Thursday, December 6, 2007

Say No To Powerpoint...

(Before you read any futher, please know that I typically do not post negatively like I'm about to, nor do I like to use other churches (at least not giving you the name of the church, etc.) as examples of how not to do things. But, I came across this and could not resist the urge to use it to illustrate a point. I know the pastor of the church that produced this video, so I don't feel quite so bad.)

This

is a great example of why we stopped using PPT a while back at NHC.

Few things do more to further the world's perception of church as a bunch of boring people stuck 10 years behind the times more than a cheesy PPT slideshow with bad Christian music. This video is something you may have seen in our church even a few years ago, but not any more.

If your goal is to propel your church people further back in time and to never reach any unchurched people, please, by all means, utilize clip art, bright colors, custom animation and slide transitions. But, if you're actually wanting to communicate to everyone in a relevant way, just take some time to look at tv commercials, internet pop-ups, newspaper ads, etc. and compare to what you're using in church.

Most times, less is more and simple is effective.

Nate

PS. I'll try to make a similar video of our pre-gathering announcement loop. BTW, Forefront Church and Willow Creek had the best pre-service announcement loops I've seen in a church.

5 comments:

Andy Lawrenson said...

I'm diggin the clip art picture of baby Jesus in the manger right between the head of the donkey and the cow.

Now what mom would actually lay her child in a food dish within reach of an animal?

I'm thinking he was in the manger and the animals were no where near where they good grab some grub. They may have been in the stable but I bet the manger was out of reach.

What was wrong with that video? ;)

higgie08 said...

A church is actually using that?! Seriously?

Hard to believe there was a time when that was actually cutting edge. ;)

I like Tobymac, though. :)

CFHusband said...

be nice, now...my point isn't to bash anyone...it's to encourage us to be a little more relevant.

I'm a servant of Christ too said...

After reading through a number of your blog points, I am quite taken aback with how in the name of pursuing "relevance" some churches have become so materialistic and have begun to unwittingly worship the idol of latest technology. The bashing of churches who are not as "contemporary" or as "technologically endowed" as others has now become the new "racism" in the church. Please re-examine your heart and stop criticising the work of the Holy Spirit when it looks different than what you are comfortable with or with your personal preferences.

CFHusband said...

I suppose you missed or ignore my disclaimer at the top of the post.

It's not about "looking different" or about my "personal preference"...it's flat out poor stewardship to do something poorly. The purpose of this post is to encourage churches to step back a moment and consider that everything we do can have an eternal effect, even the simple things like PPT.

I'm sorry that you think I'm attacking...admittedly, this blog is not for everyone.