try not to blink.
I’m writing this in Syracuse airport, having covered more than 5,000 miles in the last 12 hours, and less than 70 miles from home.
I’m full of wonderful tales for my children, chocolate for my wife, and an added inheritance for the legacy I’m leaving and the reward I’m headed to in eternity.
Thanks for all your prayers and kind comments. I consider you far more than readers: you’re wings to our ministry. ch:
Last night was glorious. And it took all I had.
The event organizers billed Saturday night as a concert, and we certainly started off in that vein. But after an hour of music, something happened.
I felt prompted to invite all the adults forward to pray for the youth. What I had imagined as a simple exercise in generational blessing, turned into a 2 hour session of impartation, repentance, and of adamantly seeking God. Many teens who – just earlier that morning – were non-enthused with being at the conference, suddenly transformed into passionate worshipers – weeping, shouting, dancing, and basking in the manifest presence of God’s love.
Even though emotions were running high, none of my band would hug me at 11:00pm when we ended, as my shirt and jeans were soaked through with sweat.
Many God-moments made, many memories shared.
This morning I had the privilege to lead worship at the host church, followed by yet another powerful message by Mark Pugh of England, head of Elim’s international youth movement. Joseph also sat in on drums and did a fantastic job.
I taught again in the afternoon, and then opted just to lead a few songs of worship to close (as they wanted me to preach the last session, but my voice literally couldn’t handle it). It took less than 36 hours for a group of largely complacent, if not well-meaning, teens to be transformed into Jesus-dedicated, soul-hungry, presence-seeking fools.
And I love every one of them.
Saying goodbye to Mark, Jesse, Ben-J, Joel, and Julie, as well as Pastor Christophe & Sanbine, was as hard as it gets. Because the more I do this, the more I value the people of God. That’s one reason why heaven will be so epic: all the people you adore in the same place at the same time.
Finally, this evening, Joseph and I were treated to an amazing meal of raclette by our hosts. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Joseph so happy – definitely trumped kebabs.
Flying home tomorrow. Couldn’t be more excited about seeing my tribe. I think I preached about Jennifer and her love for God in every session. (You know you’re crazy for somebody when…).
Tonight I go to sleep utterly spent and exhausted, but for good reason: I’m convinced I must demonstrate to the next generation of French leaders what it means to worship God with everything you have. (I suppose that’s why Jenny packs me 3 t-shirts per day).
Bon nuit. ch:
[Photo credits: pics of me by Joseph Gilchrist; thanks to anyone else who was handed my iPhone in the moment]
Yesterday Joseph and I drove from Clarens into the historic and always beautiful city of Geneva, Switzerland. So much to see, so little time. Ancient walkways, famed monuments, and landmarks of religious and political highlights of history.
We were treated to a fabulous real-Italian meal at The Spaghetti Factory (merci Ben-J), followed by a walk down to see the fountain of Geneva – an impressive plume of water that spouts hundreds of feet into the air.
That night, I ministered before an amazing group of youth (and spoke a lot about my wife). It was a wonderful time of basking in God’s presence, experiencing His manifest love, and taking time to pray for one another. I was really blessed by the display of genuine affection the youth had in praying passionately for each other; God move on their behalf, and all of us were changed.
Today kicked off the youth conference in Ambilly, France – source of our original invitation for this trip. It’s been a fantastic time solid teaching, practical worship training, a Q&A session, and touching heaven together as the Bride of Christ.
I’ve also met an older twin brother, Mark Pugh, of England (original from Wales). I think they just invited us because of our striking similarities and good looks. But seriously, his messages have been remarkable, simple, and very much about communicating Biblical truth through the stories of his life.
Tonight GodTV (dieutv.com) is filming our concert and all of us are excited to worship together and rejoice in our King. I’m so blessed by the senior pastor and his wife here in Ambilly, Christophe & Sabine Saez, as well as my remarkable band for supporting me so humbly. I’m honored to serve with them all.
A demain! ch:
After a short drive around Lake Geneva to the mountain-ensconced, lake adorned village Villeneuve, Joseph and I were treated to a long-overdue kebab. Following a walk along the lake, we headed back to our host home where a nap ensued (Joseph’s longer than mine as he didn’t sleep on the plane).
We traveled through Montreux – host of one of the world’s premier jazz festivals – who’s Palace Hotel is pictured above, and loaded in to La Chapelle de Clarens. To my wonderful surprise, the venue had arranged for Rolf Schnieder and Stephane Unger to be part of my backup band, both of whom were instrumental in the recording of our album into French (and are fine musicians and dear friends). Special thanks to Yves and Stephan for adding their considerable talents to the music of the evening.
After a 2-hour practice, Swiss pizza for dinner, and a time of prayer with the pastoral team, it was time to worship.
The church was packed out as people journeyed up to an hour away, which is long for the Swiss, almost halfway across their country. By the third song, we moved all the chairs out, and the dancing began. Granted, I sweat through every shirt I ever wear on stage, but you know things are hopping when it’s drenched by the end of the fourth song.
When we were all exhausted, I shared a 20-minute message of encouragement on the affects of reaching just one person, as Jesus demonstrated in Mark 5. While we long for thousands in our regions to know Christ, it’s often our responsibility with effecting one life that opens perpetual doors for others to walk through.
Upon arriving back at our host home, in typical Swiss fashion, the real eating and drinking began. Julien – a 13 year old chef extraordinaire – presented us with not one but two plates of sushi, and the father of the home, Fredo, brought out a 1988 Pinot Noir from their region in our honor.
We got to bed somewhere after 1am.
Today Joseph and I are heading to Geneva to meet up with the team we’ll be ministering with through the weekend’s youth conference. ch:
UPDATE FROM SWITZERLAND:
After a quick round of sushi in Dulles’ A-Terminal, Joseph and I boarded our non-stop flight to Geneva.
Surprisingly (and refreshingly) empty, I was able to stretch out in the middle section and sleep for 5 hours – always a plus when traveling East and trying to catch up on the time change.
Upon arriving, we were picked up promptly by Stephan – a wonderful husband, father of 2, and musician. He weaved us through mountain tunnels and along stunning lake-vistas bathed in the glow of the rising sun.
We’re sitting tight at our host home, then playing at La Chapelle de Clarens this evening for what I expect to be a refreshing night of worship and teaching among these beautiful people. ch:
Heading east.
Stages to serve from, people to speak into.
To be continued. ch:
My iPhone went crazy. Text messages, voice mails.
“Look up at the sky!”
Not sure what others saw along our latitude, but northern NY had a brilliant display of the aurora borealis. And I only caught the last 5 minutes.
This is the original, unaffected shot I took on my Nikon D7000, 3.5f, 800, 15-second exposure.
Just one more reason I cherish living in the middle of nowhere, because it’s God’s somewhere. ch:
A CSFF BOOK REVIEW: I received a free ebook of The Bone House from the publisher for review through the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. Yes, I would love to have the hardback edition (and will most likely buy it), but I’m doing 100% of my reading on my iPad these days.
If Lawhead writes it, I read it.
Why? I haven’t completely figured that out yet, at least form a technical standpoint. And trust me, I’m trying. As a writer, you’re always “reading to write,” and glean what you can form the masters. But my hunch is simply this: Because Steve takes me somewhere.
Another reason is that while the markets are focused on authors who’re writing in publishing’s flavor of the month, Steve comes out and writes in something altogether un-trendy. And hits a home run. So add to the mystic equation his allure of “the other” and perhaps I’m a few steps closer to defining why I appreciate Lawhead.
The Bone House – picking up where The Skin Map left off in the Bright Empires pentalogy – is a unique sell. Not high fantasy, not modern sci-fi, it’s better termed – as son Ross Lawhead deemed it - Science Fantasy.
TBH (and TSM) reads more like classic literature than candy-written pop. Pacing is slower – and sometimes disjointed – and the main characters are not always the focus (or the point). Likewise, they’re surprisingly normal, which adds to the intrigue: what would I do in a situation where I’m flung across time and space simply because I walked a particular side-street in London at just the right meter?
Which adds to Lawhead’s great genius of answering my fundamental question as a creator: Is it plausible?
If I can’t see myself responding the way the characters are responding, I grow disconnected as a reader. And ultimately unconcerned – the worst possible state as a watcher. More fascinating is Lawhead’s ability to help me identify with both someone born in the 2oth century and someone born in the 16th century, all while having a conversation among themselves that makes perfect sense, due in part to the awkwardness of it all. Needless to say, a great deal of thought was put into character and historical development.
In TBH, ley-line travel is becoming more of a learned science – albeit fledgling – and the reader feels slightly more comfortable in the multiverse. I find Lawhead’s use of theoretical science of great value, much the way Michael Crichton implemented it (Timeline still being one of my all-time favorite novels).
And what Lawhead tome would be complete without some real life historical references, like famed multi-genius Thomas Young? Because the lines are greyed between what Lawhead has made up and what he’s incorporated from history, I always find myself saying, “Wait, this isn’t legit…is it?”
Definitely worth buying, reading, and pondering. But then again, I’m biased. ch:
TOUR PARTICIPANTS:
Noah Arsenault
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Jeff Chapman
Carol Bruce Collett
Karri Compton
D. G. D. Davidson
Theresa Dunlap
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Janeen Ippolito
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Marzabeth
Katie McCurdy
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant
“Your message is too subtle for Bible thumpers, and too honest for the party scene.”
My friend Matt Drake wrote Jon Foreman a letter this week.
It said everything I wish I could say to Jon.
So I hijacked it and “signed” it in the comments section. Now I’m linking to it.
If you’re a Switchfoot fan, this letter runs in your blood; if you’re not, maybe you’ll understand your friends who are a little better.
http://www.fuquestions.com/blogs/dear-jon-a-love-letter-to-switchfoot
ch:
Audio is fairly easy. There are loads of tutorials online, gear is easy to come by – especially used – and almost any church geek can help you get set up in a few hours.
But video is a whole other animal. In fact, it’s probably not even an animal at all. It’s a monster.
I have been asked countless times (no – seriously – I’ve lost count) to share just how we’ve wired New Life’s live video production department. The reason? There’s very little out there on video. And what’s there requires a very steep learning curve, tons of proprietary information, and a skill set that – among other things – necessitates the discipline of monitoring gear that changes monthly. That, and the equipment is expensive enough that you can’t afford to make mistakes.
The other factor is that there’s very little out there for mid-size budgets.
Sure, anyone can plug a home video camera into a computer via firewire and get a livestream.com or ustream.com account for their church. We’ve done that, and it served it’s purpose for a season. But it won’t last long, unless your viewers love when your senior pastor’s message gets interrupted by a 30 second Teen Wolf commercial of a guy groping a girl. (True story).
And on the high end? Well, you don’t even want to know. I followed a lead that my friend in a 5,000 member church gave me for what they use: a Spider box from Vista Systems. Oh, it did everything I wanted, and then some. Even had the name recognition of being used in FoxNews studios, CNN, the NFL, and other major production facilities. And for an entry level price of $53,400 I immediately understood why. “Yeah, I’m going to have to pass on this one,” I politely said and then hung up.
Back to the drawing board.
After joining nearly every video message board, having emails and posts go unanswered (or under answered) for weeks on end, and researching far more than I had time for, I decided no one was going to help me the way I needed, and that I didn’t have the budget to hire a consulting firm (only then to spend more money on the actual gear I needed).
I was going to have to create something from scratch.
The following represents 6 months of work (with even more research before that from my Video Director, Tim Desormo), a lot of sleepless nights, and the inevitable call from my “video savior” Mike Ricks of Westside Baptist Church in Gainesville, FL, who – after seeing one of my final desperate pleas on a message forum along the lines of, “Will someone just please tell me if this schematic I’ve created will work?” – wrote me back and said, “Bro. It will totally work. We’re doing the same thing down here. Call me.”
I’m making this schematic as well as a detailed description below available completely free because, a) this is the Kingdom, and we share our successes as well as our failures, and b) I don’t want others going through the hardships I went through.
Many thanks go to Mike Ricks, Eric Dally (LCM), Jeremy Bielawski (TFH), Dave Bode (Elim), David Seaman (Revive), and my own production team, Tim Desormo, Tammy Desormo, and Joseph Gilchrist. Without your patience and input, we’d still be interrupted by Teen Wolf every Sunday.
NEW LIFE VIDEO SCHEMATIC OVERVIEW
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD HIGH REZ PDF
MAC PRO: Our main hub is an Apple Mac Pro 8 Core tower. We have a cinema display and a wireless keyboard and mouse. It’s hardwired into our router, serviced by Westelcom’s screaming fast fiber optic lines that provide us with amazing 17mbps up and 10mbps down service. Among other video editing and ripping applications, our main use for the system is Wirecast. Tied with it is Desktop Presenter which I’ll discuss under the iMac section.
WIRECAST: Rather than going back to physical hardware (TV monitors, switching consoles, lots of cable, and a $15-$20,000 price tag), I wanted to stay digital, knowing software was easier to upgrade, and I had more than enough power. Wirecast by Telestream was the answer, especially at $400 for the por version. It allows for mixing of multiple shots in multiple layers all in real time, including chromakeying and clear background PNG overlays (that we produce in Photoshop for each series). Even more important than the mixing features is the encoding abilities. Wirecast has the ability to assign our final signal to multiple locations at once, including our in-house projectors, video and audio archiving, online iCampus streams (flash), and our iPhone and iPad streams.
LIGHTCASTMEDIA: Unrelated to Wirecast, LightCastMedia is the largest Christian live-streaming servers in the world (if not the largest), and provides the backend of all our delivery, bandwidth, and storage needs (see LifeChurch.tv). Erik Dally has been an indispensable wealth of knowledge, and represents a company that provides amazing customer service and reliable products.
CAMERAS & VIDEO CARDS: Until we’re ready to make the jump to HD, we’ve been buying up used Cannon GL2′s (broken tape drives, bad mics) and utilizing their great white balance options for low light and their great glass (lenses). We’ve been running BNC cable (available cheap and fast from monoprice.com), but for longer distances – and the eventual conversion to HD – we’re starting to use only cat5 with RCA converters on either end. The video cards that work best and have the least amount of lag are Decklink’s Blackmagic Intensity Pro cards. Each one will run you about $200, but your lag time will be about 13ms. (The only better solution that I know of is the Spider box. Refer to price tag previously mentioned). The Mac Pro can handle up to 3 cards (with one camera per card), and each card comes with the wiring harness that allows for all sorts of marvelous connections concoctions. I ordered ours through B&H Photo out of Manhattan. (Note that each card must be installed and set up one-at-a-time. A fairly simple process, but you’ll bugger it up if you do them all at once).
iMAC: We use a new iMac to run ProPresenter 4 by Renewed Vision. In my opinion it’s the simplest and most straight forward display program on the market, especially if you’re an Apple user. Making the switch for a few of my PC-only users has taken some getting used to, but they are enjoying the OS. (Side note: at New Life we stress that we’re not Mac or PC people – we’re Kingdom people. I’ve seen geek loyalty, which I’m the first to be guilty of, get in the way of friendships and stir up dissension. Make a policy on your team to celebrate the use of technology for the Kingdom regardless of your allegiances. I can truly say I celebrate someone’s new Droid as much as I celebrate someone’s new iPhone). The tricky part here is that – because the Mac Pro can’t except a fourth video card – we had to figure out a way to make Wirecast “see” the iMac as another camera. This is where Desktop Presenter comes in (included with your purchase of Wirecast). This little app lets you select a screen on the originating computer (in our case, a cheap Dell monitor that ProPresenter is sending a full-screen output of it’s master display to), and Wirecast – using it’s internal Desktop Presenter protocol – “senses” the IP address of the sending computer (our iMac) and treats it as a “new shot.” Because we edit the shot on Wirecast to chromakey out green, and logically make all the slides in ProPresenter have a green background, a always have song lyrics displayed over top of camera shots whenever the Media Director (on the iMac) changes slides – all in real time.
AUDIO: The last component is actually sometimes the trickiest to run. Our audio. That’s because we’re using the Mac Pro not only as a receiver for audio coming from our console (which is how our online audience hears the services), but we also play videos in-house from Wirecast – which means if we don’t mute the incoming console feed, we’ll get a feedback loop (as the viewers would hear both the original play-video audio, as well as the audio coming back through the front-of-house console). Like wise, the in-house audience hears a wild looping delay. So making sure our Video Director stays on top of things is key. (It’s one of the biggest jobs we have on a Sunday morning and requires a lot of practice, diligence, and discipline). You’ll also note the implementation of a small powered Mackie 1202 console, which you can pick up super cheap. This has been one of the only solutions we’ve found that conditions the line-level output of the main console into the Mac Pro without frequency oscillation issues or ground hums. It also allows us to use extra outputs or aux sends to power speakers placed thorughout our production suites so we can hear what’s happening in the sanctuary (as we’re all enclosed in glass up top).
As with any church entity, we’re already looking to expand, adding more projectors, better cameras, bigger screens, and more effects. But for now, the guts of our system will stay the same.
I’m happy to try and field any questions you may have, so ask away. If I don’t know, I’ll reach out to someone who will.
“Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.” Proverbs 4:7 ch:
I’m honored to give today’s stage to the most well read man I know, and in kind, one of the most eloquent writers I know, Christian Fahey. He’s an accomplished musician, successful father, and revered husband. And he’s my friend. I hope you’re as challenged and equally inspired as I am by today’s post. ch:
• • •
Some time ago, I read something from renowned editer and author Sol Stein (Stein On Writing for those interested). He wrote that the correct intention for a writer was “to provide the reader with an experience that is superior to the experiences the reader encounters in everyday life.” I was really struck by that because, like many others who write and enjoy it, I do so “because I have something to say” or “need to get something off my chest” or “have a passion for this or that.” Stein’s point is that the focus of our writing is to enhance and ennoble the life of the reader. It’s not about me.
I began extrapolating this important reality. What one does in writing one can do in daily life. As a disciple of Jesus, I value Him, my relationship with Him and the experience of His presence. When He is near me (especially in that exciting, “palpable” sense) nothing else can compare.
So I had to ask myself, “How do people experience my presence in their lives?” Being honest I’d have to admit that at times my involvements in the lives of the people I live and work with have energized them. And at other times, candidly, I’ve drained them. Usually the drain part comes when it’s all about me. And the energizing quality comes when I forget me and seek to “provide (name) with an experience that is superior to the experience (name) encounters in everyday life.”
Be honest. How do people experience you?
The world has spent the past few weeks reflecting upon the life of the late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers. When Steve passed away, I happened to be reading Leander Kahney’s excellent book Inside Steve’s Brain. The one thing that emerged very quickly from my reading was that the experience of the user was one of the absolute core values of Steve Jobs and Apple. Still is. Millions of dollars and countless thousands of work hours were and are spent to provide Apple customers with a superior experience in their interaction with modern technology. Jobs examined every aspect of the experience of an Apple customer and, with his outstanding team, honed it endlessly to ensure that the complex was simplified and that the experience of the buyer—even down to the opening and assembly of a new computer—was superior to anything else out there. Jobs’ solution to the problem of pirating of music (through illegal downloading) was to provide such a superior experience for one visiting the iTunes Store, that one would be willing to pay for the tunes and files they wanted, rather than pirate them. A superior experience as a curative for a moral and economic problem. Brilliant.
Challenge for the day: Ask yourself how people experience your presence in daily life. Be honest and willing to make adjustments, shifts in thinking, learn new stuff, whatever. You may be surprised how people jump out of the woodwork when they see how their lives are enhanced just by being with you—a superior experience. -Christian Fahey
http://christianfahey.tumblr.com/
I’m often asked why Jennifer and I decided to move to northern NY. Aside from simple obedience to the Lord, it’s because we fell in love with a vision.
We believe we can help affect a county for Christ.
We’re profoundly blessed to serve under some of the healthiest leadership anywhere on earth, and we’re surrounded by the most amazing support structure. How? I have no idea, other than to say God blessed us despite us.
8 months ago New Life was so full in its single Sunday service that we had to go to 2 services. Next month, on November 13th, we’re so full again we’ll be going to 3 services.
8:30am/10:30am/12:30pm
And yet we’re quickly approaching our very first goal: to reach 1% of our county for Jesus.
It’s still far too few.
If numbers mean people to you, then numbers matter. Because they matter to God; and they certainly matter to the devil.
The more I spend time with lost, hurting people and see their lives turned around by Jesus, the less time I have for the religious critic, pessimist, and cynic.
No matter the size of your particular church, lay your hand to the plow and be faithful to the vision you’re around. I believe the Lord will measure much by that.
And to those who wonder as to the time commitment for such county-influencing efforts, might I quote the late Sue Garland:
“I don’t have anything better to do.” ch:
