Next weekend several of our staff and a few church members will attend a simulcast of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. It is always an interesting experience for me. The conference itself is always great, but the simulcast environment is intriguing to me. The church that hosts it does an incredible job, but there are some things that feel a bit awkward when you are not part of the live audience. For instance, over the past few years that have been times where several of the people in the simulcast audience gave the speaker a standing ovation. Of course I gave in to peer pressure and stood up alongside them in those moments. After all, I did not want anyone to judge me for my apparent lack of holiness. I did wonder though, why in the world we were standing up applauding a giant screen. This got me thinking about satellite church campuses. Before you think I'm bashing multi-site churches and satellite locations just slow your holy roll. I prefer to poke fun at any and all churches, including my own so sit back, relax, and see if you can relate to any of these thoughts.
There are some things you can do in a satellite location that you would never consider doing if you were at the main campus where the pastor is live. For example, you can make funny faces at the preacher and he will never know. You don't have to go into stealth mode when checking your facebook app or making your next move in Words with Friends. If you walk in late who cares, the pastor did not see you and you still get credit for being there right? Need to sneeze or let one go? No problem, the pastor will preach on without missing a beat. Worried about missing the big game? Bring along your iPad or better yet just set up another screen with a video feed of the football game. This way you kill two birds with one stone - three if your team happens to be playing the Ravens, Falcons, Cardinals, Eagles, or Seahawks.
There are also some things that you can't do if you are via satellite. If you want to talk to the preacher after the service is over, you cannot just walk down front or catch him on the way out the door. If you enjoy shouting "Amen" during the sermon - go for it, just don't expect to get a response. Need the pastor to announce that potluck your small group is having - forget about it. When the pastor asks you to raise your hand he is lying if he says he can see your hands raised. And when he refers to "this place" does he mean "this place" or is he talking about this place? If the techie forgets the wireless password or there is an equipment malfunction you better hope the rapture doesn't happen today. And perhaps the worst, if you are lucky enough to have a pastor who gives away free stuff from the stage I don't care how good his arm is he will never be able to reach your seat.
What are some other pros and cons to attending a church or a conference via satellite feed as opposed to being in the live audience.
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