mountain masala

good news in many voices

I have been busy organising a synod training day on evangelism for a few hundred people - a plenary session and 46 workshops. you can check out the program here (550 kb PDF). Yes, it would have been nice to have more 'edgy' stuff. Oh well, we'll see how it goes. delighted to have shirley osborne and tim hein speaking. will let you know how it goes.

design matters

Design Matters is a new book and DVD about "creating powerful imagery for worship" by Jason Moore and Len Wilson of Midnight Oil Productions.

"Design Matters" is probably the best, practical "how to" book on on-screen design for churches that I have seen.

In the introduction - "Why Design Matters" - the book starts by exploring whether screens in worship are a fad, the power of images, and the basic 'rules' of image. This book is not meant to be academic, rather it summarises a lot of current thinking in plain language: for example
"by simply adding a screen and projector in a sanctuary a church does not guarantee growth or vitality"
"the screen isn't a large piece of paper, it's a new medium"
"we must learn visual literacy"
"the medium is at least as important as the intended message"
And... "We believe that digital technology in worship, and the use of image, is a permanent shift in the culture of the church."

Some of this may sound simplistic and slogan-ish, and perhaps it is, but at the same time, it clearly and succinctly gives some good reasons to take digital imagery seriously. yes, there should be and is more in-depth discussion of these issues around.

Chapter 1, "Buidling Doorways to Truth" (a very scary title), the authors explore the idea of metaphor as a means of expressing and exploring ideas. It's a very important aspect of communication and design. However, I find that their reasons are more about "telling" than exploring.
ie. "metaphor makes the message easier to understand"
"metaphor is the glue that makes the message stick"
"metaphor is a key part of the design process because it was Jesus' model for public ministry" (well, kind of, maybe, at times - but I get what they're trying to say)
So for them, metaphor is more about how you communicate your mesaage clearly, than about 'opening up' a theme or scripture for exploration. I don't want to simplify messages, I want to help people to wonder and question and look deeper and wider.

The rest of the book is about principles of good design, and this is where it is of great value to budding designers. The authors examine design basics (asymmetrical, lead the eye, rule of thirds, space,etc)

These seven chapters unpack a series of important design principles relating to composition, treatment, textture, colours, light & shadow, fonts, pre-planning anf production. The principles are universal, so to speak, and the examples well chosen for mainline Sunday a.m. worship.

The book isn't printed in colour, so the DVD becomes a vital aspect of learning these principles, with colour versions of the example illustrations in the book, as well as a video tutorial of each segment by the authors. In addition there are two 'free' video clips from Midnight Oil Productions.

Together, the book and the DVD provide an excellent introduction to design in a 'church' setting.

The two negatives that I have are firstly, that the examples seem very 'churchy', and I'm still trying to work out if that is cultural (American) or ecclesial (err... church) bias. The second is that I guess you have to learn the rules before you know how to break them. As a big fan of David Carson, I would have liked them to go a step further and add a chapter on breaking the rules. Perhaps that can be volume 2.

The authors have been involved in multimedia at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Ohio, USA, for some years.

Moore and Wilson have also written Digital Storytellers and Wilson is the author of The Wired Church. All three books are published by Abingdon Press.

rumours about angels

rumours about angels

how are angels born?

dj hand

this is fabulous. go and play with dj hands! just shows how a simple idea with great graphics can be inviting and engaging.

flash guru

brendan dawes is a bit of a flash guru.

Here are some samples of his stuff

regenerate june

with the sad news that steve collins' dad has passed away (we look forward to seeing him in october), we re-jigged our coming [re]generate evening, using a shamelessly borrowed idea for a theme. rob stoner and I will pepper some lively discussion with stories, ideas, quotes, images about the emerging church from around the world.

another pub - the astor in pulteney st. wednesday 7 june from 7 pm. meals from $13.

be there or be in hawaii.

(another elvis reference.... )

blog block

I couldn't log into typepad for several days, and now it's mysteriously fixed!

Visit from Search Institute

I'm really delighted to announce that Gene Roehlkepartain from the Search Institute will be in Adelaide on Monday 3 July to lead seminars for churches, schools and youth work professionals on developmental assets of young people. Three seminars will be held between 2.00 pm and 9.30 pm at Immanuel College, Morphett St, Novar Gardens. Details here. 408 kb PDF

I've been familiar with the work of the Search Institute for 15 years, and I would say that in my 26 years in youth ministry, this is the best framework for community youth development that I've come across. Search Institute originated as a Lutheran research body some 30 years ago, and now works as a non-sectarian broad-based youth research and development organisation. Their Assets framework, which is based on research with over 2 million young people, is used in over 600 communities in the US and also around the world. It has been applied in schools, health, local government policy, YMCA, churches and many other bodies.

Parkin-Wesley College is partnering with the Lutheran Church's Children, Youth & Family Ministry Dept in SA/NT to sponsor this significant event.

Kevin Richardson, Principal of Immanuel College, says "I have been familiar with the Development Assets for some time and am excited at the possibilities for educators, schools and young people as they are introduced in Australia. I believe this to be one of the better frameworks for pastoral care and development I have seen."

Andrew Fuller, one of Australia's most well-known adolescent psychologists and clinicians, is a supporter of the Assets approach.

In November 2005 I had the privilege of attending a Search Institute train-the-trainer event in Minneapolis. It was incredibly stimulating and enriching. It is fantastic that we are able to offer people here in SA access to similar input.

Let me say that Gene is not a hyped-up youth speaker. He is a humble, intelligent, gifted thinker who has not only helped Search to communicate and develop its work, but has also been involved in his home community for over 10 years in introducing it. He is high on content and learning process and low on ego and hype.

This is a research-based youth development framework, not a program or approach, that has a substantial track record and broad application in a wide range of contexts. I have used it to help youth workers, youth leaders and communities to develop collaborative approaches among schools, churches, local government, police and other bodies to work together for the well-being of young people. I think that a 'community development' approach to mission is one of the best ways for churches to step beyond a 'recruitment' model and forge genuine partnerships with other organisations and individuals in the wider community.

Gene will also be speaking in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne as part of a national tour with Trhiving Youth Australia (and Perth>)

contemplative youth ministry

Mark Yaconelli's book Contemplative Youth Ministry arrived in the mail from Amazon yesterday. Looking forward to a read.

glassworks

GlassWorks are a UK production company who specialise in digital effects. Their website has a stack of great music videos and advertisements, including clips for Bjork, Bloc Party and others.

More amazing Bjork videos here. You may or may not like her music, but she sure has unique video clips.