Worship Goes Big-Screen and Hi-Fi, With Direct-Deposit Tithing

During a recent sermon at St. Paul's Collegiate Church in Storrs, Conn., worshipers sent text messages to the cellphone of the lead pastor, Benjamin Dubow, the substance of which he then integrated into his sermon.

"Prayer is supposed to be a conversation," Dubow said. "We did this to help people engage in the conversation live during the service."

Carl Reeder, technology director at Reid Temple AME Church in Prince George's, said high-tech equipment is a priority at his house of worship. The 6,000-member Glenn Dale church has a state-of-the-art audio studio and a video production room that use the same equipment that major television stations use. Sixteen volunteer producers, directors and electricians operate the equipment for the church and reproduce its worship services on CDs and DVDs.

"It takes a lot of skilled people to make it all happen," Reeder said of the work that goes into putting on a Sunday service.

Still, Reeder said his church is mindful of its mission. "We don't want the technology to take over worshiping God," he said. "If you misuse the technology, you lose focus."

Loss of focus is not a concern at Glenarden Church of Christ, where technology is limited, on purpose. But Pastor Johnnie Barton has admitted to using a visual aid. "Occasionally I may use a whiteboard," Barton said. "Sometimes it's helpful to explain things."

James B. Twitchell, an English professor at the University of Florida, also cautions against having too much technology in church.

"One of the problems is that with video technology, you don't watch the pastor, you watch the screen, where he appears like a movie star 20 times bigger than reality," said Twitchell, author of the book "Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart to In Your Face."

Thanks to technology, Twitchell added, even the old practice of writing a check or slipping cash into an envelope and dropping it into the tithing bowl is disappearing. "These churches use direct deposit, so there is none of that reaching into your pocket to get your money out," he said.

There are other concerns about high-tech churches. Quentin Schultze, a communications professor at Calvin College in Michigan and author of the book "High-Tech Worship? Using Presentational Technologies Wisely," contends that if not used properly, the fancy lighting and audio systems can distract from the reasons for going to church.

"The congregation has to understand what worship is: dialogue," Schultze said. "If technology is used as a crutch to create entertainment, that turns the congregation into consumers, and that's deadly from a spiritual standpoint."

If churches are not careful, Schultze added, they could drive away worshipers.