Information. It is something that is a vital part of each of our lives. You contain a lot of it, but what are you doing to positively impact this world and the people within it with the information that you distribute? Are you too concerned with what people would think about you for your information you contain? Those are some deep questions, but if we look at ourselves, it is really something that we need to evaluate on a daily basis. Not just once.

Whether it be through Twitter, Facebook, a blog or personal connections (just to name a few) we all have made a label for ourselves. Looking at our model, he exhibits information that is positive, encouraging and uplifting to his people in the world around him. Now, I am not saying here that everything has to be serious and life-changing. You can add some stuff in there that is funny, cheery, or even sarcastic...but do so in good taste. Keep it professional.

Odds are high that there are going to be people who disagree with you, but how do you handle that? I have many opinions, thoughts and beliefs that contradict the people around me, but I am not discouraged by that. For example, I like the color blue. My neighbor here "hates" the color blue. He prefers red. Does that make him wrong? Absolutely not. You also have to ask yourself what basis is this opinion disagreed with? Is it a moral issue? Spiritual? Political? If you publicly ridicule someone for a matter of disagreement, then that is not in good taste. If you disagree with someone on a matter, ask yourself why. Do research and find out if your life depended on it, if you believed enough, you would stand firm in your decision. Learn to disagree agreeably.

I have learned much in my time of interaction with people, and I have matured much. We are all wired different and have different beliefs. So, I ask you the same questions now that were above...What are you doing to positively impact this world and the people within it with the information that you distribute? Are you too concerned with what people would think about you for your information you contain?

It is your civil duty to do research and find out what you believe and why. Once you are confident, inform others. Maybe they were wrong, and you can cast a positive change in their life by taking your stand. You never know. Love you guys!

-Ken

Labels: A New Man in Town, agree, disagree, growth, information, informative, interaction

Today, we are often faced with many challenges that inhibit us from attending a church on Sundays. Many churches that I am in communication with are now having a worship service on Sunday evening, that have two main goals. One of those being to allow members/attenders to worship because they are not able to make it on Sunday mornings. Two...to give room for more people to attend on Sundays.

Another option I have noticed here more recently is the advent of streaming the services online. This seems to be a more cost efficient method with the popularity of the Flash video encoding. This allows the video/audio image to be crisp and clean, yet not too bandwidth consuming. Even so, the turnout seems to be good for the services.

Many people have family situations or have to work in this day and age on Sunday. They can still connect with the church via a video stream while also allowing them to worship and be fed spiritually at the same time. This is hopefully another reason that churches allow streaming of their services.

Back in the 80's and 90's, many churches had to pay a lot of money to have their services broadcast on television stations. This was a lot of work and expense. Trust me, I worked at a church doing this. I think with the advent of the internet, it is more feasible for churches to send a live video and audio feed to the online community. This would require about the same amount of money up front to purchase and maintain the systems, but at the same time, internet broadcasting is a much cheaper medium of sharing God's message. Plus, you are not limited to a specific time block. You can stream the entire service because the ministry controls what goes out there.

I "attended" a church stream about a month ago. I was fascinated with how it worked, mainly because this church had a chat room contained within. Viewers could chat with pastors and seek prayer for specific needs that the person had. I thought this was a great asset to add to the streaming service. That way, it makes the viewer feel more connected with the church's broadcast ministry.

I want to hear from you guys. What do you think about online worship services? Do you have any experiences that you would like to share?

Thanks for taking the time to read.
-Ken

Labels: 316 networks, Buckhead Church, Chapel Hill, church, digital, FIrst Orlando, Flash, God, gospel, informative, internet, internet growth, Media, North Point, Orlando, Scott Link, simulcast

I had an interesting story . . . something that happened tonight.

Tonight, I was working "Hymns of the Faith" at First Baptist Orlando. I had been tweeting with another one of the volunteers for broadcast, Michael throughout the afternoon. Unfortunately, he could not be with us tonight, because he was working later tonight. But, we were blessed with having his wife, serve with us tonight!

He was not able to get in touch with his wife to ask her a quick question. I assume he could have sent a text message or something, maybe he did, but I guess her phone was away in her purse our of her reach. Michael ended up sending me a "Tweet" to ask his wife the question. I was able to pass on the message then became the mediator between him and his wife.

It was great. So you see, Twitter is not about posting useless information, which some people live their life believing. It is about sharing information, keeping in touch with others and being informative. For all fo you Twitter haters out there, get over yourself. It can be useful and is for many many Twitter users. Don't bash something just because you do not use it. That is something that I can not stand.

-Ken

Labels: cell phones, haters, informative, mediator, message, Michael, social networking, tweet, twitter