What Technology Can Do for Your Church ©2001
By Dwight A. Moody, Dean of the Chapel
Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY
One church consultant has developed a list of ten rules for successful churches. Number eight says simply, "Connect with technology: Churches trying to reach post-moderns will use technology in worship."
This has the appearance of extraordinary insight, but in reality, technology and religion go back a long way.
Think about the Bible as a printed book. It was a technological innovation called the printing press that introduced the handheld Bible to the world. It was a novel idea in 1453 when Man of the Millennium Gutenberg started rolling them off his press. Within decades it profoundly reshaped the Christian movement, especially the worship.
The same can be said for music, with the emergence of the piano and the organ; and in our day, the guitar. Consider how technological advances changed church architecture, heating and cooling, and most importantly, plumbing?
Still not convinced? How dependent have we become on sound systems? Preachers of the last century spoke to crowds large and small without the help of amplification.
These days we have sound tracks, video screens, and computers; and we have not yet begun to imagine all of the ways these new technologies can enhance worship.
Every pew needs a smart card swipe device mounted next to the bookrack and visitor card holder (to mention some out-of-date sanctuary implements). With this device, persons can access information related to their giving record, the financial condition of the church, or special offerings of the day. Money could be transferred from the bank of the parishioner to the selected church account. Offering plates are old economy.
Music, of course, needs to be upgraded to Dolby surround sound, with those special effects capabilities to enhance sermonic references to earthquakes, armies, and brimstone. It will give a fresh, powerful meaning to the question, "Didn`t you feel the Spirit, sister?"
The video screen is becoming as common as the pulpit; and for good reason: it has unlimited potential for taking every facet of worship to the next level.
First, it replaces that artifact of the old technology, the printed order of worship. Few of us today remember the centuries of worship prior to the advent of the Sunday bulletin.
Second, the screen offers fundraising potential. "This baptism brought to you by Cornerstone Cleaners, where all your clothing come out spotless." Or: "This communion service underwritten by Baker`s Family Restaurant. Use your church identification card in the swipe machine on the pew in front of you to make your reservations for today`s Sunday dinner."
Third, can I mention the digitally enhanced preacher? If we use a camera to film the service and project it on the screen, doesn`t this offer the average to ugly minister the long awaited opportunity for transformation into one of the beautiful people that attract attention and influence people?
Come to think of it why should everyone be watching the same screen and hearing the same sermon? That is, like, so yesterday! Take a cue from the 28-screen theaters: "Today`s sermon choices: Temptation and Forgiveness, now showing on screen one; Overcoming Grief on screen two; and a sneak preview on screen three: How to Find and Marry the Person God has Chosen for You." You get the picture.
Speaking of the sermon, why not handheld viewer response gadgets? A feedback monitor on the pulpit (or in a technologically enhanced Bible) can warn the preacher (or whomever is operating the screen) when an idea has connected, when an illustration fails, and when people are ready to go home. Assessing and interpreting this information in process would be the work of the associate pastor, having been trained in a Microsoft-connected seminary.
I haven`t fully explored the potential of holograms. And what about the creative format of a popular TV game show? Anybody for "Who wants to a Christian?" complete with lifelines and prizes? All for Jesus, of course (Jewish and Muslim versions coming next year).
Yes, technology is a wonderful thing and, like always, will bring us closer to God and to one another. By the way, I am thinking of a new career as a worship consultant (as soon as I figure out what it means to be "postmodern"). Do I have a future or what?
