Nathan Hale

Reaching up for Creativity

2008-12-24T23:38:00.001-08:00

"Pay attention to what people have to say and evaluate their suggestions honestly. But don’t allow their fear of change to cause you creative cramps… Creativity is a long-term investment. If your top leaders are not totally committed to the vertical vision, then fear of friction will dismantle this God-given virtue. At Fellowship, we do not value upsetting people, but we do value upsetting their equilibrium to challenge them for spiritual growth… To be sure, creativity must be biblically driven and it must honor God. However, when we have our people off balance, we have a great potential to catch them off guard with a powerful punch from the pages of Scripture… It is very tempting to want to please people, but leaders often experience leadership cramps when they allow their vision to be compromised to appease a few negative people. Once the vision goes horizontal, disaster will follow."

Those words are from Ed Young, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX.

I remember reading The Creative Leader last year and being blown away by a lot of his statements. Being creative can be a tough thing in a Church that is resistant to change. A lot of Churches don't believe drums belong on a platform, or that only white lights can be on a stage, or that the Pastor can only wear a suit and preach. The list goes on...

Being stuck in the same old traditions will not only make a congregation age, but not appeal to a younger generation. I still think the best thing any Church could do is have someone young (20s) in a position of leadership. Not only to be there to sit in on meetings, but help drive creative, edgy ideas that appeal to that crowd. It's paramount in my mind.

Granted, not EVERY church is called to be a Fellowship, LifeChurch.tv, Elevation Church, or Seacoast. But we do need to appeal to all generations, not just the ones that give $$$.

We are about reaching more for the kingdom.

Why I hate Christmas

2008-12-13T21:16:00.001-08:00

I've been waiting almost a month to write this. Not only because I'm busy, but because I needed the right moment to compose such a post.

I live right next to one of the busiest malls in Northern Virginia. The mall is so large that it has two Macy's stores, a two story Forever XXI, Apple Store, you name it. It's nothing but a sad, sick reminder of what people THINK Christmas is......MATERIAL. I hate, hate, hate, hate it.

To add to that, Christians that are should be setting the example (like myself) are so incredibly busy keeping up with Church activities that they cant even enjoy time with their own families. I'm not at all saying that going to Church is wrong, but to a point it can be devastating to anyone.

Let's remember the point of Christmas: Jesus' birth. It's a time to celebrate, not make yourself so busy that you want to crawl into a hole.

I really do hope you enjoy this season.

Reaching OUT -------------->

2008-11-17T23:28:00.000-08:00

As I head to bed I can't stop thinking about a challenge that is before me.

Across the street from Immanuel we have Starbucks, Subway, Dollar Tree, Giant Supermarket, McDonalds, Smoothie King and a few other places. All of those places are fueled by our members that walk into our doors several times a week.

I got to thinking about something...

They SERVE someone from our church multiple times a day. I would even go as far as saying they serve maybe 100+ of our attenders each day. Instead of us expecting service from them--we need to be serving them! There really is more to it than just showing up and paying for a $5 coffee or a $5 footlong and marching away.

I have an entire week off to think about this and I want to come back with a plan to serve these people AND our community. That's what it's all about. Yes, we want them to know Christ, but we need to at least attempt to establish a relationship with our neighbors before we could ever bring that into the picture. I'm all about relationships and you should be too.

I can't wait to see the impact we have on the people we will be serving. Anybody up for it?

How are your Finances?

2008-11-14T21:13:00.000-08:00

I just read a letter that Mark Beeson sent out to all of the GCC members regarding their budget and the financial crisis. For the second time today (that I can remember) I am blown away by how bold Churches are being. It is such a blessing to know that so many Churches across the nation are united and want to reach more for the kingdom. Even if they are hurting financially.

Before I accepted the position I have at IBC, I had some hard decisions to make. I would be getting married 2 months after I joined staff, paying for a home on my own, buying a new car, and starting a life of my own. Before Laura and I prayed about jumping up this way, we thought things would not work out. I did many, many housing searches thinking we would find a reasonable home for a cheaper price outside of the city. It didn't happen. As we quickly found out, the D.C. Metro area is one of the most expensive in the country - yet we were able to make ends meet. We rented a home and commuted 25 miles to work. Laura worked West of our home, I worked North of our home. Talk about a gas bill :)

God provided us with a car that we were barely able to afford. But by his grace, an accident we were involved in provided us with the financial means to get rid of most (not all) of our debt. We were taken care of.

So in the midst of this crisis, I know that we will be taken care of as a married couple, and as a Church we must stand united. People are still turning to Christ in the midst of a struggle.

I get lazy

2008-11-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

I need to actually blog instead of sending Twitter updates all day long. Although, after awhile, a lot of Tweets = A Post :)

November 21st - 23rd I will be with our Middle School Youth in Ocean City, Maryland for a Small Groups retreat an conference. When I in High School, I was part of a small group with two other guys, Adam and Drew. We spent Saturday mornings at Tony's in Homestead, Florida. We all always ordered the 2-2-2 (2 of each - pancakes, sausage, biscuits). Great times.

One thing we were lacking at that time at the small church I was involved with was the ability for those to that were connected to these small groups to go off and spend some time together and grow as Christians. Immanuel give this opportunity to their students once a year.

My wife leads a small group of 7 Middle School girls. The girls absolutely adore her. They admire her teaching and love how she is herself around them. Because of my heavy involvement with tech things on Sunday mornings and all hours of the week, I'm unable to commit to one more thing being on my plate.

BUT, when I'm given the chance to go away just got a short time because other leaders are unable to make it..I can't help but be excited.

Perry Noble made an excellent point in THIS posting not too long ago. He simply says "I don't believe you are the future of our Church - you ARE the Church"

Looking forward to this trip..

2008-10-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

I was poking around on the net and decided to visit the website of our wedding photographer...
I was not expecting to be that famous.

Never underestimate a thank you card...

2008-10-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me today that our department has never used our mail stamp system thing that sits next to the receptionist in our office. Why is this a problem? I'll explain...

That means that we have probably never sent out thank you notes to our volunteers. There is nothing more special to me than getting a letter in the mail that is not a bill. Pretty much all that we ever get are bills, 99% of the time. I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who hates that.

So when someone takes the time to sit down and handwrite a few words, it means a lot. We are all so quick to send out emails, message over iChat or send a text message, that this is now something out of the ordinary. Amazing isn't it? I love my computers, iphone and all that, but sometimes getting back to something this basic is great.

Unexpectedly getting a Starbucks gift card in those envelopes is nice too...

Hello police...am I getting old?

2008-10-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

Let me just say that you don't want to mess with Fairfax County Police...

Our neighbors (above us) for the past few months have decided to turn their music just a little too loud for my taste. Now for a sound guy who loves the dB reading to be around 105 during a worship service or concert this sounds odd.

Living in Fairfax County is unlike anywhere else I have been. This entire area is working professionals, most working as Government contractors. In fact, the income is 52% above the national average. Now back to the story...

Laura and I are no longer in college. We are both working full time to just get by month to month. Some things that we tolerated in college, you no longer want to deal with. This is one of those things.

Think about the people around you...

I now can understand why when I was in youth group and we would have concerts outside in the Church parking lot ALL of the neighbors would complain. I think I'm just getting old...

Why I stand by ETC or why they stand by ME.

2008-10-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

I got an email from our lighting designer, Monique today. She is assisting in the design/build for our new facility coming this year, or next year, or 2 years ago? I never know anymore. Anyway.

She has been working with ETC getting our Congo expanded to 4 universes. We do not use anywhere near that now, but decided to buy into the capacity because we will use it later, for sure.

Apparently there has been an issue with our console serial number and dongle inside of the console. For whatever reason, instead of going back and forth with tracing down the issue, they are just going to provide us with a brand new board, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

This is why I stand by ETC.

I'm a huge fan of their products, but even more of a fan of their customer support. A few months ago the console took a power hit, they had a loaner to us the next day... FOR FREE!!

People brag about their grandMA consoles, their HOGS, but nothing can surpass the stability and support provided by ETC.

Thanks Clark ProMedia for standing with a company that cares about their people. Thanks ETC for not ever letting me down.

Who am I voting for?

2008-10-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've been asked this question many times over the past month. I'm still not going to answer.

Why? It's none of your business...yet.

I will tell you this...

Just because you are a Christian does not mean that you automatically have to vote for the Republican Party. I'm sick of Christians telling me that.

Now...that does not mean I am voting for Obama. Nor does it mean that I hate Bush or McCain.

2008-09-29T21:46:00.001-07:00

I think I'm back to blogging...

Either I have been lazy or busy. You pick.

In other news...the Twitter founders made my night with an amazing job description.

Learn from them business people.

Many adventures

2008-09-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

By the end of this week I will have visited 6 states in two weeks.

Here are some highlights (by state)

West Virginia

Kinda like the South, reminded me of Mississippi (in a good way)
Saw a handwritten sign that said "Pigs for Sale"
SONIC SLUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hung with our College/Singles crowd for a several hours - good conversations.
Danny Leavins laid an amazing foundation for who the Venture crowd is and why.

Delaware

I hate the Deleware bridge and the mass chaos that takes place getting to it.
I did like the view from the top of the bridge...
I wish the Virginia tag was as nice as yours
Seriously, tolls?

Maryland

Seriously, tolls?
Your tunnel sucks because it is too long.
I visit you way too often

New Jersey

I enjoyed hearing your beach from our condo.
I enjoyed seeing the beach from our condo.
I enjoyed driving down your country roads late at night.
Boardwalk was great, but why did it have to close 2 days earlier?
Wow, I've never seen so many old people in my life. Was I in Sebring, FL?
Thank you for Rita's Italian Ice, I have been waiting 5 years for that.
Have not seen Hoagies advertised in awhile...screw subs...that name is so much better.
One word: Wawa. Seriously, every exit and corner has on there.
WHO THE HECK WOULD NOT WANT THEIR GAS PUMPED WITHOUT GETTING OUT OF THE CAR??????????

Ohio

Isn't Eric Geiger from this place?
It better not be cold when I get there
More Coming Soon...

Kentucky

Your Creation Museum better not make me laugh.
I remember visiting Asbury several years ago, so you already have bonus points for that.
More Coming Soon...

Hey Microsoft...Watch Out

2008-09-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

Digital Daily notes that Apple's market capitalization at $159.37 billion is now worth more than Google's which is at $157.56 billion. Apple's market cap first exceeded $100 billion in May of 2007. Apple was included into the S&P 100 index at that time. For interest, MacDailyNews compiled a list of the market values of other notable companies

- Microsoft (MSFT) - $255,648,204,000
- IBM (IBM) - $169,964,678,000
- Apple (AAPL) - $157,012,662,240
- Google (GOOG) - $156,392,862,560
- Cisco (CSCO) - $142,125,692,160
- Intel (INTC) - $135,658,860,000
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - $111,866,423,760
- Nokia (NOK) - $97,746,699,520
- Research In Motion (RIMM) - $71,143,935,000
- Disney (DIS) - $59,257,501,500
- Dell (DELL) - $50,483,256,060

I find this funny, absolutely funny! Apple will rule the world soon. You think I'm kidding?

Why is Dell even on this list? Seriously.

Palin Daughter

2008-09-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

I've never considered myself to be a political person AT ALL. However, I do have opinions every once in awhile. You all know about the story of Palin's daughter being preggers, I'm not even going to tell the story if you want that look HERE (There is even a video for lazy people)

Let me say this:

As a Christian I do believe that the Bible discourages sex before marriage.

We, as Christians, people who should be setting an example for EVERYONE we come in contact with need to drop this judgmental attitude towards mistakes NOW. People wonder why nobody is interested in Christianity...THIS IS WHY.

We all need to be more interested in embracing broken people and meeting them right where they are. That is what a relationship is all about. That is what we need to be about.

When I was in my senior year of HS I opened up to many people about personal struggles I had in my life with relationships I was or had been in. Went to college and was around most of the same people I shared that with and things have never been then same since. To this day, it's still hard to get past the way I was rejected because of mistakes. We AS CHRISTIANS need to get past mistakes, faults, stupid decisions and THE PAST and reach out to people who really do need Christ.

If you disagree with me, I'm sorry.

RAID Install

2008-08-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

After 2 years of waiting, our PlatinumRAID from Micronet finally arrived this week. These provide storage for NASA, Raytheon, Merrill Lynch, Warner Music Group and Universal Studios...pretty sweet client list.

Thanks to Paul, our video guy for pulling this off. He's a mac genius and is just as crazy about anything Apple as I am. 2 weeks before both of the RAIDs got to us (they were backordered), our Apple XServe main Seagate drive crashed. For all of you PC lovers out there, this had NOTHING to do with APPLE. Problem is...this drive was the temporary storage location for all current video projects. They were later cascaded to other LaCie or Seagate drives - it was a mess! $3000 later our drive will be back to us in a few days. Thankfully they were able to recover everything.

Check them out

Don't think that you can just "get by" without any backup system.

Planning Center Online Update

2008-08-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

I always love when the products we use daily are updated. One of our biggest lifesavers is Planning Center Online. When I got on board with Immanuel over a year ago, I quickly realized that we needed to streamline all of our worship service planning so that I could keep my sanity. Microsoft Excel was not the answer. (I hope none of our Military guys read this).

Back to the point....

Here is what we have to look forward to:

Text Messaging schedules (probably the best feature)
New Schedule View
Video Tutorial just for Volunteers
Linking to Amazon.com for MP3 purchases (I love iTunes, but Amazon does have higher quality clips for the same price. Sorry Apple)
Custom Properties editor
And a ton of other Misc features you can find HERE.

Thank you, God for making my life easier. Thanks Aaron for all of your dedication to this product!

Another reason to love Christie

2008-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Recently one of of local contact, CEI brought over a projector demo for us.

CEI knows that we already have a binding contract with Clark ProMedia, but insist on using our facility to demo amazing products (which is fine by me). CPM's Engineering team selected the HD8K for out Main Worship Center originally, but after seeing the HD10K...I'm blown away once again by their products!

Not only is is cheaper to maintain the 10K compared to our existing NON-HD PTD5600U 1024x768 Panasonic projectors...the 10K has 9500 ANSI Lumens AND only requires 13.2 A to operate. Most of the other churches and facilities across the country as used to pulling 220 to get their projectors up and running. Not anymore. This is a huge sell.

Now we just need to get the Stewart Filmscreen to go along with it...One thing at a time...

Union Station Kickoff!!!

2008-08-29T21:32:00.001-07:00

It all starts in just a few days!!! Union Station is our Children's Ministry monthly gathering of parents and kids for a time of amazing worship, hilarious skits, and a quick message. US is based off of North Point's KidStuf program. They do an amazing job covering every technical aspect of what needs to happen for the events and we roll with it each month.

Something different is taking place in just a few days...Instead of having US in our Gym on Sunday Mornings, it is being moved to our Main Worship Center on Friday Nights @ 7:30PM. What does this mean for the tech crew?

Programming moving lights like we have always dreamed of.
Programming chases like we have always dreamed of.
Using a digital console with snapshots as it's intended to be used.
Using ProPresenter to roll back tons of backgrounds, music, video clips and lyrics.
GETTING HS AND MS YOUTH PLUGGED IN TO OUR TECH CREW!!!!

I remember looking at Adam Callender's blog several months ago and seeing students running their Vista 8's, HOG, Vista Spyder System, Cameras, and was blown away! The students get it. Things click so much faster with them and technology. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy older volunteers, but there is just something about the eagerness of younger people that excites me in Tech Ministry.

I started off running a 24-Channel Biamp board for a small Methodist Church. Went on to Christ Fellowship Miami and ran a 56-channel MH4 to getting to play with a Studer Vista 5 to programming an ETC Congo weekly. I've always tried to be flexible and learn every seat at each place that I've worked at.

Believe me, it pays off to be willing to learn almost anything...

Creation Museum Trip

2008-08-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

Myself, our Videographer, Paul and Senior Pastor, Ron Jones are getting final plans together this coming Tuesday for our trip to the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

I'm still wondering what to expect from this trip. This is my first out of state shoot being on a Church staff, along with the first time I'll be taking a trip with the big boss. I'm going in with an open mind and really wanting to see what this is all about.

Other than very simple planning logistics, requesting press passes and looking at a few floor plans, we are going blind. I really think a lot of times God prepares us better in blind mode than if we map out every little detail. I'm a HUGE planner, manager, coordinator, obsessive compulsive organizing freak...putting me in a position where I cannot be completely planned out is not always a bad thing.

I hope we spot a few crazy "anti-christian" protesters...that will make my trip. Their protests are sometimes so ridiculous that they are almost a spiritual experience for me.

2008-08-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

At times I wonder if I should even begin to blog about some personal things. A night like tonight makes me realize that sometimes it's good to just write things out...

About 2 months ago my mom gave me a phone call to let me know that after many prayers, many years of frustration, years of anger, sometimes bitterness, that she is going to tell my dad they cannot go on like this anymore. According to statistics, about 45-50% of marriages end in divorce. That's SICK!

I do believe that if two people are so incredibly unhappy in a marriage that they should NOT continue to be together. I told my mom exactly that. That may not be a very Christian statement, but it's not fair for either person to go on living unhappy forever. That is NOT the way God intended things to be for Christians and NON-CHRISTIANS! Don't get me wrong, Laura and I have our struggles, but I cannot ever think of things ending, ever. We have been married for just over a year now. Things get tough, but we have yet to hit rock-bottom.

Part of what makes this hard to deal with is being over 1000 miles away from both my mom and dad. When my mom decided to break the news to my dad, I immediately left work and got on a plane to Miami. I feel like I can help deal with difficult situations because I've had so many struggles in recent years.

My parents have both worked hard over the past 25 years. 3 kids, both me and my older brother have very successful jobs and comfortable salaries, my younger brother has graduated high school and is going into the health field. They have two houses, two cars, a lot to be proud of. But the bad thing about divorce and then eventually realizing that even having most of what you have ever wanted cannot even begin to make you happy. It's the truth.

It makes you think...

Bashing Churches Embracing Culture?

2008-08-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at work and decided to Google "NewSpring Church"

to watch a few sermons and listen to some music when I stumbled

upon this video posted on YouTube.

Rather than me responding and disagreeing in anger, what are your thoughts?

I'll revisit this soon, but will say upfront that I disagree with what was said...

What are Sundays like for Nathan...

2008-08-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a poor attempt at explaining what I do on Sundays...

Wake up around 4:30am Shower, get dressed, the usual.
Arrive to Church between 5:15-5:30am
Review all content in ProPresenter (Lyrics, Announcement Loop, Sermon)
Review Stage Diagrams (Scale Version of our Platform)
Check all projectors/theatrical bulbs
Begin or finish all moving light programming/double check all tracking.
White Balance!
Stick around for any last minute changes that may pop up with content.
Test all feeds routed to Audio Recording MacPro; start recording.
Setup for High School Youth/College Service that starts DIRECTLY after in the same space (literally a 20 minute stage reset)
Check on Middle School Students, address any problems that may arise.
Verify previous service audio capture.
Coffee Break - usually 3-4 minutes.
Make sure all volunteers in the worship center are still awake :)
Reset stage for College Service - make sure their sound check is successful
A few minutes at my desk catching up on any administrative duties
Reset main worship service platform for spanish service (usually 20 minute changeover)
Address any special lighting needs - make sure everything kicks off smooth
5-10 minutes of chatter in the tech office
LUNCH
Go home for a nap.

I cannot imagine adding another service OR a satellite campus in the midst of all of this. Lord, beer me strength on Sundays!

Studio Build

2008-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

We got all of the pieces together on our Audio Control Room...finally!

Here is the equipment inside:

Tannoy Precision 8D Monitors
Tannoy TS12 Subwoofer
MacPro running MOTU Digital Performer
New UHF-R System for Senior Pastor w/ DPA 4066 Mic
Earthworks SR30 for Ambient Mics
EV RE20 Voiceover Mic (with a sweet shock mount)
Auralex Acoustical Treatment. (about 80% of the room is covered, including the roof.)

The recording system is ENTIRELY digital. We are taking a MADI output out of our Studer Vista 5 running the lightpipe line roughly 250M into our MacPro which has a RME MADI Fiber PCI Express Card. This enables us to send 64 In/64 Out with ONE cable!!!

About the software:

You might be asking why we didn't just build a Pro Tools System...

Well...we eventually plan on building a Pro Tools HD2 System when budget allows. The MADI interface to get our Console talking with Pro Tools is $4000 ALONE! Granted it's a lot cheaper to purchase the Solid State Interface compared to Digi Gear, it made sense to go this route for now. The great thing about Digital Performer is that we can exchange files with Pro Tools right now - as well as exchange XML files with Final Cut Pro.

I'll be posting photos shortly, stay tuned!

Absent?

2008-08-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

It's been over a month since I have posted.

Here are some reasons why:

VBS - Huge lighting undertaking for me and the other staff at IBC. We don't have any catwalks, so EVERY light must be rehung and repositioned.
Building Project - We are FINALLY close to good numbers on our budget, I'm ready for this to be over with. Oh wait! We have not even started!!
Twitter - Why would I type 600 words when I can keep you updated faster in under 140.
My Wife - She gets crazy if I blog at home.
Mastering Studio - I had 2 days to put together stuff for our mastering studio. I have been running numbers for the past week. Next week we put it together.
Meetings - Seriously, I have had 300 of them.

Good enough reasons?

Oh yeah, I purchased another Mac Pro for IBC today TO RUN WINDOWS!!! Our first phase Audio Software will be Windows based. Once we tap into more funding, we will be upgrading to a Pro Tools HD2 System. Can't wait for that!!

Jesus in Camp Rock?

2008-07-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

You tell me if this could be a worship song:

"You're the voice I hear inside my head

The reason that I'm singing

I need to find you, I gotta find you

You're the missing piece I need

The song inside of me

I need to find you, I gotta find you"

I couldn't help but think of a ton of spiritual parallels while listening to that song and watching the movie. It's amazing how much stuff in the secular world (that word!!!) can be turned into something Spiritual. Sometimes something so small can reach someone so big...even with a Disney movie.

2008-07-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

On the way home from the KD trip, the 15+ students on the bus exposed me to Hawk Nelson. I knew who they were, just never really listened to them. When I got home that night, I hit up iTunes and downloaded 10 new songs - one of which stuck out both on the bus and when i played it earlier today.

The lyrics go like this:

"I tried to be perfect, tried to be honest

Tried to be everything that you ever wanted

I tried to be stronger, tried to be smarter

Tried to be everything but you"

There is just something about hearing students sing their hearts out that makes me want to be back in middle school or high school singing my heart out to songs that related to how I felt at that exact moment with Jesus. I'll never forget what it was like...

Kings Dominion

2008-07-12T07:30:00.001-07:00

Well...I attempted to write this post last night, but I was way too exhausted to even remember anything!

I had the privilege of serving as a youth leader on a youth trip to King's Dominion last night and it was probably one of the most amazing times I've had since arriving to Virginia over a year ago. For the first part of the day I spent some time with our SR. High Intern, Charles riding a few rides. We finished up our time together eating two huge hamburgers.

After our SR. High group checked in, I was able to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with a group of 5 of our rising 9th graders. They took me on every roller coaster in the park before 9:00 came. Having never been there, I had no idea what I was in store for. Man was I sore on the bus ride home. But it was worth EVERY second of it!!

I feel trips like these that bring our youth into a familiar setting where they can just let go, really exposes you to their hearts. Some people may knock me for saying this, but there is more to Church than just worship and saying "Jesus" in every other sentence. We are called to have fellowship together. Community. Relationships! That's what this is all about!!!

God, thanks for the chance to invest in your youth.

2008-07-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

I could do one of two things with this post....

1) Flip out, just as I did when I discovered this.

2) Laugh, and go buy a new one.

Seriously, having a dog is great, until they do something to piss you off! In two days our dog has managed to make our "Child Gate" into a piece of trash. I wish I could just put duct tape over the hole and start all over again, but it just won't work.

Off to Target again...

One Step Closer...

2008-07-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

It feels great to blog about this because it is truly a relief for a young newlywed couple to be as free as possible in any way, especially financially.

Last August, Laura and I were involved in an accident and as of a few days ago, we have closed the claim with the Insurance company. God has really blessed us and has brought us one step closer to being Financially Free!!

I've watched my parents, relatives, and even friends struggle because of debt. It's not something easy to deal with. I put myself through college with student loans and I will be stuck with them for another 9-10 years.

We agreed to pay off any and all credit card debt with the settlement we receive, and today was card #1. By next week, we will have $0 dollars in Credit Card Debt.

July 4th

2008-07-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

As I sit at home this July 4th, wifeless, I decided I would try to find some things that would make this night a little more enjoyable.

So over the past days, I have collected a few things that I really enjoy to help celebrate...

A Huge, Delicious New York Strip Steak
New England Style Rolls from Wegmans
Mountain Dew
Jack's Salsa and Chips
Buttera Vintage Maduro Cigar
$1 Movie Rental courtesy of Red Box

Anything Else I need to add to the list?

2008-07-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight something very awkward happened...

I just got back from walking our dog, Bella. She's a 3 Month old Yorkie. She is so small that she turns the head of anyone who happens to be near when we are out for our walks. The part of Northern VA that we live in is probably 60-70% newlyweds. Meaning everyone has a dog!

After being outside for a few minutes I found myself standing in a semicircle with two other guys that had yorkies. I'm pretty sure they were both married as well but...I was the only one with a pink leash.

2008-07-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

I went to Costco today for the first time in months...

I always feel like someone is going to run into me and steal everything in my cart. I hate going into any grocery store and feeling rushed. Somehow, when I walk in the doors there my blood pressure rises and I panic. But then again...I did buy 72 sodas at a good price. AND, Costco is the only place that I know of that sells Jack's Medium Salsa. If you have not tried it, this is the best Salsa you can buy off the shelf.

I do believe this is the 3rd time I have used my membership in the past year, what a waste!

When Review Matters

2008-07-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

I spent a few day down in Miami taking care of some family matters and have the awesome opportunity to mix for Christ Fellowship - Palmetto Bay for the first time in about 2-3 years.

They have an awesome system in place to review all content on Saturday Evening before the service starts to be SURE nothing is missed. For not running audio in long time, I stepped in and pulled off the service almost flawless. This goes to show how much review really helps.

One element was not reviewed causing an error after the doors opened. I made a suggestion to one of the leaders to look into a better control unit for the lighting to fix the issue on the fly better. He replied and said that the gear is fine and that if things were reviewed, there would be no issue at all. I agreed with him 100%. At first I took the answer offensively, because I have been in places that insist on buying "Miracle Gear" instead of fixing the actual internal issues they are facing.

It goes to show that a $225,000 audio board, or $25,000 Lighting Console can only take you so far until someone changes their mind at the last minute.

God, thank you for aggressive leaders that have a vision for excellence.

iPhone to be released

2008-06-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

iPhone release is coming on July 11th...

As bad as I wanted one when it first came out, I knew the 2nd Generation would be more affordable and faster. Sometimes it pays to wait...

Sometimes I wonder why I moved away from Florida

2008-06-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else ever wonder why they move away from such a great place?

Sometimes going on a vacation can change things for the rest of your life...I think this might have been one of those trips for us. I usually feel this way after coming back from a mission trip with a bunch of students or going out of the country. This time it just took a trip back to a place I didn't realize I missed so much.

Laura and I are making plans to become Disney Vacation Club members in the next few days so that we can be sure to always make it back to Orlando several times a year...for the next 50 years If we are not able to move back to the area soon, we want to be sure to make it here often.

Oh to move back to the area...

Back to Orlando

2008-05-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Just a few hours till we arrive in Orlando, Fl. I could barely sleep thinking about how great it is going to be going away to a place where we don't have to worry about anything. We have our budget planned, iPods charged for the plane ride, 4 bags packed, and cannot be more thrilled about getting away from the chaos of Northern VA.

This will be the first time visiting Disney without a car and an extremely limited itinerary. What a blessing. I'm the one who usually likes to plan every second of anything going on...not this time!

I cannot wait to see all the little kids who are so excited to see Mickey, Cinderella and Ariel. It's priceless and brings tears to my eyes every single time.

All of the hard work I used to pour my heart into to make all of those dreams a reality are now poured into the ministry that God has called me to for a season. I cannot wait for the fireworks that I used to watch every night at work and even when I would sit on the balcony of my old apartment. It feels almost like a dream when you go back to it.

I cannot wait....just a few more hours!!

Lighting Console Repair

2008-05-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

After wrestling since Christmas to convince Admin to purchase a new, easy to use lighting console for our Main Worship Service, I had to send it back to the factory earlier this week.

We went with a Full-Size ETC Congo because of the ease of use, and because ETC is one of the best companies to work with. They were the first to build a console that will handle conventional and moving lights all in one package. Though I loved the older Express and Emphasis systems, this was a huge leap for the entire industry.

To show you how great they are with service...

I called Customer Support as soon as I could not get the console up and running and got a Return Authorization in about 5 minutes, boxed the console up and drove it over to our local Barbizon Office and they sent it right over to the factory after getting all of our play files off of the hard drive. The whole process took 20 minutes. A few hours later Barbizon calls me to say that our replacement CongoJR is being overnighted to us and will arrive in the morning.

I came in the next day and loaded the show filed off of my thumb drive and was ready to get back to programming in 5 minutes.

I've said it before...you don't just buy a product because it's good, but because you know a company will take care of you. Having someone jump when you need help is a huge amount of security in the entertainment industry.

Thanks ETC.

Disney Vacation Next Week

2008-05-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

The time is getting even closer. Laura and I are getting away for our One Year Anniversay on Tuesday. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this trip!

People ask us questions all the time about when we used to work there...

For the record:

Yes, there are tunnels under Magic Kingdom.
No, the Characters DO NOT have air conditioners in the suits.
Yes, it was hard to smile for 14 hour shifts.
Yes, the pay was crappy.
No, I can't get you a discount there anymore.
Yes, I could go on with a million other "secrets".

Though I was unhappy when we left, I would gladly take my old tech job back if we moved back to the area. Just something about that place that makes you want to keep coming back for more (even if you have been there hundreds of times).

I picked up a freelance job at one of the local high schools performance of Disney's High School Musical a month ago to pull off this trip. It was hard work but will be very rewarding in the end.

Neither one of us have flown JetBlue, and we are excited about the DIRECTV that will be in our seats the whole way to Orlando. Not to mention we got a sweet deal on the tickets to fly with them. Thats about 95% of the reason why we are flying with them.

We are staying on property for 10 days, something we have never done before. Something else we have never done is take Disney's Magical Express from the airport right to our hotel room. his is a free service that they offer if you fly with certain airlines. We are saving hundreds of dollars not renting a car.
We are celebrating our Anniversary in Cinderella's Royal Table during fireworks on June 1st. ( I only linked this webpage because they stole one of my old photos for marketing) This is great because it's where we met. If you don't have good friends that still work with Disney, it's impossible to get reservations for there if you don't plan at least a year in advance.

I'm sure I will blog about it when we return. Just a few more days....Just a few more days.....

POP Goes the Church and Everything else...

2008-05-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Finally picked up Tim Stevens' newest book a few weeks ago. If you are looking for a copy of it, I know a guy who owns a nice Christian Bookstore that is selling it at a good price.

This book came at a good time in my life. Laura and I are starting a Bible Study that ties secular (I hate that word) music into scripture. We want the youth in our church to invite their friends to something that will not attack them with Jesus upon first impression. Christians need to be all about meeting ANYONE right where they are in their life. Playing "How Great Thou Art" with an organ and handbells just does not do the trick anymore. If you disagree, show me one healthy thriving church that is reaching the 18-24 crowd with that method. I will quickly change my mind.

On a side note:

I love how I can bring a group of youth over to my apartment and play Rock Band and Guitar Hero and have a deeper discussion doing that than inside of a Church. It excites me to being able to get down to their level and get torn apart by a middle schooler playing a plastic guitar.

I love how when I was in youth group and we had RIOTS we would go over to really nice houses and play HALO for hours on huge tv screens, projector screens and other awesome things and chain together 4 XBOX Systems. Of course I always lost, but it was still a great time.

Traffic Update - Kinda...

2008-02-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

Seriously, just when I think I might get to leave the office early, a little bit of ice makes the whole city stop. I think there were 5 - 20 Car Pile-ups tonight.

Hate to tell this to all of my Miami friends but...YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TRAFFIC IS!!

Discussion Questions - via NPCC

2008-01-27T05:58:00.000-08:00

The folks over at NPCC have been pulling at my heart recently. I've watched the first part of their "Just Ask" Series probably 4-5 times since they have posted it.
I admire Andy's team for constantly evaluating their Ministry in the Atlanta Area and seeing how they can be more effective at reaching more.

They are specifically targeting the 18-24 crowd.
The crowd that has pretty much disappeared from any organized religion. The ones that are spiritual, but not religious. The ones that see church as a place that would wreck freedom.

That's everyone I grew up with. Wait a minute...that's me.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many people I went to youth group with from 8th grade to 12th grade that have ABOSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with any form of organized religion.
So many things have changed even over the past 5 years for my generation. Even in the past YEAR!!!

Honestly, I don't blame them for not wanting to attend.

A few months ago I read through Dan Kimball's book "They Like Jesus But Not The Church" What an eye opener that was! Take a look at this quote: "People in their late teens to early thirties have so much optimism and idealism and zeal. Historically, we see people of those ages starting all types of movements and new ways of thinking."

It's true. Here are a few examples:

Bill Hybels - Willow Creek Community Church
Rick Warren - Saddleback Church
Andy Stanley - North Point, Browns Bridge, Buckhead
Craig Groeschel - lifechurch.tv

Here are some Discussion Questions Andy Stanley asked:

When have you attended an event or a metting for the first time and felt comfortable/uncomfortable?
Describe the first time you visited the church that you currently attend. Did someone invite you or did you attend on your own?
How is the church you currently attend different from churches you have visited in the past? What are some positive/negative differences?
What would make a first-time visitor to a church want to come back the following week? what would hinder them from coming again the collowing week?
Describle, if any, your attempts to invite a friend to come to church with you? how successful were you?
Are there any friends you are considering inviting to church? What further steps can you take in order to invite that friend to a church event/service?

I'm seriously wondering what most answers to these questions would sound like. I'm also afraid of most of the answers.

God help us to be a church that will reach the Next-Generation.

The Office? LOST?

2008-01-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

I recently started watching LOST. I'm such a devoted fan of the Office..but with that not on, and already owning all of the prior seasons, I need something else to watch.

Though watching LOST on ABC.com is exactly why there are no new episodes of The Office.

I'm a terrible person.

I hope this strike ends soon.

Renovated Facilities = New Stuff

2008-01-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

We seem to be getting closer and closer to getting things picked out, and then set in stone for our Renovated Facilities, and New Areas.

Here is what we are looking at so far...

Worship Center:

FOH/Monitors - Studer Vista 5 (42 Fader)
Speakers - Meyer M'elodie for High/Mids (Not sure how many),
M3D's for Subs...Looks like about 12-14 for the room. We will be sticking to Meyer for sure, but Models may change. I'm pretty set on getting M3D Subs personally.
Lighting Console - Full Size ETC Congo or GrandMA Full Size
Lighting Fixtures (Conventional) - 50-60 Various ETC Fixtures (Mostly Lekos)
Lighting Fixtures (Intelligent) - Martin Movers, 30-40 I'm leaning towards their CMY mixers, but would still be very happy with Kryptons. This sounds like a lot, BUT we scratched adding a catwalk to our Auditorium to save more than $300,000 AND to create a better line of sight. This will create AMAZING flexibility for each Series or Conferences.
Projectors - Either Barco or Christie, Front Projected onto Stewart Filmscreen.

Control Room:

Audio - Studer Vista 8, rigged with ProTools
Switcher - Ross Synergy 3
Lyrics - ProPresenter3 - Run on a MacPro
Video Playback- ProVideoPlayer
Video Capture - Final Cut Studio 2 - Run on a Mac Pro
CG - Chyron LEX2
Monitors - Mostly Marshall -- still exploring the Split Plasma Idea.

Atrium:

FOH/Monitors - Soundcraft Vi6...This is super close to the Studer Platform, we want to keep all of the venues similar.
Speakers - Probably Renkus Heinz, Probably stick with Powered speakers in there as well
Projectors - Either Barco or Christie
Lighting Console - ETC Congo jr
Lighting (Conventional) - 20-30 ETC Lekos
Lighting (Intelligent) - 8-10 Martin Movers - Probably Kryptons.

This is a very basic list, but most of the big ticket items are in there. In the next several weeks we will finalize everything down to the penny.

We have officially signed with Clark ProMedia to assit with ALL Design and ALL Implementation, I'm VERY excited to have them on board with us.

Real Christian Blogger?

2008-01-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

I was doing some catching up last night and came across a post that got me thinking...

I honestly believe that sometimes it is harder being a Christian working at a Church than working somewhere else. I think I a lot of people think that those in ministry are always happy, that everything always works out and they are just so close to Christ because they are in a Church almost everyday.

I've got news for you, it's not always true. For me, being young and being in a leadership position is at many times frustrating. Probably 60% of the time. It really makes me think of 1 Timothy 4:12 - I can still to this day recite it after learning it many years ago. (I'm not gonna type it...look it up!)

I hope that my posts never come across as me being someone who has it all figured out. I don't read my bible everyday, I get angry at people, I say things I shouldn't. I'm not even a good writer!

Blogging helps me think someone will come across a post, and feel exactly how I do about something.

Accident # 4

2008-01-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

I hate to be writing this, but it has happened AGAIN!

I'm on vacation with Laura visiting some of her friends in Yazoo City, MS, driving through a few of the country roads, when OUT OF NOWHERE comes a deer. We had a very close encounter 2 hours before with another deer crossing the road.

This second deer was not so lucky, neither was the car that I was driving...

So just to give you a recap of the past year of our car accidents here you go:

#1 Laura helped me relocate from Orlando, FL to my families vacation home in NC, when just a few miles South of Cordele, GA, an 18-Wheeler ran her off the road into a concrete wall. Laura walked away with back pains, that still exist and a totaled vehicle.

#2 On my way to work in Springfield, a pedestrian illegally crossed the road into oncoming traffic causing the car in front of me to stop quickly, causing me to stop quickly, causing the man behind me, ON HIS CELL PHONE to hit the rear of my car.

#3 Similar situation as #2 -- Only 5 weeks later...Coming home from the Volvo dealership (after being told I needed $3000 dollars of work on a car with 30,000 miles) another lady, ON HER CELL PHONE was no paying attention when I stopped and hit the rear of my car.

#4 Well, you know.

Our car is now worth $13,000 less and we will have sore backs for many, many months to come.

Vacation is not always vacation, I guess.

Vacation - Finally!

2007-12-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

I thought I would drop a line quickly as the wife and I prepare to head out the door to head over to Mississippi for a week...I really just hate packing.

After our hectic Christmas Season at Immanuel, I cannot wait any longer to get over to the airport and hop on a plane (even if it's to Mississippi). Just kidding. For the record, I met my wife in Orlando working at Disney.

In the midst of leaving I have too much crap in the my head. I almost forgot to pay our rent, and the other bills that I have been sending out late for the past 2 months. It's amazing how much your just forget when you are busy. But in the midst of all of all of this I start worrying if things will be taken care of while I'm away from work. It's a struggle, we are doing so much in such a little time that I'm sometimes too shy to ask for help sometimes because I'm afraid someone won't take care of something perfectly. Our volunteers hold us together though there are few to go around, we need every bit of them.

This week has really taught me to lean on the volunteers. Part of making this possible is getting in really easy equipment and software that requires a 10 minutes training. We are still working on getting all of our venues mirrored so that volunteers can be trained in one and be able to work at all.

Right now, I confess it's a mess. Some guys use PowerPoint, others use Media Shout, each venue has a different audio console with completely different outboard gear, different speakers, oh gosh I start to get tense thinking about it. Bringing on consultants and getting this right cannot happen soon enough for any of us.

When I return from Mississippi I plan on taking a trip down to Atlanta to meet with some friends down at NorthPoint Community Church and meet with some of the guys over at Clark ProMedia, I'm looking forward to it!

Second Life: Meet Church

2007-12-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

The guys over at LifeChurch.tv seem to be EXTREMELY busy these days. It seems like every month they are coming over with a new way to reach the unchurched people not just locally but GLOBALLY.

Both Bobby Gruenewald and Craig Groeschel are pretty sharp guys when it comes to Church Business. (If wish I would have known more when I interviewed with them!) Craig with a degree in Marketing and Bobby with what appears to be a successful background in technology... both are making great strides moving forward with Church Technology.

These guys, along with some of their inside developers and outside developers have pulled together LifeChurch:Second Life. I heard about Second Life through The Office (My favorite TV show), and later found out these guys are already on top of things. Apparently the game already draws almost 6 MILLION players! I still struggle at playing Halo, I don't know how I would do zipping around places on a computer, probably not too good.

Take a look at their Campus HERE if you are already part of Second Life.

Dead Equipment

2007-12-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

We seem to have an amazing snowball effect taking place at IBC. Let's recap the things that have fried over the past 6 months...

#1 - Our 56 Channel Allen and Heath dies in the middle of a service. Not only did it die, it took two fairly new power supplies with it...Odd. The fluctuating power blew almost 25 capacitors on the console. We quickly fixed the low voltage issues.
We sold this puppy on eBay for a few grand, sorry if you missed out. (I don't think the guys that bought it knew we had a lot of issues with it.) Gosh, I hope they don't read this.

The Studer Vista 5 - 42 Fader Version replaced this toy. I still wish we would have gotten more lighting gear instead, but I can't have everything.

#2 - Panasonic Projector #1 starts flickering in the middle of a service. Shortly after we grabbed our Genie Tower and Meter...Jim who works with me found out the hard way that the plug was shorted..you can guess how. We remembered to check the lamp hours and housing, everything was in good shape. The problem was something greater than I could ever explain.

#3 - Panasonic Projector #2 starts flickering two weeks later. We quickly sent this one back to Panasonic to be looked at. As it turns out...the bulb actually was the problem this time.
Our friends over a Christie or Barco will be getting a call in the next few months.

#4 - Par64 Cans causing issues. I have taken down 10-12 since I have been here. (Also dozens of Kliegl fixtures) I also found out the hard way that aged inventory of Pars were shorting due to improper wiring. It was a "shocking" discovery.

#5 - Strand 521i Lighting Console begins acting strange during the Christmas Concerts that will draw thousands over the first few weeks of December. We simply thought it was just the outdated software and continued to press forward with hours of programming.
A few days ago we updated the software (which by new I mean Strand last updated it in 2003).
A day following that, the thing just starts firing cues, changing fade times, calling up moving lights, randomly typing in commands. Surprisingly enough, this thing runs off of MS-DOS!
I had no choice but to call up a few of my contacts and get another Lighting Console sent to me that day. We had previously looked at the ETC Congo - Full Size (their new console line is sweet), turns out it is the perfect console for what we are doing...not to mention I'm a HUGE ETC fan.

Our friends over at Clark Pro Media overnighted it to me about 10 minutes after I talked to Matt Card, one of their Vice Presidents, along with one of their engineering guys. Before they would even offer a demo or even attempt to quote me a price, they wanted to be sure this is the console we NEEDED. Talk about Customer Service, these guys have their game down.
Though UPS delayed the shipment, we got it in here and set it up in under 2 hours.

I hope we buy it!!

That's all for now. I have lighting to design for 7 services in the next few hours, wish me luck.

Snow Day is here

2007-12-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

Thats right folks, the day is finally here. Most people from this area might not find this a really big deal but...for someone how grew up in Sunny Florida IT IS!!!

I would be a little more excited about this but the fact that my wonderful 99 Honda Accord (120,000 miles and still runs great) has no type of Winter tires. I am being a good husband letting Laura drive the car with the new tires AND All Wheel Drive. :)

Annual Christmas Concerts

2007-12-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again at Immanuel. Nearly thousands of people will be stepping into our doors to join us for our 25th Anniversary Christmas by Candlelight Concerts. I did not even realize until now that all shows are Sold Out. You can find more about them here.

This is my first year helping out with the concerts, I have the priveledge of being the Lighting Designer and Production Manager. A lot of the technical things would not have been possible without the help of these two vendors:

Selecon Lighting

We are in a transition phase right now with lot of our Production equipment and they have generously offered some of their products for demo use. About 80% of our Theatrical Lighting is over 30 years old. We keep the Fire Marshall far, far away from them.
Radio City Music Hall provided the Church with some OLD Kliegl Ellipsoidals after they were well beyond retirement and we are slowly replacing them. I'm thinking of putting them on eBay soon...looking for a piece of history?

Though I'm a huge ETC fan, Selecon has a pretty nice product line, with a few Very Narrow Beam Angles that look incredible. I'm in love with the Pacific 5.5-13 Zoomspot.

A friend of ours over at McLean Bible Church encouraged us to get in contact with Selecon.

Shure Wireless

We are currently trying out their UHF-R Series Mics, with the hope of installing them when we have our major facility upgrade next year. We are in love with the KSM9 Capsule, but who isn't? The boost starting around 3k creates a very pretty color.
Tomlin, Crowder, Keith Urban, and James Taylor are all users.

I'll be sure to post up some photos of our concerts.

First Post. Ever.

2007-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

Thats right folks, Jeff Reed has convinced me to join the blogging community. After many months and excuses, I have given in.

Mostly, I want to let people into my world and let you know what is crossing my mind on Church Production/Creative Ideas and other random things.

Welcome!