HELLO!

During the COVID lockdown a lot of preachers watched other preachers. I don’t think we do this otherwise. But, we had time on our hands, we were curious. I remember the different ways churches offered the “only five people permitted to be in the building at one time” worship services. It was the next stage, after clergy sitting in their homes recording their words, either Facebook livestream or recording it on their devices and sending it out via email. With five people in the church, on a Sunday, you typically had one or two directing the AV, the minister, the musician and a singer. The most imaginative effort I witnessed was a church who asked their members to send in photos of their faces. During the week the minister and office personnel printed those photos and strategically placed them where people normally would sit on a Sunday morning.

I sent one of those videos out to the church I then served. Many responded with, “why would you do that?” or “I see the rational, people like to see themselves in the videos”. I think they missed something. Some preachers, not all, get energy from the people who are gathered on that day. The facial expressions, the posture, the body language, the sense of grief or celebration or anxiety or relief, can be witnessed by looking at someone, up close. While watching some of those five-person worship gatherings online, I noted how some preachers offer their sermons the same way they would if the church was full. No difference.

I also note how those who give eulogies for friends and family will spend hours practicing their words, in front of a mirror, standing in their living room. The focus is on getting all the words in, saying them accurately, making sure everything that is on the paper is spoken clearly and directly. But when they come to the podium at the funeral home, they speak as if there were no people sitting in front of them. There is no connection. If people laughed or cried or made an audible sound, the remarks would continue. Yes, this is a sign of being nervous. Not everyone is a gifted public speaker. But it also reveals how we misunderstand what public speaking is, it is a public event, not speaking into a mirror. I suggest eulogists practice in front of people and look at those whom they are addressing. Let the energy of those in their midst have effect on you.

AI is a deep concern, and it ought to be. I have heard some speak of a time when clergy could be generated as AI figures, audiences live streaming the services. That would not work for me. I enjoy good preaching, I also enjoy the chemistry, the synergy or how the speaker is connecting with the listeners. When I preach, I have written my sermons six weeks earlier, practiced it many times in walks in our subdivision. BUT, when I stand to preach on a Sunday, I am not sure what exactly, from the written text, from the previous rehearsals, is going to be offered. The faces, body language and the stories I know from same, inform my words.

Peace, Kevin “face for radio” Little

PS One positive aspect of an AI preacher, the stole would not be crooked.