This is the final post in the Barton Damer Interviews, a brief series designed to spotlight the visual media of an artist serving the Church in an innovative way. Barton's work, an artistic feast for those hungry for new and creative ways to express faith, is easy to access through the links found below and throughout this series.
In concluding the interview, I asked Barton what he sees as the future of faith-inspired media.
The future of Christian media is going to happen outside of the church walls if things don't change.
Media is hot right now and a lot of churches are buying into it because that's what makes them "innovative." I have to wonder if media will become the bus ministry of this era. Everyone used to have a bus ministry, right? We weren't reaching people if we didn't have a fleet of buses and a full-time staff person to service the buses. And it's the same way these days. It's common to have HD projectors and and a motion graphics guy on staff.
If media is going to remain a valuable part of the way churches serve and share the gospel, we need to start seeing media as a ministry… not as an accessory or simply a marketing tool for better announcements in church.
Part One: Motion Reel, Digital Art & Motion Graphics and Motion Graphics Reel
Part Two: The Creative Media of Barton Damer / Bio & Current Status
Part Three: BartonDamer, In His Own Words
Part Four: The Future of Christian Visual Media
How important do you think visual media will be for the Church?
Oh man, did he hit that out of the park! It comes back to content doesn’t it? You can have all the flash in the world but sucky content still sucks in a fancy package. (Sorry Cynthia, can I say “sucks” on here?) I’m always at odds with myself, because I love stuff that looks good, but I want so much to not compromise the content (Jesus) for the “look.” Barton’s in it, makes his living from design, yet gets the philosophy behind it all. Thanks again for this great series.