Echo Conference

John Dyer works at Dallas Seminary as the director of web development where he also earned a theology degree. He is actively involved in several open source web projects, builds ministry resources such as www.bestcommentaries.com, and blogs about technology and faith at www.donteatthefruit.com.

ECHO: I find the combination of a web development career and a theology degree pretty interesting. How do those two things complement each other in your life and work?
JD: It feels like a pretty big responsibility. God has give me the chance to deeply study the greatest of all messages while also allowing me to work with one of the most powerful of human mediums. Along with a beautiful wife and wonderful son, I am a blessed man!
Early on, the worlds of technology and theology didn’t interact for me very often. Then I took a class on “Theology and Society” and read some books on the history of technology, and my eyes were opened to see that technology has been a major force in the world and in the church.
I continue my job in the technology world because I think technology has a place in the redemptive story of the Scriptures, restoring some of what was lost in the fall. At the same time, I think it can influence us in subtle ways, and we sometimes get a little too excited about its potential. Technology is shiny and fun, but when it comes to transforming lives it is terribly underpowered and overpriced compared to the Holy Spirit.

ECHO: Your technology & faith blog, www.donteatthefruit.com, is relatively new. What kind of feedback and response are you getting so far?
JD: So far the blog seems to be doing pretty well in terms of getting traffic and comments. There are several excellent resources out there on using technology for ministry, but not too many that look at technology from a theological perspective and ask questions about how it might shape who we are as humans created in God’s image.
Regarding numbers and web traffic, Dwight Shrute’s blog used to crack me up because below every post it said, “95 comments already.” That little word - already - seems to perfectly expose how we can sometimes get caught up in numbers and speed when talking about our blogs, followers, and friend counts. It’s tempting to think that popularity in numbers means that we’re actually doing something godly.

ECHO: Your Echo breakout session is titled, “Using Technology Without Technology Using You.” What is one way to know if technology is using you?
JD: I think a good thing for all of us to do is sit down with someone whom we normally thing of as not “getting it” about technology and really listen to what they have to say about how we in the technological generation look with all our gadgets and internets.

ECHO: Is there a new technological tool or trend that you’re particularly interested in or intrigued by? If so, why?
JD: There seems to be a trend of high profile individuals quitting facebook, twitter, blogging, and so on. These folks aren’t just cutting back or taking a break – they are deleting accounts altogether. I think this is important for all of us to take note of because if those who are at the top have trouble controlling these technologies who are we to think we’ll be immune if we reach the same level of success and popularity?
The other trend I’m happy to see is that people are taking note of authors like Shane Hipps and magazines like Collide which are attempting to think well and Christianly about technology and media, neither blindly rejecting it nor always eating the fruit.

Matt is the Director of Communications and Media at Lawton First Assembly, in Lawton, Oklahoma where he develops creative solutions in communications, brand development, and technology for ministry. Prior to joining Lawton First, he worked for television stations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.  You can connect with Matt through his blog or on Twitter.

ECHO: Tell us about your background in digital media.
MK: For 14 years I worked in Broadcast News all around the United States and in United Kingdom. My work has been seen seen on all the major news networks in the United States and featured on SKY News and the BBC in Europe. I got my start as a TV Photojournalist in my home town of Harrisburg Pennsylvania at two local TV stations while in college. I then then ventured to Europe where I worked internationally as a photojournalist with the BBC in East Riding, England. After returning to the United States, I worked as a reporter in Springfield, Missouri.
In late 2002, I became the Director of Photography at a FOX Owned and Operated duopoly in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I was a mentor and leader to a group of 30 full-time photojournalists and 7 full-time editors.  In 2005, I was sent to Rome to cover the fragile Pope John Paul II and ended up covering his death, the mourning, and papal conclave for FOX News Channel and several other FOX affiliates around the country.
In 2007 I had the honor to lead my staff to national honors when the station was named runner-up as the National Press Photographers Association’s Station of the year as one of the best stations in the country for television photography.
My work alone has won many honors, including: Associated Press Southwest Press Photographer of the Year; 20 Emmy Awards; 2 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards and more than other 70 Regional and National Awards.

ECHO: What led to your transition from working at TV stations to working at Lawton First Assembly?
MK: I have always been a person of great faith but never had the interest of working for or in a church. In saying that, I have always had a love for the kingdom and always felt communication and media should be focused and uniform in message. I’ve had what I like to call divine interruptions while working in TV, but a number of years ago there was a cataclysmic event that really got my attention.  While attending a church we never attended nor new anyone there someone interrupted a sermon calling me by name and delivering a word directed towards me, that I would use my gifts and talents in communication to help the kingdom one day.  Dude, that got my attention.  Another event happened like that almost 7 years later when I took some FOX VPs to the Willow Summit.
Those moments showed me I was desperately unhappy, I needed to change. Through that time God really began to work in me more through situation and the Holy Spirit and opportunities and conversations began to pop up.  Our move to Lawton First was not a flyby-night decision.  Matter of fact, it took almost a year-and-a-half for us to make the move.   Many would see the transition as bizarre or difficult, but it has be nothing but excitement and a blessing.

ECHO: What kinds of things are you working on at your church?
MK: I wear multiple hats at Lawton First, but I mainly oversee the Communications Department, including Print and Publication, PR, Creative Services, and Media.  My role is responsible for leading and developing the Lawton First strategy, increasing widespread participation and awareness of the overall vision. This includes capital campaigns to be conducted through various methods (e.g. donor events, grant applications, direct mail, online networking).
My true passion is simplifying and honing all communication corporate wide through the power of story.  We tend to make things a lot more complicated and more difficult than it really is. We are working on corporate wide re-brand and advertising to focus on being intentional about storytelling. We are reformatting the weekly Bulletin (yes we still have a bulletin) to include a storytelling element like a brief testimony and head shot. We are changing all promo videos to tell stories instead of just giving the four W’s. My experience and research finds that a good story is better than a good, factual promo video or someone telling you what they think you want to hear.
To put it simply we are going to stop recreating the wheel and go back to the tool of the Master which is “STORYTELLING.” In many ways, churches have focused to much on the cultural wave  that they lost their own unique voice. They lost their brand, their market place, and created fractured communication and presentation. Churches need to shift to less distraction and greater content. Or to put it another way, in the words of my dear friend Kem Meyer “Less Clutter, Less Noise”. Genuine communication that is simplistic wins.

ECHO: For people who are coming to Echo, what can they expect from your breakout session?
MK: Video production has changed; lightweight gear, no time…“make it good – fast”. Your ability to craft a look with digital cameras is more important now than ever. While there is a description for the session I want it to be kind of open and let the attendees direct where they want to camp the discussion.  But I’m planning on using live demonstrations with cameras and lights to teach simple, powerful techniques to use creative lighting in the studio and on-location to get dramatic results!  I hope to also show how if you don’t have the equipment, you can use everyday light to get the same effects.  If the readers on the blog want me to cover something different or specifically, please leave a comment, tweet me @mknisely, or send me a message on my website.

Camron Ware is the founder of Visual Worshiper, a design consulting company that guides and mentors churches through the journey of what visual worship means in the Church today, and how and why to use technology in worship to tell visual stories.

ECHO: You’ve done a few “projection parties” in the past several months. What exactly are those and what kind of feedback have you gotten?
CW: A projection (or mapping) party is simply when you use multiple projectors to project on the outside of a building, VJ media content to music, and invite the community to come watch, enjoy, and fellowship.  There are many other people and groups that do this on a much bigger scale, with brighter/better gear, but I think projecting on the outside of First Baptist Church Coppell was unique.  The response was incredible.  The church faced a main street into the city, so over the three nights we had about 100 people stop by, park, or walk over to the parking lot.
The other main projection party we did was in Nashville on the Marathon Village office complex.  It was a smaller event simply due to time constraints, but when we are able to really get the word out about it, we will do it again and hopefully be able to invite  more people.

ECHO: What does somebody need in order to throw a projection party of their own?
CW: From a gear standpoint; you will need multiple projectors, plenty of data and power cable, a computer with VJ software, and content.  That’s only half the picture though.  The other is social networking.  What makes these parties exciting is having a wide range of people come and enjoy the evening.  Blog, Twitter, email and call to get the word out.  Get a friend to DJ the music using an outdoor PA system.  It’s relatively simple, but does take planning and communication.

ECHO: At Echo, you and Stephen Proctor are going to spend two breakout sessions on visual worship. Are there any misconceptions about visual worship that you’d like to clear up here and now?
CW: Without writing a book here, I would say that visual worship is usually overrated and overdone.  It’s not required for worship; it’s not the only form of worship during a ‘worship service’; it doesn’t  bring people into your service; it doesn’t keep the youth group coming to your service…etc.   I think that a lot of us have put too much importance on ALWAYS having something visual going on during the worship service, and think it is something required to be effective.

ECHO: You’re also going to do some VJing at Echo — how do you typically go about preparing to VJ an event?  
CW: I personally start by going over the set-list of the event with the worship leader, and talking through the flow and overall mood that is trying to be created.  This usually helps me start gather media together in playlists that I will possibly use to VJ with.  I rarely script out each and every song;  most of the events I do are on-the-fly.  Stephen Proctor (@vjProctor) does many more live events than I do, and would probably have more insight as to his process.  He runs the WorshipVJ blog at www.worshipvj.com.

At Echo, Camron, along with Stephen Proctor and Nate Griffin, will be leading two back-to-back breakout sessions about visual worship and the Church. The second part of the Visual Worship breakout is setup so you can learn from not only these guys, but the other breakout attendees as well. Stephen, Nate and Camron want to create a community of church leaders and visual worshipers within the breakout that far outlast the conference.  Camron’s also offering a great deal on what he does best - At anytime during the Conference, come find Camron and sign up for an on-site design session at your church. You’ll receive a 10% discount on the design session as well as an exclusive content kit from Awake Images containing Volume 1, and a coupon for 50% off another volume!

**This is the first in a series of interviews with our breakout speakers.  We’ll be posting new interviews weekly so you can get to know our speakers and learn a little more about what they’ll be bringing to Echo**

Our Echobot plans to set up the stage for this year’s keynote speakers in 20 seconds or less!

Here are a few stills from some clips that Barton Damer has been working on for our Speaker Intro videos. He is using Cinema4d, After Effects, Final Cut Pro and some Illustrator for this project. Barton will cover some basics of how to integrate all this software into one project during his sessions at Echo.

Congratulations to the winners of the Flip Mino HD and the Mini 9 Netbook -

Mark Bushor and Jeff Blackburn

Thanks so much to all of you who entered!  If you haven’t registered for Echo yet there is still time to catch the early bird rate (through June15).  We have an incredible lineup of speakers who will be a part of Echo so if you haven’t taken a look, check out our keynotes and breakouts.  You won’t want to miss this amazing experience so be sure to register now!