Today I’m reflecting on John 15:5 - “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Nothing. It’s Christ IN me and through me. May you bear much fruit.
God has been softly speaking to my heart through one of my favorite songs: “Everlasting God” by Brenton Brown. I’ve been thinking about the opening lines: “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord. We will wait upon the Lord. We will wait upon the Lord. STRENGTH WILL RISE as we wait upon the Lord…
Nothing profound or groundbreaking today, friends. Just sharing what’s on my heart this week.
EXTRA:
It’s been cool to meet church staff from other churches around the country that are in town for the C3 Conference. I love meeting new friends and giving them a tour of our church. I look forward to more of that today and tomorrow.
For the past year and a half I’ve been reading and meditating on Psalm 103. God has now led me to Proverbs 2. I think I shall reflect and meditate on that for a while. What has God been showing you lately in His word?
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?
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:
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
I’m really enjoying my time off and getting some perspective and direction from God. I was too close to our building project and really operating out of my flesh. God showed me yesterday just how dry I was and how I need to be renewed, refreshed and revived.
The really cool thing is that he spoke to me through a movie. Yesterday was “$.50 cent Tuesday” at my local dollar movie. I saw a movie with themes of hope, healing, restoration, grace and mercy all through it and it reminded me of Christ’s unconditional love for me, His amazing grace, His unending mercy (which is new EVERY morning) and the hope that I have in Him.
Driving home, I prayed a dangerous prayer: I prayed that God would help me to fall in love with Him again. That He would give me a deep longing and soul craving for Him, His Word, His Presence and that I would once again find Him daily in my secret place.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m a true artist - I’m a night owl and definitely not a morning person. I prayed and asked God to allow me to wake up earlier and have time with Him each day before work. I’ve always done my quiet time at night - before bed. I still might read some at night, but I really feel a desire to start my day off in His Word and His Presence.
Pray for me - that God would answer my prayer, that I would wake up refreshed each morning and ready to spend that precious time with him DAILY. Pray that I would fall in love with Jesus all over again.
If you will take this seriously and pray this for me, I will forever be grateful and thank you one day in heaven.
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.
A while back I mentioned that I’m a member of a blogger network that reviews new products for companies. Last time I reviewed a new LifeWay product. Today I’m reviewing the Chip Ingram DVD series “Five Lies That Ruin Relationships - Wrong Beliefs Produce Wrong Behavior”.
The “Five Lies” resource provides insight from James 4 & 5 that addresses five lies that can hurt relationships with people we love:
Lie 1: Sensual pleasure will satisfy my inner longings for happiness.
Lie 2: If other people would shape up, my life would work out.
Lie 3: Upwardly mobile work opportunities are automatically the will of God.
Lie 4: My significance and value are measured by the quality and quantity of the things I possess.
Lie 5: The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
In this 10-part DVD series centered in the book of James, Chip defines the 5 most common lies that have the potential to ruin relationships with those we love. He uncovers the source of quarreling, how our words wound, how not to make decisions, and why better things don’t always make things better.
POSITIVES:
Chip Ingram is a great communicator. I always enjoy sitting under his teaching. This study is powerful and could be life-changing. The DVDs give a good visual support to a solid Bible study - they also include small group curriculum samples. The workbook is very well put together, looks sharp and has some nice features such as “Video Notes” and “Discussion Questions”.
NEGATIVE:
I think Chip’s messages could have been filmed better and more professionally. They aren’t horrible, but I would have liked to see them be a little better quality.
OVERALL:
This product is insightful, solid and a great choice for your small group or Bible study to study together.
EXTRA:
Tonight we have the 2nd installment of Tech team training. Tonight we’ll be training our camera operators (current and new ones).
I’m a member of a blogging network that reviews new products from various companies. I’m embarrassed to say that I should have reviewed this product months ago. I let it sit for a while and then forgot about it. I’ll try not to let that happen with the future products. This first product is the new LifeWay resource for 18-34 year olds entitled “Threads”.
The Bible studies are geared toward young adults, featuring flexible formats with engaging supplemental video and audio. The sessions are 4-6 weeks, which fit into busy schedules. Each member book comes with journal pages. The Leader Kit comes with a DVD featuring introductory and companion video segments, a CD-ROM featuring leader tools, music and emailable audio files. You can also find supplemental resources for members and leaders online.
This “Threads” product is called InTransit: What Do You Do with Your Wait? and traces the lives of Joseph, David, and Jesus as they waited, sometimes painfully, to see God’s promises come to pass. What was true for those men is true for young adults today - there is great purpose in waiting. This leader kit will help you in leading your group to focus on how God builds into us during these times of waiting.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK:
I think this is a cool new direction and much needed emphasis for LifeWay. I applaud them for attempting to address this need, which is needed in the Church across the world.
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK:
I think the videos could have had better lighting and better acting/actors. They weren’t horrible, but I think they could do better.
***You can find an introduction to “Threads” in PDF form HERE… or you can listen to a podcast about ministry to young adults using the “Threads” by LifeWay series HERE.