Archives for posts with tag: ministry

Just to warn you. This is a response to a challenge to define what my BIG DREAM was and if I still had it in me to go for it.  If you don’t know my story this may seem a bit odd but here you go. This is the bullet point version with many gaps but it’s a start.

Part I – Us

I am working daily to clarify my BIG DREAM but as of right now it’s making sure our kiddos know they are loved and that they have a solid foundation for life. To find out how to consistently love my wife Myra in the way she needs. We are both so broken it’s tough sometimes. By broken, I mean we have survived excruciating loss. I’ll have to write a book on all that but trust me when I say broken for us is sometimes best described as a black hole. So the first part of my ‘dream’ is to get ‘us’ right. That’s a huge deal.

Part II – Connected 

I would love to start a “connected” community hub that integrates tech/design/new media & a mentor/relationship with real accountability for people who want to step off a path that leads to nowhere onto a path with possibility. Accountability for personal goals but also measurement for real world – real impact goals.

To underline that while we have this awesome time on Earth we also are a part of a larger plan. We were created to love Him and love others. To share His story of sacrifice for us. He could have come to this earth to destroy us… to punish us… which is what we have seemed to do very well on our own. But He chose to send His son to let us know there is a different choice, even in pain, hurt and wounds — we could still choose to love.

Part III – Discovery

I think my dream is to be what I have always wanted. A real encouraging, loving, friend. The issue, for me at least to is being able to look past my own void and actually be just that. Most of the time I am the exact opposite. Especially to those I love the most. Not cool but true.

That’s a start for me. What’s your BIG DREAM?

Had a great couple of days in Corpus Christi, Texas hanging out with the Bay Area Fellowship Multisite Campus team and wanted to post some of the photos. We toured five out of their eight campuses and all were uniquely setup while offering a consistent BAF experience. Thanks again to John Atkinson, Brandon Cunningham and Joey Davila for being excellent hosts. These guys took a day and a half out of their schedules to give us an excellent multisite experience! Amazing. Check it out via Flickr below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfcinnovation/

Just released a brand new GFC App today to the Android Market. It’s in beta of course so if you find any bugs or weird happenings – leave feedback here on the blog. Also, happy to say that AppMakr.com is meeting our need for mobile content pretty well. It’s great to have a Free option to create and publish mobile apps to test the water and see where and how it would be wise to invest further. I am pretty happy with the solutions for both iPhone and Android. The Android functionality is limited to RSS feeds mostly but allows users to access our streaming media, flickr, blog posts and some social media.

By the way, publishing an Android App is about 1000 times simpler than the iPhone app. Excellent work Google for keeping things simple.

So what’s the cost so far, about 40 hours of my time, $99 Apple Developer Registration fee & $0 zero for Android. Working on publishing the Microsoft Windows version at the moment, invested another $99 App Hub registration fee but should be good to go after another several rounds of inefficient communication with Microsoft =) (Sorry, but if you only knew.)

When designing, developing, drafting a marketing plan or trying to problem solve in general I like to boil things down to the basics and use what is necessary and/or effective. Here is a quick list of the organizations and sites that I have peeked at most this year. Some are simple and some complex. Each of these sites have a different purpose and focus but all do a good job of carving out their own path.

BTW, All of these organizations have something in common — their culture, brand and purpose is clear and well executed. Online and Off.

Ready to rock out a new solution for my church. It’s clean and simple for sure but it needs to integrate better with what’s happening online. We should integrate a GFC blog stream video & text, add a layer over Facebook (API) and even look for a more integrated media toolset to feed the rapidly growing demand for mobile devices. Also, while we are under the hood, ramp up analytics and CRM functionality to improve our connection/communication.

What sites inspired or influenced you this year? Or which did you use the most? Post a link/comment

Build it today, test on your iPhone today. (Release to app store 10 Days)

So I have wanted to build an iPhone app for about a year now and received several cost estimates from excellent companies SubSplash, MobileRoadie and a few others. We will most likely move ahead and invest a bit in the next year for mobile media but before we totally took the plunge I wanted to test just how popular and useful an iPhone mobile app would be.

If you have been looking for a simple way to build and fairly simple way to publish an iPhone app and really don’t want to invest thousands just yet, I would recommend AppMakr. You can design and build straight forward apps pretty quick and if you know some HTML and CSS you can push the functionality a bit.

Building is the easy part actually, it’s connecting and publishing to the Apple iTunes App Store that’s a bit complex, at least at first. I’ll outline that process in a future post. If you don’t want to figure the second part out AppMakr will publish for you at $1,000.00 (each release).

Give it a try, I think you’ll dig it. Here is the direct link to the Grace Fellowship Church app. Released today. Looking forward to checking out the stats. Have fun.

Grace Fellowship Church Paradise, Texas - Live Streaming Services Online

It is crank week at Grace Fellowship Church as we get ready to launch the all new Live streaming of the services! Check it out September 19 at 9:30 & 11:00am. We tested behind the scenes this weekend and the quality looks good so far. The second DSL line is scheduled to be installed this week in order to help with load balance and maximizing bandwidth. We plan on using a simple custom css/php template to run it with chat, live prayer, social media integration and more. The best thing is letting friends, family and new viewers see what Grace Fellowship is all about. It’s a great way to check out the church and see if it is worth visiting but also a great tool for getting the message out across the states and globally.  Stay tuned!

http://live.gfcfamily.com

Also, our temporary page and recent announcement seems to be drawing attention from many sides. Love seeing the different perspectives in the area.

- We are all creative, every one of us.
- Take time to listen, then listen some more.
- Quit thinking about what God has put on your heart — do it.
- Be available, take risks, prepare to “Go Big”. Stop letting yourself stall out.
- Communicate clearly, know who you are communicating with.
- Take time for others. Know their name. That is a start to a new conversation and relationship.
- Fatherlessness is killing the U.S.  What can you do about it? TheMentoringProject.org
- Tell a better story, people are rarely moved by stats and goals but by a STORY. — Donald Miller
- Go Big or Go Home – Help others execute their big vision. Your big vision will come and then you will be ready.
- Have a strategy, a plan, execute it, measure it and revise it. (repeat)
- We are not the hero. Jesus is.

Had a great time at the Echo Conference this year. Met some great people with common vision and goals. Loved sharing thoughts and ideas with peers and hearing from those who are in our world everyday. Love seeing the movement of the church and how it is again becoming less and less about the medium and more and more about the Message.

More about Echo Conference 2010 via Twitter #Echo10, Flickr Echo Conference and Echo site.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Who are your neighbors – do you love them?  If questionable maybe go back and read the first part – “LOVE the LORD your GOD” – with everything you are. Do you love you? Who God created you to be? On a scale of 0 to 10 how much do you really love who you are and the life you have right now? Do you have a clear understanding what you are to do today? Are you right where you are supposed to be – or is it a place that would rank high “In Your Comfort Zone”? Have you stepped out to risk in FAITH?

What are you doing TODAY that takes a large amount of FAITH? Are you still MOVABLE? Would you step out and risk if He asked you to?

If you really want to know where God wants you – I challenge you to journal over the next 30 days – read proverbs and get on your knees each morning and thank God for what he has done in your life then ask him to reveal his plan for you. He made you – YES he has a plan for you. Seriously, just ask. Or if I have totally confused you with this random blog post – feel free to drop me a question. I know any step of FAITH is the best step you will ever take – you will never regret it. Seek Him and you will find Him and you will find you as well.

Download “Movable” art and more for FREE at http://www.creativemyk.com

Resurrection by Rob Bell http://vimeo.com/10639312 // thx @johnotjen

What we can do to help those impacted by recent earthquake:

1. Pray for the people in Haiti.

2. Pray for our pastor of disaster relief Jerry Davis and our team as they go into Haiti and direct our relief effort.

3. Give to the relief effort to provide water filtration systems and other needed relief supplies to the people of Haiti.

Celebrating the Life of Oral Roberts: The Man Who Obeyed God
January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009

Join us online tomorrow for the live stream of Oral Roberts Memorial Services. http://www.orm.cc I am told there will be more than 200,000 people joining in to watch the online service. Amazing.

Here are some quotes from Oral Roberts from his site.

“Expect a miracle!”

“In the midst of the turmoil, the fear, the anxiety that’s in our nation and in our world, as I was walking and meditating, I heard the voice of God. I’ve heard that voice many times; it’s familiar to me, and there’s no way that I can fail to understand it’s His voice because I’m familiar with it.”

“God is a good God, and the devil is a bad devil.”

“Something GOOD is going to happen to you today!”

“God wants you well. God wants you prosperous. God wants you a whole person.”

“God came to take off you what the devil put on you,
To take out of you what the devil put in you,
To put back on you what the devil took off you,
And to put back in you what the devil took out.”

“I respect doctors, and one reason is that they have grasped this eternal truth and are against sickness and for health. Consciously or unconsciously, they have a pretty good theology of healing. Sometimes I wish we Christians had such a good theology of healing. Then we might be less inclined to argue about whether it’s God’s will to heal or not.”

tradeasone

Woodlands Church will be joined by Trade as One September 19th and 20th for a fair trade market. Pastor Kerry and Chris Shook will be interviewing Nathan George, the founder of Trade as One, to learn how our community can make a difference in communities around the world while transforming individual lives and entire families. The Trade as One fair trade market is an extension of our Missions Ministry which is led by Chris Shook.

Trade as One is a fair trade organization that connects American churchgoers to the working poor all over the world. For three weekends, from September 20th-October 4th, Trade as One will be at Woodlands Church, giving everyone in our community a chance to learn more about how we can use our regular spending to bring hope and restoration to some of the darkest corners of the world. Fair trade allows people to give unique, high-quality gifts to family and friends— while giving hope and income to the poor.

http://tradeasone.com/blog/ or http://www.woodlandschurch.tv

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

signup_shoes

Walk the Talk Challenge Info Here: http://bethemessage.com/shoes/

nlip_headerdoggy

The summer internship that is hotter than your mom’s dog. NO LIMITS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM 2009. If that makes no sense to you at all and you still want to jump in and contribute/learn design, marketing or internet (and ministry), begin shopping here: http://www.woodlandschurch.tv/nlip – Apply early and often, three spots go quick. Cya.

Oh yea, be ready to submit your work online. If you don’t have an online portfolio you can upload some images or art to any one of these: http://www.creativemyk.com or http://www.flickr.com or http://www.tumblr.com/.


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blog_motorolalifechurchwoodlands

Still compiling notes from some outstanding talks with amazing leaders this week. To quickly summarize the things that stood out the most are vision, energy, strategy and execution. They all have it, they all live it and they all expect it. If we are going to be effective in the marketplace, ministry or anywhere for that matter – we need to lead. Check out the line-up below, blog posts to come this week.

Part I
Glenn Gienko
Motorola

Executive Human Resources – Retired
Topic: “Leading with Strategy & Integrity” – (Talk plus Q&A – Half Day)

Part II
Bobby Gruenwald, Terry Storch, Craig Groeshel, John Otjen

LifeChurch.tv

Pastors, Digerati & Innovation Team
Topic: “Innovation, Technology, Church Online & More” – (Round table and Tour 2-Days)

Part III
Kerry Shook

WoodlandsChurch.tv

Senior Pastor and Best Selling Author One Month to Live
Topic: “Capturing the wonder of an untamed God.” (Staff Refresh 1-Day)

Stay tuned. Can’t wait. Peace.


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I honestly love the instantaneous feed of life recorded through the Internet and social media. I almost cracked a rib watching this bad boy. Here is a clip of “The John Otjen” rockin out to The Beastie Boys, singing “Sabotage”. It is amazing. Trust me. Or better yet, check it out for yourself:

http://vimeo.com/1058256

I believe the crew in Oklahoma City were throwing a going away party for Aaron Havens who is now living and ministering in Mexico. Props to Aaron who is just following a call; he moved his family into one of the poorest areas of the world to just be Jesus to people. Check out his blog and journey at http://openapologies.org/. Some really cool thoughts and more importantly actions from these guys.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”

Titus 2:11

grace…

Do you stand proud of the kingdom you’ve built?

or

Does this merit an apology?”

My response: I probably have not discovered the level of boldness that Christ had for His Church while he was here on this earth. This life is definitely a struggle. I wonder everyday why it seems so hard to do it well. I too have many apologies to give; but better to live them out than just offer words. I thank God everyday for His favor and grace.

http://openapologies.org/

Myra and I got our tickets to this Friday’s Hillsong United Conference. Pumped about checking out these guys. Watched their television program for the first time a few weeks back. Talk about serious quality. Video, worship, message, style, all of the above; excellent. Justin Keller gave me the heads up a month or so back. Even better, planning on heading out to Australia next year to catch them in their home town. How nice would that be? Ok, maybe I’m just praying to go at this point.

It’s still early, grab your tickets and join us Friday night and all day Saturday. Now we got to get Dave, Stan, Chris and Duncan to head down with us. Ready to check out Carl Lentz from the Wave Church, Virginia Beach, VA, Joel Houston the Creative Director at Hillsong Church, Phil Dooley, Chrishan Jeyaratnam Youth Pastor at Hillsong. The past few years has been an amazing time of learning, new experiences and impact. I thank God that He kicks us in the butt sometimes and let’s us know that we are missing it. We always need  to continue learn, we always must be equally comitted to making an impact in our community and where ever God leads.

Link here: http://www.hillsongunitedconference.com/

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