Archive - August, 2008

The Evolution of the Internet Community

August 13, 2008 in Church, Church Planting with 0 Comments

The internet is a funny place.  Many moons ago, before Al Gore invented the internet, people used really neat technology to call other computers or servers.  Basically these computers would talk to each other and the owners could transmit 1s and 0s to each other in nifty green screen or if you were lucky orange screen.  They would also dial into a central computer and use something called BBS.  BBS was the early form of online community.

Now, I’m not that geeky and most of what I know about these old technologies I’ve learned from Hollywood or books such as “The Computer that Wore Sneakers”.  My foray into the wonderful world of the information superhighway came sometime in the mid-Nineties when I would use my grandparent’s home computer to dial up (probably a 9600 or 14.4 modem I don’t remember) to America Online to research and occasionally chat.  Surely you remember those days?  During college I utilized AOL Instant Messenger exclusively and services like Yahoo and MSN were loathed by yours truly.  I used to chat a ton and always had IM active when I was online.  Then I would meet one person who used Yahoo or one person who used MSN Messenger.  Then cool services like Trillian and now the web based Meebo came out where you could have one central location to manage all of your contacts.  Today, Social Networking, which is pretty much what the early BBS and IM were, has exploded into tons of networks and services.

So what?  I was thinking today as I was reading a new blog that I stumbled upon by a guy named Paul Watson about the social nature of the internet. It seems that we’ve come full circle in terms of what we use the internet for.  Sure we can get the latest news, stock quotes, pay bills, buy stuff that we don’t even need, and conduct endless amounts of research.  But by and large the internet is still used for networking of the social and professional variety. Blogs, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, Forums, LinkedIn, and a whole bunch of other places are simply ways to connect with other people.

Paul’s blog has a ton of interesting info about reaching the online generation.  If you are a staff member or volunteer at a church, it is worth your time to take a minute to check his blog out.

I’ll be talking more about the online community and what I’ve done and what I would like to do to have a great impact more as the days go by.  The real eye opener behind all of this is that people are searching out connections and community in any way that they can get it.  What can we do to help fill this real need in people’s lives?

A Gospel Centered Life

August 3, 2008 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

A little more than 17 years has passed since I decided there was something missing from my life.  I remember clearly being at Pine Haven, the camp I went to and worked at for a good portion of my life, and responding to an altar call.  I spoke with my Cabin Dad about my decision and then when I returned home I spoke with my minister as well.  Later that week I was baptized.  Why am I thinking about this?

This past week a dear friend and minister of the Gospel passed away.  A man that has had and will continue to have a great impact on the Kingdom of God, David Kester.  A man that is dearly loved by many.  I was reading a transcript of the Eulogy that was delivered at his funeral by another friend and was deeply moved.  Not really by the words (although they were moving as well), but by the man whom the words were spoken about.  It dawned on me that one of the differences between David and myself is that David truly lead a Gospel Centered Life.  He understood that the Gospel isn’t something that we simply preach, it is something that we are.  The Gospel isn’t something that we read and write about, it is something that we embody.  Do we need to use words?  Sometimes.  Is the Kingdom impact even greater when we’re able to be the incarnation of the Gospel that we preach?  Indeed.

How is this done?  One of the things that struck me in reading my friend’s tribute to David was my memory of this man.  He was one of the wisest people I’ve ever met.  On the other hand, one of the funniest and most sarcastic people I’ve ever met.  His embodiment of the Gospel was simply by being him.  Sure, he was a pastor, a board member, a committee person, an author, but he was mostly just David.  I think that I often try to compartmentalize my personalities.  No, I’m not in need of medication.  I’m in need of repentance and repair, however.  It isn’t that I try to be someone I’m not.  It isn’t even that I’m dramatically different in the different sectors of my life.  I simply want to live a Gospel Centered Life.  I want my life to make even half the impact that David’s had.  I want my relationship with Jesus to be as personal as David’s.  I think that, more than anything, is what I’ve just now realized.  How can I invite people into a relationship that isn’t even that personal.  Oh sure, I have a lot of personal closeness with Jesus.  But thinking of the life of my friend David reminds me that I can be closer.  it isn’t a challenge to see who can be closer.  At the end of the day, David’s life was simply about helping people become closer to Jesus.  Thank You, Dave.  You’ll be missed until we meet again.