Time to trade in the pulpit?
Wasn’t intending to blog today after releasing a cat amongst the digital pigeons yesterday. However, having come across an alarming statistic in the Guardian today, I felt compelled to do so. Apparently there are 35 hours of video material uploaded onto YouTube every minute. By my reckoning that amounts to a staggering 3024000 minutes per day – which would take over 2000 days to watch? Even if that statistic is open to question and the maths could be reworked – it is an astonishing figure. In this world of high tech swiftly delivered video material, should the preacher just quietly pack up her or his pulpit and shuffle unobtrusively off into the wings?
You will not be surprised that my answer to that is a resounding ‘no’! There are numerous reasons, some of which will wait for another post, but here are two of them:
- Vast numbers of those millions of minutes are people orientated – people doing funny, or clever, or courageous things. As long as people are fascinated by people the Bible-based preacher will never run out of raw material.
- Much as we may love our videos – we are still hard-wired to engage face to face on the things that really matter. Reflecting on his experience of preaching at a student carol service, Krish Kandiah commented on the importance of eye-balling the congregation; ‘I changed the talk between the afternoon and the evening because of visual feedback i got as people listened to the talk. (something video preaching won’t ever give you ;o) ).
I’m a great believer in integrating visual media – whether moving or still, into preaching. However, they are no substitute for captivating speech. We need to hear the most important messages face to face – and that is something which no amount of video-goggling (or was that googling) will ever replace.
I agree and eye-balling means little or no notes, which some find very difficult, but in my opinion should be the way of preaching.
ps you need to change “day” to “minute”.
With practice I think you can get good eye contact even with notes. Not only that, but as a (frequently) narrative preacher – the choice of very specific words for very specific effect can be important to me. Also..O first leant to preach in French where I HAD to write everything down!
PS: thanks for the tip on the typo
Biblical challenge can be conveyed digitally (and I am all for that) and viewers can be moved emotionally and spiritually. But it is my conviction that “live” preaching, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, carries a force that recording does not always pick up.
In addition to the “natural” feedback a speaker can get from seeing the group he/she is talking to, there is something in the atmosphere when God comes down in a service or meeting.
When the Holy Spirit is moving on hearts, and giving the preacher his/her words, there is a sense of being shut in with God. He is working with individuals in a deep and personal way. I have occasionally felt this atmosphere – the immediacy of God – with a recording, though very rarely.
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