On the Sharefaithblog, we talk a lot about media. What we don’t talk a lot about is focusing on God. It’s obvious that we’re supposed to keep our focus on God, and not let media be a distraction. But as obvious as this truth is, there are some dangers that media can introduce. One of those dangers is being so distracted by the cool, tech, hip, current, flashy, gadget-driven worship experience that we miss out on the whole point—worshipping God. How do you keep the focus on God, and use worship media to worship.
Guiding Questions
As you think about your worship service, ask some questions, thinking about it from a churchgoer’s perspective. Try to determine what is most significant in the churchgoer’s mind.
- What do I remember most about the service?
- What was the most important thing that happened in the worship?
- What was the theme of the day, or the subject of the sermon?
- Where did I want to look during the service (if not at the speaker)?
- What was it about the worship that made me most excited?
Media Tips
Here are five points of advice that may help you as you seek to keep the focus where it ought to be—on God.
- Be consistent. Inconsistency is a major distraction. If your church has not been accustomed to using media very often, it will be a distraction if one Sunday, you suddenly introduce a video splash screen, welcome video, worship background video, on-screen lyrics, and a PowerPoint sermon display interspersed with video clips. Chances are, people will be so taken aback by the sudden deluge of media, that it will distract them. On the other hand, if media is usually present in your service, but suddenly disappears one Sunday, the people will wonder why. Distraction ensues.
- Less is more. Scaling back just a bit on media may actually be a good idea. Sometimes, the preponderance of media in a service may create a tune-out, turn-off, and not-get-involved approach to worship. This is not what you are trying to achieve during worship. Too much media—lots of sounds, lights, video, activity, and motion—might tend toward distraction.
- Intentional usage. Don’t use media just to be using it. Use media only when it can be integrated with your goals and worship theme. Many church cultures and audiences simply don’t have the place for media like a megachurch. Be intentional, purposeful, and goal-driven in using media.
- Be careful. If you do use media, do it right. Media gone wrong is embarrassing, and event worse, it is distracting. If the song lyrics disappear in the middle of the song, or if a “welcome” video appears during the middle of the sermon, it will create a major distraction.
- Listen to the people. What are your people saying about the media? This will give you clues as to how distracting or non-distracting the media was.
- “Hey, great video pastor! Loved it!”
- “Come visit our church. The worship leader uses some sweet visuals.”
- “Don’t you think that that PowerPoint was a little zany?”
The point of media is to enhance worship, not distract from it. Comments like these could indicate that the outstanding feature of the worship was the media. In this case, media has perhaps created a distraction and you ought to evaluate why.
People-pleasing or God-pleasing?
Proverbs tells us that fearing man brings a snare (Proverbs 29:25). The purpose of worship is not to please man. The purpose of worship is to bring glory to God. These suggestions may help to refine your use of media, but the most important feature of your worship and media is that you strive to bring glory to God.
