Sign Wednesday: A blog after my own heart

My mother-in-law, Jan Strimple, sent me a blog to check out. I will have to say during this Thanksgiving season that I am very thankful for my mother-in-law and for blogs like this. It is called Crummy Church Signs. The site is run by Joel Bezaire. I don't know Joel but I would love to meet him someday. We could lament over signs and make fun of really bad marketing. That may not sound like a good time to you but I am sure we would have a blast.

Here are some of my favorite Crummy Church Signs from Joel's site. Keep up the good work Joel.








I am still a big fan of banning all signs like this. Rarely is the information good and always lacks vision.

2 Minute Tuesday: Black Friday (Live Streaming)

Do you go shopping the day after Thanksgiving? I should say the morning after because the doors open at stores starting as early as Midnight. Well here is our little tribute to what is known at Black Friday. Stay tuned for more info later this week where you can watch my brother and I live stream the whole thing. This should be a blast. Enjoy the video.

Ministry Monday: Happy Thanksgiving

I start almost every prayer to God with the words, "Dear God, thank you. . . " Is it a habit or am I truly thankful? I believe it is both. Either way, I can honestly say that I am thankful this Thanksgiving Season. The past several months I have been surrounded by people who are dealing with pain, death, failure, and uncertainty. It is what I call Messy Ministry and sometimes it is hard to see past the suffering and the sin. No matter what happens though I will give thanks. I will continue my best to give hope to those who are having a hard time being hopeful. I will continue to walk that fine line between grace and truth. I will continue to say, "Dear God, thank you. . ."

Join in on being thankful. I know that there is real pain out there. I know that there is real failure out there. I know that there is real suffering out there. Stop though and just say the words, "Dear God, thank you. . ." This is what Thanksgiving is all about.

Tech Thursday: The Future is Voice

I think the future of technology is all going to Mobile Devices. I can't say phones because they are so much more than that. These Mobile Devices will eventually be your all in all communications, credit cards, and gaming centers . It may look like a mini-laptop, netbook, or even iPhone but you will be able to receive phone calls, multitask documents, play games with people all over the world, and even hold your own press conferences on it. It will be harder and harder to get just a phone or just a laptop or just a whatever. It will be a device that is all incompassing.

How will these devices run? I think Google gave us a hint this week. You can read their post about voice activated search here that is available for the iPhone. I truly believe that all programs will have to go this way. Voice recognition software is getting better and better. It is not quite there yet but it will be. And when it is then you won't need a keyboard for very much. You will be able to speak to any program and get it to do what you want. Think about the possibilities. Let's say you are in a design program like Photoshop. You speak to the program and tell it to draw a red circle over a blue square over a green triangle and then ask it to give a gradient to all three and mesh them together at a 45 degree angle. You can say that a lot faster then you can do it. You can say a lot of things faster than you can do it. You mouth and brain work more effeciently than your brain and your hands.

The revolution of touch screens and multi-touch screens are already here. This will eventually get rid of the mouse. I can't wait for the keyboard to go away with the revolution of voice as well. I think we will see this revolution very very soon. Are you ready?

2 Minute Tuesday: Star Wars

For some reason my son Patriot who is 4 is in love with Star Wars now. He hasn't seen any of the movies. He has barely seen the new Clone Wars cartoon. He has played Legos Star Wars on the Wii a couple times and did get a couple light sabers for his last birthday. Anyway, this 2 Minute Tuesday just had to be done on Star Wars so I hope you enjoy it.

Collaboration in Ministry

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you collaborated with a bunch of other people? Well that is what the 4 of us think about collaboration. Thanks to Sam Luce for putting this video together and sharing it at the Pipeline Conference.



Collaboration Video from Sam Luce on Vimeo.

2 Minute Tuesday: NFL

The NFL is just past the midway point in the season and we thought we should let you know who we think will be in the Super Bowl this year. Let me know who you think will be in big game by leaving some comments. Enjoy.

Ministry Monday: Sometimes It's Messy

Have you ever wondered what it is like to do ministry as a profession? I know that many people who read these thoughts of mine are professional ministers but for those of you who are not I just thought I would let you into our world for a moment. The world in which can be messy at times. What do I mean by messy?

Messy is having to go to the hospital to visit a close personal friend who tried to commit suicide and failed.

Messy is sitting down with a Dad who is trying his best to help his son quit looking at pornography.

Messy is coming along side a student who has spina bifida who just broke both of her legs.

Messy is discovering pictures of one of your student volunteers on MySpace doing beer bongs.

Messy is having to have answers at 4 family member's funerals in the last 3 months.

Messy is reaching out to a friend over and over again who keeps falling down.

Messy is having to call all the parents of the 3rd-4th grade boys in your Children's Ministry because of disrespect issues.

Messy is dealing with falling short on more of the needs that you find out about then being able to help.

Messy is navigating a fine line of grace and justice.

These are just some of my messes of ministry. I have talked many times about the perks and the joys that come with being a professional pastor. I have talked about the hope that I have in God and the people that I get to minister around. None of those things change. God still is abundant with mercy and love. There are just some days that you look up and see a mess around you. Those are the days that I call Messy Ministry Days.

Sign Wednesday: Lost in Translation

It is very common for sign makers in countries outside of the United States to use services to translate their language on a sign into English. By now we all know that the world is flat and there is a world economy that is prevalent. This world economy speaks English in most cases and if you are making a sign in Chinese then it might be a good idea to translate that sign just in case someone from another country stops by. Here is what happens though when the service that you use has a server error.



(HT: Tom James)

It is always good to check what you print before you print it. Just a heads up.

Tom also sent me this website entitled Engrish.com. They have some incredible signs that are lost in translation.

2 Minute Tuesday: McCain vs. Obama

Here is how a 2 year old and a 4 year old would answer the hard questions if they were McCain or Obama. Enjoy.

Ministry Monday: 50 Multiplying Leaders

50 Multiplying Leaders. Let that phrase kind of sink in for a minute. What could you do with 50 leaders who are multiplying their gifts, influence, and responsibility? What would you do if you had 50 leaders in your organization, business, or church? If you have 50 leaders right now then how do you support them?

Why do I ask about 50 Multiplying leaders? This is our new goal as a staff at Horizon Community Church. Our vision is to Challenge Leaders to Change the World. Is 50 leaders going to change the world? We think so. What does multiplying mean? It means that theses leaders are helping others along on their faith journey and leading them to Jesus. It means that these leaders are creating new leaders and so forth. How are they going to change the world? By letting others know the life changing message of Jesus. By showing grace, mercy and love.

Where did we as a staff get this new goal of 50 Multiplying Leaders? Last week we went on a retreat and came back ready to advance. Is it possible to get 50 leaders out of a church that averages only 500 people on a weekend? Not if we do it by ourselves as a staff but with God moving in the hearts of our people and we as a staff getting out of their way then yes I believe it can happen.

What is your goal for the next year? Do you have one? Is it tangible? Is it audacious? Is it worth doing?