The importance of design

Like many of you I have been enjoying the coverage of the 2008 Olympics. One of the surprises of the 2008 games for me has been the architecture of the various Olympic venues. In particular I am impressed with the design of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube venues on the Olympic Green. While I missed most of the opening ceremony (which I regret based on reports) I have been impressed how the organizing committee has managed to blend the ancient with the modern, nature with technology, and beauty with function.

Good design inspires, connects, in short, it fits like a well-worn pair of blue jeans. I have been doing some research over the last month for a major redesign of our church web site. Our current web site design has been in place since it's inception. And it has served us well. But it could be better.

I have several goals in mind for the new web site

• A new web site to go with a renewed building
• Create a place for new innovative ministries (ex. Bridge Builders)
• Continued highlighting of our blogs and sermon podcast including expansion of our family of bloggers
• Transition to easier to maintain, standards-based HTML and CSS markup
• Pruning of content that never seems to get updated.
• Better navigation

While I probably won't equal a Water Cube or Bird's Nest it will be interesting to see what shows up. Let me know your thoughts.

Sanctuary audio visual upgrades have begun

Our audio/visual consultant for the Sanctuary system has completed the first half of the repairs and upgrades to the Sanctuary audio system. For quite some time we have been dealing with some broken equipment in the Sanctuary system that was affecting our stage monitor system. We also have had some more recent damage that affected the main speakers. Some of the items that have been broken were items that were not upgraded during the last upgrades to the Sanctuary sound system.

The scope of the repairs and upgrades are as follows

1. Replace the broken amplifiers for the monitor subsystem


2. Install new digital signal processors for the main/monitor speaker systems. This should dramatically improve the quality of our sound over previous weeks. The monitor system has been running without a functioning EQ for quite some time.


3. Convert the speaker cluster to a Left-Center-Right channel configuration. This upgrade configure our speaker cluster to enable stereo separation of the sound. For example when we have music and vocals we can pan te music to the left and right speakers and place the vocals in the center channel. The stereo separation of the signal into three channels will greatly improve the quality of the sound. Previously all sound in our speaker cluster had been mono.

We have some items remaining to do when additional equipment arrives.

1. We will install a one-button power on/power off capability that control all of the components in the sound booth and A/V closet. This will enable us to safely turn the system on/off with a single button. Powering the system down when it is not in use will safe power, increase the life of the equipment, and help protect it from damage.


2. We will upgrade our recording capability by recording in digital form on compact flash media. This will greatly simplify our podcast process.


3. We will add a audience response microphone which will greatly improve the quality of our recordings


4. We have a repair to our mixing board on one of the monitor channels.


5. We will relocate some equipment from the back A/V closet to the sound booth on new racks.


6. We have some repairs that are needed on the hanging choir microphones.

Here is a photo of our new amps and DSPs

Worship For Youth

Today's post comes from M-Fuge camp at Philadelphia. I wanted to talk a little bit about designing worship experiences for youth based on my observations of coming to camp over the years. The key idea is that the elements of worship are the same but the packaging is different. We still worship our Lord, we pray, we sing, we use Scripture, we are invited to respond; just in a way that is approachable to youth. M-Fuge is a national camp so the way they plan worship for youth is a good model for us to consider in our planning.

At M-Fuge we have two different worship experiences. The main worship service each day is in the evening and we have a celebration service in the morning prior to going out to our ministry sites. Here is a general list of the contents of each:

Evening Worship

• Worship songs with band
• A video clip on missions opportunites in Canada and with the Roma people in eastern Europe
• A drama sketch with two actors
• A message from the camp pastor
• Prayer
• A time of invitation and commitment.

Celebration Send-Off

• A game involving two or more youth ministers (nominated by students)
• Worship songs with band
• The latest installment of a thought-provoking (and funny) video clip series that demonstrates the theme "Adventure Now"
• A hilarious video clip series on Carter - the Church Assistant
• A video clip on missions opportunites in Canada and with the Roma people in eastern Europe followed by prayer for the folks from the video
• A drama sketch with two actors
• A brief message from the camp pastor
• Prayer
• Send off to ministry sites

Most of our worship services include these basic elements. Now I want to talk in a little more detail about the look and feel of the service

Theme Interpretation

• The room is decorated to reflect the camp theme, particularly in the stage area.
• The stage area is flexible, it can hold a band, a skit, a game, and a message. Furniture is easily moved as needed.
• The theme of the week is interpreted using a series of video clips about a young man and his two friends going on adventure. You can see a trailer for the M-Fuge camp that includes portions of the clip here
• The theme of the week is also interpreted using a series of skits performed by two of the camp staff.
• The print materials for the week support the theme.

Music

• Worship is led by a band (Two guitars, bass, drums, worship leader, and background vocals, keys). Various portions of the band are used during worship.
• The music is primarily guitar-driven.
• We sing five to six songs in a given worship service. Sometimes we will sing a portion of a song instead of the entire song. Typically it is 3-4 songs to start, a song or two in the middle and a song or two for the invitation.
• Song lyrics are projected on screens with moving background graphics.

Visuals

• Worship service is conducted in a gym, but it has been transformed to reflect the camp theme.
• There is a large stage, sound system and two screens in the front of the room with two columns of chairs.
• The room is dimmed most of the time. There is a mix of theartical lighting on portable stands and some creative solutions to provide dimmable house lighting.
• The room is set up to limit outside light to enable near-blackout conditions
• The props for the skits are very minimal

Message

• The camp pastor preaches for about a half hour. We have seen different preaching styles over the years. Some preach in an exegetical style, others are more story-oriented. Some use media clips. The key idea is that the camp pastor needs to communicate with youth well.

Resp0nse

• Students are invited to respond by coming forward to pray, prayer with their youth leaders or camp staff and or pray at their seats.
• The invitation allows for both salvation and commitment to mission service/ministry

We'll talk more about this in coming weeks.

DTV, February 2009 and you

On February 17, 2009 all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital. Digital broadcasting will allow stations to offer improved picture and sound quality and additional channels.

http://www.dtv.gov/

So, what does this mean, to you? First of all the DTV web site contains a host of useful information in regards to what is happening, why it is happening, etc. I'd suggest you visit the web site for information on the DTV transition. I find that the FAQ section is especially helpful for most people.

So, why blog about a change in TV on a blog tied to the church web site? I thought this blog was on Worship, Media, and Technology. How does TV fit into the scope of this blog?

1. People are asking me about it. (For example "Will I have to buy a new big-screen HDTV to get TV after the cutover?") The conversion is certainly being used as a marketing opportunity by retailers. The answer to this question, by the way, is no. The DTV conversion is being used to sell HDTVs just like the recent tax rebate checks were hyped by car dealers as a way to buy a new car. With a convertor box your old 1963 TV will continue to work. The new HDTVs are very cool. The main thing to know is that you may have to buy a digital tuner (converter box) and coupons for $40 are available.

2. The DVD transition will enable wireless communication growth. Each analog TV channel consumed a certain amount of the frequency spectrum aka bandwidth. Analog transmissions also suffered from interference from adjacent channels so there had to be "gaps" in between the channels to isolate the signals. Digital TV transmissions use less bandwidth and can be clustered together without crosstalk. This free bandwidth was recently auctioned by the FCC and won by various telcoms such as Verizon (who had a $9.4B bid) and AT&T

As a result of the new bandwidth in the analog TV 700Mhz band. Telcoms will be able to offer additional voice and data wireless services. The 700Mhz band is better than the existing frequencies in terms of it's ability to travel long distances and penetrate buildings. So wireless vendors will be able to offer better coverage, faster data services, and more comprehensive services to their customers.

How will we as the church use these new capabilities to reach people for Christ? How will we use these new capabilities to connect with one another for fellowship and discipleship. We need to enter into a discussion on these issues. In my opinion, the days of putting a note in the bulletin or a flyer on a wall are quickly coming to a close. Both assume that folks are coming to us and will see our information in physical form. With the new wireless capabilities we will have a number of new ways to stay in touch with people as we "reach beyond ourselves".

3. The DTV transition may break existing technology. There is a great deal of wireless technology that made use of the "white spaces" in the analog TV band. For example some wireless microphones transmit their signal in the TV band. The frequency spectrum is getting more crowded and either DTV signals or wireless signals for cell phones might render our wireless mics unuseable due to interference. This could affect churches, theatres, sporting events, schools, restaurants, etc. As an example here is a statement from Shure to their customers on the potential impacts of the DTV transition. We will be doing a survey of our gear to assess the potential impacts on what we already own.

Technology is like a river, you never step into the same river twice. We'll keep up to date on this and other technology trends. In particular to figure out how we can reach people for Christ in new ways.

Coming Attractions

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions"

Albert Einstein

The summer movie season is upon us. The period from May thru July 4th is often filled with movies that we have been waiting to see. It may be the next edition of Indiana Jones, Narnia, or Batman series but this is a great time of the year to see movies. I remember I once kiddedTerri that we would celebrate our wedding anniversary by attending the Lord Of The Rings : Fellowship of the Ring on it's opening night. Of course, Terri was less than thrilled by the option, so we didn't go.

We have been seeing previews of coming attractions for our church facilities. We have glimpses of what is coming, but we do not have the full picture. For those of you who missed some of the "movie trailers" because you were in line getting popcorn I thought I would reiterate some of the neat stuff we have in mind for the renovation of our facilities and our ministries.

The "July 4th blockbuster" of the renovation project is the new fellowship hall. Our intent is that after the renovation, the Hospitality Center (HC) will be a first-class venue for fellowship, teaching and worship. Our planning has been geared towards making the HC a very flexible space. The room is designed to adapt to a number of usages. This is part of the reason why you have not heard a lot of details on what will be in the room. Let me explain this by analogy.

During the Thanksgiving holiday you are in a movie theater and you have just seen an exciting preview for an action movie that will be released on the following July 4th. Your immediate reaction to the preview was "We've got to go see that". In November, however, the movie is not finished. There are thousands of digital artists who are painstakingly working to create each frame of the film. There are audio engineers who are working to create every sound you will hear. There are even marketing executives who are still negotiating contracts with fast food chains for shared promotional campaigns. In short, during the eight months between November and July there is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes. The same thing has been going on with the HC. We have been working on the building addition design, the kitchen design, the audio visual design and going through the permit and approval process. I'm sure that someone has spent at least a few days working out where exactly all of the plumbing lines have to be run, down to a detailed level.

We still have a ways to go on the HC renovation. We are working on estimating costs, establishing options for financing the construction, getting necessary approvals, etc.

As we go through this process we will need to tweak the design, but here are some things that I hope will make the walk down the "red carpet" during the premiere of the HC.

• An integrated video projection system that consists of three projectors/screens that can be used for teaching, song lyrics, announcements, sunday school, etc.
• A sound system that is in many ways is superior to the system in the Sanctuary (Note: As the A/V chair I have plans to fix some sound issues in the Sanctuary too)
• A video camera and editing tools that will enable us to build a media ministry team to better catalog and illustrate visually our lives together.
• New instruments that will equip us with the ability to host a contemporary service in the HC space.
• Flexible, portable A/V control racks that we can store easily when the room is not in use.

Here is where I want to invite you to put on your "imagination cap". What I would like for you to do is dream about ways we can make use of these new capabilities. We will need people with a passion to use these tools and a willingness to learn to fulfill the purposes of the HC center.

We can build the nicest theater, have the most special-effects filled scenes, the best script, and the tastiest pop-corn, but if the theater is empty we have missed our purpose. We need folks to step up and say, "I want to learn how to run the projector", "I'm good at making popcorn", "I'm friendly, so I can help people find a seat", "I'm a great cleaner, I'll sweep the aisles to keep the theater looking new". The goal of the HC is not about neat new toys, it is about the things the God will do, through his people, with those capabilities. So dream a little bit.

See ya at the movies...

Soccer and the church

Terri and I have been attending a lot of soccer games over the past year. Nate, our adopted college student is on the W&M men's soccer team and has been playing for the Virginia Legacy this summer. I did not grow up as part of the soccer culture. When I was a kid we had football, baseball and basketball leagues. My main soccer memories of childhood are of seeing Pele on TV.

Tony has been preaching a sermon series using the metaphor of games/sports to illustrate life lessons and I thought I would offer up some examples from soccer. I hope I am not "borrowing" his ideas for a future sermon. Who knows he might borrow from me.

1) Get up, shake the dust off and keep running
Soccer is listed as a non-contact sport, but when I watch soccer played at the college level I am amazed by the resiliency of soccer players. I have seen numerous collisions and fouls where a player is left lying on the ground, writhing in pain. Yet, it seems that after a few minutes the player is up and running again at full speed. Life is a contact sport and bad things will happen, but as people of faith we need to get up, shake the dust off, and get back in the game.

2) Etiquette matters
One thing I have admired in soccer is the way a team handles an injury on the other team. Team A has the ball and one of their players is injured by a member of Team B, but Team B has the ball. After the referee has stopped and restarted play, Team B's first move is to kick the ball to Team A's goalie. In most cases, no penalty had been called, the injury was incidental during the play so Team B is voluntarily giving the ball back to Team A. Even in the midst of a competitive match where players are working very hard to win, they recognize that their is something more important than winning. The key ideas here are sensitivity to others and a strategy of doing the right thing.

3) It may take a long time to make some progress
A typical soccer game consists of two 45-minutes halves and the teams can end up with a combined score that is countable on one hand. At the international level the sports media tracks the number of meters that a player as run during the course of a match. This stat is similar to tracking the number of pitches thrown in baseball or the number of sacks a quarterback has received in football. In short, a tremendous amount of energy can be expended in a game that might end with a 1-0 final score. A goal can happen anywhere in the game. Step away from the stands for a minute and you might miss the only goal. The key to watching soccer is to be there the whole time. If we become disengaged we might miss a key moment. The same is true in church life. Things may seem to move at a glacial pace, but we need to stay engaged. We might miss those game-changing moments in the life of our church.

4) Soccer is a team sport, so is church
Soccer involves between 7 and 11 players per side, a referee and two assistant referees. So in a normal match 25 people are involved. You can practice soccer skills as an individual but you cannot play a game by yourself. You need teammates to help you, you need opponents to challenge your skills, you need officials to keep you honest to the game. Now I am not going to speculate about who in the church serves as a referee or an opponent. The key point I want to make is that church is not a solitary activity. We need to consider ways to get more people into positions of service and leadership. It makes our job as church leaders easier, but it also gets more people where they need to be, in the game.

5) Good coaching shows
Soccer seems to be a simple game. Kick the ball into the opponents goal. Like most team sports each player has a different role. The goalie protects the goal and can touch the ball with his hands. Some players have a defensive role, some players have an offensive role. A well-coached team will have each player doing the right thing at the right time. Good coaching can overcome limited ability. Poor coaching can minimize outstanding physical ability. Good coaching is evident in the proper positioning of players and a strategic approach to the game. The same is true in church. Our staff and church leadership seek to put us in positions where we can use our individual abilities and talents to God's glory. Are you willing to learn?

6) Fans are important
The William and Mary soccer team has an important ritual as part of their post-game "cool down". They walk to the middle of the field, shoulder to shoulder, facing the stands and visibly applaud their fans. It is a way of demonstrating their appreciate for fans who have followed the game and cheered on the team. In the church we need to celebrate the folks that we encounter along the way. Simple appreciation and friendliness to our visitors will help encourage them to come again. We can never forget our fans.

7) Celebration is paramount
Because of the rarity of goals in soccer a goal is vigorously celebrated. Some players might only score one goal in their entire career. Whenever something good happens, especially if it might only happen once for that person. We must celebrate. This is why we publish birthdays in our newsletter, why we sing Happy Birthday/Anniversary on Sunday night. It is our chance to join in on something really cool that God has done in and through the life of a fellow believer.

8) A tie is OK
In some leagues, soccer can end in a tie. Each team gets a half-point for the win in the overall league standings. So, even a tie is movement toward the goal of a league championship. We have all sorts of ways of measuring our church: attendance, giving, the size of our facilities and metrics such as these can be helpful. But the key idea is the following, no matter where we are, are we moving towards the goal that God has laid out for us as Walnut Hills Baptist Church.

The hybrids have been saved!

A few weeks ago I shared our experiences relating to buying a hybrid car. With great fanfare I can announce the successful completion of my Save The Hybrids campaign. Terri and I are the owners of a fancy new hybrid car and are already enjoying the better gas mileage.

Some things we have learned in the journey of buying a new car during a period of $130/barrel oil prices.

1. Some car dealers will have better luck at getting cars sooner than others.

For example a newly built, large dealership will probably have a higher allocation than a older dealer might. Simply because the car company is paying the dealer back for their recent financial commitment to the brand. We were told by one dealer that the process was a $500 deposit plus a 30-45 day wait. In our case it was a $500 deposit and a 12-day rate. We picked one of the seven or eight options that was "on the ship" to the US.

2. Driving a hybrid does not force you to drive differently to get good mpg.

We have owned our car for less than 24 hours, have driven it 100+ miles and we averaged around 48 mpg. Terri drove the car on I-64 just like she drove her last car (a V6 Ford Escape). Our friends who own the same model say that if you take your foot off of the gas as you approach a stop light and coast, the mpg will go up. So, the point is, you are not required to adapt, but if you adapt a little, it will pay off.

3. New cars have fancy doodads in them

Our new car has a stereo system that has an integrated Bluetooth adapter. Our two-year old cell phones have Bluetooth adapters. We can connect our phones to the car and we can operate in hands-free mode. The car has a built-in mic and the sound from the phone plays thru the stereo system. It will even mute the sound if you have an incoming call. This is the same technology that makes the ear-worn Borg implants for cell phones. The first time I saw someone having a conversation on one of those I was afraid to go to close to them. You tend to avoid people talking loudly on the street when no one is around them.

4. The car will sell for the sticker price, but the dealer may sweeten the deal in other areas

Dealers will offer you a break on warranty plans and the like. If you like to buy extended warranties, this is a place you can haggle.

Thanks to all of our hybrid-evangelist friends who offered advice and test drives of their vehicles (Dave, Mary Lou, Don, and Linda). We have joined your ranks.