When Your Pastor Becomes A Screen...

I've been pondering the trend towards multi-site venues with video screens.  There are some things that have been concerning me and I'm not prepared to say I'm against the idea of multi-site video venues, but I do have some thoughts that I think should be considered.

1.  Video Venues appears to be a one generational model of church expansion.
They are built on the "cult of personality" of one pastor.  What happens when that pastor dies or transitions out?  Do they keep playing re-runs and don't tell anybody?  Now instead of one congregation looking for transition you have multiple congregations.  Even if you replace the teaching pastor, the initial growth is built on the strength of one and not many.  I see many multi-site churches closing their satellite campuses creating multiple groups of disenfranchised congregants in the event that the "ONE" is no longer there.

2.  Video Venues assume that there is no one as gifted as the "ONE."
I've even heard it suggested... that person is such an amazing teacher.  There's no one who can do what they do.  If this is true, then the multi-site approach appears to be built on the premise of expanding the platform of the individual.  I'm not making judgments, just observations.  One person that I respect in that he has multi-site locations, but he himself teaches at them personally is Erwin McManus.  To me, this keeps it personal.  He's actually transitioned out of some of the sites and left qualified teachers in his place.  What a great model.

3. Video Venues are not effective in duplicating great teachers.
One of the things I appreciate about Pastor Chuck Smith is that he has been successful in duplicating Calvary Chapel nearly 1800 times.  If he dies, the individual churches won't stop meeting... they will continue unaffected.  Additionally, there are a number of great teachers that have been developed throughout the 1800 churches.  Not every church has a world class teacher, but not every church needs a world class teacher.  Some just need a pastor who can bring them to Jesus and love on their kids.

4.  Video Venues demonstrate an impersonal approach to pastoral ministry.
Instead of getting revelation from a person, I now get revelation from an image on a screen.  If I read my Bible correctly, there seems to be something about getting revelation from an image spoken of concerning the last days.  I no longer care if the pastor is living a moral life, is a loving person or lives what he preaches because I will never see the pastor.  I will only relate to him as an image on a screen.  What a scary place for the church to be.

5.  Video Venues communicate that church is about a crowd, not a community.
When I no longer have a personal connection with the pastor, then it really becomes more about attending "the event" than about being "the church."  I think there is a reason that you were limited to a certain walking distance to get to the synagogue in Judaism.  It perpetuated the value of community and belonging.  When church becomes reduced to an event, then people can attend and never be impacted.  There's just something special about a pastor that is looking into your eyes while he is preaching the message... and responding to the Holy Spirit that is at work in a room.  Of course... if that's what you're after... then you can always check the "touring" schedule of the pastor and make sure you're there when the ONE arrives to speak at your video venue.

Having made these observations, I also see great potential in that multi-site campuses allow large numbers of people to be involved, they are extremely profitable to run (more than church plants) and they are useful in revitalizing dying churches.

Personally, I'm for a personal approach to ministry... hands on... authentic and real.  I haven't come to a conclusion on video venues, but I do see problems ahead.  I pray for the sake of the multiple congregations that leadership is developing a plan to address the concerns I've observed.