Writing is More Beautiful

I started a blog to write, but I have become disenchanted with the amount of time to takes to “layout” a blog post. I did not set out to become a master-curator for pictures and headlines. I write because I love to express ideas, because I love ideas. Ideas change things.

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Should Pastors Preach From an iPad?

Every year, churches wrestle with this question: “what is the right use of technology in the church?” Too much and you’ve gone overboard. Too little and you are left in the dust. A large number of pastors are now preaching from iPads and other tablets. Is this good or bad?

source: davidsantistevan.com

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How Facebook Is Affecting Your Real Relationships And What To Do About It [Series: Margin]

Imagine it’s the year 1999 (for some of you, that’s hard to do, I know). But just imagine. There is no social media, we only use the internet for a few things here and there, but we do have a wonder of modern technology: the cell phone. You love your cell phone. This wonder of modern technology keeps you connected to friends and family. No more pay phones for you. No matter where you are, all they need to do is call.

Now imagine that your friends and family – ALL of your friends and family – began to call and text you with updates every 15-30 minutes. Not important updates. Not things that were valuable or really useful to you. Updates like what they had for breakfast; what their 4-year old is wearing to school; that they just got their electric bill in the mail; things like that.

How long would it take you to ask them to stop calling and texting you with this random, useless information? Probably about a day. It would be annoying, distracting, tiring, and ultimately pointless.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where this is now the reality. It’s called facebook.

source: http://topnews.in/health/files/facebook-using.jpg

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The effect of the internet on missionary life

internet-world

My wife is a 3rd generation missionary, her grandfather is entering 50 years on the mission field, and her parents have been missionaries for 25+ years. Now we are missionaries, raising our kids in a foreign country.

Many things have changed about being a missionary over the years. 50 years ago you came across the globe on a boat. It took an entire month. 20 years ago you got 1 phone call back home once a year because of the cost. Life was much different.

What has changed the context of missionary life more than anything? The internet.

Here’s a list of things not possible for a missionary 10 years ago:

Family Benefits

  • I can text my mom and dad back in the States 24/7. For free.
  • I can video chat with my family in the States. On my cell phone. In the car.
  • My boys know my parents well, because they video chat every week. Did I mention for free?
  • I can watch anything on TV in the States, in my living room in  South East Asia. (slingbox.com)
  • I can watch live church services from our home church in the States.
  • I can see pictures of my niece and nephew in the States practically the moment they are taken.

Ministry Benefits

  • You can watch live videos of our ministry in the Philippines. (RIP “prayer letters”).
  • After you visit us on a mission trip, you can stay connected to the people you meet here.
  • I can give a live video report to your church on our ministry activities. For free.
  • I can manage bank accounts, transfer ministry funds, and exchange money. Instantly. For free.
  • I can download the latest ministry resources and books straight to my tablet, in under a minute.

No doubt the internet is overused and addictive to some. But for missionaries in the 21st century, I can’t think of a greater thing.

Action Method: Organize your Ministry with this App

Photo May 09, 9 59 01 AM

As a missionary and a pastor, I juggle many different responsibilities. My tasks can change from day to day, especially when there is a special event or service planned. But normally, 9 out of 10 times, these tasks fall into a certain category of ministry.

Keeping all of these categories straight in my head proved to be impossible. Knowing what to prioritize or how much work was left on a specific project was as hard, or harder, than the work itself.

Thankfully I found a solution.

For the last year I have been using Action Method by Behance to keep my ministry life organized and in sync.

A big stress in ministry is realizing (or being told) that you need to finish a certain task, but having no good way to record that “to do” for later. So you end up emailing yourself, making a note on your phone, or (cringe) writing a reminder on a scrap of paper. No more. Enter Action Method.

With Action Method you can:

  • Record tasks that you must finish later
  • Track progress on a specific task or event
  • Plan your “To Do” list for the day
  • See a snapshot of work to do, by project or by date

Here’s an example of how I use it:

I’m in a meeting for our church plant, and the discussion ends with the realization that I need to produce a new document for internal staff use. I don’t have time to produce it now, but it needs to be completed and emailed to the staff by next Wednesday . I create an action item in Action Method: “create and email new meeting format guide to staff”. I categorize it as “church plant admin”. Then, next Wednesday morning when I am creating my to do list for the day, I open Action Method and see this task. It’s also color coded, so I immediately know at a glance it’s a church plant item that deserves my full attention. When I’ve completed it, I click the check button and it disappears. Ah, satisfaction.

Photo May 09, 9 59 21 AM

I use Action Method to tell me what I need to do and when I need to do it. It is my guide for accomplishing my goals – both daily and long range. Without it, I would be less effective, unorganized, and frankly a little frazzled.

What do you use to stay organized? Comment and describe your “to do” process below.