Many times with the busy lifestyles that many are living, it is easy to lose contact with people that you have shared many hours of both joy and pain with.
People move away due to changing jobs, going to college, and other commitments.
Why not take the time to locate them just to say hello, share news, discuss a shared hobby or interest, and encourage them while sharing the Gospel?
One resource that I use most often for business and personal use has been People Finders.
People Finders is extremely accurate and the cost is worth it indeed. You can pay to use the service for 24 hours or for 30 days.
Use People Finders when you have more than one person to search for or the need to find someone is very high. People Finders will search the entire USA and other information is available as well.
It may become necessary for people who are beginning relationships to use a service like People Finders to know what kind of track record the other party has established.
I was recently asked by another pastor a question on how to locate someone. I knew immediately that People Finders was up to the task and within seconds we had enough contact information to confidently know that the right person was going to be contacted.
The results was that family members were reconnected after a period of noncommunication.
There will be some cases where you will have to use empathy and sense that the other party does not wish to stay in touch with you in spite of your good intentions.
In such cases, just leave the offer of communications open and let them know that you will keep them in prayer.
Therefore it is possible to plant a seed that will bear fruit within another season when the timing is right.
May God bless you as you reconnect according to His will.
Godspeed!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Looking for Christians Topics and Interview Candidates for Christian Podcast
If you or any Christian worldwide that you know who is ministering in a very unique manner or just has something worth noting, just let me know as soon as possible.
We have successfully established the means to create a dynamic Christian podcast with audio, video, photos, and text and are looking to work with other Christians to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ worldwide.
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
We will be conducting interviews worldwide by telephone, e-mail, face-to-face, and Skype.
No limitations regarding age, race, sex, denominations, or locations of topics or Christians interviewed is immediately implemented. We welcome all.
We are looking for more than just simple church announcements.
We are looking for Christian entrepreneurs, recording artists, and anyone within any other positive endeavor that will inspire others in their daily lives.
If you would like to sponsor an edition of the upcoming podcasts, sponsorship opportunities begin at only $20 per episode. Donations of any size are accepted as well.
More news will be shared as we are looking to fully develop the concept into a robust ministry and platform for the Body of Christ.
Feel free to forward this message and URL to anyone possibly interested as well.
We have successfully established the means to create a dynamic Christian podcast with audio, video, photos, and text and are looking to work with other Christians to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ worldwide.
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
We will be conducting interviews worldwide by telephone, e-mail, face-to-face, and Skype.
No limitations regarding age, race, sex, denominations, or locations of topics or Christians interviewed is immediately implemented. We welcome all.
We are looking for more than just simple church announcements.
We are looking for Christian entrepreneurs, recording artists, and anyone within any other positive endeavor that will inspire others in their daily lives.
If you would like to sponsor an edition of the upcoming podcasts, sponsorship opportunities begin at only $20 per episode. Donations of any size are accepted as well.
More news will be shared as we are looking to fully develop the concept into a robust ministry and platform for the Body of Christ.
Feel free to forward this message and URL to anyone possibly interested as well.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Join and/or Start Mailing Lists and Become a Fisher of Men!
As many topics of possible discussion there are offline, there are multiple people online who would love to join a mailing list that you can create to advance the Kingdom of God.
Consider starting or joining a list based around Christian topics as well as secular hobbies and interests.
You can fish for men and women of all ages to let them know how God has made a positive difference in your life and can do the same for them.
Do not practice isolationism when it comes to the Kingdom while you must indeed stay away from discussions that have no redeeming value.
The level of honesty on the internet is far greater and amazing than you will find offline.
In the offline world, people will simply avoid any conflicts by staying away from those who have opposing views. But online, people will get up close and personal to let you know that they do not share your opinions and tell you how you can keep your opinions to yourself.
We must remember that we are sent out as lambs among the wolves and must be clever as serpents. Fishing for souls is not hard if you are committed and remember to do it in the spirit of love.
Love clearly shines through on the internet and more possibly so when you do not have physical traits and appearances clouding the impressions that people radiate (often falsely).
Remember not to allow anyone to drag you into an online battle (called a flame war) without you refraining from the negative side of interpersonal interactions. If you must bite your tongue and not send any messages until things cool down, then by all means do so.
Winning the battle while losing the war is not an option that must be taken lightly. You can defend a position so well that no one will want to hear or read any of your opinions ever again.
Before you actually start a list, consider joining one on a particular topic.
Conduct a search on Google or Yahoo! to determine if there are any mailing lists on the topic already in existence.
I have created mailing lists on websites that have been eventually acquired by Yahoo! as Yahoo! Groups. They offer a free service while being very easy to maintain.
There are lists available at Topica as well.
I remember a website that listed various mailing lists that was entitled Liszt. I just checked for it and it has been acquired by Topica.
Here is a link to search results on Google for mailing lists.
Several management policies that I have successfully implemented when starting a mailing list are to:
1. Keep the list of subscribers viewable by only the moderators;
2. Allow subscribing members to create posts and send messages without moderation after they typically demonstrate that they will do so without sending messages that could be considered spam;
3. Moderate and approve messages from all new members since there are people who will join a mailing list in order to send spam (and stay on the list until you cancel their membership or ban them from the list altogether);
4. Keep previous posts (the history) viewable only to the moderators if at all. Depending upon your topic, some members will not want their previous posts to be viewable if the messages are of a personal nature.
There are several lists that have served as an owner's manual for products and services and have worked far better than the original manufacturer or service provider's own documentation. Such lists should have their history available for any current members to review at will.
5. Make the messages viewable only to members. Your mailing lists will indeed become more valuable as time progresses. Each message contributed to the list will prove to be valuable to members that will subscribe to the list days, months, or years later. Therefore, you will want to enhance the value of joining your list versus leaving the content (messages) available for public consumption.
6. Create a website or blog to advertise and promote your mailing lists since everyone can find your lists whenever they are actively searching for the topics being discussed.
One by-product of such a website or blog is that people may be interested in your secular topic and become curious or interested in joining your Christian list whenever the timing and/or need is appropriate. You will never know how God is using you with this tool to answer prayers.
On your website that mentions your list, create a directory or list of all the various lists that you have either created or started. Some directories can be based around a theme such music, entertainment, products or services, groups or associations belonged to etc.
7. Start a new mailing list for a topic if the owner(s) and/or moderator(s) have not kept the energy levels of the list at an active pace. There is one list that comes to mind which was started after I joined an existing list and saw that:
A. The list had the wrong name and was hard to find as a result.
B. There were no interesting questions or posts sent to jump start the conversations when no one seemed to have anything to say.
8. Offer to take over or assist within the management of an existing list when more help is needed. Managing lists should not become an everyday job if there are more than 5 people on the list. You can change the management settings to allow you to moderate messages by e-mail or view the messages on a website for moderation.
9. Offer and request members to become moderators in order to obtain a greater sense of belonging and community for a list. Some subscribers will have ideas that exceed yours even if they do not post a lot of messages. Other subscribers will only want to be members and not have any additional responsibilities with the list.
10. Remember that starting a mailing list is an online form of servant leadership at its best. You cannot lead if you cannot serve and you cannot serve if you are unready, unwilling, and/or unable to lead. You must have a sense of vision, purpose, and destiny for the topic at hand.
Overall, you can make a difference regardless of your past success or failures elsewhere. Pick up this challenge to see how far you can go to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
One thing about starting and joining mailing lists is that you will expand your reach and influence around the world with people that you may never see or meet otherwise.
There are mailing lists in which I have met other subscribers and remain close to them even though they are miles and time zones away, other lists that I would love to have the opportunity to meet other subscribers, and lists that I hope to never meet a few other people or get deserted on an island with;)
People are people no matter where you are, so remember this when they get on your nerves and humble yourself in knowing that you may get on other nerves eventually at the least.
Clearly mailing lists have become a passion and effective tool of mine. I can probably say more but I will end this with the website created to serve as a directory and portal on mailing lists that I have created:
http://www.electricslide.com entitled Electric Slide.com: Would You Like To Dance? (tm)
Consider starting or joining a list based around Christian topics as well as secular hobbies and interests.
You can fish for men and women of all ages to let them know how God has made a positive difference in your life and can do the same for them.
Do not practice isolationism when it comes to the Kingdom while you must indeed stay away from discussions that have no redeeming value.
The level of honesty on the internet is far greater and amazing than you will find offline.
In the offline world, people will simply avoid any conflicts by staying away from those who have opposing views. But online, people will get up close and personal to let you know that they do not share your opinions and tell you how you can keep your opinions to yourself.
We must remember that we are sent out as lambs among the wolves and must be clever as serpents. Fishing for souls is not hard if you are committed and remember to do it in the spirit of love.
Love clearly shines through on the internet and more possibly so when you do not have physical traits and appearances clouding the impressions that people radiate (often falsely).
Remember not to allow anyone to drag you into an online battle (called a flame war) without you refraining from the negative side of interpersonal interactions. If you must bite your tongue and not send any messages until things cool down, then by all means do so.
Winning the battle while losing the war is not an option that must be taken lightly. You can defend a position so well that no one will want to hear or read any of your opinions ever again.
Before you actually start a list, consider joining one on a particular topic.
Conduct a search on Google or Yahoo! to determine if there are any mailing lists on the topic already in existence.
I have created mailing lists on websites that have been eventually acquired by Yahoo! as Yahoo! Groups. They offer a free service while being very easy to maintain.
There are lists available at Topica as well.
I remember a website that listed various mailing lists that was entitled Liszt. I just checked for it and it has been acquired by Topica.
Here is a link to search results on Google for mailing lists.
Several management policies that I have successfully implemented when starting a mailing list are to:
1. Keep the list of subscribers viewable by only the moderators;
2. Allow subscribing members to create posts and send messages without moderation after they typically demonstrate that they will do so without sending messages that could be considered spam;
3. Moderate and approve messages from all new members since there are people who will join a mailing list in order to send spam (and stay on the list until you cancel their membership or ban them from the list altogether);
4. Keep previous posts (the history) viewable only to the moderators if at all. Depending upon your topic, some members will not want their previous posts to be viewable if the messages are of a personal nature.
There are several lists that have served as an owner's manual for products and services and have worked far better than the original manufacturer or service provider's own documentation. Such lists should have their history available for any current members to review at will.
5. Make the messages viewable only to members. Your mailing lists will indeed become more valuable as time progresses. Each message contributed to the list will prove to be valuable to members that will subscribe to the list days, months, or years later. Therefore, you will want to enhance the value of joining your list versus leaving the content (messages) available for public consumption.
6. Create a website or blog to advertise and promote your mailing lists since everyone can find your lists whenever they are actively searching for the topics being discussed.
One by-product of such a website or blog is that people may be interested in your secular topic and become curious or interested in joining your Christian list whenever the timing and/or need is appropriate. You will never know how God is using you with this tool to answer prayers.
On your website that mentions your list, create a directory or list of all the various lists that you have either created or started. Some directories can be based around a theme such music, entertainment, products or services, groups or associations belonged to etc.
7. Start a new mailing list for a topic if the owner(s) and/or moderator(s) have not kept the energy levels of the list at an active pace. There is one list that comes to mind which was started after I joined an existing list and saw that:
A. The list had the wrong name and was hard to find as a result.
B. There were no interesting questions or posts sent to jump start the conversations when no one seemed to have anything to say.
8. Offer to take over or assist within the management of an existing list when more help is needed. Managing lists should not become an everyday job if there are more than 5 people on the list. You can change the management settings to allow you to moderate messages by e-mail or view the messages on a website for moderation.
9. Offer and request members to become moderators in order to obtain a greater sense of belonging and community for a list. Some subscribers will have ideas that exceed yours even if they do not post a lot of messages. Other subscribers will only want to be members and not have any additional responsibilities with the list.
10. Remember that starting a mailing list is an online form of servant leadership at its best. You cannot lead if you cannot serve and you cannot serve if you are unready, unwilling, and/or unable to lead. You must have a sense of vision, purpose, and destiny for the topic at hand.
Overall, you can make a difference regardless of your past success or failures elsewhere. Pick up this challenge to see how far you can go to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
One thing about starting and joining mailing lists is that you will expand your reach and influence around the world with people that you may never see or meet otherwise.
There are mailing lists in which I have met other subscribers and remain close to them even though they are miles and time zones away, other lists that I would love to have the opportunity to meet other subscribers, and lists that I hope to never meet a few other people or get deserted on an island with;)
People are people no matter where you are, so remember this when they get on your nerves and humble yourself in knowing that you may get on other nerves eventually at the least.
Clearly mailing lists have become a passion and effective tool of mine. I can probably say more but I will end this with the website created to serve as a directory and portal on mailing lists that I have created:
http://www.electricslide.com entitled Electric Slide.com: Would You Like To Dance? (tm)
Monday, June 06, 2005
Enjoy Christian Broadcasts with TiVo
As much as I enjoy a good sermon, nothing compares to being able to listen and watch as much Christian tv broadcasts as time allows with TiVo.
We primarily use TiVo to record television programs that are being aired in the middle of the night and watch them at other times whenever we want to.
If you already have TiVo within your home, please consider buying another TiVo unit for someone who would greatly benefit from watching Christian broadcasts on TiVo.
I must state with a sense of clarity that I really believe that TiVo would more greatly benefit pastors and church leaders (and/or people who might not buy a TiVo for failing to understand what they can do with one) if they knew that they could save a lot of time in obtaining news and information on what is going on within the world.
Any household will benefit from having TiVo, but it will take a special, peculiar people to really understand how they can receive encouragement and regain control of the television viewing hours taking place within their household by using TiVo.
You can also control the remote more efficiently whenever the news or something scary or inappropriate suddenly appears on the screen.
Here are a couple of blog entries that I wrote on my personal blog about TiVo:
TiVo or Channel Surf, The Choice Is Yours and Ours!
Only TiVo Users Will Appreciate This
3 Must Read Articles if You're Considering Joining The TiVo Swarm!
Godspeed!
We primarily use TiVo to record television programs that are being aired in the middle of the night and watch them at other times whenever we want to.
If you already have TiVo within your home, please consider buying another TiVo unit for someone who would greatly benefit from watching Christian broadcasts on TiVo.
I must state with a sense of clarity that I really believe that TiVo would more greatly benefit pastors and church leaders (and/or people who might not buy a TiVo for failing to understand what they can do with one) if they knew that they could save a lot of time in obtaining news and information on what is going on within the world.
Any household will benefit from having TiVo, but it will take a special, peculiar people to really understand how they can receive encouragement and regain control of the television viewing hours taking place within their household by using TiVo.
You can also control the remote more efficiently whenever the news or something scary or inappropriate suddenly appears on the screen.
Here are a couple of blog entries that I wrote on my personal blog about TiVo:
TiVo or Channel Surf, The Choice Is Yours and Ours!
Only TiVo Users Will Appreciate This
3 Must Read Articles if You're Considering Joining The TiVo Swarm!
Godspeed!
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Service I Would Like To See Created or Added On
I know that social networking websites like Classmates.com, Reunion.com and a few others could very easily add on a service that I have thought about time and time again.
I would like to see a website have the ability to reconnect or reunite those that would like to be reconnected based upon certain events in their lives.
I know that everyone in heaven will have this capability while those dwelling in hell will have too many issues to deal with.
Certain events like:
church of past membership,
past membership of any organization,
people, places, things experienced (like a concert, event, were you there moment) etc.
The catalyst for this is that we have met some Christians and other people in those once-in-a-lifetime places or events and would like to know how they are currently living.
Many times you cannot exchange enough information to make a reconnection no matter how hard you try.
For example, my cousin Adrian and I met 5 young ladies back in 1983 at Disney World who were from Indiana. They all just ended their freshman years in college while I had just graduated high school.
Even though at the time we knew their names and where some of them went to school (Spelman, DePaul and a few others I do not remember), there was not enough information to see how everyone is doing today.
I am sure that everyone has children (one young lady had a young child back then with her) and has married by now and I know that others have had the same experiences.
Those random encounters could produce some wonderful fruit if handled correctly.
Although all encounters may not be worthwhile, those who are mutually curious should be able to reestablish such contact for worthwhile purposes.
Maybe this idea is one that Google will be able to best handle;)
If you discover such a service, please let me know!
I would like to see a website have the ability to reconnect or reunite those that would like to be reconnected based upon certain events in their lives.
I know that everyone in heaven will have this capability while those dwelling in hell will have too many issues to deal with.
Certain events like:
church of past membership,
past membership of any organization,
people, places, things experienced (like a concert, event, were you there moment) etc.
The catalyst for this is that we have met some Christians and other people in those once-in-a-lifetime places or events and would like to know how they are currently living.
Many times you cannot exchange enough information to make a reconnection no matter how hard you try.
For example, my cousin Adrian and I met 5 young ladies back in 1983 at Disney World who were from Indiana. They all just ended their freshman years in college while I had just graduated high school.
Even though at the time we knew their names and where some of them went to school (Spelman, DePaul and a few others I do not remember), there was not enough information to see how everyone is doing today.
I am sure that everyone has children (one young lady had a young child back then with her) and has married by now and I know that others have had the same experiences.
Those random encounters could produce some wonderful fruit if handled correctly.
Although all encounters may not be worthwhile, those who are mutually curious should be able to reestablish such contact for worthwhile purposes.
Maybe this idea is one that Google will be able to best handle;)
If you discover such a service, please let me know!
Remember To Network Your Nets!
I was just reading an article within a newspaper's website and was pleasantly surprised to see readers' comments posted immediately after the online article itself.
Clearly the readers are also not within the immediate circulation area of the newspaper as we are not.
This is not surprising nor should it be. But it is when the application is applied to churches and growing congregations.
Even megachurches with their amazing cathedrals and routine fast membership growth typically fail to network the various attendees of worship services and other events within the local community.
One theory is that those of us who are church leaders are concerned whether people could be misled and taken advantage of by those who would use their remote or direct affiliation with us.
But this should not be the case since the same concern could and is happening within the four walls where we congregate on a regular basis.
Which situation is worse: being taken advantage of by someone you do not know well or by someone that you do know?
Bottom line, our guard should not be lowered within the church and the opportunity to network the local community should not be quickly dismissed and overlooked.
We have greater wealth than most institutions within the societies where we are located and have an impact.
Our connection to God should be extended to network the people of God and even nonbelievers near us.
The closeness and entry that we can gain into the homes of the local community is the only way that we have the potential to introduce and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world.
We should use every medium imaginable and can be created to gain access into the homes near and far.
Create an online forum in the form of a bulletin board on a website, mailing list, or blog where people can post their comments, thoughts, and discuss the past, recent, and future events and issues affecting the local congregation and community.
It does not matter whether or not everyone should have to agree with the local church leadership as well.
We are to be strong enough to defend our position while remaining open to changing our minds and positions where the situation warrants it.
None of us should consider ourselves above reproach and being challenged to express ourselves or our beliefs in a different manner. It may be the case that the first way we explained something gave a different understanding than what we really meant. In other cases, it may be the case that our actions or inactions had a different by product or result we had not considered.
Numerous negative church splits could have been prevented if the dissenters and opposing opinions were given a forum to express themselves.
Then if agreement cannot be reached and the threat to ongoing harmony is becoming irrepairable, a positive church split can be created to allow the remnant to plant another church elsewhere.
I did not mean this blog entry to focus on church splits, but I know how many pastors and church leaders think. I have also seen enough church splits and associations crumble under the doctrine of "my way or the highway" mindsets.
Networking our nets means that we have built an early warning system and allowed individual members and nonmembers the opportunity to potentially have their needs met by the first one on the scene versus having the need to go through our church bureaucracies very slowly.
This is how bees work.
When it comes time to sting, there is no need to submit a form, hold a meeting, and call a larger meeting to discuss whether or not a stinging action is executed.
We should look at the bees in the same way when it comes to being a blessing.
Create a minimum budget or currency threshold that will require more management and consideration if necessary .
But in the meantime, know that the principles of first-come first-serve and meeting the greater needs of our churches can only be obtained by putting a system in place to obtain the necessary information thoroughly as soon as possible.
Sure there will cases where someone may have to be censured or a post removed, but a registration process should keep the editing to a minimum.
Through networking the nets, the work load should and will be reduced on the critical few church members who are already overworked.
This is the case unless being a workaholic is really desired;)
Glory be to God!
Clearly the readers are also not within the immediate circulation area of the newspaper as we are not.
This is not surprising nor should it be. But it is when the application is applied to churches and growing congregations.
Even megachurches with their amazing cathedrals and routine fast membership growth typically fail to network the various attendees of worship services and other events within the local community.
One theory is that those of us who are church leaders are concerned whether people could be misled and taken advantage of by those who would use their remote or direct affiliation with us.
But this should not be the case since the same concern could and is happening within the four walls where we congregate on a regular basis.
Which situation is worse: being taken advantage of by someone you do not know well or by someone that you do know?
Bottom line, our guard should not be lowered within the church and the opportunity to network the local community should not be quickly dismissed and overlooked.
We have greater wealth than most institutions within the societies where we are located and have an impact.
Our connection to God should be extended to network the people of God and even nonbelievers near us.
The closeness and entry that we can gain into the homes of the local community is the only way that we have the potential to introduce and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world.
We should use every medium imaginable and can be created to gain access into the homes near and far.
Create an online forum in the form of a bulletin board on a website, mailing list, or blog where people can post their comments, thoughts, and discuss the past, recent, and future events and issues affecting the local congregation and community.
It does not matter whether or not everyone should have to agree with the local church leadership as well.
We are to be strong enough to defend our position while remaining open to changing our minds and positions where the situation warrants it.
None of us should consider ourselves above reproach and being challenged to express ourselves or our beliefs in a different manner. It may be the case that the first way we explained something gave a different understanding than what we really meant. In other cases, it may be the case that our actions or inactions had a different by product or result we had not considered.
Numerous negative church splits could have been prevented if the dissenters and opposing opinions were given a forum to express themselves.
Then if agreement cannot be reached and the threat to ongoing harmony is becoming irrepairable, a positive church split can be created to allow the remnant to plant another church elsewhere.
I did not mean this blog entry to focus on church splits, but I know how many pastors and church leaders think. I have also seen enough church splits and associations crumble under the doctrine of "my way or the highway" mindsets.
Networking our nets means that we have built an early warning system and allowed individual members and nonmembers the opportunity to potentially have their needs met by the first one on the scene versus having the need to go through our church bureaucracies very slowly.
This is how bees work.
When it comes time to sting, there is no need to submit a form, hold a meeting, and call a larger meeting to discuss whether or not a stinging action is executed.
We should look at the bees in the same way when it comes to being a blessing.
Create a minimum budget or currency threshold that will require more management and consideration if necessary .
But in the meantime, know that the principles of first-come first-serve and meeting the greater needs of our churches can only be obtained by putting a system in place to obtain the necessary information thoroughly as soon as possible.
Sure there will cases where someone may have to be censured or a post removed, but a registration process should keep the editing to a minimum.
Through networking the nets, the work load should and will be reduced on the critical few church members who are already overworked.
This is the case unless being a workaholic is really desired;)
Glory be to God!
More on Podcasts
I subscribe to a podcast created by cast members of a technology show that was revamped to the point of a zombie like existence after the network was acquired by another company.
Their podcasts represents a very interesting collective of people all focused on cutting edge consumer technology and how it can be used. They also give great reviews on new products and services that can save potential buyers a lot of time and avoid grief if the purchase was going to be a lemon.
But recently one of the team members went out of town which was normal since he travels between Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Petaluma, California USA weekly.
The recent trip was to New Orleans, Louisiana. I do not know if the trip was taxing or there is something unusual about New Orleans, but the team has really gotten thrown off their regular podcasting schedule.
The delay has been compounded by the team recording a 2 hour podcast to make up for the delay. This was and is not a good idea for anyone to consider.
Stick with your regular length of podcast if you encounter a delay or even produce a shorter podcast. Then increase the length of the following podcasts over a period of time.
The reason for this is that you will risk losing your audience which may never return even though the current technology does not require any additional work on the subscribers' part to obtain the podcast.
But if a subscriber forms a new habit of not listening to your podcast, the effort may be harder to reestablish than it was to establish the habit of active listening to the podcast in the first place.
The same can be applied to blogs.
I have learned this directly after creating the last blog entry on blogs and podcasts.
I did not realize that the blog entry was so detailed and subsequently long that I felt as if I had written 3 separate blog entries.
It is and was a labor of love that will not need to be recreated at any time in the future, so I am pleased with that.
But I will create an outline for future blog entries if they risk requiring the same level of detail and serve as a memory aid if I risk forgetting the flow where I ended the previous post.
I know that all of us can learn from the mistakes of others and grow directly and indirectly at the same time.
We are working to accomplish a spirit of excellence within any new ministry medium.
Their podcasts represents a very interesting collective of people all focused on cutting edge consumer technology and how it can be used. They also give great reviews on new products and services that can save potential buyers a lot of time and avoid grief if the purchase was going to be a lemon.
But recently one of the team members went out of town which was normal since he travels between Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Petaluma, California USA weekly.
The recent trip was to New Orleans, Louisiana. I do not know if the trip was taxing or there is something unusual about New Orleans, but the team has really gotten thrown off their regular podcasting schedule.
The delay has been compounded by the team recording a 2 hour podcast to make up for the delay. This was and is not a good idea for anyone to consider.
Stick with your regular length of podcast if you encounter a delay or even produce a shorter podcast. Then increase the length of the following podcasts over a period of time.
The reason for this is that you will risk losing your audience which may never return even though the current technology does not require any additional work on the subscribers' part to obtain the podcast.
But if a subscriber forms a new habit of not listening to your podcast, the effort may be harder to reestablish than it was to establish the habit of active listening to the podcast in the first place.
The same can be applied to blogs.
I have learned this directly after creating the last blog entry on blogs and podcasts.
I did not realize that the blog entry was so detailed and subsequently long that I felt as if I had written 3 separate blog entries.
It is and was a labor of love that will not need to be recreated at any time in the future, so I am pleased with that.
But I will create an outline for future blog entries if they risk requiring the same level of detail and serve as a memory aid if I risk forgetting the flow where I ended the previous post.
I know that all of us can learn from the mistakes of others and grow directly and indirectly at the same time.
We are working to accomplish a spirit of excellence within any new ministry medium.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Advance the Kingdom of God with Blogs and Podcasts!
Blogs and podcasts have grown greatly in creation and usage over the past year. Apple Computer's success with the iPod has a lot to do with the growing popularity of blogs and podcasts.
Blogs and podcasts are essentially the same thing in my opinion now. You cannot really find one without finding the other.
I had saved bookmarks and links into two (2) separate folders within my web browser (I now use Firefox as much as possible versus Microsoft Internet Explorer now even though both web browser programs are still on our computers). I had one folder for saved blog links located online and another for podcasts located.
After going through the separate folders over the course of 2 months, I decided to put all of the links in one folder and to rename the folder Blogs & Podcasting.
Podcasts are basically MP3 files saved into a blog which is an online journal saved as a web page that uses RSS technology feeds (works just like having cable tv for webpages without having to pay for the feed in most cases) in order to send the latest updates to interested readers.
Video can be incorporated into blogs as well. Therefore video podcasts are available now as well even though there are not too many hardware devices advertised for playing such content files. But any type of file can be played directly from the desktop computer. The downside is that the person has to sit or remain near the computer for the duration of the podcast.
RSS is simply a way to create web pages that are accessible by software known as media aggregators.
XML is a technology that is very similar to HTML and XML is being used to create various multimedia files and will be incorporated into the latest updates of Microsoft Office scheduled for release in late 2006.
One does not have to learn XML as a specific computer language. Use whatever technology you have been using to create web pages and you will be fine.
There are a few tweaks and add-ons that can get the same information shared as a XML file.
Content (multimedia files of audio, text, still graphics, and/or moving video) can be essentially pushed (sent) to readers on an ongoing basis.
The readers may also be called subscribers regardless of having to pay to receive the subscriptions or not.
Content can also use pull technology to require the subscriber to do something to obtain the content.
Just having a website without any links to the site is a means of pull.
RSS and XML is essentially the same thing in my opinion while the extreme geeks will beg to differ. Both are used to create feeds and allow subscriptions.
Now there are software programs available that will go onto the internet and retrieve (pull) the content into your computer from the various websites and online places that you have discovered and saved as a feed and into your mp3 player regardless of you having an actual Apple iPod or not.
Since most podcasts are saved in the form of MP3 files, the files will play within any MP3 player or on any desktop computer.
Having a MP3 player just means that the podcast can be listened to while driving in the morning commute, on the transit system of buses and/or trains, while walking/jogging/running/exercising, and during any other activity with or without headphones.
Here is a quick and clean (versus dirty) way to create a podcast. Most churches already have the technology available and many individual believers have the necessary tools already as well.
1. Record any sound that you want to share with others. Poetry, sermons, Easter speeches, prayers, singing, and/or music would make a great start. Messages from the pastor and other church leaders would be great as well. You can also conduct interviews of various people. We will share tips on who to interview within another blog entry.
You can use any type of recording device at this point. Right now we are discussing how to create the content for podcasts in the best way possible.
The primary goal should be to have the capability of creating podcasts in a portable manner versus having to be tied down in one place using stationary equipment. You will not want to transport mixers, powered amplifiers, and risk damage to equipment not made for quick and easy transporting.
We bought a MP3 player that actually will record sound files as well. It was better than buying a digital voice recorder (DVR) which will also work if the speakers are close to the built-in microphone.
Therefore I will recommend using both and all types of equipment that you probably already have.
Use the hard-to-move equipment within your sanctuary and other places where it is possible to have the people who will be recorded get as close as your microphones and cables will allow. You will probably need more than one microphone and someone wearing headphones to make sure that the sounds are indeed being recorded. This person is called your sound engineer.
Then use a digital voice recorder or some other tape recorder or camcorder to record sound outside. We have recorded sermons in the past with a camcorder and then produced cassette tapes and CDs from the sound.
Before I forget, remember that there is a line-in jack to allow a microphone cable to be connected on the back of virtually every computer. You can buy a single cable from Radio Shack that will connect into the jack for headphones and the other end into the line-in jack (it may be labeled as a microphone on the computer itself). This is the step how you will actually digitize your content.
An adapter for any plug going into a jack is available as well if the end of the same cable needs to be a different size if your equipment varies somehow.
2. Get the sound into your computer by a process known as digitizing. You are then converting the analog sound files (if any tape or hardcopy medium such as a CD is used) into a digital format where they can be played on your computer or sent over the internet to someone else with a computer or media player.
I recommend any free software that is available before paying for anything to create and distribute your files.
RealProducer is a program that I have used over the past 8 to 10 years to create either digital files for streaming (playing a prerecorded file directly from a website while being online) or downloaded for playing either immediately or at a later time.
You can even stream your files live if you are online and the listener/consumer is online at the same time. You would not want to do this for too many people at once since it will slow down your computer for all of them and yourself at the same time.
There are other programs to create sound files and reviews are usually written to make your selection much easier.
3. Once your sound files have been converted into MP3 files, upload the files to your website server and create and place the necessary links directly to the files on a webpage somewhere.
4. Use a free service like FeedBurner as a directory for people to locate your MP3 podcasts as well to point podcast software (such as iPodder) to your files which will read your blog or webpage as a RSS feed or XML file.
There are many websites and software that work like FeedBurner and/or iPodder respectively as well.
FeedBurner will provide an graphic icon and link for you to place on the webpage that mentions your podcast for people to use with iPodder. Then people will be able to subscribe to your podcasts on their own and retrieve your new podcast shows or editions through podcast software whenever you make them available online.
5. Promote your podcast through any means that you are currently using as well and wherever your marketing budget will allow. Create as many links on your own website to your new page listing your various podcast shows, episodes, and/or editions (depending upon what you call each podcast recorded).
The same places where you locate podcasts to listen to can also serve as a directory where you can have your podcast listed with others. Since most podcast directories are fairly new, there is usually no charge to have a podcast listed. Eventually as seen with current search engines, you will able to pay for advertising your podcast.
Then this is the best way to promote your podcast. Look for other podcasts by using Google and podcast directories and then when you find the various podcasts, use the same directories that they have used.
By using the five-step method above, you can advance the Kingdom of God with your blog and podcast. Your creativity is desperately needed as you will soon discover.
Whenever you create your blog and podcast, just let us know and we will place a link to your blog and/or podcast on this blog (and eventual podcast).
Godspeed!
Blogs and podcasts are essentially the same thing in my opinion now. You cannot really find one without finding the other.
I had saved bookmarks and links into two (2) separate folders within my web browser (I now use Firefox as much as possible versus Microsoft Internet Explorer now even though both web browser programs are still on our computers). I had one folder for saved blog links located online and another for podcasts located.
After going through the separate folders over the course of 2 months, I decided to put all of the links in one folder and to rename the folder Blogs & Podcasting.
Podcasts are basically MP3 files saved into a blog which is an online journal saved as a web page that uses RSS technology feeds (works just like having cable tv for webpages without having to pay for the feed in most cases) in order to send the latest updates to interested readers.
Video can be incorporated into blogs as well. Therefore video podcasts are available now as well even though there are not too many hardware devices advertised for playing such content files. But any type of file can be played directly from the desktop computer. The downside is that the person has to sit or remain near the computer for the duration of the podcast.
RSS is simply a way to create web pages that are accessible by software known as media aggregators.
XML is a technology that is very similar to HTML and XML is being used to create various multimedia files and will be incorporated into the latest updates of Microsoft Office scheduled for release in late 2006.
One does not have to learn XML as a specific computer language. Use whatever technology you have been using to create web pages and you will be fine.
There are a few tweaks and add-ons that can get the same information shared as a XML file.
Content (multimedia files of audio, text, still graphics, and/or moving video) can be essentially pushed (sent) to readers on an ongoing basis.
The readers may also be called subscribers regardless of having to pay to receive the subscriptions or not.
Content can also use pull technology to require the subscriber to do something to obtain the content.
Just having a website without any links to the site is a means of pull.
RSS and XML is essentially the same thing in my opinion while the extreme geeks will beg to differ. Both are used to create feeds and allow subscriptions.
Now there are software programs available that will go onto the internet and retrieve (pull) the content into your computer from the various websites and online places that you have discovered and saved as a feed and into your mp3 player regardless of you having an actual Apple iPod or not.
Since most podcasts are saved in the form of MP3 files, the files will play within any MP3 player or on any desktop computer.
Having a MP3 player just means that the podcast can be listened to while driving in the morning commute, on the transit system of buses and/or trains, while walking/jogging/running/exercising, and during any other activity with or without headphones.
Here is a quick and clean (versus dirty) way to create a podcast. Most churches already have the technology available and many individual believers have the necessary tools already as well.
1. Record any sound that you want to share with others. Poetry, sermons, Easter speeches, prayers, singing, and/or music would make a great start. Messages from the pastor and other church leaders would be great as well. You can also conduct interviews of various people. We will share tips on who to interview within another blog entry.
You can use any type of recording device at this point. Right now we are discussing how to create the content for podcasts in the best way possible.
The primary goal should be to have the capability of creating podcasts in a portable manner versus having to be tied down in one place using stationary equipment. You will not want to transport mixers, powered amplifiers, and risk damage to equipment not made for quick and easy transporting.
We bought a MP3 player that actually will record sound files as well. It was better than buying a digital voice recorder (DVR) which will also work if the speakers are close to the built-in microphone.
Therefore I will recommend using both and all types of equipment that you probably already have.
Use the hard-to-move equipment within your sanctuary and other places where it is possible to have the people who will be recorded get as close as your microphones and cables will allow. You will probably need more than one microphone and someone wearing headphones to make sure that the sounds are indeed being recorded. This person is called your sound engineer.
Then use a digital voice recorder or some other tape recorder or camcorder to record sound outside. We have recorded sermons in the past with a camcorder and then produced cassette tapes and CDs from the sound.
Before I forget, remember that there is a line-in jack to allow a microphone cable to be connected on the back of virtually every computer. You can buy a single cable from Radio Shack that will connect into the jack for headphones and the other end into the line-in jack (it may be labeled as a microphone on the computer itself). This is the step how you will actually digitize your content.
An adapter for any plug going into a jack is available as well if the end of the same cable needs to be a different size if your equipment varies somehow.
2. Get the sound into your computer by a process known as digitizing. You are then converting the analog sound files (if any tape or hardcopy medium such as a CD is used) into a digital format where they can be played on your computer or sent over the internet to someone else with a computer or media player.
I recommend any free software that is available before paying for anything to create and distribute your files.
RealProducer is a program that I have used over the past 8 to 10 years to create either digital files for streaming (playing a prerecorded file directly from a website while being online) or downloaded for playing either immediately or at a later time.
You can even stream your files live if you are online and the listener/consumer is online at the same time. You would not want to do this for too many people at once since it will slow down your computer for all of them and yourself at the same time.
There are other programs to create sound files and reviews are usually written to make your selection much easier.
3. Once your sound files have been converted into MP3 files, upload the files to your website server and create and place the necessary links directly to the files on a webpage somewhere.
4. Use a free service like FeedBurner as a directory for people to locate your MP3 podcasts as well to point podcast software (such as iPodder) to your files which will read your blog or webpage as a RSS feed or XML file.
There are many websites and software that work like FeedBurner and/or iPodder respectively as well.
FeedBurner will provide an graphic icon and link for you to place on the webpage that mentions your podcast for people to use with iPodder. Then people will be able to subscribe to your podcasts on their own and retrieve your new podcast shows or editions through podcast software whenever you make them available online.
5. Promote your podcast through any means that you are currently using as well and wherever your marketing budget will allow. Create as many links on your own website to your new page listing your various podcast shows, episodes, and/or editions (depending upon what you call each podcast recorded).
The same places where you locate podcasts to listen to can also serve as a directory where you can have your podcast listed with others. Since most podcast directories are fairly new, there is usually no charge to have a podcast listed. Eventually as seen with current search engines, you will able to pay for advertising your podcast.
Then this is the best way to promote your podcast. Look for other podcasts by using Google and podcast directories and then when you find the various podcasts, use the same directories that they have used.
By using the five-step method above, you can advance the Kingdom of God with your blog and podcast. Your creativity is desperately needed as you will soon discover.
Whenever you create your blog and podcast, just let us know and we will place a link to your blog and/or podcast on this blog (and eventual podcast).
Godspeed!
Better Direction and Greater Flexibility!
After yesterday's edition was published, thoughts flowed over the rest of the day on how to make the various posts even better.
Many times producers, creators, and authors write in a linear fashion whereas the content starts from the beginning and progresses to a more indepth manner.
But with this ministry format, we do not want to risk losing or not being attractive initially to people who have been on the internet for some time.
Therefore, we will proceed to bounce around in a nonlinear fashion to discuss topics and items that are both at the beginner stages as well as for the advanced technology users.
To the Christianadvanced technology user, please be reminded that there are ways to use the technology that you have grown accustomed to in a wide variety of new uses.
Peace!
Many times producers, creators, and authors write in a linear fashion whereas the content starts from the beginning and progresses to a more indepth manner.
But with this ministry format, we do not want to risk losing or not being attractive initially to people who have been on the internet for some time.
Therefore, we will proceed to bounce around in a nonlinear fashion to discuss topics and items that are both at the beginner stages as well as for the advanced technology users.
To the Christianadvanced technology user, please be reminded that there are ways to use the technology that you have grown accustomed to in a wide variety of new uses.
Peace!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
E-mail Really Advances The Kingdom!
There are so many ways to advance the Kingdom of God and one of the most personal ways can be to use e-mail.
E-mail some words of encouragement to someone you know or a complete stranger.
E-mail Christian poetry, Scriptures, song lyrics, and other news of relevance to either individuals or groups via mailing lists.
Locate places (real and virtual), ideas and experiences for yourself and other Christians to visit.
Defend the Kingdom of God with love and truth when nonbelievers, backsliders, and others try to disparage individual believers, church leaders, and other people regardless of who they are and what they believe in.
Defend the weak and seek justice for all concerned.
Protest dangerous products, services, ideas, and experiences with the reasons, logic, and emotional intensity that only you can provide.
Seek to comment on topics that interest you most. This is where you will not have to look for the words to create. You will essentially write a book over a short period of time if you remember to focus on the issues that matter to you most.
Topics that currently raise your blood pressure or please you greatly are the topics you should write and create e-mails about. You will easily find your voice in the process of searching for your hot buttons;)
Do not worry about your spelling and grammar. There are tools to make your words flow with the necessary corrections.
Even with misspelled words, you can find an audience and have an impact.
Do not spam and/or send repeated messages to people who are not interested in what you have to say. Refrain from sending messages to a mailing list if the moderator(s) or list manager(s) or founder(s) tell you to reduce, limit, or stop sending messages altogether.
Remember that you are God's ambassador regardless of your location in a physical address or cyberspace.
There are so many applications and ways in which we can create and send e-mails for a positive effect. We cannot list them all within this post while we reserve the right to create future posts to further add to the proper usage of e-mail.
Here is a link to find more information on using e-mail properly and create your own online search for knowing, using, and sharing the rules of proper e-mail to advance the Kingdom of God.
We're wishing you Godspeed in your efforts!
Peace!
Please remember that you can return to this blog by using the URL:
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
E-mail some words of encouragement to someone you know or a complete stranger.
E-mail Christian poetry, Scriptures, song lyrics, and other news of relevance to either individuals or groups via mailing lists.
Locate places (real and virtual), ideas and experiences for yourself and other Christians to visit.
Defend the Kingdom of God with love and truth when nonbelievers, backsliders, and others try to disparage individual believers, church leaders, and other people regardless of who they are and what they believe in.
Defend the weak and seek justice for all concerned.
Protest dangerous products, services, ideas, and experiences with the reasons, logic, and emotional intensity that only you can provide.
Seek to comment on topics that interest you most. This is where you will not have to look for the words to create. You will essentially write a book over a short period of time if you remember to focus on the issues that matter to you most.
Topics that currently raise your blood pressure or please you greatly are the topics you should write and create e-mails about. You will easily find your voice in the process of searching for your hot buttons;)
Do not worry about your spelling and grammar. There are tools to make your words flow with the necessary corrections.
Even with misspelled words, you can find an audience and have an impact.
Do not spam and/or send repeated messages to people who are not interested in what you have to say. Refrain from sending messages to a mailing list if the moderator(s) or list manager(s) or founder(s) tell you to reduce, limit, or stop sending messages altogether.
Remember that you are God's ambassador regardless of your location in a physical address or cyberspace.
There are so many applications and ways in which we can create and send e-mails for a positive effect. We cannot list them all within this post while we reserve the right to create future posts to further add to the proper usage of e-mail.
Here is a link to find more information on using e-mail properly and create your own online search for knowing, using, and sharing the rules of proper e-mail to advance the Kingdom of God.
We're wishing you Godspeed in your efforts!
Peace!
Please remember that you can return to this blog by using the URL:
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
Write The Vision & Make It Plain!
For some time now I have been quiet and just listening for a new way to minister and advance the Kingdom of God beyond the normal means of ministry.
We often receive requests for Christian literature, Holy Bibles and questions about how to minister in the ways that we do.
The answers come from all over the world and clearly God has positioned us to have an impact for Him.
The nature of blogs is that they can be created at will, updated, revised as needed, and respond to comments and questions without having the readers subscribe to a mailing list.
A mailing list is really a step up as compared to a blog. A blog is training wheels and a mailing list is the next step.
Throughout it all is the hope that the readers would have a new and ongoing dialogue with each other versus a relationship of one-to-many.
The resulting focus is that this blog is going to share with readers numerous ways on how both the individual and small groups can advance the Kingdom of God through existing and new technology.
The URL for the effort will be:
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
We often receive requests for Christian literature, Holy Bibles and questions about how to minister in the ways that we do.
The answers come from all over the world and clearly God has positioned us to have an impact for Him.
The nature of blogs is that they can be created at will, updated, revised as needed, and respond to comments and questions without having the readers subscribe to a mailing list.
A mailing list is really a step up as compared to a blog. A blog is training wheels and a mailing list is the next step.
Throughout it all is the hope that the readers would have a new and ongoing dialogue with each other versus a relationship of one-to-many.
The resulting focus is that this blog is going to share with readers numerous ways on how both the individual and small groups can advance the Kingdom of God through existing and new technology.
The URL for the effort will be:
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
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