The Tech Arts Podcast

What if the biggest problem with your church’s tech ministry has nothing to do with technology? Churches spend thousands—sometimes millions—of dollars upgrading audio, video, and lighting systems. But what happens when the equipment is great, yet the team behind it is struggling? Can better gear really fix poor communication, a lack of trust, or an unhealthy culture? In Episode 99 of The Tech Arts...

Burnout doesn’t always look like a complete breakdown. Sometimes it starts with exhaustion, loss of motivation, irritability, difficulty disconnecting, or simply realizing you can’t maintain your current pace much longer. In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, David Leuschner breaks down how to recognize the warning signs of burnout, understand where the pressure is actually coming from, and ta...

Does your website convey what your church is known for? On this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, host David Leuschner sits down with nationally recognized church branding speaker, communication strategist, ordained pastor, and founder of Be Known for Something, Mark MacDonald. Churches have more ways to communicate than ever before—but are we actually communicating clearly? Mark challenges church...

In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, David Leuschner sits down with Toby Walters, founder of Church Gear and author of Sacred Spaces, for a thought-provoking conversation about how church environments shape the worship experience. Together, they explore why church production is about far more than lights, sound, and video. Toby shares practical insights on creating distraction-free worship, b...

What separates a good mix from a great mix? And what does it take to deliver a consistent front-of-house experience night after night on one of Christian music's biggest tours? In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, we go behind the scenes with Daniel Ellis, Front of House Engineer for We The Kingdom, as we step into his world at a live tour stop. Daniel shares his approach to mixing FOH, why v...

What if one cable could power your AVL future? This week on The Tech Arts Podcast, we dive into the rapidly growing world of PoE (Power over Ethernet) and how it’s changing church production, networking, lighting, audio, video, and system design. Host David Leuschner sits down with Anthony Stofflet from AC Americas to talk real-world applications of PoE, AVB Milan, Dante, network switches, lightin...

The Tech Arts Podcast – Live at NAMM 2026  We’re coming to you from NAMM 2026, packed with insight, innovation, and real-world leadership for church tech teams. This episode features Audio Engineer Mike Smith from Prestonwood Church, breaking down how he approaches immersive mixing in a live worship environment—including the strategy, execution, and what it really takes to pull off high-impact mom...

What if the role you think is small… is actually shaping moments where people encounter God? In this powerful and encouraging episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, David Leuschner unpacks a truth every church tech needs to hear: every position matters. Whether you're behind the console, running cameras, programming lights, or quietly setting the stage—your role is not secondary. It’s essential. This e...

Why Acoustics Matter? Brought to you by Paragon 360 At Paragon 360®, we design and build award-winning sight, sound, and scenic solutions for places of worship, auditoriums, sports complexes, amusement parks, corporate spaces, and other venues of all sizes across many market segments. Our ability to make just about any space look, feel and sound exceptional - all with unbeatable customer service a...

In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, we sit down with David McCauley, author of the leadership book You Don’t Know Sheep—a practical, humorous, and deeply insightful guide for today’s technical, faith and ministry leaders. Drawing from decades of real-world experience in church leadership, technical ministry, and organizational growth, David unpacks how leaders can better understand the peopl...

What are three principles to building a thriving tech ministry? Brought to you by Paragon 360 At Paragon 360®, we design and build award-winning sight, sound, and scenic solutions for places of worship, auditoriums, sports complexes, amusement parks, corporate spaces, and other venues of all sizes across many market segments. Our ability to make just about any space look, feel and sound exceptiona...

This episode of The Tech Arts Podcast is packed with practical insight for audio, video, and broadcast professionals—featuring two powerful segments from industry leaders Waves Audio and Ross Video. In our main segment, we sit down with Waves Audio Val Kotler to explore how AI-driven tools are changing the way engineers approach live mixing. Watch real time demos of the new Waves AI Plug-In, LV1 C...

How do you flip your space and not spend a ton of money? Brought to you by Paragon 360 At Paragon 360®, we design and build award-winning sight, sound, and scenic solutions for places of worship, auditoriums, sports complexes, amusement parks, corporate spaces, and other venues of all sizes across many market segments. Our ability to make just about any space look, feel and sound exceptional - all...

Get ready—because today’s episode of The Tech Arts Podcast is guaranteed to light up your world. Our main segment dives into LED… but with a twist. With Christmas season in full swing, we’re talking about the kind of specialty LED products that make your sets pop, bring your stage to life, and transform every environment into something unforgettable. We’re sitting down with Jeffrey Moss, founder o...

On today’s episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, we’re joined by one of the most in-demand mix engineers on the planet—Chris Rabold. If you’ve ever seen Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys, or Norah Jones live, chances are you’ve experienced his work. Chris has mixed some of the biggest shows and most iconic artists on earth, shaping the sound behind stages that f...

In this bonus segment, Mic Techniques with Earthworks Audio, we dive into the Earthworks Podium Microphones — a precision-engineered line designed to capture every nuance of the spoken word with unmatched clarity and presence. Earthworks Podium Mics deliver natural, intelligible speech right out of the box, minimizing the need for heavy EQ or feedback suppression. Whether you’re addressing a congr...

When it comes to church projects, bids and quotes often feel like the same thing—but they’re not. And if you don’t know the difference, it could cost you more than you think. In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, David Leuschner sits down with Ryan Cowen, President of Paragon 360, to unpack The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Bids. Ryan brings over 17 years of AVL experience to the table, shari...

Why does design matter? Brought to you by Paragon 360 At Paragon 360®, we design and build award-winning sight, sound, and scenic solutions for places of worship, auditoriums, sports complexes, amusement parks, corporate spaces, and other venues of all sizes across many market segments. Our ability to make just about any space look, feel and sound exceptional - all with unbeatable customer service...

Have you ever wondered why tech ministry can feel so confusing—or if there’s a better way to unlock the full power of ProPresenter? In this episode, David Leuschner welcomes Paul Clifford from Trinity Digital Media, a leading voice in helping churches reach their redemptive potential through technology. Paul unpacks the features and integrations that make ProPresenter more than just presentation s...

🎙️ Bonus Segment – David Leuschner sits down with Phil Cooke, Ph. D., co-founder and CEO of Cooke Media Group, to talk about his upcoming classes at CFX | Capture Summit 2025 ( churchfacilitiesexpo.com ). With a career that spans producing media programming in nearly 70 countries, creating some of the most influential inspirational TV programs in history, and consulting for Hollywood studios, majo...

In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, host David Leuschner sits down with Nick D’Angelo, Brand Manager at ProLights, for a deep dive into lighting that every tech should hear. From front light and key light to cyc lights and house lights, Nick unpacks the essentials—and reveals how ProLights has taken house lighting to the next level by transforming it into a Wi-Fi extender. You’ll hear how it...

On this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, host David Leuschner sits down with church production leader Dennis Choy to tackle a timeless question: How do you work with creatives and still be friends? With over 30 years of experience building behind-the-scenes ministry teams at churches like North Coast, Saddleback, and Skyline, Dennis shares hard-earned wisdom and practical strategies for navigatin...

In this episode of The Tech Arts Podcast, we dive into the world of AVL networking with special guests Anthony Stofflet, Brand Manager for Luminex, and Greg Persinger of Vivid Illumination. Together, they unpack the differences between IT and AVL networks, explain why reliability matters more than ever, and explore how Luminex is making network setup and management easier for churches and producti...

In this episode David Leuschner dives deep into audio mixing fundamentals that every engineer—especially those in church tech—needs to master. Sharing wisdom from 37 years of experience, David reveals game-changing mixing tips on plug-ins, vocals and how understanding musicality transforms your mix. Listen to hear a powerful vocal mix insight from legendary engineer Ken "Pooch" Van Druten. This ep...

At Paragon 360®, we design and build award-winning sight, sound, and scenic solutions for places of worship, auditoriums, sports complexes, amusement parks, corporate spaces, and other venues of all sizes across many market segments. Our ability to make just about any space look, feel and sound exceptional - all with unbeatable customer service and serious attention to detail – has earned us a fir...