Livecast: Not as easy as you thought, was it?

-Rev Melissa Fain-

I started writing this up on Friday, because I had this sixth sense about what was coming. Call it an intuition. First, I knew how brick and mortar churches have talked about digital worship experiences already, and second I knew how those who recorded their worships did their recordings.

My intuition on the churches that already did livecasts was everything was going to be exactly the same, but with 5-20 people present. Even though most people would be watching via video, the minister, musicians, and everyone else would just pretend their congregations were not viewing from a camera, but were actually in the audience. It was exactly what I expected.

My intuition on the churches that had never done this before was not what I was expecting.  I was expecting a minister, sitting in front of a laptop or phone, delivering a wooden sermon to a camera, (because a live audience really does add something to the delivery of a sermon). I was half right. No one considers camera angles. Looking down at your phone means you are forcing the congregation to look submissively up at you, but I digress. I also saw attempts at big church production value with a small church budget, Not only were they forgetting where the congregation was (hint, hint, behind the camera) once again had an entire room of one person delivering to no one. 

What are you doing? Do you think this is what online worship is? No wonder you think it's a waste of time! I get it now.  I wanna help. Let me help.

Ways to be a digital church

• Create a fellowship area and use it: You can make your area a private Facebook page, a subreddit, a forum, but create something where people can connect and talk.  Here's something that will make you super uncomfortable- invite people to talk about the sermon! It's online culture, and giving people space to question what a minister is saying is actually good. It honed me and my words. Consider it. More than that, it's an entrance to discussing life in general. Fellowship is vital to church growth and life. Fig Tree recently set up a public space, and we already have a private space. 
• Talk to the people: SMH. As in- Smack My Head. About 1/2 a year to a year ago someone suggested I look to the big churches to "do online church." I already knew why this was a stupid idea, but now let me tell you. Simply recording worship is showing how worship was done to those live. Something is lost when you do worship in this manner. It's not saying that God can't be present to those online, but you are failing to meet their need in this way through the record and send method. When you look into the camera you are looking at them! You are talking to an individual. Guess what?! You are more personal, more vulnerable, more real online than you could ever be with a room full of people! Talk to that vulnerability. Speak like you are talking to a friend. Like I said in the above livecast, you might have a thousand people on the other side of the camera, but when you talk, you are individually talking with each one. (By the way, that message was mostly for the ministers, and the communion was for everyone.)
• Make your space more intimate and real: This is really a carry over from the previous point. You know you're talking to one person, so what space would you talk to one person in? In what space would you worship with one person? Find God in your recording space. God's there! I promise. Got was there before you were there. 
• This is worship! Hold on! I've got to SMH again! Dude! (I'm going to call you dude right now, so just roll with it) No one has time to listen to your 16 minute sermon. The internet is way faster than that! Just post it on Reddit, let them tear it apart, and go do worship! What they have time for is to connect to God. Create a space where everyone can worship. Be intentional about how you set it up. Look at it on the camera before you hit "cast." Worried about how to do music? Who cares?! No one wants that online.  They can get better songs on YouTube. Worried about whether to stand or sit? Who cares?! Are you really worshiping with your one person with all that sitting and standing? You are inviting God to come to your shared space so you can worship. That's all. Do that, and you'll be fine. 
• This isn't about perfection, it's about relationship: The video above is about 30 minutes long. It was thrown together last minute, because everything hit last minute. It is not perfect. It is not recorded on the best camera, with multiple camera angles. It is real. That reality, I'm sad to tell you, was built over years of sitting in front of a camera and speaking. What you're trying to throw together overnight is not what I've thrown together overnight. It was built over years. Let not your heart be troubled. Just relate. You can be more real in front of that camera than you could ever be in front of a congregation. Speak to that authenticity and connect to the person who is listening to your words. Together find God, and in that, find worship.

One last note:

You need to know a couple of points before you continue:

1. I'm frustrated: I've been out here, in the internet, for years without so much as a paycheck. I've done my ministry through pulpit supply, substitute teaching, and selling homemade jewelry. None of these things can happen right now, so I'm doing this with nothing. So know as your specific church continues to pay your specific salary, I'll still be doing my thing with less than where I was before you joined in. It might come out in my typed words, and I feel it should.
2. You're invading their safe space: I'm not out here because I think the internet is cool. It might have started that way, but I was quickly put in my place. I'm out here for them. This is where all those wounded by the church have gone, because y'all have never shown interest in this space until now. Whether you realize it or not, you are going to trigger these individuals, so keep that in mind.

What this boils down to: This isn't first aid, this is real. If you don't believe what you're doing is real- DON'T DO IT! 

TL:DR- Find where God is already present, and show the people God. Anything else is wrong.