Preach Magazine Issue 4 - Preaching in the digital age | Page 21

FEATURE

THE DIGITISED CLASSIC

The final category is a little different,
in that it focuses much more on
production than content. With
both Rob Bell’s films and spoken
word sermons, content is normally
created specifically for the digital
environment, whereas with this
category the content was created
long before digital technology was
invented.
The process goes something like this:
1. A recording of an historical sermon
is found which has a dynamic style.
2. The sermon is then edited to fit
the purpose; lines are shortened,
whole sections cut out, phrases
copy-and-pasted, sound quality
improved, ‘live’ sounds are removed
or enhanced etc…
3. Highly contemporary visuals are
overlaid.
4. Finally, music is added into the mix
to create the final product.

A notable example of this form is
the Dr SM Lockridge ‘That’s my
King’ sermon.6 Originally over
an hour long, the digitally retold
version is reduced in length to
just over three minutes, and is
edited alongside clips from The
Passion of the Christ. Viewed over
4 million times on YouTube, we as
viewers don’t experience a part of
the original sermon, rather we are
watching a brand new sermon,
heavily influenced by the original.
The addition of music, graphical
and filmed visuals, as well as the
re-writing of the text, creates
what could be best described as a
montage or remix of the original
sermon. The author of this sermon
is as much the producer, Albert
Martin, as it is Lockridge himself.
However, even though for many
it is through the visual medium
most of the content will be learnt
and taken in, Martin is unlikely to
ever be remembered, despite his
skillful production. Because of the
importance we put on the spoken
word in our culture, it is Lockridge’s
words and voice that will be
remembered.

21

CONCLUSION
Digital preaching is an increasingly
large genre in the Christian media
market, and while its format and
characteristics lend itself to the
twenties and thirties age range, the
content itself is rarely different to a
traditional Sunday morning sermon.
What digital preaching is doing
is giving space to a new wave of
preachers to explore their trade in an
environment that is second nature to
them. To create a digital sermon is a
very normal activity for a generation
that experiences life through social
media.
This is by no means an exhaustive
list of the ways digital preaching is
done, in fact because of the nature of
digital preaching, by the time this is
published the latest viral hit may have
taken the genre in a new direction
that surprises us all. I believe short,
explosive videos, with strong visual
content and powerful musical cues
are here to stay for some time. Their
ability to succinctly explain spiritual
perspectives in a manner that is
engaging and contemporary, through
technologies that are constantly
evolving and updating, means that
digital preaching has the power to
influence millions of people both inside
and outside church buildings.
1. B
 ell, R (2002), ‘Rain’, nooma.com: nooma.com/
films/001-rain
2. ‘About Flannel’, Flannel: flannel.org/about
3. B
 ethke, J (2012), ‘Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus’,
YouTube : bit.ly/Bethke
4. See fusion.uk.com.
5. S
 waffield, M (2014), ‘The Way We Walk’, YouTube :
bit.ly/WayWeWalk
6. Martin, A (2008), ‘That’s My King Dr. S.M. Lockridge’,
YouTube : bit.ly/Lockridge

Dave Stout
Dave Stout works at CODEC
Research Centre, creating digital
educational resources to be used
within the training of ordinands
in the Church of England. He
is married to Beth, who
is the Chief Executive of
Golddigger Trust, and
they live in Sheffield.