Is Controversy Healthy?

Controversy drives our news cycle. It gets one story to the top of the news feed and keeps other stories from being seen at all. At the end of this month, Rob Bell is releasing his next book, entitled Love Wins
 where he looks at the end fate of people. The problem is that the promotional material is highly controversial. This has caused some people like, John Piper, to bid him farewell from Christianity. There's no doubt that the controversy will sell books, but it also pits Christians against each other in bitter fights. I'm not sure that the controversy is very healthy, even if it does sell books.

Prophetic Preaching and PowerPoint

Over at Alpha Omega Ministries they recently blogged about how preaching with PowerPoint is not prophetic and is not in line with good expository preaching. Here's an excerpt

 I simply do not find sermons supplemented with Powerpoint conducive to the qualities of soul-grabbing, prophetic, anguishing preaching. 

I think it is safe to say that the main reason why pastors who use PowerPoint is to induce a bullet-point memory in their congregants. But that goal sets the bar too low for God's people. Preaching requires much higher demands on its people. In addition, there is just something about a cold, large projector screen vying attention away from the flesh and blood countenance of the pastor that diminishes my reflective soul to hearing God's Word. And I do not have a short attention span, so I cannot imagine the affect on those who do.

The thing is, I agree with what they are saying. Bullet-point sermons (whether they use PowerPoint, Keynote, or bulletin inserts) are generally boredom inducing. But let's not blame the software for the failings of the preacher. It is possible to preach using PowerPoint in a way that is compelling, emotional, and prophetic.

They go on to cite John Piper who preaches without the use of PowerPoint. Piper is a great preacher with years of experience and he is able to paint a vivid picture with his words. But he's wrong. Images projected can elicit feelings in a new way. At least a third of your audience is comprised of visual learners - they get bored by your talking (not to mention the kinesthetic learners who are going out of their minds).

Stop blaming PowerPoint for your lack of ability. If you preach prophetically, then you will with PowerPoint as well.

To visualize or not to visualize

My friend Matt has a great post today about the use of images in preaching.

He juxtaposes the neurological research of David Phillips with the homiletic prowess of John Piper (Piper video below).

Phillips says:

What I discovered was when the brain receives sensory inputs, it transforms them into images. In other words, the brain learns, adapts, and is literally re-wired through images . . . We need to communicate in images. Whether it is video clips, or images in our sermon or verbal images, if we want to communicate for behavioral change, we need to communicate in images.

Piper on the other hand says:

I think the use of video and drama largely is a token of unbelief in the power of preaching. And I think that, to the degree that pastors begin to supplement their preaching with this entertaining spice to help people stay with them and be moved and get helped, it's going to backfire.... It's going to communicate that preaching is weak, preaching doesn't save, preaching doesn't hold, but entertainment does.

So . . . what do you think? Who do you think is right?