Archive - January, 2012

My Other Site

January 25, 2012 in Technology with 0 Comments

Over the years I have noticed that many churches and smaller organizations want to embrace and use technology, but they simply don’t know where to start. One of my passions is helping those people by sharing what I have learned along the way. I have been meeting with local churches for several years now, helping them with audio/video questions and with developing a web strategy. I have been designing and hosting websites for people who need help, and it is just a small way I can help.

As a pastor, I do have limited time to work on side projects. But this is a way I can be more Kingdom focused, by helping other churches understand and implement new technology. I have a second website dedicated to sharing more about my design and consulting work, so if you want to find out more, please visit FEDesign.net for more information. I offer competitive pricing and support for WordPress Hosting, and I also offer a custom CMS platform that is incredibly easy to use and update for churches. Visit the website for a view of my portfolio.

January 22 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Every life has worth, so let me challenge you to be a voice for those that don’t have a voice.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.
Proverbs 31:8 NLT

The Dignity of Human Life

link January 20, 2012 in Church Related with 0 Comments

My New Android

January 18, 2012 in Technology with 1 Comment

Motorola ElectrifyI’ve been watching the new android phones and waiting for the next round of great phones. I was fine with my old HTC Desire(similar to the Google Nexus One) and I wasn’t in any hurry to change things up. Unfortunately, the USB port on my Desire died yesterday so I decided to go ahead and make the plunge. I checked with Verizon, but their data plans are just too expensive compared to what I have on US Cellular, so I ended up with a new Motorola Electrify.

I’m impressed so far, and I’m not easily impressed. This thing is a beast. It’s a dual-core processor, 4.3″ screen, with 16Gig of Internal memory. It has both a front facing and a rear facing camera with HD Video. It even has a hdmi connection so you can hook it up directly to a tv or projector and a SIM card slot for use out of the country. I spent a good part of the evening setting up all my apps and transferring everything over from my old phone. I don’t even think I need to root this phone since it has everything built in.

Technology can be both good and bad, and new phones are no exception. It’s hard not being over-connected and distracted, but there are several great apps that really help me in my ministry. I’m using all the Google apps, and here are some of my other favorites

  • Evernote (for Note Taking)
  • ADWLauncher EX (for the User Interface)
  • Logos Bible Software (for Bible Study)
  • YouVersion Bible (for Bible Reading)
  • Wunderlist (for my To-do List)
  • Amazon Kindle (for all my reading)
  • Dropbox (for sharing files)
  • WordPress (for updating my blog)

I did a quick search on YouTube and found the following review of the phone. Motorola phones get great reception and this phone has a much better battery life than before. It’s not 4G, but it will probably be a while before US Cellular gets 4G in our area.

App Review: Notability

January 12, 2012 in Technology with 0 Comments

I’ve been at a workshop the last few days, so I’ve been experimenting with my iPad to find the best way to take notes. I’ve tried three main apps, Evernote, Penultimate, and Notability. For text, Evernote works fine, but it’s unable to take advantage of the touchscreen of the iPad for drawing or handwriting. Penultimate is a nice program with good integration with other services, but when using a stylus, it’s hard to fit everything on screen. Notability combines the best features of all three programs, so it’s my favorite by far. Here’s why.

Notability gives you the power to combine drawings, audio, typed text, and pictures all in one document.  But the killer feature it offers is the ability to write or draw in a zoomed in window, similar to the old palm pilots or pocket pc’s. This lets you use a stylus to take detailed notes.

It also let’s you import pictures or PDF files. Yo can take notes directly on PDF files, which works great for handouts. You can also record the audio of the lecture or talk while you take notes, so this app really has a lot of power. I also use my keyboard with it to type up notes. Notability has good text tools built in, so you can format and markup your text.

When you are done, you can sync your notes to Dropbox, or email them as rtf or PDF files. I email the PDF file to my Evernote account so I can keep all my notes in one place. This is really a great example of a full featured iPad ap, and it’s only $0.99 in the app store. Watch the video below to get a better understanding of how it works.

 

Here is a video of two of our students from Cornerstone leading a little bluegrass/worshipgrass at the Liberty University Coffeehouse. I love it!! Here’s a link to the facebook page for their band Dogwood & Holly.

A Bluegrass Christmas

link January 5, 2012 in Book and Music Reviews with 0 Comments

Growing in Faith

January 2, 2012 in Leadership with 0 Comments


Many times I feel like the father in Mark 9:24 who says, ““I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” A lack of faith is usually directly related to a high need for control. For me, I like having a plan, and I struggle when the plan doesn’t work out as I have anticipated.  But God continually amazes me as He stretches my faith in every area of my life. And I’m learning that God’s plan is always better than my own.

On Christmas day at Cornerstone, we took up a love offering for our local Free Medical Clinic. As a church, we wanted to match the gift, so we encouraged everyone for several weeks that we would be collecting this on Christmas day. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be very much. There were lots of reasons why I was anxious about the gift. We didn’t know how many people would come to church on Christmas morning, our love offerings have historically been low, and our area has been hit hard by job loss over the past few years. What happened next simply amazed me.

After we counted everything that was collected and mailed in, we ended up with a $10,000 gift, far beyond my wildest expectations. On top of that, as a church, we found a way to match the gift from our Missions Fund so that the Free Clinic received a total amount of $20,000! They have been struggling financially, so this was a huge gift for them. I am beyond excited about the generosity of our church, and I am happy that we are able to help support such a great local ministry.

The embarrassing part is that I really had no expectations that we would receive an offering this large, or even that we could match it. But God worked everything out perfectly. And here’s the really amazing part, our regular offering at church on Christmas was the highest one day offering in our history. My faith is being stretched and I am learning to trust God completely. I stand amazed!