When's the last time you cracked the door of a church and heard a live band pushing the door back at you and projection screens showing the pastor in larger-than-life proportions?

Chances are you have. Several churches in the Victoria area are hopping on the technology train, giving more and more people a chance to hear about their church without ever actually visiting it.

That's a controversy among pastors and church folk in and of itself. But what about all the things churches are able to provide because of technological developments?

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 4102 N. Ben Jordan St., is using technology to bring a religious conference to your back door.

Religious conferences, just like any other trip, have costs: transportation, registration, lodging, etc. But what if you could enjoy a 9,000-person conference at your home church without the trip to another city with its unfamiliar surroundings?

That's exactly what Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is doing. They are receiving a simulcast, a fancy word for sending the conference to churches across the country as its happening via satellite, of a two-day conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

Churches have been quick to use the latest technology to benefit their congregations, employing podcasts, blogs, Web sites, video casts, state-of-the-art sound systems, professional stage lighting and more to keep people on the edge of their seats.

While many media pastors contend it isn't for the entertainment value, I have to wonder how much parts of American culture have forced churches to stay at the forefront of technology, if for no other reason than to reach members and guests in a way that's comfortable to them, especially people my age.

I hope to answer some of these questions in my faith centerpiece next weekend that takes a look at how churches are using media and maybe even pick at some of those whys and so whats lurking behind this growing trend.

What do you think? Does your church use tech to reach you? If so, what do you like/dislike about it? If not, do you think it's necessary for churches to keep up with technology? Why or why not?