Preaching in a Visual Age Conference: A Success

The auditorium of Ecclesia Hollywood church’s historic building echoed with the sounds of gospel music on November 2 as audience members clapped, laughed, and cheered to Fuller Professor Ralph Watkins’s lecture titled “Preaching to Viewers Who See More Than They Hear: Multi-Media Challenge.”

The lecture was part of the three-day Preaching in a Visual Age Conference sponsored by the Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching and the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts. Dynamic speakers gave multimedia presentations and audience-goers took rapid notes-mainly on laptops, tablets, and smartphones, in true spirit of the conference.

This was the fourth semi-annual preaching conference organized by the Ogilvie Institute, and the first to be held off campus.

“Preaching in a Visual Age was a tremendous success. Over 200 pastors, artists, and Christian leaders gathered to address some of the great challenges facing the church in our time,” said Mark Finney, program manager at the Ogilvie Institute. Finney estimated that roughly 280 people registered for the event.

Speakers included filmmakers Ralph Winter, Pete Docter, and Bobette Buster; theologians Ralph Watkins, William Dyrness, David Taylor, Barry Taylor; and artists Brian Moss, Elizabeth Steele Halstead, and John Chan.

Conference-goers were treated to lectures and smaller breakout groups where they could ask questions of each speaker. Lectures explored everything from how pictures and movies can tell stories to how to design and use slides in sermons.

“The conference presented people with some remarkable opportunities for reflection and engagement,” Ogilvie Institute Director Mark Labberton said.

Flora Graterol, an MDiv student at Fuller and chaplain at a Hispanic seminary, brought a friend to the conference. She said the speakers gave her ideas for her own ministry.

“It has opened my mind to see that we live in a world of visuals and we should use them to make our preaching come alive and reach people who are attracted by movies, telephones, and computer,” Graterol said. “If I can preach with those elements, I think I can attract more people to my church.”

Graterol said that not many Spanish-speaking churches are using visual technology in worship or preaching. She and other colleagues had discussed how they could get this movement started in the Hispanic community.

MDiv student Nathan Lundren said he learned that preachers need to tell stories that engage all the senses.

The conference also included an art exhibit curated by SEEDS Fine Art Exhibits, which supports churches and schools in using fine art in worship. The exhibit, Finney said, provided further opportunities for attendees to reflect on the integration of the Christian message with visual media.

“I was really delighted by our Preaching in a Visual Age conference,” Labberton said. “The challenges of preaching in an image-shaped world is enormous and many found considerable help as we continue to work on these issues and share the gospel story.”

For more information, visit fuller.edu.