I’m going to share my current method of recording the audio for church sermons and special events that I currently employ as one of the audio/tech guys for our church.

For sound amplification, we currently use a wired microphone on a stand, hooked up to a powered mixer with a built in amplifier. Basic 12″ speakers are wired directly to the amplifier. That takes care of the “live” sound.

Recording the sound turned out to be a little trickier. For years, we recorded with a line level feed directly to a 20+ year old audio tape recorder. When it came time to switch to a digital work flow, I did a little research to find the best solution. Recording direct to CD was one option, but what if the message went over 80 minutes? A line running to the sound card on my laptop was another option, but that could prove to be a little too complicated for my liking. I ended up going for the Olympus LS-10, a digital voice recorder that records at 24bit/96khz direct to either the 2GB of built in memory, or an optional SD card. The bonus with this recording unit is that it also has directional stereo recording with the built-in electret-condenser microphone which is great for recording live singing or family sharing times.

For standard sermon audio recordings I

1. use a line level direct connection to the mixer
2. copy the resultant digital .wav file to my laptop
3. down sample to a mono .wav file from the LS-10’s stereo file
4. record to audio cd and label it for lending out
5. “rip” the cd with iTunes (gets better quality sound with a very low bitrate for some reason) to .mp3 for the podcast
6. enter all the meta data for the ID3 tags and upload to the website

That’s it. There are a few steps that I haven’t mentioned related to podcasting, but wanted to focus on the recording aspect, mostly. So, what methods does your church use for recording sermons?

For the last five years, I’ve been recording all the messages preached at my home church on audio tape, experimenting occasionally with different forms of digital audio.

At the beginning of this year, I took the plunge and started publishing the morning sermons as an audio podcast using Wordpress and Feedburner.  Here is my current (very inefficient) workflow:

1. Record the morning message  on audio  tape.
2. Create tape label in Avery Design Pro, print and paste on the master tape and 1 copy for the tape lending library.
3. Record audio from tape to digital with laptop using Goldwave Audio Editor.
4. Save as 16bit 44.1khz .wave audio and burn 1 Master Audio CD.
5. Rip MP3 version at 44.1khz 24kbps variable bit rate stereo and upload to the  website.
6. Create entry for recording in Google Spreadsheets and link to audio file (for printable database).
7. Create Wordpress blog entry at newhopemennonite.org with full link to audio file (Feedburner takes care of the rest of the podcasting goodness).

So, what I’m looking for, I think is an efficient way to incorporate live recording direct to digital.  Maybe the best way is to just use a laptop and record direct to Goldwave or Audacity, though this may present its challenges in correct line levels etc.  A standalone MP3 recorder would probably work.  Problem is, which one?  Any of you anonymous readers have ideas?

Today’s message by Ron Bontrager preached at New Hope Mennonite church was taken from Romans 6-8.

Download to your computer by right clicking on the link below and choosing “Save As…”

2007-09-23 - 12.5MB

I probably won’t be going, but I might view the live webcasts of this event. I thought I’d post it here for anyone else out there in the blogosphere who might be interested.

The website is http://www.revivalconference.com/

“How long, Lord?” - Psalm 79:5

Will God send another great awakening? Can revival still change nations? There are over 10,000 conferences that happen every year in America. The “Revival Conference” is not to be just another conference but a honest, sincere, earnest plea for the desperate need of revival in North America. There is no cost to attend the event. There will be a minimal of materials sold. There will be no big bands. The conference will have the cheif object to be God-glorifying. The speakers will come on their own accord trusting God for provision. There will be no emphasis on money during the event. A minimal amount of materials will be sold. The event will be a simple, apostolic, yearning for a genuine biblical revival in our day.

FREE REGISTERATION

This conference is hosted by the ministry of sermonindex.net and is a inter-denominational event. The event will be hosted at the “Church Of God, Arlington Avenue” venue which has been freely given to be used for this event. The conference is not offically affiliated with any denomination or specific church.

There is no cost to attend the conference but it is asked that you pre-register at: http://revivalconference.eventbrite.com to secure a seat for the event.

SPEAKERS

Roger Ellsworth - has been pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton, Ill., since 1988. He is a former president of Illinois Baptist State Association and a former trustee at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. Author of book “Come, Down Lord” an exposition on Isaiah relating to revival.
Harold Vaughan - After graduation from Bible School in 1979, Harold Vaughan launched out into full-time evangelism. To date his ministry has led him to preach in forty-six states and many foreign countries. The major emphases of this ministry are three-fold: Spiritual Life Crusades; Prayer Advances; and Christ Life Publications.
Denny Kenaston - saved in 1972 out of the “Hippy culture.” The Lord Jesus delivered them from drugs, drinking, and many other things that go along with that life style. Helped to form the Charity Christian Fellowship church where he serves as a elder. He also travels extensively in a church planting, and preaching ministry.
Don Currin - Don has a balanced ministry challenging believers with solid Biblical preaching while reaching out to the lost. He has conducted hundreds of evangelistic and revival meetings, men’s retreats, camp ministries, and sponsoring life-issues related conferences. He is also a desired conference and Bible college speaker.

Dean Taylor - is the current editor of the “Heartbeat of the Remnant” magazine which is distributed throughout the world through the Charity Gospel Ministries outreach. Dean has a burden and passion for revival and desires to see the Church be all that God intends it to be.
Ron Bailey - residing from Reading, UK where he is part of a local independent fellowship. At various stages of Ron’s pilgrimage he has been a formal pastor, home church leader, bible school tutor, conference speaker. Ron’s public time is now spent in preaching and teaching in the UK and overseas and in his website ministry Bible Base.

If you have 58 or so minutes to spare from your busy life, watch this video preached at a youth conference by Paul Washer. As a disclaimer, I don’t know him, however the message he proclaims is excellent.

I was introduced to some excellent messages from Summit Ministries.  Here are the topics covered in these audio recordings:

1. Why Students Walk Away from the Faith
2. How We Lost Our Minds - The Challenge of Postmodernism
3. Guarding Your Heart In A World Of Distraction
4. The Brave New World of Biotechnology
5. Why Does God Let Me Hurt. The Problem of Evil and Suffering
6. Is Jesus the Only Way?
7. The Difference a World View Makes

I just finished listening and taking notes on #’s 1 and 4.   I hope to plow through all of them fairly quickly.  Wow, very informational.  But beyond that, the speakers did an excellent job of connecting the realities of today’s world challenges with the answers that we have in God’s Word.  Though these people are definitely “cut from a different cloth” mentally and culturally, than I am familiar with, I had no problem understanding the message that came across. 

I strongly recommend these messages, especially to the college and pre-college crowd.  We need this kind of training to help us think the same way God does about today’s world, to see through “Biblical glasses” and engage the culture without succumbing to it’s pressures. 

Well, enough said.  I think you can order them from the site, or if you are a close friend and aquaintance, I’ll just lend you the CD’s I have.

My sister recently purchased the album Find Us Faithful (AP860) from Altar of Praise. The recording mentioned contains some excellent work from a technical perspective… male vocals with piano, but beyond that, I found the title song speaking directly to me. Here are the words penned by Jon Mohr:

Find Us Faithful
by
Joh Mohr

We’re pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road,
And those who’ve gone before us line the way,
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary—
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace.

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race not only for the prize;
But, as those who’ve gone before us,
Let us leave behind us
The heritage of faithfulness,
Passed on through godly lives.

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind,
May the clues that they discover,
And the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road
We each must find.

O, may all who come behind us find us faithful;
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe;
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.

O, may all who come behind us find us faithful.

The words “the road we each must find” has been an echo in my mind. Especially the last few years sifting through the ideals, morals, and perspectives that make up my childhood and youth and claiming the principles of true, living, breathing Christianity for myself versus simply obeying the things I was taught and with childhood simplicity believed were the fabric of reality. I am truly blessed with the knowledge that God has given me and the personal experience of relationship with God and His people. I feel overwhelmed when I think of the responsibility I have to live up to that knowledge and “run the race that is set before us”.

OK. This post may be a little weird. A few months back, I recorded these two cats having a duet in our backyard. They weren't actively fighting; just "howling" at each other. There's almost a weird doleful harmony in it. Check it out by clicking on the link.