This is the beginning of a new ministry with the goal of utilizing millions of unused iPods to make disciples and carry the Gospel to all nations. The concept is simple. You donate your iPod, we pack it with solid biblical teaching and send it to an African Pastor.

Step#1 Send Us Your iPod

iPods4Africa
5702 Timber Ridge Dr
Prospect KY, 40059

Step #2. Your iPod will be Wiped and Loaded with Awesome Biblical Teaching

Step #3 Your iPod will be Sent to an African Pastor

Its that simple!

If you want more information or want to help out please contact us or leave your input in the comment section below.

Before

After

WordPress has a Tool that Makes it SUPER Simple to Import Your Blogger Posts AND Comments

Chad had posts and comments all the way back to 2005. Using the WordPress import tool I was able to pull all of that seamlessly into his new blog. Phew.

My Take On The WordPress Philosophy

The core philosophy of WordPress is to be open and very community driven. It always nice to have a paid company to rely on for support but when it comes to online publishing, proprietary and dependence are nasty beasts.

Using WordPress is like Using a Professional Camera

It takes a little more to learn but you can really do amazing things with it. I am not here to do a feature comparison between Blogger and WordPress, but I want to impress on my readers that WordPress is an awesome solution. Especially, if you know someone who can teach you to work it.

It should be noted that Chad’s site was created with WordPress.ORG not WordPress.COM Whats the difference?

What do you like better WordPress or Blogger? Why?

How To Embed Streetview Into Your Website

Its simple. Find your church on Street View and then click “Link to this page” “Paste HTML to embed in website”

A Bizzare Video Google Made to Explain Streetview

Any other ideas for how Ministries can use Google Streetview?

The more I use Twitter, the more I like it. I don’t like it for the sake of new technology, rather I have come to believe it is a tool that can deeply enhance relationships. Some balk at the idea of telling or knowing what others are doing and thinking, but aren’t these key components to relationship?

Twitter Encourages Intimacy and Deeper Relationship with One Another

I recently visited NW Oregon, where I grew up, and I had the opportunity to share Twitter with nearly my entire family, and several long lost friends. I am happy to say that my grandparents in their 70’s joined and are now regular users. I also introduced my church community group to twitter.

I am learning VALUABLE details about my family and friends that I would have never learned (unless I were living with them). This has given me the opportunity to pray specifically for them and given me cues when I should reach out and make a direct connection.

Twitter Combats Self-centered Thinking

I get so wrapped up in my own world. My wife and I are in the midst of making some pretty large life decisions and I often get lost thinking of myself, my plans, my designs and my life. Twitter reminds me that its not about me and that there are more important things to be thinking of than myself.

Twitter Helps Us to Open our Lives to Family and Friends in Tiny Digestible Chunks.

The problem with other tools for connecting is they require two way communication, which adds all sorts of social rules to the picture. With Twitter we can simply state what we are doing, how we are doing or what we are thinking without getting bogged down in pleasantries. I am not saying that two way communication is bad, its just not optimal if you want consistent regular updates from folks.

My grandma LOVES knowing what we are up to, but phone conversations are short because she doesn’t want to interrupt or burden us. The truth is I would love to tell her and I would also love to know what is going on in their lives as well. Twitter has given us way to connect better.

By opening up and sharing our lives with one another through Twitter we are fulfilling God’s call to love one another. I have a deeper more intimate connection with my family and friends because of Twitter.

What are other Spiritual Benefits of Twitter? Can “Twittering” be a Spiritual Discipline?

When I started to write this post, I thought it would be easy to come up with what God would Twitter. I eventually gave up trying to be theologically perfect and just cranked it out. The exercise of trying to figure it out turned out to be a pretty good meditation.

What do you think God would Twitter?

see also “What Would Jesus Tweet”

One technique I use for winning at games I’ve never played before is to intentionally lose. After a couple of games of being completely destroyed, I begin to see quite clearly what I need to do to win. (My wife can be a fierce competitor so I don’t always win).

I Learn More from Failure than I do from Success. Should I Purposely Fail?

If I am particularly talented this will mean I will have to bite off way more than I can chew. It’s easy for me to “Go Big” or be a “Risk Taker” yet secretly maintain control. The feeling security brings can be seductive… Unfortunately that means I will miss the greatest return of seeing miracles and growing in a trust relationship with my Creator.

God is More Interested in my Character Development than my Comfort.

Consider it pure joy when I face trials, rejoice in my sufferings, there is no condemnation, die to myself… These are not just “positive attitude” Scriptures, they are powerful challenges for me to live RADICALLY BROKEN and trust that I could not make a mess big enough that God could not clean it up.

The Worst Consequence of Living to Fail: People will Think I am a Failure.

The truth is I am a failure, without multiple miracles I would be dead. To hide that fact is to again be seduced by comfort and miss out on a satisfying relationship with Jesus. I confess this is deep issue for me.

Am I doing just enough for people to THINK they are seeing God’s glory, while in reality it is me just bolstering my personal brand?

A Series of Great Posts about Failure from Swerve

Mere Christianity Mixes

C.S. Lewis’s audio book “Mere Christianity” dubbed over mixes of ambient house, drum n bass and electronica.

Here to hear more…

S.M. Lockridge’s “My King” 2008 High Energy Remixed Version

*if you own any of the content that is used and are offended please let me know.

Vimeo is a video sharing website similar to YouTube, but it offers a MUCH better experience. Not only does Vimeo have a better design and layout than YouTube but it is cleaner and doesn’t excessively push negative content to every page.

Why Vimeo is better than YouTube:

• Cleaner, Safer and more family friendly*
• Much more User-Friendly
• Clicking embedded videos doesn’t take you to Vimeo.com (example in video above)
• Ability to customize the size, look and color of embedded videos
• Upload video files up to 500 megabytes (instead of 100)
• Full screen option is available for embedded videos too (example in video above)

*Though Vimeo is cleaner than other video sharing sites they do not have strict rules to enforce that it will stay this way. Use at own risk.

2 Simple Steps for Embedding a Video in Your Site

Step #1 Copy the Embed Code

Click the button on your video that says “Embed” and copy the code by either right clicking and selecting copy or highlighting it and pressing CTRL+C.

Step #2 Paste the Code into your Blog or Website

Write a new post or edit a page and look for a button that says “Edit HTML” or “View HTML” or “Code”. Once you have selected one of these options simply paste the code by either right clicking and selecting paste or press CTRL+V on your keyboard.

Dumb Question: Why Is Video Important?

Video has become an integral part of the web and something that ministries, churches and missions should absolutely be looking at for communications. Video gives life and interactivity to a website or blog and reaches a larger number of people who simply don’t read much. The apostle Paul used the best methods available for communicating the Gospel, visiting people and writing letters.

If Paul were alive today, what communication tools would he be using? Papyrus?…

If You Only Read One Thing On This Blog, Read This

This post might be the most important post I have written. It deals with the basic building blocks of social media. There is a mountain of great tools and technologies that can be found online today, the key is to learn what I call the “Social Media Staples”. The staples are foundational tools that once learned make understanding and engaging the rest of the web much easier.

Let me re-emphasize this, if you learn these “Social Media Staples” learning other tools and technologies will be much less difficult.

RSS Feeds: Receiving, Absorbing, and Spreading Information

Links to RSS Readers I Reccomend:

• Netvibes
• Google Reader

A previous post about RSS Feeds

Social Bookmarking: Collecting, Organizing and Sharing Information

If you have any other technologies you think should be included as a social media staple, let me know in the comments.

How To “ChaCha”: Send a Text Message to 242242 (ChaCha) and ask ANY Question

Your text message will then be forwarded to an actual person with an expertise related to what you are asking. After about 3-5 minutes you will receive a text message with an answer, a link to the source, and info about the “ChaCha Guide” who answered your question.

Types of Questions you might ask:

“Where is there a nice Mexican restaurant in Louisville Ky?”

“What is the worlds largest church?”

“How much do the new smart cars cost?”

“Where could I find a nice pair of sheep skin flip flops?

“Who is Aaron Marshall of Louisville?”

For now this service is free, and eventually they will somehow advertise through it… In the mean time enjoy!

What Benefit (if any) Does ChaCha have for Church and Ministry?

I am having a hard time in seeing how this applies to church and ministries learning social media, but this new service is just too interesting, and incredibly useful for day to day life. If you have any ideas on how it can used, be sure to comment.

• Daily Thought/Prayer/Verse Related to Sermon Series or Group Study
• Morning Prayer and Meditation Spark
• Reminders to Pray for Specific Items
• Daily Spiritual Challenges

Signing up for the individual accounts is easy… Managing them day to day can be difficult.

The 2 Obvious Problems when Trying to Use YouTube in a Sermon or Presentation

Problem#1 YouTube Has Inappropriate Preview Images

This is not good if you want to show a video to an audience of ANY size. This is especially true of the homepage, which should be strongly avoided.

Problem#2 Good Internet Connection is Never Guaranteed

I have shown web pages in presentations dozens of times, and almost every time I had internet issues. Very Frustrating.

A Simple 2 Step Process for Downloading a YouTube video and inserting it into a PowerPoint presentation.

Step #1 Choose a Free YouTube Downloading software

• Media Converter
• Zamzar
• I like the 2 services above, but if you need more options checkout 23 ways to download YouTube videos

Step #2 Embed Video with Powerpoint Software (watch video)

YouTube has a ton of great content that can add a lot to a sermon or a presentation, but we must be careful not to endorse or broadcast inappropriate content to our audience.

How RSS Benefits folks in Church and Ministry

• Absorb large amounts of useful information without being overwhelmed.
• Make an easy way to keep up with news and information thats important to you.
• Create a constant stream of new ideas for your church and ministry.
• Keep up with multiple members, church leaders, and group blogs.
• Have daily devotionals and bible readings fed directly to you.
• Be aware of your local city and worldwide happenings without having to receive and read multiple papers.

Its very hard to keep up, let alone stay ahead. RSS feeds give a healthy boost of new and relevant information without overloading you. RSS is a foundational staple for understanding the web and keeping up. If you take the time to learn any new internet technology, take the time to master the RSS feed.

Instructional video to help you get started:

RSS Readers

• Netvibes
• iGoogle
• Google Reader
• Pageflakes
• My Yahoo

Mobile RSS Readers

• Blackberry
• iPhone
• Windows Mobile

If you are like me and don’t like staring at computer screens I recommend using a mobile RSS reader. I dont read any RSS feeds at a computer, I do it all through my Blackberry. I will talk about mobile web content in the future. In my opinion its already becoming huge, and will quickly become a standard medium for receiving information.

Upcoming Posts about RSS:

How Missions Organizations can Benefit from using an RSS Reader

Awesome List of RSS Feeds for Church and Ministry

Step #1 Change the settings of your wireless router/network to be open to the public.

If you are selfish like me the first thought that comes to mind is that “My internet will always be slow!”… If you notice that it is running unbearably slow and you cant do your everyday functions, simply shut it off at those times.

Step#2 Customize the name of your wireless network with a good message

Make the name of your wireless network show people that you are a Christian who cares and maybe throw your church website in there so that they can respond.

Examples of good wireless network names:

• “FREENetFrm OURCHURCH.COM Members”

• “FREENetFrmYorFrndlyChrstnNgbrs :)”

• “FREENetFrm SOJOURNCHURCH.COM Mbrs”

A simple way to show your neighbors kindness, and gently invite them to church. This works especially well in concentrated living areas, condominiums and apartment complexes.

Social networks up to this point have had several major shortcomings:

• Substantial time investment to get even a semi completed profile.
• Too many features to fiddle with.
• Distasteful advertisements.
• Difficult to maintain current information.
• Must be at a computer to update.
• Hard to get non-tech savvy people to join.

The Solution: Twitter - Social Networking for Busy and Non-Tech Savvy People

Twitter works on a model of speed and simplicity. Rather than trying to pack a whole bunch of features that we don’t have time to use, Twitter focuses on the simple and surprisingly important question of “What are you doing right now?” I originally thought this was a lame idea, until I realized that seeing what people are doing is what I use social networks for. Twitter simply simplified things.

Twitter in Plain English

Some of the Benefits of Twitter:

• Ability to stay connected with friends amidst busy schedules.
• Learn about friends and acquaintances in small digestible pieces, rather than a massive profile overload.
• Get updates regularly via text messages (easy to turn off an on).
• Simple controls allow you to manage your profile from a mobile phone or from a computer.
• Non-tech savvy folks can sign-up from a mobile phone and be apart without having to be a geek.

Possible Use #1 Pastors to People

Pastors can use Twitter to have a more personal connection with hundreds of people, without being bogged down by 2 way messaging.

Possible Use #2 Between Group Members

Small groups can use Twitter to learn about each others day to day lives, fostering better connections and deeper relationships.

Possible Use #3 Marketplace Ministry

People using Twitter to open their lives to co-workers, seekers and non-believers.

Possible Use# 4 Missionaries to Supporters

Not that this needs much explanation, but imagine how powerful it would be to follow missionaries play by play.

Services like Twitter are being developed and spreading virally everyday, rather than fighting our unstoppable fast paced culture lets pick-up some simple tools and fight to stay connected!

See more technical applications of using Twitter

My life long friend Tony Coulombe is in the process of founding a new missions organization called the Mustard Seed Global Fellowship. They are headed for Japan and have an awesome vision of building Christian communities there. Tony has a lot of money to raise to be able to accomplish the mission so to help him I devised a viral fund-raising strategy using YouTube.

Step 1 Record Highly personal and direct videos that speak directly to prospective supporters

• Record in different environments: Try the park, a busy street or somewhere that reminds you of the possible supporter (Tony plans to record videos in little Tokyo)
• Be active in your recordings: Don’t just sit in one place, give the video some movement by walking around.
• Show your passion for the mission: Be authentic, be excited and don’t be scared to ask for money.
• Get them Engaged: Explain how you will continually use online video and blogs to keep them updated and connected to the mission.
• Make Hundreds of videos: The time it takes will make up for itself in the stronger commitments you will receive. (Givers gain)
• Use a cheap camera: No need for High Definition professional equipment here! Most digital cameras these days come with movie mode, use it!
• Keep it short: Between 1-3 minutes.

Step 2 Upload the videos to YouTube

• Files need to be under 100 megabytes: Another good reason for using a cheap digital camera.
• Don’t worry about people seeing videos you have created for others, it will only serve to support that you are dedicated.

Step 3 Setup an easy way for people to give, whether that be online giving or a simple way to receive information on how to give via mail.

• Realize how important this is: Your videos will deeply impact most people, give them a way to immediately respond.
• Google Checkout: Free for 5013c Non-Profits
• PayPal: Takes a commission so I am not a huge fan…
• See your Bank for possible methods or have a web developer get it done.

Step 4 Email videos to possible supporters

• Make it very clear: You want them to watch this video and they are accustomed to receiving spam so make sure they know it is a video from you made SPECIFICALLY for them.

Step 4.5 Submit the videos to various online social networks and Christian blogs creating a VIRAL reaction to a unique idea for raising support.

• Getting a Viral Response: This Idea is very young and unique. There is a window of probably a year that it will work virally to raise funds so GET ON IT!

Two Great Examples of the YouTube Fundraising

Raising support is getting harder and harder today. People are increasingly more difficult to engage and inspire about any specific cause or mission. On first reaction we could blame it on the laziness and depravity of the culture, but actually it is the recent evolution in communications. Though the mission maybe a very mighty one, the way we are accustomed to transferring inspiration, passion, and vision has been stifled to impersonal mass mailings. Lets change that. Lets start using Social Media to its fullest potential for the Church!