Category: community

something beautiful :: 1.1 :: ((deep))

The latest something beautiful podcast is up online now!

Thomas and I spend some time catching up and talking about a new emergent gathering he’s hoping to get involved in near his home in Scotland.

We also hear from Thomas’ friends Dan and Laura who share their thoughts on Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” (starts about 20 min in)

Looking forward to doing more of these. Maybe this will become the radio show I keep dreaming of hosting and producing. We’ll see.

Check out the show and share your thoughts and comments: www.somethingbeautifulpodcast.com

What’s behind these community groups?

I’ve asked everyone in our community groups at encounter to take a couple minutes and either fill out an online survey or a printed version of the survey regarding their experiences in their encounter community group.

I’ve received some of the community group surveys back already – (they were sent out roughly a week ago)

A few interesting things so far… (from the current respondents).

  • 87% are married
  • 75% have children
  • 75% learned about their group from a Sunday morning announcement
  • 87% attend their group regularly (3-4 times a month)
  • 100% attend encounter – 100% attend frequently
  • 75% have attended encounter for more than a year
  • 87% have been a Christ follower for at least 3 years
  • 62% rarely or never attended church growing up
  • 100% are involved in other encounter ministries
  • 100% would recommend their group
  • 67% have invited at least 1 person to their group
  • 100% would rank the quality of their group 3 or higher on a 1-5 scale
  • 50% would rank the quality of their group a 5

I have a feeling these results have come primarily from one or two groups, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the results turn out and if there’s much variation. I’d also be interested to see how other churches score.

Some Beautiful Noise

Well, as one project comes to an end, another begins.

This last week it was decided that we would take OrangeNoiseRadio.com “off the air.” It’s been a blast working with it and I’ve really enjoyed helping Brian run the station but we’ve come to a place where we’re paying too much for music licensing and not getting enough revenue directly for the station or through other avenues. So while it’s sad to see it go, I’m thankful for the experience and fun I had getting it up off the ground and running. We’re still keeping things in place for the immediate future and if funding becomes available (or the music companies quit asking for so much money) we’ll bring the station back online.

In the meantime, Thomas and I have been plotting out our ideas for a new project via Twitter. We’ve settled on a name and actually finished our “beta version” of a new podcast last week. Something Beautiful – stories worth talking about – will be a weekly experiment in podcasting where we give folks an opportunity to share their stories and why God matters to them. As a huge blessing Brian offered to donate the hosting space for Something Beautiful as well, so I’ve been working on getting a website up and running as quickly as possible. Somethingbeautifulpodcast.com is live, but its still in it’s infancy – there may be many changes before it “officially” launches. But for now you can visit the site and listen to our beta podcast we put together last week.

Also, you can join the Something Beautiful Network on ning.com at somethingbeautiful.ning.com. Join up and add our podcast player to your Facebook page and then tell all your friends. We hope the ning site will become an extension of the podcast where people can share their own thoughts and stories alongside the (hopefully) weekly podcast.

So there you go. That’s what’s cooking right now in the fire and don’t be surprised if you get a phone call (or Skype call) from Thomas or I asking you to share your story on Something Beautiful.

Speaking of anniversaries

My Google Calendar reminded me of something today.

3 years ago today I officially started my blogging adventure.
Stranger in a Strange Land 1.0.

Although back then, it was hosted elsewhere and looked a good deal different (I’m not sure what happened to the old header).

You may notice there are posts older than April 30, 2005 – have no fear – those were added after I started my blog so I could have some record of the columns I wrote for the Belton Journal and Harker Heights Evening Star. You might also find an old Xanga account out there that I tried briefly and I even tried building my own “blog” from scratch but that was taken down ages ago – after I found out all about CMS.

It’s been a great ride so far. The feedback has been great – well most of it :-).

Through writing my blog and reading others I’ve met some great friends like Thomas. I’ve connected with old friends like Chad. I’ve gotten a better insight into the lives of some very close friends. And I’ve even gained a better insight and understanding of my wife.

And hopefully you’ve each learned something more about me as well. Hopefully you’ve been able to see more of what makes me me. While my posts may not always be personal in nature – they are personal to me. They are things that make me think, influence me and challenge me.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the ride so far and hope you continue reading. Thanks!

Imagine…

Imagine if suddenly…
rather than seeking revenge, you sought reconciliation
rather than repaying violence with violence, you sought creative transforming nonviolent alternatives
rather than focusing on external conformity to moral codes, you were internally transformed by love
rather than loving insiders and hating outsiders, you welcomed outsiders into a new “us” and “we”
rather than anxiety about money or security or pleasure, you trusted ourselves to the care of God
rather than living for wealth, you lived for God who loves all people, including our enemies
rather than hating our enemies and competitors, you loved them and did unto them not as they have done unto you – or before they do unto you – but as you wish they would do for you