole time) - it was really, really fascinating trying to think through what this room set up, the lighting, the 14 foot high drummer, jumbo video screen wall behind the entire stage plus two jumbo side screens showing images of those on the stage communicated. How does this change the message of what the church is about? How does this change the message when we teach? Does it really matter? What does videos like this flashing so much, a 14 foot high drummer, lights moving at a fast pace all around the room showing patterns communicate? Does it change the message?
According to Shane it does - and if you do think about these things, I would encourage you to get his book. I will say that the people of the church were extremely friendly and nice. Couldn't have been nicer and more helpful and courteous. I did feel a little uncomfortable however, with the greeters, as they stood there in a row and were hi-fiving everyone as you walked past them. If you know me, I am not quite a hi-five let out a "whoo hoo" person - so it kind of terrified me seeing this row of greeters that you had to go past. I had to actually walk way around them to avoid the slapping of the hands as a greeting. (I am not saying it is wrong, just not for everyone).
Tomorrow night, we will be holding a prayer meeting with First Presbyterian Church over at the First Presbyterian building. We will be in the sanctuary to start off the meeting and sitting in the pews. So I will go from 3,000 seat room to a 330 seat room - from large jumbo wall screens to no screens and sitting in pews. But we are praying. And praying you don't need pews. Don't need jumbo video walls. We will pray. I look forward to just praying. I am still a little dizzy. So much to think about. But at least we can think. Read Shane's book. It is an important topic. The room I will be in tommorow night communicates something too. Different messages, different methods of communicating, different seating arrangements, different ways of preaching, different ways of singing music, different styles, different volumes.... I am dizzy again thinking about all this.
