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Archives for August 2016

Social Media Spewing: Venting Redefined


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I’ve been doing a lot thinking about social media, as I taught a class on it at church last month and I’m currently writing a book about it. In the process of doing all of this, I realized that so much of what I see on Facebook is negative. A lot of that negativity is centered around the news – angrily sharing news stories or hand-wringing about stories that have been shared. The other portion of negativity, however, was far more personal.

It was whining. Straight up complaining.

Before we get too far, let me be clear that life is tough and unfair. We all have legitimate complaints.

But then, that’s sort of my problem with this trend: everyone has problems! What makes your problems more important than anyone else’s? Why do we all need to stop to validate your issues when we all have issues that could use some validation?

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How to Plan, Create, and Promote Infographics [Infographic]


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We have a little bit of infographic inception here. An article and infographic about how to go through the whole process of infographics. I have created a couple of infographics in my day and let me say that it is nothing like other mediums.

  • Videos require setting up the scene, overshooting, trimming the fat, and making it sparkle.
  • Blog articles are all about getting a great content flow that is readable.
  • Social media much of the time is about spewing content that works within the content strategy.

Infographics, a little more meticulous.

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Church Social Media: Why Do You Do What You Do?


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A few weeks ago the Facebook page I manage for our church was close to a milestone, 1,000 Likes – which for our smaller-medium size church is a pretty big milestone. I would not have thought about the milestone other than Facebook reminded me that on this day two years ago we hit 500 likes. We had come along way from 500 and were now 35 Likes away from 1000.

Some might see the Likes as meaningless numbers, however I see them differently. Every single Like on our page equals one person that has the opportunity to hear about Jesus and what we do at Fairborn UMC. Put into that framework, those “Likes” are incredibly important.

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Politics & Easy Agreement: The Christian Bubble Goes Viral


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I’m an independent voter, but I’m a dependent thinker, meaning that I try to influence my thinking by the truth of God’s Word more than any other source. I’m dependent on God to see and think clearly.

Now, that’s not to say that I don’t take part in political opinions and insights from sources other than God’s Word. In fact, most of the sources that I can find aren’t Christian, which is why, if I can repeat myself, I try so hard to balance it all with the Bible and Christian reading.

You see, I’m trying very hard to not live in the Christian bubble.

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Rebuilding 13: Theology And Tech [Devotional]


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If you would like to purchase the full devotional for yourself or your church, you can purchase Rebuilding: A 19-Week Devotional For Those Serving In Church Technology now at ChurchMagPress in print-ready format.

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”
Dallas Willard

We will be reading through Nehemiah 8:1-18

The wall is built and it is time to dedicate the land back to the Lord. And we are surprised by another huge Old Testament figure, Ezra. The Spirit of the Lord truly was in that place.

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