There are many factors that contribute to this journey of “visual worship” i’m on. New software versions, cool loops with that latest edgy effect, creative “out of the box” (or “in the box“…haha) projection techniques, etc… these are all good and noteworthy things. But one thing contributes more than any of those combined, and that is community.

Thankfully, in this day we have social media that easily and freely connects us all, and if you know what you’re doing, you can quickly find your way into a tribe of like-minded people who share the same passion. In the past few years, i have met some of the most creative, passionate people ever through social media. But when it goes beyond 140 characters or the occasional blog comment, that’s where the real conversations start to take place.

That’s why i love events like Echo, Gurus & Dirt. Because these are gatherings that are designed to connect creative leaders passionate about media & worship in the Church. Any given day at one of these events is jam-packed with mind-blowing seminars, inspiring keynotes & eye-opening resources that will make your head spin. At one of these events, I met Bill Swaringim, a church tech director from St. Louis and a fellow twitter follower. He proposed an interesting idea to Camron Ware & me:  a whole event dedicated to “visual worship”.

This being a dream of ours for a year now, we jumped onboard immediately. Bill took the initiative and ran with the idea! So here are a few details for what i hope to be the first of many “Visual Worship Roundtables”.

- When is it? //  January 14th, 2010

- Where is it? //  St. Louis, MO @ Windsor Crossing Community Church

- Does it cost anything? //  Yes. And only $25.

- Where can I register & get more information? //   VisualWorship2010.com

- What can I expect to get out of this event? //   This is not a “conference”, so it won’t follow any format like one. Most of the day will be an open dialogue where all are invited to participate. There will be structure, but it will be informal and designed to flow freely. With a bunch of creative-techs in the room, i’m sure we’ll cover topics on technology and gear. But this isn’t a “tech” event…there aren’t going to be any training sessions on software (though we might be using/demonstrating certain softwares throughout the day). We will definitely talk about ways that all of us have implemented technology throughout the year, such as VJ-ing, Environmental Projection, creating atmosphere, new content ideas, etc. But in the midst of touching on the “whats” & “hows”, our priority will be the “why“. We hope to get into some deep & possibly controversial conversations on our philosophies of visual worship, theology, current Church culture, building stronger relationships, and ways to be more effective visual worship leaders. Hopefully through this experience we will draw closer to each other & to Jesus, to whom this is all for in the first place.

Some other questions you might ask:

- Q. I love a philosophical discussion just like the next guy, but I still have some questions about “gear”. Will there be any time or place to have my questions answered? //  A. Yes! While we don’t claim to have all the answers, we most definitely want to help you along your journey. Since everyone’s questions & situations are unique, we probably won’t address these in the large group setting. But there will be time during the day for individual conversations, no matter the topic. And if that’s not enough, then you’ll leave with everyone’s contact info.

- Q. Whoa! This event is just around the corner! I would love to come but it’s too short of a notice. Will there be more gatherings like this in the future? //  A. Yes. But we don’t know when yet. Hopefully a few of these will take place in 2010, and not just in the St. Louis area either. Watch this blog & the Events page for upcoming Roundtables.

- Q. Will this be a large event? //  A. My guess is no. And we’re fine with that. In fact, a smaller, more intimate setting will allow for more voices to be heard and for more flexibility in our conversations. But the more, the merrier, too! Numbers aren’t our focus…growing deeper in our understanding of visual worship IS. This will be an epic day, even if there’s 8 of us (and there will be at least that many!)

- Q. I’d like to host a Visual Worship Roundtable in my city. Is this possible? //  A. You bet your bottom dollar it is. Just e-mail me  ( proctor@worshipVJ.com )  and let’s talk.

- Q. Will this event be live-streamed? //  A. Despite our failed attempts in the past, yes, we are going to try our best to live-stream this event …and do it right this time!  :)   So on that day, tune in to live.worshipVJ.com.  (but we may have to call in Brad Zimmerman for this!)

- Q. I have another question that you haven’t covered. //  A. That’s not a question…it’s a statement. But i know what you mean. ;-) Just ask your question in the comments section.

thanks!

The bad news…we were facing away from the camera! #directionFAIL  we were live streaming that day and most people were gathered in the space of the room where the screen is. The “gurus” camera was in the back of the room for other technical reasons (it’s a really cool but interesting in-the-round living room setup).

The good news…you get to see the screen really well! And the audio is WAY better than the live stream recordings. (you’d think a bunch of techies could have figured all this out! ha!)

Enjoy.

when Nate, Camron & I joined forces for ECHO this year, we decided to really refine them and create a fresh presentation. And I continue to use them at other conferences, like Integrity’s seminars4worship. We’ve decided to make these slides available for you to download.

Visual Worshiper: Tools & Talent

Conversations on Visual Worship

They are available in a PDF format. If you didn’t know, you can download the notes that go along with some of our classes as well. We have also archived the live video streams from ECHO & GURUS on the UStream channel. All of this is available in the sidebar under “worship*VJ LIVE”.

So if you are unable to make it to one of our events, you can experience each class and share them with your pastors & worship leaders. But don’t let this stop you from coming out to an event in the future; even though the classes are fun and exciting, the community is the best part of the whole experience!

Enjoy.

p.s. ECHO CONFERENCE available on DVD!

The 2009 Echo Conference Disc Set is a great way to experience Echo again or for the first time. The set will include video of three of four keynote sessions (Phil Cooke, Ben Arment, and Mark Steele) and the church media & technology panel featuring Carlos Whittaker, Bobby Gruenewald, Cynthia Ware, Scott Hodge, and Conway Edwards. In addition, the set will include audio and presentation files from breakout sessions presented by Barton Damer, Shawn Wood, Carlos Whittaker, Brad Zimmerman, and more!