2007 Projection: Media Overload! December 31, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Technology, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentAs we get ready to head into 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau has been hard at work summarizing and projecting various activities.
They recently projected that in 2007, adults and teens will spend nearly five months (3,518 hours — nearly 10 hours a day) watching television, surfing the Internet, reading daily newspapers and listening to personal music devices. According to projections included from a communications industry forecast, they projected Americans will spend an average of nearly 4 1/2 hours daily in front of the television in 2006. Americans will spend another 2 1/2 hours listening to radio and a half hour listening to recorded music. The rest of the nearly 10 hours is spent reading newspapers, looking at the Internet, playing video games and reading other media. This translates into a whopping 65 days in front of the TV, 41 days listening to radio and a little over a week on the Internet in 2007. In addition, adults will spend about a week reading a daily newspaper and teens and adults will spend another week listening to recorded music. Consumer spending for media is forecasted to be $936.75 per person.
So, seeing this information, what are your New Year’s Resolutions?
Are You Missional? December 27, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Methods & Strategies, Missional , add a comment“A missional church is not about programs, but rather is a distinct church culture. Churches, like any organism, adopt and are influenced by culture. Culture can be identified by observing behaviors. In fact, culture is the set of underlying values that drive our behavior. We act like we do, because we believe what we do. The only way to evaluate culture is through analyzing actions. The following assessment gauges responses to statements about the behaviors of a church in order to provide a framework for dialogue concerning the compatibility of the church with a missional culture.”
With all this talk of missional churches, do you onder where you are on the missional curve? You can take a short assessment here at xpastor.org to see where you fall on the missional scale. This assessment is based on Milfred Minatrea’s book Shaped By God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches. Some of the terms used in the assessment are technical and defined in the book. You can order the book here from Amazon. Your answers will be charted and sent to you.
In my role as an executive pastor, I am always on the hunt for good resources, and have found this site, XPastor.org, a site run by David Fletcher, an Exec Pastor in Austion, Texas, to be a good one for executive pastors. Check it out!
Merry Christmas and “Mele Kalikimaka” December 25, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI am wishing you all a merry Christmas and Mele Kalikimaka from the warm climate of Maui, where, due the extreme generosity of my parents, we find ourselves this Christmas day (I guess someone has to be here, right?). With all of the buildup this holiday season (I noticed this year that all of the holiday decorations came into the stores on Nov 1, just after Halloween – can you believe it?), we finally reach the day — Christmas Day — that allows us to slow down, and reflect on what Christmas really is. As we saw again this year, in the debate over the propriety of Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays in the stores, the real meaning of Christmas seems to have been lost. The Christmas story is at its heart a revolutionary one for all Christians — that the God of the universe became part of human history through His Son in the person of Jesus, born to Mary and Joseph in an animal manger in Bethlehem in a world in upheaval.
The message that Jesus brought is also revolutionary at heart — a message of forgiveness, of healing and of hope. The Christmas miracle and its message is one that has unfolded for the past two millennia and will continue to unfold throughout the history of the human race. Today as we find ourselves knee-deep in torn Christmas wrappings, new toys and new gifts, the sumptuous feasts, and the warmth of the joy we share with family and friends, we should take time to reflect on the story of Jesus coming down to earth and its meaning for our world, still in upheaval. As we move towards the New Year, are you willing to invest a couple of hours to learn more about who this Jesus really is? If you do, you will receive the real gift of this season.
From all of our family, have a blessed and Merry Christmas.
The Sears Wish Book & Merry Christmas to All December 23, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentThe other night, we got a chance to have an all-church Candlelight Service in the beautiful St. Paul’s on Orchard Street. The worship was magnificent, led by Jim Dougherty, the decorations were stunning and more than 650 folks took part in the annual Christmas favorite. At the service, Lead Pastor Jackson Crum told of God’s plan as our Father to give us what we needed — we need forgiveness and He provided that through Jesus Christ. He used the example of the Sear’s Wish Book, which brought back so many happy memories as a child. So here I go reminiscing…..
When I was growing up, one of the major Christmas traditions was for my brother and sisters and I to get out the then- current edition of the Sears Wish Book and begin to put together our lists of what we wanted for Christmas. I remember putting 100 things on my list as my first step, then I would begin an arduous process of sorting and reprioritizing items, hoping to arrive at a list of 20 items to present on a sheet of ruled paper to my parents, including all of the retail costs and the page numbers in the Wish Book for ease of their review (I figured it would be helpful to guide them through the process and give them some direction as to what I NEEDED for Christmas). Next I would sit down with them, and let them know that I did not expect to get all 20 times selected…but rather they should start with the highest rated then move down the list in sequential order. I used to get all consumed about what I needed to have for Christmas.
You know what is interesting about this youthful exercise? As I get older, I get better clarity of all the noise and static in my own life that accompanies Christmas…getting to stores, racing around, looking for specials, seeing Christmas decorations already up on Nov 1….all of it pales in comparison to the times of reflection on what Christmas is all about. Reflecting on the idea that the God of the universe loved us so much to send His son to the earth to die for our sins is really a story of giving, a story of love defined. I love to stay up late, when Chicago has had a snow, and look out the window of my home office with the lights off, and contemplate this truth while humming Silent Night to myself. Now that is the memory of Christmas that I want to keep for a long time.
With that thought, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed time with your family and friends.
What Does Christmas Mean To You? December 18, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentWhat Does Christmas Mean to Me?
This is a question I have been asking myself as I get older and seem to get flooded by more and more busy-ness and advertising that tries and move me farther and farther from the true meaning of Christmas. I look at the true meaning of Christmas and I am awed. In Luke 2, the writer gives us a glimpse of an awesome sight, that the God of the universe stepped out of his kingly rule and interjected himself into our reality to save us from our sinful nature. Not only that but he came, not as a boastful, powerful king, but as a baby as Luke tells us in Chapter 2: (more…)
My! How Phones Have Changed! December 15, 2006
Posted by Steve in : The Cultural Conversation , add a commentCheck out the 45 sec. YouTube post today on the change in cell phones in the last twenty years. I like it because I can remember having the big clunky cell phones in the 80’s. Hilarious!
Could Jesus Be A Modern Day Pastor? December 15, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Methods & Strategies , add a commentPerry Noble of New Spring Church sums up what many pastors and leaders have thought at one time or another about Jesus as they burrow down and focus on growing their own ministries. Read the post…..here are his main points.
#1 - Jesus Obviously Cared About Numbers!
#2 - Jesus Was Not An Expository Preacher!
#3 - Jesus Offended Religious People!
#4 - Jesus Was Not Issue Oriented!
#5 - Jesus Liked To Have Fun!
#6 - Jesus Hung Out With The Wrong Types Of People!
#7 - Jesus Was A Prophet…And Not A Prostitute.
His conclusion? “Nope–Jesus simply could not have served as a pastor in many churches…but He did what He was called and instructed to do…which should be the goal of EVERY pastor and church leader all around the world. If we would all focus on pleasing Jesus and advancing His kingdom rather than pleasing people and catering to the need of immature Christians then our churches would be a lot better off!
Thank you Perry for the reminder….
24: Changing the Way America Watches TV December 14, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a comment
I am a HUGE 24 and Keifer Sutherland fan and can’t wait for the sixth season to get underway in January. There is a great post by Aaron at watching-24.com commenting on how the serialized nature of 24 has changed TV from the “need to have it all wrapped up in a bow in 60 minutes” television of the 80’s and 90’s. I agree…while I am still a little at a loss as to what is going on in the current Lost show, I love 24 and the weekly heart-pounding excitement (as well as Heroes). Here’s the gist of Aaron’s argument:
Back in 2001 the first season of 24 premiered. It was a modest hit. Then the DVD came out which started selling like mad. In an interview with IGN in 2002 Kiefer said that the DVD sales, for 24, in the UK actually knocked Lord of The Rings out of first place, something totally unheard of in the TV/DVD world.
People were beginning to catch onto the fact that they’d have to watch every week religiously to understand everything that was going on. Overall the viewing public was becoming smarter and keener to what was going on. It seemed that FOX had finally found out that an audience in mass proportions, could stomach a show like 24. The second season of 24 was a huge hit sky rocketing from the 8.60 million viewers the first season was able to pull in, to an 11.73 million viewers. 24 was beginning to shape a phenomenon that we only really got a glimpse of this year. After 24’s success ABC premiered Lost in 2004 garnering huge praise from critics and audiences alike. Serial dramas were off and running……
…..24 has become an icon in television viewing. The television world has become serialized due in large part to 24’s success. I really think that 24 changed the way we view TV. Networks are realizing that we as a viewing audience can follow a show from week to week, season to season without becoming lost. We don’t need everything spelled out for us in one episode. In consequence the networks have had to up the ante and give us higher quality more complex shows. 24’s success has truly been instrumental in altering the TV world.
Today’s Personal Tech Tip: Increasing Font Size December 12, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , 1 comment so farAll of us need help with the bewildering amount of technology. From time to time, I am going to give tips I come across that help bridge the widening digital divide between users and techsters. Today tip lets you increase the fonts on the page you are looking at with a simple maneuver.
If you are in a web browser (Explorer or Mozilla) or reading an email in Outlook Express, hold down your Ctrl key and spin the wheel. It makes the text larger or smaller depending on which way you spin. For Opera users, it magnifies both the images and the text. This also works in Microsoft Word and Excel
Church Techs: Book of the Year? December 11, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Technology , add a commentRobert Scoble at Scobleizer has a great post on a great new book for 2007 — Gina Trapani’s LifeHacker book. He calls it the owners manual for the always on, always connected person.
What is the book called? Lifehacker: 88 Tech Tricks to Turbocharge Your Day. In today’s “always connected, deliver everything to me electronically” world, it lays out 88 tips for being more productive, looking at how you use technology and improving it, and how to use your computer, IPOD, flash drive and other technology to their fullest extent. I like the dozen ways she shows how to sort through the dizzying array of technlogy that you are exposed to everyday:
- Hack 3: Develop your digital photographic memory
- Hack 8: Permanently block time-wasting Web sites
- Hack 20: Automatically empty your digital junk drawer
- Hack 30: Send and receive money on your cell phone
- Hack 34: Carry your life on a flash drive
- Hack 40: Back up data to your iPod
- Hack 50: Script repetitive e-mail responses
- Hack 56: Securely track your passwords
- Hack 63: Quick-log your work day
- Hack 76: Take your browser configuration with you
- Hack 79: Capture Web clippings with Google Notebook
- Hack 87: Resurrect deleted files
Love That Cycling Santa! December 10, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI love to bike and here is a festive Santa cycling in the season! Maybe he has a 2006 Official Tour de France winner’s certificate for Floyd Landis this year (we can only hope!)
Sanitized Christmas Cards? December 10, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentSUNDAY MISCELLANEOUS:
Today in the Daily Mail is a story out of London that in their recent nationwide survey, only one in a hundred Christmas cards has any sort of religious symbols or message. WOW! Have we progressed to that point already? The God of the universe comes down into our world, and people celebrate that momentus, world-changing event (upon which our calendar is based) with a card depicting some drunken bears? A good friend of ours recently left Park to pastor a church just southwest of London (Ashford) and he tells us that God is nowhere in the lives of most folks under 40 in London so this comes as no surprise to him. What do you think?
Here is a snippet:
Top 20 Websites: Who’s In, Who’s Out December 9, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Technology , 1 comment so farWith a fair amount of my attention at Park Community Church being focused on our website and other various methods of electronic communications, I spend a lot of time keeping up on web/blog/web design trends. Over at Compete.com, there is an interesting analysis of the Top 20 websites for October 2006, with Yahoo ranking #1 with nearly 120 million unique visitors and these 20 sites achieving more than 20 million unique visitors each! Compete notes that Adobe.com, Live.com, Wikipedia.org and YouTube.com are new to the top 20 over the past year, while Expedia.com, Monster.com, Paypal.com and Weather.com have all dropped out.
The Incredible Shrinking Cost of Computers (HP: $299) December 9, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Technology , add a commentI am continually amazed at the shrinking cost of computing……..Today, our Park Community Church tech guys sent us a link for a $299 HP Business Computer.
I initially scoffed, thinking this must be a low-end retail computer but no, these are real business HPs. It is amazing to think of the downward compression on the price of computing power. In 1998, when I was the VP-CFO of American Disposal Services, Inc, I paid $3,700 for a desktop PC….now look at our increased productivity and reduced cash computing costs! Look at the description: (more…)
Recommended Chicago Theater: A Christmas Carol December 6, 2006
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentThe reviews are in and Provision Theater’s Christmas Carol at the Victory Gardens Theater is a big hit! Check out this online review! Go ahead and make your plans to see this great family-fare in the Christmas season. Tickets are available online for shows Weds-Sun through Dec 30th
Here is what one critic says
“Amazingly, Tim Gregory and David H. Bell’s adaption of the Dickens holiday classic contains a walloping emotional impact unlike any other production of A Christmas Carol. This is a polished, efficient production with fine musical underscoring, rich in traditional English Christmas songs sung in smooth harmonies. The show has its center in the hope that a person can indeed change for the better simply if he truly seeks it.
We see Jeff-nominated Bradley Armacost as the ”everyman’s” Scrooge in that Armacost (a brilliant character actor) plays Scrooge first a befuddled, (more…)
The Bible’s First Management Consultant December 5, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Powerful Passages , add a comment
As we continue to expand God’s work in the city of Chicago through Park Community Church, we know we must grow our leadership core. But what does the Bible say about the leadership development process? What are the key steps we must do as leaders to gain the critical mass of leaders we will need to handle a church of 2,500 and a church-planting, church-partnering model?
In Exodus 18, we get a glimpse of the first management consultant in the Bible. The writer tells us of the visit of Jethro to his son-in-law Moses. We imagine the weary look on Moses’ face from handling all the cases of his people. Jethro observes that Moses has people in lines all day as he hears every single case involving his people. As a confidant to Moses and the Bible’s first management consultant, Jethro tells Moses to stop trying (more…)
Church Phone Gurus December 4, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Church, Technology , 1 comment so farAs we prepare for our September grand opening of our first permanent worship space in a 90,000 sq ft warehouse, we are beginning to think through our requirements for a phone system and all the changes in the communcations landscape. With all the changes happening out there in the communications area, I’d love to hear from all the church tech folks out there as to what has worked well for them. We are looking at the big VOIP wave, and want to understand the pros/cons for a church with 20-35 staff. Let the comments begin.
Podcasting 101 December 4, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Technology, Methods & Strategies , add a comment
Over the last year, our church, Park Community Church in Chicago has made a huge commitment to growing our internet presence as an “on ramp” for many people who check out Park before ever stepping in our doors. We are also cognizant of all the people who may miss a week or want to hear a message a second time.One of our top priorities has been to provide our messages in many formats. We have upgraded our technology, our team, and our know-how, and have begun podcasting our Sunday messages. In October and November 2006, we had about 3,900 downloads of audio and video messages from our site and from I-Tunes — more than 64 downloads a day on average!
As I began to research how to do this last year and I went on the web, (more…)
