Livecast Easter Project - Part 1

I have a project to get ready for as Easter rolls around this year. We joined the great group of believers at River Valley Community Church in Yuba City a few months ago.  River Valley is on top of using tech in the every day workings of the church, and are on fire for the Lord.  What a great mix.

Easter services will be held outside in our parking lot.  The biggest concern for us in Northern California revolves around the weather.  On many years in the past rain, or even snow, has made an outdoor service uncomfortable to say the least. In preparation for this years possible deluge we are preparing a way to stream the service into an overfill room.  Our Easter service is also a great excuse for us to launch our live service streaming project.

I will be posting some updates and links to software and resources as the project moves forward.  Please feel free to post in the comments and tips or suggestions as well as questions.  This is a living, breathing project.

Software

VidBlaster We will be using VidBlaster for our multi camera switching software. You are able to use it in demo mode before you decide to purchase it. I like this option.  Many churches/ministries never get a chance to try a software or hardware package before making purchase.  This can lead to paying way to much for way to little or in some cases WAY TO MUCH.

Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2 Live Encoder is the behind the scenes bread and butter app.  It takes the feed from VidBlaster and encodes it on the fly for streaming out to a Video sharing site or other serving solution.

The Video Editing Computer

I am installing both of these apps on a dual core HP Pavilion laptop.  Not the strongest computer but has plenty of guts to get the job done.

We will be hooking up 2 cameras to the laptop.  A consumer grade camcorder and a MS Webcam both capable of shooting 720 video.

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Right now I am going to use the same setup I used for streaming Redeemed Point.  Everything was self contained on the laptop.  I streamed the video to UStream.  The issue I am trying to get away from at the moment is the advertisements that cover full screen during streaming with sites like Ustream or Livestream.  Trying to do this on a shoestring budget prohibits the pro account upgrades on these accounts.  The possibility of using a second computer to act as a live server is another option I am working on.  Still up in the air on which way to go.  I am trying to get this done quickly and do it right.

The next installment will go over the configuration of the software as well as tips on how to connect everything. Subscribe to the RSS feed or my twitter account for updates.

Droid post.

Yes still alive. Posting from church during worship. Tech is so cool when it helps us get closer to the one who matters most.

Look for a new post soon on my thoughts on LotRO going free2play as well as a review of Runes of Magic.

Digital Campus. No. no we are not crazy, stop looking at us like that!

One of the most interesting things I get to see from time to time is what I call the tilt head and look oddly into the distance look when I tell people about Redeemed Point.  Some assume right off the bat that because we are streaming "church" online, and because, at the moment, don't use pews and a "standard" seating arrangement, that we are some sort of strange radical group or trying to do things in a completely new way. If you get nothing else from this post please at least get this:

THIS IS NOT NEW!

Ok, sorry for shouting.  When the church began some 2000+ years ago it is safe to say that the Internet did not exist.  Nor phones, television, cell phones, twitter, facebook, or even. . get ready . . mass produced books!  The church was successful not because of what or how they did things, but because of WHO they did things for.

Jesus gave us a commission;

Mark 16:15 And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Like the early church we need to go to where the people are.  You and I know people who would never consider stepping foot inside a "church", yet make contact with them by some online means and you may just have an opportunity to tell them about your faith.

Above all things Tanya's and my desire it to reach the lost for the Lord.  Tanya does it in her own way, she shares insights of her walk on her own blog (hehe, took me long enough to convince her to start it) while I use podcasting (in the past), blogs, games IE (World of Warcraft) and other geeky and techie things.  Redeemed Point is born out of this.

Imagine if you will a small group of dedicated men and women who seek to do what Christ has called them to do in a local body, not only local but not forgeting Mark 16.  We are going out, and if by chance we can reach just one person, one at all, it is worth it!

So are we crazy?  Yea, don't you want to be crazy about Jesus as well? :)

(NOTE: Wordpress had eaten my first attempt at this article.  If it seems disjointed please forgive me and know more will come.)

Redeemed Point

Redeemed Point started as a concept many years ago.  I was one of those people that fell in love with computer’s from the very beginning.  As a young boy I would spend hours using our family Tandy TRS 80 III Computer.  I would buy BYTE Magazine and slowly input the code in the back to test out programming.  I loved to see how things worked and always believed that computers would be the future.

No one can argue the place of computers in our world today, more specifically the use of the Internet as the greatest communication tool available to us.  How else can you get a message out to people around the world, all at the same time, for such a minimal cost? 

Henry Blackaby’s study, Experiencing God, as well as Rick Warrens Purpose Driven Church/Life, both speak about finding where God is working and joining him there.  I love the illustration that Rick uses in the opening chapters of Purpose Driven Church.  He says that trying to “start” things yourself is like riding a surfboard out into a flat ocean only to beat the water with your own arms trying to create a wave. When what we should do is paddle out and look for a wave that God has already set in motion, position ourselves into that wave and ride baby ride!

We see the wave that God has created, its called the internet and social media.  We need to do what we can as God’s people to join him where he is working.  One of the more popular places on the net is Facebook.  Facebook provides tools for people to get in touch with others from around the world.  It is amazing how many people are turning to sites like this to reconnect with friends from the past that may have moved on to some other location or country.

So some people ask, “Why start a church that uses the Internet as a means to reach out?”  Here is why, and mind you these are just statistics from one site:

• More than 200 million active users
• More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
• More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college
• The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older

Facebook Statistics

We have an opportunity to touch millions of lives on any given day by simply logging into a website and checking up on friends and family.  We need to live out our lives online for Christ as we do away from the keyboard.  We can not ignore a mission field this large any longer.  Matthew 28:18-20.

Redeemed Point will use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Streaming Video and more, along with a local group of believers working behind the scenes to perform its mission.  We are excited about joining God where He is working and can’t wait to see the harvest.  Email onpoint@redeemedpoint.com if you would like more information or have suggestions or questions.

Who are we seeking?

Mike and I had the neatest experience on Monday.  We attended a live worship service online.  It was through Lifechurch, a church that has this awesome ministry on the internet.  In addition to watching the streaming service with people from at least 26 different countries, we were in a live chat room.  For someone like me who is very visually stimulated, the chat room was almost too much.  Having two things happening simultaneously on my screen was a little overwhelming.  Since I find myself compelled to read every post entered into the chat, I was getting pretty distracted from the worship and sermon.  There was also an option to open a tab of sermon notes in which you can see the sermon notes and add your own comments.  You can then email these to yourself to review later.  Next time, I think I will try to just have that tab open rather than the live chat.  Anyway, it was the most unique "church" experience I have had in a long time.  The sermon was great, and the extent of the spread of His Word was breathtaking.  I would encourage you to check it out at lifechurch.tv sometime.

While I was having a lot of trouble following all of the sermon, being in the chat room was an eye-opening experience for me.  God used it to expose some of my own prejudice.  While we were in the chat room, two people entered who were what is often called griefing.  They kept making comments like "There is no God" just to get a reaction.  Most people were ignoring them, but the room administrators were gently counseling them.  My first gut reaction to these two individuals was to wonder why the admins did not just ban them from the room.  After all, they were disturbing my ability to listen to the message.  After a few minutes, one of them left on his own, but the other stayed in the room.  He was quiet for a little while.  Near the end of the sermon, he began to make comments again.  The admins once again responded kindly, trying to point out to him the existence of God.  He began to ask questions like, "Where was God in 9/11?,  Where was God during Katrina?, etc."  Then Mike chimed in, reminding us all that those things were a result of sin in the world, not a lack of God's presence.  While the "griefer" (for lack of a better word at this point) was still very caustic in his statements, he was beginning to be more open to the answers being given him by the others in the room.  It was becoming clear to me that in his own way, he was seeking God, just unaware how to find Him.

Now for the part about my own prejudice.  At first, this guy was really bugging me.  I was getting irritated by his comments and the admin's apparent lack of getting rid of him.  After all, he was disturbing my worship experience.  Then God gently reminded me that he came to seek and to save those who were lost.  As I thought about what had happened, I realized that, like many in our churches today, I am not always as accepting of the unsaved as I should be.  We want our churches to be filled with God-filled, righteous, Christians.  Yes, we need those in our churches.  But our job is not to sit around parsing the Scripture with others just like us.  We need this to keep growing in our own faith, but our job is to take the message of God's love to those who have never heard.  Jesus' ministry was not to the "church people".  His ministry was to the sick, the dying, the untouchables.  He spent his time with thieves, prostitutes, the unwanted and untouched.  When those around him had accepted his message, he did not tell them to stay with him to learn more.  He sent them out to the surrounding countryside to preach the gospel.  I was very convicted of my own want to just be around those like me.  I don't always want "those people" in my life.  They make me uncomfortable.  But isn't it our job to go to them to share the love of God with them?  If the admins had kicked the griefer out of the room, his perception that Christians are haughty and rude would have been solidified.  Instead, he felt the love of God through the actions of those he was criticizing.

Perhaps this is the problem in many of our churches today.  We have a prejudice towards those who don't know God.  We say that we want our churches to grow, but do we want to invite the untouchables in, those who so desperately need to hear about salvation?  Perhaps, we need to remember that the Great Physician came for the sick, not the healthy.  We need to remember where we once were, dying in our own sin.  I think this is harder for those like me who were raised in church.  Jesus came to seek out and to save those who are lost.  Maybe we (I) need to so some seeking out of the lost ourselves.

So What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Yesterday we said farewell to some of our best friends in real life.  Bob and Michelle Veach, and boys, are leaving Cooper Ave Baptist Church after 9 and a half years of serving as Associate Pastor of Students, or whatever Bob's title ended up during the time there.  It was a wonderful time filled with stories that made us laugh and cry.  I was standing near our families usual seat in the sanctuary when Dr. Tom Stringfellow, our associations Director of Missions came up to me and asked  a simple question.

"So what do you want to be when you grow up Mike?"

At face value one could get a little insulted at such a question.  Especially when you are forty years old.  I mean, shouldn't you know what you want to do and be doing it?  But Tom was not asking in order to insult, he was asking to find out what he could do, as an equip-er, to help.  He knows, exspeicaly with the emotional air around Bob leaving and heading out into the unknown, that the wounds from my leaving First Baptist where fresh.  And honestly for the past few months I have been floundering back and forth wrestling with God on what it is he desires of me and my family.

I have come to the point that I know that the only thing I can do, the only thing that I am truly good, or gifted at, is serving God.  So I told Tom just that.  I want to do what he can use me in.  Now . . most would say, what a cop out.  Not sure eh?  Some might expect someone to say, "I want to be the senior pastor of (fill in the name of a huge successful church here)."  But honestly I have always wanted what he wants.  I have no aspiration to be top dog, I just want to serve.  Mind you I am aware of the gifts he has given me, in leadership, teaching, connecting with people.  But Tom pushed the subject, and it led to a little bit of discussion between us, as much as standing in the middle of a rapidly filling auditorium could allow.

To be honest with myself and with you, part of my hard time answering the question is that God has shown me some wonderful things in how to truly connect with people.  The frustrating part is that when I begin to talk to someone around me in the real world about how cool it was to hang out with 9 other people online, working together to take down a enemy together in order to pass out some loot that it drops that most likely goes to someone in our group that needs it. . well.. imagine a deer in the headlights look.  Facebook, Twitter, Email, Computer games, Coffee at Starbucks, texting back and forth on your cell phone, just a few examples of how people are connecting, and where people are today.  So part of the reluctance might be not wanting to be looked at like some loon.

Not limiting the possibilities is another reason to possibly not directly answer such a question.  If I say, yes, I want to be a Worship Pastor, then what if he wants to show me a senior pastor position, or even a custodial job that allows me to shine in his kingdom?  I have always been a sort of jack of all trades master of few, or even none.  I love to learn, I love to teach others about what I learn, I love technology, innovation, relevance.  I don't want to pin him down and lose out on something.

So my answer was, "Whatever he wants of me."

Then as the service went on, Tom brought the message, my mind was going over what I was going to say about Bob since I had been asked to join the group of people getting up to speak about him and say something nice.  My mind raced as I saught our families life verse when it hit me.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you" —[this is] the LORD's declaration—"plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. " (HCSB)

God has gifted me with some unique talents.  He has given me a desire and hunger to reach people that, for the most part are not sought.  He has shown me that it is possible.  I turned to Tanya and said, "Hun, I think I just need to put down that He has called me to be a tech pastor."  Instead of the look of frustration with me for having my head in the clouds she said, "then that's what you put on your resume."

So, what do I want to be when I grow up?  I still want to be someone that God can use for what he wants.  What that entails is working with technology, computers, media, sound, video, facebook, twitter, computer games, phones, computer software, whatever it takes to reach people and be a friend.

For those who have a mindset that the church is to look like, or feel like it was in the 50's, well, thank you for all you have taught me, thank you for all you have done for us, and thank you for how radical you where then.  But please, remember that society is changing and the best way to reach people is to be where they are.

So, Brother Tom, what do I want to be when I grow up?  A Tech Pastor.

QQ More Noob – WoW and Church

A friend asked me last night. "So, you don't like emo do you?"  My answer was, "No, is it to much to want people to learn how to adjust to real life and not expect everything on a plate?"  And it got me thinking.  Right now is an example of lots of over privileged people crying that the world is ending because something they "CHOOSE" to do is being impacted by REAL WORLD issues beyond the control of the programmers.

For those of my readers who do not know what is happening, well, World of Warcraft is launching its second major expansion tonight.  In the process of getting ready a lot of changes have been made to the game system, a system that I think far to many people take for granted.  You know, the same people who have no idea the work that goes into that Hot Mocha they just ordered at Starbucks.  The same people that if you ask them where milk comes from they will answer, "the store."

In a game with over 11 million subscribers it becomes a hotbed of whiners and QQers (For those not up on the lingo, just isolate the QQ and tell me what you see.  *smile* )  Not only does Blizzard have to balance the customer support nightmare but they have to make sure things go smooth tonight with the launch. 

Ok, so some hiccups nailed them when they applied whatever implantations of the software server side yesterday.  Ok they spent all day, and even part of today with the servers down to make sure people end up happy.  I would HATE to be in the shoes of the technician who are trying to get things back up.  Especially when EMO kids are complaining.

I had a little spar with someone on the official forums.  I made a simple comment about how I would rather have the down time when it happen than come home from Gamestop tonight, load the game and not be able to enter Northrend.  The reply I got was, and I paraphrase:

"OMG Blizzard SUCKS!.  I pay $14.95 a month to play this game.  I expect my cell phone, cable TV . . . blah blah blah.  to work. . .Blizzard is the worst!"   

I would have laughed but this attitude just struck a raw nerve.  Here is a person, who thinks the world owes them something, complaining because their life is impacted for a short time.  The feeling is that his "INTITLEMENT" gives them the right to make over reaching over generalizations.  And we wont even talk about the laps of common sense.  Ok maybe a little.. . Just that morning our Comcast Cable went out. Had no Internet for the first 6 hours of the day   O.o  IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD   /slit

But I digress. 

The issue is not that Blizzard has failed.  heh, I dare anyone to show us that they could run things any better.   .  .  . *still waiting*

The issue is that people need to relax, enjoy life, go outside some times, and enjoy what is around them.  Realize that things happen and we just have to deal.  Do we always like it when a storm comes through and knocks out power for 2 days?  Heck no. . But do we look back at the quality time we had with our family when we could not hide in a corner with a T.V. or computer or . . . Oh yea.

So, to all the emo QQ'ers who are going to quit the game over this.  I have one thing to say.

There's the door. 

*smile*  I know. . mean. . But serious!

And now for those expecting something about the church, after all, I did put it in the title.  Well, just reread the article, replace the word Blizzard with your churches name and wala. . . .

Let's not be emo QQing noobs anymore!

/rant

Grr, I lied, Turning Rant back on after talking to a guild mate in Gtalk Dori, before posting this.

One thing that REALY disappoints me is that some of the very same people who where yelling the sky was falling and they where going to quit took advantage of a glitch when the servers did come up.

Once servers rolled online apparently you could purchase select PvP gear that used to require a high personal rating.  The price was messed up, most likely from a careless oversight in the rush to restore databases.  So when people found out they did they told Blizzard about it so it could be fixed.  WRONG

The took a virtual ROCK and tossed it through the window of the department store and walked off with the item, all the time justifying it by saying Blizzard sucked and made them wait to get back online.

ARGGG.  Ok. . I'm going to finish now before this becomes a novel on the social ills of idiots.

Love you all. . .its going to be a good day no matter what :)

Things Id Like to See.

After my long post I wanted to jot some notes about what I would like to see a church be/do.

The most important thing is to be "relevant"

Random thoughts.

• Worship that fits the hearers


• Ways to communicate outside of a "weekly meeting"
  
  
  
  • Web
  
  
  • Podcast
  
  
  • Vidcast
  
  
  • Twitter
  
  
  • Forums
  
  
  • SMS messaging
  
  
  • Online groups
  
  
  • Games (You know i had to get WoW in here someplace right?  :)  )
  
  
  
  


• Non threatning leadership structure.
  
  
  
  • Co-leaders
  
  
  • Ownership (don't read to much into that, still needs some developing)
  
  
  
  


• Not confined to a "traditional" time frame.
  
  
  
  • Have meetings when those who come can attend, not necessarily based on a old tried and true time frame.  Although not tossing out the old Sunday morning schedule either.  Being flexible to meet the needs of families that are very busy
  
  
  • Use online as a way to meet for those who are unable to meet regularly in a physical time and place.  But keeping them involved as much as possible.
  
  
  
  

More to come as I think about it. PLEASE leave a comment with your idea!  I want your feedback.  What would you like to see in a church?

I get it God! (The short story that went long)

(This is long)

I woke up last Sunday with the realization that I had become that which I thought, or tried to never become.   A statistic.  Many who follow my twitter feed saw my remark about that before church.  I had spent many days in chapel service while attending Clear Creek Baptist Bible College where the speaker would share the depression information that a high percentage of men going into the pastorate would burn out, be forced out, or just plain lose interest in the first 2 to 4 years.  After a long hard battle against the powers of "tradition" I had become one of those numbers.  About ready to give up completely.  Not sure which end was up, and frankly, in a nice self induced pity party about it all.

We Hate Pugs is online

Welcome to my brain and my idea of social networking meets wow raiding/grouping



Because No one Should Have to Play with Noobs.

We Hate PUGS

We need your help.  Check it out. Try to break it. Tell me what you want.   Use it.  Share it.  Help run it.

Thanks all.  Now I can play some again.

Paravel Communications is Up.

Well, after several months of trying to get bearing after resigning at First Baptist I have begun to take to heart the comments my friends have been telling me for years.  I have been developing web sites for guilds, churches, personal use for a long time.  Every time I finish a job someone would comment how they liked it, or how cool something was on it.  Soon the conversation would turn to "You should do this for a living."

Well, it is now time to see if they are right.  My deepest desire is to help others use the internet to reach out to the masses.  Weather it is a church or ministry, a local company, or someones private blog, they deserve to have a great web presence.

All I ask of my readers and friends is you pray for us as we try to get the company off the ground.  If you know of someone or you are in need of a custom site, give me a call.  *smile*

http://paravelcomm.com

Live Streaming Video on a Budget using UStream

Allow me to take you on a fast tour of how to install and use UStream streaming video service to get your worship service, Bible study, youth meeting, whatever you want people to see, out on the net live.

Ustream is a platform that provides live interactive video for everyone. Anyone with a camera and an Internet connection can use Ustream to broadcast to a global audience.

In other words, you can stream video live across the Internet.

UStream uses flash technology to convert your video or webcam feed into a flash video stream witch can be viewed on the end users computer live. In addition to streaming live UStream offers the ability to record your shows to there network for later delivery.

CHAT
If streaming video wasn't enough, they have also come up with a cool implementation of a java based IRC client that allows you to have a live chat room that goes along with your feed.

Time to broadcast.

FBLO Live Video Best Wishes

We are going live. Watch here for a live feed once we hit the net.

Sunday 10:50 AM PST (1:50 PM EST)



BEST WISHES
Psalm 20:1-4

MAY GOD’S EAR HEAR YOU
Psalm 20:1 - May the LORD answer you in a day of trouble;

Some people just don't seem to realize, when they're moaning about not getting prayers answered, that no is the answer. - Nelia Gardner White

MAY GOD’S NAME PROTECT YOU
Psalm 20:1 - may the name of Jacob's God protect you.

MAY GOD’S PRESENCE HELP YOU
Psalm 20:2 - May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion.

MAY GOD’S MIND REMEMBER YOU
Psalm 20:3 - may He remember all your offerings

MAY GOD’S HEART ACCEPT YOU
Psalm 20:3 - and accept your burnt offering.

MAY GOD’S WORK BLESS YOU
Psalm 20:4 - May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.

FBLO Live on the Net

This Sunday, June 24th, First Baptist will be streaming its first live service using the UStream website. You can watch along starting at 10:50 AM PST.

To watch the service head on over to our UStream site for the First Baptist Live Oak feed.

What's that at the Door?

So, it's 7:30 A.M. Saturday morning and the family is still asleep. All of a sudden out of no where our dogs start going nuts! Someone is pounding on the door to our porch. Pounding because its locked, a little run in with a bike thief one summer night a couple a years ago got us into that habit.

Me What is going on? What are they barking at?

Tanya I don't know. Oh, someone is at the door.

Being jerked out of a deep sleep is never good for ones nerves. Your mind races with all sorts of scenarios. Who could it be? Is it good, bad, or trouble? She gets to the front door and finds one of our church members pounding on the door.

Suddenly someone showed up to help pull all the weeds from behind the education building. She brought 2 others. Now, ordinarily this would be great news, but at this point of the story I would like to introduce you to what we call in my line of work as a "Well Intentioned Dragon."

A well intentioned dragon is a person who means well but goes about doing it in all the wrong ways. Instead of being helpful they are usually negative. In this case a remark was made about us being in bed still at 7:30 on a Saturday that still has Tanya reeling over it. The funniest thing about this is that we had a church wide clean up day only a week ago and this WID had not shown up.

So, what is a pastor/minister/insert something here, to do? Nothing. Pray, calm down, try to put a positive spin on it, and remember that people do not always have the tools to communicate properly in our day and age.

We work with people. People need the Lord, and we need to reach them, even when it is hard to do.