Howdy, y'all...great meeting today. I'm really enjoying getting to know all of you; this is a great opportunity.
So I jotted down a quick "mission" or "vision" statement" (or whatever you want to call it), in response to Michelle and others' comments.
"The WAG seeks to...
...direct, advise, and empower the CHBC worship leadership (in particular, Nat) as to how to conduct the Sunday morning services in a way that worships God and experiences and expresses His love in the most genuine, relevant, and authentic way we can."
Whaddya think?
Observations on this morning's service:
The 23rd psalm remix sure was wonderful and special.
The sermon was powerful, I thought -- to the point, hard-hitting, and relevant. Regarding the video: I laughed heartily, as I do with most of the videos we show. I used to love making videos like that one for Campus Crusade when I was at UNC, so I particularly appreciate the humor and cleverness of the production. I thought that Mark also did a good job of quickly connecting it back to his main point, so I didn't feel distracted by the humor for too long.
My questions are these: How much do videos like that really contribute to the message? What's the purpose, and is it effective in achieving it? How much do we gain from such an effort? Is it worth the time and effort put into it? Even though this was done effectively, are there any negative side effects, such as the ever-present danger of turning the worship service into a performance or production? Do people like me just need to loosen up?
These questions are not rhetorical -- I really do not know the answer to them and haven't formed a clear opinion.
Thanks! Walker
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2 comments:
Walk-man --
I just picked myself up off the ground after seeing that you (a) successfully logged on, and (b) successfully posted something! Nicely done.
One quick response to your questions about the contribution of video (or other media) to the worship experience. I think that using an icon, reference, illustration, etc. from popular culture, it helps to make church a connection to culture rather than isolated from it. Some have called that "cultural exegesis". Also, it helps to engage people for the 'crux' of the truth-message, which I agree was ably tied-in and presented by Mark. I do however wish that instead of people saying to me, "You were so funny in that video!", they'd say, "That was a great use of a cultural icon to convey the truths of being part of the family of God and the body of Christ!"....or something like that, anyway. But perhaps that is inherent in their compliment, whether they realize it or not.
Everybody-
What got my attention in the video was Nat being the Brando Godfather, very funny and endearing to Nat. What made it appropriate in church was him pointing to the gospel, to Christ. That is our calling, no matter what the emotional context. Without knowing the current speak for using contemporary means to communicate the salvation story, I was happy to be surprised by the video. Now that Nat has 'splained the thought behind it, I would say that, yes, the appreciation of the medium was inherent in the compliments. Fortunately, the majority of folks who worship don't care or have time to be up on the sociological and intellectual worship stuff. They are fine, by God's grace, with different occupations that are supportive in the community.
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