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JANUARY 2007 |
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By Stephanie Narron CPM: Describe Sherwood Baptist Church. Alex: Sherwood Baptist Church is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, having grown from 309 charter members to almost 3,000 today. Although Sherwood is located in rural southwest Georgia, the ministries touch a large segment of the region with Sherwood Christian Academy (K through 12th grade), the ROC (Recreation Outreach Center), the Alpha Crisis Pregnancy Center, the southwest extension of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the Sherwood Channel (channel 15 on MediaCom in Albany) and now Sherwood Pictures. CPM: Tell me about your technical team. Alex: Sherwood has had a media team for over 20 years. The team started doing simple things such as taping sermons and offering them on audio cassette. Of course, now they are involved in doing our television productions as well as our movie projects. On staff, Tracy Goode is the associate media director and Walter Burnett is our chief engineer. Jim McBride is our executive pastor who handles all the administrative areas within the ministries. But, we could not do it without our volunteers. Although we've had dozens of volunteers over the years, we currently have 25 people that help minister in this area. Their day jobs include the following areas: fireman, salesman, police captain, mechanical engineer, photo journalist, college student, rehab specialist, printer, and minister among others. They range in age from 18 to 68 and the majority have lived in Albany most of their lives. Their interests include electronics, ham radio, computer graphics, football, flying, and golf to name a few. They are a varied team but work well together within the ministry.
CPM: What is the philosophy of the technical ministry? What is your vision for the future of this ministry? Alex: Sherwood's media ministry exists to reach Albany and touch the world. It is our desire that the end result is changed lives to the glory of God. When we produce a program for television or for the theater, that's what we pray for, transformed lives. Every bulb, wire, camera, and monitor is purchased to achieve this goal. As the Associate Pastor of Media, my vision for the future of Sherwood is to touch the world with the gospel, not only in our community, but literally around the world. God has given us a vision for television and movie production that started from scratch. As we have been faithful with little steps, He has expanded our influence and outreach to include syndication on television for our weekly programs, Path to Truth and Home Connection, and national distribution of our movies Flywheel and Facing the Giants. I also pray that we can mentor and train hundreds of high school and college students to go into the media field with a biblical perspective, whether in the news media, journalism, or filmmaking. That arena is so influential, and we need to be sending out "missionaries" to make an impact for the Lord.
CPM: What do you think it takes to make a good technical ministry? Alex: A good technical ministry takes some engineering ability, but more than that, it takes the right ministry perspective. If your team is not operating out of prayer, worship and faith, then you might as well be doing this for a secular organization. We also need to be growing spiritually, whether we are out in front or behind the scenes. We try to rotate our volunteers to serve one week and to be a part of the congregation the next. Remember, even the lunch lady has to eat!
CPM: What have you learned the most since joining the team? Alex: I came in March of 1999. I'll admit that I felt inferior to the prior media director because he had years of experience, especially with engineering. I was more of a creative guy, and less of a technical guy. However, since I knew I had followed the Lord's leading to come to Sherwood, I took a step of faith and dove in. I learned a lot on the job, and was able to bring new projects and ideas to the ministry. I learned that if you are walking with God, He will never put you in a situation that you can't handle. He may allow you to struggle a while, but that only makes you depend on Him more. As I took steps of faith to produce larger programs and start the movie ministry, He blew me away with more fruit than I ever imagined. I wanted to be like Peter, who got out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus. Like Peter, there are times when I am terrified, but you can't walk on water unless you get out of the boat! The rest is keeping your eyes on Jesus. CPM: How do you recruit volunteers? How do you train them? Alex: When a visitor is interested in joining Sherwood, we don't take it lightly. We have a time of sharing with them about the mission of the church, and how each member plays a role in that mission. We're not looking for "pew sitters", but active Christians who want to use their gifts for the Lord. We expect people to serve in some way, so we present them with the various ministries of the church and give them the opportunity to try out areas of interest. When someone shows an interest in media, we meet them and invite them to sit in the control room for a Sunday television taping. They can view the different areas of service and choose one to try out. Then they shadow a team member to learn how they do their job. CPM: Making a movie must have required a lot of hours away from the church. How did you juggle doing this project along with keeping things running at the church? Alex: Being a filmmaker and a full time Media Director is impossible. There are not enough hours in the day. So what we did was to double up on our weekly programs in the months leading up to the movie shoot. Once we had several programs in the can, we put all our focus on the movie for two months. The audience at home never missed a beat. However, it didn't get any easier once the movie was shot. We still had to edit it and keep our normal programs in production. It is at this point that a good team becomes a great team. When you have selfless people working and serving to keep the ministry going, you can accomplish a lot. Now we are seeing the results of what God did in the theaters across America with Facing the Giants. To see millions of lives impacted by the movie is extremely encouraging!
CPM: What are some valuable lessons you've learned or maybe just some good advice for other teams. Alex: First of all, stay in prayer. We believe that with God, nothing is impossible. He has proven that to us time and time again. Secondly, use the gifts and abilities he's given your team and start thinking out of the box. You may not want to tackle a feature film, but you can think in terms of reaching far beyond your community with your ministry. If God is in it, then don't try to limit it! Finally, acknowledge that there is a difference between a "good" idea and a "God" idea. Whatever ideas or dreams you may have need to be bathed in prayer and counsel. Make sure you are striving for goals and results that bring glory to God. After all, it's all about Him! Sherwood's Senior Pastor, Michael Catt made the statement that he believes his church can "reach the world from Albany, Georgia". Indeed, this media team has changed his vision into reality. Stephanie Narron is the assistant managing editor for Worship Facilities and Church Production magazines. |
WFX in Review Dallas, Texas-The Dallas Convention Center was the gathering place of this year's WFX-Worship Facilities Conference and Expo (www.wfxweb.com). The event which was held November 8-10th, 2006, exceeded last year's record in attendance, exhibits and content. The official attendance count was 3200, more than double from last year's conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, WFX offered over 45 Conference sessions, a packed expo floor with nearly 300 exhibiting companies, world-renowned keynote speakers, two church tours, industry awards program, and more. To view a short video of the 2006 WFX event, to go www.wfxweb.com.
The following is a list of the 2006 Awards given for products that meet a need within the House of Worship (HOW) environment. They include:
Additionally, this was the second year for Church Production Magazine's Video Production Awards. There were numerous excellent entries that were submitted. This years winners are listed at www.churchproduction.com, and all of the winning videos are available for viewing over the web (at lower resolution, 512 kbps bit rates). Other awards included the 2006 WFX HOW Awards which featured two primary categories for entry: worship facilities and audio-visual production. The following companies received awards: FACILITIES CATEGORIES
AUDIO-VISUAL CATEGORIES
In a separate ceremony, 2006 WFX New Product Awards were announced to recognize the newest and most innovative building, management and technology products marketing to churches within the past year. The following companies received facilities-related New Product Awards: BEST BUILDING MATERIAL PRODUCTS
BEST BUILDING SYSTEM PRODUCTS
According to Brian Blackmore, conference co-chair and publisher of Worship Facilities Magazine and Church Production Magazine, "The feedback we have received from both exhibitors and attendees has been stellar. Both groups recognize that the event is completely unique in scope, and appreciate the quality educational content and highly qualified attendee traffic. In just the second year of existence, WFX has become the 'can't miss' event for both churches and exhibitors who target the house of worship market." Plans are well underway for WFX 2007, which will be held October 24-26, 2007 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia with over 400 exhibiting companies. |
AMX Aquires AutoPatch, Adds Signal Switching and Routing to Product Portfolio
Amx announces that it has acquired AutoPatch, a leading manufacturer of high-performance audio/video (a/v) signal switching and distribution equipment. With this acquisition, Amx continues to expand its content control and delivery capabilities.
“Amx is committed to best-in-breed partnerships with manufacturers such as AutoPatch whose products are used in the majority of installations where Amx control systems are also used. By combining the advanced capabilities and product lines of two industry leaders, we are providing customers with greater flexibility, more options for their installations, and easier integration,” said Rashid Skaf, Amx president and ceo. “Further, with AutoPatch’s extensive employee knowledge base, talent and experience in the areas of product design, implementation and support of intelligent switching platforms, Amx will move to the forefront of this very critical area for overall systems operation.”
For more information about the company, visit www.amx.com
In Memoriam: Paul Martin of TFCinfo
Paul Martin, the founder of TFCinfo Corporation, passed away Sunday, December 17 with his wife and two children in a tragic airplane accident on his way to his second home in Searsmont, Maine. TFCinfo wishes to express its sympathies to the many friends and the family of Paul, Lillian and the children, Sean and Kitanna. We will greatly miss Paul's leadership and friendship at TFCinfo.
TFCinfo will continue to carry on Paul's vision of support for the advanced display industry by providing sales tracking and market survey reports. Earl Martin, Paul's older brother, will be joining the company to provide technical support.
A Memorial service was held for Paul and his family at Hill Country Bible Church in Austin, Texas on December 22nd.
Contributions to the family may be sent:
C/O Earl Martin
15211 Lake Maurine Drive
Lake Odessa, FL 33556
For further information contact: Dr. Jeffrey Macdonald (jlmacdonald@tfcinfo.com, phone 512-715-0373) or Tanya Lippke (tmlippke@tfcinfo.com, phone 207-783-0055).
Jon Sager to Lead EAW North American Sales
Loud Technologies Inc. announces the appointment of pro audio industry veteran, Jon Sager, to the position of Vice President of Sales, EAW. In this newly created position, Jon will focus solely on leading EAW sales in the U.S. and Canada and direct EAW’s team of 17 independent sales rep firms.
“Jon’s addition is a key component in our aggressive long-range EAW plan, and is another example of the caliber of investments we are making to grow the brand,” remarked Loud’s President and CEO, Jamie Engen.
Sager’s addition comes on the heels of Loud’s recent investments in EAW brand leadership; increased worldwide manufacturing capacity; an expanded engineering, prototyping and BTO facility in its Whitinsville, MA factory; and an expanding service and ASG team.
“We are thrilled to have Jon back,” said Ken Berger, Loud senior vice president of marketing. “His market savvy, industry connections and passion will be key to bringing more breakthrough EAW products to market and resetting the benchmark in pro audio.”
Jeffrey Cox, vice president for the EAW brand group at Loud, was quick to point out that “Jon’s deep contracting experience is a wonderful addition to the EAW team and will round out our roster of other strong players including Bernie Broderick in the touring market and Jon Bosaw in commercial sound.”
Sager has more than 20 years of professional audio and contracting experience, and has held sales management positions at EV, QSC and most recently JBL. This marks Sager’s second tenure at Loud; he held the position of Director of Market Development from 1996 to 2001.
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HITACHI SOFTWARE STARBOARD VERSION 7.1
Hitachi Software’s new StarBoard Version 7.1 software features expanded capability and now supports essential elements of Hitachi America’s Projector Control (PJCtrl) software. Operating within the StarBoard software, users can monitor and control various elements of any Hitachi projector on the network, including power on and off. Currently, Hitachi Software StarBoard software Version 7.1 supports several features of PJCtrl including powering projector on and off, switching inputs and a screen-freeze capability, which allows the end-user to freeze the projector’s current image and continue PC or StarBoard operation, in effect hiding the background activity. Version 7.1 also includes a projector search feature, which allows the user to search for projectors on the network, resulting in a list of found projectors. This feature saves the end-user the time and hassle of looking up a projector’s IP address. Additional functionality will be available online, as users can download updates for the plug-ins at www.hitachi-soft.com. URL: www.hitachi-soft.com |
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PEERLESS INDUSTRIES HG SERIES MOUNTS
Peerless Industries, Inc., introduces the new HG Series Universal Flat Panel Wall Mounts, developed to extend the stylish appearance of the flat panel all the way to the wall, providing a clean, elegant look to any installation. The new HG Series includes pivoting and articulating plasma and LCD wall mounts to complement the look of the latest flat panel screen finishes – high gloss piano black or high gloss silver – adding to the upscale appearance of the installation. The new mount series accommodates screens from 26 inches to 60 inches. PHONE: (800) 865-2112 |
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MARTIN AUDIO WS218X SUB
The WS218X high performance sub-bass system provides maximum bass impact and definition for theater sound systems, club sound reinforcement and special effects sub-bass applications. Designed for use with large scale Wavefront and Blackline systems, the WS218X features twin 1000-watt 18" (460mm) drivers capable of reproducing low frequencies down to 35Hz. Each driver employs a magnet structure and suspension engineered for maximum linear excursion along with high temperature 4" (100mm) voice coils. The WS218X produces a power output of 136dB continuous and 142dB peak. The birch ply cabinet is fitted with six pocket handles and four 4" (100mm) castors for easy deployment. It also features large area porting to reduce air noise. PHONE: (519) 747-5853 |
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SYNAUDCON 2007 TRAINING SCHEDULE
The Sound Reinforcement for Operators, Technicians and Designers courses remain in the schedule line up. In addition, two new workshops will be offered in 2007: "EQ07" and "Hums, Buzzes & Things That Go ZAP!” The new workshops will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah in June. "Sound Reinforcement for Operators" provides attendees with knowledge that is essential for operating a sound system. "Sound Reinforcement for Technicians" covers the theory behind how systems work, and demonstrates how to use instrumentation to troubleshoot systems. "Sound Reinforcement for Designers" integrates the art and science of room acoustics with sound system design. "EQ07" will present a comprehensive and holistic approach to sound system equalization, from the drawing board stage of the project through the final commissioning process. It will incorporate methods from the past and present, along with presenting new methods and a look at what is on the equalization horizon. "Hums, Buzzes & Things That Go ZAP!" will create a foundation of theory and practical knowledge upon which the audio system user can draw, in order to deal quickly and effectively with hum, buzz and other noise problems in contemporary audio systems. URL: www.synaudcon.com |
Copyright (c) 2006
Production Media, Inc.
info@churchproduction.com
