Email Subscriptions
I have been having trouble with the service I use to send out my newsletter to those of you who have subscribed via email. I have switched the service and hopefully you will be getting your regular updates in your email inbox.
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Internet Ministry
What are the limits of the internet and the potential for ministry opportunity? I had an awesome conversation with a like minded web servant tonight. Tim Kimberly ministers online through He Lives.com. I can't remember if I have plugged the site before, but it is an incredible resource for biblical and theological content that is packaged in a beautiful manner. It is so much fun to sit down and bounce ideas, thoughts, passions and whatever comes to mind off of guys like this. If you have not visited the site, do so, and then tell all of your friends and neighbors about it. And after that send them a check or two to help cover expenses...
Internet and technological ministry has become my passion over this past year and I am really excited to see how God might lead in the future. I think that churches are really waking up to the idea that the internet is going to change the way we think about ministry. One of the things that Tim brought out tonight that made me stop and think, is the fact that the internet now can be a viable tool to do ministry and a way to actively engage a user. As Tim put it, most churches are using their websites as a map to get to their building. Now don't jump off a cliff here, I believe that ministry must be focused around the local church, but this in an area where the local church can do more.
One of my biggest passions is to see the church use the web actively for evangelism. Gospelcom.net's evangelism section has some great ideas about how to go about this. They send out a monthly newsletter with all sorts or resources, ideas and stats dealing directly with internet evangelism. I would love to hear your ideas on how we could do a better job of this.
One of the ways our church is currently ministering in this way is to offer up every Sunday morning sermon available for streaming download. I know a lot of churches are doing this and I think it is effective in a limited way. I would like to be able to not only serve up the sermon, but then connect with those that are listening and be able to do discipling and point them to a good local church. Again the idea is not to supplant the local church but rather support it.
One of the other things that Tim and I discussed was the need for more quality Christian media. Specifically we discussed producing short but powerful vignettes that could be used to pull someone in and get them interested in going deeper in their walk. He Lives.com is trying to focus on more of a discipling/teaching aspect in the way of online bible courses. This would be the "meat" where the shorter media would be the "hook." I can see doing this for not only short videos, but for creative print advertisements and marketing campaigns.
We bounced stuff back and forth for about 90 minutes and I won't repeat it all, but hopefully the Lord will take my passion and be able to use it in these and other ways.
New Photos and Video
Just wanted to let everyone without rss know that there are new photos on Flickr to view and there is a new video on our site to view. I have been having some issues with the video player not refreshing itself, so you may need to clear out your temporary internet files and then refresh your page in order to view.
That would probably be a good thing for a lot of you to do anyway. If you are using IE click on "tools" in the menu bar the click "internet options." This will open up a dialog box. Right in the middle is a button that says "delete files." Click that and then click ok when it prompts you to. All done. Go to the video page and refresh and you should see the new video.
I am working on some sort of better alternative for the future.
Validation Junkie
So about this whole blog thing...is it a fad or is it here to stay? I think for the most part it is here to stay. It gives people an outlet to be heard and a way to express themselves. But I would tend to think that most people will not just post for the sake of posting. They need some validation that people are reading what they are writing and care about what they are doing. I am no different in this regard and I get the most pleasure from the comments that you all leave. I think most bloggers would always like to see more comments but I understand as a blog reader you have to be really moved by something in order to comment on it. I also understand that boring posts like this one will probably not get as many comments, unless it strikes a nerve with you.
So I am stuck. Do I write about things that will make more people comment thus satisfying my insatiable appetite for blogger validation? Or do I just write about the things that I find interesting? Hmmmm...you tell me.
Okay weird rant over...
I am a little over 2 weeks into my new job and I am loving it. Like any new job there is a uncomfortable period of adjustment as you meet new people, learn office politics, and figure out what you are supposed to be doing. But for the most part that is behind me. I like the people I work with and I get to do some really cool things.
I got some new headphones for my iPod. I am listening to it a lot at this job and the headphones that came with it were hurting my ears. I purchased a pair of Sony MDR-EX81 white headphones. They have an incredible sound and are very comfortable. They also block out all background noise which is good and bad. Good, because then I don't hear the ambiant noise of a factory, but bad because I can't hear my phone ring on my desk 2 feet away (yes, they are that good).
Tonight we are planning to take Mia to a pumpkin patch where they have animals and all sorts of fun stuff. Check back later for pictures and whatnot. It should be a lot of fun.
We are four weeks into our new church. For those of you who don't know we are part of a group from our home church (Saylorville Baptist) that is starting a church plant in Polk City. Everything has been going great. We are having one service on Sunday morning and then meeting at Saylorville for the rest of the time. Each week our attendance has increased, we had 62 people a couple weeks ago and we have already seen one lady get saved! It is pretty cool to be a part of something like this. It is as close to a original "New Testament" type of church that you could get. You can find out more at www.lakesidefellowship.net
Mia is doing new things all the time. A couple days ago we were downstairs and she decided to go back up. Well she only went about half way, turned around and asked me "ready?" She asked several more times and I finally said that I was ready. Then she walked down the stairs and jumped off of the last one and made a clean standing landing. Wow. What will she do next? I do have some video that will hopefully get put up soon, but don't hold your breath.
Well, the time is now for me to close. This post has been brought to you by the number 7 and the letter q.