Well, the Cav’s[1] are down by 18 with 4:28 left. Probably going home. Brownies[2] sucked again last year and the Tribe[3] is off to a very poor start. Only bright spot was the Buckeye’s semi-pro football team[4].

It’s been tough to be a Cleveland Sports Fan[tm] these last few years. The Tribe had a run in the 90’s and the Buckeyes have been great under Tressel. I grew up north of Cincinnati, and they’ve had similar problems with the exception of the Big Red Machine.

UPDATE: 1:06 left – Magin 101, Cavs 87. Oh, boy.

Links in this post:
[1] http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/
[2] http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/
[3] http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=cle
[4] http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Tressel

Alrighty then, you MAC users, here you go.  You’ve got your very own, shiny new vulnerability[1] to address.

May I just say I’m jealous that I could only find one in the plethora of Windows updates I gotta patch for work?

Links in this article/blog entry/post:

[1] http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/alerts/SA08-350A.html

I’m using Live Writer to create this post.  I can add a hyperlink to something. This is a link to Google[1].  I can add a picture.   (one of my favorite diners[2] in my home town.

Here’s a quick table that was easy to insert.

You can insert Windows Live Maps, including a bird’s eye view:

Home of the Tribe[4]

More about LifeChurch here[3]

Links in this post:

[1] http://www.google.com

[2] http://www.thespottoeat.com/

[3] http://www.lifechurchlc.org

[4] http://www.clevelandindians.com

I was recently given a project by the managing partner of the firm I work for to roll up financials for all our clients from our Practice Management System.

So a quick Access Page with linked tables pointing to the ODBC connector for each database with a export macro gave me the raw transaction data in MySQL tables. I needed the provider names, practice info, service facility lookups and insurance plan lookups, so I ended up exporting 9 tables.

I had always used perl with database modules to digest data like this, but I decided to see what I could do with just SQL statements. I had built many projects with MySQL before, but was always limited to INSERT’s and UPDATE’s. Man I gotta hand it to you DB programmers out there. There’s a whole world of tools I never new existed.

This is all typical stuff for a medical practice management consultant firm. The trick here is dealing with the volume of data stored in many databases without having someone sit down and go into each database.

Wikipedia’s Great Depression page. It was like reading today’s headlines.

Links in this post:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

usage: scp [-1246BCpqrv] [-c cipher] [-F ssh_config] [-i identity_file]
[-l limit] [-o ssh_option] [-P port] [-S program]
[[user@]host1:]file1 [...] [[user@]host2:]file2

For the most part you can ignore the first two lines of options. So think
of it like this:

scp [[user@]host1:]file1 [...] [[user@]host2:]file2

Anything in square brackets is optional. So the minimum is:

scp file1 file2

However, this would be no more useful than cp. What makes it useful is
the user & host info that allows you to copy a file from one host to another.

If I want to copy /etc/hosts from host1.example.com [and I'm logged into host1.example.com]
to /home/melick on host2.example.com and call it hosts.txt The user
I have on host2.example.com is lyle The command will look like

scp /etc/hosts lyle@host2.example.com:/home/melick/hosts.txt

It will ask you for your password for the user lyle on host2.example.com &
transfer the file.

You could even be logged into host3.example.com & copy a file from host1.example.com
as user melick to host2.example.com as user lyle.

scp melick@host1.example.com:/etc/hosts lyle@host2.example.com:/home/melick/hosts.txt

I had Dell’s OpenManage running on Citrix XenServer 4.5, along with MRTG & Munin. Life was good. Then we did the upgrade thing, wiping all that goodness out. We have a month old backup of the CentOS installation, which has most of the configurations. The only thing I really lost was some of the latest MRTG config updates.

The documentation[1] I followed[2] from GeekPoet is in several pieces, so I’m going to consolidate them here so I don’t forget anything the next time. MajorProps(tm) go to GeekPoet for the initial gathering of info and working out the installation. PLEASE – read the [2] link (below) for some of the background, and a list of software you’ll be working with. In this case, I’m working with Citrix XenServer 5.0, Open Manager 5.4.0/A01. You’ll also need a Windows Management box running OpenManage Management Station[7] (Warning – 288MB), and it’s Service Pack[8] (Warning 44MB)

First Steps – SNMPD
The upgrade left the stuff we really care about in place, so the VM’s are there, the network configs and everything else about a stock install of XenServer. We’re running this on a new Dell PowerEdge 2950. We have some SNMP monitoring going on and that needed to be running immediately.

# /etc/init.d/snmpd start
# chkconfig --list snmpd
snmpd 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:off 4:off 5:off 6:off
# chkconfig snmpd on
# chkconfig --list snmpd
snmpd 0:off 1:off 2:on 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off

You’ll also need to change /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf, changing public in the following line to your own community string

com2sec notConfigUser default public

This will get you over the hump if your management system is already polling for snmp status. Eventually we’ll need the following. Replace MY_READ, MY_WRITE and my.openmanage.server with your own info

# Map users to community strings
# sec.name source community
com2sec U_ReadOnly default MY_READ
com2sec U_ReadWrite default MY_WRITE

# Map users to groups
# groupName securityModel securityName
group G_ReadOnly any U_ReadOnly
group G_ReadWrite any U_ReadWrite

# create view
# name incl/excl subtree mask(optional)
view all included .1

# grant rights to the above views
# group context sec.model sec.level prefix read write notif
access G_ReadOnly "" any noauth exact all none none
access G_ReadWrite "" any noauth exact all all none

# Set trap destination
trapsink my.openmanage.server MY_MANAGEMENT

# Allow localhost access
rocommunity MY_READ 127.0.0.1
rwcommunity MY_WRITE 127.0.0.1

# Allow remote hosts access
rocommunity MY_READ my.openmanage.server
rwcommunity MY_WRITE my.openmanage.server

# Below has been left in from the default snmpd.conf file:
syslocation Unknown (edit /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf)
syscontact Root (configure /etc/snmp/snmp.local.conf)

# Added for support of bcm5820 cards.
pass .1.3.6.1.4.1.4413.4.1 /usr/bin/ucd5820stat

# Allow Systems Management Data Engine SNMP to connect to snmpd using SMUX
smuxpeer .1.3.6.1.4.1.674.10892.1

First Steps – resolv.conv
Also, the upgrade wiped out the /etc/resolv.conf file. We’re not using DHCP, and this install of CentOS overwrites this file on boot. I’ll need to clean this up later…

Contents of /etc/resolv.conf
domain example.com[4]
nameserver 10.0.0.1
nameserver 10.0.0.2
Then make a copy of it for later
# cp /etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf.saved

First Steps – getting lockfile
We’re going to need to change yum repositories in order to get lockfile, which we’ll need of OM. In XS5.0, they’ve moved the repositories.

# find /* | grep repos.d
/etc/yum.repos.d
/etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Media.repo
/etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo
/etc/yum.repos.d/XenSource.repo

# vi /etc/yum.repos.d/XenSource.repo
Change enabled=1 to enabled=0
# vi /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo
Change enabled=0 to enabled=1 in first base section at top of file.

yum whatprovides lockfile tells us that installing procmail will give us the executable we need. To get it, we do the following:

# yum install procmail
# which lockfile tells us it’s in /usr/bin
# cp /usr/bin/lockfile /root
# yum remove procmail
# mv /root/lockfile /usr/bin
# which lockfile Just to make sure it’s where we think it is.

IPTables
Make a copy of iptables, & add the three bold lines below.
# cp /etc/sysconfig/iptables /etc/sysconfig/iptables.orig
# vi /etc/sysconfig/iptables

Moving On – OpenManage Install
GeekPoet installed with OM 5.3.0/A00[5], I’m going to try OM 5.4.0/A01[6]. Get it on your server however you can.

Unpack the file
Make a temp directory for it & copy the distro into the temp directory & then unpack

# mkdir OpenManage
# cp OM_5.4.0_ManNode_A01.tar.gz OpenManage
# cd OpenManage
# dir
OM_5.4.0_ManNode_A01.tar.gz
# tar zxpf OM_5.4.0_ManNode_A01.tar.gz
# dir
COPYRIGHT.txt docs license.txt linux OM_5.4.0_ManNode_A01.tar.gz readme1st.txt setup.sh

Alter setup.sh

Change the lines 2972 and 2973 as follows:
2972: GBL_OS_TYPE=${GBL_OS_TYPE_UKNOWN}
2973: GBL_OS_TYPE_STRING="UKNOWN"
Become:
2972: GBL_OS_TYPE=${GBL_OS_TYPE_RHEL5}
2973: GBL_OS_TYPE_STRING="RHEL5"

Install the OpenManage Software
cd to your temp directory where you unpacked the software. I chose /root/OpenManage. At the command prompt type ./setup.sh. I chose option 6, GeekPoet recommends leaving off option 2, the webserver adds 100M RAM utilization. Then choose option i to install. When it asks to start the services, type y. It’ll look like:

Installing the selected packages.

warning: instsvc-drivers-5.4.0-260.i386.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 23b66a9d
Preparing... ########################################### [100%]
1:srvadmin-omilcore ########################################### [ 6%]
To start all installed services without a reboot,
enter the following command: srvadmin-services.sh start
2:srvadmin-syscheck ########################################### [ 12%]
3:srvadmin-deng ########################################### [ 18%]
4:srvadmin-omauth ########################################### [ 24%]
5:srvadmin-omacore ########################################### [ 29%]
6:srvadmin-jre ########################################### [ 35%]
7:srvadmin-ipmi ########################################### [ 41%]
8:srvadmin-hapi ########################################### [ 47%]
9:srvadmin-isvc ########################################### [ 53%]
10:srvadmin-rac5-component########################################### [ 59%]
11:instsvc-drivers ########################################### [ 65%]
12:srvadmin-cm ########################################### [ 71%]
13:srvadmin-iws ########################################### [ 76%]
14:srvadmin-omhip ########################################### [ 82%]
15:srvadmin-racadm5 ########################################### [ 88%]
16:srvadmin-racdrsc5 ########################################### [ 94%]
17:srvadmin-storage ########################################### [100%]

Do you want the Server Administrator services started?
Press ('y' for yes | 'Enter' to exit): y
Starting Systems Management Device Drivers:
Starting dell_rbu: [ OK ]
Starting ipmi driver: [ OK ]
Starting Systems Management Data Engine:
Starting dsm_sa_datamgr32d: [ OK ]
Starting dsm_sa_eventmgr32d: [ OK ]
Starting dsm_sa_snmp32d: [ OK ]
Starting DSM SA Shared Services: OK [ OK ]
Starting DSM SA Connection Service: [ OK ]

it looks like it added:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 36531 Sep 29 10:57 dataeng*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 6847 Sep 29 10:57 dsm_om_shrsvc*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 73016 Sep 29 10:57 instsvcdrv*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 14006 Sep 29 10:57 dsm_sa_ipmi*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 7589 Sep 29 10:57 dsm_om_connsvc*
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 2113 Sep 29 10:57 mptctl*


These bad-boys will need to start at boot time. run chkconfig --list for each of these services to see if they’re set to run at startup. In my case, looks like we’re in bidness:

# chkconfig --list dataeng
dataeng 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off
# chkconfig --list dsm_om_shrsvc
dsm_om_shrsvc 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off
# chkconfig --list instsvcdrv
instsvcdrv 0:on 1:off 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:on
# chkconfig --list dsm_sa_ipmi
dsm_sa_ipmi 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:off 4:off 5:off 6:off
# chkconfig --list dsm_om_connsvc
dsm_om_connsvc 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off
# chkconfig --list mptctl
mptctl 0:off 1:off 2:on 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off

Some final notes:
The script to turn the services on & off is /opt/dell/srvadmin/omil/supportscripts/srvadmin-services.sh, and there’s an uninstall script there too, in case you need it.

Finally, check out GeekPoet’s packaging step #6[2]. It might have saved me from this whole excercise.

Links in this article:
[1] http://blog.geekpoet.net/2008/03/how-to-install-dell-openmanage-530-on.html
[2] http://blog.geekpoet.net/2008/05/howto-install-dell-openmanage-53-on.html
[3] http://blog.geekpoet.net/2008/05/issue-with-dell-openmanage-53-inventory.html
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Example.com – a bit of internet trivia
[5] http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/OM_5.3.0_ManNode_A00.tar.gz
[6] http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/OM_5.4.0_ManNode_A01.tar.gz
[7] http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/OM_5.4.0_MgmtStat_A00.exe
[8] http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/OM_5.4.0_MgmtStat_A00.msp

Time Warner Cable was out from about 9pm 2008 Sept 04 until about 2am 2008 Sept 06. Internet, both the digital and analog cable were affected. I don’t have phone service, so I can’t speak to that, but would bet it was affected too. The digital cable pictures started getting “snow” prior to the outage instead of tiling (weird). After about an hour I was able to get a recording on their support number. Lorain county & Mentor/Eastlake were listed as affected.

That meant we couldn’t watch John McCain’s acceptance speech live. Twitter & Facebook from our smartphones helped us figure out what was going on.

Wonder if we’ll get a refund/credit on our bill like they did in Raleigh?

[1] http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/1811915
[2] http://twitter.com/LyleMelick
[3] http://www.facebook.com/people/Lyle_Melick/502822670

Oliver Rist talks about making money with your podcast, using it as a marketing tool. Many of the things he talks about could be used in a non-profit environment or even for sermoncasting(tm). I’ve covered the basics of creating the MP3’s in the earlier article in this series. Something I learned from Oliver’s article is that audacity has a wiki[2]. This alone is probably worth the price of admission.

Oliver talks about hosting services, podcasting consultants and even a one-stop-shop. While these may not be something you’re able to afford as a non-profit or sermoncaster(tm), you may be able to pick up some tips from websites.

Links in this article:
[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2325764,00.asp
[2] http://www.audacityteam.org/wiki

John’s got a new job. Here’s what the senior pastor has say.. Really proud of him!

I’ve had to google this 3 times now. Thought I’d post the link that helped.

Links in this article:
[1] http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=101&threadID=238152&messageID=2323474

A Cleveland Indians fan[1] is taking the same approach that a team and/or a potential free agent might take at this point in the season, especially a season that is clearly already over. He’s auctioning off his services to the highest bidder. If the Cleveland Indians can “sell” the services of C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee for the rest of the season, why not a fan. If Jim Thome can say it’s not about the money & then bolt to Philly for (wait for it…) the money, then why not a fan.

At this point, one of you will be thinking “front-runner” or “fair weather” or “you’re not a real fan” because he’s taken this approach. Check out his eBay listing, he’s been with them his whole life. And the Tribe is in possibly the worst slump of his whole life. And the Tribe has thrown in the towel. Management is trying to get the most money for the talent they have. Players have CLEARLY given up on the season. Given what we’ve suffered through in Cleveland, surely we as fans deserve to get the most out of what’s left of the season.

I gotta tell ya, the writing was on the wall before the season started. C.C. didn’t want to be “distracted” by contract negotiations during the season. This is code for “I’m not gonna get what I want from this bunch of cheapskates. Let’s just get through the season with my reputation intact. Then I’ll get what I’m really worth from the Yankees, Boston or LA.” I don’t blame the man for maximizing his earning potential, after all this is America, the land of opportunity. I just think it’s time for the fans to get into the action too. The other “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” was the steroid scandal that broke last year. While I’m not saying the Tribes many injuries are steroid-withdrawal related, you had to believe it would affect something. (batting averages down, anyone?).

The Indians will not only be rebuilding talent-wise in the off season for next year, they’ll be rebuilding fan-wise. And it likely will cost them more. Fan salaries won’t be going up, that’s not how it works. Fan’s butts won’t be hitting the seats, fan’s backs won’t be walking advertisements.

My services will also be available for the remainder of the year. I don’t have the fan-cred that Alex does, so think of me as a utility outfielder near the end of his career. 25th man on the roster. Slow on the bases, slow in the field, but takes a great line to the ball in the outfield, and can occasionally make contact with the ball in clutch situations. Put me down for the same contract as Alex, just at 10% of his rate. Boston & New York will still cost you $3500 & $10000 respectfully. They’ll overpay for Coco Crisp, why not me? I’d kinda like to go to a contender. Any takers?

Just wait until next year. The National Cheer of Cleveland fans.

[1] http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280244100894

After a recent crash of my home server, I am reconsidering the wisdom of hosting my own web stuff at home. This is the third server in just over 10 years that’s died on me. Each time I have most of the data available, but the server won’t complete the boot. Generally I can get the server back in operation (with a newer OS of course) in about a week of night’s and weekends. Since I’m not ghosting (or using vmware or xen or anything like that), I’ve got to locate new media, load the basic OS & then figure out how to get email and web working and the data restored.

This time the OS rebuild was easier thanks to Howtoforge’s perfect server recipe. I tried the ISPConfig at the end, but had some issues. It’s a long story.

ANYWAY, I decided to try exporting this blog from my home server and importing into a wordpress.com blog I have[2] The export and import couldn’t have been easier. One thing I noticed immediately missing was the blogroll. Must not have been part of the export. I found an updated version of the theme I’m using (and am not able to find online anymore – did WordPress get an exclusive?). So a lot of it looks identical. There’s a couple of plugins I use, and I need to find out if they are available in the free version of wordpress.com. One I just started to use is the wordpress flickr manager[4]. Don’t see that in wordpress.com. There is a sidebar, but adding an image isn’t as nice at wordpress.com as it is with Trent’s plugin.

Other Plugins I have loaded:
Akismet – likely handled by wordpress.com
Flickr Manager – sorta handled by wordpress.com
In Series – not included – wonder what happened to my posts in my series???
Scripturizer – not included – wonder what happened to my posts in my series???
WordPress.com Stats – included
WP-Amazon – not included – wonder what happened to my posts in my series???
WP-SlimStat – not a big deal, I don’t look at them often, and I can live with the WordPress.com Stats.

The other issue is that now I have two copies of the blog (except for this post), and keeping them in sync would be a pain. In order to completely redirect my original blog[5], wordpress.com requires payment via paypal.

I’m thinking that it may just be better to keep hosting it myself. Now what do I do with the snapshot that lives on wordpress.com?

Links in this article:
[1] http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect-server-opensuse11
[2] http://melick.wordpress.com
[3] MistyLook by Sadish (http://simpleinside.com/)
[4] http://tgardner.net/
[5] http://weblog.melick.net

She actually has an email account.

Update: 2008-07-13 – She now has Facebook too. Pretty soon she’ll need to get a job.

[1] Wikipedia Reference.

You’ll find that combining your individual PowerPoints (Announcements, Song Lyrics, Sermon Notes, Scripture, etc.) will make it much easier to manage on Sunday Morning. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here, a decent link is this school site[1]. Another website also describes this process[2]. In this tutorial, they over-ride the default format with the format of each original PowerPoint you add. Many churches will do this. Each song will have an image (of video loop) behind it, sometimes linked to the content of the song. If you are following along with this series, all your songs will have black backgrounds & white text. So it won’t matter whether you keep the background of the main PowerPoint or the individual song PowerPoints. They will all be the same.

If you’re using images behind your lyrics, there are several commercial sites you can inexpensively purchase[3] hundreds of image from (including moving backgrounds). In addition, there is a flickr group[4] you can use.

The lyrics themselves are a different story. I have found that there is not a reliable free place on the internet to consistently get lyrics to all the songs you need. Except CCLI. Use the force Luke, it is your destiny. Pay the money to CCLI & be done with it. It will be easier and safer in the long run. Besides, you know you’ll need to have the license anyway. Churches should not be skirting the law.

Based on the size of your church (I’m guessing here) the price will be right. Small churches can procure the basic license to project the lyrics (under $250 for a church under 500 members) and get the Song Select access ($134 for the SongSelect Advanced Melody, which is what you’ll likely want if you are doing contemporary worship) for under $400. Check the CCLI web site for up to date pricing.

Projecting Bible Passages

Links in this article:
[1] http://www.port-huron.k12.mi.us/tech/Handouts/How-To/Combine%20PowerPoint%20Slideshows%20into%20One.htm
[2] http://facultysupport.ucdavis.edu/techtips/powerpoint/Combining%20Multiple%20Presentations/index.html
[3] http://www.flickr.com/groups/worshipgraphics/
[4] http://www.songsonpowerpoint.com/
[5] http://www.ccli.com
[6] http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/?action=getVersionInfo&vid=31

Today I want to interrupt my series on using PowerPoint in Worship to cover an OpenSource presentation sofware know as OpenSong[1]. As an open source program, it is free {yeah!}, which is very helpful for small churches trying to get started with overhead projection during the service. I have recently begun using this for the English Ministry at CKPC[2].

Two of the main things OpenSong handles for the church techie or worship leader is lyric/chord sheet management and the live presentation. At the heart of the application is the notion of a worship set. Within the worship set, you define Items.

Each item can be either a slide that you customize, a song or scripture. In the set you can define everything that needs to be projected. For each item, you can decide if you want the slide to print in the list. Depending on how you set this up, you will end up with a worship order that you can use for the Band, preacher, scripture reader and so on.

For the band, the lyric/chord sheets can be transposed into another key. Segments of the songs (verses, choruses, bridge etc) can be defined. For the presentation, you can easily define the order (v1 c, v2 c b c t for instance) of the segments of the songs. It is really easy to add or change songs on the fly, or change the order of the segments of the songs. You can define the “normal” order you perform the song, and override it for the current set.

Scripture is easily added – even on the fly. Last week we had a mission trip report. He read a scripture that was important to the trip, and by the time he finished reading the scripture I was able to have in on the screen.

We will have several announcement slides that loop before the service. You can define several “slides” within a slide, simply by adding 3 dashes on a line by itself. I will then have the slide print in the list and loop. Printing the announcements in the list enables the person doing announcements to have them without having to make another list.

Scriptures and other slides are added, and then several printouts can be made ahead of time. I will generally make one with the scripture, Apostle’s Creed and announcements typed out for those doing those. I will make another printout without the words for the Band, so they have a one sheet worship order. Then the Chord Sheets are printed for the band. Each band member will get their own copy. In the gallery, I have included PDF’s of these three printouts and the XML file I used for the set.

This software is so much more flexible and comprehensive than just PowerPoint alone. For a really small church, this package will fill most of the needs for organizing the worship service. To be honest, I may have trouble finishing the series…

Links in this article:
[1] http://www.opensong.org/
[2] http://ckpc4you.melick.net
[3] http://weblog.melick.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sample-songs.pdf
[4] http://weblog.melick.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sample-list-1.pdf
[5] http://weblog.melick.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sample-list-2.pdf
[6] http://weblog.melick.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sample

Now that the basics are out of the way lets begin on the template. I want to start with the Simple format because the Visual is an extension of that. My examples will refer to PowerPoint 2003, since that’s what I have loaded on this computer. NOTE: Save early and often while you are building this slide. If you’re not very efficient with PowerPoint yet, it could take you some time to build this template. I’d hate for you to get several steps into the process & lose your work. I’m saving this as “Simple Worship.ppt” Pick a folder you’ll remember, I’m using the desktop.

Open PowerPoint and from the menu pick File>>New, and choose “Blank Presentation”.

Pick the Slide Layout that has “Title and Text”. This moves the Title of the song higher on the screen (and gives you space on the slide for the remainder), and gives you room for the words on the opening slide.

Right Click on the slide in the sorter and choose “Background”. Choose the color black & check the box that removes graphics from the background. Then click on the “Apply to All” button.

I like to have a blank black slide at the beginning, end and between each song. The blank black slide at the end gives me a black screen at the end of the worship set without the “End of Slide Show, click to Exit” text on the screen. Just looks a little more professional. The blank, black slide at the beginning gives you a black screen for announcements or introductions, or lets you have the presentation ready to go without tipping off the congregation to the first song. To create these slides, right click on the slide, copy & paste twice. You should now have three blank black slides. To make sure the first & last slides are really blank, I cut the title & text box from slide 1 & 3.

For my template, I’d like to have PowerPoint fade from the first, (blank & black) slide into the first song slide. I’d also like to fade into the last (black & blank) slide. Hold down the control key and left click on slides 1 & 3. Just these two slides should be highlighted. Right click on one of the slides (both are still highlighted) and choose “Slide Transition”. On the right hand side of the screen you’ll see your options for transitions. Choose “Fade Smoothly”.

I should note at this point, you can also set up slide numbers that display on the screen, but my preference is to leave these off. If you are doing 5 or 6 songs, and you have a slide for each time through the chorus and other repeats, a slide count of 60 or more might tend to distract from the worship setting. I know it makes me feel tired. Just my 2¢. If you find it helps you if you have to bounce back, go for it.

At this point we want to make sure that we always use the same font for every song, and we want it to look really simple. Select the second slide. Click in the Title text box, then choose the font from the menu, picking Arial 40, Bold, and Shadow. Shadow is optional for the Simple style, but will be critical for the Visual style. Center the text with the Center paragraph menu icon. I also will make the Title text Yellow, just to set it apart from the words of the song. Repeat for the Words text box, choosing Arial 32, Bold, and Shadow. Center the text. Pick white for the font color.

We’re ready now to build the second & following word slides. Copy slide 2 & paste it following slide 2. I prefer to the title of the song only on the first slide, so I cut the title text box from what is now slide 3.

I like to put the copyright on the last slide of the song, some choose to put it on the first slide, some will even put it right under the title. Personal preference. Since I’m choosing the last slide, I will copy the current slide 3 (words only) and paste it as the new slide 4. In slide 4, choose “Insert>>Text Box” from the menu and click at the bottom of the slide. Type a letter in the box so you can find it. Arrange the size position of the text box to your liking. I then select all the text in this box, choose Arial 9, Bold, Shadow & center the text. You’ll need the copyright symbol[1]. Hold the key and type the numbers 0169 on the numeric keypad. When you let up on the key, the symbol appears at the cursor in your presentation. Here it is for your convenience. ©

Per CCLI[2a], there are some things you’ll need to include. The video that covers this is here[2b]. Typically, this will look like:

“Hallelujah” words and music by John Doe
©2000 Good Music Co.
CCLI License # 0000

Often you’ll find the exact text for the first two lines in the file with the lyrics for the song. You’ll replace the 0000 with your own church license number. I’ve seen any number of actual license numbers floating around on the web. Please be sure to use your own.

Finally, save the file one last time to your working directory. Now save it again, choosing “Design Template”. It’s now ready to use for building your worship set. To use your brand spanking new template, open PowerPoint, choose “file>>new”, click “On my computer…” and choose your “SimpleWorship.pot” template.

The Simple Worship Template[3] I created is available for you.

You are ready for the next step. Which is coincidentally the next article in the series…

Links in this article:
[1] http://www.copyrightauthority.com/copyright-symbol/
[2a] http://www.ccli.com
[2b] http://support.ccli.com/knowledgebase/afmmain.aspx?faqid=57
[3] http://weblog.melick.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/simpleworship.ppt