In light of my recap of my review of the SPEAK Conference, here's an interesting article on the use of technology alongside of sermons in the form of an interview with three very different pastors. This is but a brief outtake of the interview. Be sure to read the entire thing if it's of interest ...

The Tech Effect
Technology is changing the way we preach. Is this a good thing?

How has technology impacted the way you prepare to preach? What technologies do you use?

Palmieri: I'm part of a team of eight or nine pastors that prepare together. We gather for an awesome Bible study every Monday morning. Out of that comes the message that we all preach. For the study and preparation we depend heavily on the Internet.

Stevens: I am surgically attached to my iPod. I have 16 days and seven hours of music on it. So I'm always listening to music when I write. Some people can't do that, but I grew up with media all around me. I listen while I write. It helps me think.

Hipps: My preaching is most impacted by the technology of books. (Laughter.)

Has using visual technology ever backfired on you?

Stevens: I was speaking about worry and Jesus' words about the flowers of the field and how God cares for even the birds. During my message video clips of flowers and fields were appearing on the giant screen behind me, and there was a clip of a bird that we'd taken from stock video. It was a blackbird that looked like it was peering into your soul. It was really creeping people out. So every five minutes when the bird clip appeared, in the middle of teaching, I'd hear this reaction of fear and laughter. It was an Edgar Allan Poe moment. That creepy bird totally distracted people from the message.

How important is it to use 21st-century technology when communicating the gospel in the 21st century?

Hipps: It's important only if we understand their innate bias, because media are not neutral tools. The media are messages in themselves, and every single medium you use carries a different message embedded in it.

I occasionally use visual media and technology as a crutch to help keep what I'm saying interesting. But when an 80-year-old woman who lived through the Great Depression stood up in my congregation and told a story, she didn't use any technology, and everyone was on the edge of their seats listening to her suffering and what she lived through.

As the medium, she was infinitely more powerful than any technology I could bring.

Palmieri: I agree, to a point. Trying to more media-savvy than the world around us--that is a battle we will lose. And if I'm just trying to be "relevant," I'll probably miss the mark every time.

But it is our responsibility to be resourceful and creative. If some technology is effective for communication, like a movie clip, great--use it. But if there's a story from a person within the community, a testimony, use that instead.

We use imagery. We use technology, but only to the extent that it enhances the message. If used too often, it can become more of a distraction.