4 Reasons Our Services Seem Too Slick

When we plan our staging, even for regular worship services, it’s important to match the emotion of what’s happening onstage at any given time: high-energy lighting for high-energy points of the service; intimate and warm when the mood is more somber. Again, it’s tempting to overuse technology. When the emotion of the stage and the song or sermon match, it helps connect the audience with the message.

The performer, while trying to connect with the audience, tries too hard and “oversells” through exaggerated facial movements and hand gestures.

When I started performing professionally in a secular setting, we were taught to “sell ourselves” to the audience. In church, we must still do all we can to connect with our congregations, but because many churches are using video screens, we must make use of more subtle facial expressions and gestures. We don’t have to “overdo” our performances to connect with the audience. It’s much more important to be authentic … real and approachable. When a performer, preacher or musician tries to “oversell,” fakeness corrupts the delivery and the service will seem too slick—too impersonal.

People want what’s real; they want to relate to whomever is onstage at any given time. When a performer is comfortable, they can loosen up, slow down and deliver an authentic, from-the-heart performance.

I once toured with an artist who every night, just after he was introduced, would purposely tap the microphone and say, “Is this thing on?” He would then check his piano by hitting a few keys, adjust his chair, and chat with the audience before the first song was even played. As a result, people felt that his performance was just for them—almost like they were invited into his living room—and in return, the audience gave him their complete love, devotion and attention.

Our challenge in planning our services, and to avoid being too slick, is to be authentic in our delivery, invite the congregation into our world to share the Gospel in word and in song, so that the wonder of Jesus follows them from the sanctuary, to their car and into their daily lives.