Lighting can be a touchy subject in churches, particularly to those concerned about “putting on a show.” Ideally, lighting simply provides support – it’s the canvas that whatever action in the service is painted on. Given that, don’t overdo it – every painting doesn’t use every color at once. Lighting should help to take the congregation on the journey, not become the journey. In my church visits and “secret shopper” experiences, I once visited a church where the well-meaning and enthusiastic lighting guy was creating a full-on, Trans-Siberian Orchestra-esque experience in EVERY song [even the quiet ones]. Unfortunately, the end result was the opposite of what he had hoped for – nothing “popped” because everything was constantly in hyper-kinetic motion. Some of the most impactful worship moments I’ve seen have been lit by a single white spotlight…
That being said, I LOVE the creative use of lights in services. I believe that there are indeed times to cut them loose in a service. They [along with video] are the modern-day versions of stained glass. When used tastefully and creatively, they can truly help to create “moments” within worship services. #creativeworshipideas
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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