I despise missionary videos and think missionaries should go back to simple photo slides. Before I go further let me deal with some objections:

First, I understand why missionary videos are popular: - They are easy to share (you can upload to youtube and attach on emails). - They are always the same length. - They CAN be compelling and professional. - They CAN make a missionary seem like he really has his act together.

Second, I'm the furthest thing from a luddite: - I cofounded a software company. - I work every day with the main designers behind prochurch.com and striving together. - There are six macs in my house. - I'm typing this on an iPad Pro with a keyboard case. - My little church has a three camera streaming setup.

So, why do I despise missionary videos? Let me give you three reasons:

1. Missionary videos are hard.

Missionary videos are an unnecessary difficulty in the deputation process.

A. They are hard for the missionary.

I know what it takes to produce a good video. I've been working on acquiring that skill for years. I have a whole closet full of video equipment and hundreds of hours of practice in Final Cut. I still don't feel like I'm any good at making videos.

Some missionaries luck out and have a great videographer friend or family member who makes a video for them. Other missionaries spend a king's ransom to have a video made by a decent videographer. Most missionaries, however, don't even know how to get started, and thus most of the videos are, well, not great.

• The music is overpowering.
• The audio isn't mixed right.
• The transitions are distracting.
• etc.

So in most cases, the videos don't make you look more professional. In most cases, the videos expose you as someone who thinks they are professional and doesn't realize how far they have to go.

B. They are hard to play in church.

My church has a nice sound system, two flatscreens on the wall and a bunch of macs. We pay for and use really good presentation software - we still manage to mess up missionary videos nearly every time. For some reason, the audio very rarely works as we would expect it to, and more often than not, it leads to this awkward hustle as we try to make the video work.

Now, if my church struggles with this, I can only imagine how the many churches with less technical talent are doing with it.

2. Missionary slides are great.

I actually miss the old days when they would dim the lights in the room and the missionary would haul out a giant slide projector with a rotary hopper full of actual slides and talk through them one by one. I'm not saying we should go back to that - but the modern equivalent would just be a powerpoint file with some photos in it, that a missionary just talks through.

And please - missionaries - don't get fancy with the file. Don't use it to show off your graphic design prowess. Don't use fancy templates and PLEASE don't use transitions. Just show us photos of your mission field and talk about the photos. No technical skills required. Give us the digital version of the old school slide projector.

3. Missionaries shouldn't care about looking "professional."

Missionaries - if you are reading this: You aren't professionals. You aren't graphic designers. You aren't selling software. You are missionaries. Just be missionaries.

Some of the best and most effective missionaries I know barely know how to use a computer. Some of the ones who are killing it in the field almost never even send a prayer letter and when they do, it looks like it was made on a typewriter. When they do, often they commit graphic design faux pas like using Papyrus for everything.

I don't care. Not even in the slightest. We aren't supporting a traveling graphic designer, we are supporting a missionary.

• Are you preaching the gospel?
• Are you training nationals?
• Are you starting churches?

That's all that should matter.

Now, I understand that some churches have unrealistic expectations on this matter: shame on them. I understand that some churches judge your future effectiveness as a missionary in Zambia by the weight and layout of your prayer cards (as if your skills in InDesign make a meaningful difference in God's ability to use you on the field). I say "a curse on the whole thing." Let missionaries be missionaries - not marketers.

Also, I acknowledge that materials and slides are a necessary evil. Whether we like it or not, if your prayer card looks dated or ugly - it does say something about your family. I recognize all of this - but the video trend should have been seen as a sign we've taken that expectation too far.

It bothers me to think that some young couple out there right now is trying to get to the mission field, and they are going to spend five thousand dollars for a videographer to make a compelling and professional video. It bothers me more that missionaries on the field feel like they need to spend their hard earned time or scant resources producing a video. It bothers me most that this has become the expectation of many churches.

Let's make this missionary video thing go the way of the dinosaur.