Update
Since this post was written more than 3 years ago, I thought an update was appropriate.
These days, due to the coronavirus or Covid-19 is around, everywhere, I am using even more electronics devices now, than I did 3 years ago!
Today, I am using a Logitech 922C webcam to do my weekly Worship Services online. I am also using broadcasting software to make my online broadcasts more appealing and professional looking. I won’t go into details here, however, you can checkout this post https://aulcstudios.com/2020/05/look-how-far-we-have-come/ to get the techno details!
Here is the original post! Enjoy!
This was a topic of an article I read recently, asking the question if it is okay for a pastor to use and iPad or other electronic devices during the Worship Service. After reading the article, it appeared to me that this might have been one pastor’s point of view and not that of a survey of several pastors.
I couldn’t help but take notice that the writer of this article was fairly against the use of electronic devices and that we should all just use the written Word. That’s all well and good, and for a normal brick and mortar church, this is pretty much how it goes, I think.
However, consider this…Athens Universal Life Church, A Church Online! (notice the Online bit), has multiple Ministries, most of which are online, but some that are in the Community too. I have a Nursing Home Ministry as one of my primary Ministries. I conduct Worship Services every Sunday afternoon to residents of a Nursing Home in my local community. I have several join me every week and along with these services, I video the sermons to add to my online archive later that day. At the same time, I use Facebook Live to broadcast my sermons, live, to my Facebook Community. Already, here are a couple of electronic devices, my cell phone for Facebook Live and my HD Camcorder for the sermon videos.
Now, along with our Worship Services, since we don’t have a pianist, I use an small PA Amplifier and my Tablet to play the MP3’s for our music. I also play a different music video, still using my Tablet and Amplifier before the service begins, and then I have my sermon notes on my Tablet, along with all of the scripture references, taken from BibleGateway.com included in my sermon notes. I sometimes will play some audio that goes along with my sermons and include it in the final video that day, so the online version has it much clearer for my later viewers.
Since it is normally only me, doing the work of several people, such as running the sound, playing the videos, recording the sermons, playing the music…you get the idea, it is simply easier to use electronic devices to do this.
My congregation is made up of people from their late thirties to well over 90 years old. The article I read, pretty much stated that with the older folks especially, using electronic devices would tend to put them off. Not so, with my group!
I have been at this same Nursing Home for almost 10 years now. They have seen me “evolve” my use of electronic devices and they even get a benefit too! I recently started using the wireless mic, as some have told me that they have trouble hearing me. There I go again, yet another electronic device!
I guess this post is more of a rant than anything. I just felt I needed to let you know about this. Besides, without the use of electronic devices, I couldn’t have much of an online ministry!
Ok, rant over! Go out this week and Be a Blessing! The more you are a Blessing, the more you will be Blessed!
Rev. Dr. Rob White
Senior Pastor
