5 Things I Am Excited About... Part 5
I can't even put into words what my small group means to me. We are growing together and serving together. Late nights playing basketball and cards. Knowing that we can count on each other for anything and call each other any time. I have seen growth, healing, friendship, love... too many words. I am excited about the doors God is opening for our group and I know that we will step through them without fear.
5 Things I Am Excited About... Part 4
Beginning in just a couple of months we will be doing a series called "Pastor's Choice". Each pastor is going to pick the topic that they are most passionate about and do a sermon on that topic. It should be the best message we each preach because of the conviction and passion we put into it. We currently have 6 speaking pastors at High Rock so it will be a six-week series. We will rotate around to the campuses so each campus will have a different speaker each week and each pastor will get a chance to speak at all three campuses. Not only that (and this is a little bit selfish) but each pastor only has to speak 3 out of 6 weeks. It should be a really great series for all of us!
I'm not sure exactly what I am going to speak on yet, maybe money... haha!
5 Things I Am Excited About... Part 3
This new campus is a tremendous opportunity for me to take the next step in the journey God has Jess and myself on. He has kept surprising us with change after change, asking us to do things that are uncomfortable for us and even kind of risky. This is just the next one.
My excitement however, outweighs my fear. I know that anywhere God send us, He goes with us. He will provide for us, He will protect us, and He will sustain us. I have no doubt that He is going to make that campus successful if we are faithful in our service and direction. That being said, I also know that His timing may not be my timing, His definition of success may not be my definition of success, and His vision for what the campus should be may not be my vision. So I will ask you to pray for me, Jess, the core team, the campus, and the community. You would be doing me a huge favor if you would pray specifically that God would give me direction, clarity, and perseverance. If you and I can pray for that together then God will direct us to exactly the place and time He wants us to be.
5 Things I Am Excited About... Part 2
It is like a breath of fresh air having Pastor Ray back home. For the last year and a half it has been like we were incomplete as a staff and church. Almost like we were a eight-cylinder engine firing on only seven. Now that he's back we are back to full power and I am stoked to see what God is going to use us to do. His return opens up a whole new world of strengths and options which will make us even more effective for reaching people for Christ. Don't know exactly how to describe it... just know that I am excited! It's like we just stepped through another door and we aren't really sure where it is taking us, just that it's going to be incredible.
(how in the world did I post this at the same time I was preaching...?)
5 Things I Am Excited About... Part 1
As some of you may know, and some may not, my wife Jess and I just found out that we are expecting our second child! This is absolutely great news and also a wonderful surprise! (Yes, we do know how that happens...) The miracle of birth is something that can't be explained, it can only be experienced. We were simply in awe when our first boy (JD) was born and I expect much the same reaction with this one. Along with the excitement comes a level of uncertainty as well because in November we will be birthing a child and quite possibly a new campus as well. That will be a roller coaster for sure! I should probably write a book.
I am also excited about what God is doing in my marriage and how he is teaching Jess and I. We are growing closer and learning more about each other every day.
And of course, JD is growing like an IRA in the 90's. He is doing something new every day, crawling, standing, walking (soon enough). It is absolutely amazing!
While we are speaking about family, please be praying for my Grandparents who are still recovering from their car accident and for my brother and his wife as well.
Blog Series'
Technology
With the debut of our most recent reinvention of the High Rock website and the accompanying changes to the blogs; I have been pondering the effect of technology on ministry. As time has passed, we have sought ways that we can streamline our web solutions and make them more efficient. That is the main reason we made the latest advancement in the website. The previous version was slick, but it was designed by an amateur architect (yours truly) which made it visually appealing and structurally cumbersome. It was difficult to update, maintain and alter. Not only that, but I was the only one who could make changes. That is simply not a good use of our resources or time. The new site will allow anyone with access to make changes or updates. Really the whole goal of the technology we utilize is to make information easily available and deployable in an efficient manner. So what technology do we use and what effect does it have on our ministry and communication?
· Website: Believe it or not, most people that I talk to say they found our church through one of two avenues… personal invitation and the website. It has become the primary means of discovery for people moving to a new area, replacing the Yellow Pages as people’s go-to source of information. It is crucial that our site be attractive, easy to navigate, and informational. You could say I am obsessed with comparing our site to other churches’. Not because I am competitive (yeah right), but because I want ours to be as perfect as it can possibly be. For information on the company that helped design our site, go to http://www.cloversites.com/.
· Blogs: Truth is, if you asked most people in our church what a Blog is, they would probably think it is a big swampy area somewhere in the woods! Of course I know that you are savvier than that because you are reading this right now. Blogs are actually a excellent tool for communicating thoughts on the web. Blog is short for Weblog which is simply an online journal. These tools give a great opportunity for Pastors to share their passions, lessons, and general musings with their church and the world. It allows leaders to communicate every day of the week without being limited to 30 minutes on the weekend. As a staff we also subscribe to many other pastor’s blogs. It helps keep us up-to-date on what is going on the ministry world and provides us with ideas from pastors who are much smarter than us! For information on the company that hosts our blogs, go to http://www.blogger.com/.
· Email: This is no big surprise to anyone, and it isn’t really new, but the great advantage it gives to ministry is that it provides one more avenue for people to contact the pastors and know that the message will be waiting on them. One of the upsides we have seen over the years is that sometimes it is good to have things in writing… enough said. Not to mention the fact that email was part of God’s plan for Ray’s absence. Probably the greatest disadvantage that email carries with it is that it does not carry emotion or tone. Words meant one way can be taken another and misinterpretations are common. Definitely not the best way to communicate, but still effective for what it’s worth.
· Facebook: This is a train we have just recently jumped on and it has been very effective! It is a great way to communicate and keep tabs on friends and church members. You can watch people’s “status” send notes, instant message, post pictures/videos, create groups, invite people to events, etc. It is very effective networking tool. For more information, or to sign up, go to http://www.facebook.com/.
· Twitter: Again, several staff members have just started using this service. Basically it updates people on your current status and people can track it… i.e.: “Going to work”, “Feeding JD”, “Eating chicken wings”. If you want more information on “Tweeting” go to http://www.twitter.com/.
· Mobile Devices: I just got a Blackberry Curve, which several other staff members have as well. I have found it to be a great tool because I can check email, facebook, text messages, and phone calls all from one place. I don’t even need to turn on my computer when I get home now, it all goes to the BB. It has certainly made things easier, but it also comes with what I consider to be the curse of all cell phones. Although people can always get a hold of you when you have a cell phone, PEOPLE CAN ALWAYS GET A HOLD OF YOU WHEN YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE! There is absolutely no privacy anymore. Many people expect pastors to be on call 100% of the time. Makes sense then that most pastors end up getting burnt out! With the increase of technology has come the decrease in people’s awareness and respect for boundaries. But that is a topic for another blog… I think I have said enough…
That’s it for now, another random ranting. I am hoping to start blogging in series’. I have noticed that many other pastors do that as well. It should help me come up with ideas and remain consistent in my posting. Besides, what good is efficient technology if it isn’t used!?
