Regardless of your computer savvy, if you use a PC and have internet access, most likely you have a routine... places you check, shop or visit regularly. If you haven't noticed, every site you visit wants you to respond to the content you read regardless of your knowledge about the subject. Or if you have knowledge of a particular product or service, sites want your opinion or a review from you measuring the worth of a product or a service. Do you Facebook? Do you watch Youtube? Do you follow any blogs? Do you check the latest headlines via the internet? On each of these sites, they want your comments- thus the little expandable comment box at the bottom of each post.
During our Sunday morning worship services, projected on the big screen front and center is everything from announcements to praise music words to video clips and visual aids for the preacher's sermon. Occasionally I fill in operating the equipment when the normal overhead projection person (Deborah, what is your title anyway??) is absent. Recently, while filling in, I had a thought.... I was listening to our preacher presenting his sermon and following his notes and changing the slides when prompted to do so, and I wondered what it would be like if there was a comment box projected on the big screen front and center? What if we could post our amens or our little quips of wit for everyone in the congregation to see and enjoy during the sermon? Initially I thought I'd really thought of something clever and I was enjoying my private "what if" party. I couldn't decided if these comments would be anonymous or reveal the sender? Maybe give the author the choice. Should there be a moderator for the comments? Who would be appointed to do that job? Would there be any guidelines for the content of the comments? If so, who should decide that? The preacher? After all, it is his message and performance we're judging either by praising it, or poking fun at it... But, hey wait, I'm a teacher. Would I want that same comment box posted above the chalkboard or smart board of my classroom during every lesson? Do I really want to know what my students think of my lessons during my lesson? Hmmm. No. Am I open to questions [about style and content] and constructive criticism after the lesson in a one on one, face to face conversation? Yes.
Back to church, in our sermon commenting, would we be sensitive to the tone of the message with our quips? Would it be in the Holy Spirit's best interest to mock the words he laid upon the preacher to deliver? Would our posts be guided by faith or by emotion? Do we know our Bibles well enough and know enough theology to leave educated comments for all to see? Is it really our job as laypeople to critique each sermon we hear? For false teaching, yes. There should be a whole lot of Berean in each of us. For rhetric and entertainment value, no. Period.
This was a great idea that was fun to brainstorm in the realms of the what if world our daydreams occasionally allow us to visit now and again.
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