Archive for March, 2008

Woohoo! Just got word this past week that I won a premium Wordpress theme from ithemes.com. Many thanks to Ian Stewart over at themeshaper.com for the contest. All you had to do was…

Just let the community know what you think the next WordPress default theme should be like. All you have to do is leave a comment here with your great idea or ideas. Any idea is fine. You don’t need to be a theme developer, all you need is an opinion. Not enough room? Write a post on your own blog outlining your ideas (and to make sure I find it, leave a comment here with a link to your post). The three best ideas/proposals, as judged by iThemes and ThemeShaper, will be awarded the prizes. If we think they’re good ideas, you win! Simple.

A couple of thoughts about this process…

1. Commenting on blogs is important. For reasons that I’ve listed before, I prefer having interaction with readers and authors. There are only a couple of blogs that I read that disallow commenting. The authors’ reasons for doing this (for the specific two I refer to) are to enable them to focus on quality content. My contention, however, is that content is augmented and enhanced by the comments of others. It also allows readers to feel more ownership and to feel like they’re contributing to that particular blog’s community.
2. If I hadn’t commented, I wouldn’t have won.
3. There is network value in blog participation. Readers who see my/your comment on someone else’s blog – if it is an insightful or significant one – will often swing by your site to see who you are/what you’ve written. Every now and then, one of those will become a regular reader of your own site.

Here was my contribution to the contest:

I think the next theme should be able to teach beginning users of Wordpress more about the basics of Wordpress. Rather than simply clicking on the theme, I think it would be awesome if the next them contained a mini database of Wordpress how-to’s that the user could peruse at his own leisure.I also think the header should be more customizable. I’d vote for something like Derek Punsalan’s Grid Focus.

I threw it out as a kind of pie-in-the-sky idea. Anything that could be built into Wordpress to facilitate an easier blogging experience for beginners is better for all of us. I’ve been blogging for more than two years – regularly – and although my blog hasn’t ever hit the “big time,” I do consistently hear from friends, colleagues, former classmates, church members and others that I wouldn’t hear from otherwise.

I began on Typepad, fell in love with the discipline of writing and the generation of a network that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Blogging has enabled me to begin several online friendships, build a better business network and meet some really sharp pastors and Christian leaders from across the globe as a result of blogging.

My idea about making the next default theme of Wordpress a built-in tutorial for bloggers would make an immense contribution to the blog world. It would make it easier for others jump into the global conversation. Some of you out there who have always been readers to this point have wonderful things in your head. You might not ever be a daily blogger, but perhaps your weekly or monthly contribution to your own blog would generate its own following.

So Wordpress gurus out there, please give this idea some thought. The Wordpress Codex is a great contribution and resource, but it’s generally difficult to navigate unless you know what you’re looking for. At present, you need to be able to speak “Wordpress” or php in order to find what you need. A more user-friendly introduction and walk-through would be a wonderful help for us all.

Thanks to those over at themeshaper.com who left encouraging and kind comments about my idea as well. Digg it. Who knows? It might catch on.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve used several sites to test out their lifestream capabilities. You can see some of them in other entries in this series. However, I wanted to comment on three in particular here: FriendFeed, Plaxo, and MyBlogLog.

Each of the three are able to take the different social networks you use and compile them into one RSS stream. You can see the result in the image below from my Plaxo feed:

Of those three, I would say that Plaxo and FriendFeed do the best job. MyBlogLog kept missing things, inexplicably. Also, with the first two, you can actually subscribe to this compiled RSS feed so that friends and family who have no life and want to live vicariously through you can subscribe to your lifestream feed from one of these services.

I continue to use the Actionstream plugin to pull my various feeds into my column on the right, but I suppose I could simply pull in one of the feeds from these two services above, rather than enter all the different feeds individually in the plugin. I am also using the RSS Stream plugin to generate the feeds on this page.

I’ve yet to decide which service I’ll use the most. I find myself using Plaxo to help sync my contacts the most – it works great with Mac Address Book. Google has yet to develop a nice lifestream or a way to sync contacts with the Mac well, or I would probably be using it because with BusySync (review to come later), I can now sync my Google calendars with my iCal from either end.

I think there’s a lifestream race on at the moment. The service that compiles all of these features into one of easy integration with your computer and portable device will win out. (Hello, iPhone?)

Oh, and of course, there’s Tumblr…

Fonzie from Happy Days used to dispense “Sit on it” as if it were a prescribed medication for overactive teenagers. Spoken in the midst of an exasperating situation, the leather-coated royalty of cool would command, “Sit on it!” and all in earshot would respond immediately.

I began reading Andy Stanley’s Visioneering this week, and only two chapters in, I am enjoying it immensely. It’s probably the first book on vision-casting that I’ve read many moons. Of course, I’ve read dozens – many of them by vision architext Aubrey Malphurs. back in the late 80s and 90s, a corporate or organizational vision was the surefire way to get us all out of the mess we were in.

Things have settled down since then, mostly because company presidents, pastors, CEOs and others realized it wasn’t enough to have a pithy vision statement scrawled on marble, letterhead or church walls. Simply having a vision didn’t direct, implement, or assist anyone in pursuing a preferred future.

Visioneering was written on the tail-end of the vision rush (compare to the Gold Rush). Authors, motivational speakers, leaders and pastors exhausted the vision vein at the end of the 90s, not because vision had been tried and found lacking, but more often because vision tried us and found us lacking – in energy, commitment, resources, tenacity and old-fashioned follow-through.

Stanley’s book offers a much-needed corrective to the jump-on-the-bandwagon folks in chapter 1. Got a vision? he asks. Sit on it.

“The truth is… that a clear vision does not necessarily indicate a green light to begin. In fact, I have witnessed a good many people with what seemed to be God-ordained visions charge out of the starting gates too early. And the result is always the same. Failure. Discouragement. Disillusionment.

A vision rarely requires immediate action. It always requires patience.”

The rest of the chapter is devoted to what happens in us and through us as a vision is allowed to percolate. Perhaps the best storage for a vision is a crock pot.

I’ll try to share more on vision as I digest this excellent resource. I know many of you have already read the book, but if you haven’t pick it up used off of Amazon, and join me in this feast of future thinking.

Midnight For Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King)

by Jenny Nimmo

I have seen these Charlie Bone books occupying bookshelves for a few years now. I heard they were disappointingly similar to the Harry Potter books. Since I’ve completed the Potter series, I decided to give the first one a try.

A young boy discovers he has magical powers. His discovery produces family conflict. He is sent to a school for other kids with magical powers where he engages in heroic deeds and brings the book’s plot to a satisfying conclusion. Nope, it wasn’t Harry. Neither was Hogwarts the destination. Try Charlie and Bloor’s Academy.
After completing the book, I had one of those senses of strange verified entitlement. Everything I’d heard was true. After book 1, the CB series is a knockoff of the success of the HP series. It’s rare that such rumors and cultural whisper prove true.

Yet… I found myself engaged in the fresh storyline, and before book’s end, I had chuckled a few times and become engaged with this new cast of characters, plot twists and personalities.

I’ve ordered book 2… off of the used list at Amazon. (Local library didn’t have 1 or 2). I’m willing to give this series another chance in the second book.

See more about Midnight For Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King)

I’ve been selected (actually, I asked to be included, and I was!) to be an author for the Age of Conversation 2008! I’ll be writing about the topic “Life in the Conversation Lane.” The first edition has been released, but wait until March 29 to buy it. The publishers and authors are hoping to make a statement at Amazon.com and are staging this day as a “bum rush.”

Here’s the details about last year’s release:

If ideas are the currency of our times then this is, undoubtedly, the Age of Conversation, for without the art of dialog, the cut and thrust of debate and discussion, then the economy of ideas would implode under its own heavy weight. Instead, the reverse is true. Far from seeing an implosion, we are living in a time of proliferation — ideas build upon ideas, discussion grows from seeds of thought and single headlines give rise to a thousand medusa-like simulations echoing words whispered somewhere on the other side of the planet. All this — in an instant. In what began as a half dare, the editors, Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan challenged bloggers around the world to contribute one page — 400 words — on the topic of “conversation”. The resulting book, The Age of Conversation, brings together over 100 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators in a ground-breaking and unusual publication.

I’m delighted to be able to contribute to the new edition of this book, and all of us authors would like to ask your help in getting the word out about the first book to generate support and a base for this next work in progress (ideas here). The theme for the new book will be “Why don’t they get it?” – it’s sure to generate some interesting and engaging contributions in an election year with everything from environmental issues to the writer’s strike to new media forms.

So stop by Drew’s blog and check out the continuing development of the book, and I’ll also keep you updated here. Oh, and be kind and grab a copy of this year’s book – on March 29th. If you buy the sequel when it’s released, I’ll be glad to autograph my page for you! ;)

The 275 co-authors and their blogs (talk about link love!):
Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Han****, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, R.J. Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

The Fifth Discipline

by Peter M. Senge

It’s been a while since I chewed on this much at one time in a book. Recommended in a Catalyst podcast by Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, I knew that I needed to digest the book. Stanley said that the leaders of his church went through the book together when they were in the pre-planting days for North Point as a way to try to understand “systems thinking.”

He said something to the effect that once your organization starts rolling, you get consumed with people, issues, problems and the like and if you don’t have the proper perspective on how organizations and people work – aka a systems perspective, you will always be responding to crises and events rather than seeing the whole picture.

His promotion of it sold me.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The book definitely isn’t a “light” read – it took me almost two months of steady chewing to work through it all. (We bought copies for our leadership team as well, but I’ve not heard a peep of evaluation from any of them except my copastor). Although it is a different kind of reading than I’m used to, I thoroughly enjoyed being stretched in this area. I actually found myself being deeply fascinated by organizational behavior theory.

You can imagine all the immense practicalities for a pastor being well-versed in helping an organization see the big picture, make decisions with the long view in mind and addressing problems and issues with the entire “system” as a reference point, rather than that particular problem at that particular time.

Doing systems thinking means becoming a “learning organization.” It’s a group of people all committed to the truth of where their organization is/isn’t and working from there with a broad, compelling vision as their reference point and goal.

The author, Peter Senge, shares the “laws of the Fifth Discipline” in chapter 4 as being:

1. Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions. Basically, he means that all the stuff that an organization struggles with today is simply the delayed consequences of decisions made in the past. Most of those decisions were simply addressing symptoms of larger problems rather than seeking to address the larger issues.
2. The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back. Senge refers here to “feedback loops” and reinforcing processes that are a little difficult at first to understand. However, I think I began to interpret this as simply – “It took you a while to get in this situation; the organization ain’t gonna fix itself by your first feeble efforts overnight.”
3. Behavior grows worse before it grows better. When you begin making strategic decisions that are truthful and right for the organization, things will probably continue bumping along as they have been for a while, with the same problems. Of course, you now have the additional stress of new direction and the pressure of “will it work?” Most “right” decisions and systems-thinking-inspired ones will take a while to begin to show results. Be patient.
4. The easy way out usually leads back in. There are dozens of illustrations from a business context throughout the book that illustrate this point. Typically, we just want things to “get better” – and NOW! However, the temptation for a quick fix in these instances does nothing to promote health for the organization. Don’t choose the easy way out; it will just compound your problems and make it more difficult later – if there is a later.
5. The cure can be worse than the disease. Ouch. Ever had cancer? Case in point. Treatments like chemotherapy basically almost kill you in addition to the rogue cells in your body. Truly addressing deep, root organizational issues can be extremely painful.
6. Faster is slower. This does’t sound very affirming because we all want to see immediate results, don’t we? However, the author urges leaders not to become discouraged. The end result takes hard work on the front end, but moving your organization to a systems perspective enables synergy, productivity, and unity in the long run.
7. Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space. This is probably one of the biggest downers in all of life. If consequences happened immediately after making great or stupid decisions, we’d all be rich.
8. Small changes can produce big results – but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.
9. You can have your cake and eat it too – but not at the same time. If you persist in leading your organization toward a vision-oriented and long-range perspective, you’ll enjoy both harmony in relationships and immense productivity (in the business world = profits) later.
10. Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants. Senge uses the elephant illustration to help us see that most American organizations (including churches and non-profits) tend to try to address problems and issues by isolating them. “Let’s form a committee/team and study this…” This tends to cut off part of the elephant. It prevents you from seeing the whole beast/issue. Every part of the organization affects every other part (sounds like 1 Corinthians 12, doesn’t it?), so decisions must be made with the entire “elephant” in view.
11. There is no blame. This is a refreshing rule for systems thinking. Rather than blaming “someone” or “them” or even a competitor, this rule helps us to remember that we’re the problem. “There is no outside… you and the cause of your problems are part of a single system.” It’s all within the organization and the systems in place (or not) to respond to and deal with issues, problems, successes, backlogs, etc.

I particularly enjoyed the chapter on “Personal Mastery” in which he describes the qualities necessary for a leader of a learning organization to pursue. The chapter on “Mental Models” is one of the best about studying worldviews because he addresses such a heady topic in a very readable fashion. It was in this chapter that some very practical ways of dealing with folks who “don’t see it your way” are shared, including some tips for “advocating your own view.” In fact, all the chapters in this section of the book called “Core Disciplines” were excellent. The other two were “Shared Vision” and “Team Learning.”

While I know that most of my readers will not rush out to purchase this book, I would encourage any leader of an organization to digest this book and do it slowly. Make it a goal over a year’s time span to chew through it. You’ll be glad you did.

One practical thing anyone can take with them after skimming through the book is simply this: It’s not just about you. Learn to fit in, submit, discover your unique contributions, listen diligently, and make decisions that are best for the long haul – not on what would make you feel good right now.

See more about The Fifth Discipline

Preaching the Cross (Together for the Gospel)

by Mark Dever

Four preacher-friends have come together not only to form a new ministry alliance but now have also written their first book. Mark Dever, CJ Mahaney, Al Mohler and Ligon Duncan III are from different churches and ministries, but together they have founded Together for the Gospel, a ministry seeking to defend and proclaim the Christian gospel.

Their book about preaching also includes contributions from John Piper, RC Sproul, and John MacArthur, all of them renown biblical scholars and teachers.

The 7-chaptered table of contents looks like this:

• A Real Minister: 1 Cointhians 4 – Dever
• Preaching Christ from the Old Testament – Duncan
• Preaching Christ with the Culture in View – Mohler
• The Center of Christian Preaching: Justification by Faith – Sproul
• Preaching as the Expository Exultation for the Glory of God – you guessed it, – Piper
• The Pastor’s Priorities: watch Your Life and Doctine – Mahaney
• Why I Still Preach the Bible after Forty Years in Ministry – MacArthur

The appendix contains a Together for the Gospel declaration of faith separated into doctrinal categories, or articles. You can learn a lot about why they wrote and what they’re concerned about by reading the appendix first. For example:

We affirm the centrality of expository preaching in the church and the urgent need for a recovery of biblical exposition and the public reading of Scripture in worship.
We deny that God-honoring worship can marginalize or neglect the ministry of the Word as manifested through exposition and public reading. We further deny that a church devoid of true biblical preaching can survive as a Gospel church.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters by Piper, Mahaney and Mohler. At times, I felt like Dever, MacArthur and Mohler were more mad than instructional. Their barely-disguised angst is directed at preachers and current Christian leaders who they describe as being market-driven and cultural-adopters rather than being informed and directed by God’s Word. Perhaps a re-read of the book might change this impression, and I certainly wouldn’t want that observation to keep you from reading it, because the book is definitely a great resource.

Any pastor/teacher/preacher needs to digest the material slowly. Much of it is a steak meant to be chewed slowly and thoughtfully. I agree with the overall assessment of the book that preaching in America today has suffered a serious decline as more and more churches and their leaders turn to a type of communication that is more intended to draw and keep crowds than it is to mature, grow and equip the body of Christ for God’s glory.

I had the blessing of growing up in churches where deep exposition was present, and I teach/preach that way today out of conviction. I too affirm that God’s Word is inherently powerful, and if you present it, interpreted rightly, to God’s people, then God’s Spirit will ensure that it doesn’t return to Him without accomplishing its purpose.

Many of the authors seem to be addressing the emergent movement as much as they are seeking to inform the reader. Especially in MacArthur’s chapter where he has several references to pastors who are practicing the opposite of what he would recommend.

He has strong words for those Christian leaders who follow a market-driven strategy of church growth rather than simply teaching and preaching the totality of God’s Word.

There have always been men in the pulpit who gather crowds because they are gifted orators, interesting storytellers, entertaining speakers, dynamic personalities, shrewd crowd-manipulators, rousing speechmakers, popular politicians, or erudite scholars. Such preaching may be popular, but it is not necessarily powerful. No one can preach with power who does not preach the Word. And no faithful preacher will water down or neglect the whole counsel of God. Proclaiming the Word – all of it – is the pastor’s calling.

What he mean by “the whole counsel” is simply every verse and chapter. He notes a distrubing tendency of pastors today to create series, self-help focuses, and other “sermonettes for Christianettes” that never progress through a single New Testament or Old Testament chapter. It’s a constant pulling-out-of-context approach to address topics that they feel like should be addressed. This is in contrast to expository preaching which seeks to allow the text to speak for itself. The latter requires careful study to determine context, authorial intent, historical background, and the principles being communicated.

All in all, the book has much to offer. Although relatively short, it has several profound implications for today’s church and preaching.

See more about Preaching the Cross (Together for the Gospel)

I’ve been trying out four different lifestream plugins and wanted to offer a review of them. The four I tried are SimpleLife, RSS Stream, Lifestream Manager, and Actionstream. The picture below is how each showed up in a page created for them in my theme.

• Simplelife… It’s implementation was buggy and gave me the following crazy stuff in the plugin window. Too plain for me, but it did work right after I activated and created a page template with the proper code in it (but I’d like to see simple code copy and paste).
• Tried RSS Stream… I really like how you can customize the icon in the added feeds. It has some built in, but I added icons for Tumblr and Youtube. It was through this plug-in that I realized I could simply do Tumblr and Youtube, and that would cover my whole lifesteam… Come to think of it, if I import my Youtube feed into Tumblr… The RSS-Feed interface was the most user-friendly. B
• Lifestream Manager plugin by Chris J. Davis was relatively easy to set up, but I couldn’t get the icons to show up properly. I DO like how the backgrounds to each service are colorcoded. You can also do this with SimpleLife manually in the options window, but I could never get it to work. It’s not supported by the author any longer. Here’s another link to the plugin with some more information. C+
• Actionstream plugin is the one I’m currently using. Download and easy instructions here. The author has been extremely helpful and responsive in dealing with some setup issues. However, now all is working well, and you can see the Lifestream it generates in the column to the right. The icons from each service show up well, but not in my page. B+

I fully expect more development on all of the above as Lifestreaming becomes more popular. I think you’ll also see some newer plugins created as well. Features I’d like to see automatically included are:

1. automatic icon insertion (with option to create your own) for imported feeds
2. feed import by user name rather than feed address (with option for feed address for non-supported services or blog entries)
3. checkbox inclusion for services (much like Hellotxt.com)
4. smart importation (if my Twitter status and Facebook status are the same, import only one or include icons from both?)
5. thumbnail display for services like Flickr and Youtube

BTW: In reviewing this and deactivating the plugins I’m not using, I discovered that it was the SimpleLife plugin that had caused my InSeries plugin to stop working. Users be aware.

I’ve switched to a new Wordpress theme called Wp-Poloroid by Adii after much tweaking. I think I’m going to really enjoy using it for the next several months. I loved the Grid-Focus theme I was using by Derek Punsalan, but like all designers, I was ready for a change.I’d love to hear your thoughts and input on the new look. Any feature suggestions? 

I am completely sold on hellotxt.com. I’ve been using it for the past three days, and have had no issues with it at all. It does exactly what it says. With one entry, I can update ALL of the following services with a single click: Twitter, Pownce, Facebook, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Plaxo.

That’s pretty amazing! Gone are the days of updating Facebook when I happen to be on it (which is more and more these days) and a random Twitter from my cell while I’m on the road. Now I can send the same status update to all services (if I wish). The only thing that is a small hitch is for my Tumblr blog which I have set to import updates from many of these. Unfortunately, now it means that the same status is duplicated for them. Where before my Facebook status was different from my Twitter status, now they’re the same (unless I choose to simply send it to a specified selection of the above services rather than all of them).

I can heartily and highly recommend this fantastic service!

It’s going to be the big net buzzword of 2008, I predict. Lifestream. Ooooooo. Say it again. “Lifestream.” Sends chills down your mouse, doesn’t it?

Let me describe this for you if the concept isn’t familiar to you. In today’s net-world, many folks have all kinds of services that they use to post pictures, update their status, check their news, etc. Each time you update your status over at Facebook, Twitter, Jaiku, etc., you’re leaving a footprint. Some would argue whether all of it is a waste of time. However, it’s becoming a significant way that people can keep up with their friends and family without having to call and say, “Hey… what are you doing?”

According to wordspy.com:

lifestreaming n. An online record of a person’s daily activities, either via direct video feed or via aggregating the person’s online content such as blog posts, social network updates, and online photos.
—lifestreamer n.
—lifestream v., n.

Privacy issues aside, the concept of Lifestreaming comes into play when you attempt to collect all these multiple footprints and internet tracks into one location. Imagine being able to go to your friend’s blog or Lifestream page and in one place get an idea of recent news, happenings, status updates, pictures, videos, etc. Rather than spending ridiculous time coasting between Flickr, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and the like, you are able to see it all at one time. Attractive?

Well, there are several lifestream services that have now sprung up, and I’m in process of testing out a few. So far, they include Friendfeed, Iminta, and Spokeo. Of course, I’ve been using Tumblr for quite a while now, and I still think it has the friendliest interface and most easy to use and attractive way to display all your feeds in a blog style. (You can see my Tumblr here.)

Also, you can stop by the excellent Lifestream Blog to get an idea of what is possible with this concept. In addition, here are a few bloggers who have already begun to implement lifestreaming into their personal blogs:

• Pras Sarkar
• Mark Krynsky (also authors the Lifestream blog)
• Chris Davis
• Adactio

In addition, ReadWriteWeb has composed a monster list of 35 Lifestreaming tools.

Hopefully my next step: install a Wordpress plugin into my blog that will create a lifestream in a sidebar or separate page for the insanely curious.

What makes Lifestreaming so significant is best summed up in a paragraph over at Logic+Emotion:

But here’s what I find really interesting about Lifestreams. What the visual here shows is that our streams do have a source. Us. Network aside—it’s the individual that produces a stream of data whether it be media, text or other. And what’s becoming increasingly important is the array of multiple digital platforms that we use to create the streams. Most of the aforementioned platforms have some type of mobile support. Add advances in technology like the iPhone and the increasing pervasiveness of wireless digital networks and you’ve got the perfect storm. Soon, most participants will be looking for ways to make sense out of there multiple streams—not just the early adopters like Rubel.

I truly like the idea of being to keep up with some of my friends and colleagues in this way. It’s kind of a relational Ciffnotes. One glance at a person’s lifestream can say a lot and provoke a well-timed phone call or encouraging email. It also has a lot of potential from the other side too – imagine being able to simply post in one place, and a website take care of updating your status in all the sites that you use… (Can you say hello.txt?)

Stay tuned as I continue on the search for lifesteaming and streamlining our internet experience. Less is more, while more is… well, more.

Speaking Wednesday night at UAM’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry was the second week in a row that I’ve had the joy and privilege of sharing in front of college students. Last week, I spoke on a panel with several friends I served with in collegiate ministry at the HSU BCM. That makes two weeks in a row of speaking to college students.

With spring break only a few days away, the UAM BCM is preparing to take 8 students to Hungary and four others are headed to aid Union University in Jackson, TN with tornado relief efforts. College students across the state are mobilizing to go “there” to carry the message of Christ and to actively serve others in whatever capacity is most needed.

It’s one thing that I miss about serving as a collegiate minister. College students, when touched and inspired by the Lord, are uniquely able to “go.” They are ready simply to “get the job done.” After working in a church – even a new church as ours is – for the past five years, I see too often in my life and our members a quick hesitancy to respond quickly to God’s activity. We seem to become masters of delay the more “mature” we become.

Objections are raised as to why something may not “make sense” or when things are not “rational.” Now, that’s not to say AT ALL that faith is not rational. You do not need to check your brains at the door of the church. However, too many of us use twisted logic to excuse ourselves for responding personally to God’s call upon our lives.

Excuses like…

• We can’t afford to give.
• God wouldn’t want us to suffer.
• I just don’t have time.
• What would we do with the kids?
• Who would watch our house?
• There are people around here with just as many needs.
• I don’t feel called.

… and the list goes on and on.

This is not to imply that collegians don’t have objections and twisted logic. In fact, they raise many of these same issues and also can get extremely creative with their excuses. However, I have always been profoundly impacted to stand before a group of college students and see them respond passionately and immediately to needs and ministry.

You may recall that Caro and I went to Passion 08 in Dallas in January. (I went the first night and then lay in the hotel with the flu the rest of the weekend). During the conference, the leaders told of the tornado’s devastation of Union University. “Poor” college students responded by buying clothes and surrendering their own during the weekend. A 26 ft. truck was filled with their donations and driven to the campus!

In addition, over at the Passion blog, Louie Giglio reports about the Dallas event:

The students brought 3700 towels and 17800 pairs of socks for shelters throughout the Metroplex. They gave $18,992 to build over 6 wells for African villages, and $80,040 to help make a Passion event in Seoul possible in October! WOW! And do you want to hear something really cool? Someone who was there Saturday night offered to double the number of wells AND the Seoul offering before knowing the totals. We haven’t seen the check yet, but when it comes that will mean 12 wells and $160,080 for Seoul!

Last year at Passion 2007, the Do Something Now campaign was unveiled with a $500,000 challenge to collegians. They met and surpassed that goal by doubling it – more than $1 million raised! (Go here for details!)

With all that said, you might want to check out the exciting news about a budding campus revival taking place at UAM. Would that all our churches begin to see folks respond as quickly, passionately and dramatically as college students to the joyous opportunity of extending God’s glory.

I said when the Mac Mini’s were first introduced that Apple should convert the Mini to being a video gaming system. The power, portability and form factor were stunning and had wonderful potential for that. We never saw it come to fruition. However, I truly think a Mac Mini-ish gaming system would quickly replace at least the PS3 and later the Xbox 360 as the gaming system of choice… if Apple wanted to head that direction.

However, with the iPhone SDK out and developers typing away for new software, it appears that the iPhone may be positioned to take over the mobile gaming market?

I just don’t think so. I like buttons. Those are conspicuously absent on the iPhone. I’ve tried to play some NES roms on my jailbroken iPhone, and it’s just not very satisfying punching the screen where the virtual controller resides. No feedback. No “clicky” sound.

I do think it will be a big hit, and some games will obviously do well. I just don’t share the same thought as a recent writer over at 9to5mac.com had:

Apple’s iPhone will become one of the world’s leading mobile gaming platforms, as games developers worldwide make plans to deliver titles for the platform, now the iPhone 2.0 SDK (beta) has been made available. Like RIM with its Blackberry in the enterprise market, Sony, Nokia and other manufacturers creating mobile gaming devices (such as the PSP or Java-enabled mobile phones) face a tough battle as Apple makes its biggest move yet into the gaming market. Gamers can look forward to a wide selection of titles come June when the iPhone is finally enabled for third-party applications. Developers Feral Interactive, Artificial Life, Sega, iD Software, Gameloft, Aspyr, Freeverse, and Pangea Software have all confirmed hopes to deliver games for the platform.

Harmony Church in Greenville, North Carolina has a clean, simple and nicely-designed church website. As a recent church start (within the last three years), it lists the following as their core values:

1. The Good News – Jesus came for us, died for us, and rose for us. Everything we do centers around Jesus and this message.
2. Scriptural Authority - The Bible was written to inform us about Jesus and to reveal Him as Savior and King.
3. Kingdom Community - We serve King Jesus and live as He has taught us to live in community.
4. Cultural Redemption - Jesus, as Creator, made us creative as well. Therefore, we rejoice in beauty and in art that reflects redemption.
5. Spiritual Discipline - Because we remain human when Jesus saves us, we must keep ourselves focused on Him through prayer, fasting, and other disciplines.

Led by Derek Brown, I especially like how the leaders of the church actively maintain individual blogs that are easily linked at the bottom of most of their website pages. In addition to that, there’s just not a lot of ways to get “lost” in the site, as in other church websites I’ve been to that seem to key on overload more than simplicity. One thing I’m partial to in a site is a well designed footer, or bottom, of the page. I don’t know why, but when I’m scrolling down (if a site has drawn me in…), I like seeing a “strong finish.” Most sites just kind of taper off… However, Harmony has great, interesting content and direction in their footer that’s appealing.

A quick trip to the “Community” tab reveals a distinct and clear vision: “to make Christ famous.” I liked their concise and compelling mission statement that involved the words love, live and echo:

We see a community of people that love God and people, live intentionally in the Kingdom of Christ, and echo this way to others around them.

I think one thing that would be an immense help to them is the addition of a “History” link – perhaps under their “About” tab. I (and I think other visitors trying to learn more about Harmony) would like to know more about how they started, who they’re connected with (if anyone) and a little more background on their leaders. What is provided is just not enough to pull me “in.” (although I may be a hard “sell”)

I really think that they could combine the information under their “Community” and “About” tabs. What’s under the community tab doesn’t really describe their community – either Greenville or Harmony very well.

Overall, it’s a great start for a site, but they need to add enough content for a serious seeker to get the feel of their direction, beliefs, organizational structure, etc. For instance, if I was a young family, do they have any place for kids? It’s not mentioned anywhere on their site that I could see.

It’s exciting to see where they’re headed and would be well worth keeping up with them to see how the plant progresses.

By the way, I love the fact that they’re meeting for Easter in a place called “Dr. Unk’s Oasis!” ;)

As always…

• What do you think about the site?
• What are some things you notice/like/dislike?
• What are some helpful thoughts and recommendations you have that might help them or another church seeking to do web ministry?
• Do you have any ministry sites to recommend for review?