Say the Same Things...

One of the things we say all the time to our small group leaders is that one of their roles is to be "Another Adult Who Says the Same Thing a Parent Says".  That very thing happened on a recent trip.

One of our 8th grade girls was broken up with by her boyfriend on the trip.  I knew nothing of this incident until after we got back and found this Facebook post (pictured) by the teen.  I showed her small group leader on Sunday, and the small group leader explained to me what had happened.

Huge win!

"And They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Holiday Greeting..."

Oh, wait!

Personally, I'm torn on this issue.  Christmas is about Jesus - always has been always will be.  It's the reason that we even have a celebration this time of year.  And in the last few years the rhetoric back and forth between those who just want for the "holiday" time to be a little more politically correct and those of us celebrating the true meaning of Christmas only seems to be heating up.  There is even a display in Chicago about "A is for Atheist" right next to a manger scene.  It's hard to watch.  It's hard for me even to hear someone say "Happy Holidays" and not think, I wander what their angle is.

But then again, it's also hard for me to see people deliberately belittle and and poke fun of Christianity at any time of the year - much less at Christmas.

If we want people to take our faith (read personal faith) seriously, maybe we should act like it is at other times and not just when people try to take away our greeting of "Merry Christmas".  Maybe our love of people, our generous hearts, our love for the poor, our desperate need to help those down and out should be a bigger maker than a simple "Merry Christmas".

Maybe our "Merry Christmas" should actually mean it though our actions, rather than just being said.  Then people may actually know we are Christians by our love, rather than simply our "holiday greeting".

Best Times to Post on Social Media

Social media is such a powerful tool - especially in student ministry.  It allows us to rally students. Engage them after a message.  Play fun games.  Brag on students who do something awesome.  Post pictures that happen at events.  But what are the best times to reach people on these networks?  Check out this infographic:

Random Video Thursday: Share It Maybe

I can't stand the "Call Me Maybe" song.  But when Cookie Monster makes a spoof...count me in!

Managing Social Media in an Hour

I run our church's social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, YouTube, Vimeo - as well as the same stuff for our Youth.  I love it!  And I hate it.

I love it because it's another way to engage people with great content from sermons, help for parents, blog posts, events, and just about anything else.  I get a pulse on my audience.  

I hate it because it can become a time-waster.

But the lovely folks at RO4R just put out a great little helper:  Social Media an Hour a Day.

Random Video Thursday: Funky Fresh Senior Choir

They're available for weddings, private parties, and bar mitzvahs.  And not only can they do everything you'll see here, but they can also do the G-Slide, Cupid Shuffle, and the Cha Cha Slide.  Who are they, you ask?  They are the Funky Fresh Senior Choir.

Random Video Thursday: Doritos - Make Your Own

I love how Doritos makes a contest out of the Super Bowl ads.  And every year there are some great ones on YouTube after the contest.  Here is probably my favorite one I've found this year:

Technology I Use: Waze

I'm a bit of a tech junkie (ok I'm a nerd), and love to find new little pieces of technology or apps that make my life easier, more fun or simply make me look cool.  One of my disappointments with the iPhone is that it does not have a turn-by-turn GPS app like that of Android devices.

Enter Waze.  A FREE turn-by-turn app that more.  It has traffic.  Gives you a heads up about speed traps or where a cop may be posted coming up - not that you'd speed or anything.  It really has a great amount of features.  It's pretty intuitive in it's navigation.  A lot of the features are great if you have someone helping to navigate with you.  Pair it with a cheap windshield mount, and you've got a winner.  And it works great in a car with bluetooth - mine however does not, which leads me to my one complaint.  Unless you have bluetooth, the audio is too quiet, and tries to only play through the iPhone's speakers, rather than through my car's speakers when I have it connected with my dock connector cable.  Other than that, it's a huge winner!

Random Video Thursday: Human Mattress Dominoes

You heard that right!  Human.  Mattress.  Dominoes.  Don't try this at home.  Try this at your friend's.

iPad 3 - Who's Gobblin' This New Puppy Up

When the 1st Gen iPad came out, there were a boat load of people who didn't think it would ever make it - me included.  After all, all it seemed to be was an oversized iPod touch.  Now, I'm the proud owner of the iPad 2 (love it), and my wife is watching in anticipation for the iPad 3 announcement today.

So, who's buying this thing, afterall?

Holiday Video Tips

Are you the one who always "gets" to take the pics and videos of every staff function/party/get-together that you have?  Are you the youngest on your staff and by default the job is yours?  Or do you just want to make this year's video a little better.  Well, say no more.  Take a look at these tips from the staff at Vimeo.

Social Media and Sharing in 2011

I love social media.  I manage our church's Facebook page, our twitter page, and our student ministry Facebook page.  So I try to keep myself up on what's working and what's not when it comes to how people interact with content on blogs and the web.  AddThis produced this handy little Trend graphic, that landed in my inbox today, so I thought I'd share it.

One of the things that I found interesting was the information about Google+.  I have one, and I don't love it.  But so far I haven't fully dove into it (maybe that's my problem).  AddThis is a widely used add-on to web and blog content to easily share stuff on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and about any other place you might share content.  I've wondered if Google+ wasn't going so well, since it seemed like a hot topic a while back, but never seemed to really grab hold.  Now, with AddThis's trend sheet, I know.