Tag Archives: Echo Conference

Echo 11 – Wrap up

I’ve just returned home from 2011 version of The Echo Conference, and I am so tired. Good conferences have a tendency to do that, and I’m OK with it. Because, in truth, even though I’m dead-dog-tired and have a weekend of church services to get through… I can’t wait to go again.

Once again, the crew from RT Creative Group put together a great event where artists can come together to worship, learn and mingle.

Much can be said about the speakers, the breakout sessions, the times of worship… but those are the the kinds of write-ups that most people expect; I’d like to go a slightly different direction:

The “Now what?”

When you leave a conference like Echo, your head is swimming, you’ve met countless people whose names you may or may not ever remember, and you hope that the notes you scribbled during the keynotes make sense when you go to read them again. You picked up countless ideas; some you want to try right away, some you will shelve until you have more time to figure them out, and a few that you know would make your pastor’s head explode (but you might try them any way).

For me, the now what part that really fires me up is that I don’t have to do what I do alone! The community that I have access to is unrivaled. The easiest thing to do is to search the hash tag on twitter (#Echo11); there you will find people from all over the country (Canada too) who do what you do. People who know the value of someone a little ahead of them lending a helping hand. For you, the now what means you need to:

  • Reach out.
  • Make contact.
  • Be available
  • Participate.

This odd community needs your involvement, no matter what you do. We swap ideas, we critique, we encourage… it works! I believe the on-going spirit of Echo is that we are all working for the same King and for His glory; we’re much more effective when we work together and support each other. (If you work in church video or live production and need help with something, drop me a line (murphy24p at gmail dotcom)

See you next year.

It’s about us – Echo 2011

That title will probably rub some people wrong, but if you go to the conference website, you’ll see that it is “an event for artists, geeks, and storytellers”… so it’s about that ‘us’.

Let me start by saying that I was not asked to post something about Echo, I’m sure that no one there even knows who I am. It just so happens that I recently made my reservation to go and I wanted to let anyone in church media know that this is a great gathering of like-minded people, well worth the time and money that it takes to attend.

This is the notebook that I received at Echo last year. It’s full of notes that I took at various breakout sessions and the keynotes, and I’ll be honest, a lot of ideas that I got while flying home on the final day. You see, an experience like this leaves your head spinning, in a really good way. Being around so many great thinkers and artists will have a great affect on your own personal creativity. You will leave with a few new ideas, which is cool… but I think that, even more-so, it will spark a whole new level of creativity as you head back to your church. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve pulled out this little notebook for inspiration in the past year.

The times of worship are great, as one might expect at a Christian conference. But I love the atmosphere at Echo simply because it’s a time of worship for people who are usually doing something during worship at their own church. There is something really special about a room full of people who are finally released to worship without having to worry about who is running the lyrics or what the next camera shot needs to be. It’s a beautiful thing.

Finally, the opportunity to meet so many great people is priceless. You’ll quickly realize that most everyone you meet is looking for the same things: good ideas and great connections. A bonus: The speakers aren’t shuffled off into private rooms; they’re permitted to roam freely amongst the common-folk. (I was this close to meeting Jon Acuff last year; this year, it WILL happen)

I know that budgets are tight, but if you have any chance to get to a conference that is specifically for us weird, church-creative-types, get thee to Echo (July 27-29, 2011)… and if you go, track me down; I’d love to meet you!

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Echo Conference 2010; a wrap up

I left for Dallas on Wednesday, July 28… not knowing what to expect. I knew that a slew of people would be in attendance, but really wasn’t sure about how things would go. Needless to say, I was quickly blown away by Watermark Church; This place is unreal! I know that the church is not the building(s), but this is a structure built with intent. A place where people can connect. I’m thankful for Pastor Todd Wagner and his staff for hosting this great event!

As far as the conference went, it’s difficult to know where to begin. I attended some outstanding breakout sessions by Blaine Hogan, Carlos Whittaker, and Gary Molander. I still have so much stuff to process about the creative process after spending time with these men. Better still were the conversations with them between sessions; I love a conference where everyone is simply free to connect. The speakers aren’t shuffled off to some secret VIP area, they’re attending just like the rest of us.

A couple of the keynote speakers just blew my mind; I cannot say enough about the time with Jon Acuff and Todd Wagner; Each encouraged and challenged the audience to lean heavily into our God and then into our gifts (not the reverse order) and use our creativity to tell God’s story.

I’m also so grateful for conversations with some guys who I admire for their passion for God’s Church: Greg Atkinson, Travis Paulding, Chris Moncus, Matt Knisely, and many others. You guys continue to inspire me!

We were introduced to an amazing talent in Jon Abel, who lead us in worship. If you’ve never heard this guy, go listen now!

One completely unexpected highlight was bumping in to Phil Cooke; This is a man who I have tremendous respect for as he is deep into “the business” of video and television production in Hollywood and standing for the Gospel in everything he does. I saw Phil speak at NAB a few years ago where he encouraged all of us to be networkers and people-connectors; Those words stuck with me and are so much a part of who I am today. It was an honor to sit and speak with Phil and thank him for his encouragement.

Hats off to Rob Thomas and his whole crew for putting on a great gathering of the people who do what we do in church media. Worship, laughs, encouragement, challenge, and relationships… It doesn’t get much better than that.