I’ve been to a lot of different kinds of gatherings recently: a student event of 1000, Easter service at a mega-church, a workshop with a half-dozen student ministry leaders, a Sunday gathering of 100 at our church, and just last week, The Orange Conference with about 4,000 other church leaders.
The juxtaposition of sizes and styles of gatherings has gotten me thinking further about how the use of media can help foster a sense of community. In each setting there was a moment where a specific choice about how art or media was used caused me to feel connected with everyone else in the room.
For example, on the opening night at Orange, after a Stomp-style opener, a single spotlight shone not onto the stage, but out into the audience, where a host stood to introduce and interact with various leaders from multiple churches as he walked around the room. He didn’t talk to me, or get anywhere near me. But by acknowledging the people in the room, I felt acknowledged too.
At the Easter service, a well-produced short film connected me with everyone present, not because it acknowledged anyone out in the room, but because it acknowledged deep-seated feelings everyone in the room has felt.
And in each setting, a moment to pause and feel the absence of media created a sense of community. Nothing like being able to hear every sniffle of shuffle of the feet in the room to know we’re all there!
These were just moments, but I believe it’s the collection of these moments, a collection of these choices that largely determine whether I feel like a mere attendee of someone elses gathering, or a true member of a community.
Many of the choices we make in our gatherings may feel small or insignificant, but collectively they matter in a very significant way.
Travis Fish says
I love this. Well made and incorporated media can do some awesome things.
kylereed says
Great Post Kelly, good connection of media and community. I love the use of the word juxtaposition, had to look that one up.