Greg Atkinson

I’m off work today and hope to catch up on some long overdue reviews. You would not believe the amount of products that I receive from companies/producers. I have a stack of unopened packages sitting on a shelf in my house. I hope to review them today and tell you about them soon. Look for reviews of new media resources from LifeWay, Crossroads Creative and Christmas resources from Angelhouse Media, Flashlight Films, Highway Video and Worship Films.

If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to join my Facebook group for my upcoming book: Church 2.0. You can find the group HERE. I’d love for you to be a part of the group and join the conversation. Please feel free to post new topics and items for discussion.

EXTRA:

Who’s hoping to get a Kindle this Christmas?

We recently made a great purchase at my church. One of our electric guitar players had played at another church and used a product called Axe Trak. He’s a very good musician and picky about gear, so he was skeptical at first, but after playing through it, he had to admit he thought it worked great. He came back and told me about it. We bought one the next week, loved it and bought a second one this week (we often have 2 electric guitars).

What does an Axe Trak do? It allows your electric guitar player to have their amp beside them on the stage, but via the Axe Trak, there is no stage volume. We had been putting our electric guitar player’s amps in holes we built into our stage. The holes (with the lids on them) reduced the stage volume, but were a pain to set up, mic and needed a fan constantly blowing on the amp, which means we had to crack the lid open and caused a danger on our stage (one of our vocalist fell in one of the holes while walking backstage and hurt her leg pretty bad). We’ve had several other people (including myself) that almost fell in the hole, when the lid was left open or not fully closed. With the Axe Trak, we have closed the lids for good.

Here’s some more info from the Axe Trak website: “The warm sound desired by most guitarists can only be created by the speaker of a good sounding guitar amp being mic’d in the right environment. Direct amplifier outputs sound fake, fuzzy and extremely harsh. The AxeTrak® alleviates this problem by allowing the user to connect directly from the speaker jack of their guitar amp to the input jack of the AxeTrak®. The output of the AxeTrak® is then plugged into a recording console, mixing board or computer soundcard using a standard low impedance microphone cable. This method of recording allows you to get a direct signal that includes the preamp tubes as well as the power tubes if using a tube amp. This is very important if you are a tone freak like most guitarists.” Check it out HERE.

This past Sunday, my church beta-tested the unreleased Igniter Track: “Here Is Our King” by David Crowder. Igniter Media Group (one of my favorite church media producers) is coming out with a new line of products called: “Igniter Tracks“. They’ll be starting with 2 very cool volumes, which include some great songs and good song arrangements recorded professionally by Igniter.

As I mentioned, we used the “Here Is Our King” Igniter Track in our services this past weekend and it went very well. Our congregation was singing along to the video created by Igniter and our band was playing the song live with a click-track in their ear (all our band and singers where in-ear monitors).

This is like an iWorship video on crack. Every conference I do I hear from people that are tired of the same ‘ol, same ‘ol iWorship videos with stock aerial footage. Igniter Tracks offers cutting edge, creative, cool looking video tracks to play and/or sing along with. It’s truly taking the iWorship concept to the next level. If you haven’t already, you can pre-order both volumes now HERE. You can preview a video HERE.

Yesterday I referred to SermonSpice’s release of their new, free worship presentation software: SpiceRack. I did my homework on this, including speaking with several “pro’s” in the industry and getting their feedback, too. I, honestly, don’t know where to begin. To call this product premature is an understatement. I don’t know if they were just concerned with getting it out to Catalyst attendees or what. Let me also say that calling it “Alpha” or “Beta” doesn’t excuse what I saw either. As one computer developer I talked with said, “Beta versions should have most bugs worked out and be MUCH further along before releasing.”

I downloaded the software and tried using it and was not able to. All it did was flicker. I couldn’t press any buttons or tabs. I couldn’t add an image or a video – nothing. The other thing that I and my investigative team discovered is that the software is heavily dependent upon the Web – meaning it doesn’t like it if you’re not connected to the Web (Obviously, the creators of SpiceRack want you to be able to connect straight to their mother company, SermonSpice).

I ask: Who is it that is going to be interested in a free presentation software (knowing you get what you pay for)? The answer: The startup church that meets in a school auditorium or a movie theater. Think you can connect to the web there? Nope. For the church that is portable and in setup and tear down mode every week, they probably are not going to have web access, which makes a lot of this product useless.

My 2 cents… This is a one-time purchase. Prayerfully consider how you can come up with the money to INVEST in a solid product (like the Top 3 in my software poll – EasyWorship, MediaShout and ProPresenter). If you really don’t have that much to invest, then consider MediaShout Express, which I reviewed earlier and is half the cost of the leaders in this field.

If you absolutely need to go FREE, go with a proven product like Easislide or Open Song that has been around for a while.

EXTRA:

On a more positive note, my friends at SermonVideos.com have come out with 2 cool new things that I’d love to tell you about:

1. HD widescreen motion backgrounds! As you know, I’ve stated before that I’m looking all over for these since we’re getting ready to go into a new worship center with widescreens. SermonVideos.com now joins the ranks of Igniter Media and Worship Films as pioneers in offering HD backgrounds to churches. Praise God. Many of their newest motions are now available in full widescreen 1280 X 720 HD in BOTH Windows Media AND Quicktime MP4 format. NOTE: Subscribers have full access to these files. I’m a subscriber. To subscribe go HERE.
2. SermonVideos.com is happy to announce the new Countdown Creator software. If you would like to quickly and easily be able to create your own countdowns, this software is for you! Simply put your stills and videos into the creator, arrange the countdown clock and export.

PERSONAL:

I’ve received several “Thank yous” from people that read my article in Collide Magazine. It seems there are a lot of people who appreciate honest reviews of companies and products. Thanks for your encouragement!

One thing I enjoy each year at the Catalyst Conference is the worship and their use of technology. My friend, Brad, the creator of ProPresenter is a big part of what goes on. He usually is the Video Director and they use his software to make it happen. With the combined use of ProPresenter and ProVideoPlayer, Catalyst is always on the cutting edge of media in worship. I just checked in with my software poll and ProPresenter is still in First Place, which surprised me – not because it’s not a great presentation software, I just didn’t realize how many churches had switched over to the Mac platform. If you haven’t voted yet, go HERE to vote.

Soon I’ll be reviewing SermonSpice’s new presentation software that they unveiled at Catalyst: SpiceRack.

I recently heard from the cool people at Glow Box Media. They are a new producer worth checking out. You can find their products HERE.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:

The first issue of Collide Magazine just came out. Did you get your copy? Collide is a great new resource for Church leaders. I wrote an article that has been getting positive feedback. I was a little nervous about the article (where I reviewed 3 media clearing house companies) due to having to say something negative about each company. I use, respect and know the people behind each company that I reviewed, so I was a little worried that they’d be upset with the article. The truth is, I simply gave my best shot at being objective and the feedback I’ve received so far is that people respected that and agreed with my comments. If you haven’t subscribed yet, go HERE to sign up.

Many of you may have listened to a podcast by WorshipHouse Media, but have you checked them out since they started doing them via video? I think they’re well done and add a new dynamic to their podcast. Big props to Trent for a very cool intro to the video podcast. Check it out HERE!

EXTRA:

Speaking of podcasts, Anthony and I were back in the studio this past Friday and recorded Episode 6, which should come out soon. If you haven’t subscribed to our podcast or checked out our last episode on copyright and the Church, you can HERE.

A while back I mentioned that I’m a member of a blogger network that reviews new products for companies. Last time I reviewed a new LifeWay product. Today I’m reviewing the Chip Ingram DVD series “Five Lies That Ruin Relationships – Wrong Beliefs Produce Wrong Behavior”.

The “Five Lies” resource provides insight from James 4 & 5 that addresses five lies that can hurt relationships with people we love:

Lie 1: Sensual pleasure will satisfy my inner longings for happiness.

Lie 2: If other people would shape up, my life would work out.

Lie 3: Upwardly mobile work opportunities are automatically the will of God.

Lie 4: My significance and value are measured by the quality and quantity of the things I possess.

Lie 5: The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

In this 10-part DVD series centered in the book of James, Chip defines the 5 most common lies that have the potential to ruin relationships with those we love. He uncovers the source of quarreling, how our words wound, how not to make decisions, and why better things don’t always make things better.

POSITIVES:

Chip Ingram is a great communicator. I always enjoy sitting under his teaching. This study is powerful and could be life-changing. The DVDs give a good visual support to a solid Bible study – they also include small group curriculum samples. The workbook is very well put together, looks sharp and has some nice features such as “Video Notes” and “Discussion Questions”.

NEGATIVE:

I think Chip’s messages could have been filmed better and more professionally. They aren’t horrible, but I would have liked to see them be a little better quality.

OVERALL:

This product is insightful, solid and a great choice for your small group or Bible study to study together.

EXTRA:

Tonight we have the 2nd installment of Tech team training. Tonight we’ll be training our camera operators (current and new ones).

Months ago, I introduced the Church media world to Blaine Hogan – an up-and-coming filmmaker (and designer) who did the “Starving Jesus” video that went straight to the top of each website it appeared on. His newer video, “Ignorable Calling” is also rising up the Top 10 list.

Guess what? The entire “Starving Jesus” series (in downloadable form) is up on WorshipHouse and SermonSpice. Also the DVD volume is available for pre-order in the Difted store. This is the completion of a year-long series, which, by the way, is how Blaine is paying for seminary. That’s right – when you purchase Blaine’s videos, DVD or shirts, you’re supporting his education!

EXTRA:

I just wrote an article for a brand new magazine (that you really should subscribe to) called “Collide Magazine”. In the article I mentioned how important quality design is in today’s culture. Branding and design are words that should be heard and understood in all churches. It’s important how you present yourself and how others perceive you.

I bring this up because Blaine is also quite a gifted designer and is doing free-lance design work as another way to support himself through school. Above are recent projects he’s did. One is for a ministry called Project Sixty One, which is a homeless ministry in California. Blaine does mostly print, merchandise, logo work, and worship backgrounds.

If you’re looking for fresh, edgy, sharp design work for your church (t-shirts, website or print materials), then I recommend you contact Blaine and see what he can do for you. His rates are extremely flexible and he’s open to any kind of work at the moment. Blaine would like to partner with people who need creative work done…especially churches. So, the idea would be getting people who believe that art and faith can change the world, to partner with a creative kid who is working his way through seminary by using his gifts (speaking, writing, directing, design, etc.).

Bottom-line: Get to know Blaine. Here’s a link to some more of his work HERE.

I’m a member of a blogging network that reviews new products from various companies. I’m embarrassed to say that I should have reviewed this product months ago. I let it sit for a while and then forgot about it. I’ll try not to let that happen with the future products. This first product is the new LifeWay resource for 18-34 year olds entitled “Threads”.

The Bible studies are geared toward young adults, featuring flexible formats with engaging supplemental video and audio. The sessions are 4-6 weeks, which fit into busy schedules. Each member book comes with journal pages. The Leader Kit comes with a DVD featuring introductory and companion video segments, a CD-ROM featuring leader tools, music and emailable audio files. You can also find supplemental resources for members and leaders online.

This “Threads” product is called InTransit: What Do You Do with Your Wait? and traces the lives of Joseph, David, and Jesus as they waited, sometimes painfully, to see God’s promises come to pass. What was true for those men is true for young adults today – there is great purpose in waiting. This leader kit will help you in leading your group to focus on how God builds into us during these times of waiting.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK:

I think this is a cool new direction and much needed emphasis for LifeWay. I applaud them for attempting to address this need, which is needed in the Church across the world.

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK:

I think the videos could have had better lighting and better acting/actors. They weren’t horrible, but I think they could do better.

***You can find an introduction to “Threads” in PDF form HERE… or you can listen to a podcast about ministry to young adults using the “Threads” by LifeWay series HERE.