The Death of Preaching

It's a pretty bold statement to say that video venues will eventually mean the death of preaching... but I think I can make the case. 

In his new book, Flickering Pixels (which I encourage you to check out!), Shane Hipps makes this point:

"Every medium, when pushed to an extreme, will reverse on itself, revealing unintended consequences. For example, the car was invented to increase the speed of our transportation, but having too many cars on the highway at once results in traffic jams or even injury or death.
The internet was designed to make information more easily accessible, thereby reducing ignorance. But too much information or the wrong kind of information reverses into overwhelming the seeker, leading to greater confusion than clarity. It breeds misunderstanding rather than wisdom...
In the same way, surveillance cameras, when there are too many that see too far, reverse into an invasion of privacy."

In other words, what was originally meant to make us go fast now slows us down, what was meant to make us smart now increases our ignorance (well, never our ignorance... just other peoples', right?) and what was meant to make us feel safe now makes us feel exposed. 

This is the rule: Technology, taken too far, creates the opposite of what it was intended to create. 

Still doubt it? Ask yourself- Email was meant to keep you in touch and ease communication, right? But when you are trying to process 100 emails a day, you don't feel in touch, you feel crushed. You're not communicating- you are wading through spam, forwards, fyi's... Your emails get shorter and shorter, more and more terse, and mis-communication happens more often than not. 

Reversal.  

So, what about technology in preaching? 

First came architectural improvements to increase the range of a speaker's voice. Then microphones to throw the voice even further. Then radio, television, tape and CD ministries, podcasts, vodcasts... and the seed of the video venue, the "overflow room."  All with the goal of taking the gift of preaching and extending its reach and impact. 

So far, so good, right?

But now, we have all this technology. We're not only recording the sermon, we're video taping it and we have discovered we can send that video, not just to the next room, but to a building across the campus, across town, across the state, around the world...

Now, the preaching gift of one person has the ability not simply to reach the back row, but the next town, state, continent. And we're not just talking about Spurgeon publishing his sermons or Schuller putting his on TV or Driscoll putting his on iTunes... 

NOW we're talking about not just influencing local preachers by making the "best" communicators' sermons available... we're talking about replacing those local teaching elders. 

Talk about pushing something to an extreme. 

The technology that once enhanced the preaching of others, influenced and enriched it? It's making it superfluous. Start up churches and smaller churches that used to have a team of three or four elders (or in our case, seven) who would be called on to teach on a regular basis now have a video screen and a "campus pastor" that gets to preach at most once a month. 

The technology reverses on itself. What once extended and enhanced the gift of preaching now effectively begins to strangle it, as fewer and fewer actually get the chance to ever do it. 

If we're not more thoughtful about this, soon, every city and town will have the Driscoll franchise... maybe even two or three. And the Andy Stanley, Ed Young Jr franchise as well. Is Joel Osteen too far behind? Hybels, Warren, Groeschel... the market is going to get crowded. 

Sure, smaller churches will still exist, but in fewer and fewer numbers as dying churches are replaced not by vibrant church plants full of people forced to build a community from the ground up and so learn all the lessons along the way, but by video venue franchises- prepackaged church-in-a-box. And I'm telling you- there will be fewer and fewer men and women (most certainly fewer women) who ever learn to preach, who ever get the experience of working with others to discern what God is saying to their local body through Spirit and Word and prayerfully struggle through how they can creatively communicate that as well over the course of weeks, months and years of life together. 

We're talking about the death of preaching in evangelicalism by all but a small handful of Celebrity Communicators who have little knowledge about those they teach from such far distances.

Sound like a bleak vision of the future?  Yes, it does. But we don't have to go there...

If the Church will just learn to pay its taxes. 

Stay tuned to see what I mean by that...

to be cont'd.

(And since I know it will come up in the comments, let me just address it now: No, I don't think preaching is the end-all, be-all of ministry. I don't think it's even the most important piece of ministry. But I do think it's vital and necessary for the continued health of the Church.) 

Comments

[B.D.]

One thing I've been thinking about in the whole discussion on video venues that I haven't heard expounded upon, and which I thinks augments your worries about the death of preaching is that video venues rip preaching from it's pastoral post.

I'm trying to figure out how to write about this for my blog currently, but it seems like more and more and more we are moving away from preaching being a function of pastoral care. Video venues are the next step of moving preaching from application in individuals lives to being more about one's personality...

[Tyler (Man of Depravity)]

can't say i disagree with much here. just think about the implications of postmodernism...the values of relationships and narrative. i think the video venue church takes away from that. the biggest problem with mega churches is turning pastors into super heroes. it never, ever ends well. video venues make that worse. those are some other negatives i see.

[Joel]

Bob, I'm sure I can already guess your response, but what are your thoughts on Internet campuses as part of a church community? And do you think there are any healthy ways a church can use video venues? Shane's books have really got me wrestling internally with all this technology stuff, and now you write these recent posts on video venues. Insightful stuff.

[Aaron Smith]

Bob, I totally agree that the gift of preaching risks being pruned off here.

Last year I ran across a video (I think it was from TED) that was talking about this huge crush of information we find our selves in because of technology. The point was that we have a filter problem, not an information problem (ie the same amount of information has always been available, but the imposed filters of location, news papers, media journalism, time, etc... are now removed).

This strikes a similar chord in me.

In allot of ways, those gifted and called to a pastoral roll in a local congregation have the mandate and responsibility to be that sort of filter and valve for the community's they serve. Having someone far away preach to a congregation doesn't help them sort out the theological information and make sense of it in there own life/lives.

When the local pastor/elder is removed from the local community, where is the body going to look to see discipleship in action? The cult of (theological) personality? Competing church chains/empires?

I also foresee that if church takes this shape, we will have more and more people driven to "discover" preaching as their spiritual gift... when in actuality they will be chasing the fame displayed to them on the screen behind the pulpit. That is no model of maturity to be chasing.

[matt]

You might be shooting blanks in real life, but not on this blog lately. Great food for thought Bob. Thanks for pushing the issue.

[Tom]

Bob, in the case of video venues and Wal-Mart preachers, do you think we're able to discern, or should even bother trying to discern, where a passion for the spread of the gospel ends and ego, conceit, or self-importance begins? Are the two inextricably linked in the North American context? Does egoistic self-importance somehow drive the gospel forward in the U.S.? I know that last question sounds crazy, almost heretical, but could there be some truth to it?

[David M.]

A couple of months ago I was speaking with a pastor friend who was in town visiting some old friends. We were talking about the future of church and what things might look like with our ever changing culture and the advancement of technology. His perspective was that eventually church would be where people would be able to sit comfortably in their living rooms, invite over some other Christians, and turn on a video of their favorite pastor preaching. WHAT??! Man I hope not!

I told him I was a bit uncomfortable with the notion that preaching and Christianity, in that kind of setting, would just add to the already problematic consumeristic and individualistic culture we live in. For some, the seeker-friendly, attractional church model is exactly what people have needed to bring them back into the church after many years of disillusionment. But I think churches need to be careful of becoming “relevant” to a fault. Did Christ intend his church to become just another product to consume? Ultimately I believe in a community of Christ followers who seek to live holy and sacrificial lives for the Kingdom’s cause. One that strives to advance that Kingdom every day as a body. A missional community that as you said tries to “foster an orientation within our community not inward, but outward. Not to ourselves but to others.”

Thanks for posting this.

[bobhyatt]

Thanks man-
And for the record, the DR says I'm still shooting live ammo for up to six weeks! Whoo hoo!

[Russ]

I think I would agree in part to your tagline if it read “video venues will eventually mean the death of poor preaching”. I am a layperson that has attended North Coast Church since 1995. I came to the Lord in 1990 at a small S. Baptist church. I heard the message of evangelism and was moved by it. My zeal and heart to serve led my church to eventually call me as a Deacon.

Despite bringing many family members and friends to the church, not one was "won" for Christ during that time that I am aware of. After attending a “Purpose Driven Church” conference that my Pastor took me to, I realized that my friends, co-workers and family were being put off by poor “production value” of the message and worship and the real message of redemption was being needlessly obscured. I found North Coast Church shortly after that and became “just another member” of the congregation. This was a very painful move for me.

I can look back now and see many friends, co-workers and even family members who have entered Gods kingdom at North Coast Church. I desperately wanted to impact my community for Christ, and although my role has been significantly less visible, the rewards are deep and eternal. Although Larry’s skill as a very gifted teacher are a significant part of this success, the heavy lifting of the Church is done through thousands of laypeople, elders, and staff members. If Larry moved to Hawaii and produced sermons remotely, many people would not even realize it and our church would not skip a beat in my opinion.

When our first venue was rolled out (because we ran out of space!), Larry was humbled that it had a higher attendance than the simultaneous live service. People simply wanted to free up space for visitors in the live venue, that’s all…people sacrificing their “seat” for the sake of others. Sounds pretty Christ-like to me. Now it is obvious to me that seeing Larry "live" isn't the key; rather, it's a message well crafted and delivered that reveals the Heart of God to ears that are willing to hear that is the key. Bob and Larry, I hope you don't mind my intruding on this thread.

[Dan]

But after the video venue takes over and the American church as 5 or 6 preachers left (that was a bit dramatic, I know), will that trend not reverse on itself? I have heard the church accused, and rightly so much of the time, of being a step or two behind the culture in relevancy, and I wonder if that is not what is happening here. In the heyday of consumerism the video venue would have been a big hit, but consumerism is fading, and a postmodern culture will soon be the norm. Places like Evergreen appeal to this culture, which is evidenced by its growth. The group of people that appreciate being electronically tapped in to the big name preacher back at the main campus will grow smaller as they figure out what their kids already know: that the need for community and intamcy is much stronger than the need for celebrity or even convenience.

[Benji Zimmerman]

Great post. I am on staff at a large multi-site church. Doesn't mean I am for the idea or against it. I can see both sides of the argument.

My question has always been what happens (because I believe it will sooner or later) when Driscoll and Groeschel plant video venues in the same town and compete with each other? And neither of them know the audience? When will multi-site campus launches stop? Is there an end to it? Because eventually Driscoll will have 50 campuses in 50 different places and we will have to call him Pope Driscoll. Gosh that is scary.

[Justin Carroll]

It makes me sick that this is being questioned. Is this way of doing things not an attempt to further the gospel? This is not for us to judge; no sin has been committed here. This whole conversation is but empty wind as far as the Bible is concerned. Our time would be better spent encouraging more pastors and communities to start doing this or any other means of furthering the gospel or simply doing it ourselves.

All this conversation for the sake of what? Another blog post to persuade people into conversation? This is not helpful to anything except our curiosities - this is nothing more than drama, it edifies no one.

The bottom line as far as the Bible is concerned is that we are all sharing the gospel in an effort to further the kingdom - not through sinful means but whatever means serve the people you're reaching out to. If people are showing up, learning, growing and enjoying in God then why speak anything against it? How dare we speak anything against this?

There's a giant garbage can at the gates of heaven for all of our masters of divinity's, man-made doctrine and how-to-do-church manuals.

I'm not a pastor, I don't go to a video-church, I don't live in Seattle, I don't have a personal stake in this debate other than whatever is being done to further the gospel (sinful means aside) is to be defended for the sake of Christ! Biblically we have no business questioning the means of another pastor, again aside from sinful means. The pastor(s) in authority there will have to answer for their leadership, not you.

Again, it's far better for us to focus on our own communities than being caught up in this garbage.

[bobhyatt]

Oh... so right. Thank you.

I can see my concern that the Church in America have elders/shepherds/pastors who are biblically qualified ("able to teach") and the Church exercise the priesthood of believers and be taught by more than a handful of celebrity voices is just man-made garbage.

Shame on me for wanting to see the Church do what it can to ensure, and refrain from doing that which prevents pastors from being prepared in season and out of season to preach the Word.

So sorry to want to avoid the cult of personality in the Church! After all, you are of Apollos, I am of Paul, and it's all good, right?

You are right, Justin. I repent. There's a trash can in heaven for all our books and classes on how to preach effectively. Looks like we won't be needing THOSE!

Please begin the campaign to vote on the best Celebrity Preacher so we can all get down to the Kingdom business of listening to the BEST and ignoring the rest!

[B.D.]

Your argument holds up perfectly if preaching is not connected to congregational life whatsoever. But if preaching is a pastoral function(as I believe it is) it misses its point.

It misses the same point that trying to walk someone through a script to evangelize them misses. It dehumanizes the process, makes it about just the material and not the connection to the individuals.

My gut and my experience with video venues must differ greatly from yours Justin. I see video venues drawing one type of person: not people who don't already believe... It's the person who isn't happy about their current church and wants to have a better show week to week. It's this type of consumer mentality that is killing the church.

[nick]

There's an underlying assumption here I'm not so sure about: that the majority of people will choose a video venue over a real person if the talking head on the video is better than the local guys in their vicinity. Mark Driscol's a celebrity, sure, but with whom? Young reformed men? Nobody I know who doesn't go to church has ever heard of or given a crap about Mark, and aren't likely to, even if they were somehow exposed to him. Not that he's a bad teacher, they just don't care about church all that much. Who's this going to affect? Primarily consumer-oriented already-church-attendees.

Still, I agree that it'll cause problems. The normalizing of video venues will continue the trend started with the celebrity pastor: the reduction in the mentoring and installment of pastor/teachers. Just as importantly, it will further alienate the apostle/prophet/evangelists among us, increasing the divide that Frost and Hirsch bemoan in The Shaping of Things to Come. This will move us even further away from churches led by a mix of APEPT giftings, and thus further away from anything missional.

[brent]

"NOW we're talking about not just influencing local preachers by making the "best" communicators' sermons available... we're talking about replacing those local teaching elders."

I bet the pundits were saying the same thing when a guy named Paul started writing letters to church's far and wide. As well, I'm sure that there are those that think that lasting influence of great communicators like Augustine, Calvin, and Billy Graham is a negative. But the fact is that in every generation there are those that communicate the gospel to great masses and have a lasting influence for generations to come. In this case we are simply changing the delivery medium. None of this has an affect on the need for local eldership, local community, local everything. Whether there is a lasting success through the video medium will be interesting to see. All that to say, fearing that there will be less opportunity to preach because there are those that preach to a large audience is to fear that 100% of people will be Christians and you are so bad at preaching that they all go somewhere else. In closing, this generation, it's teachers, and its trappings will fade quickly - Jesus Christ reigns forever, as long as that message is communicated it's all good.

[bobhyatt]

"None of this has an affect on the need for local eldership, local community, local everything."

How about local preaching?

You DID read the post, right?

[Aaron Loy]

Bob, as someone with a heart for pastors and for church planting, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your words. I think you are right on the money. If the video venue movement keeps pace, I fear that many of our next generation's leaders will never have the opportunity to grow and develop in their ability to communicate, lead and dream new dreams for the church of the future. Worse case scenario, I fear we could potentially lose almost an entire generation of leaders!

[Tim Clark]

Bob, I agree with what you are saying. Several problems with multi-city video venues I see are

1. It make the pastor into more of a TV evangelist, not a true "shepherd pastor" who knows his flock.
2. The sermon cannot be tailored specifically to the needs of the flock that the pastor is supposed to know like a family
3. If the celebrity pastor happens to be attacked by Satan, and fails significantly in a moral area (such as by committing adultery) the effect is widespread devastation, rather than local church discipline and repentance.
4. It will puff up the pride of the celebrity pastors. Big egos are the opposite of the humility that Christ commands.
5. Huge church chains will suck many people out of local church congregations in which people actually know one another and act as a family. This will result in further social alienation and isolation
6. Vast Church empires do not seem to be New Testament model. Technology is no substitute for social cohesion. A healthy church body KNOWS everybody else. A video venue is like going to a movie with complete strangers.
7. To sum up, the more I think about it, the worse this looks to me. Maybe I'll think up some good elements of a video venue to counter-balance myself here.

[Gabe Taviano]

I'm starting something here in Ohio to confront this issue head-on. Using technology as an actual ministry itself, hopefully bringing the unchurched in and connecting them with the normal / face-to-face church itself. It's called Digital Disciples. It's a free monthly gathering where individuals lead multiple tech sessions (serving the community with training) and including a Bible study and time of prayer following the tech session time.

You can find more info at http://www.digitaldisciples.net - we're just now sharing the word and looking to duplicate the ministry in other parts of the world. Thanks for the great post!!! You have a new subscriber here!

[Jon]

B.D.,

Yeah, but maybe preaching shouldn't be such a big function of pastoral care.

[janelle taviano]

I truly believe that technology is intended to reach more....at a rate of speed, before the Lords return. I believe technology is truly for evangelism. But when I read this I also said a huge, " amen "...for I believe we have gotten to be a church of "presentation" through technology instead of the church of HIS PRESENCE...we want to see, to be tapped into, to be entertained - " of JESUS " ...instead of the anticipation of the "PRESENCE OF JESUS" in our actual presence. We want to be appeased in church by technology. If we have church produced by the church production staff....where does the freedom of the direction of the Holy Spirit come in? HE lives within US...as humans....there is a reason JESUS WENT to the multitudes, instead of through the airwaves... YOU truly affirmed something that has been stirred in me for a long time. Presence of JESUS CHRIST....today, tomorrow....

[jason]

Bob I totally agree with your point. I have been thinking about this for some time myself and your post encouraged me to put my thoughts to words. I would love feedback, http://tinyurl.com/dmurck

[John M. Yeats]

Technology is not all bad so long as we are not slaves to it. As soon as the technology begins to drive the bus, we are in trouble. All one has to do is visit the websites of Lifechurch.tv, creativepastors.com, AndyStanley.com - just to name a few sites where your church can "merge" or "unite" or "join" and have someone else preach for you via video. Of course, the church you "unite" with gets the deed to your property...

You can read more about this and other issues in "Franchising McChurch: Feeding our obsession with easy Christianity" that was released earlier this week.

J.M.

[Daniel Berman]

You raise some very interesting points.

I have begun a project, to communicate what the Global Christian Community is thinking, praying, and doing on a real-time basis, called the Issachar Network. (http://issacharnetwork.org)

I am distinctly curious to hear your take on how we might harness communication technology for good, rather than be overwhelmed by it.