I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Ephesians 2:20 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I’ve always taking this verse to mean that we are saved through Christ, not by the deeds we do. As of late though, my thought have been centered around the do good works portion. I think Paul was trying to convey several concepts here, particularly that we are not only to do good works, but to seek out good works.

Although saved through Christ, we are not excused from doing the right thing, be it men’s ministry, fighting for Darfur, etc. As Mich 6:8 says, we are to be humble, love mercy, and seek justice.

Found this little countdown creator from Worship House Media that looks pretty good.  Most that I found have been plug-ins for iMovie and have been really cheesy.   My only issue is that they do not offer a Mac version.

From the vendor:
“Countdown Creator lets you make customized video countdowns using your own video, picture, and music files giving you unlimited possibilities.

Using Countdown Creator is fast and simple. By adjusting the customizable clock settings you can control the clock placement, time, font, size, rotation, and shadow. Countdown Creator works with any standard definition video (720 x 480) making it a valuable tool in your collection of programming resources. Use Jumpbacks, home movies, stock photography or personalized graphics, and add your favorite music to make your countdown.

Export your video and use it in PowerPoint, MediaShout, Easy Worship, or any other presentation software that supports video playback. Get your audience warmed up! It’s perfect for churches, events, conventions, concerts, and more.”

A friend of mine has joined the blogging revolution and has a lot of great content to share.  He gives commentary on today’s topics and provides a lot of worship resources.  Check him out at The Relevant Church.

As always, I like to pass along free stuff, and the latest is creativemyk. This is more than likely the best resource I have found and the site even lets you submit your own artwork. This reminds me of Romans 12, being a living sacrifice and giving back to the body of Christ. Free stuff is great, but are we being more consumer than sacrificing our gifts for giving back to the Kingdom.

I found a great article on Fathvisuals.com about how to be an effective multimedia team. I found it interesting because one of the habits is spiritual preparation; something I struggle with often and fail miserably at with our team.  Putting together a great service, and receiving praises afterward about how good it was can go straight to your head. One thing I try to remember to keep things in perspective is always ask myself “How am I further Gods kingdom, and not my own”. Keeping focused on Christ can be difficult in the multimedia world, so the author offers four goals:

1. More than button pushers. It is vitally important to tell members of your multimedia team that they are more than “button pushers”. They are, indeed, worship leaders. For example, if you project the lyrics of hymns on a screen, your designated multimedia specialist is the “hand” that turns the pages of the projected “hymnbook.”

2. The job description includes exultation. Each team member’s job is to exalt Christ, not themselves or their multimedia function.

3. Provide focus. Our goal as multimedia team members is to provide focus; that is, eliminate distractions. For example, lighting can put a spotlight on a prop, potentially keeping distracting stage elements to a minimum.

4. Be transparent. As paradoxical as it may seem with multimedia, our chief goal is to be transparent. If the sound, lighting, the video on the projection screen, or any other multimedia element distracts from the message, team members have not been successful. Let me state this again: transparency is our measurement of success. When I teach these concepts, I go on to say that we’re powered by God’s Holy Spirit and that our real reward for performing this ministry is, indeed, a heavenly one. (It’s still a good idea to write a personal “thank you” regularly to each multimedia team member!)

The article can be found at: Faithvisuals.com.

I’ve made some major changes to my friend Joe Cox who is a missionary for Every Generation Ministry.  I’ve really taken to the blog style of websites, which save a lot of time for me.  In essence, I have separated the technical from the content; allowing Joe and others to maintain what goes onto the site while I maintain the technical end of things.  I highly recommend this approach if you have a day job like I do.

A friend of mine sent me this link for a bunch of free stuff! The actual content is somewhat limited, but you can’t beat free. Also, the Freebies page has some great links. The site is called Freeworshipbackgrounds.com

Hi folks! I’ve been doing a lot of work on the site adding rss feeds, better ways to keep the content fresh, etc. It’s still in the works, so forgive the mess.