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Shaking My Head In Worship

by Kendall Conner on May 14, 2013 in Articles with 5 Comments
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I’ve been visiting a lot of churches lately. I’ve been a part of a couple conferences, attended a few regional gatherings, and stopped by a few just for fun. Because church media really is my thing, that’s what I naturally look for when I walk through the door. Some of the churches that I’ve attended in these past few months have caused my mouth to drop in awe. In these cases, I immediately start jotting notes, taking photos, and dreaming about how I can apply some of their ideas or techniques to my normal workflow. But, to be honest, most of the churches that I’ve visited have given me quite the opposite effect. Frankly, a lot of them have looked a hot mess. I’m talking U-G-L-Y, no alibi, straight up ugly. And because I’ve never been very skilled at hiding my emotions, I typically end up with a disgusted look on my face and/or shaking my head right in the middle of worship. It’s not healthy. No matter how jacked up their lyrics look or how 90′s their background is, for all of my attention to get wrapped up in such trivial things is poisonous for my soul.

So what do I do instead? I close my eyes. I lock out the lyrics, the backgrounds, the lighting, and all other distractions. And it’s in that visual silence that I worship. Better for my heart to enter God’s presence with no sight than with my eyes judging every motion on the screen. The crazy thing? After I take a note or two, I’ve learned that this is a very good practice in those mouth-dropping, awe-filled services, as well. More than a few times I have gotten so caught up in jotting down notes and comparing lyric techniques that I went through an entire worship set without acknowledging God’s existence. This is just as bad—or maybe even worse.

Have you ever gotten so caught up in church media that you forgot the entire reason why you do what you do? Is it really beneficial to critique your way through a service when you’re visiting another church? What’s a healthy way for me to respond when I see media that looks jacked-up when I’m visiting other churches?

Join Me At The Echo Conference (+Promo Code)

by Kendall Conner on May 10, 2013 in Articles with 3 Comments
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This July, I’ll be headed to Dallas for my first time attending the Echo Conference—a church conference for artists, geeks, and storytellers. For several years, I have admired this conference from afar and really appreciated what these guys are doing for the Church. (And let’s be honest…I kind of fit all three criteria for their target audience.) Since I live in Baltimore, it’s not exactly an easy or inexpensive trip for me, but I made up my mind that I would raise the money this year for my wife and I to attend. We’re really expecting to learn a lot and we are super-stoked about the keynote and breakout speakers. My inner geek is also really giddy about getting some inspiration for media, lighting, stage design, and every other tiny detail in each session. But more than anything else, I’m looking forward to meeting people. My biggest hope is to finally connect with all of the people that I recognize best by a Twitter handle. I can only imagine how awesome it’s going to be to gather in one place with so many people with the same heart and drive as us.

I would love to have the opportunity to meet you there! I’m confident that it’s totally going to be worth the investment, but here’s a little something to help lighten the load a bit. Be sure to use the code “CR8IVEPR” to save 15% off of your registration price!

Find out more on the official Echo Conference page.

I Just Bought A New Computer

by Kendall Conner on April 22, 2013 in Articles with 5 Comments
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It had been a long time coming. My early 2008, 15-inch Macbook Pro had definitely seen better days when I finally decided to make a move to a new machine. Through my own experiences and those of colleagues, I’ve learned that with most technology, it’s best to go ahead and spend the big bucks upfront. This has proved true for me in several areas. For one, while my 2008 MBP might not have been as “production worthy” as I needed it to be for Sunday morning media or able to keep up with my rendering needs, it’s still a pretty kickin’ computer. Since its replacement, we’ve still been able to use it for all of the design work for my wife’s invitation business. I credit that to purchasing it with excellent specs upfront. On the other hand, I cannot tell you how many cheap laptops that I’ve burnt through that only lasted a year because I went for the “good enough” option. 5 years vs. 1 year….you do the math.

The only problem with “spending the big bucks upfront” is that it requires those big bucks. And my wife and I are Ramsey-er’s, so financing isn’t really an option for us. However, after some hard saving and a generous tax return, I was ready to make the investment! And it sure paid off! I’m now the proud owner of a new 15-inch Macbook Pro with Retina Display! (Specs below) Before buying, I had read several discussions online where people had expressed issues they were having with this machine, but I can tell you that it’s worked fantastically for me. I’ve been running ProPresenter 4 and all of the CS4 Production Suite almost everyday with no trouble at all. It was a big relief for me that it could handle my current software without having to spend more money right out of the gate on the latest software.

Complete Specs:
Macbook Pro
Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013
Processor: 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5
Storage: 512 GB flash storage
Connections: MagSafe 2 power port, Two Thunderbolt ports (up to 10 Gbps), Two USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps), HDMI port, Headphone port, SDXC card slot

I was asked by a friend if I would recommend this computer to a church looking to purchase a new video setup. While this new machine has worked wonderfully for our church (I’ve used it for the past three Sundays at our theater campus), it’s not necessary for every church. I purchased this computer to be able to handle heavy graphic and video design for years to come while also remaining portable. It’s not likely that most churches would need this much horsepower in a mobile form. However, if your budget permits and mobility is a necessity, this may be your best bet.

My ultimate recommendation for churches who are looking to get started with media in their services or overhaul their current video setup is Apple’s iMac. Five years ago, our church made the purchase of an iMac that was only slightly upgraded beyond the base model. (A total of a $1,500 investment) At that time, we were an inner-city church of only about 250 attenders, so it was a pretty hefty purchase for us. However, it has provided us with five years (and counting) of top quality media on Sunday mornings and never had to be repaired. In the very beginning, we determined that this computer would only be used for media during services. This was not a machine to be used for random browsing or daily projects. Five years later, we’re still using that same iMac at our city campus. To be honest, it still runs like it did on day one. I would recommend this method to any church. You may not have any experience with an Apple computer, but I can testify that I have been through over a dozen PC’s and all the headache that came with them. You won’t regret buying a Mac. I’ve included the specs below of the iMac that I’d recommend. By no means are they concrete, but with these specs you’ll go far.

Recommended Computer:
21.5-inch iMac
Processor: 2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5
Memory: 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 512MB GDDR5
Storage: 1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

Price: $1,499.00 (Always be sure to check MacMall for a lower price!)

What computer do you use for Sunday morning media?

Media That Matters

by Kendall Conner on April 15, 2013 in Articles with No comments
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There was a time in the Church when pretty much anything projected during a service was considered progressive and beneficial, but that’s simply not the case anymore. In 2013, we’re a more visual, media-driven people than ever before. Media is everywhere and therefore average Joe’s now have standards. The common man may not be able to put into words what right looks like, but he can sure tell you when something looks wrong. And sloppy, unprofessional, or just plain ugly aren’t exactly the ways that you want people describing your church. This brings an interesting challenge to those of us who have taken on the task of leading people in “visual worship.”

In the same way that it would be painfully obvious to your congregation if your pianist, guitarist, or singers walked onto the stage unprepared, people are going to notice when you haven’t done your part, too. There is an art to playing music that is not only friendly to the ear, but that truly leads people into worship. It requires practice. It requires prayer. Church media is so much more than tapping a spacebar on Sunday morning. You have the opportunity to capture the imagination of a crowd and point their attention towards Christ. Imagery should be beautiful. Information should be clear. And it should all work in harmony with the other elements of the service to communicate one message.

Here are three critical things that I would challenge you to make time in your week to do before you ever touch the mouse on Sunday morning.

1. LEARN THE SONGS
It’s a must that you familiarize yourself with the lyrics and arrangements for the worship sets on Sundays. This can be as simple as taking a few trips to YouTube throughout the week or making a Spotify playlist for your ride to work. Communicate with your worship leader so that you know exactly where they’re going. Make a point to attend worship team practices as often as possible. You’ve got an entire crowd of people depending on your lyrics – they’re worth your time to get them right. When you’re confident with the songs, you’ll be able to actually enjoy your time in worship, too.

2. PLAN YOUR MEDIA BEFOREHAND
When you wait to the last minute to start choosing backgrounds, countdowns, and splash screens, you’re laying down a welcome mat for mediocrity. Invest some time in choosing your content before Sunday morning. Make sure that your colors and themes are a good fit for the current season, the worship setlist, and the pastor’s message for the day. Find backgrounds that compliment each other and create an consistent atmosphere during your time of worship. Rather than running media on the fly, make a clean playlist in your presentation software and assign backgrounds to individual songs.

3: PRAY FOR THE SERVICE
Never underestimate the power of prayer. Ask God to use you in the service to do more than simply project lyrics, but to create a distraction-free environment of life-change. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and keep your clicks graceful. Pray that you’ll keep a heart of service and an attitude that inspires others to do the same. Ask for quick recovery from glitches, bugs, and butterfingers – because they will come. Tell Him that all of your preparation, hard-work, and labor is for His honor and for His name to be lifted up. Mean it.

Easter Is Upon Us

by Kendall Conner on March 28, 2013 in Articles with No comments
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There’s no busier season for church media staffers than Easter. Whether it’s designing that perfect sermon graphic, preparing all of the content for special productions, sending invite cards to print, finding a way to advertise an egg hunt that doesn’t seem too cheesy, promoting all of your services on social media, or just finding time to do all of your normal, weekly duties—it can be a bit overwhelming! Those who have attended church for any length of time know that Easter is the #1 Sunday for newcomers. Because of this, it’s the norm for churches to put their best foot forward and go “all out” as much as possible. The “excellence honors God and inspires people” speeches come out from pastors and team leaders. If there is a Sunday for you to have your “ducks in a row,” this is the time. And rightfully so. Visitors are important. Souls are important. The more people that we have plugged in to the local church, the better. And when a newcomer gets up early on Sunday, steps out of their comfort zone, and walks into your church—you’re going to want to know that you did your part to make it worth it for them.

Just yesterday, I spoke with a producer of one of the fastest growing churches in America and she spoke briefly of the crazy number of hours that their staff/volunteers have been pouring in to make Easter weekend special. For a church like them, where it’s already the norm to work super hard all week to make Sunday special, they’ve had to pull some very late nights to keep up during this season. One thing that stood out to me the most from our conversation was how joyful their team was about the opportunity to serve. I can truly say that these people were excited to work hard and put in late hours in preparation, because they understood that it was all about reaching people for Christ. So when their stage design volunteers had to stay up past 1am one night to finish painting props, for example, they did it with a smile on their faces. They understood that creating a loving, engaging atmosphere for people to walk into on Sunday could pave the way for lives to be changed. Seeing their selfless attitude when it came to these things made it very obvious why their church is so successful.

But here you are. You’re not a part of a “Top 10″ church. Your church’s media team might just consist of you and your laptop. You may not have the best equipment or software. You may not have a large pool of volunteers to pull from. But it’s still Easter and you want to do your best to make a difference. Why not start with your attitude? If you’re like me, being committed to come in and work is never a problem. I never mind putting my hand to the plow and knocking out projects. But it’s the other half of the equation that I tend to lack—having a smile on my face while I’m doing it. It’s so easy to turn into a busy grump as you work hard on these things. I have news for you—not only will working like this drive you crazy, it will kill your creativity and steer away any potential volunteers.

My biggest tip for Easter? Be cheerful. Find joy in serving the Lord, because it’s truly an honor to do so. Take time from the busyness for prayer. Take time to invest in people. Take delight in what equipment/resources/people that you do have and pray that God will use them to their fullest. Know that every small part of what you do for the Kingdom is important. When you have production hiccups this weekend, trust that it will be okay. And at the end of the day, Easter is about His resurrection—amongst all the craziness, take time to celebrate that.

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