Let me explain…

Back when I was writing some of the earlier posts in my Music Series, specifically part 6, I linked to an article from a website called MInTheGap.com. I linked to that article as an illustration of bloggers who just “don’t get it” when it comes to music. The owner of that site quickly saw my ping and came over to my site and left me a nice comment

I find it interesting that you say that I don’t get it, when in reality I think that you failed to read the article written on my blog in context.

I do take to task your one catchphrase that is cute but misses the entire point.

If we are supposed to be picking ice cream because of how we enjoy the taste, then, by all means, pick the ice cream. Eat more chicken, and listen and sing whatever appeals to you.

The problem is that it’s not about what you think about the music. It’s all about what He thinks about the music, and how the music in the church effects the ability for the corporate body to worship.

…

Christian liberty applies in the cases of being in the home. Then again, I’m sure you would have adequately addressed my position had you read the article and the ensuing discussion.

In all honesty, I did a google blog search for blogs that opposed my view on music, and his site happened to come up as a result. I did read his entire article and thought it was a good example of what I was talking about. I did not, however, go through his entire site.

After he commented, I did go through his site … and found it subscribe-worthy as his content was quite good and thought provoking. I’ve been a daily reader ever since.

I replied to his comment, and he mentioned this blog (not by name or link) in a future article on his blog, but unfortunately we never got to continue the conversation.

I did do one thing in the name of MInTheGap– and that was to comment on someone else’s blog that had referenced mine, but that was a moment of weakness and it was because he told me “[I] just don’t get it.” I’ll tell you more about that later.

Kind of a rocky start, huh? But I grew to love his blog. He writes on things like marriage, debt management, tech, science, and yes … music He offers a different, many times much more conservative, view than my own, an it’s good for me to be exposed to that.

Anyway, it’s a great blog and definitely is worth a spot in my reader (I even gave him some link love over on WPT.com). Have a look and have a great weekend!

Basically, he offers a play-by-play of sorts for his readers, giving insights to how he handles day to day operations at the church, new products he likes or uses, solutions to common problems, and quite often he asks his readers for advice or suggestions for a problem he’s having at the church. If nothing else, it’s a very interesting insider’s look into the operation of a rather large and complex IT infrastructure. Be sure an take a read or subscribe if that kind of thing interests you.

And some Random thoughts…

• I’m leaving for Florida on Tuesday. I’ll be there for a week, and yes I’ll be blogging.
• America’s Funniest Home Videos seems so much funnier after midnight. I wonder why?
• Am I the only one who does NOT find Sarah Silverman at all good looking? I just don’t get it.
• While I’m in Orlando, what churches should I visit?
• I had some hot chocolate last night, and I thought it was too sweet. Does that mean I’m getting old? I found myself wanting coffee instead.
• If you haven’t noticed yet, I upgraded to WordPress 2.2 and it really messed up my theme sidebars. Because of this, I will be redesigning my website soon. It’s about time anyway, since I am a WP designer and all.
• I have a couple of those “discernment” blogs in my feed reader. I think I need to unsubscribe, because it’s really starting to get old. How many different ways can you say that Rick Warren is evil before it starts getting repetitive? Evidently, it never gets old to these guys.
• I’ve been told that I’ve been labeled a “vocal critic” of a certain site. Interesting, I rarely … if ever … even visit that site, much less talk about it. Oh well…
• I’ve been sleeping on my couch lately. I really hate my mattress.
• This blog has been getting an unusually high number of search referrals. Consequently, we hit even more daily visitor milestones. The last 3 days have averaged 600 unique visitors per day. What’s up with that?
• People really don’t like being called a Pharisee. Do Pharisee equivalents even exist anymore, and if so, what do they look like?
• I have a date tonight with the best girl ever! I just can’t figure out what to do yet. I’ll figure something out.
• I know it’s selfish, but I really love the fact that we’re having a drought in Greenville. I really HATE the rain, especially driving in it.
• Cory and I will be collaborating on a “simple” redesign for a pretty popular Christian blogger’s site. I’ve given all the hints I can, but you’re free to venture a guess

OK, that’s about it for now. Have a great weekend everyone!

Including HealYourChurchWebsite.com. Recently, Dean has put a lot more time into blog posts, and what he has to say is DEFINITELY worth reading, especially if you work with your church’s website. He offers practical tips to “heal” your injured church website. Some of the tips are obvious, but since churches don’t always have the gift of the obvious, the tips are necessary. I would even recommend that pastors subscribe to his feed. His site is definitely on the “must read list”, trust me.

He also runs Blogs4God.com, a digg-like blog aggregation site built specifically for Christian blog posts. Definitely use that one to submit or find cool blog posts from good Christian writers.

Speedlinking:

• The Access Elevation Blog posted on how they handle seating dynamics. I actually witnessed this first hand last Sunday at Elevation. I explained it to Meredith later, and was telling her the theory behind blocking off seating. Who knew they’d explain the same thing on their blog later?
• My friend Cory redesigned his personal biz site. Looks awesome! Dang, I really wish I could get nathanrice.com. Oh well!
• Matthew has 2 good articles up at his blog. One is a summary of the Guillermo Gonzalez controversy, and the other is a follow up to his post (and ours) on deduction to design.
• Speaking of, be sure to head over here and continue the conversation (if you care anything about science, that is)
• This story was a very gutsy, yet interestingly accurate assessment of the tabloid-esque, destructive criticisms from the shadows of the Christian blogosphere.
• Paul Peterson had a great article on an answered prayer. Conicidence? Doubt it.
• I’ll be taking Perry’s advice here and here and will be going on a diet soon. I’ve gotten chubby, and it’s not cool.
• Tony Morgan had a great post about how it would look if we treated our blogs like we wanted to treat our churchs. Quote – “I recently had a few subscribers leave my blog for smaller blogs. They were looking for a site where they could shake hands with the blogger at the end of each post.” Funny stuff
• Verum Serum responded to the VCY’s ridiculous smearing of Chuck Swindoll. It is a must-read this week. It’s so interesting how different things look when you view them in context. Thanks VS!
• Is this thing not the funniest thing you’ve ever heard? My goodness, if we don’t pronounce the word “holy” with a Wisconsin accent, it must be disrespectful!!!

One of the more enjoyable series of posts he published were his experiences at an ID conference he attended.  What made it so funny was that he met a couple teenagers and their mom.  After striking up a conversation with them, he was shocked at how little they knew about science, yet they were firmly convinced that ID was a valid scientific conclusion.

Anyway, if you’re not comfortable with thoughtful rebuttals to ID, then don’t read his blog.  I hardly ever agree with him, but he certainly makes me think … and I always like a blog that makes me think.

Check it out sometime!

EvolutionBlog

We’re going to break with the alphabetical ordering for the Friday Favorites post today as well to focus of some of my favorite Pastor’s Blogs out there. It’s amazing to me how different all these guys are, yet they all share a similar interest/vision — Jesus Christ. Each and every one of them is committed to finding ways, depending on the trends of their particular location, to introduce people to the Gospel. I’d highly recommend adding them to your blogroll/feeder and reading daily. Some give good insights, others devotionals, others encouragement, and still others write on everything they can think of. The point is, they love doing what they do and it shows in a big way.

• Perry Noble — a hometown guy, so I had to put him first. Perry’s blog is just great! If you only add one person’s blog from this list to your blogroll, make it Perry’s.
• Steven Furtick — Another of my favorites. God is also using Steven to do a tremendous work in Charlotte, NC. I really love his blog!
• Greg Laurie — Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, Greg has a daily devotional that is always helpful.
• Paul Peterson — Leads the Northgate Free Methodist Church. Paul is living through growth, and documents his journey in his blog. I’ve also corresponded with Paul, and he is truly the coolest. He is also blessed of God, and it shows.
• Scott Hodge — Leads The Orchard Community, and is a fellow mac user / awesome blogger. Scott has a great sense of humor, and is definitely a worth-while read.
• Mark Batterson — Another fine addition to your reader, Mark leads the National Community Church in Washington DC.
• Tony Morgan — Not a lead pastor, but he is staff as a pastor at NewSpring. Tony is one of the big guns in the Christian Blogosphere, and offers a great blog. Check out his archives for some great posts.

That’s it! I hope everyone takes a look at these guys. Like I said, they each have their own personality and methods, but they all have a common goal. If you’re looking to find some free tips on leading a church, these blogs are a great place to start. OK, I’ve got to get back to work. Happy Weekend!

PS – Happy Birthday Cory

He just recently reworked his site (new look, new content, etc.) and it’s definitely worth a read.

Check out the site here, or subscribe to his feed here.

During the process I started learning about all the ins-and-outs of what makes a good video, and I started looking for good video techniques by watching how the pros did it on television.

One of the things I noticed was that they rarely used still backgrounds, and almost always used motion backgrounds, even if it was very little motion.

So, I decided to play around with Adobe After Effects to make my own backgrounds.  Turns out, I’m not nearly as good at that as I was at just the video editing.  So I decided I’d just download some from the Internet.  But, as some may well know, you can’t just download stuff on the Internet for free (well, this was before Lifechurch started offering free downloads), and were forced to pay money for them, money I didn’t have.

That’s when I found Greg Atkinson’s blog, churchvideoideas.com.

Greg offers great little tips for video guys, especially guys who work with their church’s video stuff.  What I loved about his blog was the fact that he was always sharing links to freebies with us. That fixed my little money problem

Anyway, if you’re a video guy, or are interested in working with video in your church, you’ll want to be a subscriber to Greg’s site.  It’s well worth the room in your feed reader.

See the other sites I dig by checking out my blogroll posts.

Brian Clark is one of the most popular bloggers out there, and his site is packed full of useful blogging information. He’s essentially a blogging consultant working to help companies and even little guys like me get off the ground with this whole blogging thing. Most importantly though, he wants you to do it RIGHT!!!

I really don’t have much more to say about CopyBlogger. It’s just one of those “must reads” for bloggers of all varieties.

Recent Notable Posts:
5 Common Mistakes that make you look dumb
Five Steps to a Truly Unique Blog That Attracts Readers and Revenue
Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?
Five Link Building Strategies That Work

The site truly is packed full of useful information. If you blog, you need to have CopyBlogger in your blogroll.

Check out the site here, or subscribe to the CopyBlogger feed here.

View the other items in my blogroll.

Duane (I think that’s his name) has an hour and a half (that’s 1 hour and 30 minutes) commute every morning. Makes my 15 minute commute look like a cakewalk! Anyway, he’s developed an awesome niche that I very much enjoy reading!

He has a post on a quick breakfast recipe, weather statistics, tips for family interaction in the morning, saving money on your commute, and too many more to name.

This is the kind of blog I like to read. Simple, practical tips on a relevant topic. No PhD here, just interesting advice from someone who knows. Anyway, you’ll definitely want to check out Commute Smarter. I normally don’t do this, but his RSS feed is absolutely worth subscribing to. Don’t expect a post every day, but 2-3 times a week you’ll see an interesting new article pop up. Duane’s done an awesome job at expounding his niche and continues to do so.

Oh, and for a really cool read, check out 5 More things to do with no net connection. I feel his pain!

For other sites I read, check out my blogroll category.

[tags]commute smarter, commute, blogroll, friday favorites[/tags]

When I graduated high school, I really started to feel like an adult. I started college, enjoyed more “sophistocated” entertainment, and started watching the news on a regular basis. I was making money from my first “real job”, I could finally vote, and there was a big election creeping up on me. I started listening to talk radio (an addiction of mine now) and watching all the political analysis shows on TV. One thing kept being mentioned that I still didn’t understand: the “AP Wire“.

Eventually, I figured out what this whole AP thing was all about.

Since my discovery of RSS, I’ve recently added AP news to my feed reader. The 5 feeds I read from AP are their Top Headlines, Political News, Science News, National News, and Technology News. I feel like it gives me a good sense of what’s going on in the world outside the blogosphere.

Like I said, I know they’re not a blog, but I recommend them anyway. It’s not a bad thing to have multiple sources of information coming in to your reader, especially if your an information junkie like I am.

You can find a list of all their RSS services here.

You can also browse through all the feeds in my blogroll here.

Want the Friday Favorites delivered to you every week, no hassle? Subscribe to my feed and get daily articles in your favorite feed reader, or subscribe via email to have them delivered to your inbox each morning.