Face to Face Gospel

A decent article, with some already expected comments and thoughts.  A number of points:

1.       His comments about televangelists, which nowadays can be remedied with a dvr. (for review of the text.  This actually places this a little ahead of a sermon in a church

2.       His comment about tech not replacing, but transforming comm..  It is a rare change which is truly revolutionary, most are evolutionary and therefore easier to digest if we think of transforming.

3.       Situational use of differing comm. Styles.  I hate to say it, but DUH!!!

4.       Doesn’t address that the usual human response to change is to not embrace it.

Ethics and the Use of Sermon Resources

I don’t think that he really addressed the plagiarism issue well.  He walked around it, but…

1.       Plagiarism in writing results in academic censure and potential dismissal

2.       Unattributed speech is ok (legally)

3.       His background is as a supply preacher, but he strongly advocates for you to synthesize the Scripture reading and the congregation,

4.       Doesn’t indicate how he did this as a supply preacher.  Would be interesting to have him address this one specifically

5.       Reading someone else’s – may be ok if one attributes it.  But isn’t that what many of us do if we excerpt a story to tell from a book, article, magazine, etc.  Don’t we make a qualified decision to not add all the attribution to the sermon, if nothing else than to keep it brief and to the point?

PowerRangers (Point) Preaching – Yes or No

Articles could be considered throw-aways, ok but nothing earth-shattering in them, but…

1.        NO:

a.       Watch out for the tech gremlins – power, wrong cueing, etc.

b.      Poor presentation techniques by preacher/instructor

c.       Sermons and Seminarians are “forced into a mold”  Just think about our preaching classes and some of our classes in general.

2.       YES:

a.       Similar to Silver Screen & 95 theses– images carry more info

b.      Right brain (touchy-feely) vs left brain (reason)

c.       Good (and common sense comments) about use of images, few words, etc.

d.      I don’t necessarily agree on the “never reference your picture.”

e.      Sermon and what it proclaims is key, not the Powerpoint

Witte – Video as Ethos

1.       Recent churches still had services which revolve around one or two people (LCA worship in 70’s,)

2.       I finally got why most sermons use “homily” as interchangeable, exposition of a passage

3.       Augustine –importance of delivery, delighting and moving hearer – charismatic preachers of today???