Starting youth ministry from scratch

Nice article by Brandon Collins at the MinistryLive site about starting a youth ministry from the ground up.

Great primer for vets and rookies.

I am a big fan of MinistryLive... great articles, ebooks and reviews.

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Alltop

Yay!

I got added to Alltop recently. And I finally understand why the boys who score touchdowns laughingly scoff at the commentators who tell them to "act like they've been there" when they score touchdowns.

Yep, I am stoked!

Alltop, in its own words, is an "online magazine rack" that yanks and aggregates news and opinion pieces from the web's top online publications and blogs. It promises to bridge the gap when it comes to one's social media needs.

The Church section (where I am listed) boasts of some of the brightest minds in contemporary ministry, folks that I have a lot of respect for. It is a huge honor to be listed with people who do so much for the Kingdom, and from whom I can only continue to learn from.

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Chastity promises: a waste of time?

Here's an interesting article that popped up on my newsfeed this morning.

While the analysis is not new, you pretty much figured that it would pop up in the news again with the recent announcement by Miley Cyrus that she had joined tween pop sensations the Jonas Brothers on no-sex island.

Now, before I go on, I'll admit to being a bit cynical about celebrity promises of this nature. Check out this cynical MSNBC article by Tony Sclafani to understand why. Sclafani goes so far as to theorize that it tends to be deft career move.

Sclafani does make a valid point. By talking about not having sex, aren't we really talking about sex? In other words, when American Idol winner Jordin Sparks or Julianne Hough of Dancing With the Stars talk about waiting till they're wed, aren't they really just upping the sex ante?

And, is that really wrong?

The problem with the celebrity chastity thing are the predecessors. Britney had one, if I recall correctly. Mariah Carey is said to have stated she waited for "complete intimacy" with current husband Nick Cannon (I didn't ask, and neither should you). Therefore, when you toss in the stats that make most chastity adherents look like stupid kooks, it is clear why most people take the whole movement as a comical waste of time.

So, should these pledges mean anything to us? I say "maybe." I cannot find anything ethically wrong about such a statement, and I feel as long as they are made with complete sincerity, we should be able to find something useful to get from it -- and the sincerity aspect is probably not for me to decide. We also need to fight the urge to start betting pools on soon they will fail.

*Sigh* I broke a few promises myself with this post... I promised to never, ever blog about Miley Cyrus.

Oh well...

Photo courtesy of Greg Crusco via ReelWorship.

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BibleReader 4.0 for BlackBerry review.

Olive Tree brings name recognition and a reputation for reliability to the game. One of the things I first looked for when I initially considered the jump from Palm to BlackBerry was the presence of Bible programs.

The fact that Olive Tree had a BlackBerry port helped make the decision easy.

Olive Tree BibleReader for BlackBerry Version 4.0 is an impressive Bible study program that provides access to an entire suite of inspirational resources.

What makes this software compelling is the ability to store bible translations and related material on the user's expansion card. This removes the natural fear BB users have when it comes to device memory. Now, with this software, the only restriction on how much resources one can carry is based on device OS and memory card size.

Genius.

I am finicky... and OTBR accommodated me. Option-wise, I had numerous options: the ability to adjust font size, font color, background colors and more. The search function was snappy; I found it to be very responsive, even to multiple words.

Of particular interest to potential users will be the Bookmarking feature. It does just that: it keeps the selected verse in memory. This is great for when you are at service or such and have a list of scriptural references, you can save them in the program before-hand. I found it very useful.

Olive Tree has a library of dozens of bible translations and related reference resources that can be stored on card. Of these, a few are free (like ASV and BBE); the rest are for sale at the Olive Tree site. The reader itself is free.

My biggest issue with OTBR is admittedly somewhat unfair; it is based on the fact that I was such a huge fan of the features on the Palm port. To be specific, I was dismayed with the inability o add notes directly into the program while studying the bible. As said earlier, I loved this feature on my Palm. At the risk of sounding overly whimsical, I missed the ability to "split" screens with different versions. Again, that feature enhanced bible study a great deal

Simply put, this is an excellent program. It is well-made, feature-rich and has the potential to be a valuable tool in the lives of the familiars and the curious. If anything, try out the free translations. Support is quick, updates are frequently put out, and the developer clearly aims to please.

This software is rated for devices running OS 4.2 and up.

It is also available for Palm, iPhone, Symbian, and Windows Mobile.

This software was tested (and its review written) on an 8320 running OS 4.5 on T-Mobile.

Sent via my BlackBerry.

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BlackBerry Game Review: Platypus

I had an opportunity to take Astraware's latest offering for BlackBerry, Platypus for a test drive, and it turned out to be a great voyage indeed.

For Palm enthusiasts, Astraware is a well-known commodity. They produce and/or distribute some of the most popular games titles on the Palm and WinMo platforms (their parent company, Handmark, should give you an idea of their pedigree). So, when presented with an opportunity to survey their first BlackBerry offering, I jumped at it.

Platypus is an aerial shoot-em-upper that pits continual offense against strategic defense, and is based on the PC and Macintosh favorite of the same name.

Like Right Said Fred and his hopelessly inadequate shirt, Platypus is too sexy for earth. Instead, it takes place on peaceful Mungola, where your mission is to defend your planet against marauding Collosotropolans that appear in many incarnations. You move around -- guns blazing -- dodging both swerving and bouncing alien aircraft, rumbling ground vehicles and dangerous terrain.

Of course, no arcade-style shooter is complete without point bonuses that drop from exploding enemies, or weapon upgrades and power-ups that emanate from stars that the player has to collide with to redeem. Platypus brings all elements of arcade play to your BlackBerry device, and the four different worlds provide hours of game play.

The developers did an excellent job of using color to bring this adventure to life. The vivid representation almost literally allows one to lose themselves in the environment. The color differentiation between sky-to-sky and sky-to-ground were very, very well done. Hardware-wise, I found the game responsive to the Blackberry controls.

As far as ports go, this was pretty faithful to the original. Fans of the PC/Mac versions will be pleasantly surprised by graphics. Even the claymation is reproduced with an eye for detail.

My biggest complaint at this point is general in nature: why isn't Astraware spitting out more games? Why? I still have a Palm device chock-full of their stuff. More, please!!!

Pick up Platypus from the Astraware site, or check it out at the Handmark location. It is rated to play on all 81xx, 83xx, 88xx devices as well as the Bold. The game is available at a special price to all Club Astraware Members through December!

This game was tested (and review written) on a BlackBerry 8320 running OS 4.5 on T-Mobile.

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Peace on Earth

As we mark His birth, may we be appreciative of who He died for.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

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Grace and accountability.

Interesting philosophical discussion about grace over on the Todd Rhoades site... well worth the read.

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The delicate art of finger-pointing

I abhor stupidity.

There really is nothing complex about it. I have a natural talent for rooting out stupidity and tomfoolery.

I am particularly adept at finding it in others. Yep... siblings, acquaintances, friends, talk-show hosts, newscasters, referees, contestants on reality TV, the general public... my foolishness meter knows no bounds.

I realized recently that my long-suppressed urge to pelt people who had fallen short of my standards of intelligence was beginning to overcome my outward facade of patience. In other words, my judgmental side was taking control.

I first noticed this losing battle the other day, when I was able to pick holes with Mother Teresa.

See, the thing is, folks do some really crazy stuff. Am I really so bad for assuming my purpose on earth is to let them know that their idiotic decisions have been noticed? I have the best intentions. It's not a fun job, but somebody has to do it.

The last election allowed me to perfect my fault-finding. On both sides of the aisle, in both camps, some of the talk was so anti-logical that I began to view some pairs of opposing pundits as twins separated at birth. How else can you explain two equally nonsensical yet divergent viewpoints?

By the time the actual election rolled by, it was easy pickings.

Any chance I had at going another route was thwarted by other interests. Take soccer, for instance. What is a reasonable guy like me to do when some joker blows the game on an obvious no-call? You see, this type of situation is made for me. I admit, I have had a non-productive conversation or two with refs before, but trust me: it was for their own good. Besides, my kid brother is a ref. Now if that is not an indictment on the entire profession, I don't know what is.

Nothing hones ones skills at pointing the finger like the microscopic study of imperfections known as "marriage." I found my true calling: I was definitely born to be fault compass for my wife. I could do it in my sleep. I could do it in her sleep. Any guilt I had was superseded by the need to be in God's will and show her what her numerous faults were.

And don't give me that nonsense of "when you point one finger at another, four point back at you." My mother made the mistake of telling us that when we were younger, and we actually studied it. In depth. Actually, it is possible to curl your fingers just right and ensure no fingers point back to you (seriously... try it). In any case, to be on the safe side, we developed a unique way to make sure we never made an error and "four-pointed" ourselves: we learned how to point with all fingers extended, palm down. Call us ridiculous, but it worked, and we pointed -- and continue to point -- away joyfully, to the everlasting chagrin of our mother.

I know all about specks and logs, and I firmly believed that specks were far easier -- and more fun -- to remove.

As I have gotten older (and hopefully closer to Him), I have become progressively aware that there is an ever-present hole in the fabric of my lifelong pursuit, and that is the realization that to score convincingly in the blame game, there is a need for perfection on my part. Sadly, I have not yet been able to figure out how to get that accomplished.

I believe that is a lesson God will have me/us learn. I personally have discovered that if I apply a fraction of the monumental angst I reserve for the social injustice I perceive to actually working to fix the problem, I could be a world-changer. Or, that the energy I assign to identifying deficiencies in others is better used to pray about my own. And that if I actually admitted to myself that I am the one who made out like a bandit on out marriage covenant, and worked to treat my wife like the Ruby she is, I'd be the type of husband she deserves ALL the time.

It is taking some getting used, pointing flat-palmed into the mirror, but it has been well worth it. Try it... trust me, it does work. I am an expert at this!

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Uno = Family Strife

I recently had another opportunity to try out Concrete Software's reincarnation of the board classic Uno.

In order to shake things up for my latest game review, I decided to change devices and loaded the software on my wife's Pearl.

You see, my wife just stepped into the smartphone world. She is NOT a big fan of smartphone gaming; since she rarely uses her phones on weekends, I figured that I would have plenty of time to run the game through the paces.

Uno for BlackBerry does a good job of bringing the original game to life on your BB handheld. The background is vivid, and the developers did a great job of making color just as much of an element in this electronic version as it is in real life.

Game play was smooth. Selections were easy, and one can play by the "classic" rules, or institute a combination of "house" rules. One can play against the on-board CPU or against friends using the same device.

Anyway, my wife had to make a quick call, and came to "borrow" her own phone while I was playing. An hour later, she was engrossed in this game. Within two hours, she was hollering and arguing with the other "players" on her Pearl, and when I finally went to bed, she was vocally daring them to "three-card" her and shouting "UNO!"

That, in my humble estimation, is the strong point of this game: the ability to make a smartphone "non-gamer" get addicted.

So, enjoy this game, or your significant other will.

You can try out this game here, or pick it up for purchase at Handango.

Compatible with: BlackBerry 71xx, 77xx, 81xx Pearl, 82xx Pearl Flip, 83xx Curve, 87xx, 88xx, and 9000 Bold handhelds.

Reviewed on: BlackBerry Pearl 8100 on T-Mobile running 4.2.

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The Chameleon Church

While performing my periodic drive-by today, I came across this thought-provoking guest article by Scott Rodgers.

Has the church gone too far, or has it not gone far enough in reaching EVERYBODY?

Very, very interesting question. You do not have to be a social theologian to notice the change in focus from just a generation ago. The new crop of emerging (pun intended) church leaders have made a pointed effort in bridging the gap, perceived or not, that existed between the church and mainstream... well... people.

The philosophical argument of the church's role in society has always been a hut-button topic. Head on over to hear some real-life commentary.

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Using YouVersion to bridge gaps.

Understatement of the year: I love YouVersion.

As a free mobile Bible port, its introduction is, in my humble opinion, one of the most significant occurrences in mobile ministry.

It has given smartphone users a common bond, and the possibilities are endless.

Recently, I have been thinking of an unobstrusive type of ministry that provides fellowship and counseling type of opportunities in the local (Charlotte, NC) area. To this end, I have been using YouVersion as a personal devotion tool for my wife and I.

The tools were all there: we downloaded YouVersion for BlackBerry to each of our devices. Also, I signed up to be a member of YouVersion.com, which gave us access to notes written by other users, and to add our devotion and expository notes.

In practice, it was easy; either one of us could go online and add notes for a future remote devotion. Now, we had to have phone/EDGE access (and/or Wi-Fi in the case of my 8320) to access the Bible translations, but we never had a problem.

So, as you can guess, it was a nice experiment. We were able to do in-depth devotions during lunch hours, out-of-town trips, or anytime it caught our fancy. The email-a-verse utility allowed for opportunities of random encouragement.

Now, think of this on a larger scale. Think of how this can bolster fellowship meetings or small groups. You can send a supportive scriptural reference to anybody with access to the web and a free YouVersion account.

Pretty nifty... also why YV for BB is my favorite application.

Sent via my BlackBerry.

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BenQ E72 Smartphone: Unbelievably priced!

If you are a ministry guy or gal looking for a good deal on a great smartphone, you might me interested in this nugget I swiped from Antoine at Mobile Ministry Magazine: The BenQ E72 Windows Smartphone. Apparently, the phone is going for under $130.

Impressive.

The specs sound great... GSM, WM6, A2DP Bluetooth, integrated wi-fi, expandable memory, 2 MP camera, video recording and mp3 player.

If you are interested, make sure to google and read reviews.

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Stealing Baby Jesus?

Apparently, stealing nativity scenes is big business. So big, in fact, that churches are now surreptitiously placing GPS receivers inside the displays to assist track the display items.

Watch the video... shows church staff tracking a statuette across town in real-time after a simulated theft.

Image courtesy of Geoff Stratford (ReelWorship.com).

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Thank you!

... for all of you readers who spread the word about Edward Frank Harris... on Twitter, FaceBook and links to your respective websites.

We hear so much of colleagues who fail or betray the trust of the people they are supposed to trust; therefore, this was a story that meant so much to me.

The outpouring of support was very kind, and I think it was a nice send-off to our brother.

Continue to pray for his family. Also pray for all those he served, including the ones who are charged with this heinous crime.

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Youth Ministry e-book

Spotted this post over on MinistryLIVE.org blog: a youth ministry e-book!

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Second place...

I am usually a bit cynical of "trendy" causes and programs, but this particular concept caught my eye and warmed my heart.

I Am Second is a resourceful website that combines down to earth testimonies from celebrities and Average Joes alike to assist people with everyday struggles.

The site provides chat, email, and reading resources for people in need. It also provides opportunities for people to get involved helping others.

I am a fan of ministry ideas that don't get bogged by overly intricate ideals, so much so that they miss the target. This is simple: everybody else first....

Authenticity will never be out of fashion.

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PalmBible for Treo/Palm

For Treo/Palm users: yet more Bible software! Got this from Mobile Ministry Magazine (courtesy of Palm Addict): PearlBible!

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Church Diversity

I have reached a point where I will now blog about my own blog. At least, in my own mind I have.

While hanging out in Twitterville, I eavesdropped a tweet from Anne Jackson to Pete Wilson talking about diversity in church leadership.

This blog was initially started to talk about the cultural challenges of serving in ministry. As a black man in the south, this is especially poignant; toss in the added battle of serving in predominantly white churches, and you get a pretty interesting picture.

So, I feel led to write an article about this albatross. Is diversity really all that necessary in church leadership, or is it just another PC-motivated man-made talking point? What does diversity bring: true cultural awareness, or just the facade of acceptance?

I am looking for thoughts from both sides of the aisle, from both ends of the spectrum.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sent via my BlackBerry.

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Mobile Phone Ministry

Visited the blog of Bill Reichart recently. Like a moth to flame, I was drawn to his blog post about mobile phone ministry.

Of course, I belong to the school of thought that believes that the sooner the church embraces these trends, the better off we'll be. We have to be swift (as God blesses and time and culture allow) in learning and using technology to reach people.

Pastor Reichart also touches on mobile-ready websites (another biggie, IMHO).

Nice food for thought.

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Review: HanDBase for BlackBerry.

I am the type of phone user that likes to have it easy. There's nothing really complex about it; no insane formula that governs it. I simply like to have as much as I can on the least number of devices. Convergence is key.

It's the reason that I, the most loyal of Palm guys, migrated to BlackBerry. I am a ministry guy, and everything on my device needs to assist me in that pursuit.

The biggest drawback for me as a new BB user was the relative dearth of the third party applications that made life with Palm a breeze. In recent years, the gap is closing; one application that helps shrink this gap significantly is HanDBase Professional for BlackBerry by DDH Software.

I originally had this on my Palm OS device, and it was my most used non-scriptual application. Simply put, it is an all-round database solution with an amazing penchant for flexibility.

There is almost no limit to the possibilities. This application bridges the gap that exists between convergence device and handheld laptop replacement.

The program comes in two parts for the BlackBerry. It has the handheld portion and a desktop companion. The two components are syncable both ways. The idea is that the user makes a database on the desktop that is accessible on the user's device.

To explain further, think of a relational database that could be useful (like a check register) HanDBase allows the user to create a custom check register to fit the user's needs. The interface easily helps you along, and you can create tables and columns that are dependent on each other. In other words, you can integrate data and basically create simple mini-programs that fulfill business and personal needs.

It gets better. Checkable tasks lists, fitness logs, bible studies, business ledgers, contact databases, and more can all be created and then carried on your device.

DDH also offers the ability to create custom databases for individual and enterprise users. It is easy to see why this item is so highly regarded in the Palm world.

To nitpick, I wish that one could create databases on the go on the actual device.

All in all, I enjoyed using this software. Look here for a comparison of features of the BB stable.

Try out HanDBase at the demo download site.

As an added boon, DDH is offering a special code, good for 20% off HanDBase Professional for BlackBerry. Just use the code Dec08TL20 during checkout at the DDH website. The code is good till January 15, 2009.

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