Tech Thursday: Google I/O Conference

Did you know that Google started their conference yesterday? It is called the Google I/0 conference and it for developers. Of course there has been some big news come out of the conference already. You can read about the Android news here and the App Engine news here. I was following most of the news through TechCrunch.com and Twitter. (Side note: Twitter received another 15 Million in funding putting it's valuation at 60 Million. I hope this money goes to servers and fixes the downtime issues.) Terry Storch had the best tweets about the conference.

The best thing for me though was this story from TechCrunch.com:

With all the thousands of engineers at google, you’d think someone speaks binary. But perhaps not. Attendees of the Google I/O conference today were given t-shirts that, presumably, were supposed to spell GOOGLEIO on the front in binary. Just one problem, the actual message printed spells GOOGLEKO:

G: 01000111
O: 01001111
O: 01001111
G: 01000111
L: 01001100
E: 01000101
K: 01001011
O: 01001111

The “I” that should’ve been in place of the “K” would’ve been 01001001.

If you got one of these, save it. It’s definitely a collector’s item now. I’ll pay $50 for an XL, if anyone’s selling.

Check for yourself here - and remember that upper and lower case letters have different binary spellings. Thanks for the tip Randy.

I am a sucker for clothing and technology and I too really want one of these shirts. T-shirts are just signs that you wear so it all makes perfect sense to me.

Off Topic: Have you been faked?

Did you know that there is a new way to know that you are successful? There is believe me. How do you know? When someone is faking to be you on the net, that's how.

Fake Steve Jobs was a story and a half. Of course there is a bunch of fakes on Twitter. There is FakeSharpton, FakeYouTube, and FakeObama plus many, many more.

But those are not the ones that I made me chuckle. The one that makes me laugh the most is the FakeEdYoung on Twitter. How did I find FakeEdYoung? I am preaching this weekend on how to get over your Identity Crisis and wanted to see what would happen if I searched for "Fake" people on Twitter. Buried on page 10 I found FakeEdYoung. Seriously, this person has nothing better to do with their time then to be a fake preacher. Don't get me wrong, I like Ed a whole lot. I worked under him for 5 years. I still listen to his sermons. I look to him for what is happening next in the church. Still I don't see how this is helping this person or him. Talk about an Identity Crisis. If you can't be yourself and have to be someone else then you are having a really bad day. So to whoever is FakeEdYoung, I hope that you find yourself in the midst of your searching and pretending. I also hope that you don't work at Fellowship Church and Ed finds out. That would be a very bad day.

Now I didn't find any FakeMattMcKee out there but when I do I will know that I have finally become successful. Have you been faked? Of all of my readers I bet you that the one that will be faked first will be either Terry Storch or Tony Mogan. Let's see who does it first. . .

Ministry Monday: Passionate Rest

It is almost 11:00pm. I am getting ready to lay down and go to sleep and this is the first time today that I have really thought about blogging, twittering, or even being on Facebook. Today I was passionate and not about my passions. I was passionate about not being plugged in. It felt good and weird and uncomfortable yet relaxing all at the same time.

Psalm 37:7 says, " Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Sometimes I think about being still as being unplugged. I noticed that I gave more attention to things that I normally don't. I also realized that I don't really have to be plugged in but I really enjoy it when I am.

Are you passionate about your rest? When you have a day off, do you passionate persue nothing and enjoy it? It is fine to be passionate, just make sure that your passion goes both directions or you will get tired really quick. Tired people don't minister very well. Don't let yourself become too tired.

Sign Wednesday: Smokers Beware

Some signs are so good that no words are needed. The following is a mural in a smoking lounge.



I think this is about as bold as you get. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words.

Ministry Monday: The Same Guy

Do you ever feel the pressure to be something your not? You know, you have to act a certain way in this setting compared to another setting. One of my goals in life is to be the same guy no matter where I am or who I am with. No matter if I am preaching on stage or if I am having lunch with a new acquaintance.

Why?

In my past I have been fake. I have lived the double life where you are one person around your Christian friends and another person around your secular friends. I have put on the "I want to impress you with how great I am" face to many times. I am tired of being someone I am not. I want to be honest with myself, my wife, my kids, my ministry, the world.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to be the same guy 10 years from now that I am today. I want to look back and see how much I have grown spiritually, emotionally, and hopefully not that much physically. I want to be stretched, pressured, challenged, and drawn to be a better husband, dad, and minister.

To be the same guy I have to know who I am. Who am I?

I am a Husband: Jessica and I will celebrate 9 years of marriage this coming August.

I am a Dad: Patriot and Azlan are wonderful, frustrating, amazing, tiring boys who I have been blessed with.

I am a Minister: No matter what profession I may do I will always be a minister. I can't help it. Today I am a Pastor to babies, kids, students, youth, and their parents.

I am an Entrepreneur: I have 6 business ideas right now that I would love to get off the ground. Capital and leadership are always the issue.

I am Strategic: even games of strategy interest me. why do something on accident?

I love Marketing: there is something about creating a message that is clear, concise, and catchy.

I love Technology: let me live in a physical world and communicate both physically and digitally and I am happy. Let my toys be digital as well.

I love Sports: any sport, any time. If there is competition than I am in. Beware though that I like to win. I like to watch sports but not women's sports. I am not sexist. I just think that women's sports are boring.

I love Signs: once again an affinity to clear, concise, and catchy

I love naming things: coming up with names of products, services, and brands rock my world

I love reading blogs: I subscribe to and read about 75 blogs a day. I don't read the newspaper.

I love people: making friends is very enjoyable but just to sit and watch people at an amusement part is amazing. I am still amazed by choices that people make.

I love fashion: I watch What Not to Wear and like it. I have more shoes than my wife and I get a rush out of finding really creative shirts.

I like to play poker, card games, craps: again the strategy thing comes in to play. It is not about the money.

I like to travel to other countries: I have spent the night in 9 different countries. The United States are the best but there is so much more out there.

I like to sing: that doesn't mean that I will lead worship or should lead worship. That also doesn't mean that I play an instrument.

I don't like Kid's music: Have people not caught on that kids don't even like kid's music. They like good music and most of the time it isn't being sung by other kids.

I don't like driving the speed limit: don't judge. I know you don't like it either.

I don't like puppets: maybe I have seen them done so poorly that I have a bent or maybe they have run their course.

I don't like grammar: I think if you stick around and read this blog you know this.

Today I am 29 and tomorrow I will be 30: I don't know why I am having a hard time with this but I am.


There you have it. That is just a little bit about me. I am OK with who I am. So if you meet me somewhere here in Cincinnati I hope I am this guy and not someone else. If I am then I have not only done wrong to me but I have done you a disservice as well.

Who are you? If you don't know then how can you be the same guy or girl where ever you go? How can you change who you are if you don't know who you are? How can you help someone else change who they are?

Thanks to Jonathan Cliff for starting this process of writing down who he is and inspiring me to do the same.

2 Min. Tuesday: For Sesame Street

Can I get a little love?

@ Group: Experience Required - Hands-On learning

The opening this session we were given a Candy Land game and a 2 liter bottle. With the instruction of you can't change the bottle in anyway but you have to get the entire game with pieces into the bottle in 25 minutes.

It was an experience that you should try sometime. It is very hard even with lighters, scissors, and other tools.

You learn a lot about yourself and your leadership.
Are you willing to follow?
Are you willing to lead?
Are you willing to fail?
Are you willing to experiment?
Are you willing to not use your idea?


Experiences should be R.E.A.L.

Relational - let your teachings of faith become relational and not just relational with the speaker

Experiential - have the participants experience more than lectures/videos but participate in the lesson

Applicable - if there is not an action for the participant to take away then they won't take action

Learner-based - if I can't understand it then it does me no good


People remember so much more through experience than anything else. The problem is letting people experience things is risky and less consistent. It is also impossible to be perfect but it lets the person take home something that isn't just your teaching but their learning.

@ Group: Safety First - Where are we headed?

What do you currently do to ensure safety?

• Check-in and Check-out
• beepers for nursery
• no adults in children's restrooms
• visitor passes
• evacuation plans
• Code Adam or lock down policies
• background checks
• reference checks
• defibrillator
• cameras in hallways
• security teams with armed guards (officers and volunteers)
• glass doors or open door policies
• nurses/doctors on duty
• 2 people with kids at all times
• accident/incident reports
• CPR certificates
• photo badges
• release forms for pictures taken of kids
• radios for communications
• cleanliness of facility (keeping out clutter in classroom)
• bathrooms in children's rooms
• volunteer training as proactive
• Lead testing
  
• Prayer
  
• There are many more things that have been stated

Are we giving families what they want when it comes to safety?


How many of us take as many precautions on how to teach the Bible and get it in to families lives as we take security?

Brand new source launched today! Check it out!
New Website Alert: http://www.safechurch.com

@ Group: Wired Ministry - Use of Technology to Communicate

Questions:

Why is Wired ministry important?
Perception to the family and kids, it helps us communicate in a new way, it gets us in the home in
a new way, it enhances relationships and not replaces,

What ways do you use technology?
The web (blogs, facebook, twitter, youtube, ect), printing technologies, digital screens, text
messages, e-mail, videos, security, environment pieces, music, satellite campuses

What are the possible issues of being coming to High-Tech?
incorporating it as a relational piece, being a major distraction, security, leaving behind a
generation, becoming more passive, use it to control to much on the basis of consistency,

Where can we go from here?
(you get to add your thoughts here)

@ Group: Family Ministry - What does this look like?

The Opening Questions:

Who was the biggest spiritual influence in your life?
most people are saying Mom, Dad, Grandparent

What changes are you making today to go Green?
organic food, changed light bulbs, driving new vehicles, etc.

How is our culture marketing the importance of going Green?
save money, become famous, your not responsible if you aren't going green, school curriculum,
Earth Day, Arbor Day, fear and guilt tactics, purpose for living, legislation, created a new story,
evoked emotion, worked through the kids, the point was brought home

How is this strategy similar to family ministry?
practical ideas that reinforce that small changes make big difference, purpose for living,
empowered kids, curriculum creation/product creation, create a new story

How are we different and what can we learn from the Green movement?
Green has shown value added principles at every level of involvement and we can do much
better at showing value added principles at every level of family no matter what the family
looks like.


10 things we can do or families can do to revolutionize ministry in the home in 20 years

1. Build intentional relationships with families that aren't involved
2. Community Involvement of the ministers and volunteers
3. Encourage Family Night activities at least once a month
4. Talking points for dinner time
5. Leverage Technology
6. Enjoyable experiences outside of church
7. Communicate the main point at least 3 different ways
8. Create milestones throughout the families life and do them well
9. Take it home events
10. Easy weekly conversation

@ Group: Thoughts from the Plane, The World is Flat

I am officially in Loveland, CO which is just outside of Denver. I got up this morning at 4:00am eastern and arrived in Denver at 7:55am mountain time. While on the plane I got to start reading a book that I have been meaning to read for 2 years. The title of the book is The World is Flat. I am only 137 pages into the 566 pages of the book. Now if you would have asked me up to today if I had read this book I would have told you that I know all of its principals. Which basically means that I have read the Executive Book Summary but not the actual book. So why go back and read the book? One to make my sister-in-law's husband proud of me (not really but I think he will be), and because I enjoyed the summary that much and the book has had that kind of impact on the business world. I also wanted to get in the mindset of learning and thinking and this book makes you do both.

My thoughts/questions so far have been (random but it is how I think):

1. Open-Source Ministry for Preschool, Elementary, Jr. High, and Sr. High.
2. Is it possible to outsource curriculum development to India? Graphics, copy writing, printing.
3. Is for profit to fund not for profit efficient? Would it last without the support of a larger organization?
4. Why is ministry not flatter? How can I help make it flat? How can what I do over the next 3 days propel others to become more flat?
5. How can we utilize each other's strengths so that we can enhance our personal ministries instead of all doing the same work and hurting our ministry to people?
6. Tom Friedman is a very gifted writer. I should learn how to write better.
7. Should I learn how to speak Hindi or Chinese?

There you have it. Before the conference about ministry begins I have to many questions and not enough answers. Of course I do like questions more than I like answers. We will see where this goes from here.

Now back to reading and sending more tweets to Twitter.

Ministry Monday: @ Group Publishing

Okay, so it is not Monday yet but I wanted to give you a heads up on where I will be over the next 3 days. I fly out of DAY at 6:30am (eastern time) and arrive in Denver at 7:34am (mountain time). I am going to be hanging out at Group Publishing with 20 other Children's/Family pastors from around the nation. We are going to be covering or should I say talking about 5 major trends effecting churches today. The 5 trends are:

1. Safety First: Where are we headed?
2. Wired Ministry: Use of Technology to communicate to a Media-Savvy Generation
3. Family Ministry: What does that look like?
4. Experience Required: Hands-on learning for faith discovery
5. Volunteers: Recruiting, equipping, and retaining

I am looking forward to all of them but as you probably guessed already the one I am most interested in is the Wired Ministry trend. The one that I am least excited about is Safety First but who knows.

So what is this conference or as Group would say this conversation? Basically it is a chance to get away and dream, learn, and let iron sharpen iron. Believe it or not I choose this over the Orange Conference. I know, I know, but after reading all of the Children's Pastors and Youth Pastors that were at Orange I feel I was there anyway.

Expect many blog post over the next 3 days and if you want the real inside scoop then follow me on Twitter.

Tech Thursday: A Birthday Gift?

Here is my thought about my next birthday. If I have to turn 30 on May 20th and get ridiculed and made fun of then I should at least tell you what you could get me. So here goes nothing.

There was some very exciting news that came out this past week from a company named Orb Networks. What was the news?

Orb Networks brings you another world's first:
play live TV, Internet TV, and webcams
on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

We've optimized media streaming so it works great over WiFi
and even over AT&T, O2, and Vodafone

Yes you read that right. I could have live TV on my iPhone. Jessica's first question was, "Why do you need live TV?" I said, "Need?" But how cool is it that you can do this?

How does it work?

Here's How

Step 1: On your PC Works on Windows PCs or on Macs running Parallels or Fusion Install the Orb streaming application Create your login and password To watch live TV or a webcam you will need a TV turner card or webcam attached to your PC Need a tuner card? Get the Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 Or get the Diamond XtremeTV PVR 660 Leave your PC on and connected to the Internet so it can stream stuff to your iPhone or iPod touch

Step 2: On your jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch You must have a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch to get OrbLive (Haven't yet jailbroken your iPhone? We like ZiPhone*) Click on the Installer icon in your iPhone app menu Click the Install icon at the bottom Scroll through the list of categories and click on Multimedia Click on OrbLive Click Install at top right Click Install in the popup that appears When the package has installed, go to your iPhone app menu and click the OrbLive icon Enter the login and password you created when you installed Orb on your PC Enjoy!

So for my 30th birthday I want not only a Diamond XtremeTV PVR 660 but I want someone to set it all up for me as well. Is that to much to ask for someone who is turning old?

There you have it. New technology and to much information.

Sign Wednesday: Free Money

This past Saturday I went to the grocery store. I just needed to pick up some stuff for a sermon illustration that I was doing on Sunday. When I came out of the store I saw this sign:



The sign says "Free Money". The bag he is holding has money inside. This kid was not joking. He was giving away Free Money. So what did I do? I gave him more money to give away. I couldn't help myself. I believe that it is better to give than to receive. This guy who wouldn't tell me his name because he was doing this as a class project was trying to figure this concept out. Is it better to give?

Now I stayed and watched for about 5 minutes. The reaction of people passing by was priceless. Most people stopped and ask is it true that he was giving away free money. Some asked how much they could take. Others didn't want to believe him and just walked right by giving him incredibly bad looks for a guy giving away free money. What I was surprised about the most is that no one took all the money at once. I think this was a very interesting experiment. I may even have to try it some day. I think you should try it too and let me know how it went.

I give the guy an "F" for his sign but an "A+" for the idea and boldness to do it. Sometimes it isn't always about the sign. Yes I just wrote that.

Ministry Monday: Sunday Highlights

Do you ever have those days where you are running from one thing to another? I had that day yesterday. I got to lead communion for the adult worship service, do announcements, and set up the guest speaker. After I got off the stage I rushed over to Junior High and preached.

Why do I like being busy? I think it makes me feel more important. I really know that if I am not busy it doesn't make me any less important but there is something about people counting on me that I really like. Speaking of really liking something. . . I really like to preach. Even if it is only a 4-5 min. snippet that sets up communion I just feel comfortable. I also like the challenge of speaking to adults and then turning right around and speaking to teens. The mental hurdles really challenge me. I know this isn't normal but it is me.

After saying all of that I don't believe those were the highlights of yesterday. That is what happened but nothing spectacular. The highlights were:

• Having 2 different people come up to me after the service and tell me that I should start my own church (strange but true. I don't know if that was a compliment or not.)
• Having a junior high kid tell me that he was challenged by my honesty
• Having a parent trust my judgment about sending her kid to camp
• Having 18 kids stay after church to practice leading worship for elementary
• Having a business guy tell me that he is going to join our Bible study and he has never read the Bible
  

As much as I like being on stage and having the spot light on me I truly enjoy people being touched more. I love seeing kids serve. I love seeing junior high kids challenged. I love seeing business guys get out of their comfort zone. These are the ways that I really enjoy seeing God move.

What were your highlights yesterday? What ways do you like to see God move?

Kentucky Derby

I am a Kentucky boy born and raised. I have been to the Kentucky Derby and enjoy going to go see the horses run every year. I did not go this year but hope to make it back very soon. You don't have to bet to enjoy a great day at the track. There is just something beautiful about horses. I heard a sports talk radio host call the Kentucky Derby a rich man's NASCAR. I found that very funny. Anyway, by now you know that Big Brown won the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Congratulations to an incredible horse. This truly is one of the best horses I have seen in a long time. Believe me when I say that horses should not be able to run away from the pack like he did. I hope he wins the Triple Crown. It is about time that a horse did.

But that is not the point of this post. I have a huge question to NBC or anyone else who gets to show the race. Why in the world do you not show the other 7 or 8 races of the day? Did you know that there are a bunch of other races on the day that the Kentucky Derby is run? Why in the world do you think that people sit there all day and drink Mint Juleps? I mean you don't have to give it as much pomp and circumstance as the Derby but it would be nice instead of seeing Bob Costas for 2 hours getting his hair blown out of sorts. In fact some how the airing of the Derby doesn't show any other horses at all. It makes the Derby experience look really boring. It is not boring at all. 150,000 people don't show up for 2 minutes and alcohol.

I mean think about it. It would be like showing up to the nicest restaurant pay $90 a plate for the chef to choose what you are going to eat that night and all you are given is a shot of turnip soup. That is what watching the Kentucky Derby on TV is like. So please, if you can, please change it. Let us see the other races. Let us see the beauty of the other horses.

Tech Thursday: Exciting, Strange, and It's about time

Here are the things that I am excited about in the tech world today:

• You can place a TV ad by using Google. Their stock is up 13 points because of that announcement.
• Facebook has it's own instant messenger. Nice interface and easy to use. Doesn't integrate yet.
• I have updated Twitter 70 times since last week. I am addicted.
  

Here is something that was sent to me by Andy Ribaudo that is very strange:

You can turn your Mii from your Wii into a doll for $75.



Who is buying this?


And the thing that I think is about time is:

iTunes is going to be able to sell movies the same day they hit DVD. Seriously why did it take this long.