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Wordle

January 27, 2012 in Resources with 0 Comments

Close to a week ago YS! Palooza was in my back yard and one of the sessions was led by Les Christie. Besides teaching us how to plan and execute game ideas in our ministries Les also introduced us to a web app called Wordle. Essentially it’s a tool that allows you to plug in words, choose your fonts, colors etc., and spits out an image like the one you see above. The more times you input a word, the larger it is displayed in the wordle. The Wordle you see here is made up from words found on this site. I’m just glad that Jesus name was larger than Doug Fields and David Crowder.

One of the suggestions that Les offered was using Wordles in Senior recognition services at your church. Collect the words from the students Facebook page and show the Wordles during the service! This was just one of the great ideas I picked up at Palooza. If you want more info about Palooza and when it is heading your direction check out their site here.

POLL: Publishing Software

January 23, 2012 in Software with 1 Comment

At our church we create a load of custom publications. When I first started I used Microsoft Publisher. Over the past 2 years I began learning Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 so I have converted to an InDesign user. What kind of publishing software do you use, and why? Give 3 “likes” and 3 “dislikes”

What Publishing Software Do You Use?

 

The Final Frontier: Star Trek Catan

January 22, 2012 in For Fun with 2 Comments

Earlier this morning Matt McGill tweeted that he would never be the same again and followed that tweet with a link. The link was to a Gizmodo page talking about the new rendition of Settlers of Catan. That’s right, according to Board Game Geek and Gizmodo, Star Trek and Settlers are about to collide. Now, to some of you this is HUGE, while I imagine there are still some (like our own Chris Davis) who don’t yet see the glory of this news.

If you have never played Settlers, it’s an “empire building” game that is wicked simple, and super fun. If you ever want to introduce a sweet board game to your teens this one is great, and it’s about to get better! Click here to read the rest of the news.

Doug Fields at YSpalooza Live Blog

January 20, 2012 in Resources with 0 Comments

This is my first YS! Palooza, and I am stoked to be here. I live 1.5 miles from the venue so it was super convenient. The price is right and, who doesn’t need a day or two to refresh the youth ministry batteries? Here is a running blog of Doug Fields’ message to us all!

 

Doug just took the stage!

Bait and Switch- a tactic in which a seller advertises a product with the intention of persuading customers to purchase a more expensive product. (aka What happens when you do online dating)

“Maybe you have never thought of the bait and switch as it relates to your ministry”

  • We grab this bait of ministry and somehow it gets switched to something else.
  • Volunteering in YM turns into you being the youth director!
In ministry it is not the goal to “trick” people.
The BAIT:
  • To be good in youth ministry all I have to do is love teens.
  • All I have to do is eat pizza, tell gross stories and talk to teens about Jesus.

The SWITCH:

  • You gotta develop leaders

The BAIT:

  • To be good in YM you gotta grow the ministry.
  • Reduction is typically not the plan.
  • You have to manage ministry growth.
  • From ministry to meetings.
  • The ministry never ends.
Doug just admitted that he often fantasized about working at a McDonald’s to escape some ministry pressure.
The BAIT:
  • Growth requires strong leadership
  • “John Maxwell be came a stronger voice in my life than Jesus”
The SWITCH:
  • Ministry pressure requires “inner-world” management.
  • I wanted to spend less time with the “how-to” and focus more on the “how-come”
  • Doug just promoted “What Matters Most” over and above PDYM and First Two Years…
This Bait and Switch principle creates tornadoes in our lives as youth workers. It’s difficult to be honest when you spiritual life is spinning.
Are you “performing” more than “following” Jesus?
“When you preach at a church with 20,000 people and 10% don’t like you, that ends up being a mega-church of hate!”
The Disciples didn’t see the wild ride that they were walking into. But for the disciples the SWITCH came with a ministry depth where they could see the blind healed, and Jesus calm the seas. They got to watch thousands be fed by a snack pack.
In the same way—You thought you were just going to be a chaperone, but you didn’t see that a girl would be opening up to you about how she cuts herself.

 

A Few Things that Never Change: Healthy youth ministries need leaders who…

  • can authentically say, “Follow me as I follow Jesus.” Youth ministry can move so easily from Jesus to programs. Youth ministry should be a place where students should rub shoulders with people who love, and follow Jesus
  • value a collective vision. Being is visionary is highly overrated. The body needs the eyes, and splines, and sphincters. “ I’ve never done anything significant in my ministry ALONE. We are better together!
  • are willing to play A part in reaching that vision. “The starring role is reserved for Jesus.” Wow, what a statement!

David Crowder*Band – Give Us Rest or (a requiem mass in c [the happiest of all keys])

January 20, 2012 in Media with 0 Comments

The end has finally come. I had blogged about the David Crowder Band ending their run (READ HERE), and this week, we saw the release of their final album, Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass In C [The Happiest of All Keys]).  It’s a great closing act.  I recommend taking the time to listen to it all at once, I think you’ll like the journey that David and the boys take you on.  They will be missed.

 

If you haven’t gotten it yet, you can get iton iTunes:
Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass In C [The Happiest of All Keys]) - David Crowder Band

What did you think about it? Thumbs up or Down?

SOPA – What is it? – Video

January 18, 2012 in Media, News, Web with 0 Comments

You may have noticed a lot of sites on the web went “black” today.  If you tired to find something on Wikipedia you were met with a black screen telling you that the internet must remain free.  I’ve talked to many people that have no idea what this is talking about.  Someone told me today, “The Internet isn’t free, I pay for it with my cable bill.”  I had to explain that what this bill was talking about was the freedom to post and share what you want on the internet.  At the heart of the matter is piracy, or the illegal sharing of copyrighted materials on the internet.  That’s where SOPA comes from, Stop Online Piracy Act. Now, I need to say upfront, that I’m not in favor of piracy.  People that create the movies, music, and books that we enjoy deserve to be paid for what they create (even the ones we don’t enjoy deserve it too).  But where SOPA goes a little off track is that it doesn’t really accomplish what it says it wants to do.

I’d love to be able to explain it all in a way that makes the issue perfectly clear, but it’s complicated and there are people smarter than me that have already set out to do that. So if you’d like to know more about the issues that people have with SOPA or why people say it will “break” the internet, watch these videos.  I thought they did a great job laying out the issue.  Once you know the background and the how things work, you can decide for your self what you think.

Defend our freedom to share (or why SOPA is a bad idea)

Kahn Academy – SOPA and PIPA

What do you think?

Learn to Play Guitar on iPad

January 12, 2012 in iOS, mobile with 0 Comments

Every youth worker needs to know how to play the guitar, right?  OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but if you’ve wanted to learn and you have an iPad or iPhone here’s an app to help you teach your self.

Check out iGuitarTeacher, and it’s FREE for a limited time.

iGuitarTeacher - Bingappstore

 

Here’s the description from the developer:

Lessons for all levels and styles… It doesn’t matter if you play an acoustic guitar, electric guitar or both. Our lessons are designed for both. Whether you are a complete beginner or if you have been playing for years and years, we have designed an app for you that will change the way you look at the guitar.
The following guitar lessons have been created with the beginner in mind. It is suggested that new guitarists begin at lesson one, spending at least one week learning the exercises and songs in that lesson before moving on. Learning to relax while playing guitar will help immeasurably, so be sure to have fun!

Guitar Lesson ‘One’
1-Overview
2-Parts of a Guitar
3-The neck: A closer look
4-Holding a Guitar
5-Holding a Pick
6-Tuning (Appendix For Details)
7-Playing a Scale
8-Playing Basic Chords
9-Learning Songs
10-Practice Schedule

Guitar Lesson ‘Two’
1-Overview
2-A New Scale
3-Names of Guitar Strings
4-Learning an E Minor Chor
5-Learning an A Minor Chord
6-Learning a D Minor Chord
7-Learning to Strum
8-Learning to Strum – cont’d

Guitar Lesson ‘Three’
1-Overview
2-The Blues Scale
3-Learning an E Major Chord
4-Learning an A Major Chord
5-Playing an F Major Chord
6-Chord Review
7-New Strumming Pattern

Guitar Lesson ‘Four’
1-Overview
2-The Musical Alphabet on Guitar
3-Notes on the Neck
4-Power Chords
5-Power chords (con’t)
6-F Major Chord Review
7-Strumming Patterns

Guitar Lesson ‘Five’
1-Overview
2-Sharps and Flats
3-’12′ Bar Blues
4-The B Minor Chord
5-Scale Review

Guitar Lesson ‘Six’
1-Overview
2-Chromatic Scale
3-Open 7th Chord
4-Barre Chord Basics
5-Strumming Patterns

Guitar Lesson ‘Seven’
1-Overview
2-Barre Chords
3-Fingerpicking
4-Hammer-ons
5-Pull-offs

Guitar Lesson ‘Eight’
1-Overview
2-More Advanced Fingerpicking
3-Strumming Patterns
4-Slash Chords
5-Sliding
6-String Bending

Guitar Lesson ‘Nine’
1-Overview
2-The Major Scale
3-Strumming Patterns
4-Sus4 Chords

Guitar Lesson ‘Ten’
1-Overview
2-Palm Muting
3-Major Chord Inversions
4-Chord Revision (QUIZ)
5-Advanced String Bending

Guitar Lesson ‘Eleven’
1-Overview
2-Seventh Barre Chords
3-Major Chord Inversions II
4-More on Strumming Patterns

Doug Fields: “5 Ways to Change the Environment in Your Family/Marriage”

January 11, 2012 in Gadgets, mobile, Web with 1 Comment

I saw this post over on DougFields.com, and thought it was a great reminder of little things we can do to help connect better with our families.  The thing that struck me was that they were almost technology based. These tools that are suppose to make our lives easier also break down the relationships that should be the most important.

Try these 5 actions for a week and see if the temperature in your home doesn’t change a little. Plus, even if your relational temperature is “fine,” these ideas may make it even better.

1. Leave the phone in the car:when you come home from work it’s too simple to get lost in texting, checking, and reading from the phone. You won’t be distracted when the phone left in the car. More time to focus on real people.

2. Shut the laptop: It’s too easy to come home and “get lost” in the computer that’s always on and calling your attention (blogs, email, Quicken, etc…). Turn it off and see if you can turn on some dialogue and/or focus on others.

3. Show up on time: If you tell your spouse that you’ll be home by 6pm… get home. Not 6:30…not even 6:05. If you make a commitment to a loved one, honor it. It’s amazing what simple actions will communicate about love and respect.

4. Turn it off ½ the time: I’m not asking you to become Amish and ditch all TV, I’m suggesting you cut your viewing time in half. Instead of the easy default of turning on the TV, cut it in half and spend that extra time engaged with others.

5. Leave a short note: Emphasis on “short”… I’m not suggesting 2 pages, typed out, double-spaced. What if you left your spouse and/or child a short note every day for a week? Short words of affection and encouragement can be powerful. And, if it’s not a regular practice, these notes will become treasures.

What are some of the other little things could we tweak that would make a big impact on our families and marriages?

Read Doug’s entire post HERE.

10 Favorites from 2011

January 1, 2012 in Gadgets, iOS, Mac, Media, mobile, News, Resources, Software, Web with 2 Comments

Here are some of my favorites from 2011:

1. MacBook Air - I love this little computer.  Great for travel, and super fast.

2. Sticky Faith - These books have really made me think a lot about youth ministry and being a parent.  I highly recommend them. Plus check out StickyFaith.org for more insights in their articles and blog.

3. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson – I found this book to be a difficult read.  He could be so harsh with people.  It really made me think about leadership, success, and family from someone who did great things, but failed at so much too.

4. iPad 2  - This continues to be a device that changes the way I interact with content.  I love it.

5. Kindle Fire - You probably didn’t expect to see this after I listed the iPad, but it’s a different device for me.  It’s a great reader that also does some tablet functions.  Plus, I love that there’s someone pushing the iPad to be better.

6. YSnetwork - This one is personal, but we launched it this fall at YS (where I work).  It’s a great way to connect with other youth workers, join a network or build your own.  It’s free to join, and if you sign up join the Youth Ministry Geek network to stay connected.

7. Flipboard - This is probably the app I use the most, and with the addition of the iPhone version a month ago, I just use it even more.  It’s by far my favorite news reader.


Flipboard - Flipboard Inc.

8. GoPro - I got one of these cameras to take on our vacation to Hawaii this year, and it’s so much fun.  We use it under water, on water slides, in the pool, the beach, on the trampoline.  It’s a great camera to take when you don’t want to risk you full size, expensive one.  Sure it has it’s limitations, but you get an amazing picture that can go anywhere.  It’s my Flip Camera replacement.

9.Timbuk2 Control Laptop Case - After about 7 years, my old shoulder bag finally wore out. This was my replacement.  Things I love about it: separate sleeves for laptop and ipad, TSA compliant so I don’t have to take my laptop out, not too big, but big enough.

10. Tech News Today -  I love podcasts and increasingly over the last year, this has been my #1 to go to.  It’s about 45 minutes every week day covering the lastest in the world of technology.  Entertaining and informative, perfect for this geek.

What were you’re favorites from the last year?

2011 Told Through Twitter – Year in Review Video

January 1, 2012 in For Fun, Media, Web with 0 Comments

This is an awesome video retelling 2011 in tweets.

ht Brandon Early

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