Windows 7?

A couple of weeks ago I received a “Windows 7 party pack” in the mail. This giant box screamed super cheezyness to follow… it was. The box had Windows 7 bags (which make great grocery bags, they are solid!), streamers, coupons, branded logos and playing cards (seriously, I can’t make this up). However, it also had a Windows 7 Signature Ultimate Edition enclosed as well (both 32 and 64 bit)! I’ve been wanting to upgrade since Vista and Photoshop were not working well together for me.

I popped the dvd in and bought a new 1TB hard drive (not because of Windows 7 but because my wife is a photographer, crazy 5MB pictures!). When the loading screen came up, I was so worried that, like previous Windows installations, I would have to do multiple formats and installations due to errors. I clicked through two screens, typed in my key, skipped activation and said start installing. Through other installs I knew I would have to sit there for a little bit until the process finally started. So I went to check on my kids super quick (well, super quick as in 20 minutes to stop fights, bathroom messes, etc.) and sat down at my computer. When I looked up Windows 7 was running. I looked at the clock, yup 23 minutes. I sat there dumbfounded for about 2 minutes trying to figure out if this was a trick.

I started playing around…it worked. I couldn’t believe it, so I went to my device manager expecting to see a bunch of yellow exclamation marks (this means that hardware was having an issue). Only one was there, for my wireless adapter. Got the driver from my laptop and it worked super fast! The stinking thing hasn’t crashed since (even Vista crashed on day one from Dell)…and it is so fast! I know I know, it is a new installation but for real. With installations being faster, file transfers from backups faster, navigating faster, I am happy! I’ll keep you updated but I am very impressed with Windows 7. It helps that I got it for free but as a professor I also get it for $15!

Have any of you played with Windows 7 yet? What are your thoughts?

My heart broke this morning…

I was going to post this during my Catalyst recap…but as I was listening to the latest Catalyst podcast my heart broke as I relived a moment from Catalyst 09. Let me setup what happened. Jimmy was 8 years old when he received a sponsorship from Mark through Compassion International. Jimmy is from Kenya, Africa and has grown up being sponsored by Mark. He is now going through a leadership development program and was brought to Catalyst to tell his story so more children like him could get sponsored. However, on stage he read a letter from Mark that talks about having the hope of Christ in his heart. Jimmy describes how he later trusted Christ because of that letter.

What happens next words can not describe as Jimmy had never met Mark…until Catalyst 09. He fell to his knees and wept so loudly that the 13,000 leaders were silent. All you could hear was extreme weeping. There was not a dry eye in the room. This video is so powerful, that moment was truly a God moment. Tears well up in my eyes just as I write this because of the impact it made on me. There were 1200 children sponsorship packets at Catalyst. Every single one was taken and only 25 were given back. As of last Monday money for over 600 packets have already been turned in. THAT IS INCREDIBLE! The video below is 18 minutes long. However, if you are strapped for time Jimmy’s part comes on at 3:45. Please watch this video, take the time to be changed by compassion to see God’s people taken care of. If you decide to sponsor a child for $38/month (that’s so little compared to how we live) please leave a comment or message me on twitter. The reason being we want to help a friend of ours who is an official Compassion International representative. Please pray about sponsoring a child…you never know the impact you could make until you do.

Luke 14:12-14 “Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’”

Luke 12:33-34 “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The Fun Theory

Have you ever heard of The Fun Theory? It is a awesome website with making life more fun than it currently is. For example, I just saw this video of how they changed a staircase in Stockholm into a piano in order to see if more commuters would take the stairs over the escalator…it worked. Makes me want to make like more fun….and ministry more creative!

Catalyst 09 is here!

Ok, I’m ready, no you don’t understand I need this right now. I am confessing sins like crazy, I am praying like crazy. I need Catalyst now. I have so many questions that need answering. I have so many dead spots in my life. I need a rejuvenation and I need it now. I am ready for something to give me that spark. Are you? Please keep me accountable to blog about Catalyst when I get back so I keep a record of everything that God will do in me and through me.

I’m ready…

Here are some ways of getting ready for Catalyst:

First of all, read this
http://churchcrunch.com/2009/09/11/the-officially-unofficial-catalyst-atlanta-conference-survival-guide/

and this
http://www.bradruggles.com/2009/10/06/catalyst-for-dummies-road-trip/

It is a great explanation of what to expect at Catalyst.
But the thing you must do first is pray up. Start praying now for what God is going to do next Thursday and Friday. Pray that you are clear of any distractions and that your heart (and ears) are ready to hear what God has for you. You might not agree with everything but it will make you think outside of the box.

On Thursday, be there before the doors open if you want a good seat and good free stuff! We probably won’t be able to sit together because of how hard it is to get a group of roughly 30 people together amidst 16000 others. So get your seat then go get free stuff (Dave Ramsey’s booth usually gives away iPods).

Here is what to expect during the event:
1. Your brain will hurt – it is a lot of sitting and listening. There are times of worship and random fun times but much of it is listening and taking it in. There are breaks but are so short that you feel like you should just pee in your pants!

2. The schedule for Thursday is:
8:30am – session 1 – YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THE OPENER!
10:15am – break
10:45am – session 2
12:15pm – lunch
1:45pm – session 3
3:15pm – break
3:45pm – session 4
4:45pm – break
5:00pm – session 5
6:00pm – break
8:00pm – session 6

Friday is:
8:30am – session 7
10:15am – break
10:45am – session 8
12:15pm – lunch
1:45pm – session 9
3:15pm – break
3:45pm – session 10
5:30pm – boo! done!

Be prepared to have an amazing time of leadership and God!
Also, give some love to Chad Johnson who always takes care of us and hooked us up with great ticket prices. Pray for the rest of us going as well as yourself and be prepared to be blown away!

Campus Ministry vs. Church College Ministry

Lately I’ve been thinking about Church vs. Campus Ministry… let me explain.

Church College Ministry = A local church, Christ’s bride, does ministry to all ages (at least that is what a New Testament church looks like). Therefore, some churches have a specific college ministry. Whether it is something like a collegiate service, a college and singles ministry, or a young professional ministry.

Campus Ministry = BCM, Cru, IV, XA, Navigators, etc. These focus strictly on college students at the college campus. Less metro more focused on a campus…sometimes. Some things they focus on are leadership development, small groups, community, discipleship, reaching the dorms/Greeks/Athletes/Medical students/Engineers, etc.

Many students (and ministers) are very torn about the role in a person’s life. I’ve had countless conversations with people who are upset with BCMs “stealing” students. However, I love what J.D. Greear explains it in his blog post.

He talks about how both ministries are necessary in a college student’s life. It is a pretty good read so I’ll highlight what I think are some of the great points of the post.

The church is intergenerational.

This is something that I constantly stress with my students as a NT church has all generations investing in each other for the purpose of discipleship and accountability and fellowship. I’ve found this to be a huge help in my life when I was in college and now.

Campus ministry is only for 4 years; church is for life.

Something that I focus on is plugging students into a local church…that doesn’t mean just attending but actually serving. When a college student realizes that God’s plan is bigger than themselves they jump on board and start investing in some youth. Then, when that student leaves college they don’t float from church to church but find one that doesn’t serve them but that they can serve in and get fed at.

Campus ministries meet on campus, allowing students to grow and minister where they live.

Campus ministries allow students an outlet for reaching their peers as well as growing within a community that deals with similar issues.

Campus ministries specialize in dealing with the issues students face while a student.

Campus Ministries are able to focus on what just students are dealing with…and give practical advice when it comes to adversity.

Greear then outlines what students who are confused should do: serve at both. He basically says that a student should start with going to an on-campus ministry as well as attending a local church (the same one every week, no church hopping, LAME!). As the student becomes a upperclassman he or she should increase their participation in their local church. I also believe that upperclassmen should invest in freshmen and sophomores before totally leaving behind the campus ministry.

I love how someone is thinking and dealing with what I’m dealing constantly talking about. What are your thoughts?

Is it wrong…

Is it wrong that my goal in life is now to own an iPhone? I mean the $80/month bill, the constant distraction of applications, my kids clamoring to use it for the games and oh ya the possibility of getting overcharged because I text way too much.

When I mentioned this to someone they said “that’s fine, as long as you love Jesus.”

Sold!

Finish what you started…

Good leadership means finishing what you started. In the past week I have stressed out tremendously by this principle to the point where I am now writing about it. I’ve lost sleep over it, I can’t stop thinking about it, I want people to learn about it.

1. A saying I have (and I repeat often) is “leave it better than you found it” I say this because too many times leaders will leave a place a mess. In fact, many hotels and conference centers hate when Christians come as a group because they terrorize the place and don’t clean up afterwards. What does this have to do with being a leader? Integrity – you aren’t finished until the place is ready to be used by someone else.
2. Level 5 (Good to Great, Jim Collins) Leaders who are in charge of an event always finish what they started. If you are in charge of an event or even the team for the event you should a) Be there early, b) Help during the event, c) Make sure your team is working, d) Clean up after the event, e) Debrief/evaluate after the event (can be later on in the week). There is only one two excuses (I forgot if the wife says so) for not completing an event – medical/death. If you have work to do, do it before or after. If you are tired, get some caffeine/sugar. Do not ever pass the buck on finishing an event you have started.
3. Another aspect of this is stay to the end. Many times people who are “leaders” will scoot out when no one is looking during the latter part or clean up of the event. If you want to kill your integrity with people, dip out and leave while everyone else is cleaning without telling anyone. This is probably one of my biggest annoyances, shirking your responsibility as a leader. If you absolutely have to leave for one of the reasons mentioned above, tell whoever is in charge. If it is you, tell everyone on your team. Have you ever stopped and said “where is John? He’s supposed to be leading/helping.” What is your first inclination? “Wow, what a slacker!”

Leaders should be people of character and integrity. We must finish what we start. What do you think?

I’m overwhelmed – no blogging for the next 2 weeks

I sat down this morning and a rush of exhaustion/stress/God/oh junkness/what do I do came over me! No blogging for 2 weeks! Please pray because I want to reach freshman more than ever before. I’ve seen too many go down the drain. Not anymore. But for those of you who want something here is what my firefox tabs are currently open to:

USF BCM – Duh
13 Tips To Be An Effective Communicator – Gotta learn to speak slower
3 Steps to Creating Momentum Right Where You Are – Value our community
Undivided – Gotta have something open by my boy Craig Groeschel
Yes, You Can Stay on Top of Email – Inbox Zero help!!!!
Get Shorty – The Elevator Pitch is Dead – Doing things shorter….YES!

Enjoy – let me know which one you liked the most.

My daughter: the birthday princess

A vision never changes

I was listening to Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast recently and heard a talk about Vision. Too many times people are confused about what a leader/ministry/company is about. This is when Vision comes into play. However, we many times compare vision to what exactly we are doing at the moment and wonder why it keeps changing.

Plans may change but Vision always stays the same.

When God gives a Vision to a leader, He intends for that Vision to come about. I know for me I lose sight of that many times when I keep trying to change it to make it work for whatever I am doing. We should plan the other way around. The Vision should never change…it is alright for plans to change but never the Vision.

The Vision is what people rally around and creates momentum within an organization. When a Vision is constantly changing then the people will never take you seriously.

Create momentum…change your plans when necessary…but never change the vision.