As an INTJ, I usually find myself measuring an issue by its practical ability to accomplish a goal and its efficiency in doing so, not its abstract potential or popularity. Now of course, defining the goal is not necessarily an easy task; therefore, I often advocate something that other people might deem inefficient or backward-looking, but that is because many people don't think about all consequences. People can often be bamboozled by what seems good in some respects but causes major difficulties in others. And frequently people become engrossed in something because it is popular or fresh, regardless of whether it is a real and complete improvement. So, while I have little patience for those who insist on maintaining a system that does not work for the sake of tradition*, you can surely see that I have no tolerance for change for change's sake. Just because something is new and exciting makes it no better than being old and familiar. The important thing is will it work.
Case in point, this weekend Darling Wife and I attended a Presbyterian church. It was a new and interesting experience for both of us. The church was an old one downtown with an established congregation and a historic building complete with vaulted ceilings, pews, and a fantastic organ. In the rack on the back of each pew, there were "pew Bibles" and handsome hymnals. But these were not used during the service. Instead, a projector screen was pulled down in front of their lovely stained glass window of Jesus knocking at the door, and the lyics to the songs for the service were displayed on it using PowerPoint.
This was not the first time we had witnessed this practice. In fact, it is a common sight these days. Frankly, I do not understand it. I looked over the hymnals; they were not old, worn, or out of date. At some time in the fairly recent past, the church no doubt spent thousands of dollars on them. But now it apparently feels a pressing need to come up to the times and embrace new technology. So, it undoubtedly spent thousands more on a laptop, projector, screen, and PowerPoint program, and they made an announcement during the service that they were looking to hire someone to create the slides for each service in the future.
Why, I ask you? Why make this change? Is there some reason that I am overlooking that makes the projections better or more efficient than the hymnals. Sure, it saves time because people don't have to shuffle through the book during the service to find "Hymn #450", but surely this is a minor improvement that does not justify the effort and expense. Do the PowerPoint slides somehow bring one closer to God? I can't imagine how. (Truth be told, I had not brought my glasses, so I couldn't read the $!&% slide. So, I was not feeling particularly godly at the moment.)
Now, I am not a Luddite. I am not against technology, per se. Indeed, I think that PowerPoint is a wonderful tool, especially when one already has the material one wants to display in a digital format or when one will need to create the material using a digital format. It is often the easiest method, and provides the opportunity for some sophisticated visual effects. But that does not mean that I believe it should be used indiscriminately in every case. In this case, the church already had the material in print form; they didn't have the skills to successfully utilize the digital form; and the digital devices do not adequately integrate into the fabric of their early 20th-century building and decor.
Consequently, I can only conclude that the church, and many others, felt compelled to adopt this method because they feel pressured to seem relevant and contemporary to today's society. And I guess that's a good enough reason.... maybe. Unless, that is, the effort causes them to compromise other, important goals, like caring for the needy or keeping their focus on spiritual, rather than a physical, treasure. Or unless the desire to seem relevant supercedes the need to be relevant, which I find is more and more often the case.
*There are some traditions that I like and enjoy, but my reasons extend beyond "because it's tradition."
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2 comments:
Ouch! powerpoint in church???
You can tell I haven't been in a church in a while 'cause the situation you describe seems rather silly to me. I do remember eons ago when I did attend, that sometimes an overhead projector and screen were brought out for lyrics, but that was usually because they were lyrics to contemporary songs not yet included in the hymnal.
I like what you say about technology for the sake of technology. I'm a bit of a technophile myself, but I still want any new technology to make my life better.
Having just sat through student speeches today, I was reminded about the difference between useful technology and useless technology.
One student speech was about how to use one of the features of Photoshop. He brought a laptop and ran the program while explaining it.
Another student speech was about the benefits of strength training. He used a powerpoint presentation consisting of bullets and a series of pictures of bodybuilders.
The first one needed the technology to make sense of the speech. The second didn't need the technology, and we ended class ten minutes late - the amount of time it took him to get the powerpoint running.
My fault - I didn't exlicitly say not to use powerpoint. Must remember to do so for their next assignment...
Exactly. People just assume it must be better. And often the hassle it entails makes it far worse, as in the case of your second student.
And I have also seen churches use an overhead or even print up the songs in a program, which every church seems to produce even if it doesn't provide any important information about the service, if the song is not in the hymnal. But in this case, all of the songs were classics. It even looked like the slides were mostly pdfs of the music or the hymnal page because they were plain white with the notes and musical bars, really poorly done aesthetically.
You said it. Silly.
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