Who is using loops in worship and where do you get them?

**smlewis** · 06-25-2008, 05:24 PM

How many of you are using loops in Worship? I love the Interactive Worship Live setup with Abelton. What are many of you using for custom setups.

**julzhef** · 06-25-2008, 10:12 PM

We use EasyWorship and I love it! It truly is easy. That makes it easy for me to train a variety of volunteers to run the software during our worship times, not to mention for me to pick up when I was hired. I try to look for as many FREE loops online as I can, but unfortunatly there aren't many. We have several right now, so I am in good shape, but I am always looking for a cost effective way to add to my library. The loops are so much more powerful than still images, IMHO.

**chrismoncus** · 06-25-2008, 10:46 PM

I have made a few of my own, but a search for "background loops" or "worship loops" will get you in the right direction.

Just remember the cardinal rule of loops... they are to ENHANCE worship not DISTRACT from worship. If they are so neat that they draw attention away from God, trash them. I try to avoid real pictures if possible and rely on abstract motion for that reason and the fact that it's super hard to find "real" video of something that relates to the song. Most loops have no business being used in worship and are just "neat" for those in charge and are being chosen by the same people who have Precious Moments dolls and Footprints in the Sand posters all over their house.

**julzhef** · 06-25-2008, 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by chrismoncus

I have made a few of my own,

Cool....care to share!

Originally Posted by chrismoncus

they are to ENHANCE worship not DISTRACT from worship.

This is SO true. I try to stay away from loops that are really busy. I like those that are of nature, or of visuals of people with outstretched arms, etc. I try to use them as you stated...to enhance, rather than to distract. I try to use loops that will make the underlining message just jump out at you and reach you in a special and sometimes surprising way.

**chrismoncus** · 06-25-2008, 11:06 PM

Even those nature ones or outstretched hands ones are, for the most part, distracting to me simply because there is a visual connect that I believe distracts from the words on screen. At least in my mind I wonder "Why is there a marsh on screen? I'm singing about God."

I see those and think cheesy Christian Bookstore. I can't help it. Go to any mega church and compare what's on screen with what Bubba Baptist shows. I guarantee most, if not all, of the mega churches do not show marsh scenes from sermonspice.com.

Most of them will have things like this or this or will be showing IMAG behind it.

**dtpuga** · 06-25-2008, 11:13 PM

You have to have a handle on your audience. Unfortunately for me, what I prefer is not always what is best for the congregation I serve. I prefer colors, abstract, and lots of movement. The congregation, largely older than me, doesn't track on the same wavelength and they tend to find the things that bore me very interesting and beautiful. On the contrary, my favs are hugely distracting for them.

We have to remember that half of the things that are distracting or awesome or somewhere in between are that way for personal reasons, not because it is simple truth. Chances are that the people next to us feel very differently than we do. I don't really get why the mom two seats down from me LOVES to sing "Not To Us" with leaves blowing in the wind behind it, but doggone it, she does.

**julzhef** · 06-25-2008, 11:14 PM

I can see that point as valid. I try to concentrate on the lyrics when chosing the backgrounds so that they compliment one another, not contradict. Example would be if the lyrics are reading "from the mountains to the valleys, Your name be praised" then I would use nature scenes of mountains and valleys. Also, most of my loops have subtle movement, such as "dancing" rays of sunlight coming through the clouds or something like that.

**julzhef** · 06-25-2008, 11:17 PM

Originally Posted by dtpuga

You have to have a handle on your audience. .

I think this is key!

**dtpuga** · 06-25-2008, 11:20 PM

As for the mega churches and the bubba baptists. We can't all be mega nor can we all be bubba. We have to be us. It sure would be a heck of a lot easier if the same things were right everywhere though.