After the first session of the pastor’s conference, I had an opportunity to talk with Dan Holst, worship pastor of the North Campus @ Bethlehem Baptist Church. Our discussion was initiated through a conversation I had the night before, dealing with imagery and worship and Bethlehem’s approach to worship using imagery. On Saturday night, prior to the conference, I attended Bethlehem church and noticed a very distinct characteristic: a minimal amount of imagery and use of technology.
In almost every service that I plan as a worship leader, I consider ways in which to use visual backgrounds, stage elements, video sermon illustrations, props, and other elements that help to focus the congregation on worshiping God. Yet in Bethlehem’s worship services, with the same intention of encouraging the congregation to worship as I have, they choose to not use such things as videos, still or motion backgrounds, stage props, even choose to not use sermon notes. And when I thought this might just be a one time event, the conference had the same approach: no sermon notes on the screen during the sessions, black backgrounds during the music portion of worship, and no staging or lighting related the theme. Completely intrigued by the strong contrast in approaches with the use of imagery and technology, I was encouraged to talk with Dan.
Dan mentioned several things to me in our conversation. First, he made reference to a sermon by Pastor John Piper entitled, “The Gravity of Gladness on Sunday Morning.” I have not had a chance to listen to this sermon, but Dan mentioned that this sermon really lays out a lot of the principles and values that the worship ministry uses in their approach to worship.
Secondly, Dan mentioned this strong value on the Word, and more importantly, how they hold language to be the ultimate imagery. I remember him saying something about how one of the things we do have is the actual words of God, and that the words of God should be the most important imagery we use. This I thought was a profound line of thinking, and one I do not disagree with. But beyond the value of God’s word, where I would choose to use a image or stage prop to help communicate the meaning of the Word, Bethlehem would choose to strip those images back and allow the Word to remain by itself.
Take for example a song lryic on the projection screen. A song we sang at the conference was called “The Power of the Cross.” The choirs sings: “This the power of the cross. Christ became sin for us.” Based on the approach of Bethlehem, these lyrics would be projected on the screen without the use of a background, contrasting my approach, where I probably would find some sort of cross image that would communicate Christ taking on our sin. See the difference?
I have to say that of all the thoughts I carried away from the conference this year, this topic has got to me the most. Here’s a list of questions that I’d like to pursue answering in the coming year, maybe some of you can comment and add to the conversation…
1) At what point does an image become distracting?
2) At what point are we manipulating an emotion or thought with the artwork we use?
3) To what level do use the tools from our culture to help deliver the message of God’s word?
4) What questions am I not asking with respects to imagery and worship?
Here’s a list of resources I’ve picked up to help me think through these things:
- Art and the Bible, by Francis Schaeffer
- The Worshiping Artist, by Rory Noland
- “The Gravity of Gladness on Sunday Morning” sermon, by Pastor John Piper
- Unceasing Worship: Biblical Pespective on Worship and the Arts, by Harold Best
I wasn’t entirely sure how God would meet me at this year’s conference. A lot of times, when I’ve gone to a conference, I’ve had a pretty good feeling about the type of material I’d receive and what topics would be discussed. For whatever reason, I didn’t pay too much attention to the sesssion topics, and for that reason, I think I was able to come into each session with a bit of anticipation as to what I’d hear, almost a sense of surprise with each session.
Even more so, I wasn’t sure how this conference would affect me. I’ve spent a lot of time in recently months really trying to develop a strategy for ministry at Moraine, and so a lot of my attention has been in the area of worship. Sometimes I thought I might be going to the wrong conference, instead attending a conference on strategies for worship ministries. How cool it was though to find God’s voice in the midst of a conference that in the specifics, had nothing to do with worship, and dealt more with the pastoral position within the church and the home. How cool it was to hear so much good insight on the pastoral position, and then to take that into various areas of the worship ministry I’m seeking to develop!
I can say for sure that I was taught some really good stuff this past week. There was so much good material I feel I’ll probably have to go back and read over my notes several times, just to make sure I become more than hearer of the Word, but rather a doer of the Word.
The general impressions I left with dealt with different areas of my life. I believe that God really sured up my calling in ministry through Crawford Loritts. I believe I walked away with some great insight on how to become a better father and husband. I believe I walked away with some great memories of worshiping the Lord and remembering how He spoke to me in the context of worship. I believe that I made some new friends in ministry.
Beyond that, each session challenged me and encouraged me in various ways. I’ll save those thoughts for other blogs. I would go back to this conference in heart beat, and if years from now, they hold this same conference, then I’d love the chance to bring Caleb and any other children I have along with me.
I remember telling my brother-in-law Mike that I was really appreciative for helping me with my registration to this conference. I told him that I felt this conference really blessed me, and I felt so encouraged by it that I wasn’t entirely sure how many ways I may have been affected. He’s one great brother-in-law!
For example, typically I choose backgrounds to support the song lyrics on the screen during corporate worship. JP’s church intentionally left them out. Where I would have considered using a stage prop and sermon illustration to help in communicating the theme of the message, JP’s church intentionally left them out. And for the joy in attempting this style of communication, where I normally would choose an image to support my blog, this time I’ve intentionally left it out.
I’ve been told to watch a sermon by JP entitled “The Gravity of Gladness” and that this sermon would help to shed some light on the intentionality behind using not having an image driven worship experience. I’ll certainly set out to watch it.
I guess my point here is that even with the same value system, that of creating an environment for people to worship God, the path taken and the tools used are completely different than mine, or atleast so I think at this point! 
Would I go back? Absolutely!
