The Monochrome

Hosted by SALT Community

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to the Monochrome Podcast, a feel-good, lighthearted podcast from the SALT Community that brings together creatives and techs who serve in their local church. If you're the one who's always standing behind the curtain, pushing faders at the booth, re-exporting that design file, or wearing black like it's your job (because it kinda is), this podcast is for you. Along with a few friends and experts, the SALT team takes on challenges facing the everyday church creative by providing fun insights and advice to help you through it. Looking for more? Check us out: SALT Community (https://saltcommunity.com/) SALT Conference (https://www.salt2024.com/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaltcommunity) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity

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60 recent

September 10, 2026Episode 6318 min

Ep 63 - Six Questions to Diagnose Your Week as a Creative Leader

If you opened last week's calendar right now, would it reflect what you say matters most? In this bonus episode, Phil Bowdle - creative arts pastor and ministry coach - walks through six diagnostic questions designed to expose what's actually happening in your week before you try to fix any of it. From what's stealing your time to whether you're protecting Sabbath the way you say you believe in it, these questions are simple to ask and hard to answer honestly. Phil's premise: you can't change what you haven't named. 🔗 Show Notes Phil Bowdle - Creative Arts Pastor & Ministry Coach https://www.philbowdle.com 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

September 9, 2026Episode 6216 min

Ep 62 - A DreamWorks Exec Explains Why Your Church Loses People

Rick Rekedal spent decades at DreamWorks Animation helping build some of the most beloved franchises in entertainment history - How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on one of the most talked-about masterclasses from the SALT Conference: Rick's Story Adoption Engine. His thesis: churches aren't losing people because of bad programs or poor production. They're losing them because they haven't understood how people actually adopt a story and make it their own. From Curious George to Kung Fu Panda to the gospel itself, Rick walks through his Story Adoption Engine and why the difference between church people attending and church people belonging to comes down to one thing: whether the story you're telling feels like them. 🔗 Show Notes Rick Rekedal - Former DreamWorks Animation Executive https://www.rickrekedal.com/ How to Train Your Dragon - DreamWorks https://www.dreamworks.com Magnolia - Chip & Joanna Gaines https://magnolia.com 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

September 3, 2026Episode 6119 min

Ep 61 - Handheld Camera Technique for Live Worship Broadcast

Chad Vegas - former film director at Transformation Church, now with Sony - breaks down the exact framework he used to train camera operators at Bethel, Transformation, and beyond. In this bonus episode pulled from the SALT Community course library, Chad walks through his Chad Sandbox: seven rules that turn a volunteer with a camera into a cinematic storyteller. From matching your camera movement to worship tempo, to the three-shots-one-take approach that makes four cameras feel like eight - this is practical, immediately applicable training your team can use this Sunday. 🔗 Show Notes Transformation Church https://www.transformationchurch.tc Bethel Church Redding https://www.bethel.com Planning Center https://www.planningcenter.com 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

September 1, 2026Episode 6026 min

EP 60 - Stop Losing New Visitors After Sunday

Brady Sticker, founder of Church Candy, introduced a framework that stopped Luke and Katelyn mid-conversation - and this episode picks up right where that left off. If 8 out of 10 first-time visitors never come back to your church, the problem probably isn't your Sunday service. It's everything before and after it. Luke and Katelyn dig into the real tools churches are underusing right now - from CRMs and automated messaging to dynamic QR codes, Instagram DM automation, and personalized video apps - and make the case that treating your church more like a business isn't selling out. It's good stewardship. 🔗 Show Notes The Biggest Story Bible Storybook https://www.crossway.org/books/the-biggest-story-bible-storybook-case/ Brady Sticker - Church Candy https://www.churchcandy.com Tools Many Chat https://manychat.com Bonjoro https://www.bonjoro.com CRMs https://churchcrm.io https://www.hubspot.com https://gracely.io TextInChurch https://textinchurch.com Planning Center https://www.planningcenter.com Clearstream https://clearstream.io Tap to go NFC stickers or QR codes https://clearstream.io/tap-tags?minimal=1&comet_source=google&comet_network=g&comet_campaign=23162158292&comet_ad_group=188155781518&comet_ad_id=780188893595&comet_keyword=nfc%20stickers&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23162158292&gbraid=0AAAAADrPAL-SebAXL9xUSvvsHtHJKNzpG&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3K7RBhDJARIsAKRtP5QesXYC34gCn_zCqWeTC21n4HlG7_AtUwOPMc6YzpYn7ifFp1IwSW4aAmA8EALw_wcB https://taptag.shop/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22077124289&gbraid=0AAAAADmZbZ8XuZuNPDtWPkUuGOHUel3ZS&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3K7RBhDJARIsAKRtP5QA9CZXpSXxqo2pEe786htHu6_nyKQa-TIptwrrKPIXRQjVAwuc9cMaAs1rEALw_wcB Zapier https://zapier.com/workflows 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

August 27, 2026Episode 5913 min

Ep 59 - What a Worship Leader's First Responsibility Actually Is

Most worship leaders would say their first responsibility is to lead the congregation. David Dennis - worship leader and staff culture architect at The Belonging Co. in Nashville - says that's exactly backwards. In this episode, we pull a full lesson from his course inside SALT Community where he unpacks what he calls priestly worship: why the 15 minutes before service may matter more than the service itself, how your set list is forming the theology of your congregation whether you realize it or not, and what it actually looks like to stop performing for a room and start ministering to God. If your team is working hard on Sundays but something still feels like it's missing - this is probably why. 🔗 Show Notes David Dennis - Worship Leader, The Belonging Co. https://www.instagram.com/daviddennisgeorge/?hl=en The Belonging Co. - Nashville, TN https://www.thebelongingco.com 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

August 25, 2026Episode 5630 min

EP 58 - Your Church Has Stopped Innovating

Two church tech directors. Shared parking lot. Never met. That story alone says everything about where the church production world is right now. Toby Walters - founder of Church Gear and author of Sacred Spaces, Modern Production - sits down with Luke to talk about why churches have largely stopped innovating, what a 13-year-old lighting volunteer and a Grammy-nominated tour director have in common, and why the most important conversation you can have as a production leader might be with the person running tech at the church down the road. Whether you're running sound for 200 people or managing a multi-campus production team, this one will challenge how you see your role - and who you're building it for. 🔗 Show Notes Toby Walters - Founder, Church Gear: https://www.churchgear.com Sacred Spaces, Modern Production: https://www.tobywalters.com Church Gear Podcast: https://www.churchgear.com/podcast Parnelli Awards: https://www.plsn.com/parnelli-awards Outreach 100 Largest Churches: https://outreachmagazine.com/outreach-100 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

August 20, 2026Episode 5721 min

Ep 57 - How Church Creatives Stay Inspired Long Term

Most church creatives won't admit it out loud - but there are days when the work feels like anything but a calling. The deadlines pile up, the revisions feel endless, and somewhere between the last sermon series and the next one, the inspiration quietly disappeared. In this episode, Carrie Loomis, lead graphic designer at New Vision Church in Nashville, gets honest about what creative burnout actually looks like from the inside - and the three things that pulled her back: mindset, habits, and letting go of the idea that your work is your identity. 🔗 Show Notes Carrie Loomis - Lead Graphic Designer, New Vision Church https://www.newvisionchurch.com Unsplash - Free Photography & Inspiration https://www.unsplash.com Google Arts & Culture App https://artsandculture.google.com ChatGPT https://chat.openai.com 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

August 18, 2026Episode 5629 min

Ep 56 - Who Is the Church Actually For?

17% of Americans say they have zero friends. 56% of unchurched people say they'd come to church if someone they knew just invited them. So why aren't we asking? Luke and Katelyn unpack a conversation with Miles McPherson - senior pastor of Rock Church San Diego and former NFL player - about what it actually looks like for the church to be the safest place for a non-believer. Plus: why the production team might be the greatest on-ramp for unchurched people in your entire church, what it means to keep your front door unlocked, and the simple reason most of us never invite anyone anywhere. 🔗 Show Notes Miles McPherson - Senior Pastor, Rock Church San Diego https://www.rockchurch.org Just One - Free Evangelism Training https://stg.lovejust1.com/ 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

August 13, 2026Episode 5517 min

Ep 55 - Why Some Church Creative Teams Move and Others Spin

Every church creative team has talent. So why do some teams execute consistently and others stay stuck in the same loop week after week? In this bonus episode, Darrel Girardier - Executive Director of Ministry at Brentwood Baptist - breaks down the four types of creatives that show up on every church team and what happens when your mix is off. Too many drivers and nobody questions the direction. Too many rebels and nothing gets finished on time. If your team feels like it's always busy but never quite moving, this episode will show you exactly why - and what to do about it. 🔗 Show Notes Darrel Girardier - Executive Director of Ministry, Brentwood Baptist https://www.brentwoodbaptist.com The Four Tendencies - Gretchen Rubin (referenced) https://gretchenrubin.com/books/the-four-tendencies 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salt_community/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: https://twitter.com/SALT_Community YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_

August 11, 2026Episode 5426 min

Ep 54 - Accountability Is Not Church Hurt , But How Do You Tell The Difference?

Accountability and church hurt are not the same thing - but in a culture that has blurred the line between the two, how do you actually tell the difference? Luke and Katelyn sit down to unpack a conversation with author and speaker Natalie Runion, digging into what healthy accountability structures look like, why so many churches have none, and what it costs a team when leaders stop doing the hard things. Plus: the monkey on your desk, the complaint that should never go sideways, and why the production team might be the most underutilized discipleship tool in the local church. 🔗 Show Notes Natalie Runion - Author & Speaker https://www.natalierunion.com Raised to Stay - Natalie Runion https://www.natalierunion.com/raised-to-stay Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink https://shorturl.at/xTF1p 💡 More SALT JOIN THE COMMUNITY → http://SALTCommunity.com SALT 2026 Conference - Dallas, TX | October 14-16 → https://www.salt2026.com 🔗 Social Links Instagram: @salt_community Facebook: facebook.com/theSALTCommunity X: @SALT_Community YouTube: youtube.com/@SALTCommunity_