Tag Archives: worship

Science vs. Art

On Saturday (Dec. 5th) at 4:58pm Stephen Proctor a.k.a. @worshipvj dropped this tweet: attn media peeps: which would best describe yourself? a lot of science with a littler art – or – a lot of art with a little science? My initial response to Stephen was “honestly think i’m about half science half art rt now & lk it. i was science bf i was art, but gain a better balance everyday”

That question has been pestering me since Saturday. To be honest I’m still wrestling with it and haven’t completely sorted it out in my head yet. I’m wrestling to figure out if I am personally more art or more science. More importantly, however, I’m wrestling to figure out if it matters and if so WHY it matters.

My first step in my search was an attempt at defining “science” and “art.” According to Webster science is the state of knowing; knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding while art is the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects. My initial response was based off of the misunderstanding that art isn’t systematic. But I’m beginning to think it is. Isn’t that part of “conscious use of skill and creative imagination?”I think maybe art is the putting into practice of science (the knowing)

Okay, but what, if anything, does this have to do with worship media and why does it matter? I firmly believe that if you don’t have a philosophy of visual worship you are setting yourself up for failure. Perhaps no philosophy = pure science. A philosophy takes the science (the knowledge) and applies it consciously and practically to a practice, in this case, visual worship. Example: you may KNOW what meaning and significance of different colors. However, unless you consciously use them at the right time in the right environment that knowledge means very little. I would argue that without art you aren’t leading visual worship. You are simply projecting pretty images and maybe some words on a screen. That being said, I also would argue that art is impossible without science (the knowledge). Without science as a foundation art carries much less meaning and significance. Using the color example, if you don’t know the meaning and significance of colors you likely won’t use them at fitting times in worship.

Conclusion (as of now): a balance of both is necessary and it matters because both are needed for a practical philosophy which ultimately determines your WHY of visual worship which is the most important part.

Okay, so do you agree? Disagree? Where do you fall?

Comment Visual Worship

Brought to You by the Letter “Y”

Call it venting. Call it a rant. Call it “up on my soapbox” if you want. But, I have something I need to get off my chest, an observation I made last week at the Dirt Conference and realized is true for us most of the time.

We sit in the main sessions at conferences and listen to speakers who talk primarily about the WHY. They remind us to focus on the WHY and that in the end the WHY is what really matters. We nod our heads and utter verbal agreements to what they are saying.

Fast forward one hour, at most, to the labs or breakout sessions and it seems as though we have completely forgotten about the WHY. The questions that are asked oftentimes aren’t completely answered by the presenters. I think that’s because you cannot fully answer the WHAT until you understand the WHY. And the WHY is different for all of us. If you know who you are and WHY you do what you do the what naturally flows out of that. When I look around at churches or individuals who we would say “don’t get ‘it’” more often than not it’s because they have completely forgotten about or couldn’t ever define the WHY.

Everything that Jesus did while he was here on earth flowed from WHY he was here – redemption, love, and service. And most of his lessons focused on WHY. More often than not God gives us guiding principles, principles that focus on the WHY, not 3 step, 5 step, or 7 step solutions. Why then do we find a need to have one for everything we do in the church?

WHY did you put that image on the screen? WHY did you sing that song? WHY is your church using twitter? WHY that video? That sermon series? That event? That print piece? That font? WHY did you focus that light where you did at the intensity that you did? WHY?

Because bottom line, if we can’t answer WHY then the what will not be effective long term. Now I get that it’s easy to lose sight of the WHY. It happens to me too. I would just encourage us to challenge ourselves to always go back to it. We may just wake up one day to realize that working from the WHY has become a habit.

Do you stay focused on the WHY? What are some tips you can share for keeping that focus?


Comment Visual Worship

Aha!

I have been living in the world of visual worship for six years now. God has taught me a thing or two along the way. I’ve used a variety of tools, changed my “best practices” countless times, and my philosophy probably as many. But through all of that I had one question I couldn’t get a good answer for: why use simple colored backgrounds, backgrounds that are visually less saturated?

I mean, I have visited several churches and by far the majority of them use colors 90% of the time. Sure, they look neat and can be all flashy, but for me they do very little to enhance worship. Not only do churches use them but video companies have produced them in mass and continue to do so. I couldn’t help but think there was something magical abut these backgrounds that I was missing.

Well today, I had a brief conversation with Mr WorshipVJ himself, Stephen Proctor, and the lightbulb came on. His answer to that question made complete sense and made me think “aha, I get it!” In short, his answer was not only can we use colors to create certain moods, but perhaps more importantly we can use less visually saturated backgrounds to great an ebb an flow that is necessary in visual worship. You see we need highs and lows in order to have either. You can’t get to the mountaintop unless you start from the bottom. And the mountaintop isn’t nearly as sweet if you stay there all of the time. In visual worship terms: you use visual simplicity to create space where you prepare people for something more. But if it’s more all of the time it becomes too much. The opposite is also true however. If it’s all colors all of the time you are missing out on the essence and power of visual worship.

Seems so simple, doesn’t it? But then, I guess most “lightbulb moments” do. What was the last “lightbulb moment” you had?

P.S. – If you want to learn a thing or two yourself from Stephen, check him out atwww.worshipvj.com

1 Comment Visual Worship