The Worship Planning Committee of my church asked me to read and review a book for them, so I thought I'd post what I wrote here:

High-Tech Worship?, by Quentin J. Schultze, is a short, easy-to-read book on “using presentational technologies wisely.” His premise is that technology is simply a tool that can be used to enhance worship. Technology in worship should not be rejected out of hand, nor should it be simply adopted as it is used in society. Rather, we must adapt technology to fit into an appropriate liturgy, encouraging worship by helping the congregation listen to God and respond to His Word.

Using technology wisely requires much thought, planning, and sacrifice. It is not, and must not be adopted as, a “quick fix” for some problem that the church may have. If technology is used for the wrong reason, or if it is too complex, distracting, or awkward, it can harm the act of worship. Some churches would benefit from less technology as surely as others could use more.

The book has many useful lists that remind us what unintended consequences (and unexpected benefits!) could result from adoption of technologies. For example, presentational technologies are most often used to enhance singing, which can be very positive; however, the author warns against encouraging musical “illiteracy” through the excessive use of simple melodies, and might suggest the projection of music as well as lyrics.

I would encourage anyone involved in worship planning to read and reference this book, especially when changes in the use of technology are being considered.

The Christian Education Fund of our church pays Mount Vernon Christian School tuition for any of our members that want to participate. The fund has been active for the past three years, and I’ve been on the CEF committee from the beginning. Before that, I was directly involved in the investigation process and the proposal to the congregation. It’s a very interesting fund, and reflects the commitment we have to our “covenant children,” as well as to the value of Christian education.

The cost of the fund totals more per year than the rest of the church budget, so we use a pledge system to ensure that donations will be sufficient for the following year. The continuation of the fund hinges each year on June 1, at which point all of the donations for the ending school year must be paid and pledges for the soon-to-start school year must meet or exceed the projected tuition.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen this year, and the fund was automatically terminated. All was not lost, however – our pastor led an effort to resurrect the fund. The congregation managed to raise the money that was short on donations, make additional pledges to exceed tuition, and pass a two-thirds vote to start the fund up again.

So, it looks like my time on the CEF committee will continue. The resurrected fund has rules that might make my role as donation-watcher a bit more challenging; we shall see. But it’s a great benefit to our families, myself included, so I am happy to see it return.

Our church (First CRC of Mount Vernon) just installed a new sound system. It's much cooler than our previous sound system -- lots more channels, monitors, speakers, etc. Anyway, they're also looking for people that are willing to run the sound board on occasion, and asked people willing to consider becoming a "sound technician" to come to church and learn about the new equipment.

So, though I have little interest in monkeying with microphones and speakers and feedback and everything else, I have always had a great curiosity about what all of those little knobs and buttons on the sound board are for. I've always assumed that they can't be too terribly complicated, but they're pretty intimidating to look at.

Anyway, as it turns out, it's really not all that complicated. Of course, to be a good sound technician, you have to be fast on the draw, so to speak, so I'm sure that experience is key. I haven't decided yet whether I'll be willing to be on the official sound technicians team, but I imagine that if they need another warm body, I'll volunteer...