Production team = worship team

What if your role as a creative or a production leader in your church wasn't just about running visuals, but about leading worship? According to the Bible, this is way more true than you may realize. I want to share this revelation with you that completely changed my life a couple years ago. Now, if I'm being 100% honest, Exodus 25 through 30 was one of those Old Testament passages that I used to skim.

You know those genealogy sections I'm talking about, don't even pretend. But in this passage, God is speaking to Moses and giving him specific detailed instructions for the building of the temple. From the materials he wanted him to use to measurements down to the quarter inch. God speaks very clearly about how he wants the temple to look.

And as I was reading this a couple years ago, it was like the words jumped off the page and came to life in a brand new way. And the beautiful revelation that I had in reading this is that God cares about the visual aspects of worship. This was not an afterthought to God. It was not just a backdrop for the band.

This was worship. And for me, you know, this was life-changing. Growing up in church my whole life and even going to Bible school, I obviously knew that music could be worship. But as someone with a God-given passion for production and film and visual media, I often felt this tension.

Yes, I would meet God through song standing with everyone else singing along. But when I closed my eyes, I would often see colors and textures and visions of films and even live production ideas. And honestly, this sounds crazy, but some of my deepest encounters with God weren't while I was singing, but while I was editing in Premiere or volunteering in the tech booth running ProPresenter. I had so many moments growing up where I was like, What What is this?

And maybe you've experienced something similar when you're worshipping or volunteering or creating. But when I read this passage in Exodus, everything started to really make sense. If God cared about the visual aspects of worship then, I believe he still cares about it today. And if we ask him, he will still speak to us about it.

You know, over the course of history, there have been people who recognize this. I think about the Renaissance a lot and the stunning cathedrals that were built. I think about the stained glass workers and the fact that during periods when the large majority of people were illiterate, these images proclaimed the gospel in just a glance. During this time, beauty itself was seen as a reflection of God's glory.

And the church actually funded these grand endeavors as an act of evangelism. Now, fast forward to today, obviously, the technology and the mediums have changed dramatically. We may not be using stained glass as much anymore, but I sincerely believe that we have the opportunity to join in this age-old act of worship to God and proclaim the gospel in our visuals like never before. But here's the crazy thing.

I shared about Exodus 25 through 30, the very next chapter, Exodus 31, introduces this man named Bezalel. ' Just in case you missed it, did you realize that this is the first time in scripture and in history that God fills someone with the Holy Spirit. But here's the crazy part. The Holy Spirit comes and fills Bezalel not for preaching or singing or even leading an army.

He fills him for artistic craftsmanship. God anoints a man to steward the visual aspects of worship in the temple. And if this was in the Old Testament, then how much more do you think he cares about this today? You and I are filled with the Holy Spirit.

And if you're watching this and you are production leader or designer, a filmmaker, a creative of any kind, especially in the church today, I believe that God is looking to fill you in a greater way than ever before for this purpose. I believe that God wants to raise up a new generation of Bezalel's, of visual worship leaders who will ask for his heart in everything that we set our hands to. And if this is you, I actually just want to pray for you right now that God would bring this revelation to your heart in the same way that he brought these words to life off the page for me in a fresh new way. So God, I thank you right now, Lord, for every creative, every production leader, every visual worship leader who is watching this right now.

Lord, I thank you that your word says that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has imagined what God has in store for those who love him. I know that God, you have things for us, Lord, that the world hasn't seen, that the world hasn't dreamt up. Lord, you have distinct visions and pictures to share with your people, God. And so Lord, as people seek your face, God, as we come before you humbly, Lord, and ask for your heart for worship in the area of the visuals that we create, Lord, whether it's film, whether it's photography, whether it's worship backgrounds, Lord, whether we're in ProPresenter or Premiere or anything in between, Lord, I pray God that you would fill people with your Holy Spirit, God, that you would raise up Bezalel's and visual worship leaders, Lord, for this new age, God.

Lord, I pray that you would just draw us closer to you, Lord, that we would experience your presence in these settings like never before. So Lord, I thank you and I just pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.