Has Powerpoint Become Unnecessary?
Posted March 5, 2011 at 11:56 am in Blog Comments, Skill Development by Kenton Anderson
It’s been a while since I have done a full powerpoint presentation for a sermon. I know that this is supposed to mean that my preaching will be less effective and somehow less culturally relevant. The truth is, however, I don’t think anyone has missed it.
The progression of powerpoint usage by preachers has been interesting to watch. When it first arrived, preachers simply used it as a convenient way to list their sermon outlines and project their Scripture texts. The more adventurous among us added clip-art style images and animations to try to give the sermon that little extra zing.
After a while, preachers began to mature in their use of the medium. Sermon powerpoints became more image-rich, usually offering less words, more pictures, and sometimes even video, as a way to augment the spoken word. While many would argue that this has enhanced the preaching experience, others would say that the time commitment required to put together this kind of presentation has become increasingly difficult to justify, particularly given that it is a difficult thing to delegate. When done poorly it can actually subvert the sermon.
Now, in most larger churches, we are finding that sermon screen time is devoted to a live video-feed of the preacher, sometimes with key points or theme statements in a bar along the bottom of the screen. No doubt this is because of the size of some of these auditoriums. It’s worth noting, however, that these preachers seem to get along just fine without the typical powerpoint screens behind the preacher.
I’ve long wondered what Marshall McLuhan would say about the message in this particular medium. Initial use of powerpoint tended to highlight the propositional nature of our preaching. Moving to a more image-rich approach probably changed the nature of our preaching, moving us more toward the sermon as experienced than explained. Dedicating the screen to the person of the preacher no doubt says something to the listener about the importance of the preacher’s personality, for better and for worse.
In my case, I’ve found that the time necessary for me to produce a worthwhile powerpoint presentation is often not worth the investment. I’ve experienced all the normal difficulties working with technicians, having bulbs burn out, and struggling with incompatible technologies. In every case, I can honestly say that the only thing that has been lost when the powerpoint wasn’t available was the time I may have spent preparing it.
I’ll still prepare the powerpoint when the church requires it. Lately, I’ve taken just to using select images or diagrams when they are particularly important to the presentation, like when I want to show them a picture in order to talk about it, or when I need to sketch something out in a visual manner. For those sorts of things, the technology is useful, but beyond that, I’m becoming increasingly less sure. I wouldn’t work with out it for worship singing, but as for preaching, when I don’t use it, the people don’t seem to miss it.
The best visual image, of course, is always the preacher. As you and I stand before the gathered crowd, our person, our manner, our voice, and our gestures all contribute to the impact of the message, far beyond anything that could be projected on the screen. In fact, the screen might just be distracting.
I wouldn’t say that powerpoint is over. I’m just not certain that its necessary.
James Wood said on October 3, 2011
You bring up some good points, but I think you are missing the bigger point. PowerPoint is a tool that we can use to help in preaching, just like any other tool we have as preachers. It’s no different from a microphone or a pulpit, in that regard. It takes precious time and effort from our exegesis to learn to use the tools we have at our disposal.
You state that you haven’t seen a significant return on investment for the time you’ve put in preparing PowerPoint presentations. That may well be true. But, how do you know? Neurological research indicates that a relevant image pared with spoken word increases retention and comprehension over six-times (http://brainrules.net/vision). That seems like a worthwhile investment of time to me.
Kenton Anderson said on October 7, 2011
Thanks James. I don’t disagree with you. Some of my concern has to do with the fact that I’ve seen so few people use it effectively to increase retention and comprehension, as you describe. Some of my concern has to do with the fact that I see preaching as more than just the communication of propositions. I do believe powerpoint can assist in moving things beyond the purely informational, however that takes a skill set that most of us don’t seem to have.
James Wood said on October 10, 2011
Good points. I think that when preaching becomes only propositional then it loses people’s spirits. My technique is reductive in that I try to have one picture for each move in my sermon. My typical sermon slide deck is about five slides. A title slide that’s repeated at the end and then a slide for the three main moves in my sermon. The text is minimal as well. I want to give myself and the audience enough freedom to experience and interpret the sermon.
I’ve found that this is a huge help for the members of the church who are primarily visual learners (which is at least a third of them). They have the ability to focus on an image while hearing the sermon. The auditory learners won’t care and the kinesthetic learners won’t really learn it until they go out and put it into practice.
Dave Navarro said on November 28, 2011
James, I think you’ve found a nice sweet spot. Five minimalistic slides is pretty reasonable.
I wil say, though, that my recent experience is pushing me away from PowerPoint. Three reasons.
1) PowerPoint is the norm at my church. The result? Nobody brings their Bibles. And when you ask them to bring Bibles, they say, “But it’s up on the screen!”
2) I preached Sunday, and intended to do PowerPoint just for the Scriptures, but I didn’t have time. I mentioned this at the beginning, rather apologetically. “I hope you have your Bibles, because I don’t have PowerPoint today…” I actually got positive response on my non-PowerPoint. Someone told me it really worked for them. They were less distracted.
3) Along the same lines, I know a pastor who, every Sunday, disappears behind his PowerPoint. He doesn’t have a big, captivating on-stage presence, and I think in some sense he tries to compensate with great slides. In reality, the flashy slides are the only thing getting my attention, and they only have a few key words, so I don’t learn much. Furthermore, he tries to use the PowerPoint to guide people along, rather that tightly and logically structuring his sermon. I think if you took away his slide projector, he’d be a lot better.
This, of course, is all anecdotal, but it’s where I’m at right now. My current vote: Just the sermon text, white text on black background.
And no Papyrus font!