By David Ryser
“Missed it by that much!” (Don
Adams as secret agent Maxwell Smart in the television show Get Smart)
It was a well-known laugh line on a
popular television program. A villain would
narrowly fail in a nefarious plot with comically disastrous results. The lead character, a bumbling secret agent,
would hold up his hand with thumb and forefinger about an inch apart and say,
“Missed it by that much!” The line
always drew big laughs.
But sometimes the results of a near
miss (Or, more accurately, a near hit. A
near miss would be a collision.) are not so funny.
I recently returned from a brief
out-of-town trip. A major reason for
taking the trip was to hang out with a precious group of believers who meet
every Saturday evening for a time of worship.
They meet on Saturday evenings because people from a variety of churches
come together, and this allows them to continue to be active in their home
churches and still take advantage of the gatherings. God shows up in the meetings, and these
lovers of Jesus bask in His presence as they pour out their passionate love on
Him in song and praise.
Although I’ve very much enjoyed
worshiping with them, it is unlikely that I will return. And I fear for the future of their meetings.
You see, when people have a
pleasurable experience, they typically want to share that experience with
others. When God shows up in a place, it
is natural to desire to tell as many people as possible so that they can come
and experience Him for themselves. Technology allows us to spread the word
widely…and quickly.
Enter the internet.
Out of a genuine desire to include
as many people as possible in the experience of what God is doing among them,
this group of believers is considering live-streaming their worship
services. The plan is to mount a webcam
in their meeting place and broadcast the worship and the preaching (if any)
over the internet. Then people can see
and hear what is going on (without being there) and experience it for
themselves…sort of.
So what’s wrong with that?
The two times I’ve been to these
meetings, I’ve noticed that the lighting in the building is dimmed just prior
to the start of the worship. The lights
are kept low until the worship time is concluded. When I asked about this, I was told that the
lighting is dimmed to facilitate intimacy in worship. That makes sense to me. Low lighting is utilized in this manner in
restaurants and other locations where privacy and intimacy are desired. The effect in a worship service is to create
a spiritual “bedroom” where a person can enter into intimacy with God without
self-consciousness. Having bright
lighting on during the worship time would be like turning a floodlight on in
your bedroom during your most intimate moments.
Which begs the question: If you wouldn’t put a floodlight in your
bedroom, then why would you put a camera in there?
Cameras and worship don’t mix
well. I’ve seen it for myself. Typically one of two things happens when
cameras are brought into the spiritual bedroom.
Either a person will perform for the camera (with the attendant loss of
genuineness in worship), or they will be intimidated by the camera (with the
predictable loss of intimacy in worship).
Neither is a good thing.
A friend of mine was watching a
worship service that was being shown on television. The church featured in the broadcast was one
he had attended in the past. He was
curious to see what was happening in the service, and he looked for people he
had known and cared about. He was able
to find some, but scarcely recognized them.
The men had cleaned up, shaped up, and dressed up. The ladies had lost weight, highlighted their
hair, and were dressed to kill.
What’s next? Implants?
Now, I’m in favor of people looking
good. I place no premium on
ugliness. But do you really think these
people have made these improvements for God’s sake? Or do you suppose that the presence of a
camera might have something to do with it?
And is it a coincidence that the
so-called worship service is quite animated, but not particularly powerful?
Please understand, it is not my
intent to impugn the sincerity of either group of believers. I suspect both are made up of genuine lovers
of Jesus who very much desire to do what is right. They believe that broadcasting their intimate
moments with God is a good idea.
But good isn’t always the same as
God. Sometimes the worst enemy of best
is good. And many times the difference
between good and God is only one “o”.
While not wanting to cause Christians to be nervous wrecks over their
relationship with (and service to) God, it needs to be pointed out that we can end
up having “missed it by that much” with devastating unintended consequences.
This is my concern for the people who
are considering live-streaming their Saturday evening worship. Having begun in the Spirit, they may take a
wrong turn and go somewhere they don’t want to be…and where God isn’t.
To their credit, they are aware of
the dangers. They desire to remain passionate
lovers of God. They want their worship
services to be as powerful and intimate as before. They don’t want the presence of a camera to
change them or their worship experience into something that does not honor God. I wish them all the best in this endeavor.
If they succeed, they will be the
first (I know of) to pull it off.
Responses to this article are
welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
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