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4 Guidelines for Designing Imagery for Worship
Chad Brooks, one of our worship designers at the seminary, does excellent work developing theologically thoughtful slides for worship. Here is some of his Advent work for this year. Feel free to download and use.
How carefully are you thinking about the imagery being put on the screen in your worship services? What I like about Chad's work is that so much is imbedded in the layering.
A few guidelines to consider as you think about the visual aspects of designing worship.
1. Do the images (stills or moving) help us to better listen to the Word of God? It's interesting to consider how hearing words helps us see images. The big question for worship design is do our images help us hear words better? Once in a conversation with Marva Dawn she remarked, "Remember, Hebrew religion is aural. Baalism is primarily visual." It's something to consider.
2. How are we using images? Are they being used literalistically (new word?) (i.e. we use slides of creation and cosmos as we sing God of Wonders) Are images being used to do the work of imagination? Are images being used as a source of stimulation? Are they being used to cultivate attention or contemplation? With every image you use ask yourself, Why. Think about it.
3. Is there blank space our pauses in our use of imagery? In a conversation with Jeremy Begbie last week on campus he noted the importance of what he called "the blank screen."
4. Do our images uncritically adopt the media practices of our culture or do they provide an alternative approach? While our worship needs to have connection with culture, it should also provide a thoughtful, implicit and most often subtle critique.
5. How are you thinking about this aspect of worship design? What guidelines would you add to the list?
Who's doing some good thinking on this aspect of worship?
Labels: worship and media, worship design
posted by John David Walt | at 11/26/2009 11:50:00 PM | 0 comments
Monday, October 26, 2009
What happens in worship I've been thinking a lot in recent months about what happens in Christian worship. As I said in my last post, these days it mostly comes down to singing and speaking. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The key is what happens within that singing and speaking. I think there are four essential elements-- maybe five that need to be part of every worship service.
1. Assembling of God's people as the physical Body of Christ into the mystical union of Father-Son and Holy Spirit.
2. Attention to the Word of God + Infusion of the Spirit of God
3. Intentioning of the Will (heart + mind)
4. Releasing of God's people into the World with Blessing and Commission.
It's not so important what you call these movements or how they happen as long as you design and lead worship with them in view. Make sense? Looking at your worship from this past Sunday or series of gatherings, how would you describe the ordering principle or governing dynamics?
Labels: order of worship, worship design
posted by John David Walt | at 10/26/2009 05:27:00 AM | 1 comments
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Worship Design Thought: Are we choosing novelty or innovation
In worship, familiarity can breed contempt, but predictability creates a sense of trust. There's a fine line.
Familiarity = Announcements + 30 minutes of singing + 40 minutes of preaching + 10 more minutes of singing.
The common mistake: engaging in novelty to break familiarity. Think about the last time you experienced "novelty" in worship. (i.e. motorcycles, parachutes, silly songs with Larry, etc.) I heard one worship leader say it this way, "We never want people to know what's coming; keeps them on their toes."
On the other hand, predictability is one of the gifts of Tradition.
Tradition = Biblical call to worship, corporate praying, the reading of God's Word, corporate-personal postures for expression, structured silence, holy embrace of one another, Prophetic Preaching, Creedal Affirmation, Preistly blessing, Apostolic sending, etc.
The problem: we allow Tradition to slip into the rut of familiarity, leading us to novel solutions. It doesn't have to be this way. The answer isn't novelty, it's innovation. We must learn to innovate and improvise on the Tradition in ways true to God and true to people.
It's another reason worship designers and leaders must grow in their capacities to think theologically about their calling and craft.
Guitar in worship = Innovation
Guitar hero controller in worship = Novelty
Summing up: Moving from Familiarity to Predictability in worship requires choosing careful innovation over attention grabbing novelty.
Labels: worship design
posted by John David Walt | at 7/23/2009 09:00:00 AM | 11 comments
Friday, July 17, 2009
The 3 most important words for worship. . . .
They declare our most central creed. They form our most basic call to worship.They define God. They define us. They speak of the past and they tell of the future.
They orient us with primacy, supremacy and ultimacy. These 3 words define the first thing and they define the last thing.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.
The 3 words?
You tell me. Take a shot at it. What are they?
Now, what would your worship gathering look like this weekend if they became explicitly central, implicitly core, and foundationally clear? How would you do it?
Go for it.
Labels: worship design
posted by John David Walt | at 7/17/2009 09:25:00 AM | 10 comments
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Designing Worship: Asking the best first question
In one of our recent conversations, Zion Dreamer posed some sharp practical questions about worship design. She asks,
When you meet with your design team - what is your opening question or statement?
From my observation of worship services, most worship leaders, pastors and designers approach worship with this first order question: How can we create an environment and/or shape an experience where people will encounter the presence of God?
It's not a bad question; nor is it a wrong question. I just don't think it is the right first question. What question do I ask first? Thanks for asking. Here it is:
How can we remember the Live Story of Father, Son and Holy Spirit such that we become reoriented inside of it, encounter God and engage in his mission in the World?
Can you see how these questions might lead to very different outcomes? Your thoughts?
Labels: worship design
posted by John David Walt | at 7/08/2009 04:58:00 PM | 7 comments
Today...