everything designed

Wow, great article posted front page on the Sunday, October 11 Houston Chronicle Newspaper. “Praise for Technology: Tweeting during church services receives blessings from pastors.” Really excited that Pastor Kerry jumped in and is experimenting with new technologies and connecting with the congregation. I am still amazed and how church is viewed and how this sort of thing might create controversy in the public. Check out the comments and the rest of the article here: http://www.chron.com/disp/discuss.mpl/metropolitan/6662287.html

Seems to be a bit of a controversy Tweeting in church. What do you think? Cast YOUR VOTE. Also, fun note: just got off the phone with my other half and she said this is the main article on the front page of the printed edition!! Amazing. Give a quick hello to Pastor Kerry via Twitter and maybe follow Woodlands Church if you want to track with us.

Great article! Your comments and thoughts can be posted via the huge button below.

Great word this weekend from the “Pleasers, Perfectionists, Procrastinators and other people like me” series.  Control Freaks is the topic. So which are you? I really identify with all of them at one time or another but recently I seem to fit into the “Worry wart“. Seriously, have I always been that way and just never noticed?

Just in the past year I have really began to experience the consequences for being a control freak. I seem to be very frustrated, fatigued and honestly feel like I am failing. So what now? Lately, I feel like God is just trying to show me how to do well with what I have been given, with what is right in front of me. Make sense, but harder than it sounds. My mind tends to stay 2-5 years ahead of where we are and if I/we are not making progress towards those goals, dreams and the vision then I panic. Still working on this and other things. Feel better just writing it down though. Peace.

Oh yes, types of Control Freaks just in case you can’t read my writing:

• The Intimidator
• The Perfectionist
• The Worry Wart
• The Uber-Planner
• The Anti-Planner
• The Master Manipulator
• The Micro Maniac
• The Opinionator

Are you a Control Freak? Comments from You

Woodlands Church will be joined by Trade as One September 19th and 20th for a fair trade market. Pastor Kerry and Chris Shook will be interviewing Nathan George, the founder of Trade as One, to learn how our community can make a difference in communities around the world while transforming individual lives and entire families. The Trade as One fair trade market is an extension of our Missions Ministry which is led by Chris Shook.

Trade as One is a fair trade organization that connects American churchgoers to the working poor all over the world. For three weekends, from September 20th-October 4th, Trade as One will be at Woodlands Church, giving everyone in our community a chance to learn more about how we can use our regular spending to bring hope and restoration to some of the darkest corners of the world. Fair trade allows people to give unique, high-quality gifts to family and friends— while giving hope and income to the poor.

http://tradeasone.com/blog/ or http://www.woodlandschurch.tv

Really enjoying Interactive worship and the online experience today. I went to church this morning at http://live.lifechurch.tv/ and heard from Christine Caine from Hillsong. She spoke about the tough reality of slavery today; 27 million people are caught up in slavery. She specifically spoke of sex trade of women and gave several examples of her encounter with girls and women who were kidnapped or sold into this cruel business.

This is a very tough topic and I instantly stopped to pray about what God wants us to do; wants me to do to help. I then began to be very thankful for the opportunity to hear Christine’s story. To hear the other girls story to learn through an online experience. Then I started to think about the thousands of others who have had a similar experience. This is possible because we are learning to become more interactive; engaging; we are learning to be more like Christ. He is giving favor to those who are exploring new areas to deliver the word and His hope.

I am writing all this thinking about the investment that Woodlands Church is making to be more Interactive Next weekend a whole new level of interaction will take place. You will love the leaders behind this new experience, join Kerry Shook, Justin Keller and many more passionate and driven Christ followers and experience something fresh and unique. Find out more at @WoodlandsChurch or #SundayPM. This is just the start. I feel like I want to pour everything I have into creating an online interactive experience, a place where people get excited about and will inspire action and change. I am praying for a fresh perspective and approach to doing what Christ called me to do; us to do.

Would love to hear what you have experienced recently that excited you that you want to learn more about. What new areas are you exploring in the next few months? How are you making this world a better place? I am asking myself the very same questions.

What do you feel compelled to right now? Anything? Let us know here.

Simple but cool Mars Hill iPhone application by SubSplash.

About Subsplash
We aspire to go beyond convention and deliver both amazement and delight.
Subsplash is a design-centric software company. Our approach to software design is strongly rooted in the iterative process. We love Getting Real and being Agile. By channeling our efforts through this methodology our clients get great results and the return on investment is high. We hope our customers see this benefit when using DreamStream, Timeless and our forthcoming products.

About Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church lives for Jesus as a city within the city – knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus.
That’s our mission.

YES. You need to have your own iPhone app.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named… be strengthened with power through His spirit in you and the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

Ephesians 3:14

Thank you for today. You are our Father and you only want the best for us. Sometimes you let us see it through our choices or possible choices. Our hearts can be filled with so many things. Thank for time enough to slow down to make sure it is you.

Sitting Poolside at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center. Beautiful place.

Posted via email from Everything Designed

Our staff recently had the pleasure of meeting with Roger Berry, Chief Information Officer of Disney Parks and Resorts and to say the least “we have been inspired”. What an amazing experience. Just to make good use of time I am copying or “stealing” notes from my good friend Aaron Unnasch who seems to be a bit more disciplined at recording his thoughts electronically.

Comments from Roger below: (Thanks Aaron)

• At Disney, technology doesn’t make the “magic” happen, but it does enable it.
• God has given everyone the gift of technology. It is our responsibility to learn how He wants us to use it.
• When things are good, the demand for technology goes up. When things are bad, the demand for technology goes up.
• IT must have a seat alongside Finance, HR, and Marketing at the governance table.
• IT must be a part of the decision making process. If not, it is a formula for disaster.
• His 5 points of focus: 1) Stability & Performance 2) Talent Management 3) Segment Strategy 4) Total Cost of Ownership 5) New Technology & Innovation
• Disney knows everything about their customers. They are a trusted brand and, therefore, people willingly share lots of personal information.
• We are more alike than you think. Disney has Intenders –> Repeaters –> Worldphiles. The church has Seekers –> Members –> Disciples.
• You don’t have the resources that Disney has, but you do have power that Disney doesn’t have.
• I believe technology is given to us by God, but it is also a tool of the devil.
• Does your technology plan align with the mission and vision of your organization?
• Are you continually leveraging new technology?
• Will technology change your brand?
• Iteration is important at Disney. We release then release then release….improving each time.
• When I was at Campbell Soup, consultants told us that bad marketing decisions 15 years ago caused us to miss an entire generation. Don’t be late.

Who have you encountered that fits the bill of a Chief Innovation Officer and are you on the journey to take that next step into leadership? Are you truly earning that title “Innovator”? I am refreshing my vision of where I can make the largest impact and seeking God for guidance in this process. Always fun. Always challenging. Who would have it any other way.

Thanks for the feedback: Comments Welcome

Recently our Senior Pastor Kerry Shook challenged our congregation to step up and meet an overwhelming need for shoes in our community. Over 6,000 pairs of shoes were given sacrificially that weekend. Just a few weeks later we began receiving reports of churches offering similar challenges to their congregations.

Pastor sparks spontaneous shoe giveaway for charity

CHAPIN, SC (WIS) – Hundreds of people in Chapin are helping others survive in ‘09, donating shoes to a local homeless shelter. The congregation took the phrase ‘give someone the shirt off your back’ literally. Dress shoes, tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, boots. Shoes of all shapes, all sizes and from all walks of life. It’s the result of a challenge from a pastor. “Not someday, but today. We’re going to do something right now to conclude this service that is a today action,” says Pastor Jody Flowers. Flowers encouraged the congregation in Sunday’s sermon to take action that would affect their community. The mission was to provide shoes to the Oliver Gospel Mission in Columbia. But rather than walk away from church with a plan to do it later in the week, he encouraged them to do it right at that moment. The staff supported the challenge. “Someday, I’m going to do this. Someday. And talking about that someday today, that you go ahead and do it right now. There’s nothing stopping us doing it right now,” says Pastor Paul Allen.

And then Pastor Flowers took off his own shoes and laid them at the alter.

“To really capture the opportunities of doing things now and not putting them off and doing things that truly are meaningful and touch people’s lives,” says Allen. Then one by one, members of the congregation walked up to the alter, took off their shoes and gently set them down, knowing someone in need would later put them on.

“Yesterday, we took it to a new level of not what can we do this week, but what can we do right now, immediately,” says Allen.

The motivation behind the challenge coincides with a series the church is focusing on right now called “One Month to Live,” based on the book.

Read full article and watch video here: http://www.onemonthtolive.com/news.asp

Walk the Talk Challenge Info Here: http://bethemessage.com/shoes/

Here it is, for a FREE website/logo/bc design pack all you have to do is tweet:

Post any questions for the contest here! Cya. Looking forward to creating your new site/logo/businesscard design!

Why? Just for fun. Here is “Everything Designed” plus another message in binary code. Have fun with the translation. If you can figure out the second half of the message post your result here for a mention in my first book.

01000101-01110110-01100101-01110010-01111001-01110100-01101000-
01101001-01101110-01100111-00100000-01000100-01100101-01110011-
01101001-01100111-01101110-01100101-01100100-00100000-01000110-
01101001-01101110-01100100-00100000-01000111-01101111-01100100-
00100000-01000110-01101001-01101110-01100100-00100000-01001100-
01101001-01100110-01100101

Is it impossible to memorize binary code? Pretty straight forward actually. Seriously, check out the chart below.