Langley on Leadership - Part 2

There's difference between a good leader and a GREAT leader. Do you know what it is?

Webcasting 101

This weekend we did a primitive first attempt at a live streaming webcast of our Sunday Morning service. It went okay... some learning curve and things to improve, but great feedback from the 39 people who logged in to watch our beta test.

It's available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/windward-worship-live if you are interested.

Since the webcast I have had several people ask how hard it was to do. It is pretty simple, actually: 

• You'll need a digital video camera: what we did for our beta test was done with a small, simple, consumer mini-DV camera, like the kind used to shoot pictures of the kids playing sports. 

• A FireWire (Digital Video) cable connection to a computer. 

• A computer. (That seems obvious, but then again...) This is the place where I would I would normally inject a fanboy argument for the superiority of Mac OSX and Apple products in general, but since that also seems so obvious...

• A reliable broadband connection to the internet at the church or meeting venue. 

• A FREE account with ustream.tv or another similar service... if you can find another free one. 

• A carbon-based life form with intelligence above a rutabega. (Our tech guys set up the camera and logged in, and then my dear old dependable Deacon launched the live webcast and archive recording and monitored the whole thing. It's not rocket science.) 

• We patched the sound directly from the sound board to the laptop mic input instead of using the built in mic on the camera to avoid picking up extraneous noise and conversational noise by the tech guys. 

That's about it: plug it all in, turn on the camera, log in to ustream.tv and hit the "GO LIVE" button and you're webcasting live.

Langley on Leadership - Part 1

A one-minute leadership insight from Pastor Gary Langley of Windward Worship Center in Kaneohe, Hawaii. (Okay, it's actually 01:32 with intro and exit tags…)

Using all the FREE stuff

This Sunday we will experiment with yet another free, web-based technology to expand the reach of our church when we video stream our 10:00 AM (Hawaiian Standard Time) worship service at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/windward-worship-live

We live in an amazing time with access to innovative, creative, accessible technologies that are free or very affordable. In addition to ustream, we utilize YouTube, email, Skype, iChat, MySpace, FaceBook and cell phone text messaging to contact, connect and reach out to our constituency -- all free technologies! We also maintain a constantly updated website with a very affordable web-hosting company, on which we inform about coming events, display weekly photos from around the church and related activities, and allow people to listen to each week's sermon online, download it as an Mp3 to share, or subscribe on iTunes.

Even a small to medium-sized local church has the ability to exponentially multiply their impact and expand their footprint without a huge staff, massive budget or lots of expensive equipment; a computer, a consumer model video camera, a digital camera and a broadband internet connection can give your local church an international outreach.

Why Windward?

We asked some people on a typical Sunday morning what they liked about Windward Worship Center and selected some of the best responses.

Leadership Advice: Get Real

It is very easy for pastors and leaders to fall into the expectation trap: because of past experience, erroneous teaching or cultural tradition constituents might place a burden of unrealistic expectations upon their leaders. Don't buy into that!

I am not arguing for rudeness or a lack of tact and diplomacy in dealing with people, but I am suggesting that we all need to get real, and stay real.  A few years ago our local church was very involved in an annual event called "March for Jesus!" We could debate about the appropriateness and effectiveness of such mass public testimony events, but one T-Shirt from March for Jesus made a lasting impression upon me. It read, "A choir of millions for an audience of one." The message for me, for all of us, is that all we do is done for Him, and if we are subject to any performance expectations, we should keep in mind that we don't perform for our church board, membership or community; we perform for an audience of ONE.

The simplest solution I have found is just to be, as much as possible, completely yourself. Drop the pretension, lose the attitude, and refuse to play a role. Don't wear any religious masks or put on airs. Get real. Be real.