As I have mentioned in various posts throughout this weblog, I have been a proud employee of Christianity Today International for some time now. After serving as the first webmaster for the General Council of the Assemblies of God and a brief stint as a self-employed consultant, I was invited to join CTI's staff by Vice-President of R&D, John LaRue.
That was in the late-summer of 1999. I already had a relationship with CTI by then because when the A/G first decided to go online in 1995, we did it through CTI's America Online content-provider area, "Christianity Today Online." In order for the A/G to provide content on AOL via CTI, I was sent to the CT offices in Carol Stream to learn how to use the AOL "Rainmaker" system for content-management. (What a headache that system was!) As it turned out, only a few of us outside content providers ever took advantage of the training CTI provided after returning home, and that apparently made me noteworthy in CTI's eyes. So, when Judy Gill, office manager for the content production team at that time, found out that I was no longer working for HQ, she prevailed upon John LaRue to find a way for me to come work on staff in an official capacity.
Today (Tuesday, the 14th), I will be giving a presentation at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's third annual "Publishing University." This is a shout-out to anybody from the ECPA-U who's stopped by to say hi.
My assigned topic is "Technology for Editors." But After working through several different plans of attack — and nearly losing my laptop in the process — I've settled on the subject: "Strategies for working and publishing in an information age."
I plan to give a very broad view of three subjects that could easily justify a week-long course for each:
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. 
)
An alert reader notified me that on Tuesday, October 17, Eric Brian Golden admitted to murdering his wife, DeeDee Marie Golden late one night 11 months ago, on November 17, 2005.
If you're new to this blog, I wrote about Brian Golden previously. He was an ordained Assemblies of God minister, serving as youth pastor at Southside A/G, in Savannah, Georgia. Here are the former posts:
Found yesterday on the AG-NEWS announcement list:
AG News wants to know if podcasts of sermons/messages by the local church is widespread.
Take the short AG News poll and let us know! Click here to begin...
I took the poll.
I listen to a lot of sermons and other spoken word content on my PocketPC. I load it up each week with chocolaty goodness and fill my mind while commuting the two hours I spend driving each day.
Here's to hoping the A/G decides to promote podcasting by the local church. Though, not every church needs to (or should) podcast, it would be good to get some of our better preachers more exposure.
Meanwhile, check out my good friend John Abela's online audio initiative for A/G preachers at:
I want to say a few words about the power of blogging on a personal level. And I want to challenge my fellow quiet Pentecostals and Charismatics to pick up the keyboard and begin writing.
Words have Consequences
A friend on an email message group recently asked me about the effectiveness of ministering through a blog. So I'd been thinking about that when a couple things landed in my inbox that encouraged me and seem to illustrate the answer to his question. Writing in a public forum — whether blogging, managing a web page, or crafting freelance articles for a newspaper or magazine — can have an effect.
First up, from Amber, who sent me a nice note via my online contact form:
« I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. … Your blog is always honest and open, you don't shy away from even the hard stuff in your comments. After joining the Assemblies at 16, I soon discovered that opinions and controversy and doubt are all too often a flag for that person needing to "get saved" again.
I have just recently left the Assemblies … but a part of it is still in me, hopefully the good parts. And honestly, I think all of those good parts are what you portray here at your blog.
Thanks for being there and restoring a little of my fragile hope for humanity. »
At 2:40 PM (CST) on Tuesday, September 26, I "appeared" on MSNBC's 'Net review: The Most, with Alison Stewart. Alison's producer spoke with Mark Moring, editor for the Christianity Today Movies channel, wondering if he'd be willing to answer a few questions about Jesus Camp on-air.
Since I'd seen the documentary and recently written an article for CT Movies, he deferred to me. I nervously accepted the opportunity.
I appeared not as a representative of Christianity Today (my employer), but as "a Pentecostal blogger" writing for Christianity Today Movies.
For three minutes, I fielded three questions:
- "What did you walk away from this documentary thinking about Evangelical camps for kids?"
- "Becky Fischer ...
Jesus Camp, what an experience. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's investigation into the hidden world of one Pentecostal kids' camp simultaneously delighted me, fascinated me, and embarrassed me. I love this film. I hate this film.
It angers me.
For those who haven't seen the trailer, by now, the premise is simple: follow three pre-teens from Missouri heading to a summer camp owned by the Assemblies of God in Devils Lake, North Dakota (Lakewood Park Bible Camp). Document their experiences there, and follow up on the aftermath. Simple enough.
But the devil, as they say, is in the details. Or, in this case, the future Evangelical Army of God is in the details. As Ewing and Grady have noted, their initial raw footage had no real drama: "There was absolutely no conflict. … it wasn't dynamic enough." So, toss in a conflicted profile of the "Kids on Fire" camp director, Becky Fischer; include a few oddball characters for color and commentary; stir up dissent using Air America radio host Mike Papantonio and his uninformed Greek chorus of callers. Then get a major Charismatic Evangelical to appear in the documentary to give your subtext some heft and legitimacy and tie it all together with a neat little bow called George Bush and the Supreme Court.
These are a few of the things I've recently found of interest, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
Marc, over at Spudlets, posted a reflection on 9/11 and its aftermath, now five years gone.
At the very least, whether it’s the day after or five years later, it comes down to how you have made a difference with the life and talents you were given. Have you loved deeply and given much? Can’t do anything about yesterday, today is a work in progress, and tomorrow holds out hope for something better. It’s up to us to grab that opportunity.
Amen.
I've been reflecting on this as well, and commenting elsewhere about suffering and tragedy. So, Marc's post prompted me to say more. And and I thought why not share my thoughts here, as well?
This week, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's indie documentary, Jesus Camp, is set to release, and already the blogosphere is all abuzz about it. I can't wait. I will be catching a pre-release screening of the film through the auspices of Christianity Today International, my employer, and will write my reactions to it as soon as possible. Of course, I'll share it with you.
Upon seeing the trailer, linked below, I was shocked and fascinated. Repelled and embarrassed. And angry. You see, I went to these camps as a kid. I witnessed this kind of exuberant excess, only I saw it with the eyes of an insider, both as a teenager and later as a camp counselor. I have seen the pseudo exorcisms (I sincerely doubt any of the exhibitions I saw at the altar were genuine possession) and I've seen my peers faint and wooden on the floor, both praising, weeping, and sometimes faking it.
And, looking back, it is a little creepy. But it was also formative.
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
Just a very quick note to say that I've updated the PneumaBlogs list in recent days to include some stellar new names, including:
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
I keep seeing these posts where memes get passed around, where one person "tags" another as an inducement to answer a list of questions. One is presumably supposed to answer the questions, post the response, and tag a handful of others.
I had been secretly glad that I'd never been tagged. And I also wondered, just how are you supposed to find out you're on the hook?
Well. Never mind. There I was ego-surfing my blog, checking out the incoming referrers, wondering who's linked to me lately, and there I find that Travis Johnson, fellow PneumaBlogger, has done gone and tagged me with the One Book meme.
An enterprising Ben Fernström, with way too much time on his hands, tracked down the beginnings of the One Book meme, wrote an entertaining narrative, and positioned himself as belonging to the 14th generation of this meme's recipients.
Thus, ultimately, we have Benjamin Myers to blame for this post. I'm the 18th generation of this particular meme, but by a different route (see the note at the end).
:: sigh ::
Well, at least I'm one of the cool kids now!
So, here goes:
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
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Titled "To hell and back", from Dateline NBC. Carlton now peaches that everybody gets a free pass to Heaven--everybody. Says Pearson: "I was resentful of God. See, if you fear God the way we’re taught to fear Him, you’ll serve
Update: I've added Jennifer's account of AJ's first day in the comments section, for the interested.
Today we sent our little boy to school for the first time. Nobody wept. There was no gnashing of teeth, wailing, or sack-cloth and ashes. On our part, anyhow. Instead, we were excited to see AJ off to a new adventure in his life, one that promises whole new rafts of friends, future sleepovers, new books to read, realms of knowledge to acquire, and numerous — I repeat ... numerous — parent-teacher conferences down the road.
He's not angry, just surprised and squinting into the Sun. Or maybe he's just part Ferengi.
Every parent believes their child to be the brightest bulb in the firmament — with the possible exception of overachieving, insecure parents who vicariously live through their childen, ever suspecting and fearing that their child will prove to be as colossal a failure as they imagine themselves to be.
Not us. AJ is not only bright, he is certifiably bright, even if nobody believes us the first time we warn them — err — inform them. My Bride and are enomously proud of our son (when we're not enormously vexed by his impulse-control), and I've already been justifiably corrected by my son on many observations I've made. The days are few until he truly knows more about things than I do and I become the student. Nevertheless, I hope to remain in service as his father, mentor, and guide — even through High School.
This is a repost of a recent article for CTLibrary.com. Enjoy, and please post your reactions. (For a related post, see, "Violence and Entertainment.")
Is mounting teen violence evidence of the effects of violent video games?
CHRISTIANITY TODAY LIBRARY | RICHARD TATUM | JULY 31, 2006
On Tuesday, March 24, 1998, two cousins, aged 13 and 11, soldiered up. Donning camouflage and armed with handguns and rifles, they hid in the trees near Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, while an accomplice set off the school's fire alarm. The ambush came off with military perfection: firing only 27 shots, the juvenile commandos killed 4 middle-school girls, 1 teacher, and wounded 11 others fleeing the building.
While most planned acts of violence in school are probably foiled, many attempts have been successful in recent years, including several well-publicized events. Beyond the immediate tragedy and bloody aftermath, one troubling aspect of these events is the lack of a profile for children prone to violence. Apparently, children "snap" into violence, and there's simply no predicting the fracture.
But something is clearly causing a "tipping point," driving children to violence in increasing numbers. The catalyst, many say, is violent media — specifically, gory video games that desensitize players to violence, train them in deadly shooting skills, and reward killing without consequences.
Okay, so I'm trying out the Windows Live Writer — because I'm a sucker for new tools and I'm always on the lookout for the better (free) blogging tool. Besides, Amy at GentleWhisper made me do it. ...
Installation
The install went okay ... the second time. The installer wants to add the Windows Live toolbar to Internet Explorer. I initially opted for it, but after Live Writer failed to read my blog settings, I uninstalled everything and started over — this time without the toolbar.
On the second install I de-opted for the MSIE toolbar, since I rarely use MSIE anyhow. This time, Live Writer started up nicely and read my blog settings without halting. Not sure why the toolbar would've made a difference. Not sure if it did or not, but second time was the charm.
Setup
After installing,
Updated: On 9/12/06, I updated this list with my current active plugins.
Because Amy over at GentleWhisper asked nicely, I hereby share with you my fabulous list of FireFox extensions I could not live without. This is my list of plugins at home ... my work plugins differ a bit.
A couple recommended exceptions that I don't list here and which I haven't gotten around to installing yet are Aardvaark (to modify page layout before printing or copying and pasting) and GreaseMonkey — which allows for select javascript to be run on any page, which makes the options infinitely varied. Oh, and RSSPanel (providing a nice floating menu with links to the sites feed entries and links to the feeds themselves) ... which can actually be done away with once you get the
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
[tags]BlogRodent, canada, Christianity, Fiqh, Hadith, Islam, Muhammad, Muslim, peace, religion, Sira, violence[/tags]
Remember the "pitch his tents" sermon by Blake Bergstrom? No, tell me you haven't forgotten about the youth pastor who insisted that Lot pinched his bosom ... several times--and then nearly passed out from embarassment. Well, then refresh your memory over at "When sermons go awry", first, because the followup here is priceless.
Blake still has a job, fortunately, but his employers aren't above never letting him live it down. Recently, the film crew of Prank 3:16 showed up with several hidden cameras and wired the church offices for sound.
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
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Their numbers have doubled in the last five years from 600 to 1,200 nationwide. And now, more and more, a single church may become a megachurch by having branches at several locations.
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100-Gbyte
These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )
