Ch…ch…ch…changes…

I mentioned this announcement last week on Twitter & Facebook but wanted to elaborate a bit, so here we go!

I’m excited to announce a new chapter in my professional life and for our family.  After 4 years as the audio director at Kensington Community Church in Troy, MI, God has called us to a new adventure with New Life Church in Conway, AR.  For those of you not familiar with New Life (I’d never heard of them either before we started this journey), the church is 9 years old, has 5 campuses all over Arkansas that average 7,000 people per weekend with more on the way, and has awesome leadership and vision we’re looking forward to being a part of.  My new job will draw from my experience at KCC in leading all things audio related and joining a talented & gifted staff and creative team.

The journey leading us to this decision first began 8 months ago.  Since that time, at every turn, our life has led back to New Life.  I was never sure if I would work for another church besides Kensington because it was hard to imagine another place would be as great of a fit spiritually, creatively, and personally for our family.  It was especially wild to be visiting this church a few months ago for the weekend having no idea what to expect when we’d get there.  As God always does, we were completely blown away.  Every excuse I had made in my mind ahead of time of why New Life wouldn’t fit was out the window.  The talent and artistry I experienced was inspiring, we loved everyone we met and spent time with – so friendly and welcoming, the volunteer audio guys currently serving are rock stars with such great attitudes and dedication to the ministry, Rick Bezet, the senior pastor, is the real deal – gifted communicator, down to earth, and approachable, an instant connection with the guys I’ll be working closest with (Brandon, Neil, & Phil), etc etc etc.  I could go on and on.  In my limited life experience, opportunities come along all the time but the doors normally close on their own as quickly as they open.  This time, the door kept being opened, often times not even by my doing.

It has been clear for a while now that God was using my experiences at Kensington to prepare us for an adventure that would require us to completely leap out in faith and trust Him with our security.  This step represents that jump off the deep end for us.  Already God has been so faithful, providing us a brand new house to rent, bringing a buyer for our current house in Michigan, and resolving countless details along the way.  I’m humbled to be able to put my money where my mouth is, following God even when it is scary and doesn’t make sense to some.

There is lots to be done between now and mid-June when we will pack up the cars and head southwest.  Prayers for this transition would be greatly appreciated by our entire family.  For as excited as we are, it is bitter sweet and emotional to leave everything we know here – our families, a church we both love, and great friends.  I am so thankful for my time at Kensington, the lifelong relationships that have been formed, and the way I’ve been shaped artistically, creatively, and personally by this place.  This time has been a great gift.

A new chapter…here we come!

Breaking in…

Long time, no see…

Life has once again gotten in the way of regularly contributing to this blog and I sure do miss it! Hopefully I’m only days away from being able to share more about the journey of the past few months.

Until then, I ran across a blog post from Dave Rat, who I’ve shared from in the past, about breaking into the industry and building a career in professional production. It is great insight from a great engineer and well known company owner.

If you aren’t following him already, you can find Dave’s blog here…

“Rat gets about 2 to 3 inquiries a day from humans looking to work for Rat. That equates to about a 1000 a year. I must say it is one of the most difficult things I deal with and though I try to respond to all the ones that come to me personally, I must admit that when I get busy and I have 20 or so backed up in my in box, more than a few get lost in the mix, for that I apologize. I am truly honored and appreciate the interest in working for Rat. I also fully support the concept of following your dream and doing all you can to get there. So it is really tough to respond to these requests. While I do not want to disregard the inquiries, Rat rarely hires new people except if we meet them and are impressed by their work ethic, skills and we also are in need of adding someone and the person comes highly recommended by someone that already works with us.”

“So I have been pondering the answer to the question “How do I get in to the pro sound business and get to work for a company such as Rat?” And what I am realizing is that if your plan is to try and get hired by a sound company supplying systems to highly desirable bands and tours, you will first need a stellar skill set, reputation, work ethic and have some highly respected people that are willing to recommend you.”

“But the quandary is “How do I develop that skill set if I cannot get hired to prove myself?” Excellent point and one that I face myself over and over with each new level not only as a tech and an engineer but also as a sound rental business as well. I did not get here by walking into a killer gig. I did not reach this point by expecting someone to hire me based on my potential. I did not look for ‘getting lucky’ and in general I avoid the whole lottery success concept.”

“While those rolling the dice for a shortcut to happiness are plentiful, it is the ones willing to build their happiness that are desirable.”

“I chose to work very hard for a very long time and definitely grueling beyond anything I would ever expect from someone else. So the answer is simple. “Do your time, earn your credibility, establish yourself as one of the best at what you decide to do.” Whether that means digging the trenches in audio boot camp of misery or studying software and specifications and mastering the mental side of in this highly competitive industry, it is those that are most willing to push the hardest that are most likely to come out on top. And by pushing the hardest I am talking about pushing to the point of obsession, borderline insanity and when everyone else throws in the towel for the day, you just getting warmed up. Being willing to forgo the luxuries like nights off and sleep and all the other stuff that so many normal people enjoy. Most people will not gravitate to the top, most people will settle for mediocrity and that’s why it is called mediocrity, because that is the realm that the majority reach, and there is nothing wrong with that, it just is not the path that will most likely get to traveling the world with rock bands as a successful sound human.”

“So when you can answer the questions with confidence and credibility: “what makes you exceptional?” “What have you done that is above and beyond to develop your skills?” “Can you truly say that no matter how bad it gets, that you’ve already voluntarily been through worse?” It is then that you are at the point where you should be able to pull the gigs that you dream of pulling. Until then, get in those trenches and have a blast kicking ass on the most grueling gigs you can get your hands on. Trust me, it builds character and if nothing else it will make for some great road stories when reach the next level.”