Photo by Rachel Coyne on Unsplash
Church production, we all do it, but why do we do it? And why do we do it the way we do it? Let me start off by saying that this article is not intended to provide answers. Rather it's intended to cause us to take a moment, even if a brief one, to consider what we do, why we do it, and how we do it.
Let me start by asking this question; In the face of an ever-increasing production capability, are we being authentic in how we serve our congregations and present God’s message?
Are we using tracks to fill out the music...to appear more capable than we are or to be more competitive with the worship ministries of other organizations?
A few weeks ago, in a pre-service devotional time the group I was serving with examined the passages in scripture that talk of the woman who anointed Jesus with very expensive oil while He was in Bethany (Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, John 12:1). We were examining this passage as inspiration one and a model for serving with excellence. In the description, this woman brought the best that she had to serve Jesus, taking no notice to those around them. As we were discussing this topic, I was struck by not only the excellence in what she did but the authenticity behind it. This was personal. This was immediate. These were her resources not someone else’s. And it was between only them. It was obvious that this act was reflective of how she was elevating Jesus and humbling herself. What an amazing demonstration of worship for all the world and all of time to see.
I can’t help but ask the same question of myself and all of us who work in church production. In an era of pre-produced backing tracks, highly produced videos, incredible lighting effects, content that is curated and available for purchase, and a continuous monitoring of production ‘trends’, what does it mean to be authentic in church production?
I find that to be a hard question to answer. In part, I think it’s because we have become accustomed to how production capability has influenced how we do ministry. But if I am honest, I also think its because this a question that doesn’t get the consideration it deserves.
“Do we really need <fill in the blank> in order to worship God?”.
Looking back at the story of the anointing of Jesus there is one thing absolutely stands out. That is this act was strictly between the woman and Jesus whom she was worshiping. It was a vertical engagement. She lowered herself and exalted him. Jesus Himself acknowledged this when others around them criticized her actions (for not using those resources for the poor.) He defended her and observed that ‘she has done this beautiful thing to me’ [emphasis mine]. In doing so He highlighted and enforced the priorities under which she acted. Simply put, she put the first thing first.
And that leaves us back to our original question; In the face of increasing production capabilities, how do we retain our authenticity? While I will not claim to be able to answer this for you or your organization, I will throw out a few thoughts for consideration.
First, amongst everything else, we must make sure that we have integrity in all that we do. Specifically, we need to faithfully represent ourselves as to who we are and who we intend to be (with respect to ministry and our worship) and not simply represent ourselves as a shadow of what others are doing or what the latest trend is. Integrity must be both vertical and horizontal. That is, we must have integrity towards God as well as those around us. Let me offer an example to consider, one that might sting a bit. Why do churches use backing tracks as part of their worship? Is it appropriate? That topic seems like good fodder for consideration. Are we using tracks to fill out the music that we have already put effort into knowing and mastering, to elevate its excellence for our God, and to give Him the best worship that we can? Or do we use tracks to appear to either Him or our congregation to be more capable than we are or to be more competitive with the worship ministries of other organizations? And surely, we aren’t using them because it’s the easy button, are we?
Is our production work a reflection of our attitudes, our approaches to worship, and our witness?
My current opinion is that authenticity in production starts with understanding the missional intention of the church and putting it into focus through the lenses of our leadership’s vision. This is loosely akin to working towards a mission objective through the tactical plans laid out by those above us. Our production must be aligned with leadership to fulfill a Biblical mission and do so with integrity. That is our first and only priority. It will give context and reasoning for everything we do and provide boundaries for what is authentic excellence in our service and what might be serving other purposes.
As an aside, with respect to boundaries, it can be informative to ask ourselves what things are out of bounds for our services (from a production perspective) and then ask ourselves why they are out of bounds. I find that answering those types of questions can help us articulate what we feel is authentic to our calling and what is not.
Also, along these lines, we should be prepared to answer similar questions posed to us from outside the production team. Questions like “Do we really need <fill in the blank> in order to worship God?”. We have all experienced it. Sometimes it gets asked about how loud we run worship, or the lighting effects we use. And we all know that the hazer gets its fair share of scrutiny. But honestly, as much as we can cringe when those questions get asked, I think it’s fair for someone, especially those from the congregation, to ask them. We should be prepared for it and be able to answer it with grace. Our answers should represent an authentic effort to directly engage God in worship as individuals and as a corporate body, under the vision of our leadership. And honestly, if we don’t have those answers maybe that cringing feeling is appropriate.
Lastly, and at a personal level, let’s make sure that what we do outside of our production lives is congruent with what we do inside our production lives. Is our production work a reflection of our attitudes, our approaches to worship, and our witness? Ultimately, authenticity in production requires it to start with us.
This is not an easy topic, nor one that I think is quickly settled. It is one, however, that should be at the forefront of our minds as we support our organizations. Give it some thought.
