Garrison on Multimedia and Church

Here’s Garrison Keillor’s response to a question about multimedia in church. Found via Darryl Dash

Dear Garrison,
As a Methodist to a Lutheran, I have a pressing question. I work in church communications and one of the things I’m helping folks do is the incorporation of multimedia and digital storytelling into their worship services. Mass communication has changed from oral to written to digital and I’m trying to teach my folks how to do all three. Of course, traditional folks don’t care to have a bunch of electronic gadgetry on their holy ground. Any suggestions on how to bridge the gap?

Billy
Dardanelle, Arkansas

Billy,
I have no idea what digital storytelling is —- do you mean holding up fingers to indicate numbers? Or simply words on a screen? How this fits into the worship service I can’t imagine and am not sure I want to find out. There is nothing like sitting and listening to someone with a message in their heart. That isn’t old-fashioned, it’s just common sense. If the Lord has spoken to you, if Scripture has spoken to you, then you ought to be able to tell the rest of us. Multimedia is for advertising. The church doesn’t need advertising, it needs witnessing, and that’s ordinary people saying what’s in their hearts. Just like I did right now.

The more I experiment with digital modes of storytelling the more I am realizing that while useful in some situations, there is still no substitute for a passionate person speaking boldly and sincerely.