It's cold

It's a cold day here in Atlanta. That is there are a few patches of ice on the ground and I needed to wear a coat this morning.

As I was driving in I had the thought from my childhood. My dad once told me air conditioners don't make the air cold, that take the heat out of the air. Sort of made sense. So I had this thought, cold is the absence of heat, sort of like black is the absence of color. The edges of the universe are cold, because there is no sun to heat them. The default if you will is cold.

Similar in people, our default is sin and negativity. Negativity can be seen as the absence of positivity or some counter active force. You have to have something counter active to the negativity to create a positive environment. You will always be going against the default.

This has another implication as well: The amount of positivity can only be equal to the ratio of the positive force to the environment. Since the environment is inherently negative you have to have a significant ratio of positivity to create an overall positive environment.

The problem we're all left with is how can we create enough positive force to counter act our negative tendencies?

Flip Video- First Review

From one of our global outreach teams: 

Thanks to Communications for the use of the “just over $100 Flip video camera” in Sao Paulo, Brazil & Buenos Aires, Argentina November 27- December 5, 2007.  Brian & I filmed 60 minutes, dumped the files on a laptop, and then took another half hour or so of footage.  Here’s my review:

I found it to be very user-friendly, considering I’d never used a video camera before. All I had to do was turn it on and push record!  Timid GO Journey team members will definitely appreciate that, as well as its small size (fit in my purse so I had it with me every minute of the trip), the ease of getting it through airport security, and its use of simple AA batteries.  Not having to charge it came in handy in countries where you need an adapter to use electrical outlets.  The Flip camera didn’t run out of juice until 7 days into the trip.

From what I can tell viewing our clips on a computer, the quality is good, but I am eager to verify this by seeing a clip incorporated into a video and played on the big screens.

For GO Journey teams, I’ll need a quick instruction sheet for:

1. How to use the Flip video software to dump the files (and that saving them in a new folder each time will mean no duplicate names)

2. How to use Real Time to view them on the computer

3. How to post clips to a blog

Crystal Steadham

Global Outreach Mobilization

Perimeter Church, Duluth, GA

Flip Video

After many ministry requests to borrow a camera, about two months ago I purchased a cute little device called a Flip Video recorder to see if it could meet our needs. 

We purchased them to be a small, fast, and inexpensive device that used an international power standard that would allow people to vlog from anywhere in the world pending an internet connection.

I was so impessed when I unpacked the box. First of all it was small and inexpensive. Given that the request came mostly from our Global Outreach ministry that was a big deal. We have cameras, but the thought of losing a high-def Panny over the side of a ship (don't ask) just didn't seem like good stewardship. 

I intentionally didn't read the directions. I'm a pretty tech savvy guy but wanted to see how easily I could use it. Took me about 30 seconds to figure out how to install the battery, turn it on and shoot the video.

Getting the videos off was equally as easy. The device has it's own USB the "flips" out so that you can attach it to your computer. The software contains all the needed drivers and doesn't actually "install" but instead runs off the device. Tony Dye did a great first user experience post on his blog, tonydye.net.

We just sent this little device oversees with one of GO teams, which was it's original intent.So far our global ministry has asked us to purchase somewhere between four and six of the devices. 

Overcommitted

I was in downtown Decatur today, waiting for a friend, when I saw this truck. At first I didn't even notice, just looked like a moving truck. Then, since I had time I started reading it. I laughed out loud when I read the first line of the ad.

Truth is though I feel that way all the time. Overcommitted & undertrained. In over my head.

How many of you feel that way? How many of you have to feel that way? What do you specialize in? What could you let go of? What are you willing to let go of?

Website- A brief survey #1

I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write this post but been called away by the urgent. I had a choice I could write about what I'm doing or be doing it. For me it was way more cool to be doing it.

A quick history on the Perimeter website (since I was in middle school when some of this was happening pardon any parts that aren't perfectly precise):

10 years ago we launched a single page billboard website to give people basic information on Perimeter.

During the next five years that grew to the point we needed a CMS and to decentralize maintenance of the site. We decentralized the site so that each ministry could update their own pages. At that time we had still only a few pages (less than 100).

Today Perimeter has grown to around 250 ministries with about 1,500 pages on our site. We have 33 subwebs (read different subdomains) and a myriad of looks as we've sought to keep the web up to date.

3 months ago we wiped the slate clean and brought in an awesome design/hosting group called eye-speak. This team is amazing. Randy and I sat down and archicted the site for them and they went away for about two months and did that programming stuff that I have become uncomfortably comfortable with.

Two weeks ago we went beta with the site. We sent out the link to the staff and encouraged the spread it around. We wanted as much feedback as we could get. After all, we couldn't think of everything.

Now next week we go full live. DNS servers will be changed, redirects will happen and most likey pandmonium will occur.

Tony Dye, the IT guy has encouarged me over and over to be documenting the process on this and I haven't, see my first statement again.

Next I'll post on what our process has been and then ultimately what we came up with.

Worship Well?

Is worship intended for the worshipper or the worshipee?

How often have you heard someone say, "that style of worship just doesn't appeal to me," or, "I prefer a more _____ stye of worhsip."

Worship isn't for *us*, it's for Him, the One, the Creator. It's like going to a birthday party and being upset that the cake isn't our favorite flavor.

I wonder if I could fully grasp that how my worship would change.

Art

You start to fell almost paralyzed by this idea of how grand something hs to be to be legitatmate art.
Shepard Fairy, Juxtapoz Magazine, Nov. 2007