Postmodern Stained Glass

The term that serves as my title is taken from Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church. It came up in conversation yesterday with one of my new friends, Brenda. She commented after the service that she really connected with the video clips helping her relate to the scripture. I shared what I had heard Mark describe. He says that the screen is postmodern stained glass. In the middle ages stories were told in stained glass. Beautiful stained glass can tell a story as you look at it. The Christian faith is so story-rich that those stories were depicted in the windows of churches. In fact, until the last century, the church was the place in society for story telling. Today television and movie theaters provide us with the stories of our culture. They promote the values and messages that inform our culture on the areas of morality and worth. That's why I find people connect well with video during sermons. Using the stained class of the projector screen I can show the story of scripture more clearly.

I don't always use it, but it's definately a tool in my box.

--Ben