Greg Atkinson

I’m sure many of you have done this and many of you will do this in the future - that’s making the switch from 4:3 to 16:9 (widescreen). Once I’ve been through the entire switch, I’d be happy to share any thoughts, lessons learned, feedback, etc. with those that are switching in the future.

For now, I’d love to here from any of you that have already made the switch. We’re in the process of uploading all new backgrounds, lower-thirds and creating the lower-third titles that we do for staff members (Pete Briscoe - Senior Pastor, etc.). If you have any words of wisdom, please email me at: greg@churchvideoideas.com.

Obviously, widescreen or 16:9 is not necessarily HD, but HD is 16:9. We are starting out with a total HD system, so if your church is full HD, I’d really like to hear from you. I’ve got lots of questions. *** Especially if you are using HD backgrounds in EasyWorship - HOLLA AT ME! I came home yesterday so frustrated and drained that I just stared at a piece of paper for about an hour and a half. I think I’m losing it!

We’re switching from another presentation software to EasyWorship campus-wide and I’m in the process (which I’ve done before and helped other churches with) of setting up EasyWorship for the first time and downloading all the codecs, etc. I’m sure it will eventually work, but we were having issues as of yesterday.

With the video card that came with the computer and the special (Blackmagic Decklink HD Extreme) video card that we had to get to stay HD, we have 3 video outs. The guys from Clark ProMedia did the initial/hardware setup and I’m trying to setup EasyWorship itself. Again, if you are HD and using EasyWorship, PLEASE give me a shout.

* My friend, Dave Clark, of National Community Church, just wrote an article entitled “Church Media: A 2008 Forecast“. I think it’s worth checking out. As he said, “High-definition video also will appear on the screens of many more churches this year. The prices of high-definition cameras and equipment have become affordable, even for average-sized churches.”

BONUS:

This just in from blog sponsor Worship Leader Magazine: The Upgrade Your Stage state-of-the-art giveaway is your chance to win an assortment of resources with a retail value of over $15,000 (for the grand prize) for your service of worship. We want to equip one church, so they can use their financial resources in other ways. There are also 1st and 2nd place winners who will also receive significant prizes.

Anyone can enter, as long as your church fits the guidelines, but the church chosen will most likely have the most need along with the best story. Though there is no set cap of church size, the finalists will likely be churches of 500 or less.

EXTRA:

I started a Shelfari group for Church 2.0 leaders - this is where you can list your favorite books that you recommend other Church leaders read. Check it out HERE.

EXTRA, EXTRA:

Anyone getting a MacBook Air?

Supposedly, we have 2 Sundays left in our current worship center and will have our first service in our new worship center on Sunday, Feb. 3rd - that’s the plan. It could be the 10th, but we’re going full-steam ahead towards the 3rd. It’s getting pretty exciting walking through there these days. The video portion is pretty-much done. They began working on lighting today. Next week (for one entire week) they will tune the room. It’s madness and fun all at the same time. Your prayers would be appreciated.

FOLLOW UP:

I got some good emails and feedback on yesterday’s blog post. Apparently, I have some people that work for Microsoft and Apple that read my blog. The wars may not be over. Phil Cooke made a compelling argument for the wars ending, but the word on the street is that Microsoft and the porn industry might be going with HD DVD. Unfortunately, the porn industry pretty-much runs and determines the future of video - believe it or not. Regardless, I think we’ll be getting a Blu-Ray disc player.

CONTINUING ED:

Yesterday, I mentioned that Phil and I will be speaking at NRB and NAB. I forgot to mention that SermonSpice is sponsoring my classes at NRB and eleven72 and ProPresenter are sponsoring my classes at NAB.

Here’s my 2 cents: if you are in driving distance of Nashville, join me at NRB - they really are trying to make it more relevant for churches (that’s the reason I’m going to be there). If you can only choose one tech conference this year, try to shoot for NAB in Vegas. I’ve already heard of several friends going and am looking forward to hanging out with them there. I try to hang out in groups of people when I’m in Vegas.

EXTRA:

If you are local to Dallas and can’t make it to NAB, I’ll be teaching the same 2 classes at the ECHO Conference in Dallas this summer.

Thanks to my friend, Phil Cooke, for posting this blog on the Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD war. Apparently, Blu-Ray is the future. We had recently been discussing this at my church - wondering what we should put in our video control room. Guess we’re going Blu-Ray shopping.

FYI - Both Phil and I will be speaking at NRB and NAB. If you’re there and have never been to one of his classes, I encourage you to check him out - you won’t be disappointed. In February, I’ll be reviewing Phil’s new book on this blog.

PERSONAL:

I’m extremely disappointed with the Cowboys.

Ah, the healing and therapeutic joys of venting with my peers. Let me tell you about this past Friday. First, I had lunch with a local tech director from one church. I was frustrated about some construction/new building issues and he had gone through a building project a year ago. We were able to both vent and share what’s going on in our lives. I needed it and left refreshed.

As I mentioned before: I’ve been visiting other churches to get ideas as we move into our new worship center (which now looks like it will be Feb. 3rd). I went to a local church that has a Friday night service. After their service, I went to eat with this church’s tech director. He had just finished a building project and has been in his new worship center for 2 months. Again, we were both able to vent, share our frustrations, encourage one another and go beyond the surface. We shared about our personal lives and marriages and grew closer to each other.

Venting is healthy and crucial to longevity in ministry. I highly recommend it. As I mentioned in an earlier blog: it’s good to have a local network of peers to meet with and get to know well. Because I have “my network”, I was able to lean on my friends and be encouraged by them. I thank God for our relationships and how we sharpen one another.

EXTRA:
To all you Ohio State fans: Welcome to the SEC, baby! Florida had to spank you last year and LSU proved it once again - you can’t hang with the SEC. Give it up!

PERSONAL:
FYI: I shaved off my beard. Woo hoo!

Each year I make “New Year Resolutions”. Of course I’m doing the standard: spend more time with God, spend more time with my family, lose weight, etc. I take all those seriously and plan to do all three, but I wanted to blog about a more specific list of ministry goals for 2008. Here they are:

• Lead, empower and develop my Tech Arts Leadership Team
• Lead a smooth transition into our new worship center and the remaining projects and renovations
• See our team double in size
• See our team become closer and share more social time together
• Develop and lead well those that I oversee
• Have a better process for assimilation for newcomers to the team
• See that our team and each volunteer does what they do better
• Video and catalog special moments throughout the year for a highlight video at the end of the year
• Raise the bar for excellence and quality in our corporate worship
• Offer more training for our Tech Arts team
• Help train and develop other tech teams and leaders for children and youth
• Improve upon and expand my knowledge of Final Cut Pro
• Go on a mission trip
• Read several more books (ministry, business and leadership)
• Continue writing for several magazines
• Complete at least 2 of my 3 book projects before the year ends
• Add some new classes and information to the conferences that I teach at
• Work with more churches to help them grow in their worship and technical ministry

EXTRA:
This just in from Matt at fortyonetwenty: “We want to give your readers a promo code for a FREE mini-movie from our site. The mini-movie you will get is called “Anything But Silent”". To get it just use the Promo Code: free4120

As you know, 2008 will be a new season for my church as we move into our new worship center and begin renovating our current worship center (and some other rooms) into a theater for the kids. I’m having to be real picky about my time away and where I speak in ‘08. I’m not doing any conferences in January or February and have chosen one for March and one for April. Here’s what I know so far:

• I won’t be doing any conferences in January or February due to the move-in
• I’ll be speaking in 3 classes at NRB in Nashville in March
• I’ll be teaching 2 classes at NAB in Las Vegas in April

This is from my friends at Technologies for Worship Magazine:

TFWM just wanted to let you know that I will be speaking in conjunction with the Technologies for Worship Pavilion® and Conference at the 2008 NAB Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV from April 13-17, 2008.

I will be presenting the following seminars:

1. Which Worship Presentation Software is Best for Your Church?
2. Church 2.0

For my complete seminar descriptions and dates, click here.

To register, click here.

EXTRA:

We’re in South Carolina visiting my family. Today I’m visiting NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. I’ll blog about them later.

PERSONAL:
Today is my 12 year wedding anniversary!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yesterday I met with a tech director at another church here in Dallas. This is something I’ve done for the last 13 years. I guess you could say I’m a “networker”. It really comes natural to me and is a passion of mine. Everywhere that I’ve lived and each church I’ve served, I’ve always got to know the local churches and staff members. From my days as a college student serving part-time at a small church and meeting with a local mega-church staff member to meeting with churches the same size as mine and on and on.

I like to meet with churches that are smaller than mine to be a resource to them. I LOVE meeting with church leaders that serve at churches around the same size as mine. And I always love the sharing and learning that I do with church leaders that serve at churches larger than mine.

I’m glad to say that I have friends from serving in the Carolinas and friends in Washington DC, where I served before moving to Dallas, and these are guys that I stay in touch with and am glad to call friends. Here in Dallas, I’m a member of a few network groups: One is a group of Dallas area worship leaders, one is a ‘yal come/large group of tech staff from all size churches and the other is a small group of tech directors from churches around the same size as my church. I can’t recommend the food, fun and fellowship highly enough.

A couple of thoughts on networking:

• Church size doesn’t matter… no matter what size your church is, you can benefit from a local network.
• Denomination doesn’t matter… this is something I had to break free from years ago. You have a lot more than you realize in common with those from other denominations.
• Vent - take the opportunity to share struggles and frustrations with your local group. You’ll find that many others have some of the same frustrations. You need to be able to talk about these with someone outside your church.
• Share with each other. My local group shares equipment with each other and tries to help one another out with ideas, resources, contacts, etc. Just yesterday, I called up a local tech director (from the group) to ask where he would go in Dallas to rent wireless mics, as we’re going to have to rent some for Christmas.
• Be proactive. 95% of the time, people that I’ve had breakfast, lunch or coffee with were people that I called up or emailed and took the initiative to introduce myself to them. Again, this comes natural to me and may be out of your comfort zone, but it will be well worth your while.
• Take advantage of Web 2.0 technologies: things like Myspace and Facebook are great ways to meet people. I’ve met several people through one of them and then met them in real life.
• When you can, try to visit other local churches (for one of their services). I see local tech directors (and their teams) at my church from time to time and the past 2 Sundays, I’ve visited two different churches. It’s good to get out and see what others are doing.
• It’s ALL about the Kingdom. You’ve got to get this point. I can’t stand to hear of churches in competition with one another. We’re in this together. The reason I write, blog, speak at conferences and consult is because I want to help other churches grow, dream, do better, lead better and reach more people for Christ. Any spirit of competition is not of God and should be seen as sin. Get rid of it, friends!
• Not everyone will get this. I wish I could say that every person I’ve called or emailed has contacted me back and we met - that’s not the case. Some people have no desire to meet with someone from another church. What a shame and what a way to miss out on a blessing and possible new friend. My two cents: keep moving on and keep searching. Someone in your city will be interested in meeting and may turn out to be a great friend and resource for your ministry.

EXTRA (Free Christmas Countdown):

Get a really cool free, winter countdown from my friends at Igniter Media Group HERE.

Yesterday I experienced one of the most satisfying and joyous days at my church. You’ve got to realize that I’m in a tough season at my church. We are coming down the home stretch of a 28 million dollar building project (the plan is to move in debt-free). I make trips out to the new worship center everyday. I have meetings and conferences calls constantly to talk about all the upcoming changes and the huge transition. Next week I fly to Atlanta (again) to meet with ClarkPro Media, so my new Audio Coordinator can get an overview of the entire project and be caught up to speed.

My office is a wreck - with a hardhat on my desk, boots to wear out to the site, blueprints all over my office and a Bill of Materials list as big as a dictionary. Mind you, that’s all on top of my full-time job as the Technical Arts Director and making Sunday happen on the technical side each week.

All that to say, yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with, counseling and praying with one of my tech volunteers for 3 hours. I got to sit and listen, minister and encourage and it was awesome. I’ve been so entrenched with new building stuff that it’s all I can think about. When this team member called and said he needed a pastor (that’s what we are) to talk to and that he wanted it to be me - I was thrilled.

You see, I often tell my entire tech team (via email) that I want them to share prayer requests with me and that it would be my honor to pray for them. Some have taken me up on it and I have enjoyed praying for them and checking in with them from time to time. Many have not taken me up on it - YET, but they will eventually. My team went through 2 other Technical Directors before me in a short period of time and I think they are starting to realize that I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I love it when they take me up on my offer to pray for them.

So yesterday, as I sat across from one of my tech tech members and listened to him share, I was humbled, honored and excited that he would trust me enough to come to me and share openly and honestly with me about a tough situation he’s going through. The reason I titled this blog simply “Ministry” is because that’s what we are to be about. Too many church staff members would see his coming in as an interruption and a distraction from their job. My heart cries out: this IS my job! He apologized for taking up 3 hours in my day and I told him, “Dude, this is why I’m here. My door is always open.”

I bring this up to encourage, challenge and stretch all of you. Do you see people popping in as distractions and interruptions or as opportunities for ministry? Do you see something like this as keeping you from your job or is this your job?

I’ve got to be real, honest, and bold with my Media Minister/Technical Director friends for a moment: There are far too many techies, gear-heads and button pushers in the Church today. You might be skilled in those areas, but if you’re the leader of your tech team or an area of it, your calling and duty is to lead, shepherd and equip those under your authority. This is the area that the majority of my consulting with churches deals with. More on the “equip” part in a future blog. I’ve preached enough for today. I’m stepping down off my soapbox.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:

My sister had her second child yesterday, so I’m an uncle again. All is well with mom and baby. God is good.

Before I tell you why I blog, let me start with how I got into blogging. A little over a year ago my friend, Don Chapman of WorshipIdeas.com, was visiting me in Dallas. I was driving to Oklahoma City to speak at a conference and Don came with me. It was about a 3 hour drive and I started sharing some ideas, resources and new companies that I had come across. Don directly and boldly said, “Dude, you have got to start blogging. Church leaders would really benefit from what you’re sharing with me.”

Not only that, that night Don went online to GoDaddy and bought the domain name: ChurchVideoIdeas.com and said, “Here you go. Now get to blogging!” I started a cheesy-looking WordPress blog and the rest is history. Thanks to my great “Charter Sponsors“, I was able to give my blog a face-lift via Kent and his team at Bombay Creative.

The “why” is simple. I have a heart for the Church (capital “C”). My heart and passion is for the Kingdom and equipping Church leaders - that’s why I write, that’s why I consult, that’s why I speak at conferences. I love Christ’s Bride and want to be a friend, helper, encourager and equipper to Church leaders around the world. Praise God, people actually care what I have to say. According to Google Analytics, thousands of Church leaders from around the world read and share this blog each week. That, to me, is surprising, shocking and extremely humbling. Almost every day I receive an email from a Church leader asking me a question and many of you reading this, who have sent me an email, hopefully have seen that I try to answer your email promptly and to the best of my knowledge.

The truth is: I don’t know it all. I don’t even come close. I just share what I’ve learned on my journey and if I think someone else can answer your question better, I point you in their direction. What would I like to change? I’d love to see more interaction on this blog. More of you making comments. There are a couple each day, but I can see (via my tracker) that a ton of you are reading this blog, but apparently not commenting. I always try to pose some type of question and ask for your feedback, ideas and I sincerely want to hear what you’re doing in your own ministry setting.

SO, with that being said… I’m glad Don talked me into blogging, I’m grateful to God for the sponsors that make all this possible, I praise God that he’s given me a passion and desire to write something fresh each day and I’m humbled, honored and excited that you are reading this and we have this cool sort-of virtual connection. What a great time to be alive!

As always, I want to again mention that I love meeting you in real life, too. If you’re in Dallas, let me know. If we’re at the same conference, let me know. I’m consulting with 2 churches for the rest of ‘07 and hope to work with a few more of you in ‘08. So, to wrap up: Glad to be blogging. Glad you’re reading. Hope you’ll continue to. Hope you’ll comment and add to the discussion. Also, feel free to email me questions or suggestions of topics to blog about.

TechMission has just launched www.UrbanMinistry.org as a Web portal for the Urban Ministry world. Some of the sections you may be interested in include:

* UrbanMinistry Blogs: including some of the top syndicated Blogs of Urban Ministry leaders.
* Sermon Videos & MP3s including John Perkins, Jim Wallis, Noel Castellanos, Wayne Gordon, Ray Backke, Effrim Smith and Martin Luther King Jr.
* Gospelpedia: similar to Wikipedia but covering youth ministry, addiction recovery, technology and ministry and volunteer management.
* Conference Materials: including over 100 keynote talks and workshops from CCDA, Kingdomworks and Compassionworks/YouthPartnersNet (coming soon).
* Local Volunteer Opportunities: including over 1,500 volunteer opportunities from nearly 900 organizations. National partners on this site include: CCDA, UYWI, YouthPartnersNet, HLIC, Salvation Army and AGRM.
* Online Courses
* Account Registration (FREE)

EXTRA:

Cory Miller (from Church Communications Pro - and is also a part of my book) is offering people a coupon code to get Granger’s Church Communications Form Bundle for FREE. I have it and it’s great! You can get it HERE.

BONUS:

Yesterday, WorshipHouse Media launched their Thanksgiving and Christmas seasonal stores. Check them out for the best in seasonal media (new for this year and good stuff from earlier years).