We just got pics made of the family. Man…I have one incredibly gorgeous wife and one incredibly cute little boy. Check them out and tell me what you think!
I’ve seen a bunch of these so I had to see what mine looks like. Basically, you can go to Wordle and it makes a word cloud for your website. The most common words are larger. Fun stuff.
Say what you want about Starbucks, but you gotta give them props for how they typically run their business.
I got this today when I stopped by to get a drink and I ended up using it to get a drink for my wife this evening.
Great, yet simple concepts. Give people a reason to come back. Give them something they might actually use. Now if only they could cut down on the calories.
You can see more info about this strategy at CNN.com
I have had a lot of discussion recently about social media and it’s impact and use in the church. For those of you that don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, I’ve basically spent a lot of time thinking about how technology and media can assist in connecting people. Specifically, how can the church grab hold and use these technologies to reach and disciple others.
So with that in mind… here’s 5 quick nuggets about social media and how I am considering using it (or already using it) in the church.
1) Facebook- Honestly, this is our primary method of communicating with youth in the church. I feel that social networking sites like Facebook have to be used by our churches to connect with others. Heck…I have connected with friends online that I would have never connected with any other way, so it’s not just the teens.
2) Text Messaging- We have been doing text messaging during our youth service for about a year now, with a lot of success. We have also started doing text alerts and using Jott to send them out.
3) Internet Campuses- I’m so intrigued by internet campuses. With the shift in our culture to a media culture, I think that churches should strongly consider using internet campuses. The biggest complaint I hear is typically, “but how do you connect people with others if you do an internet campus?” I heard someone else say, and I can’t agree more…. how is it any different from broadcasting services on television? Hmmm…. more to come on this concept.
4) Mobile Media- I already mentioned text messaging, but the way we use cell phones is about to explode. I’m sure churches need to think about things like “can our website be accessed from a cell phone?” Also, how can churches make media and such so that people can receive it on their cell phone?
5)Roov- I’m interested in seeing how Roov pans out. I love the idea of an online community that connects people to others in their community. Would this be an option for creating new small groups? Serving groups? Simply connecting with and making new friends?
It was hard to narrow it down to five, but the others may be too geeky for most.
I’d love to hear people’s thoughts. Where do you see social media going in the church? Comment below.
I gotta admit…my family loves to go down to downtown Greenville. Sometimes it’s just to go on a stroll in the park with Isaiah. Other times it’s just to get out and find something to eat. Heck…yesterday we went not once, but twice.
Anyways, last night we simply decided we wanted to get out of the house so we went downtown just to walk around. Apparently a church, who I will keep anonymous, was having an event downtown. I guess that as a part of their event, they decided to hand out bottles of water to people on the street. We saw a couple of teens that had some water to hand out, and being that we were sweating and thirsty, we decided to stay close to them so that they would give us one. Long story short…these two girls walked right with us for the longest time, passing at least 40 people that could have used a drink (especially the poor family with the baby next to them). They finally saw some guys that apparently must need water (and Jesus) more than everyone else. They gave the guys some water, walked away saying “Jesus loves you,” and I heard them whisper “walk fast…keep going.”
Here’s the deal. These girls were as full of Christ’s love as Mandy Moore in the movie Saved. They were really more full of crap than anything. But it got me thinking. How many people are right around me that need to be shown God’s love and I’m so full of myself that I don’t even notice that they are right there? People who are not only longing for it, they’re practically begging for it and we don’t even give them the time of day. We simply walk fast and keep going away from them.
I thought about this passage. Truth hurts doesn’t it.
On a side note… it wasn’t the church that was downtown that met our need for nourishment. It was this place.
I heard a quote today that really got me thinking. It was something like this:
If you’re goal is to reach people that no one else is reaching, you have to do things that no one else is doing.
Wow…if that doesn’t make you want to brainstorm and get creative in ministry, nothing will. Let’s face it…most churches are simply offering another option to the things that are already offered at other churches. What’s the result? Church hoppers and churches not reaching out to those who aren’t being ministered to. I think it’s time for churches to think way outside the box to reach people.
And what about those ministries that are just another option? Maybe we should seriously consider whether they are working. Some should get the axe. Others need to be tweeked.
I pray that churches will do whatever it takes, just short of sin, to reach those who aren’t being reached.
Here’s some snapshots of what I’ve been up to in the last week or so.
