Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Preaching and Technology

One of the things mentioned in Al Mohler's take on contemporary preaching [posted recently here] was his concern that the preacher is becoming too enamored with technology. I agree. Based on my experience this summer of being in several different churches for worship, I would say that preachers have become "PowerPoint crazy." It is almost overwhelming when almost everything the preacher says is projected on the screen. People are not as tuned into the preacher when that happens and are more worried about what is going up next. Besides, when too much is projected, you feel like you're in a classroom lecture. I don't want to feel like I'm in school when I'm at church. Also, when too much of the sermon is on PowerPoint, the preacher may feel enslaved to the presentation and not go "off script" should the Spirit demand it.

Not every point and subpoint needs to be projected on the screen. You don't need a lot of animation. I have reminded my preaching class that "less is more." Use technology but don't become a slave to it. Remember the best preaching is still done verbally!

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