Following Jesus not just on Twitter

Shout out to Church Crunch for this cartoon.

If only it was as easy as a click of a mouse :-)

Support the Byers family making a difference in Poland

As part of our missions giving we support the Byers family. Chris, Dana & family gave up their jobs packed up and headed over to Europe to assist churches spread the gospel.

Presently they are in Poland.

Here is an excerpt from an e mail Dana sent me with some exciting news:

"Church Online in Polish launches on 1 Nov! We realized that as messages are translated for Church Online in Polish, they will be archived in Polish at OPEN. (a ministry of Lifechurch.tv) So that makes us want to go to another foreign country where English isn't the primary language to translate a new Church Online experience into their language thereby providing http://open.lifechurch.tv resources in the local languages, too. This means the local churches have transcripts, materials, graphics, messages, and more to use for small groups, outreach, church planting...all very exciting for us!

It's wild seeing in some of these countries that they literally have NO Christian books or resources translated into their languages. Trusting this could provide a big boost for pastors on the Continent as more languages are available."

Please consider supporting them today by visiting http://www.causes.com/bluedoor

Youversion Live Meets MKCC

This past Sunday we used Youversion Live in our Sunday service for the first time at MKCC.

I mentioned some of the features here.

The event will stay live till later this week then we will replace it with information for the upcoming Sunday.

So if you want to watch a video of one of the songs we sung, register for one of our upcoming events, send a prayer request or recap on some of the Bible verses used visit: www.youversion.com/mkcc.

On a mobile devise it should take you directly to the page on a laptop or desktop just click on the event Unstoppable on the right hand side of the page.

YouVersion LIVE!

I am excited about some new developments coming to YouVersion.com this week. (Well that is whats planned) YouVersion Live

Easily develop a web page that any mobile web enabled device can visit during your event: church service, youth service, conference, concert etc etc. (NB Not just iPhone but any web enabled mobile phone or laptop)

Add scripture, notes, polls, prayer request, questions & giving.

There are huge opportunities for this to help connect and equip people at your church or event.

Here is a video by Bobby Gruenwald & Terry Storch from LifeChurch.tv who have developed the site. And best of all its all free!!!

What used to fit in a building now fits in your pocket

Amazing

Social Media a fad?

The world is changing right before our eyes and its changing quicker than ever before.

What does it mean to our mission in the church?

Well with more people living now than in the whole of history and them being "connected" (I use connected it its widest sence) more than ever before, maybe just maybe God is up to something.



Cant see the video go here.

Social Media harms true friendship?

Archbishop Nichols, head of the Catholic church in England & Wales has warned that, "Websites such as Facebook and MySpace encourage teenagers to view friendship as a "commodity" and are leading them to suicide".

he goes on to say that:

"The sites are leading teenagers to build "transient relationships" which leave them unable to cope when their social networks collapse. He said the internet and mobile phones were "dehumanising" community life. I think there's a worry that an excessive use or an almost exclusive use of text and emails means that as a society we're losing some of the ability to build interpersonal communication that's necessary for living together and building a community.

We're losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person's mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point.

Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanises what is a very, very important part of community life and living together."

Is this another example of the established church being out of touch with reality? or is there something in what the Archbishop says?

I do know that electronic communication has somehow given people the perceived freedom to say things electronically that they would never have said face to face. Although not a young persons disease it seems to open some doors for them that may well be better left shut.

I prefer to see social media as opening connections that I would have never otherwise have had. The use of the word friend by facebook may be a little misleading but I for one enjoy the connection and also know who my friends are.

What do you think?

Read the whole article here.

Text

I am obviously getting old because if this was the only list of the 10 Commandments I had I wouldn't have a clue.

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.
2. dnt wrshp pix/idols
3. no omg’s
4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)
5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool
6. dnt kill ppl
7. :-X only w/ m8
8. dnt steal
9. dnt lie re: bf
10. dnt ogle ur bf’s m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ttyl, JHWH.

Seriously what?

(HT: Church Crunch)

Shorten URL for Charity

Came across this Good.ly on Church Crunch.

Ever want to send a web page URL to a friend via e mail, twitter etc. Only to find number one its too long or it all gets broken up when you copy and paste. There are a number of sites out there that will shorten a URL for you.

Good.ly does this with a twist. Once it creates the short link it tracks it and if any goods are purchased using it from various affiliates then a commission is earned and Good.ly give a proportion to charity.

Use their site or download a bookmarklet to use in your toolbar so you can shorten with just one click.

YouVersion.com Milestone

YouVersion.com has revolutionised my Bible reading in the last couple of years. I had slipped out of really sticking to a regular plan. Yes I read the Bible often but mostly for study, preparation and preaching.

When YouVersion launched on the web I loved it. I tend to spend much time on my lap top and now I had the Bible with a ready made plan that opened infront of me everytime I switched on my Mac.

Then the iPhone app came along and it is amazing. Here is a copy of a post from their blog a few days ago:

Yesterday, YouVersion passed one million unique users on the iPhone/iPod touch through the YouVersion Bible App. Since the launch of the Bible App users have spent 407,000,000 plus minutes engaging with God’s word!! Wow!

I’m gonna let that number soak in for a second.

407,000,000 minutes = 326,388 days, 21 hours and 20 minutes of Bible engagement.

Our excitement stems from our desire here at LifeChurch.tv to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. From the start YouVersion’s purpose has been to open new doors to help people connect the Bible to their daily lives. At the core, our focus remains on relevancy as we consistently strive to demonstrate and teach people how God’s Word relates to everyone, no matter where they are in life.

YouVersion isn’t just a tool to impact the world using innovative technology, more importantly, it promotes engaging people into a relationship with God as they discover the relevance the Bible has for their lives. So thank you for spreading the news, twittering, and blogging about YouVersion. We are looking forward to many more minutes of Scripture engagement as we all strive to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

AMAZING!

This is why I love the Internet

Maybe God has a plan for the Internet?


Countries Online from LifeChurch.tv on Vimeo.

Next weekend LifeChurch.tv Internet Campus starts a brand new teaching series with Dave Ramsey called Life, Money, Hope - Biblical advice in difficult times. Dave has an incredible insight into a biblical view of finance.

Join one of the Internet experiences that Craig was talking about. Specifically hosted here in the UK on Sunday 10 am or Monday evening at 8 pm. I am positive it will be worth the investment of your time.

Go here next Sunday.

UK Teen Internet Habits

A recent survey has just been published regarding UK Teens internet viewing habits. To be specific 13 - 15 Year olds. You can read the wole survey here. However you may be surprised at what they are looking at with the click of one button.

• UK teens in that age group spending over 31 hours in an average week surfing the internet.
• At least one hour and 40 minutes a week – that's just under 87 hours a year – is spent looking at soft porn,"
• A further one hour and 35 minutes is spent surfing dieting and weight loss websites and forums.
• another hour and eight minutes is dedicated to exploring cosmetic surgery websites, to learn about boob jobs, bum lifts and collagen implants.

Breakdown of the average teenager's time online each week

• Downloading music 1 hour 40 minutes
• YouTube 2 hours 2 minutes
• MSN 3 hours 29 minutes
• Chatrooms 2 hours 5 minutes
• Virtual World sites 1 hour 55 minutes
• Homework/research 3 hours 10 minutes
• Shopping 1 hour 49 minutes
• Auction sites 1 hour 28 minutes
• Cosmetic surgery 1 hour 8 minutes
• Soft porn 1 hour 40 minutes
• Dieting/weight loss 1 hour 35 minutes
• Family planning/pregnancy 1 hour 32 minutes
• NHS Direct/Health 1 hour 22 minutes
• Samaritans 1 hour 1 minute
• Dating 1 hour 15 minutes
• Social networking 3 hours 47 minutes

A glimpse into the mind of a teenager. Now we know as parents and churches what to talk about and how to communicate?

Global Eternal Change

Check out the latest video from our friends Chris & Dana Byres from Blue Door Ministries. Using the internet they are helping to make a difference in peoples lives around the world. Visit their site here.


Blue Door Ministries - the beginning from BlueDoorMinistries on Vimeo.

Mind Blowing

Some of the guys around the office have a nickname for me "boogle". A combination of Google and Billy I think. The suggestion is that I spend too much time on the internet, looking at applications and gadgets.

This video I saw over at swerve reminded me why I do it.



A reminder if you are interested in how best we can use some of the innovations in technology for the kingdom check this out. Attend MKCC and would like to attend let me know and we can book you in. By the way its free.

NewSpring Internet Campus

Newspring Church are testing their Internet Campus today. It should launch fully next weekend. Click here

They have a Londoner as Campus Pastor - Nick Charalambous

Check out their blog here.

Everybody can be great becuase everyone can serve

Mark posted this on his blog but at the risk of upsetting one or two of my American friends I thought it was so good I had to post it here.

(Please do not boycott or slag me off this is not a political post)

Two reasons I thought that this was brilliant:

1. The quote from Martin Luther King jnr is incredible: "Everybody can be great because everyone can serve". It’s a reminder of the example of Jesus - Servant hood.

2. The way that Obama's political campaigns have embraced new forms of communication, which has engaged and mobilised individuals is truly brilliant. In their endeavours to get the message out they have used traditional methods like TV and print media but they way they have leveraged the Internet is quite new to the world of politics.

It is so much more than visit our website they truly embraced Web 2.0 and social media. Forums, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc etc.

We have a slightly better message than vote for Obama to get out there. Instead of discussing weather a facebook friend is really a friend, or if someone attends an internet campus are they really attending church and lets start to really use every method we have available to us.

Bobby Gruenewald Visiting the UK

In March Bobby Gruenewald is doing a series of seminars in the UK in partnership with Willow Creek. I have had the great privilege of meeting Bobby and some of the other leaders of LifeChurch.tv. They have an incredible heart to assist and equip churches around the world and have committed huge amount of time and money to this cause without looking for anything back.

If you are involved in church leadership in any way and or have an interest in leveraging technology to help with the mission try to get along.

Dates are: March 16 London | March 17 St Albans | March 18 Liverpool

And best of all its free if you book in advance.

Here is an extract from Willow Creek UK website.

"As Pastor and Innovation Leader for LifeChurch.tv, Bobby Gruenewald is passionate about exploring new ideas and finding practical ways to leverage them for the global Church.

Bobby is a member of the Leadership Team at Lifechurch.tv, based in Edmond, Oklahoma and named by Outreach Magazine as the fifth-largest church in the United States.

They have shaped a missional approach to technology, seen in initiatives like the Internet Campus, VideoTeaching.com, YouVersion.com, and the Bible App for iPhone and BlackBerry.

Along with a strong belief that churches can accomplish more working together, he and his team have led projects like One Prayer and ChurchMetrics.com, as well as the Open, Network and United operations at LifeChurch.tv.

Bobby is one of the leading voices in the Church as it relates to innovation and the use of technology to reach people for Christ. He frequently writes and speaks on the topic, including multiple Willow Conferences and an interview by Bill Hybels for Defining Moments. He regularly posts about his ideas at Swerve.LifeChurch.tv, a blog he shares with Senior Pastor, Craig Groeschel. Bobby and his wife, Melissa, have one daughter, Audrey, and a son, Robbie.

Read more and book here.

If you attend MKCC let me know if you wish to attend and we can register you.

You Version iGoogle Gadget

If you are an iGoogle user there is a great new gadget from YouVersion. From their blog today:

Today we officially launched the first YouVersion.com Google Gadget. If you find yourself using the very useful igoogle.com interface take a minute and install the gadget.

You Version Launched

Lifechurch.tv yesterday launched YouVersion yesterday. Its an online bible that lets you do some incredible things.

• Read the Bible in multiple versions
• Star, tag & email verses and content
• Associate images, videos, links, and text to verses or series of verses
• Create an online Bible journal
• And much, much more

It is your own online personal study bible as well as access to a whole community.

Its only just started there are many more developments to come. Check it out today! Did I say its all free.