Page 3 of 3If you use a laptop, you can control the clip. You will even have your own monitor so that you won't have to turn to the screen. Each clip you cue up should have either a word or a concrete image that designates the start and stop time. If you are likely to be captivated by your own clip, you can use the counter. No matter which method you choose, you will need to practice.
Any New Tool Requires Practice
It's amazing how many preachers believe that visual aids will take care of themselves. Visual support is not something slapped onto a verbal message—it needs to be integrated. Moving from one medium of communication to another can feel abrupt if the transition isn't handled smoothly. Think of the Academy Awards and how effortlessly that show transitions from music to acceptance speeches to film clips. Achieving that kind of result means practicing. It also requires a team.
Your church probably has a worship team supported by a sound technician. Everyone needs to practice. Each instrument and voice needs a sound check to make sure that all of the levels blend harmoniously. Even the pastor needs a microphone check so that when the music ends and the speaking begins everything flows seamlessly.
If you are going to be successful in music, your church requires a worship team. If you are going to be successful in integrating video, your church will require a video team. Everyone involved in the incorporation of the clips needs to work together. The people who dim the lights, control the volume, start and stop the clip all need to be on the same page. The goal is to make the transition from one medium to another smoothly. The team should know what the speaker wants and when, so that, with a little work, the only way congregations will notice the medium shift is by the increased comprehension and motivation they experience when they attend to a sermon.
The Final Reel
We shouldn't shy away from incorporating "native culture" into our sermons. Modern Americans are far removed from the farm—agricultural metaphors are not enough—but they are adept consumers of entertainment. To reach them we need to speak their language, but we must speak it fluently. By careful use of film clips as sermon illustrations, and by adhering to some practical guidelines, we can make our way on the Mars Hills of our culture and introduce the Savior in a new light.
—Used by permission. © 200-2004 MovieMinistry.com, All Rights Reserved.
References
Boorstin, Daniel. The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1992.
Larsen, David. "The Decline of the Text: When the Text Recedes, Preaching Is Placed in Peril." Preaching, March-April, 2003 online.
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. New York, NY: Viking Penguin, 1986.
St. John of Damascus. On the Divine Images. trans. David Anderson. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.
Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Faith. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999.
Williams, Donald. "C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Tradition of Christian Poetics." Audiocassette. Hillsdale College, 1995.
