Can You Really Worship with "Big Production?"

I recently got to hang out behind the scenes at a worship night with one of the larger churches in our region.

To give you a perspective, this weekly worship night hosts, on average, about 1000 college students. And the ministry that puts on the service does a fully modern production, complete with an 11-piece band, programmed lights, separate FOH and monitor mixing, multiple cameras, auxiliary audio and video control rooms...

...it's impressive, to say the least. And the coordination to pull it all off requires precision and focus.

But can one really worship well with all the fancy gear, light shows, and such? 

My Experience

Now, I'm no stranger to participating on worship teams at larger "mega churches" like this. The flow is different than what I typically do at my home church, where we have a general idea of an order of service, but typically, nothing is scripted or timecoded. In contrast, the college worship team had everything planned  at a high level of detail, with time durations set for each segment, along with scripts and cues to make sure everything was communicated clearly without awkward pauses or dead time. 

My role has usually just been to serve as a contract guitar player in these settings, and the level of preparation is a bit higher in this environment, where all songs need to be memorized, gear needs to be pro-level, and execution has to be nearly flawless—there are no do-overs. This time, I shadowed the production team, tagging alongside the production director as the team went through final run-through and then the live service. 

The level of preparation was no different for the tech crew; everyone knew their role and had spent several hours preparing their station for that evening's service:

• The lighting coordinator had all of his sequences constructed to move in tandem with key lyrics in each song, shaping color palettes and spotlights to reflect what was being sung.

• The ProPresenter volunteer seamlessly followed each song and spoken word, and she had cleanly set each graphic, lyric, and image to independently appear on several displays, not just on a single projection screen.

• The camera director kept several shots rotating from one operator to the next, who each created a variety of moving, dynamic shots to highlight key components of the stage and auditorium. 

• The sounds guys, from FOH to monitors and live stream, adapted to each song as it came, showcasing different lead singers and instruments, which required specialized applications of effects and output to stand out artfully in the mix.

• And the production director kept the lines of communication flowing, making judgment calls and keeping everyone in sync as each element flowed from one to the next.

From the outside looking in, it seems like a production level like this takes up a lot of attention for mental and physical focus, leaving only a little room for focusing on God in each moment. But in my observation, this was NOT the case; even with a large production, the "vibe" felt authentic and sincere to glorifying God as the top priority.

Handling Criticisms

From those who belong to smaller churches, either sticking to traditional formats or a pared down, yet still modern production setting, there are a few criticisms laid at the feet of those who use a "big production":

• The Spirit is traded for "spectacle."

• Substance is traded for surface-level motions.

• True fellowship is traded for higher crowd numbers. 

And to be fair, there's credibility in those criticisms—but it's not what I saw at this particular college worship night. Everyone came together with these things in mind:

• Impassioned joy for doing their jobs well—and savoring a well-executed cue, line, and sequence.

• Unwavering dedication–and motivating others through encouragement and clear direction.

• Unmistakable humility—all with the explicit purpose of pointing others to Jesus. 

The bottom line is this: It's TOTALLY POSSIBLE for sincere worship to take place in a setting of "big production." It requires the same level of intentionality, discernment, and enthusiasm that you would expect in any other setting, starting on an individual level, moving into smaller sub-teams, and then reiterated in the large group format. 

There is a caveat though: The message of pointing people to Jesus through individual and collective craft in a large production setting needs to be repeated more often than you think is needed. The clear direction and purpose has to resonate with everyone—including the audience—so the focus of every word has to precisely point toward a common purpose:

Praising God for who He is, what He's done, how He works in and through His Word and people, when He's coming back, and the big "why"—His glory and our enjoyment of Him.

Be blessed 👊✌️