But Everything's on a Screen?

I'm guessing that a common objection to the micromegachurch concept will be the fact that "everything" is on a screen. While it is true that most of the worship music and most of the preaching will be on a screen, the most important components of this thing we call church will be face-to-face.

People loving Jesus and loving each other, that's what makes church. The specifics of worship and the preaching of the Word are trivial next to this golden rule.

And a lot of a service is still live. I imagine an order of service that looks something like this:

1. A prayerful welcome and call to worship by the local pastor
2. An introductory live praise song using hand held instruments
3. Three to four dynamic worship songs on video with the audio cranked up
4. Short breaks of prayer and exhortation between the songs from the local worship leader or pastor, with communion served some of the time
5. Another welcome, especially to visitors, and greetings among attendees
6. Announcements and a short introduction to the sermon that encourages question texting
7. The main sermon on video
8. A question and answer session led by the local pastor using texting for questions
9. A call for prayer with leaders for those who want it, a call for surrender to Jesus to the unsaved
10. Dismissal to a time of fellowship with refreshments if the members have brought them and clean up after themselves

I have only attended one somewhat small church in my life. It was a megachurch start up that didn't make it. I would much prefer a video praise service pieced together from the likes of Gateway or New Life or Hillsong over the agonizing screeching that we endured at that church while it was too small to have much in the way of quality musicians. The music there was more a distraction from worship than a supplement.

As far as the sermon being on video, go to any huge megachurch and watch people's faces, unless they are in the first 10 rows front and center, they are watching the screens, not the live pastor standing there. I have never once come away from attending our 500 seat Gateway satellite church two blocks from the house feeling as though I would have been any more blessed by driving 28 miles to the 4000 seat main church where Pastor Robert was preaching live.

On the other hand, I perceive a huge difference between watching Gateway on the internet and being at the satellite church with other people. It's clearly the people that make the difference.