Run with God

The "Tampa Trainwreck/Triumph" via Twitter... or why Pat @ ESI Audio is my friggin' hero!

In case you haven't heard, Friday the 13th brought on quite a scare for me. Let me give you a brief synopsis:

Friday 4:30pm I turn on the CFPB sound board to check video audio. After checking I leave the board on. Friday 6:00pm I go back to the board to turn on music outside in the breezeway for CFPB's Friday night small groups, only to find the board off (and everything else on).

Fear grips me. We've blown the power supply. To a non-techie that doesn't seem to be a big deal. However, when you're using an older, analog Soundcraft MH4 board - it gets a little trickier. The power supply costs about $3k new, and renting probably wouldn't be difficult - except it's Calle Ocho wknd in Miami, and most of the gear is already rented to be used for the huge outside block party.

I grab my iPhone and start making calls. CFPB sound guys hadn't noticed anything unusual. Mike Melcher @ Revelation Sound is coming over to take a look at the supply. Maybe it's fixable...From 6-9pm we try to fix the power supply. Doesn't work. We have a Plan "B", hook up a completely new sound board - but with the intricacies of our setup at CFPB I was not real excited about having to rewire/get levels for all of the devices.

What came after was a series of God events. I get home and after eating a McDs dinner at 10pm, I get on Google and start calling random people listed on the Internet who live in Miami and deal/sell/rent Soundcraft gear. Surprisingly, a lot of people answered their phones (considering it's 10pm on a Friday). Some were helpful. Two guys had the piece of equipment I needed, but they were needed Sunday AM so it really wasn't beneficial.

Then I got on Twitter. Started talking with some buddies, tapping into their resources. Started calling other people in other cities. Fort Lauderdale. West Palm Beach. Orlando. Tampa.

After midnight, I talked to Pat. Never heard of Pat. No one I know had ever talked to Pat. But Pat owns a company called "ESI Audio" in Tampa. He says to me "Yeah, we've got those Power Supplies. Where are you? Miami? Yeah, if you want to get up here, I'll let you borrow our Power Supply."

That was a little before 1am Saturday. I was in Tampa by 8am to pick up the gear. And when I tried to "rent" the gear by giving Pat some $$$, he declined saying "I'm giving these to you for free. Just bring them back." Literally, ESI Audio gave me probably $7k in gear to use for multiple days w/o even as much as a thought. Who does that?

Aside from ESI Audio's generocity, the other thing I enjoyed (no, not the monotony of Alligator Ally twice in 9 hrs) was the Twitter experience. I'm a big Twitter fan. I'm not Mr. Popular, but I have fun (I recently changed my name to @jdreed - feel free to follow!)

I spent some time consolidating all the Twitter's surrounding the Power Supply debacle (or as @Jorriss would call it, the "Tampa Trainwreck")... Truly was a hilarious and helpful group. If you're a Twitter fan, or you're into truly sarcastic humor at the expense of a weary Production Director, then feel free to read the Twitter view of the Tampa Trainwreck. Maybe I'm goofy from all the swampland I've driven, but I think it's hilarious.

Was driving to Tampa at 3am worth it? Undoubtedly. At CFPB I know that lives were changed during the Saturday service (one of the largest non-event Saturday services we've ever had). I'm sure they were at Sundays as well (I was a CFDT on Sunday). And the message was recorded successfully for Video Teaching and Television, so thousands of people were able to experience worship and teaching in person and via video.
in a stable environment.

God, thank you for the experience of the Tampa Trainwreck. I'll never forget it. Oh, yeah, and thank you that my vacation started today. Talk about "divine timing."

UPDATE March 16, 2009: I missed a HUGE portion of the TWITTER TRAINWRECK (mostly Friday night). These 20+ posts have now been added. Consider these missing tweets part of the "Lost Archive."

New Mac Mini: Affordable Mac for Worship Venue

In the "About friggin' time" section of this blog, today Apple updated their MacMini line of computers so that it can now handle DUAL MONITORS. Significance? For $600 churches can now have a Mac running in their worship center. Couple that with ProPresenter, and this is now a SWEET, INEXPENSIVE setup that will actually work.

Thank you, Apple, for FINALLY making something decent and affordable for venues!

CFLive Scripts, and Media Volunteer Celebration

I've gotten several email requests from people wanting to see the final script from CFLive. I'm attaching just about all of it. The only thing missing is the "one more song" - VICTORY that we "just happened" to have scripted and in place should "someone" happen to scream "one more song" loud enough at the end of the 8.30 Experience... but I digress. Here's the Final CFLive Script. Enjoy.

Secondly, CFPB Media is having a VOLUNTEER CELEBRATION this Friday Night, 7pm @ Amy/my house. We're providing dinner, and will show pieces from the 8.30 experience. If you're currently serving, or want to start (ie JORRISS) then feel free to come. Email me for directions.

CFLive: 2 Worship Concerts Saturday Night

Been a busy week @ CF, but in typical fashion they don't slow down...

Check it. We're doing TWO worship concerts Saturday night. Yes, TWO different services. One at 6:30pm and a second at 8:30pm.

Are we crazy? A little bit... but we're loving every second of it.

The 6:30 concert will be a full worship service, complete with Rick's second message from the "How to ruin your life" series. The 8:30 concert will just be music. No childcare will be provided for the second service... musically, both concerts will be identical.

I thought I was excited about doing the CFLive once. Now that I get to do it 2x? Man, that's twice as much fun.

So see you at Christ Fellowship Palmetto Bay this Saturday (February 28)... 6:30pm or 8:30pm.

CFLive - Because of His Great Love

2009 has been a busy year to date... and it ain't slowin' down...

Christ Fellowship's Worship Concert, CF Live, is happening Saturday, February 28 @ 6:30pm at our Palmetto Bay Campus. The worship leaders from our five campuses will come together in a night of celebration as we worship our Creator. It's going to be an awesome night. Come join us!

Check out the teaser video below. See you there...

We're really good at faking it (or how you can get involved in CFPB Media)

Last night at Media ADVANCED TRAINING at CFDT someone said to me: "Oh, you don't need any help at CFPB. You guys have your act together." I laughed, and said that they had no idea...

Then I started to think... and think... and I started mapping out on my whiteboard/wall...

Because we value our volunteers, we need more volunteers...

I've served in churches where I was overworked/overstretched as a Media volunteer, and when I took the position at Christ Fellowship, I promised myself I would not do that to my volunteers. I would value their sacrifice and not overstretch their willingness to serve.

Some of my volunteers work one service a week... and that's awesome... until someone goes on vacation and I'm short volunteers. Some volunteers work all four services on a weekend... and that's awesome... until they do that four weeks straight and are exhausted from serving...

So, we're in the process of setting up a rotation, so as not to burn out anyone involved in the CFPB Weekend Worship Experience.

And, to completely fill that rotation, I need another 28 people...

To put that into perspective, right now 30-35 people serve every wknd at CFPB in media. I have 45-50 active volunteers... and I'd love 28 more...

Some positions are simple.
Some are incredibly difficult.
Some are low stress.
Some are very stressful.
Some serve one service a wknd.
Some serve all wknd. One wknd on, Two wknds off.

In whatever capacity, in however you express your creativity, we would love to have you involved in serving at CFPB in Media.

Areas we need the most help: TV Camera Operators, ProPresenter/Computer Operators, Media Cart Volunteers, Classic Service Technicians...

For more information, holler at me via Twitter/Facebook/Email jreed [at] cfmiami [dot] org or call 305/238-1818.

Systems for Multisite Campuses Media Support

As I've indicated, 2009 is the year of the "System"...

I wanted to take a moment to discuss a couple new systems that we are putting into place to help our Multisite Campuses step up to the next level:

1) ADVANCED TRAINING: If you've ever been to one of CF's Ministry Rallys, you can appreciate the emphasis that we put on training. Once a month we are going to do Media Training at a different CF Campus. In January we are going to be at CFDT, February CFPB for Ministry Rally, March CFR, etc.

The goal of ADVANCED TRAINING is to train Media Volunteers how to do things better. Instead of training during a service where things can be a little chaotic, we're opting to gather everyone together and help them learn how to run their systems better on a weeknight where there's more time to talk. Check out the Seminars we've taught in the past...

We are opening ADVANCED TRAINING up to any new or existing volunteer on any CF campus. Adult venue or Age-Graded venue, you're more than welcome to attend. Get with your Worship Leader or Age-Graded Director and let them know you are wanting to attend. If you're with another church, we'd love to have you too. Email me at jreed[at]cfmiami[dot]org.

I'll blog date/times (and the specific Seminars) for the January ADVANCED TRAINING once we get it finalized. See you there.

2) CF HEROES: Several months ago we started a Multisite Tech Support Program called Heroes. We're fine-tuning the system and looking for help.

With CF Heroes we are looking for Technologically Aware people to help occasionally provide TECH SUPPORT, to fix problems when they pop up, at our Multisite Campuses. So if you're an Audio Guy, A Video Guy, an IT Guy, an Electrician, or you understand the basics of Signal Flow, be a HERO. Email hero[at]cfmiami[dot]org and help save a Multisite Campus by providing TECH SUPPORT.

Just this past week CFR had a problem with their audio system. When problems pop up, we need Heroes to arrive on the scene to:
1) diagnose the problem
2) fix the problem... or
3) figure out a "Plan B" where the service can still function.

Sounds scary, I know, but it's a lot of fun, especially for the HERO. (CFR's issue was a blown channel on their amp. We ended up installing a completely different speaker setup that was "borrowed" from another campus for their second service.) Plus, you really are a "Hero" when the problem is fixed... the people at the Multisite Campus are very appreciative. It's a cool thing.

CFPB Media Peeps. Many of you are moving to a "one week on, one week off" rotation. I've heard from many of you that you're willing to still help in your "one week off"... this would be a GREAT THING for you to help out with. Use your Media knowledge to help other campuses! See me ASAP.

These are two different ways that Christ Fellowship volunteers are serving in Media, working hard to help campuses all over Miami. Thanks for investing your time. We could not do this without you.

Couple Surprises on a Friday

Had a couple surprises today... first off was myBabyGirl(s) surprising me on Google VideoChat. That is, in case you're curious, a big 'ol honkin smile underneath my goatee. I love myBabyGirl(s) and would drop just about anything to talk with them. Beowulf even stopped by for a brief visit.

Secondly, (and not nearly as cool), saw a rumor that the new Mac Minis will gain support for Dual Displays. Instead of just having one DVI output, the Minis will have two... which means that, if true, this is an incredibly cheap option to run ProPresenter/ProVideoPlayer from.

Come on, Apple! Give us an economic option for Dual Displays!

Hopefully, more surprises like this will be coming soon...

Musings way too early Christmas Morning

I love my job. Palmetto Bay's services last night were solid. Great to see volunteers step up and make the service happen. I love that our staff continually comes up with ideas that stretch our volunteers! I love that our volunteers have a standard of excellence that's higher than mine...

Homestead did an outdoor service at Losner Park last night. If you've ever produced an outdoor concert, you can appreciate what they went through last night. Jorge, Oscar, Berch and the CFH crew blew me away last night. Honestly, when I heard they were doing the service outside, I was expecting CHAOS on an APOCALYPTIC scale. Of course, there was chaos... but the crew did a great job dealing with it. Around 400 people from the Homestead area were there. It's a beautiful thing! I took a ton of pics at the CFH service. Hit me up on Facebook if you want to see.

Cold Hot Chocolate is really nothing like Chocolate Milk. If you think otherwise, you're wrong.

Put together myBabyGirl's first Christmas gift last night. I went against my instincts. Amy and I read the instructions. I know, I know, I'm a disappointment to myself as well.
(I'm including a pic of myBabyGirl in this post. Does it have to do anything with this post? No. I just like to show off...)

It's A Wonderful Life is still my second favorite Christmas movie (behind A Muppet Christmas Carol, of course). Except it's so HONKING LONG. Yes, George Bailey, your life sucks, but it gets better... we get it! Hurry up and get to the suck part! What does that say about today's culture. We so want to see the "suck part"...

4:30am one of my neighbor's house alarms went off, for about 10 minutes. My first thought? Wow, Santa forgot to enter the code. My second thought? Geez, how drunk are you that you can't turn that alarm off by now? My third thought? Hope someone isn't pulling a "Grinch"... Yes, I can pull three thoughts at 4:30am. Unfortunately, that's why I'm awake at 6:21am...

In the quiet parts of this AM, I reflected back on my year, on my blessings, on the meaning of today. And I found myself thanking God for putting into motion His plan, for allowing me to be part of His purpose. I could not imagine my life any other way. Then, I did my personal 2008 Christmas tradition. I sat in a dark room and played two songs over and over. "I Celebrate the Day" and "All is Well" (both included below)... I will not comment if there were tears...

And with that I hear myBaby Girl cooing in her crib, so I am off. May your Christmas be intentionally focused on the bearer of the Gift.

ProPresenter + iPhone = ProRemote

Renewed Vision has released ProRemote, an iPhone app that pairs with it's award winning ProPresenter software.

ProRemote basically has two different features for the user:

1) "Controller" - the ability to control to ProPresenter from your iPhone. Honestly, I had done it before via MANY different VNC software (JAADU is my current favorite). It is easier to scroll/skip slides using the ProRemote... but we always have ALL OUR SLIDES IN THE RIGHT ORDER... well... most of the time they are in the right order...

The interface for ProRemote to "Control" slides is very similar to EZWorship's interface. Personally I'm not a big fan of the interface, but the text is EASY to read on the iPhone screen (which I guess is the goal)...

2) "Observer" - or the ability to look at the slides w/in a ProPresenter Library WITHOUT affecting what's on the screen. To me this is HUGE. 10 minutes before service. Band is in Green Room, and wants to make sure that ProPresenter has "Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Chorus"... they can check that WITHOUT affecting what is going on in the service. So they can browse the entire set from the Green Room, making sure things match up. Beautiful! No VNC software can offer that!

What I like about ProRemote is that the Administrator has the ability to put different passwords on each feature. In other words, maybe I don't want my drummer to accidentally start firing slides from the Green Room. I will just give him access to the "Observer" mode.

To use ProRemote, you'll need to upgrade ProPresenter to 3.5.1 (which will be available on Renewed Vision's Website very soon). Then have fun.

Thanks, Renewed Vision, for constantly making your products better!