Constant State of Flux

Since my life seems to be in a constant state of flux here the last couple of months then why shouldn't my blog be as well? The blog at this site will cease to exist soon as will the temporary Wordpress blog that I created. You can now visit www.mediaministry.org/blog It may not be pretty at first or have all the functionality that I want but it is coming. I'm working on it when I get some free time and that has not been much lately. This will more than likely be my last post at this blog location. See you over there.

Check Out New Blog Posts

Check out these new posts:

Fusion 2007 - Day 1

Fusion 2007 - Day 2

TWO YEARS!!!

Feedback, Fusion 2007 & Homonymns

Just a few things that are going on:

• I'm starting to post at what will soon be my permanent blogging interface. Check out http://mediaministry.wordpress.com/
• I still looking for feedback on a couple of recent post. Check out this post and this post. On the latter post let me add that my domain name expires in August and I would prefer to transfer it to my next host. Any wisdom in this area?
• I'm going to be at Fusion 2007 in Raleigh, NC for the rest of the week. If you are attending this conference or you are in the Raleigh area then drop me an email at techDOTministryATgmailDOTcom. We can get together for lunch or dinner.
• Has anyone else noticed a serious problem with homonyms lately? You know, words that are spelled differently and have different meanings but sound exactly the same. Some examples that I have seen lately are: new for knew, hole for whole, no for know, won for one, piece for peace, there for their, to for too and scene for seen. It's almost an epidemic.

Web Site Analysis

Over a year ago I was talking to some of you about a complete new web site for our church. Due to my plate being full to overflowing I turned over the design and implementation of our new church web site to others. It still falls under the umbrella of media & technology for which I'm responsible. So, what I would like to hear from you is a brutally honest assessment of this new web site. Check it out at http://www.firstbaptistclover.org/

That's Quotable -- Tony Morgan

You know how Tony Morgan periodically does a post on his blog called "That's Quotable"? Well, I'm going to rip that off but only because it is Tony Morgan that is quotable. Here is what he had to say about the Dynamic Church Conference and technology in the church.

Bottom line? It's good to be in an environment with a bunch of folks that recognize that technology is critical for the Church at this moment in time. We can't reach today's culture without maximizing the use of technology. It intersects everyone's lives. The Church is impotent without it. There was a day when the Church embraced the printing press to reach people for Jesus. That's what technology including the Internet is for the Church today. We have to embrace it. We have to leverage it. And, because of that, I can't wait to see what results from this gathering in the days to come.

Are You Ready?

A dear friend was buried yesterday. I’m glad the funeral was not until I got back from Texas. The funeral contained a long section of testimony about my friend Mack. At one point Mack’s wife stood up and talked about her husband. She talked about how she never doubted his love or faithfulness. She said that people always say that you don’t know what you got until its gone but for her she knew what she had. She knew that Mack was a good man.

Mack’s father talked about how he knew his son from birth until 3 years old and then left. The man talked about recently being ordained a deacon and his son not knowing. He talked of regret of how he did not know this good man everyone was talking about.

Many, many testimonies on how Mack helped them or how Mack was always available to talk. Many talked of Mack’s encouragement and being a friend. All said how good a man Mack was. All said how much Mack loved his family.

Although all said what a good man Mack was, do you know what I did not hear? I did not hear that Mack was a godly man. Although all said that Mack loved his family, do you know what I did not hear? I did not hear that Mack loved Jesus.

Without Jesus Christ all that we do is for naught. We can’t earn our way into heaven. There is nothing that we can possibly do in and of ourselves to merit the favor of God. Only through the blameless, perfect sacrifice of Jesus for our sins can we gain righteousness.

Mack died sitting in his easy chair doing one of the things he loved best and that was watching the NBA playoffs. Mack is evidence that we don’t know if we have the next 20 years or the next 20 minutes. The pastor who gave the message was a former SpecOp soldier and gave the analogy of, "soldier, you need to get squared away". If you ever served in the military then you know what that means. We were always on 24-hour standby meaning that we had 24 hours to get to wherever the mission called. Squared away meant you were ready to deploy at any moment. Our mission is reconciliation with a God that loves us and made a way for us to be with him for eternity. You may not have 24 hours prior notice. Are you ready to deploy?

New Creative Synergy Podcast

I had the opportunity to finally listen to the Creative Synergy Podcast Episode 5 on Church Copyright on my flight from Charlotte to Dallas today.

This podcast was full of great information. I realize now that I need to make some changes in the way I handle video clips.

What I found to be disturbing is that apparently that there are many pastors out there that have no problem breaking the law or having their media minsters break the law for an illustration. I'm thankful that when I know something is not covered under our license then my pastor finds another legal way to get his point across or uses another illustration.

Anthony Coppedge and Greg Atkinson are doing an excellent job with this production. I highly recommend downloading this podcast or if you detest iTunes like I do then they have an alternate download feed here.

The Roller Coaster Ride

Do you ever feel like your life is a roller coaster? Up one day and down the next? It has been like that for me lately. After riding this roller coaster for a while I just feel sick. There has been no relief since this ride goes through church, family and work.

With church it is the age old battle of those that want to serve and further the kingdom of God and those that want to just sit back and do nothing. There are those that want to change to reach the community and those that resist change no matter what.

With family it has been the threat of cancer and then the relief that it was not.

With work it has been the struggles of a very demanding field engulfed in politics and the reward that you are doing something of significance.

But in my work world all things were put into a new perspective today when a dear friend and fellow supervisor did not show up for work and the worst was true when the director told me that he had died in his sleep.

I often regret that I do not have the gift of evangelism especially when an acquaintance, co-worker, family member or friend dies. Did I share Christ enough? Did exhibit the character of Jesus enough? With this particular friend I had shared the gospel a few times in the most straightforward manner I could muster. All his questions were answered by the Holy Spirit through me. I was amazed at how the words flowed out of my mouth because I'm not well with speech. The Lord blesses me often with the ability to write but speech is not always given. Now I can only hope that those words fell on fertile ground.

Unfortunately I was told that I still must make a trip that has been planned so in the morning I will be flying to Austin, TX. If I have any readers in that area I would love to have a meal or even a cup of coffee with you. Drop me a comment or send me an e-mail from my profile.

I'm seeing this trip as a stop to the roller coaster so I can have a couple of nights away from the amusement park.

Brian Bailey -- Afterword Series

Brian Bailey is the author of The Blogging Church and he recently posted a series on his blog, Leave It Behind, that I believe are the essentials of blogging. These posts are a wealth of wisdom and experience about blogging. Check out these posts:

Afterword: Introduction

Afterword: Open Our Eyes

Afterword: Look Up

Afterword: Smile

From the Mouths of Babes

Every once in a while you have those moments with your children that are unforgettable. My 4 year old son is a source of many of those moments. For example a few weeks ago we were in the C.O.A.C. (see this post) at our church and it was time to go that Sunday afternoon and the building superintendent turned out the lights. At that point my 4 year old son proceeded to run around the "gym" yelling, "We're in Hell, We're in Hell!" Obviously someone has taught him that Hell is a place of darkness so there you go.

I have been struggling with letting go and letting God here recently which comes down to a matter of trust. God, though has been faithful and has lead me to His Word (Psalm 55:22, Matthew 11:28-30) this week which has been awesome. So this morning out of nowhere my son says, "I only trust God. I never trust...(pointing down at the floor). I will always trust God."

Childlike faith! Our God is an awesome God and can teach us through even the mouths of babes.

Sometimes It Is Better Than You Think

I was reading Dave's post Everybody's A Critic of Going to 11 based on Perry Noble's post Dealing With Critics... and it got me to thinking of how blessed I have been over the past couple of years to not hear of something being too loud or just plain not sounding good in one of our venues. As a church we call it the Christian Outreach & Activity Center which is basically a gym with a stage on one side. A big block building with horrible acoustics is what it is to me. As we outgrow our Sanctuary this room is being used more and more. I have had to do some serious reconfiguring of the sound system. I have not had the luxury of replacing equipment so a re-installation was my only option. However I have purchased in addition two portable speakers for a couple of pole mounts for better coverage and a whole package of Shure microphones and cables. Other than that is was a total rewire and optimization. One immediate move was to take the amplifiers off the same electrical phase with the horribly installed lighting system. I have heard noise from dimmer packs but this was unbearable and they had used it like that for years!

So over the past couple of years I have been accomplishing a rework of this sound system. A couple of weeks ago it was finally at a position whereas I thought it may sound decent. I was not happy with the sound and I'm still not (I'm a perfectionist) but after a recent choir cantata (yes, we still do those) a gentleman that operated sound for 15 years in that church come running back to FOH with a big smile on his face and shook my hand and told me that it was amazing how it sounded in that room now. I was really pushing that system on the finale and God made it stick. Folks I didn't do much and I did it with nothing but I believe that if we are putting forth the effort to make better with what God has given us that He will bless that. And even though it is not a new state of the art installation that you read about in all of these magazines it is probably a whole lot better than you think.

Perry Noble-Playing For An Audience Of One

WOW! What a great post by Perry today. It is so true that often we get wrapped up in what other people think or we get wrapped up in "serving" God that we are not "seeking" God. Our entire life should be playing for an audience of One. That is worship!

Check out Perry's post Playing for an Audience of One

Blogging & Hosting, Hosting & Blogging

Although I don't have as much time to blog as I once did I still feel that something is lacking in the current blog other than posts. I registered a domain and signed up for hosting with the same company last summer but I soon found out that this company is not truly blogger friendly or user friendly for that matter. I never had the time to really build a great site and was not happy with the templates and tools provided. Plus all the user interfaces were very confusing. I'm also not comfortable supporting this company with their questionable advertising and antics of their CEO.

I'm looking to a host that knows blogging. My ideal set up is a blog that is primary and a web site that is secondary and not the other way around like most hosting. Although I'm good enough and smart enough and people like me I just don't have time to build a website from the ground up so I need great looking templates and easy to use web tools. I'm also wanting to know the ramifications of domain transfer, if any.

My current hosting agreement expires in August so I have a few months to play with here. So, let me know what is the way to go? Now the last time I asked about something you guys left me hanging so help a brother out on this one. Let me add that I'm leaning toward Wordpress for a blogging tool and have looked at Blue Host, AN Hosting & Dreamhost to name a few.

I'm hoping and praying to increase my efforts in this part of ministry and would love to offer something that is of better use and value to you my subscribers and to the many that visit this site everyday.

Huh?

I'm chasing a rabbit through Technorati when I click on a link and I get this...

Huh?
There are blogs, and then there's whatever you just typed in. If it's a blog, we don't know about it. Maybe you made a typo. Or maybe it's a blog that doesn't exist. Maybe you don't exist. (In which case, please ignore this.)

If Technorati is going to cause me to question my existence then maybe I should reconsider using them. Just kidding! I had never seen this and I found it amusing so I thought I would share.

Have a great day!

Shure Donates $50,000 to Support Hearing Conservation

Shure Incorporated announced that it will again donate $50,000 this year to four organizations as part of the Shure Listen Safe program: Columbia College (Chicago), Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (H.E.A.R.), The House Ear Institute (HEI) and the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) Scholarship Foundation.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Audio Tips From Going to 11

Dave has a couple great posts on audio tips that he has dicovered recently. Check it out at Going to 11.

Unleash Conference

WOW! I believe that is how Perry started out his post last night about the Unleash Conference and I would most certainly agree. I would have loved to post last night but I had some things that needed to get done before this morning. I’m also sure there are many reviews of the Conference already this morning seeing that Todd Rhoades, Gary Lamb, Chris Surratt, Pete Bishop, Steven Furtick and of course Tony Morgan and Perry Noble were all there. Also an anchor, Tonia Bendickson, from the channel I prefer to get my local news from was there with the Elevation crowd. All of the aforementioned guys have blogs that I read on a regular basis and the only one I had to chance to talk to was Tony Morgan and that was brief. I would have loved to seen a blogger meet and greet since so many of us were there but I believe that it would have needed to be the night before or something like that. Oh, yeah, this is about the conference.

I decided a few weeks ago that going to this conference would also be an excellent time to take a night and spend with my wife away from the house and kids so that is what we did. We arrived Wednesday evening after approximately a 100 mile drive. We had dinner and decided to go over and take advantage of the early check-in and find our way before the big day. The volunteers were nice and told us to take a look around and so we did. It was then that we met Sydney. She engaged us in conversation and was great to talk to and drew out a shortcut for us to take between our hotel and the church. That was a great help.

The next morning we arrived and after being directed to our parking place we departed our vehicle and were greeted by no less than 5 volunteers in the parking lot. I would say probably another 15 greeted us before we made it to the area of breakfast foods and drinks. I thought that was awesome but maybe a little too much for someone like me who had not yet had their first cup of coffee. Throughout the day the people of Newspring Church were outstanding. I have never seen a group of volunteers that excited about serving. One that keeps standing out is Sydney whose path we kept crossing. She was as helpful each time as the first time.

The first main session was titled “Go For It”. After an awesome time of worship through song, Perry jumped right in with both feet. If you have never heard Perry speak you can almost imagine what it is like if you read his blog. He writes just like he speaks. His four points were to establish creative environments, look beyond ourselves, pay attention and focus on what matters. Let me tell you that these four things apply to what ever area of ministry you are leading and not just senior pastors. I strive to create an environment that people want to serve. I preach looking beyond ourselves because what we do in media ministry is an offering to God. I don’t know how many times I have told my team to PAY ATTENTION. It is crucial in technical arts ministry to know what is going on. Of course that is made much easier with planning, preparation and practice. The last point was focus on what matters. In media ministry as in all ministries that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the reason we are serving at all. I have said it before and I will say it again, if you are serving in a technical role just because you have an aptitude and feel obligated then you there for the wrong reason. Focus on Jesus!

The break out sessions were in a question and answer format. Not my favorite but I could deal. I attended the Newspring Experience and then Blogging in Communications. Our worship leader attended Leading Authentic Worship and told me that Joel Yates (audio engineer) was answering questions. If I had only known I would have been in there. As a group we tried to cover all of the sessions provided so it worked out.

Perry Noble from time to time states that a lot of times he feels like he has no idea what he is doing. I got that same sense from his staff in these break out sessions. And you know what? That is OK! These guys are not supposed to have all the answers for your church. They were good on telling what their experiences have been, where they have struggled in the past and where they are struggling now. It is up to us to glean from that and incorporate into our own ministry. I gained some tidbits that I can use and I appreciate that. I thought they did an excellent job!

The second and last main session was amazing. You know it has been a while since I had a chance to not have to concern myself with production or operate sound, video or lighting and just enjoy what was going on. Let me just say that I let all of the encumbrances of my hectic life just melt away and I praised my Lord. I want to thank Lee McDerment (worship leader) and the band and all of the singers and all of the people making it happen behind the scenes to allow me to have that precious time. THANK YOU!!!

Perry’s second session was titled “The Leadership Challenge” and he let it rip. I can’t remember the last time or if ever I heard someone tear into the institutions established by the church like I did yesterday. And he was right.

Perry’s four points on this session were Moses simply listened and obeyed, Moses didn’t compromise the vision, Moses didn’t try to do it all and Moses was willing to attempt anything. If you couldn’t tell he was using Moses as an example of leadership.
A quote that really stuck to me was when Perry said, “Leadership is as easy as listening to God.” I know that I have been struggling on what to do in some areas and I now realize that I have not been listening close enough. After some time with a friend this morning I realize that I’m in the will of God. I have just wanted to see too far ahead. My friend reminded that God will be a light to my feet and a lamp to my path but He is not going to illuminate the whole way for me to see. It all comes down to me trusting God. That is where I’m at right now. I need to trust God completely.

On the next point Perry points out that powerful people will try to altar your vision and that is so true. Don’t compromise what God has given you!

Thirdly, don’t try to do it all. Perry was all over my toes on this one. I want to be needed but I’m not. I need to let go and allow members of my team to grow. I use to be more diligent on asking my pastors what I could do for them and how I could help them better prepare for services but that has faltered. I’m going to get back to doing that and allow my team to do that as well.

The next and last point is a sticking point. Be willing to attempt anything. In other words, THINK BIG!!! I know that I have no idea what God is capable of doing through our church and ministries but I’m willing to let Him lead me. So many have God stuffed in a box and He is in there broke too. We as a church need to stop stifling the vision that God has given to the men and women He has chosen to do His work. You have all heard the old adage “Lead, follow or get out of the way!” That is the way that I feel about church and ministry right now. If God has given you a vision then you need to lead. If you can understand the vision that God has given someone then you need to follow. If you don’t fall into one of those then you need to get out of the way and start searching for where God wants you to be. I know that I’m going to be in a struggle because I serve in a committee led impaired church. Where do I plug in the vision that God has given me for using media and technology for His glory and purpose? I don’t know yet but I’m going to let God light my steps as I continue to follow the charge He has given me in 2 Timothy 4:5

2 Timothy 4:5(NLT) 5But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you.

I believe that Unleash is going to become one of the premiere conferences and I look forward to attending again next year. Thank you so very much to all of those involved in this conference for the experience.

When Things Go Wrong

Pete Bishop has an excellent post about how to prevent catastrophe or just looking like an idiot when things go wrong on stage. Check out his post.

Gambling On God

Do you ever take your token, I mean tithe, and put it in the slot, I mean plate, and pull the lever for a big jackpot, I mean pray to God for a big return. How often do we as a church promise big returns from God if we tithe?

We recently did a short sermon series on stewardship titled “Give It Away”. This series was based on Malachi 3:10

Malachi 3:10(NLT) 10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!

This verse is used every year for a push in tithing. Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe that tithing is of course biblical and is absolutely relevant to this day and age. Why we are giving a tithe, I believe is often misguided. We should not being giving to God in hopes of “a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in” for ourselves. That blessing should be for the church as a whole. I think so many believe that if they give, then God will reward them financially. He may or may not. With that attitude the giving of a tithe is no better than gambling at a slot machine.

God does not need our money. In all actuality it is all His anyway. We are just called to take care of it for a little while. We are called to be stewards of what He has given us. The definition of a steward is someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else. We don’t own anything. God calls us to be stewards so that we can show Him our devotion and our surrender to Him.

It is more a matter of the heart or of attitude that whether we give or not. God knows our heart and He is looking for those of humility and trust in Him. He is seeking those that are giving not for their own selfishness but for a greater reward that only comes from God. He is looking for those that give to see what God will do in others more than what He will give back to them.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8(NLT) 7You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. 8And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

From this passage we can see that God wants us to trust Him wholeheartedly. God will provide all that we need. Not what we want but what we need. You can take that one to the bank.

Steinberg Presents Internal Mixing DVD-ROM Tutorial Series

Steinberg is pleased to announce that it is distributing the Internal Mixing serries of tutorial DVD-ROMs. Internal Mixing is an essential resource for disk recording application users who do their mixing mainly inside their workstation. It provides hands-on strategies using computers to make powerful, clear and perfectly balanced mixes and explains how to create them without using expensive outboard equipment.

With more than 160 minutes of video in Volume I and over 180 minutes of video on Volume II, Internal Mixing covers tried and tested methods for achieving that often elusive sound known from professionally produced CDs and DVDs.

More information is available at http://www.steinberg.net/

Fairlight Crystal Core Training Session in Atlanta

For those of you in the Atlanta area that are in the professional audio & video industry.

FairlightUS, the exclusive distributor of Fairlight digital audio and video technologies in the United States, will host a special showcase and training seminar on the groundbreaking Crystal Core (CC-1) digital media engine at Comprehensive Technical Group (CTG) in Atlanta on March 14th. The event will be preceded by a sneak preview and cocktail reception at R!OT Atlanta on March 13th at 6:00PM. Both events are open to audio professionals working in the post production, broadcast and music recording markets and will be held in close cooperation with CTG, FairlightUS’s distribution and support partner in the southeastern United States.

FairlightUS and CTG will run four two-hour demonstrations on March 14th at 10:00AM, 12:00PM, 2:00PM and 4:00PM. CTG is located at 2030 Powers Ferry Road, Suite 130. Reservations may be made by calling (404) 352-3000 or emailing fairlightdemo@ctgatlanta.com The demonstrations will cover all areas of recording, editing, ADR, sound design, sound for picture tips and techniques and the business of professional audio.

Serve Your Country as an Audio Engineer

The U.S. Air Force is accepting applications for audio engineers in their Band Program. Check out all the details at this link. http://www.af.mil/library/band/employ/audio.asp

It's Not a Problem; It's An Issue

That is what we say every time someone calls our over-crowded worship services a "problem" Well, obviously our church marketing does not suck because we have been busting at the seams at our 11:00 a.m. service. It is definitely God at work in our community because other than mailing post cards a couple of times over the past 6 months we have not done anything to promote our church. We currently do not even have a web site. I shut the old one down over a year ago because it was just plain horrible and definitely not worthy of an offering to our Lord and Savior and not a representation of this body of believers. So what is really bringing people in? The answer is our people at work in the community. Our people actually getting their hands dirty out in the neighborhoods doing what ever to show the love of Jesus. That has been free water or hot chocolate at public events; our own version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for some needy families and sometimes just lending a helping hand when needed.

In our discussions, one thing that has come up that is a problem. That would be our overflow room. I have been disgusted with the audio and video quality from the very first time I witnessed the room. But it has never been a priority until now. Now that many more have witnessed the atrocity that is the "TV Room" the complaints have multiplied 10 fold. My plan is a whole new video distribution system. I have used video over CAT-5 in another venue with success so I'm leaning towards doing the same here. I also need to replace cameras. We just don't have the space for camera operators so I'm going with robotic PTZ type cameras. I have a plan but I'm limited in my knowledge of video equipment so I don't know what is worth considering. I'm looking for direction from any of you that may read this blog about what you are doing in the area of video distribution.

I'm excited about reaching more and more in our area with love of Jesus and telling them about the abundant life that only comes from Him. We obviously need to show that our Jesus is worth worshiping and presenting an offering that if our very best in service and in media and technology. I can't wait to get started...

Advances in Technology, HA!

You would think with all of the great strides that we have made in advancing and improving technology that the new dates for Daylight Savings Time would be no big deal. You would think that we could load a patch and distribute remotely. Think again! It appears that this coming Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. I will be manually setting time on several Unix servers. I don't think I mind so much that I have to set these manually but the fact that it is a Sunday is what bothers me most. I had already obligated myself for technical services on Saturday night for a special event and then Sunday morning services... I sure am glad I'm on vacation the rest of that week.

Weatherman Was On Something!

I had almost forgotten about Mark Mathis until Todd at MMI had a video clip featuring the best of, or worst of depending on your perspective, this embattled weatherman. Fans loved him and station managers hated him. He was one of those guys you couldn't help but like. Mark was only on the air for about 3 years at WCCB here in Charlotte but was the talk of the town on many occasions. He actually was a regular on stage at the Comedy Zone. Todd asked "What's this Weatherman On?" Apparently several things which finally led to his firing even after several failed attempts to rehab. We lost track of Mark in 2004 but rumor has it that he accepted Christ while in one chemical dependancy program. We can only hope and pray that he did or does. Mark is now Chief Meterologist at KREX-TV in Grand Junction, CO. Thanks for the laughs!

Give It Away with Excellence

HT to MMI for both of these links. Today are two posts that speak to what my last post was about and about giving our best. I have written many times about striving for excellence and I could not have written any better than the post Christian Excellence. This is a blog that I have not read in the past but after reading this post I subscribed because Nathan Rice is dead on in his analysis.

Check out How Much Can We Give? by Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of Lifechurch.tv

Check out Christian Excellence by Nathan Rice.

Give It Away!

I was struck almost dumbfounded by what I heard come out of the mouth of the youngest member of our media ministry team yesterday. I heard, “It’s sad that the church has better stuff than we have at home.” Inside I’m screaming WHAT!? Outwardly I said, “It should.” I fight this pervading mindset that the church gets our leftovers from many older adults all the time so I was disheartened when I heard it coming from our youngest generation.

I receive the biggest bunch of unusable equipment from well meaning people to use in our media ministry that you can imagine. Things like the very first VCR or televisions that will only except screw terminal connections from an antenna or … well you get the picture. I know that these givers mean well but they are misguided in their thinking. The church is not a thrift or pawn shop or a dump. We have to think of our giving as an offering because that is what it is. Just like our service is an offering. Both deserve our best. We should be giving our very best. If you want to give to the church for some particular ministry then buy something brand, spanking new. If you don’t want to buy anything or don’t know what to buy then give monetarily or ask the leader of the ministry what they could use.

I’m not just talking about technical ministry either. Take a look at other areas of ministry as well such as children or youth. What could their ministries use that is not in the “budget” this year or ever. My wife and I take a portion of our income tax refund every year and buy something new for the church in an area of need that we have noticed. If we have unexpected windfall we will do the same. This is on top of our tithing.

Our focus this month at First Baptist is stewardship and the catch phrase is “Give It Away”. We have heard some awesome testimonies on tithing this month but I believe to really reap the benefits of God’s blessing then we need to give sacrificially. For some that is your tithe and that it is awesome. A quote from a testimony yesterday really stuck out to me and that was when the lady said, “You can’t out give God.” And that is very true! So let me encourage you to think about how you give and what you give. I believe tithing is a must but what else can we give? Just give it away!

Unsolicited Promotion of Audio Blogs

I read a lot of blogs. Most of them are technology or ministry based. I receive good information from most and hear inspiring stories. I often link to these blogs when something really speaks to me where I am at. The blogs that I want to bring to your attention today are not like the rest of the blogs that I subscribe to but I enjoy reading them just the same. These blogs are simply journals from people getting it done in audio ministry. They don't post often but when they do I enjoy relating to what they are going through and reading about their trials and their excitement as it relates to audio ministry. Check these out when you get a chance.

The Rotary Encoder

Going to 11

Random Announcements & Thoughts

Well, I have been wanting to post several times over the past week but time has not allowed. So today I just wanted to throw out some random announcements and thoughts.

1. The NSCA Expo has announced that they will host Fits and Starts Production's HOW-TO Church Sound Workshop at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando FL on March 16th & 17th. All information can be obtained by visiting this page. You have heard me announce this workshop on several occasions. It is some of the best training you will receive for the money.
2. We completed week 17 of Quest for Authentic Manhood at our church this morning. This life changing experience is part of Men's Fraternity developed by Robert Lewis, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, AR. I know that I have never been through anything that has challenged me week after week like this series has. If you are looking to get a men's ministry off the ground at your church then this is an excellent option to consider.
3. I wrote a post almost a year ago to the day titled Church Media Consultation. What brought it back to my attention was that I received a comment on it this year from none other than the church media consultant guru himself, Anthony Coppedge. Anthony has been low key the past few months so it was great to hear from him. Also judging from some conversations that I have had recently at my own church and some other blogs that I have read this is still a hot button issue. Take time and review this post and check out the good comments and there is a hint that Anthony may having something coming soon as well. Wouldn't that be great?!
4. I've been hearing a lot about innovation in churches here lately but what about innovation in conferences. I received an e-mail from Doug Gould of Shure yesterday announcing that he will be conducting seminars at a conference. OK, nothing new there. What caught my attention is where the conference will be held and that is a Royal Caribbean cruise liner. Now I may just be out of touch here and they have been doing this but this is the first time I have heard of it and to me it is a great idea and innovative. Check out Worship at Sea for all the details.
5. Speaking of innovative, I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Perry Noble's church Newspring are hosting there very own conference called Unleash. The price is right and the location is just a jut to the left. I'm up to hear what they have going on over there.

Have a great weekend!

Time Accountability

Good post at God::Media titled Accountability and Culture in which David brings up the dilemma of people not being on time for services or for serving. In a few cases people just don’t take church services seriously or the time aspect of those services. In the case of our church and maybe others is that there is just not enough time between classes and service start time. People are arriving late because there class has just let out.

On the service side of things I believe that David is having the same problem that a lot of us experience and that is getting people to be on post in enough time for them to adequately prepare themselves for the upcoming service. Now there may be a few that just have a lackluster interest in serving and that goes back to my post last year of Why Are You Here? Those few need to be dealt with on a one-on-one basis. The issue that I run into is that those that serve on my team also serve in several different areas. If they are a teacher then it is impossible for them to get to their designated post in the time that we ask for people to be there.

What is the answer? I believe that part of the answer is to pray for workers as I alluded to in Reflections On Service. Like I said before they may be a few that you need to have a one-on-one talk with about their service. It may be that your church needs to take a look at how service times are structured altogether.

I’m really just thinking out loud here in this post so feel free to chime in on the comments section and/or at David’s post if you have some wisdom to impart.

Product News

Aviom Now Shipping Pro64 Series of Audio Networking Products

Aviom is now shipping its Pro64 Series of audio networking products for corporate AV, broadcast, education and more. Pro64 products are designed to deliver the flexibility of a digital network combined with the audio performance and simplicity of analog. They promise to deliver low-latency audio via Aviom's A-Net audio transport protocol.
Click here to read the rest of the announcement


Cubase 4 Photo Gallery

Click here are some screen shots of the new Cubase Pro 4.

What To Do With Cassettes?

This certainly caught my attention. Recently I was cleaning out my office and found case after case of cassette tapes in a closet. I was thinking of what I was going to do with all of these cassette tapes. It would take years and some bucks to replace all of these with CDs or to download. Today I find the answer. Thank you Greg Atkinson of Church Video Ideas for making this known to your readers. What I’m talking about is the Plusdeck 2c. Plusdeck2 is a fully functional cassette deck for your computer.
Greg has the review from Jeremy Dunn of WorshipMusic.com on his site.

I have some great content for training on cassette from guys like Bill Thrasher and Ron Lambros that could now be converted into a more accessable format for my team. I think I will have to buy one. I see that WorshipMusic.com has the item available for online ordering.

Fired Up!

Perry Noble wrote a post on his blog last year titled Creating An Experience in which I linked to from this blog because I think he hit the nail on the head about church services.

Obviously he has also caught a lot of flack from that post because he expounds on that post with some bold statements in which I believe he is also correct. One thing that really caught my eye was when he stated that, “Once again (I said this in my first post) THIS TAKES EFFORT!!! It takes prayer, planning and preparation…and either you will do it or you won’t. It really is that simple.” Wow, that sounds familiar. I have been saying that for a while now. Starting with this post. It absolutely takes effort. I have a problem with people that do not want to put forth an effort to serve our Lord and Savior because of whatever their selfish reasons are. You either want to do your very best to offer something pleasing to God or you are taking up space. Nothing fires me up more than to have someone poorly plan and prepare a service or special event that is intended to be worshipful and then expect us to perform what they envision with no practice or even prior knowledge of what was going on in their head. I must say I don’t think much prayer probably went up either.

OK this is kind of getting away from what Perry is talking about in his post so please take time to read his post I’m a Little Fired Up!!!

New from Neutrik

Here is something interesting for all of us that have burned our fingers with a soldering iron.

Neutrik Crimp-XLR Series
Neutrik introduces the Crimp-XLR cable connector and chassis receptacle products at Winter NAMM 2007 in Anaheim, Calif.
Click here to read the rest of the article.