Olive Tree Bible Software updated...

Olive Tree has put out some nice updates on their Bible software.

Olive Tree makes electronic versions of biblical material -- along with related content -- for every major smartphone and PDA platform, which means you're good on Android, Symbian, iPhone, Palm and BlackBerry. In addition, they have a bunch of free resources (like Bible reading schedules) that are useful for everyone.

Specifically for BlackBerry, it seems they have expanded on the capabilities of both touchscreen and keypad/QWERTY devices.

There are live discounts available for software titles.

Check them out. Bible Reader is a mainstay on my device, and has been a true blessing in my life.

Read more »

Who teaches you ethics?

This article from David Knowles stuck with me. The original case was one which stood out in the national consciousness, and it had everyone's moral compass firing North.

I admit it: I think Ms Davis may have point. They are paying him to talk about ethics?

Oh well... wow. I'd probably be more willing to pay Ms Davis for a speech at this point, but then again, I don't roll in the circles that Harvard folks do.

Read more »

Disciples, disciples...

While working in the corporate world, my boss had a novel thing to say about his abilities. His worth -- as a trainer of personnel -- was the quantity of his own people that, in our corporate parlance, "moved up". In other words, his abilities as a supervisor were directly proportional to the number of his own subordinates that could do his job after a reasonable period of time.

Now, I know it is easy to draw flack nowadays for referring to the church as a corporate entity. Indeed, I happen to humbly think that church leaders should concentrate a little more on being busy with the gospel as opposed to the business of the gospel... but that is a discussion for another day.

There does seem to be a basic idea that seems to be lost in this new age of leadership. Where are all the disciples?

Discipleship seems to be a lost concept, one which just seems to be overlooked.

In our younger christians, the effects seem telling. It seems we are seeing a new generation of young adults. They are jazzy, up-tempo, have more than just a passing knowledge of Christ, but have no urge to speak of it. College (and later on, life) becomes one big field of landmines because we did not accompany the cool activities with any depth. We developed a population of Christ Followers Lite who know the hooks to alternative gospel but really never learned how quiet time is important.

What happened to discipleship?

We are culpable. I think this is a critical juncture, and we MUST rethink our course. We need to decide if we are gonna continue to pump up these new believers with frills or help them shape their faith. We need to allow ourselves to be used to help create the type of christians who can and will do the continuous job of propagating the gospel.

Just some food for thought. Thoughts?

Read more »

Should Churches Monitor Staff’s Twitter?

Here is an interesting philosophical discussion from Pastor Pete Wilson of Cross Point Church in Nashville.

Against the backdrop of Larry Johnson's infamous tweets, Pete asks a question: should churches monitor the social networking feeds of their staffers?

I tend to lean towards light on the "m" word, heavy on the "c" (connection). In these days and times, there is nothing like too much accountability. Truth is, what we do online (blogging, tweeting, FB, Tokboxing, etc) are all representative of our ministries. Like it or not, people perceive them as representative of Jesus Christ.

What do you think?

Read more »

My pastor can beat up your pastor.

Welcome to the age of the celebrity pastor.

We've always had popular men of the cloth. The advent of social networking simply helps make them viral.

The results can be funny. I overheard two acquaintances going back and forth about how awesome their respective pastors where. Various major points were compared, from hair gel to mobile device.
Finally, one of the debaters threw down his trump card. "My pastor can do a split!"

At this point, I had to interrupt. I needed to agree... his pastor was cool. A pastor who does splits? Incredible. I felt inadequate and unfulfilled, and made a mental note to request the same from our pastor during the next church event.

Looking back, I wonder why I did not have the presence of mind to ask for an in-depth reason as to why his pastor did a split in the first place. Then again, it was probably best left unsaid. In any case, this pastor had achieved celebrity status on account of his proficiency of a move that defined MC Hammer.

The hushed, reverential tones of congregants when mentioning their pastor is a clear sign. You live where? Have you heard Reverend so and so? No? GOODNESS!

Makes you wanna raise a lighter to the sky.

It isn't only pastors. Lately, it seems the church (I use the term collectively) is eager to bestow the term "believer" on any famous person that utters the word "God" in any public forum. The problem here is obvious; this includes even the most hedonistic stars that win at awards shows and every artist facing felony charges. Look on the cover of some of your favorite christian magazine for proof.

Celebrities rule.

Of course, the real danger is when the messenger becomes greater than the Message. Is modern christianity being driven by personality cults? Do we treasure the trend more than the substance?
We live in an age where we are all addicted to sizzle. We like the famous, and want to be like them. We allegedly unmoor balloons with imaginary children in them in order to get reality shows. Why should the church be any different?

Except for one small fact: it should. And we need to reevaluate our motives, because if I see any pastors making any homemade devices that can float, I refuse to visit that church.

Stay blessed!

Balloon pic courtesy of AP.
Sent via BlackBerry

Read more »

Scary!!!!

Here is an unvarnished quick-hitter from my friend Duncan.

The illicit sex slave destroys the lives of way too many people. Maybe it's time we started paying attention.

Too many people are victims, and we cannot stand aside and let human trafficking continue.

Read more »

Face it..

Universal truth time:

Your teen is gonna network socially. Okay?

Now, what are you, as a parent or youthworker, gonna do about it? How about harnessing it?

I think they are fantastic outlets, and can really be used to develop existing bonds. I do tend to lean towards being a hardliner when it comes to supervision.

If you're child won't let you have unbarred access to it, they shouldn't have the medium. Period.

Even better... why don't you have your networking identity and "friend" your child? It's a win for all.

Just some food for thought...

Read more »

The good, the bad and the insane.

Innovation is the name of the game at church nowadays.

You have to have an angle, something that pumps up the crowd, and no only keeps the congregants coming, but encourages them to invite friends and family to come see.

Some ideas are worse than others, and so I have taken it upon myself to write an abbreviated guide to help churches figure out a few ideas to roll with, and a few too discard. I have four (4) grades:

• Winner! (This is cool, everfresh and can't be faded).
• Good (worth trying, but look left, right and left again before implementing).
• Fail! (I wouldn't do it, unless I was trying out for a dysfunctional reality show.)
• The Benny (dedicated to my good friend Tee; this is "Fail to the nth power" {where n equals infinity}. I have taken the liberty to use a graphical illustration to denote The Benny).
  

1) Donuts and coffee
Grade: Good.
Reason: 10 years a go, you could build mega churches on this alone. Now, it is almost expected. With proper fellowship, it is effective. Do not try to save money by going for saltines and sweet tea.


2) Online resourcing
Grade: Winner!
Reason: Uh, Duh... meet the needs of the people in the prevalent medium. No-brainer. Website, Twitter account, FaceBook page... whatever. If there is a void, fill it.


3) Social Networking
Grade: Winner!
Reason: see above, my friend; see above.

4) Fundraising car washes with teens in bikinis

Grade: The Benny
Reason: the image says it all. Fail, fail, FAIL!!! I wish I had a coat big enough to beat you all with simultaneously. What were you thinking? Why? It's a church fundraiser, not a casting call for Baywatch.

When your programming starts to require parental advisory labels, it's time to step back and reevaluate your goals.



5) Civil War reenactments
Grade: Fail!
Reason: C'mon. Do you really have to ask? C'mon. Some cultural experiences are best left outside the church. What next, a stage reenactment of The Alamo or The Battle of The Bulge (the musical)? Just stop. C'mon.


6) Hospital/Infirm Ministry
Grade: Winner!
Reason: This one gets the overlooked award. Nothing screams "caring" more than pastoral staff and/or congregants willing to fellowship with folks in hospital or at home. Hospitals are sterile and cold; visitations provide warmth. Old school? Our Lord spent more than a little time with the sick and infirm. Let's copy that.


7) Church Stickers and bumper magnets.
Grade: Good.
Reason: I like it, but tread carefully, friends. We have all heard of the pastor who was cut off in traffic by a car he didn't recognize (but which had his church's big, glossy sticker on the bumper). When the pastor blasted his horn (actually being more friendly than confrontational), he was answered with three upraised middle fingers, from the driver's side, passenger and a rear windows. All together.

The pastor pulled close at the next light and was astonished by the glare he got from one of the church deacons, the deacon's wife and son. The glare turned into a look of meek shame, of course.

While it makes for a great opportunity to reshuffle your deacon board, one fundamental truth stands out: if you live by the sticker/magnet, you (or more accurately, your church's reputation) can die by the sticker/magnet. Overall church health first, frills later.


8) The special "offering staff" relay.
Grade: The Benny

Reason: Call me stuffy, but giving each family that makes $1000 offerings a special, faux-bling-encrusted staff to run around the church on Sunday makes me uncomfortable. Granted, I do admit to wondering how it would feel, since, as the eldest son, it would have been my right to run the staff on my family's behalf.

No, I am not making this up.

I need a coat...


9) Bibles. No... really... physical Bibles.
Grade: Winner!
Reason: Wanna know what the most important thing a new disciple needs? Same thing that a tenured, seasoned Christ-follower needs: a bible. Yes, I myself am a huge proponent of electronic resources, but sometimes, nothing is more reassuring than an old-fashioned, tried and true physical bible. Have some available. In the sanctuary. In the dining area. In the vestibule.

Read more »