More Free Backgrounds and Textures
Jan 28, 2010 Free Stuff, Photos and Backgrounds, photos
Recently purchased a good SLR digital camera and upgraded to a Flickr Pro account. What does this mean? I have a growing assortment of photos that can be used for worship slides, print, websites, etc… and I encourage you to use them. It would be nice if you would let me know where it’s being used.. and a link back every once in a while would be nice too. I’ll send out an update on Twitter when new photos are added.. so follow @rgmmusic or join my facebook page facebook.com/russellmartinmusic.
Most of all.. enjoy!!!
Background Textures
Jan 26, 2010 Photos and Backgrounds
Almost anything you can think of up close can be used as a texture for backgrounds, worship slides and more. They can be layered on top of each of each other for a more complex look.
I have created a texture set on flickr for you to enjoy and use. You are free to use any of them, however I would love to see how you are using them so send me a sample or link.
Creating Powerful Passwords
Jan 21, 2010 Communication
PC World just posted a great article on how to, or not to create your passwords. The full article “Hacking Passwords” by David Coursey is definately worth reading. I wanted to share with you just a small section of their tips.
Imperva provides a list of password best practices, created by NASA to help its users protect their rocket science, they include:
- It should contain at least eight characters
- It should contain a mix of four different types of characters – upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters such as !@#$%^&*,;” If there is only one letter or special character, it should not be either the first or last character in the password.
- It should not be a name, a slang word, or any word in the dictionary. It should not include any part of your name or your e-mail address.
Following that advice, of course, means you’ll create a password that will be impossible, unless you try a trick credited to security guru Bruce Schneir: Turn a sentence into a password.
For example, “Now I lay me down to sleep” might become nilmDOWN2s, a 10-character password that won’t be found in any dictionary
Oh and one more tip.. writing down your passwords and taping them to your computer screen… not the best idea…
Instrumental Reflection #14- Jennifer’s Bridal Entrance
Jan 18, 2010 Free Stuff, Instrumental Reflections
This past weekend I had the honor of playing for a friends wedding. This is the song that I wrote for the Bridal party to enter into. This recording is the actual live recording. If you listen in the background you can hear some shuffling feet when the grooms enter the room, and also at the end the pastor begins the service. The piano waits about 15 seconds before it starts.
To listen click play!
Congratulations Jennifer and Austin. You are in my prayers as you begin your wonderful life together.
Tags: entrance, Instrumental, piano, wedding
Worship Recap- January 10, 2010
Jan 12, 2010 Worship Planning
Had an awesome time in our worship service on Sunday. It was one of those Sundays where the different elements just fell into place and you could see people connecting.
Here is our complete list of songs…
So Good-
Ancient of Days-
Wade in the Water-
We also used this video called God’s Faithfulness from Worship House Media
This is what we did at our worship service. To see other worship leaders comments on their services go to this week’s Sunday Setlist #77 at theworshipcommunity.com
Tags: Songlist, Sunday Setlist, Worship Community
Thank You for Saying Thank You
Jan 12, 2010 Communication
To those who have said thanks:
Thank you. The other day you took the time to send an email saying how much you enjoyed the service. You stopped me in the parking lot and said how good everything sounded. You sent a message on facebook saying how the service moved you. However it was, you said thanks. Your words of appreciation do mean a lot. Just by taking time to say 2 words you give encouragement and strength that last a long time.
So again.. thanks for taking the time to say “thanks.”
Tags: encouragement, thank you
What the Texas Longhorns Taught Me About Leading My Worship Team
Jan 8, 2010 Worship Planning
Last night, along with millions of others, I watched the BCS national championship and learned a valuable lesson.
First let me catch some of you non football fans up. Early in the first quarter the Longhorns quarterback, Colt McCoy went down with a shoulder injury. He never returned to the game. Colt McCoy had led the team all season. He had the timing down with his receivers, he was comfortable with the Running backs and he knew all the plays. He was Texas’ best hope against a powerful Tide defense. All of the sudden the man in charge on the field was gone, and a true freshman, Garrett Gilbert, had to step in to take his place.
So what happened? First they didn’t panic. They changed some plays, had some other team members step up, the defense kept them close, the team rallied around their new captain and they played football. The result was a second half comeback to within three points at one point, in a game all thought was lost.
Why did a game that could have been a washout stay close? Because when one man went down there was a back up plan. There was a quarterback who had played, knew the routes and was able to step in. It might not have been ideal, but the game went on.
So what did I learn? What does this have to do with worship leading? I had to ask myself what would happen if the same thing happened to me. What about you?
What if I woke up on a Sunday morning and couldn’t sing? What if you were stranded somewhere by weather and couldn’t make it back in time? What if a kid goes in the hospital and you cannot be in on Sunday morning? What is your backup plan? Is your team set up to continue on without you? As I thought five main things came to mind.
1. Don’t build everything around you!-Make sure that you are not indispensable. It’s not about you anyways so just get over it. If everything relies on you to make it happen then when you are gone, everything falls apart.
2. Create backup songlists- go through your songs and identify ones that other members of your group can lead, and that your instrument is not necessary on. They may not be the songs you would ideally use, but a good list can be created and used for that Sunday. I try to set some of those songs aside and not include them in my regular lists, so they are not over done when needed.
3. Develop multiple leaders- This is an extension of number one. You should work to have several worship leaders. One goal I have is to work with each of my vocalists and give them the tools they need to lead an entire worship service. This means being sensitive to flow, signaling the band, speaking, praying, and choosing songlists.
4. Don’t assign specific songs to people- Something I have gotten in a bind with was when I had certain songs only certain people sing. There are some that we still do this way but they are mostly our offertory non worship set type songs. The majority of our worship songs I try to have different people lead. This way if a certain person is gone, we can still use that song if necessary.
5. Schedule time away before an emergency- Try to schedule time when you are not on stage leading but are still around to help and provide confidence. Maybe take a week and, wait for it, sit with your family during the worship service. When is the last time that happened? I have often sat out during the first part of a service, and then led during the second half. This does two things. First you get a perspective on how things sound from the floor and how people are responding that you cannot see from the stage. Secondly it allows others to lead, without you on stage, so that if an emergency makes it necessary, they can lead in your absence.
While football fans will have to wait till next season for the next National Championship run, you can begin now to implement some of these ideas. And these are just my suggestions. What are yours? What do you do to ensure that it all goes on with out you? What fears do you have about being gone? I would love your comments…
Tags: BCS, Colt Mccoy, Longhorns, Worship, Worship Leading
