theSoundbooth.com

Perspective happens when your plans meet reality. After all, It’s just a phone. God is always slowing me down and giving me perspective. Sometimes I realize it, sometimes I don’t.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NASB

For at least the last five years (three since I have been TD) our Lead Pastor has used a Countryman E3 headset microphone. While other speakers on our stage had various issues with the E3, of which I will talk about later, the Countryman E3 has been a reasonably dependable, good sounding, multi-purpose microphone and our lead pastor has become very comfortable using it.

Enter the Da-Cappo D12 headset microphone. Several months ago Doug Gates, owner of Gates Sound, allowed us to demo one of the D12 units for a weekend. I was impressed by a few things right out of the box; the Da-Cappo DA12′s “boom” is adjustable( about a 1/4″ which may not seem like a lot, but does make a big difference) and the connector can be changed out for multiple manufactures wireless packs.

Obviously the most important thing about a mic is the sound; on our lead pastor, the DA12(omni) sounds great in both our venues, our 700+ seat main venue and our satellite location in a 200 seat cafe-torium.( I will dispense with the tech geek speak but you can compare the mic against the E6 by going here and here).

Done! That is all that needs to be said, right?

Well it also fits and sounds great on our Remnant (NexGen) pastor. Remnant meets on Monday and Tuesday nights in our main venue and has exploded in the last year from 40 students to approaching 500. Chris Harrell has always fidgeted with the E6, not being comfortable with either the flex or ridged version. After one use of the DA-Cappo, he was hooked, it sound great on him and he doesn’t feel the need to constantly readjust it. The DA-12 also seems to have better air-noise rejection.

On the general use side of things, the fact that the DA12 can be complemented with a variety of connectors for all the major brands and types of wireless belt packs. Although Countryman also offers multiple connectors, Da-Cappo chose to not attach them directly to the mic cable, keeping the cost for each connector down to a reasonable amount.

To be fair, we have only had the DA12 for about a month so dependability and longevity is still undetermined. Hopefully, unlike the E6, the DA12 will be more durable as I have a drawer full of broken E6s and static filled cables.

Cost is about the same as the E6, with a street price of around $350 to $450 depending upon accessories, connectors, etc. And there obviously are more expensive headset mics out there.

All and all, the DA12 is a good step forward in headset mic design. We will be purchasing more in the near future.

In the my previous post on Life Together, I shared a brief (maybe) history of my sense of isolation I felt as I took my current position as TD here at South Hills three years ago. Now for the rest of the story…

As I was looking back at the last three years to find the events that I think are significant in this area, I found several key things;

(1) Twitter – If you don’t know what Twitter is, click here. Although Facebook is the largest social gathering site in the world, Twitter is better suited to keep up with my friends in the church tech world as well as those I see as influencers in tech, ministry, and leadership. Since each post is only 140 characters, I don’t miss as many posts as I do with Facebook and thus feel way more connected with those I follow.

(2) CTDRT – The Church Tech Directors Round Table was started in July 2009 by fellow TD’s Kelly Gubser and Bill Swaringim to “..support the full-time church Tech Director by fostering relationships with other church T.D.’s, sharing ministry, technical and creative ideas and facilitate peer-learning.” Starting with just a handful of us as charter members it has grown to over 250 members at the time of this post.

(3) CTDRT So-Cal Chapter – Mike Sessler, is also a charter members of CTDRT. Although there had been much discussion about getting fellow TDs together for years, Mike was the one here in our area to make it happen. First with some casual lunch meetings and then by setting up a bi-monthly meeting hosted by different churches and their TDs. The format of these meet ups can consist of a keynote speaker (i.e. Bob Nahrstadt), a devotion from a pastor that truly gets techs (i.e. Roy Cochran), a manufactures rep that may bring some gear to show off and of course, food. This is usually followed up by a quick tech tour of the campus and a time to just hang out and swap war stories. These local gatherings have also been invaluable to help my assistant TD, who has only been in this for a few years, get a bigger picture of what we do and that our struggles and situations are common.

(4) CTAN – Church Technical Arts Network was also started in early 2010 by Kelly Gubser and Bill Swaringim as a (facebook type) network gathering place for not just TDs but all who work in church tech. It already has more that 350 members as of today.

(5) PODCASTS – Ever since I started listening to Leo Laporte‘s podcast The Tech Guy many years ago, I have longed for good podcast’s devoted to tech in the church. Today we have some great podcast devoted to just that:

FAITHTOOLS
CHURCH TECH WEEKLY
CHURCH MEDIA DESIGN
CHURCH TECH TALK
GEEKS AND GOD
SVC BLOGCAST

Promising Newcomers

CHURCH SPIN
THE CREATIVE CHURCH GUY

If you know if a podcast that is currently being produced on church tech, please let me know.

(6 ) MAKING THE EFFORT – Making the effort to have lunch with, go to local trade show with, hang out with, have regular contact with other TDs. Although I may think so, I am never to busy to call, text, DM (Twitter), or pray for one of my fellow TD’s. The last one is also very important, PRAY for each other, we have the unique honor of being able to empathize with other church techs.

God loves church techs, of that, I have no doubt.

So, where I once felt as if I was in sort of a professional no-mans-land, I now, once again feel energized and supported in my craft.
Seek out other church techs in your local area and make it a point to become friends with them, I know for many of us, that is not in our nature, I mean we are the AV geeks after all, but do it anyway, I think you will be surprised with what you might find. I was..

We’ve all heard “Doing Life Together” or “We are better together” which are really just different ways of saying “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23 (NASB). That has been one of the mantra’s of the modern Christian church for many years now.

In my early career as a audio mixer and system installer, I was blessed to constantly be in contact with those I would consider my peers, other sound, lighting, and video pros that shared my passion and know-how (in their various fields), many of which, to this day, are still my good friends. As I look back on those events, I realize that camaraderie was crucial in building not only my knowledge but also my passion for tech and what would become my vocation as a TD. That carried over to my staff positions at Saddleback Church and Mariners church.

When I took my current position as TD at South Hills Church I found an amazing group of staff and volunteers that love God and deeply want to share His love with the community and the world, a Pastor who respects and honors my position and what I personally bring to the table, positive things to be sure. South Hills, like many churches out there, moves at break-neck speed, and much of my time here (especially during this last year’s financial down turn) has been quite stressful. In the first few months I was here, I found myself gravitating back to both Mariners and Saddleback. Really wanting to hang out with my old friends and co-workers. Even though I was making new friends and settling in to my new position, I felt lonely and isolated.

In November of 2007 I received an email from Colin Burch, who produces the FaithTools podcast. Being a fan of that podcast, I was pleasantly surprised when Colin asked me to be one of the panel for an upcoming show. Also on that show were, Rick Pepper, who was also a contributor to my podcast (which only has one episode, but I am told, it’s amazing…[insert sarcastic line here]), Daniel Murphy, and Colin.

Needless to say, we had a great time recording the show (via Skype, of course) and after the recording was done we talked off line for at least another two hours. The field of tech made us quick friends and I felt so energized after that recording. I have become good friends with Colin (even staying with him and his wife, Kim on a trip out to the east coast last year) and Daniel. Faithtools also introduced me to Mike Sessler, whom I now count as one of my closest friends.

So much has happened in the last three years, more on that in my next post: Life Together- Part 2

From the Mariners Church website

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend, Terry. Serving as our Director of Operations in the facilities department for 16 years, Terry cared deeply for our church and our campus. But far more important was how he cared for people. His love for God spilled over and poured into the lives he touched. Every person who knew him felt special. Everyone who encountered him felt appreciated and loved. His generous spirit impacted not just the physical campus, but the families of our staff.

His laid-back demeanor, his bear hugs, his big laugh and his infectious smile will linger in the halls of our buildings and every corner of our campus.

As a token of our appreciation for him, the staff dedicated the facilities plant in his name, dubbing it “Terry’s Building.” Terry was able to attend a tribute ceremony days before he died.

We love Terry. We will miss him. Heaven is a little bit more amazing because he is there.”

I was lucky enough to work with Terry for 5 years. I will be processing this for a while.

Today I finally migrated my blogger site over to wordpress. Now to make it look cool.

A little late, but we have entered that world of video announcements.

The Next Announcement Video 11-14-09 from South Hills Media on Vimeo.

There are many reasons why I work at a church. This is one of them:

My School, My Testimony Video from Remnant Ministries on Vimeo.

Chris Harrell and his crew @Remnant are building the future of the church.

Here are two videos we showed last week at South Hills.

South Hills NexGen Promo from South Hills Media on Vimeo.

South Hills Church ONE Promo from South Hills Media on Vimeo.

Bryon and the band performed this @ Main St this weekend as we kicked off our new series “Unexpected Jesus”