Collide Magazine

One thing I enjoyed about Echo last week was the opportunity to catch up with Camron Ware, who taught a breakout session. From what I hear, a lot of Echo attendees were eager to hear Camron teach about his approach to projection, and they weren’t disappointed (see examples of his fine work above). Recently, Camron started a blog (finally!) at his site, VisualWorshiper.com, and I realized that I forgot to give him a proper welcome. If you’re interested in consistent inspiration in the lighting and projection department, add Camron’s blog to your RSS reader ASAP.

Remember when Jesus said to love our enemies (Matthew 5, Luke 6)? Growing up I always assumed he meant I should love the kids who made fun of me in high school. Last week I was thinking about that passage and realized that the audience Jesus spoke those words to knew a lot more about enemies than I do as a comfortable, affluent American Christian. As it turns out, Jesus’ audience of 1st-century Jews were condemned by the Pharisees, exploited by tax collectors, and violently oppressed by the Roman Empire. What a radical, scandalous instruction Jesus gave them when he said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (more…)

We got a great initial response to Camron Ware’s “Visual Worship” article in our Nov/Dec issue, and from what I heard, a lot of churches were interested in incorporating Camron’s ideas into their worship space. Yesterday I got an email from Camron about a church in California that recently completed an “architectural projector install”—First Baptist Church of Lodi. As you can tell from the pictures below, they’ve embraced Camron’s technique and run with it. Remember, when you’re thinking about how to use media effectively at your church, it can pay to think big. (more…)

Well, over the last week we have accumulated a plethora of random, crazy, funny, and bizarre videos. Be entertained, would you?

Weezer’s new music video is making a lot of noise, literally. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you should recognize some of these famous internet viral video references.

Now, you might not be a fan of Ellen at all, but this clip is funny. I give you, the Hawaii chair…

This video is a great idea of how to integrate art and technology, too bad it ended up to be a fake.

Breaking bats and bending metal in the name of Jesus. It’s the Power Team!

I didn’t know that the Holy Spirit was so violent. I hope I don’t run into this pastor on the street!

So that’s all we’ve got this week. If you have any videos you’d like to share with everyone, just post it in the comments. It may even make next weeks Videos of the Week!

Until next time…

Caused by either the writer’s strike or just a lack of creativity in Hollywood, classic shows and movies are coming back in full force. Recently we have seen a slew of classic shows turned into movies: Transformers, Speed Racer, Bewitched, and Get Smart to name a few, not to mention a barrage of super hero comebacks. But Hollywood is also recycling classic concepts to help produce movies with little effort and bring up the cash flow. The prime example would be the new Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

This trend has also made its way into the world of television. One word (or 5 numbers to be exact) 90210. Yes, that’s right, 90210 is coming back this fall and claims to be better than ever. I don’t know about you, but I’m scared. Earlier this year Knight Rider made a quick appearance on NBC, but was more like a long advertisement for the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR than a show. Don’t forget about my favorite, American Gladiators! This show packs a punch and is quite entertaining, in the comical way that is. The action, however, tends to balance out the cliché phrases and cheesy characters. Even the classic game show Password is making a come back. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about some of these remakes and so are many other Americans, but why do we love them so much? Hollywood has clearly seen a market trend and is capitalizing on it. I’ll give them props.

I think it comes down to the fact that we like familiarity as much as, or more than, newness. And this trend transcends more than just television and the movies. The modern church has recently seen a return to the ancient and sacred, and this is just a trend that is just beginning to gain popularity. Many churches are reintroducing or revisiting classic hymns and sacred liturgy and are returning to the early church traditions, but with a modern twist. Hymns are rewritten and played with a full band, no longer an organ, and liturgy is reformatted to visual liturgy. I find it beautiful and refreshing and so do many others. So I’m OK with the fact that Hollywood is recycling its classic shows and I know it’s a trend that will continue to prevail. Let us as the church embrace this idea of returning to the classic while continuing to seek stay relevant to our culture.

There is one final thing. There are some show’s I’d love to see come back. So Nickelodeon, if you are listening, I’d love to see Legends of the Hidden Temple, Guts, Double-Dare, and Pete and Pete make a comeback. Also, I think puppets could make a comeback, like Alf or The Muppet Show. But that might be just me. Just a few recommendations.

What classic shows would you like to see come back?

Is this a trend that you see happening in your church?