Ask for help and be present

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REGULAR readers of the column will recall last month I drew attention to the recent ‘Hybrid Church Charter’ that many churches are signing up to in order to keep the online presence of the church alive as we begin to take small steps back into our church buildings.

One thing I think Kirk Sessions will need to be aware of is the need to ensure that the ministry to those online is not left solely to the minister, or one or two enthusiasts.

Ensuring an online presence is authentic and accessible to all, calls for the whole congregation as far as is possible, to embrace online ministry.

Recently I was showing some friends a little box that used to sit on our coffee table. On the lid was engraved the words ‘Be Present’. It was a box to put mobile phones in. It was Martha, my wife’s way of letting us all know when we meet together we need to be present.

It is the same with the online church. Those online and those worshipping on-site need to ‘be present ‘with each other. And the most focused person on all this has to be the one leading worship. This is why I believe it is essential that the worship leader is freed from all technical responsibility on the day.

It is solely their function to lead the people of God ‘online’ and ‘on-site’ in worship. When a worship leader has the added responsibility of managing the live stream link and ensuring that the words for the hymns are on the screen and that perhaps the pre-recorded music is in sync with the Powerpoint on the screen, it becomes impossible for them, and indeed all of us, to ‘be present’. Instead they are thinking about the mechanics of worship and that becomes a great distraction for both online and on-site worshippers.

The Hybrid Church Charter seeks to help congregations aspire to developing a truly authentic and meaningful integrated worship style. The Charter calls for a greater number of people to be involved in delivering the technical side of online worship.

Some congregations may not have the technical expertise sitting in their pews but there are people in the pews who have grandchildren and children who are skilled in technology and could easily help to deliver the live stream and the creation of Powerpoint slides and even live music.

The online ministry creates the opportunity to invite others outside our circle to help and in helping they may well make suggestions that in turn could transform the way we do Church. We are living through exciting and stressful times in church life, but we have been given an opportunity to explore how we can use technology to grow and develop the life of the Church. Inviting others to help has its roots in the ministry of Jesus. He asked the woman at the well for a drink, and in return gave her a new life. He took the young boy’s lunch and used it to feed a multitude. Let’s not say we don’t have the knowledge, the expertise, or even the resources. Let’s take our lead from Jesus and begin to ask some people for help.

We are living through exciting and stressful times in church life, but we have been given an opportunity to explore how we can use technology to grow and develop the life of the Church.

So this month I’m making a plea to Kirk Sessions. Think about the added responsibility and pressure you might be putting upon those who deliver online and on-site worship and try to remove the tasks that are distracting us all from ‘being present’ in worship.