Recently our Senior Pastor Kerry Shook challenged our congregation to step up and meet an overwhelming need for shoes in our community. Over 6,000 pairs of shoes were given sacrificially that weekend. Just a few weeks later we began receiving reports of churches offering similar challenges to their congregations.
Pastor sparks spontaneous shoe giveaway for charity
CHAPIN, SC (WIS) – Hundreds of people in Chapin are helping others survive in ’09, donating shoes to a local homeless shelter. The congregation took the phrase ‘give someone the shirt off your back’ literally. Dress shoes, tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, boots. Shoes of all shapes, all sizes and from all walks of life. It’s the result of a challenge from a pastor. “Not someday, but today. We’re going to do something right now to conclude this service that is a today action,” says Pastor Jody Flowers. Flowers encouraged the congregation in Sunday’s sermon to take action that would affect their community. The mission was to provide shoes to the Oliver Gospel Mission in Columbia. But rather than walk away from church with a plan to do it later in the week, he encouraged them to do it right at that moment. The staff supported the challenge. “Someday, I’m going to do this. Someday. And talking about that someday today, that you go ahead and do it right now. There’s nothing stopping us doing it right now,” says Pastor Paul Allen.
And then Pastor Flowers took off his own shoes and laid them at the alter.
“To really capture the opportunities of doing things now and not putting them off and doing things that truly are meaningful and touch people’s lives,” says Allen. Then one by one, members of the congregation walked up to the alter, took off their shoes and gently set them down, knowing someone in need would later put them on.
“Yesterday, we took it to a new level of not what can we do this week, but what can we do right now, immediately,” says Allen.
The motivation behind the challenge coincides with a series the church is focusing on right now called “One Month to Live,” based on the book.
Read full article and watch video here: http://www.onemonthtolive.com/news.asp
Walk the Talk Challenge Info Here: http://bethemessage.com/shoes/
Here it is, for a FREE website/logo/bc design pack all you have to do is tweet:
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Post any questions for the contest here! Cya. Looking forward to creating your new site/logo/businesscard design!
Kind of cool to bump into similar design work every now and then but this one is way to close to call. Here is our theory on how this happened. Several months ago our Creative Director Justin designed some concepts that were influenced by the movie “Duplicity” but his concepts look nothing like the art style above.
Several months later, I threw together a quick design based on some influence by Hillsong.com and Justin’s new direction and came up with the design above (right) for Men’s Backpacking 2009. 360′d back to the original art, almost.
Funny stuff. What’s your take on the whole deal? Stealing or subconscious flow of creativity?
Great article about Kerry and the church. Very cool.
Kerry Shook, Pastor of Fellowship of the Woodlands in Houston TX kicked off this year’s Keynote sessions at the NRB with a message about how God wants to use the same process seen in Genesis Chapter 1 in our lives and ministries.
There are essentially six steps in the process according to Pastor Shook. These steps are Light, Land Life, Likeness, Leverage and Limits.
Link here: http://www.cwnewz.com/content/view/578/2/
Today I am thankful for so many things. I will be back to record them here (after we eat and chill). What are you thankful for today?
O.k. don’t vote. The election is already over so you missed it anyway. These are great spots about voting and it points viewers to Maps.Google.com/Vote. Very cool.
At Maps.Google.com/Vote you can find your voting location by entering in your home address. It also reminds the web user that they have to register to vote and that the location shown is for the November 4th election day only.
Other cool links:
http://votinginfoproject.org/
http://www.declareyourself.com
http://www.aarp.org/issues/
I am chilling at Panera Bread this morning before my son’s school dedication and award ceremony. He mentioned last night right after baseball that he was supposed to present an award this morning at school. Myra and I had not heard a thing about it but apparently the school was holding a dedication ceremony and presenting an award to W. Lloyd Meador this schools namesake. He was so excited, he looked straight at me and said “you have to be there”.
I am very proud of him. It is interesting how our kids and families help keep us anchored and focused on what is important. Over the past several weeks, some of my best and happiest moments have come from spending time with my family. Thank you God for your reminder of what is most important in this life.
Lloyd Meador Quick Facts from HCNOnline.com
Named in honor of a long-time Willis resident, W. Lloyd Meador Elementary features nearly 45 classrooms and six labs in seven hallways.
Born and raised in Willis, William Lloyd Meador graduated from Willis High School in 1942. His three children, including Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador, all graduated from the school in the top of their class. William Lloyd Meador also served 14 years as a WISD trustee.
Link Here: http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2008/08/28/conroe_courier/news/wisd0828.txt
Yes, we are open for Church services this weekend. Our Church is located just north of Houston, Texas. During the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina($41 Billion in damage) and Rita we had hundreds and thousands of people come across our campus seeking shelter, food, water, restrooms and just a break from the gridlock traffic on I-45 north.
In the past twelve hours Hurricane Ike decided to take a turn pointing directly at the Galveston and Houston area. This morning Pastor Kerry called an emergency meeting and we quickly worked out an action plan for the predicted impact and devastation. We have listed six areas on the website at www.woodlandschurch.tv, we also integrated a church staff text communication process that will allow us to communicate internally regarding action items and updates. You can track with us on the website and also via twitter http://www.twitter.com/woodlandschurch.
Overall the evacuation is going well, much more organized. Mayor Bill White and Houston city officials have done an excellent job with communicating and evacuating appropriate areas. The storm is expected to make landfall early Saturday morning about 1:00am. My grandmother and Aunt have decided to stay at home in League City, Texas. I think they will be fine, but this will be a rough storm to ride out that close to the coast. What’s interesting is that we just move my Aunt Carol from Texas City, Texas (just north of Galveston) here to our neighborhood. Well she is actually staying with us for a couple of weeks until her house closes. Always fun to have a hurricane party!
If you would like to make an impact with us; large or small; you can check out areas where we are focusing relief here: http://www.woodlandschurch.tv/
Related: The Weather Channel
On Twitter: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=hurricane+ike
I just heard the news this morning on the radio KHCB 105.7 here in Houston. Christopher Laurie passed away after an auto accident. Pray for his family and for the church.
Mobile to Web, 10 Commandments of Web Design, Best and Worst, Building brand, iPhone Apps; great posting by Businessweek.com (Innovation section)
Content Clip from Mobile Web Article, Changing the Game
“Mobile Web used to be WAP,” says Matt Murphy, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, the venture capital firm that has started a $100 million “iFund” to develop applications for the iPhone. “Now you have a real browser and a real device. The iPhone is a game-changer.”
“From a design experience perspective, it’s changing the way people view the Web and the value of the mobile Web,” says Kelly Goto, the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based GotoDesign.
Pre-iPhone, says Cameron Moll, principal interaction designer at LDS Church and author of the influential e-book Mobile Web Design, companies typically took one of four approaches to the mobile Web: 1) do nothing and let mobile users scroll their way around sites designed for PC viewing; 2) streamline sites by removing images and styling, making them more manageable for mobile devices; 3) use stylesheets, a tool that allows developers to create different versions of a Web site for different devices; or 4) create an entirely different second site, optimized for mobile users.
Content Clip from Article Ten Commandments from Web Design
1. Thou shalt not abuse Flash.
Adobe’s (ADBE) popular Web animation technology powers everything from the much-vaunted Nike (NKE) Plus Web site for running diehards to many humdrum banner advertisements. But the technology can easily be abused—excessive, extemporaneous animations confuse usability and bog down users’ Web browsers.
2. Thou shalt not hide content.
Advertisements may be necessary for a site’s continued existence, but usability researchers say pop-ups and full-page ads that obscure content hurt functionality—and test a reader’s willingness to revisit. Elective banners—that expand or play audio when a user clicks on them—are much less intrusive.
3. Thou shalt not clutter.
The Web may be the greatest archive of all time, but sites that lack a coherent structure make it impossible to wade through information. Amazon.com (AMZN) and others put their sites’ information hierarchy at the top of their list of design priorities.
4. Thou shalt not overuse glassy reflections.
Apple (AAPL) often sets the standard for slick and cool—in all forms of design. But some experts say the company’s habit of creating glassy reflections under photos of its products has been far too commonly copied, turning the style element into a cliché.
5. Thou shalt not name your Web 2.0 company with an unnecessary surplus or dearth of vowels.
The Web has brought with it a strange nomenclature that’s only got weirder over time. Hip, smart Web sites have been named either with a superfluous number of vowels or strategically deleted ones. Cases in point: Flickr, Smibs, and Meebo. These names are memorable but destined to sound dated.
Link here: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/di_special/20080623webdesign.htm
Excellent topic posted on Shift. This describes what is happening right now in our organization. We are doing so many great things that we fall short at times to keep up with new “shifts” in technology. The part that gives me heartburn is that we recognize that we are missing it – it’s just that our priority and resource balance keeps us in the real world. I know, I know – great excuse, join the club right? Always fun.
Anyway, love it Aaron. Good post.
Link here: http://livingthedash.tv/2008/07/23/shift/
Very nice. This bible hit the top 50 list for apps.
Link Here to download app: http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/
Or watch video here: http://www.vimeo.com/1316381
Online Version of Bible: http://www.youversion.com/
Good stuff.
Do me a favor and check out this world comparison on how rich we are……
http://www.globalrichlist.com/
Ok, now make a list of the people and/or organizations that you supported last month; what are you investing in other than yourself?
If you are like me you probably are spending most of your money on yourself, your immediate family and 10% to your church. Think about the difference between a want a need. Anyway, this a quick discussion with my big sis. She lead me to this site and I thought it would be interesting to look at.
A company doesn’t have to be new to be fast. Our list has centenarians like GE and Corning bumping up against young punks like Baidu and AKQA. The result? A master list of innovators who are reinventing the rules of the change game that is today’s business.
