The Visual Church Blog

I sit in front of a computer all day. My eyes begin to strain after several hours of work, so I often take a break and walk away. Well, maybe that’s also for my sanity? Actually, I love my computer. It’s an Apple Mac G5 with a beautiful cinema display. Nothing better than that when it comes to computers. [insert opinion here] But I’m beginning to become aware of something I never even thought about let alone considered before. My computer is changing me!

I’m going in for an eye checkup, and I’m not really happy about it. When I read small print in dim lighting those pesky little words seem to be written with a blurry font. What’s up with that? So, of course being a www coniseur I googled some eye care info. Turns out that I might have Presbyopia. Yeah, it’s also known as “aging eye syndrome”. To make matters worse, it says people usually begin experiencing this problem around the age of 40. Great! Can you believe my 40th birthday is just around the corner? Just what I need another reminder that I’m not a young spring chicken anymore.

But then a second article caught my attention. Aging eyes may not be my only issue. My beautiful computer could be a part of the problem - this changing of my eye sight. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). CVS affects everyone who works on a computer and consists of symptoms such as headache, dry eyes, fatigue, blurred and double vision. Can you believe it? This wonderful technology that allows me to provide for my family is contributing to the demise of my vision. How can this be?

Well, lighting is a huge issue. So, that is a part of the equation. However, here’s what really caught my attention and has altered my view of technology.

“Also, your computer screen projects images in pixels which constantly change, forcing your eyes to constantly refocus. This constant adjustment caused strain on your eyes, causing your eyesight to become distorted or blurred.”

Now again, I’m a creative producer who’s lived off of technology for over 15 years now. I love this stuff and read about it and learn it and use it everyday. To have to step back and consider that this medium has the power to change me even though I’m not aware of it is a little unnerving. Video and computers are an advancement of the human experience. It’s opened the door to powerful methods of communication, exploration, and discovery. Yet, there’s no doubt it has changed me…and in the context of the subject of this article (my eyesight) that’s actually not a good thing.

For me, this opens a Pandora’s box. If a computer screen can change my physical vision, then technology - media must also have the ability to change other aspects of my nature. Can it change the way I think? [reading versus watching TV] Does it shorten my attention span? [think about today's children sitting for a 20 minute teaching] Maybe it will diminish my social skills [email?]?

These are healthy questions that I’m beginning to wrestle with. And if this technology changes the way my eye’s see and the way my brain works, can it also change my faith? Is it possible that media can blur or diminish the messages that I communicate through it? Can the Gospel be altered just by using the medium of video? Well, I guess that’s another article, because most of you internet surfers are probably tired of reading this long blog post. I am. Maybe I’ll go give me my eyes a rest. You know, clear my head…I mean my vision.

What’s your experience? Can media change you?

The current financial crisis we are in took a long time to develop. Everybody and their kid has an opinion about how to fix it. Ironically, even the best of the best including Obama aren’t sure if they know the answer. The frenzy to fix things has dusted up quite a cloud of confusion. The irony is that the we are being asked to trust the same people who got us into this mess in the first place to turn things around. How does that work???

The Bible tells the story of the people of Babel. At the time, they all spoke one language. They decided to build a tower to the heavens saying, “‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’” This was in direct opposition to God’s desire for the people to multiply and fill the earth. So, God confounded their language and they were scattered around the world. Their own power to create was greater then their recognition of the one who created them. They were consumed with their ability to unite and build their own fame.

We didn’t get here overnight. There was a time when people were thrilled with our economic system.  In 1999, a large bank launched a marketing campaign called “Live Richly.” Its goal was to get consumers to change their attitudes about money, persuading them to tap into their home equity and use it to live life a little better. Ad agencies have spent billions of dollars to convince people to leave common sense behind and take out a loan for that car, TV, new toaster, the funky trinket sitting in a box at Storage Tek. This “consumer” mentality wasn’t just the result of ad agencies though.

Technology has given us the instant message, the five minute burger and fries, and virtual communities where no one actually knows anyone. Will future generations look back at us and conclude that we must make all our decisions in 30 seconds - just like a TV commercial? Has media shaped us as much as the modern worldviews? Take TV. It’s really just a continual blinking mosaic of lights mixed with sound. Every second 60 fields of light flash across the screen. Is it possible that when a human being is bombarded by billions of bits of information at the speed of light everyday the effect is a short attention span? Can a visual medium whose strength is emotion and subjectivity not diminish a person’s ability to reason?

We are on the verge of a New Age of Discovery, Rupert Murdoch declared in a speech given in 2006. One is required to develop a scientific literacy in order to safely navigate its waters.

But what hath this technology wrought? Are there consequences to having access to billions of bits of information at the speed of light? Is there a downside to being able to create virtual communities where no one has ever met anyone in person? Many years ago being able to split the atom was an amazing scientific breakthrough. Now we realize that this discovery led to the creation of the ultimate weapon able to cause mass destruction. The atom bomb. Will we wield this technology like a skilled swordsmen and win the battles of the future? Or, will technology consume us? Will we become what we behold?

What can we learn from the financial crisis? Experts say the real culprit are the new financial tools that really smart economic wizards came up with in the last 20 years. These monetary tools have now created a virtually impossible mess to repair. The very same man-made financial technologies that fueled our economic boom are now bringing down the house of cards. People became so enamored with their new creations they could not see the clear warning signs of impending collapse.

Will our new found medium of the Web 2.0 cloud our view? Is it possible that the beautiful benefits of the Internet will so capture our attention that we’ll forget who we are, and ultimately who God intended us to be? Will technology become our Tower of Babel?

I’m wrestling with these questions as a creative professional who makes a living off of media, and I must say, I’m not liking what I see so far.

Our team recently produced a series of videos that featured solutions for Christian event planners. We also created a theme package for the conference that highlighted their key themes and branded their mission. All were a tremendous success. Maybe you’d like to know more about how The Visual Church can craft visual messages to engage and persuade your audience? Well, drop us an email. The following video is just one of the examples we presented. You can also take a survey to help us learn more about how you use media as an event planner by going here. TAKE SURVEY

free video player & video platform - interactive video, online video solution: video player, video editor - kaltura
wordpress video - wordpress plugin for integrated video on video blogs, and video tools

Not everyone is a coffee lover. But I bet even those that don’t frequent the coffee franchise for a mocha latte or a Grande

Espresso Truffle

are familiar with the company. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world with 15,012 stores in 44 countries. Their brand is extremely well known and easily recognizable. This post isn’t about their stats though. I’d like to chat about their religion. One thing that most Starbucks addicts may not have noticed is that Starbucks is proselytizing their faith?

Coffee as a religion? › Continue reading

I’ve been reading through Phil Cooke’s new book titled, “Branding Faith”. I feel like I know him. We’ve had this conversation many times before, even though I’ve only met him in person once. The book challenges the Church to learn to “brand” themselves in a postmodern culture. What does that mean? › Continue reading

What a snore? No, just kidding. Actually it was very inspiring. The first session I attended had Phil Vischer the creator of Veggie Tales speaking. Did you know a good friend loaned him $60,000 to produce the first show? Most of the companies he approached to under-right the children’s series with talking vegetables  laughed at him. Boy, did they miss out. As of last count, more than 50,000,000 copies of Veggie Tales have been sold all over the world. › Continue reading

I was having a coffee chat with a pastor the other day and he told me how excited he was to watch the upcoming Super Bowl. He wasn’t picking a football team though. Rather, he was anticipating some great commercials. How bizarre? All year long we do everything we can as we watch TV to avoid and skip over commercials. Yet, here’s a pastor who doesn’t watch much football and he can’t wait to sit down and view commercials over the four plus hour Super Bowl broadcast. Why is that? › Continue reading

It’s the same old thing every year. About this time we realize that C Day is just around the corner, and we ain’t got everything done yet. We pound away at work to get things done so we don’t have to work on our vacation. Every commercial has a holiday twist to it trying to get us in the mood to spend our money all the while under the guise of ’tis the season to give.’. Each night we count the days left with our kids and wonder if we’ll survive.

Is this what it’s become? › Continue reading

There are many different renditions of Jesus. Some are realistic, some are abstract, some we just aren’t sure how to classify them, and of course others aren’t worth the time to look at. Maybe you remember seeing flannel board Jesus smiling and holding a little child?

› Continue reading

You are here. Actually, you are not exactly here, but you are somewhere close by. Maybe just around the corner? Russia? The Netherlands? A coffee shop in San Diego, or possibly at your desk in your office. Like I said, you are right here. At least, your brain is. And really that’s all we need here at The Visual Church blog.

So come one, come all. Just don’t show up without you. That would be mindless.

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