I have come to realize that I am a geek. Not that this is a new concept, but I have come to realize it recently in a very real way, this blog. Well not exactly this blog alone but this website and other server platforms that I maintain. You see, I have spent many hours configuring, testing, tweaking, hacking, and just generally fiddling around with various content publishing platforms.  This Blog has podcasts, RSS syndication, Statistic plugins, advertisment managment systems, and all kind of gadgets, gizmos, and doodads. I have worked very hard to build a state of the art, top of the line, delivery method. But what makes it kind of sad, is that in the last 2ish years that this site has in its relatively current form, there less than 36 articles. Most of which have been cross posts from my friend Todd at www.theoechnology.com.

None of that is really new. What really struck me today like a ton of bricks is how very much I have lived my christian experience like I have used this site. I have procrastinated, stressed, felt guilty, felt ambivalent, felt excited,and even felt motivated. I have pondered,  developed, planned, prepared, staged, and even arranged.  But when it really came down to it, I didn’t really DO anything about it.

It seems so often we put so much time, energy, effort and even money into getting ready to meet folks needs and share Christ with people. But, when the time comes, we don’t really DO anything. Sure we sometimes do this or that to ease our guilt, or because we think it’s the right thing to do ( like those few posts smattered here and there), but in the end, have we really changed much?

It dosent have to be that hard. God made each one of us in a unique way. He built each one of us with a toolbox that includes our spiritual gifts, out talents, our interests, our passions, and our personalities. That toolbox includes who we are and what we love to do. How much of those tools effect who and how we interact with other people? All of them. God has uniquely equipped each one of us with  characteristics that uniquely effect our sphere of influence. In other words, God BUILT you so that who you are effects those around you.  If we simply embrace who God created us to be and DO something with it, we will be fulfilling God’s purpose AND our passion. 

So, I’m a geek. Thats how God made me, thats what I love. I connect with other geeks, so thats where God wants me to go. The real change is in my choice to be purposeful in my intentions, AND my actions.  I may remain a failed blogger, I am choosing to learn from my failures as a Christian, to go, and to DO.

Ok, that might be a bit of an overstatment. But there was big space news this weekend. SpaceX did manage to get the boosters to seperate successfully ( after 3 failed attempts) and will go down in the history books as the first private company to make it to space.  It seems NASA has some compitition. Congrat to the SpaceX Team.

You can read more about it and check out some pix over at the Wired Blog. Now you know where all those paypal fees went…

Check out the video highlights below.

The next step will be for congress to contract with them to efficently double the cost of the space program. It worked for the millitary!

Ok, ok, that was cheap. err perhaps that was a poor choice of words…..

Ok, Yeah, I know. Its been almost a year since my last post. Lots of big changes in my life since then. New job, being just one of them. I have some new plans for this site, so sta tuned for some major changes around here. A little more frequently too…….

Last Week Todd and did a presentation at the Society of Adventist Communicators 2007 convention in Nashville,TN. The title of our presentation was “The Power of Podcasting”.

Here you can download the PDF of our Presentation Slides and the MP3 of the Audio.

Let us know what you think!

 

 SAC2007 - The Power of Podcasting - Audio [83:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 SAC2007 - The Power of Podcasting - Slides: Download

Lifechurch.tv has launched a beta version of its new site, YouVersion.com. YouVersion looks to be a web 2.0 version of the bible. With support for tagging, linking, Embeding video and pictures, YouVersion strives to tap the user generated content field to create an online community. It also has a Private journal section to store reflections and observations. There is place holders for lots of features not yet implemented yet, including Contacts, History, and Groups. While actual content is very thin at this point, this service looks like it could be very handy.  Keep your eyes on the dev blog over at blog.youversion.com., or right here for more information as it becomes available.

Last week I mentioned that I attended a session by Kent Shaffer of Bombay Creative and ChurchRelevance.com at Gospelcom.net’s (now/soon to be Goospel.com) Internet Ministry Conference in Grand Rapids, Mi. I Actually attended 2 sessions by Kent. The first was titled “Communicating Without Words”. We often concentrate so much on the words that we are sharing, that we forget to think about what we are saying without words.
The second was called “Design is Credibility.” It was a great discussion about Design and art. We so often underestimate the importance of good design. Just like when meeting someone on the street, be it good or bad, people make assumptions based on appearance very quickly online and in print. Design is especially in in ministry. With attractive design, people give the credence to the content. It also helps engage emotional attachment. Peoples perceptions of your ministry are effected by the quality of your delivery.

Both of these sessions had so much good content that it was almost impossible to keep up with notes. I am so glad that Kent posted his rough notes over on his blog. Check them out.

Communicating Without Words - Rough Notes

Design is Credibility - Rough notes

Well the Internet Ministry Conference is over for this year. Final verdict, awesome.  Now that I am back home, I need to take some time to stew over things, review my notes, and fill in some more information here on GodsGeeks.org. I Cant wait for the recordings to be posted online.

The final Session I attended at the new Gospel.com’s Internet Ministry Conference 2007 was a session by David Bruce of HollywoodJesus.com. The title of his session was Tearing Down Walls Building Bridges. His message was to put aside our partisan politics, not tear each other down over our differences, but build each other up in the love of Christ. He reminded us that Christ loves each one of us, he embraces our differences. We need to love each other and find value in each other just as Christ does.

That really struck a chord with me. Anyone who knows me is likely to have heard my Un-Rant lately. Each one of us are Christ’s Creations. Made with a specific propose, and equipped with a specific tool set. That tool includes not only spiritual gifts, but also talents and abilities. It also includes interests. God has given us interests and passion for specific purposes that glorify Him. The connect us with specific people. Those are the people that we can connect with naturally. Not that God does not call us to step out of our confort zones, because he does, alot. But those are the base set of everyday interactions that equip us for Gods calling.

David’s message of loving each other, because God made of us, and loves each of us how we are, is often hard to do. Jesus loves the republican, the democrate, the rich, the poor, the black, white, red, blue, whatever color, the activists, the pacifists, the jocks, the nerds, the freaks, the geeks, the pimps, the preachers, the pushers, the users, the haters, the abusers, the friends, the foes, the butcher, the baker, and the candle stick maker. Sinners, one and all. And Jesus loves them each and every one. If I pray Daily and ask for Jesus to teach me his love, and If I remember that God built each aspect of each person for a reason loving others gets a little easier every day.

Relationship Blogging – Rich Tatum
This afternoon, I attended an interesting session about Relationship Blogging by Rich Tatum of http://tatumweb.com/blog/. He had some good summary’s. He talked about Dave Winer, Scoble and a few other well know bloggers. (Glad to see the inside looking out and recognizing ideas that work. Lets face it, Thats often not the case in Ministry). Here is a few bullet points.

Blogs need to be about :

• transparency
• authenticy
• conversation
• connections
• personal
• intimate

Why are Blogs different different :

• Personally Written, rarely vetted
• often raw, emotional, and assertive
• More Like letters than articles
• Occasional and timely
• Controversy friendly

He followed the relationship of a number of bloggers to show how relationships are built and dialogue occurs.