everything designed

It all starts this November 7/8

Join us for this LIVE Online Event // Pastor Kerry Shook and Woodlands Church services online! If you are in the area join us at one of our three locations in The Woodlands, Atascocita or Tomball.

Or if you are elsewhere join us for our BETA test of Church Online and let us know what you think. http://live.woodlandschurch.tv/ Saturday 6:00pm or Sunday 9:30, 11:00am or Wednesday at 9:00am.

See you on campus or online!

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.

Jury is still out but so far I really dig the ripples soulpancake.com is making. Very cool use of social media blogging, etc. Truly worth a visit. @WoodlandsChurch has been posting great discussion questions there. Jump in, it’s fine.

Here’s a quick screen grab of Rainn Wilson’s SoulPancake.com #soulpancake. The site encourages deep, real discussion. Love the angle. Mostly, I am seeing a lot of bickering but some really good comments here and there. Careful not to confuse “spiritivity” with following Christ. Fine line. Know where it is.

Still compiling notes from some outstanding talks with amazing leaders this week. To quickly summarize the things that stood out the most are vision, energy, strategy and execution. They all have it, they all live it and they all expect it. If we are going to be effective in the marketplace, ministry or anywhere for that matter – we need to lead. Check out the line-up below, blog posts to come this week.

Part I
Glenn Gienko
Motorola
Executive Human Resources – Retired
Topic: “Leading with Strategy & Integrity” – (Talk plus Q&A – Half Day)

Part II
Bobby Gruenwald, Terry Storch, Craig Groeshel, John Otjen
LifeChurch.tv
Pastors, Digerati & Innovation Team
Topic: “Innovation, Technology, Church Online & More” – (Round table and Tour 2-Days)

Part III
Kerry Shook
WoodlandsChurch.tv
Senior Pastor and Best Selling Author One Month to Live
Topic: “Capturing the wonder of an untamed God.” (Staff Refresh 1-Day)

Stay tuned. Can’t wait. Peace.

Check out this great article on Church’s going mobile by Daniel Darnell at Collide Magazine.

Whether you’re an iPhone hater or an avid user, you must admit it is one of the most revolutionary devices of our time. With its innovative multi-touch screen, simple user interface, App Store, and Internet capabilities, the iPhone has forever changed the mobile phone market.

With this change comes a whole new way of communicating and accessing information on the go. It’s never been easier to check the weather, contact a friend, or find a cup of coffee near you. The question, then, is how the Church will respond to this easy accessibility of information?

A few churches, including LifeChurch.tv and New Hope Christian Fellowship, are leading the way by creating iPhone-friendly applications and websites. Though the idea may sound simple, the current popularity of the iPhone (and smart phones in general), along with the exponentially growing market, make the mobile Web an important tool to help reach and inform the people of your church and beyond. Apple reports that more than 10 million iPhones have been sold worldwide (not including this holiday season’s sales), while their App Store has facilitated more than 300 million downloads. The new mobile frontier holds great potential and must be utilized by the Church.

http://www.collidemagazine.com/article/177/the-mobile-friendly-church

Series art for “Where The Wild Things Are” Capturing the Wonder of an Untamed God. We had a ton of fun shooting for this one. The original story was written by Maurice Sendak. You can check out the new movie trailer here http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com/. Woodlands Church is kicking off the new series right after Easter! The video team is working on the promo video now and we should have a link soon to preview. By the way, the kids in the shot are Blakers and Savannah, they did an amazing job. Also, we had a seriously talented team involved in this project: Justin Keller, Roy Ford, Toby Canning and Charles Booth. Very very fun. Here are some shots.

One more. Kinda blurry but still cool.

Geoff McFetridge did all of the hand-drawn title sequencing for the upcoming release of Spike Jonze’s, “Where The Wild Things Are” full length feature film.

Great article about Kerry and the church. Very cool.

Kerry Shook, Pastor of Fellowship of the Woodlands in Houston TX kicked off this year’s Keynote sessions at the NRB with a message about how God wants to use the same process seen in Genesis Chapter 1 in our lives and ministries.

There are essentially six steps in the process according to Pastor Shook. These steps are Light, Land Life, Likeness, Leverage and Limits.

1. Light. The first thing God created was light. Light represents an idea from God. Pastor Shook talked about how churches today use very little creativity or resources in getting their message out. He then shared a story about a crazy Idea his team had for one of his series. Pastor Shook and his team were trying to come up with creative illustrations about the cross. Someone had the idea to use motocross and to bring in a professional motocross driver to jump over the pastor, right on stage. He said the whole stunt lasted only three minutes, but after the sermon, over 300 people gave their hearts to the Lord, including the motocross driver.“We vastly underestimate the power of one idea,”  said Shook.
2. Land. Land is the opportunities we are given on this earth. One of the “territories” not being reached today is the next generation.
3. Life. Life represents the passion that is in our hearts. We must have passion for what we do. We can have all the ideas and opportunities in the world and it will all be for nothing if the passion in our hearts does not match.
4. Likeness. God created man in his own image. We were created to be like Him. The fourth step in the process is a life change. If an idea is from God, the evidence will be changed lives and the first life that will be changed is our own. We must also be authentic because a life change is always authentic. One of the ways that Pastor Shook has challenged his church to be authentic is through a 30 days to live challenge in which participants lived their lives as if it were the last 30 days they had to live.  Shook says “Unchurched people want a challenge worthy of their lives.”
5. Leverage. After God created Adam and Eve, he told them to be fruitful and multiply. God wants our ministries to be fruitful and to multiply them.
6. Limits. The Bible says that on the 7th day, God rested. The last piece of the puzzle is knowing our limits.  Our own ideas cannot change one life.

Link here: http://www.cwnewz.com/content/view/578/2/