mike jones

I really appreciate good music writers and good musicians. Michael Gungor is one of those guys who has the heart, the musical prowess and song lyrics that combine to express amazing artistry! He doesn’t even sing in this one but you’ve got to appreciate his musicianship in this song!

Check it out!

I was recently asked by a fellow tech director at a church back East about the best way to achieve great sound in their weekend environment.  I certainly do not know everything (far from it) about how to get the best sound but I know what sounds good.  I have also learned some basic principles over the last 11 years that I was glad to pass on.  Here’s the gist of what I shared:

1. Great sound starts with great people. I can have the greatest equipment in the world but if the right people are not in place and given ownership of the equipment, it will never reach the potential it was made for.  At Rocky Peak, we have very skilled people running our front of house system.  In fact, one of the decisions I made early on is that my best people on staff would be the only ones on our FOH.  Our chief engineer, for example, is truly an expert and has produced both live and studio projects for decades in the LA area. Several of my audio team have been professionally trained through conservatories and technical schools, supplemented by years of experience.  I am convinced that a great sound engineer can make any piece of equipment sound good.
2. Great equipment plays a role. If I give my team ownership over the audio environment, I want to make sure they have the best tools I can afford.  It shows the importance of their role and the priority that spoken word and live music clarity has in our weekend environments.  It also equips them with the tools they need to more easily train future team personnel.  We have chosen the digital route and it has so far served us very well. We utilize great mics and gear to help us have consistency among the different bands that lead worship on the weekends.  Click tracks and even drum samples help us in this area as well.
3. Great rooms sound great. The reverse is true as well.  There is only so much you can do with any audio, but especially live music of the caliber we use in our weekend gatherings, if you have a room that is not designed for it. Acoustic treatment, speaker choices and placement of both of these items play a big role in clarity and sound definition. The room is a constant – we know what the room sounds like and how it is going to interact with the sound waves produced. If you want people to hear what’s said or music that is played then you have to spend the time and resources to enhance those elements while not allowing your audio to stand in the way and becoming a detriment to those in your audience.  This is one of our highest priorities and we are constantly looking to discover how we can improve this every week.

These are some basics that are easy to forget.  Let me also say that I am so proud of the staff team I lead and their commitment to consistent excellence – our weekend environments are better for it!

What would you say are the keys to great sound in the live music arena?

As I get ready for Easter gatherings for the first time at Rocky Peak, I was reflecting on Easters past and how quickly time flies.

I was walking up the stairs of our rented home and looking at the pictures of my family we have hanging on the wall. There are pictures of Kristen and I with our first child. Then two beautiful daughters and then a third child and a fourth….Kristen has grown more beautiful with time and I have grown more round (and more bald .

I started thinking about the times we’ve spent together as a family and how much my kids have grown. Time seems to be passing so quickly now! They are not the little babies I once cuddled and cooed seemingly just yesterday. I love my family so much and I asked God, “why me? Why have you chosen to bless me so?”

I also began to think about all the things I wanted to do with them, all the things I wanted to teach them thinking there was always more time. “When we get to this place in our lives or when we aren’t so busy at that time, I’ll be able to do that” but the time has come and gone. Not saying there isn’t still time but thinking about the urgency and brevity of life. That it’s just too short to waste.

Take the time today to do what you plan to do tomorrow. Tomorrow will soon become today and the stuff you have planned for tomorrow will continue to move ahead of you as tomorrow continues to change from one day to the next. Cherish every day as if it were the last.

Would that thought process change our priorities and the things we put in the place of what really matters?

For me I hope so.

Ok, Ok, Ok… so I boxed myself in with my last post and between available time and trying to put together videos, I decided I couldn’t wait anymore to post.

If I waited any longer I wouldn’t really be back I would just be saying I’m back but wouldn’t really be doing anything, which I haven’t…

Oh no I’ve gone cross-eyed

So I guess what I’m saying is that I need a writing outlet and will keep the blog and will post videos and updates and what my family and I are doing as I can. In the the meantime, let me share this with you…

One of the passages I continue to be drawn to is Ephesians 3 and 4. Both are chapters filled with insight from Paul that re-align me and push me and energize me. But today Ephesians 4:11-13 seemed to stand out among the others:

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Did you catch that? Christ gave these gifts to the church, which is then a list of leaders whose responsibility is to “equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church…” As a leader in the church this makes me take notice! Responsibility means that I have been given the authority but also the accountability for how I equip God’s people. That’s heavy and awesome at the same time!

So, without getting into a huge theological debate, I just want to pose some questions (that I ask of myself and my leadership as well):

1. As a leader, how am I carrying out this responsibility?
2. As a leader, am I filling my time with things not related to this responsibility?
3. Am I pouring into others so that I can equip them to do his work, or am I trying to do it all myself and neglecting the equipping others part?
4. What would those I lead say about me in regards to this responsibility? How would they honestly say that I am doing in equipping them?
5. Am I allowing myself to be poured into as a leader? Am I being equipped by other leaders to lead and equip others in a better way?

I’d love your thoughts and feedback to this!

It’s been a long time since I last wrote on my blog.

While I have debated on the value of blogging versus just posting on facebook, I’ve decided it’s time to brush off the dust and have another go at it.

I have a lot of friends in Chicagoland who have been asking about my new job and how things are going. I thought it would be cool to give everyone a glimpse into what God has been doing in my life and the lives of my family. God has been good to us for sure!

Instead of just listing out what’s happening, I’d like to take the next few weeks to post pictures and video and give you a ‘tour’ of the new place. There’s a lot of ground to cover and it’s only been about six months!

So, get ready for behind the scenes of Mike Jonesapalooza!