This and That

I haven’t been posting much lately. Had a lot of stuff going on.  The jaw surgery has been a long recovery and honestly I haven’t felt like writing much. The recovery has also conincided with the closing of Skyline.   At this point, I can only share just a few thoughts. I know I ‘ll have much more to say as time passes.  I think I’m going to do a series of post on the experience in the coming weeks or months.  Working in ministry for 6yrs prior,  now pales in comparison to the experience of helping plant a church, work there for 4 yrs, and then see it’s time come to a close.  At this point I’m so grateful for the journey God has allowed me to go on and the invaluable things I’ve learned through being able to view things from different perspectives.  There are 5 or 6 others that could write books along with me I know.   I just don’t have the words right now; More on those people later…

Why are you here?

  What is it that you read on this blog that keeps you coming back?   I’d like to know what kind of content you like finding here.  Maybe I can tailor things more for the people who are actually reading.  Finish this:  You like it when I write or talk about _______

Connection vs. Community

Interesting read today over on Anne’s blog.  She has a link to this article of hers.  Where she talks about online community and whether or not it really exist.  Go read the article if you get a chance and let me hear your thoughts.  Is there such thing as online Community ;  or is it really just online Connection?

Newspring Superbowl

Regardless how you feel about this, this video is pretty humerous.

Most popular post

I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers do a rundown of their most popular post each year.  Generally they’ll do this around the first of January or end of December.  I thought it was a pretty cool idea;  little did I know their selfish motives.  I did one of these list of my own this weekend,  and wow!  I’ve had a ton of hits over the last few days.  Unlike Tony I won’t be listing my most popular post every other day.  ;)

iTunes Christmas

Just a few thoughts before bed on Sunday night.  We had our Music Team Christmas Party tonight.  Brandon got everyone an iTunes Gift card.  That rocks! Great gift.  We played pictionary and I didn’t do good.  I can’t draw well.  The sausage balls were awesome.  Went to Westridge for the last meeting this weekend.  It was probably the best one so far.  Thanks to all their staff and their leadership for having a passion for church planting.

The BMP

I enjoyed watching the webcast last night of Buckhead’s Night of Worship.  They announced the BMP and gave some details.  Check out the video of Jeff and Los introducing this idea.

Blog Ranking, Authority, etc…

I got a few questions emailed to me after the last post about blog ranking; how it worked etc…  So here is a brief explanation from the technorati website.  You can read all about it there.

Technorati Authority is the number of blogs linking to a website in the last six months. The higher the number, the more Technorati Authority the blog has.

It is important to note that we measure the number of blogs, rather than the number of links. So, if a blog links to your blog many times, it still only count as +1 toward your authority. Of course, new links mean the +1 will last another 180 days.

Technorati Rank is calculated based on how far you are from the top. The blog with the hightest Technorati Authority is the #1 ranked blog. The smaller your Technorati Rank, the closer you are to the top.

Since at the lower end of the scale many blogs will have the same Technorati Authority, they will share the same Technorati Rank.

The Technorati Top 100 shows the most popular 100 blogs based on Technorati Authority. The #1 ranked blog is the blog with the most other distinct blogs linking to it in the last 6 months. If your blog’s rank is, say 305,316, this indicates that there are 305,315 blog ranks separating your blog from the #1 position.

The best way to increase your Technorati Authority is to write things that are interesting to other bloggers so they’ll link to you. Linking to source material when you blog is also a great way to engage in conversation and help others find what you find interesting.

Top Million

I check my blog ranking on Technorati about once a month or so.  Well guess what?  I finally broke the top 1 million.  lol.  I know that probably sounds stupid,  but honestly there are over  112 million blogs in the world and I’m in the top million.  Which really means nothing;  good bloggers will have one in the top million within just a few days of starting.  It’s taken me over a year.  I just thought it was interesting.  My official rank is  number  956,658   woo hoo!

9 Do’s and Don’ts

Tony made this post today.  I liked it so much, just thought I’d pass it along.  Enjoy:

9 Do’s and Don’ts for Ministry Growth

1. You don’t need a logo. A new logo isn’t the key to successful ministry. Life change is the key to successful ministry. Only Jesus can change lives. Yes, there are times when you’ll need to update your branding; however, it’s not going to make or break your ministry.
2. Your fancy flyers won’t help. 80% of the people who show up to a weekend service come with a friend who invites them. That same principle applies to your ministry as well. If people aren’t inviting their friends, that’s likely a ministry problem and not a promotions problem.
3. Put people first. Life change happens most often within the context of relationships. If your ministry isn’t helping people engage in relational connections (inside and outside of the church), then your ministry will not grow.
4. Lead your ministry. You should focus on that. You aren’t gifted at promotions (even though you think you are). You should let communications professionals focus on that, and stop fighting against the people who are trying to help you. Spend more time doing ministry and less time trying to promote your ministry.
5. Remember: print is dead. (this coming from someone who writes books). It’s highly likely that whatever you’re printing for your audience will just end up in a trash can. Any business in America relying on print media is dying a slow death. You should always think Web first with an emphasis on interactivity and building relationships.
6. Don’t wait on the church to establish online community. That’s your responsibility. Most people you’re trying to reach won’t visit your church’s website, but they will engage with your Web presence on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, your blog, etc.
7. You probably need to cut programs and events. Less is more. If you have fewer events and less programs, more people will connect with your ministry. Stop confusing them and help them focus on the next appropriate step. (Check this out.)
8. Grow through volunteers. As much as possible, let staff support ministry and encourage volunteers to be responsible for face-to-face connections with the people you are trying to reach or help. When you take those roles out of the hands of volunteers, you’ve essentially limited the growth of your ministry…and taken away their responsibility to make disciples.
9. You are not competing against other ministries. As soon as you sense “your ministry” is competing with another ministry in your church for money, volunteers, space, calendar time, platform promotions, etc., you should resign. You are not a leader. You are, at best, a manager of resources and, at worst, the one holding the entire ministry back from growth and unity.