Church Video Ideas

As I mentioned before, I’m holding several training sessions at my church this summer. The first one is for video directors/switchers and is this Thursday night. I have some “in-house” things that I’m going to talk about as well as some skills we’ll seek to learn/improve. I’m curious, though, if any of you have 3 tips or guidelines that you would share in general with video directors. I’d love to hear them.

EXTRA:

Simpsons fans will dig this cool interactive promotion for the upcoming film based on the animated family. You can go HERE to get “Simpsonized.” Basically, you just need to upload a photo of yourself to get transformed into a character.

BONUS:

“Five Storytelling Secrets for Pastors and Teachers” by Steven James:

• Key #1 - Let the story speak for itself.
• Key #2 - Stop telling your listeners what happened and start showing them who struggled.
• Key #3 - When you tell stories from your life, always be the mistake maker.
• Key #4 - Never tell the same story twice.
• Key #5 - Pretend Less; Believe More.

To read the entire article click HERE.

Yesterday was a great day at our church. Our pastor was speaking on AIDS. We did a video interview with Kay Warren (Rick Warren’s wife), when she was in Dallas. The Warrens are very passionate about AIDS awareness and ministry. What she had to say was insightful, inspiring and a great part of our worship services. We also showed a video entitled “The Straton Story”, about a pastor in Rwanda. I’ll be showing it at all my future conferences - it’s one of the most moving videos I’ve seen.

Speaking of the Warrens - I’m heading to California today to speak at Saddleback’s Worship Conference. I’ll be teaching 3 workshops. If you’re going to be at the conference, give me a shout. I’d love to meet you.

EXTRA:

I came across this guy’s music on Myspace. I’ve been listening to it lately and dig it. Check it out HERE and see what you think.

This is not the norm, but my pastor has felt led to tackle some tough subjects lately. He’s been in a series on a number of social issues. Yesterday he preached on what the Bible has to say about abortion. Did you know that 1 out of 3 women has had or been affected by an abortion? That’s just the women - this is an issue that men struggle with and carry guilt for years.

We really saw God move in all 4 of our services yesterday. There were some amazing conversations and times of ministry after each service. Apparently we hit a nerve and the Spirit was able to really set some people free. Next week our pastor is again tackling a tough subject: What the Bible has to say about gay marriage. I look forward to seeing how God uses next week to build, comfort and strengthen our body.

Yesterday we had a woman on our worship staff share her story of her choice for an abortion when she was a senior in high school. We did this live at each service and it was very powerful. This coming week we will have a video testimony from one of our worship team members that used to be in a gay lifestyle.

Do you mix between live and video testimonies at your church? How have you seen God use real life stories in your congregation?

Last night “On the Lot” continued - now each Director was asked to create a 3 minute short film in 5 days. I enjoyed it. My favorite film was the musical. What about you - what did you like?

BONUS:

Have you heard of SermonView? Might be worth checking out.

I just landed and am back home in good ‘ol Dallas. I had a great time at the Moody Pastors’ Conference. Over 95% of the men in my classes were senior pastors. It was an honor and joy to share with them and encourage them in the great work they do for the Kingdom.

EXTRA:

SermonSpice is offering a FREE download of the spoken word video, “The Woman at the Well“. I think it’s very cool and usable in a worship service. Check it out HERE.

Did I mention I love Chicago? I love getting out and walking the streets in Chicago. Yesterday after arriving and dropping off my luggage, I went on a stroll and found a local Mexican restaurant (no surprise for those of you that know me). There was only 1 other person in the place - a pastor attending the conference at Moody. I asked him if I could join him. This man of God has been pastor of his church for 23 years - WOW! I was blessed to just meet him and talk with him. Today I begin teaching my workshops!

EXTRA:

One thing I’m pretty big on is the use of a creative planning team. I don’t think worship planning should be done alone. I really believe in synergy. This was what my article for Monday Morning Insight last week was on. Check it out HERE.

The above is the title of an article that I wrote over a year ago. It first appeared on SermonCentral.com, then in REV magazine. Now you can read it on Monday Morning Insight HERE. It’s an article not only for pastors, but for all who are involved in planning worship.

My personal website (MultisensoryWorship) is being redesigned and should be looking very different soon. I hope to totally redo the article section to make it more accessible and user-friendly.

PERSONAL:

Today I fly back to good ‘ol Dallas. Can’t wait to see my family.

After months of saying, “It’s coming soon…” - our latest podcast episode is finally LIVE. Episode 5: “Copyright and the Church” is our best episode to date. Anthony and I interviewed 3 copyright professionals and had a great discussion. This is a must-listen-to episode for your whole church staff. Download it today!

EXTRA:

Today I fly to Atlanta for the Orange Conference. I’m looking forward to getting to know some fellow church staffers better. If you’re going to be at the Orange Conference, give me a shout.

That was the title of a story that our local Channel 8, here in Dallas, did on technology in the Church. They interviewed and showed footage of Ed Young and Fellowship Church, as well as local media producers Igniter Media Group and BluefishTV. To read the article go HERE. To watch the video go HERE.

BONUS:

A few months ago, I introduced the Church world to an up-and-coming filmmaker - Blaine Hogan - and blogged about his first video: “Starving Jesus“. Blaine has been busy since then and released a second video called “Where Is the Love?“. I didn’t want to mention it during all the craziness of Easter, for fear that it would get lost. Now that Easter is behind us and things have settled down, I hope you’ll check it out. I dig it!

EXTRA:

My friends at Midnight Oil Productions just announced the release of their 3rd volume of loops. If you don’t have their first 2 volumes, you can purchase them and get the 3rd one for FREE. If you just want the 3rd one, it’s $45. Check it out HERE.

Remember my article in Vision Magazine entitled “Less is More”? I was looking through some of Guy Kawasaki’s old blog posts and came across his philosophy on creating PowerPoint presentations. He calls it the “10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint“. I’ll let you read the entire blog on your own, but one thing he said that I totally agree with is “Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a normal human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meeting.” AMEN. I always get frustrated when a pastor creates like 20 to 30 PowerPoint slides to go along with his message. Pastor, do you honestly think your congregation can retain that much information? PLUS we should be about transformation not information.

EXTRA:

Have you heard of MyChurch? It might be something you’d be interested in.

PERSONAL:
Today I fly to Atlanta to meet with Clark ProMedia, who is designing my church’s new worship center. I’m excited about getting to know the team better and getting a better grasp on the entire project, as I am new to the church. I’m also looking forward to attending 7:22 at North Point on Tuesday night and catching the Digidesign VENUE in action.