The latest endeavor coming out from the LifeChurch.tv Digerati brain trust is an enhancement to YouVersion.com for live events.  It is scheduled to debut on Oct 8 during the Catalyst conference and then will be immediately available to churches following that.  We got a sneak peek at some screen shots during a webinar today.

Things to look forward to include the ability to design your event and then share element such as scripture, polls, links, prayer requests, notes and more with you live audience via their mobile devices.  This looks to really revolutionize the way churches interact with their attendees.  Can’t wait to see it in action!

Catch the initial set of presentation slides here:

Mashable has recently released its Twitter Guide Book, a fairly comprehensive overview of how to get going with Twitter. 

If you have never tried Twitter but are curious about it or fairly new to the concept of micro-blogging and status updates, you’ll want to check it out.  In the article you find links to a slideshare document which is bascially an index of several Adobe PDF files.  I have linked to them directly here as well as I think it makes it easier to find and use.

To understand the purpose of the guidebook, here is the introduction from the CEO of Mashable:

Twitter is a social network used by millions of people, and thousands more are signing up every day to send short messages to groups of friends.

But where’s the user manual for Twitter? Where do new Twitter users go to learn about Tweeting, retweets, hashtags and customizing your Twitter profile? Where do you go if you want to know all about building a community on Twitter, or using Twitter for business? How can you find advanced tools for using Twitter on your phone or your desktop?

To answer all these questions and more, we’ve assembled The Twitter Guide Book, a complete collection of resources for mastering Twitter.

Happy Tweeting!

Pete Cashmore
@Mashable

So go ahead check out the links below & start tweeting!

•  Twitter 101
• Building Your Twitter Community
• Managing Your Twitter Stream
• Sharing on Twitter

 
Washa what?  That was my reaction when I first heard the title of Shawn Wood’s latest book which is having it’s “Book Bomb” release on Amazon.com today. 

Having read through the introduction as well as the first chapter and the first couple segments of “Laura’s Story” which is told in a first person account in between the chapters Shawn writes, I can truly say “wow”!  Shawn writes with a style that not only is very conversational and easy to read, but also very compelling and hard to put down.

Like the response you get to the little green very spicy mustard that the book named after, Shawn relates his reaction to a small, but very powerful verse in the Bible which hit him in a way he would not forget!  I won’t spoil it by telling you which verse that is or why, but I will encourage you to check out more about the book at: www.wasabigospel.com and to pick up a copy and see for yourself.

Have you ever looked at the words of Jesus in a fresh way that just took your breath away?  You may have read them many times before but this time a new meaning just jumped off the pages at you and left you breathless. That is the experience Shawn describes.  That is the type of life-altering experience that leads to life change and a life that is fueled with passion and hope.  If you are like me, after a little taste, you’ll be left wanting more!

For more on Shawn:

www.shawnwoodwrites.com
www.twitter.com/shawnwood
www.facebook.com/shawnwood

At the beginning of this year, with some encouragement from a friend, Mike Silliman, I made an ambitious goal for myself – to read through the Bible in a year. 

Beyond the notion that it was something I ‘should’ do, I was inspired to do it because I wanted to go on a bit of a spiritual journey.  I wanted to go somewhere spiritually I had never gone before and I knew that to get there I’d have to do something I’ve never done and that it woudn’t necessarily come easy. However, I also new I needed strategic approach to make it possible.

The answer: A chronologically arranged Bible in an easy to read translation.  As I have reached the half-way point and spent the past 6 months in the Old Testiment, having the events arranaged sequentially has dramatically helped me not only get through some of the most confusing books of the Bible, but even allowed me to appreciate the story of God’s love for His people even more.

It is has been amazing to me to see how OT events have come to life more vividly and significantly when I read them chronologically. It just seems to make so much more sense. Now, I’m not saying there aren’t still confusing chapters and passages, but that is where having a modern English translation such as the NLT has also helped. 

Personally, I like to journal, and this year the Digerati Team from LifeChurch.tv have also made some major enhancements to the popular online Bible – YouVersion.com.  For some of those more difficult passages, YouVersion has a very handy feature where you can put multiple translations side by side for comparison. There is also contributions from others to help give you insight and most importantly for me, the ability to create a personal and private journal linked to key scripture.  This is has been very useful in allowing the Holy Spirit to stretch me and time for God’s Word to really start to sink in.  Before this year, I could have never imagined being able to journal so much about Old Testament passages.

If you have never tried reading through the Bible in a year before or maybe tried and failed after only a few short weeks, I encourage you to try again – but try it with the a chronlogically arranged Bible. There are several different ones available and in different translations. Find one that is easy for you to read.  Also don’t worry that this almost July and not January.  You can start any time – not just for a New Year’s resolution!

 If you work or volunteer on a church ministry team, you are not immune to the spiritual dangers that others face. In fact, probably just the oppposite – you are even MORE AT RISK!  There are many stories of well known ministry (and even secular) leaders who have suffered from public moral failures.  We need to always be on guard – don’t become “lion food” (1 Peter 5:8). 

Earlier this past week, Geoff Surratt (@GeoffSurratt) spoke at the All-Staff Meeting for Seacoast Church.  He outlined 10 steps all ministry leaders need to do to help prevent a shipwrecked life.  I’ve summarized them below, but I encourage you to watch the session for yourself (I’ve embeded here or you can watch on Vimeo).

Seacoast Church; All Staff, Geoff Surratt from Seacoast Church on Vimeo.

1. Attend a church service!
   You need to experience corporate worship and hear the Word of God preached. Just because you work at a church doesn’t mean you don’t need the weekend experience.
2. You need to be in a Small Group
   * They are not just for “those people”, they are for you!
   * They are messy and that is where you can grow
3. Prioritize personal Worship
   * Not the ‘professional’ stuff, but the personal 1 on 1 thing
   * For staff, this happens outside your ‘work time’
   * How are you connecting with God?
4. Grow your faith
   * Are you growing or just in a comfy zone?
5. Give generously
   * Shows obiedience
   * Clubs the selfish demeon
   * Opens the door to God’s provision
6. Nurture your family
   * Ministry will destroy your family if you let it
   * It doesn’t have to be that way, but you have to stay on top of it
   * You need nights were church doesn’t enter the conversation
7. Participate in a mission
   * God opens you up in a uniqe way
   * Could be local or foreign, but must be outside your ‘normal job’
8. Volunteer outside your ministry
   * Our nature is to focus on the area we get paid to be responsible for
   * You need to do what we expect others to do, work full time, but still have an area where you volunteer to serve.
9. Forgive Quickly
   * You work with flawed jerks, just like the rest of the world
   * The church (and the staff) is not perfect, you need to learn to forgive
10. Believe the Best
    * Your coworkers are not here for selfish reasons
    * They (like you) have good motives, give them a break
    * They did what they did because they thought it was best. Sure they might have been mistaken, but assume the best about them, not the worst. 

Twitter (and social media in general) is about 2-way conversation. Sure, it can be used as a megaphone, but that misses the real intent and purpose behind it.  Here is a great example of how one university professor is using Twitter in the classroom to generate discussion that otherwise would not be possible.

What creative ways can you see Twitter being used to help generate conversation in a group setting?

I have mentioned before about the benefits of having a blog (RSS) reader to help make life easier to keep up with your favorite people, company, web sites, or news.  Personally, I recommend Google Reader. It is simple and easy to use.  If you have not yet tried it, now is the time!  Here is a new welcome page they have released that will help you get started!

Google Reader helps me keep up on what is going on in the world of technology, the church and friends blogs.  Without a reader I would be forced to visit every site individually (if I remembered). This way, their updates come to me and I can read them on my schedule, like a customized and home delivered electronic newspaper or magazine! The best part is I can access it anywhere, even from my phone!

Not everyone can (or should) write a blog, but everyone can benefit from reading them! Through a blog reader like Google Reader, you can readily have access to authors and content that would have been impossible just a few years ago. What are you interested in? What hobbies to you have? Find the sites & people you are interested in, subscribe and start to expand your mind!

This is something I have been waiting to see for a long time!  Finally a secure, easy to use (think web 2.0) utility that helps you manage all of your passwords that you have across so many sites and systems. Passpack is an online tool that allows you to store up to 100 passwords for sites you need to use a login. 

Forget about having to search through spreadsheets, emails or other places to find login information that you forgot.  A very handy feature is the ability to link directly to the site from your Passpack dashbord and then by using the “Passpack It” toolbar button, have it login automatically for you! Sweetness!

Passpack will allow you to create unique passwords for every site (better for security) and even has a utility to suggest passwords for you.  I encourage you to take the tour and try it out for yourself! It is free to use (with optional upgrades) and just may take away one of the big hassels of today’s growing online world.  Watch this video for an overview.

I am very excited about the new 3-part series that we are starting this Sunday at Fellowship – “Life. Money. Hope.” taught by Dave Ramsey (via video). 

There are many people worried about their finances in these troubled ecomonic times but even if your job is secure (right now), there are sound biblical principals that everyone can benefit from. How much better to get your house in order while the ship is still afloat!

If you are one of those struggling and are feeling like there is no way out or that it is too late – don’t believe it! God’s Word is full of wisdom and He is greater and more powerful than any of your financial problems. But don’t delay in getting help. Don’t let pride or ignorance get in the way of taking that first important step.

In this series we will hear about:

1. The Baiscs of Biblical Finance
2. Breaking the Bondage of Debt
3. The #1 Myth About Money

The church needs to be a guiding light on how to avoid personal economic disaster.  I encourage you to be there and to invite your family & friends!

I am excited that the One Prayer iniative from LifeChurch.tv is happening again this June. It is a great way for churches all across the globe to unite together regardless of denomination and life out Jesus’ prayer that we would “be one”.  This year’s theme is “God is…”. If your church has not heard about or participated in OnePrayer last year, I encourage you to check it out and consider it for this June!

One Prayer 2009: One Prayer began in 2008 with a simple idea: We pray to Jesus asking Him to answer our prayers – what if we became the answer to His? He prayed that we would be one, and One Prayer is an opportunity to see what can be accomplished when the Church works together.

Last June, thousands of churches formed unprecedented partnerships across cities, continents, denominations, and cultures. More than two million believers stood together to learn, pray, fast, and love others. This year, we’ll be joining forces once again as we go out into the world to share, serve and give during One Prayer 2009.