Thoughts on Preaching and Multimedia

I confess that I don’t readily think about how I might use multimedia when I preach. Nevertheless, I also admit that I’m being stretched in that arena. Here are my thoughts at this point, and I welcome your discussion. 

1. The Word must be central, but that doesn’t forbid the use of multimedia. It seems to me that properly chosen media that does not distract from the Word – and distraction is always a possibility to guard against – can, in fact, help us teach the Word.
2. The point of using the multimedia must be clear. Maybe it’s to help listeners “see” the land Abraham was given, or perhaps it’s to make them think about how they’ll apply the gospel to an ethical dilemma. If the listeners can’t see how the multimedia directs them to the Word, something is amiss. 
3. The use of multimedia can be contextually helpful. In a culture this is heavily influenced by media, occasionally explaining stories and concepts with the use of multimedia can be helpful – particularly with young congregations who don’t know education without the use of multimedia. 
4. Effective use of multimedia requires knowing one’s audience. What works for the young congregation described in the previous point may not work for an older group. The preacher who uses the same multimedia approach regardless of context is probably missing some of his listeners. 
5. Good use of multimedia can help paint pictures for hearers.  Even Westerners often learn well through stories and images. Where wise multimedia choices can assist us in painting the truths of scripture, we may reinforce learning for our hearers.  
6. Effective use of multimedia probably requires a team – and that’s a good thing. I don’t know many preachers who have both the gifts and the time to do all that’s required for a good presentation. Involving other believers in the process, though, helps them use their unique giftedness. 
7. Even the best preachers use multimedia well. In fact, in my experience, those who best use multimedia are also those who probably least need to use it; that is, they are strong preachers who use media resources only to undergird their already solid teaching.
8. Multimedia use can become a cover for poor preaching. As opposed to the previous point, I’ve also seen good media that accompanies poor preaching – and it doesn’t work. Most of us need to spend more time working on our exposition and proclamation skills than on our media research.
9. Multimedia use can become a crutch for the hard work of exposition. All of us have a limited time to proclaim the Word. The more of that time we use for multimedia, the less time we have left for expounding the Word. My fear is that some preachers may be tempted to do less in-depth study when planned multimedia use is extensive.
10. This discussion isn’t over. With an ever-growing world of technology, this conversation about preaching and multimedia use will not end soon.

Let me hear your thoughts, whether you preach or listen to a sermon every week.