Media, missional lifestyle, thinking green - by Jeff - February 25, 2008 - 21:28 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
Media Ministry and the Environment
I have been thinking a lot lately about “Going Green” and what I, my family and even our team can do to reduce our negative impact on the 
environment. I believe that we are to take care of what our God gives us, using it wisely, managing and maintaining it for His glory, and that includes this planet we are living on. While higher gas and electricity prices make it easier and practical to think green, I have been more and more convicted to personally be more responsible.
On the home front we are making strides in a variety of ways (you can read more about them on my blog and my wife’s blog) but now I turn towards the church building, and especially the realm the media team can impact. We have already made some good improvements such as the paper recycling, switching to LCD and other lower power devices and turning off the lights during the service (see, there is a good reason!), but how could we easily do more?
Recycling. Always and easy and good way to start. We already make sure all of our paper “trash” goes in the recycle bin, but there is still a lot that gets thrown away that can be easily recycled. Cardboard: if we start breaking down the cardboard boxes, Amy will help us get them to the recycler. Plastic: we have started collecting plastic water bottles and other recyclable plastic, we just need to start a box in the media room for easy collection. Batteries: There is a box behind the monitor console to collect used batteries in.
Reduce. Reducing the amount of materials we use saves energy and raw resources and is a good next step. In the media ministry, this might include being careful not to print “extra” copies of notes / websites / etc or even consider if you need to print that page at all?
Energy Efficiency. In the media ministry we use a lot of electricity, no question about it. We can watch our energy usage, being careful to turn off equipment that is not being used or when we leave, turning up the thermostat when we lock up and being careful about leaving doors open unnecessarily (especially since our area is air-conditioned heavily because of the equipment). Obviously we can’t turn on and off the servers all the time, but we can think thru what equipment will be needed and what will just be sitting there till next week. The A4V audio mixer comes to mind – we have left this turned on 24/7 in the past for several reasons, but we need to evaluate if it would be better to go ahead and turn it off during the week.
Just a few thoughts to ponder, I am sure there is so much more we could do if we put our minds to the task. I would love to hear your thoughts, so comment away.
the City - by Jeff - November 5, 2007 - 16:59 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
What is it? Why Be Involved?
The Cross Festival (www.crossfestival.org) is a annual Christian Music Festival here in Austin. It is being held November 17th, 11:30am – 10pm, at Auditorium Shores. Featuring a mix of all different styles of music, bands from all over the country, the Cross Festival is a family friendly event that hopes to encourage Christians in unity around the cross and thru music.
This years band lineup is focusing on “crossover” music, a perfect opportunity to reach out to the community and your neighbors and invite them. Please visit the website for more information, opportunities to volunteer and promotional downloads.
missional lifestyle, the City - by Jeff - September 26, 2007 - 01:25 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
Listening to a Tim Keller teaching I was struck by an illustration he gave.
Jeremiah 29 – the captives who were carried away to Babylon wanted to remain separate, stay outside of Babylon and remain pure. The Babylonians wanted the exiles to come into the city, to assimilate, lose their cultural identity and become like the Babylonians.
But God told them thru Jeremiah that He wanted them to do the hardest thing possible. Don’t stay out and be different, don’t go in and become like them, but go deeply in and stay very different.
This is exactly what we are told in 1 Peter chapter 2. Seek the welfare of the city, pray for peace, submit to the governors, but remain different. Abstain from fleshly lust… having your conduct honorable, that God may be Glorified.
We need to follow these principle, as even Christ was our example. Loving even our enemies, serving, giving and at the same time preaching and teaching the Gospel. Loving our neighbors, pouring ourselves out for them, but also telling them they are going to hell without Christ because of their sin and God’s wrath. How can I do a better job being both prophetic and priestly?
Excellence in the Arts, missional lifestyle - by Jeff - July 31, 2007 - 15:41 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
Shaping your audience’s experience
POV or Point of View – the way or direction that something is seen. We often refer to POV as a camera shot or the way something is written, but have you ever considered the way you present our services effect the way people see our church, our media, and even the way people see God?
So how do we shape our audience’s experience?
Video (web/dvd): What do we show? What don’t we show? If all we show is a closeup picture of our pastor, what does the viewer know about the atmosphere or setting? How many people are there – is the room empty? Is it all fake and green screen on a soundstage?
Sunday Services: What areas of the room should have light? What areas should be dark? What should be show on the screen so you can see better? When should the media be a distraction? When should there be no media?
Website: How many times have you visited a businesses website and found out their website is nothing like their business? Maybe they look like a huge company on the web, but then when you call to talk to them you find out it is really some 18yo kid in his bedroom running this thing?
As the media team, it is our goal to accurately portray our church, our services and our God as we help distribute His Word to as many people as possible.
missional lifestyle, the City - by Jeff - July 2, 2007 - 19:57 Etc/GMT+5 - 2 Comments
My wife recently blogged about loving her city. We have been considering moving because we could use a little more space, but as we considered our options we realized we would have to move away from the city (austin) and into the suburbs to get more space (that we could afford anyway.) So what’s the problem with this?
We both have a heart for ministering to the city, and reaching the city for Christ. How can we do that if we don’t live in the city? Why the city? Well, that is where the PEOPLE live… after all, it is the people we are trying to minister to, right? There are more people per square mile in the city than in the ‘burbs.
Look at the political, social, spiritual aspects of people living in the city verse in the suburbs. Most people would agree that the urban areas tend to be more “unGodly” than the suburbs. Alternative lifestyles flourish in the city. The percentage of those who attend church is lower and the churches that many people attend tend to be un-biblical pagan churches! Yet urban dwellers tend to seek community more than those in the suburbs. They gather for arts and culture events, night clubs and coffee houses become that “third place” for the city dweller. They spend less time in their cars and more time being social. The city needs more people who love Jesus to be apart of this culture of the city.
Not sure what my final point is, other than wanting to put some of my thoughts on this to paper (or pixels) – but then again, that is the point of this blog.
family - by Jeff - May 14, 2007 - 15:56 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
Okay, let’s get this straight. It’s called “Mother’s Day” because it is suppose to be all about mom. So why does she get so angry when we complain that she is not done with our lunch yet and we are very hungry? Why does she complain when we remind her of all our chores she is suppose to be doing today?
I think we all know the answer to those questions – because we are suppose to honor our Mothers and Mother’s Day is a great time to honor her by giving her a a day off – not that they ever really get a day off, but we can at least lighten the load for a day.
It was a real blessing this year to see several of the children take initiative on their own this year and get something / make something to bless their mom. Previous years it has seemed so last minute (probably due to me forgetting about it till the last moment), and thrown together, but even I was able to get something pre-arranged. (it wasn’t the hammock she wanted, but hey, at least there was a nice card and good chocolate – I can’t even remember the last time I got her a card!)
I guess it is time to start planning for next year.
environment. I believe that we are to take care of what our God gives us, using it wisely, managing and maintaining it for His glory, and that includes this planet we are living on. While higher gas and electricity prices make it easier and practical to think green, I have been more and more convicted to personally be more responsible.
