On this community-inspired episode, Caleb and Nick dive into the topic of religious vs secular art and whether or not God can work through something if it's not explicitly "Christian."  Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

The guys share 15 free tools that they use to support and simplify their creative workflow, and Caleb does an intro to 3D animation training with a focus on the free animation software called Blender. NOTE: Zach discovered after the fact that the project management application called Monday was a free month trial, not a free permanent seat. He still recommends it, but you would need to pay to use Monday when the trial is up.  Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

The guys are joined by guest co-host JP Dorsey, previous President of North Point Bible College GR and pastor at Grand Rapids First, to discuss whether or not social media us truly a good or bad thing for society at large. They also discuss OpenAI's newest video software called Sora and how churches can practically and ethically integrate AI systems into their workflow.   Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

Nick & Caleb are joined by guest co-host Dan Desrosiers (S1 Episodes 6, 7, & 85) to discuss how churches can best leverage media to connect with and grow their communities in 2024. They also discuss how to approach the nuanced conversation of upgrading your gear to your pastor and leadership team.  Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

Nick and Caleb talk with Mike Soroka, IT and networking guru, about why churches should care about modern cybersecurity, and they share some easy first steps every organization should take to protect their data. They also discuss Disney's expired copyright of the Steamboat Willie character, and how important it is for creatives to understand copyright and public domain. Join our Stream Team! https://forms.gle/2mpip9aVwHCkhyXm8 Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

Caleb & Nick welcome guest co-host Garrett Vandenberg as they discuss the ethics, theology, practical application, and potential future of Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and AI generated music all within creative, faith-based spaces.  Episode Timestamps: 4:53 - The Ethics and Theology of AI Generated Music 45:31 - The Future of AR/VR Church Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

Nick & Caleb are joined by guest co-host Dan Desrosiers (S1 Episodes 6, 7, & 85) to discuss how churches can best leverage media to connect with and grow their communities in 2024. They also discuss how to approach the nuanced conversation of upgrading your gear to your pastor and leadership team.  Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

Nick and Caleb talk with Mike Soroka, IT and networking guru, about why churches should care about modern cybersecurity, and they share some easy first steps every organization should take to protect their data. They also discuss Disney's expired copyright of the Steamboat Willie character, and how important it is for creatives to understand copyright and public domain. Join our Stream Team! https://forms.gle/2mpip9aVwHCkhyXm8 Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

The guys share about what they learned from the 2024 Passion Conference team on how to gather the most effective and impactful sermon clips for your church. They also talk about the new podcast format alongside their newest Q&A style segment called Blackout! Join our Stream Team! https://forms.gle/2mpip9aVwHCkhyXm8 Join the Blackbar Discord to keep the conversation going: http://discord.blk.bar ..read more

On the last episode of 2023, the guys share some thoughts from a church creative's perspective about Carey Nieuwhof's recent blog post on declining church attendance. They also discuss the implications of the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strikes as well as Instagram's most recent algorithm changes. Read Carey Nieuwhof's full blog post "5 Church Attendance Statistics Every Church Leader Needs to Understand in 2024" here: https://careynieuwhof.com/church-attendance-statistics/ Episode Timestamps:  2:59 SAG-AFTRA Strike Resolution 25:47 Instagram Updated Its Algorithm... Again 37:55 Why Ch ..read more