The WHM Blog

We recently posed the following to question to our panel of experts:

You’re responsible for visual worship in your church’s services, what are three books that you HAVE to read?

These were their responses (with links to each book):

Camron Ware:

Flickering Pixels – Shane Hipps (link)

Pursuing Christ. Creating Art – Gay Molander (link)

High-Tech Worship? -  Quentin Schultze (link)

worshipVJ:

I think you should start by reading “Chasing Francis” by Ian Cron (link). This will re-alter the way you approach “church” and even being a Christian (perhaps)… I think you will “wake up” to a lot in that book and really resonate with it. at least i did. (pg 94 will rock your world, but don’t skip ahead!)

Once you’ve laid a bit of that foundation and are pointed in the right direction, then it’s time to hone in your craft & role in the worship gathering. So the 2nd book I would read is Mark Pierson’s “The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader” (link). This has really confirmed what I have already felt instead for a long time but had no way describing it. It has provided me with a new language for holistically shaping & designing a worship event like its a work of art.

Next, I would pick up “Flickering Pixels” by Shane Hipps (link). Talk about discovering the “man behind the curtain!” Especially when it comes to technology and how it’s been affecting us like the machines in the Matrix!

But I warn you, the rabbit hole is deep….& once you go in, there’s no turning back! But I promise you, as weird as the journey will seem, “Wonderland” is on the other side.

Luke McElroy:

“Pursuing Christ. Creating Art.” by Gary Molander (link):
This book has challenged me so much to be reminded that God is WAY more concerned about our hearts than our art.  For me, it’s been a reminder that if Christ is everything that I pursue, and my art flows out of the overflow of Love I have for my Creator, then my creations will reflect more of Him and impact more of His people. Simply put – a must read for anyone who is creating art in the church.

“Visoneering” by Andy Stanley (link):
This may seem odd to some that I put a “leadership” book on my list, but this book has helped form many of the foundational principles I have and speak about when it comes to Visual Worship. What it means to have a God-given vision for your life (or ministry in this context) and how to execute that vision? It takes the life of Nehemiah and how he pursued God in the midst of a 40 year trial. It helped give me perspective that my Visual Worship is not about me or my art, but instead about fulfilling God’s will, and that is to glorify Him in every way.

“Untitled” by Blaine Hogan (link):
Though I’m currently reading this I think it’s key for all Visual Worship Leaders. The thing I have taken away from this book already is this line: “no one cares about our ideas unless those ideas can execute the vision” which really helps show the teamwork aspect of the Sunday morning process.

I recently posed the following question to our panel of experts:

You’re thrust into a new congregation and asked to run the visual media ministry. How do you discern what will work and what won’t for that particular congregation?

This was Camron Ware‘s response.

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It all comes down to relationships.  Not only with the congregation, but also (and mainly) with the senior pastor and worship pastor.

Now, I’m assuming your leadership actually talks to each other about the service and about the direction/theme/message (you’d be surprised how many I talk to that don’t).  Once that is happening, then your role (as the visual worship leader) needs to be seen as an important role, and you need to be included in the worship service planning meetings. You should be meeting at least once a week solely about the direction of the service and message, but also spend time with your leadership outside the church, building trust and learning each others’ personality.

Trust is huge within a worship department. The leadership needs to trust you to make the right choices with media, and you need to trust them with the direction of the church. You should be able to look at a set list from the worship pastor and see the message notes from the pastor, and understand the overall message they are trying to communicate.  Then, you can find and select media to match that message.

Another way to discern what the church wants/needs is to simply ask your friends and family in the congregation!  Ask them from time to time about media you used that Sunday, and what that communicated to them.  After a while, you’ll be able to discern an overall style and theme for the media you use. You can’t please everyone all the time with your media – don’t try.  But if people tell you that certain media is a distraction, listen to them.  Be humble enough to not use certain media if people are distracted by it, even if it is your favorite motion loop of all time.

It also comes down to your heart as the visual worship leader.  If you’re praying and asking God what should be shown in your service, the Spirit will speak to you as you pour over your visuals and media.

So, listen, ask, pray, be in relationship.

I recently posed the following question to our panel of experts:

You’re thrust into a new congregation and asked to run the visual media ministry. How do you discern what will work and what won’t for that particular congregation?

This was worshipVJ‘s response.

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Experiment. And be a part of honest community.

First, I would ask the leadership what everyone is used to, and I would start from there. I wouldn’t go too “out there” with effects & moving imagery, as I would want the visual transition for the congregation to be as seamless as possible. You can’t lead anyone to a new place unless you meet them where they are already at.

I would also try to attend the band rehearsals (which should always happen, in my opinion) and allow my direct leader/authority to watch and approve what I’m VJ-ing, so that it isn’t too far off from what everyone is used to. For me, this is the worship leader. The worship leader knows what is best for your church more than anyone else. They are the ones with the creative vision, typically.

My goal would not be to simply replicate what has already been done…to make everything look familiar, but I would want to provide a fresh visual experience that feels familiar.. Example: if the congregation has been used to mostly nature stills, I wouldn’t do a bunch of nature motions, or any motions at all. I would stay “still” as much as possible. But I also wouldn’t use the same old still they have been recycling forever; I would use fresh ones. Then go from there.

As you progress, lean into the feel of the experience.

For me, when I VJ, it’s all about the music. If the music doesn’t move me, then it’s hard for me to put “feeling” into the visuals. But when I’m able to connect with the music, I am inspired to add a visual harmony, of sorts. So study the music, live with it, practice alongside the band, and fuse the two mediums together as much as possible.

Then…

Go to lunch with people. Hang out with them outside of church. Get out of the production booth. Turn off your computer. Break down any barriers of isolation and be one of the people, not just the man behind the curtain. You’re not the Wizard of Oz… and they need to experience you as a person, not the tech guy who runs the screens. Build authentic relationships, and through the course of conversations, get a read on what people think of the visual changes. Share with them your passion & vision for creativity, media, technology & visual worship. Ask them questions….you’ll be surprised at how much people notice things and want to dialogue about everything.

Not only will you earn trust in the congregation, but you’ll start to get a feel for what they respond to and how best you can serve them, and yes, even challenge them.

Don’t ever assume what the congregation thinks & feels. And don’t sit in board room meetings and theorize about what worked and what didn’t. Staff meetings have their place, but you won’t get a full, balanced picture of what reality truly is. Don’t communicate AT your congregation….communicate WITH them. And be true to yourself. God placed in you a gift… and He has you in this new situation for a reason. So lean into your God-designed ability to create the way only you can.

Two weeks ago, Camron Ware shared his thoughts on why a church should consider moving from PowerPoint to presentation software. Today, we dive into worshipVJ‘s journey from MS DOS  to worship in full motion.
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Years ago when I first got into media presentation for worship, I was a huge PowerPoint fan! I can hardly call what I did back then VJ-ing, nor did I even know what the term meant.

Few people can say that they UPGRADED to PowerPoint. You see, what my campus ministry used back in the 20th Century ran on the MS-DOS platform. That’s right… C:/

So when I was asked to take over, I made big plans and upgraded to PowerPoint. We could finally enjoy drop shadows, font selections and still backgrounds behind the lyrics! I would even animate some of the slides and transitions to add a little visual jazz to the experience! Yes… it’s true. #confession

In my senior year (2002), I was exposed to SundayPlus, ProPresenter & MediaShout…. and was introduced to the idea of playing VIDEO behind the lyrics! I was in heaven.

But I didn’t jump on board initially. Each program had its challenges and I was too lazy to overcome them, so I sunk back into the familiar and stuck with making my “slides” the old fashioned way. But after working at a worship conference and seeing “visual worship” led in a way I had never imagined, I buckled up, picked a software and disciplined myself to master it.

I became addicted to the drug of motion backgrounds, and the song library feature saved me hours of work! (PowerPoint isn’t exactly a song ‘library’). I left PowerPoint in the dust, and I never looked back.

Did PowerPoint serve me well in those early years? Absolutely. Those were my foundational years for understanding “visual worship.” And it’s probably good that I started simple and with stills rather than a powerful program loaded with motion.

But when I was ready and had a more developed vision for visual worship, it was time to move on.

When switching softwares, technical features are definitely important. But what’s more important is the person behind it all and having visions/dreams for the future. Pay attention to who that is (it might be you!) and invest in that person as much (if not more) than in any computer or software program.

I recently posed the following question to one of our experts, Camron Ware: 

Why should a church switch from PowerPoint/Keynote to Presentation Software (like ProPresenter, MediaShout, etc.)?

This was his reply:

There is really only one question to ask – are you being limited in your visual/media ministry by your presentation software?  To me, every church must ask and answer that question before thinking about moving beyond PowerPoint or Keynote.

For some, the answer is no!  I have met a few churches who just aren’t ready or don’t yet need the features that most presentation software provides, but that doesn’t mean they should ask IF they should change.  Once you’ve evaluated and tried all the presentation software made for churches, only then can you really see if it’s right for you.

Now, for most; the answer is yes! Churches tell me all the time “We have PowerPoint and want to do ______, but we can’t because the software doesn’t do that.”  I then show them my favorite presentation software and it’s such a joy to see their eyes light up when they see the benefits and they let out such a sigh of relief that I just solved a problem and frustration of theirs.  And more importantly, their ministry is now broadened.

If you feel like something as simple as presentation software is hindering how you run your visuals in your service, you owe it to your congregation to see if real church presentation software is a needed change!

Dale sits down with Camron Ware, one of our favorite church media experts, to talk about proper uses of backgrounds, visual silence and environmental projection. Check it out!

Some links from the video:

Camron Ware runs VisualWorshiper.com

We like Centerline’s Creation-themed Service Pack (background motions)

Knowing how best to use media in our services can be a little nerve-racking, right? You want to take advantage of all the great resources out there, but you don’t want your visuals to be a distraction. The excitement (and the pressure) of the holidays complicates this even further. I asked our panel of experts the following question:

What would you say to a church who was asking your advice on how to use media during their Christmas services?

Luke McElroy
When I think of the Christmas season there are a few images that come into my mind… images of snow, a christmas tree, baby Jesus, a manger, starry night, etc. I think media is most powerful when we have visuals that support or amplify the message of the song we are singing. That’s when the songs come to life!

What do I mean by “songs come to life”? Maybe this will help, lets take the song Silent Night for example: When I think of that song, I think of a motion like Star of David 1, where the blue color supports the emotion of the song and the twinkling stars connect us with the message. For a song like Angels we Have Heard On High, I would lean more toward angels or something angelic.

What songs are you doing this Christmas? How can you find visuals that amplify or connect to the message of that particular song? If we can achieve this, we create a lasting impression of these songs and are able to share the story of Christmas through art, media and color! You also may want to find collections that cover an array of imagery!

Camron Ware
I know it’s cliché to say it’s important to pause and remember that Christmas isn’t all about the hubbub and hype, but…I just did.

It’s especially important to remember this while designing your media/visuals for your Christmas service, because it’s so easy to be flashy and exciting ALL the time and forget the fact that Christ came in the most humble and quiet way. There are times to be visually loud and celebratory, but too often I see churches that ONLY do that for a Christmas service and I think, sometimes, we need to be more on the side of quiet and still with our media. (See some Christmas stills here).

A simple candle with text in a warm-colored, organic font is one my favorite “Christmas media looks” because it’s simple, tasteful, and doesn’t draw a lot of attention to itself.  Another favorite is just a black screen with NO words!  I mean come on…during your Christmas Eve candle-light service, who DOESN’T know the words to Silent Night?

Christmas is a time of preparation, expectation, and celebration so when in doubt this season…go still and quiet.

(On the other hand, if you’re doing Environmental Projection, having snow falling around your room is INCREDIBLE!  If you haven’t experienced that during a Christmas celebration, I’m telling you…your congregation will love it.)

worshipVJ
Christmas is one of those few times where you can experiment and introduce something new to your congregation. Typically referred to as “pushing the envelope.” If you’ve been dreaming about doing new things with your media or going the extra mile to incorporate some new creative element, now’s your chance!

Many churches are leaning towards “environmental projection” for their Christmas/Advent services. What better way to tell the visual story of Christ than to immerse the worshiper in imagery! Imagery such as the announcement from the angels, the stable, Bethlehem, a starry night sky, candles, etc…recreate the environment in which the story unfolds. Some imagery might be literal, others more metaphorical, and then there’s your abstract images that simply create atmosphere more than anything else. A powerful yet subtle harmony of all three can tell the Story in dynamic ways.

Another way to celebrate in visual ways is to take the nostalgia of the season and bring the outdoors inside. Projecting soft, slow falling snowflakes all around a sanctuary is one of my favorite things to do each year. In fact, I’ve just resorted to doing this all year long with others songs like “Revelation Song.” “Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder…”

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

I recently asked our panel of experts a question about motions and stills that I think many churches struggle with. (You can read Camron Ware’s post here).

The following is a response from Luke McElroy (of Playback Media).

When should my church use motions, when should we use stills, and when, if ever, should we practice visual silence?

I think the answer lies in a discussion to be had among the entire team (technical/creative team, worship leader, senior pastor, etc) to decide what the culture of your church is going to be like. One of the things I am really passionate about sharing with the Church is this… “Just because another church does it, doesn’t mean you have to or should.” Meaning: just because we see some churches (north point, fellowship, willow creek, whoever) using giant HD projection screens with a new custom moving background on every slide of lyrics doesn’t mean that is what is best for your church (or budget for that matter).

Each of us are in unique places for a unique reason… which is why every church has a unique ability to reach people that these churches I mentioned before don’t reach. There are a lot of people God wants to impact that don’t want to be at another church… they want to be at YOUR church. If anything… be more You, don’t try to replicate something that seems to have lots of people attending it. We want to make sure that the media we use in the Church is honoring what God has calling us to be in our own communities. For some, this means walk before you run… use still images for 6 months to a year before you even consider motions. For others, this means utilize all the power of moving loops, footage and animations.

Regardless, this MUST be a discussion. Visual worship is more than just a product or a great “addition to for my church.” It’s a journey. And a journey by oneself is pretty dark and lonely. Join in deep dialogue, discussion and debate…. trust me, you’ll be better for it in the long run and your team will be more focused on THE unified message God is calling you to carry to YOUR people.