Scott M. Gibson

On July 4, 2021, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., the pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, California, delivered his Sunday morning sermon to worshippers at City Impact Church in Auckland, New Zealand—but he was not in Auckland, New Zealand; he was in Sacramento, California. As Ruth Aguantia reported in Christianity Daily, Rodriguez delivered the sermon as a holographic projection, which he dubbed a “holy hologram.” Andrea Morris of CBN News likewise covered the event, quoting Rodriguez’s description of it as an “encounter between Star Trek and Christianity.” Embracing the technology, Rodriguez remarked, “As a die-hard Trekkie, I love to see the church engage technology, innovation, and science all within the confines of our amazing faith to change the world with the gospel of Jesus.”[1]

Pastor Randy Bezet of Bayside Community Church in Bradenton, Florida, likewise has employed holographic technology for all nine of the church’s campuses. “This really is, I think, putting me in nine locations at one time or has the potential to do that and make it much more personal than if it was just a video or kind of a flat screen,” he said. “We’ll do whatever we can to actually reach and impact as many people as we can, and, in this case, try a new technology like this.”[2]

Rodriguez reflected on this technology: “There is a difference between watching someone on screen. Unless you touch them, you don’t know they aren’t there.” They are present, but not. Or, perhaps better stated—they are virtually present but actually not.

Holographic technology has been around for the last decade or more. Even as early as the 1970s when the first Star Wars movie was released, audiences were amazed when they saw Princes Leah’s Hollywood special-effect hologram projected from the robot, R2-D2, as she made her desperate plea for help to General Kenobi. Although a graphic creation, the film excited the imagination of movie goers about the future of holograms. More recently, since music artist Madonna used real holographic technology at the Grammy Awards in 2006, companies have been targeting churches for its use. In her 2010 Christian Post article, “Hologram Preachers Slated to Appear in Churches,” Lillian Kwon reports on Houston Clark, president of the production company Clark ProMedia, who promoted holographic technology as a way to create an “as if you’re there experience” that “begins to extend the realism of virtual teaching venues.” Pastor Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church, Atlanta, has embraced hologram preaching since 2008 within its 16 video venues.

Holographic technology is expensive—costing upwards to $100,000 (USD) or more. In addition to the extreme cost, there are other practical limitations. “I can see a scenario where people use holograms, but until it looks less like the ghosts in Disney’s Haunted Mansion, I don’t see it as more than a novelty,” says Ed Stetzer in Mark Kellner’s reporting.[3] While Rodriguez preached, his image was at times choppy despite having to restrict his movement while his image was being captured. Even so, he says, “I do believe the future of multi-site church ministry is using holograms.” Tim Shapiro of the Center for Congregations in Indianapolis, Indiana, cautions that although Rodriguez may be on the cusp of the use of such technology for preaching, other congregations may not be ready to embrace it. (It is not known to what extent holographic technology is used today.)

Holographic preachers reflect only one aspect of the tangled nature of technology that we face as we engage with our technological world and the place of preaching in it. These challenges demand intense theological reflection and consideration. Evangelicals have for too long neglected serious reflection on the place of technology—whether low or high technology. Pragmatism tends to drive much of what we do, thinking, “If we get the gospel out, that is all that matters.” But it is worth considering whether that is really the case when it comes to thinking theologically. Technology is not neutral. There are presuppositions hard-wired into the algorithms that drive and influence technology’s use. Additionally, the question of physical presence—the incarnational nature of the relationship between the preacher and the people—is often left unaddressed. Another issue that technology raises is the nature of worship itself—what does it mean to worship with God’s people? When you consider the place of technology in the ministry to which the Lord has called you, it is critical first to think theologically and act biblically.

This important issue will be explored further in upcoming posts by Drs. Bradley Howell and Sebastian Veduva.

[1] “Respectively, “Pastor Can’t Come Over to Preach . . .” July 16, 2021; “California Pastor Using ‘Holy Hologram…’” CBN News, July 15, 2021; Mark A. Kellner in The Washington Times (July 2021).
[2] “Jesse T. Jackson, “‘Beam Me Up’…Pastor? Holographic Technology Allows Pastor to Be in Nine Locations at Once,” ChurchLeaders (Christian News section), May 12, 2022.
[3] “Jesse T. Jackson, “In the same reporting of Mark A. Kellner in The Washington Times (July 2021).

Scott M. Gibson is Haddon W. Robinson Chair of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell. His books include Homiletical Hiccups: Lessons We’ve Learned from the Mistakes We’ve Made in Preaching (Big Bear Books/Baylor University Press, 2027) and Techno-Preaching: The Challenges of Preaching and Technology, which remains in formation.