LibreOffice 4 Can Import Microsoft Publisher Files!

May 8, 2013 — Leave a comment

libreoffice

How did I miss this? Back in February, LibreOffice 4 added the ability to import Microsoft Publisher files, even on a Mac. This is huge for me. I have years and years of youth ministry and church resources created in Publisher that I haven’t been able to access on my Mac. If you haven’t heard of LibreOffice, it spun off from OpenOffice and is a great free Office Suite.

LibreOffice is a comprehensive, professional-quality productivity suite that you can download and install for free. There is a large base of satisfied LibreOffice users worldwide, and it is available in more than 30 languages and for all major operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, Suse, …).

Check out http://www.libreoffice.org/features/ for a full listing of features.

 

In Technology
permalink

Getting Ready for the Chick-fil-A Leadercast

April 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

Chick-fil-a-Slide-2013

 

For the last few years, I have taken part in the Chick-fil-A Leadercast. A unique group of leaders have come together to host this simulcast in our own community. We have a great cross-section of church leaders, educational leaders, and business leaders coming together to learn leadership lessons. This year, it’s on May 10th and will be held at the Crossroads Institute in Galax. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit the Crossroads website. This is a great event, and we have a great time together. Check out the video below for a sample of what you will see.

In Leadership
permalink

Changing My Webhost

April 15, 2013 — 2 Comments

hosting-new-97037_335x220I am in the process of moving all the websites I manage over to a new web host. Over the last few years, I have learned a lot and I wanted to share with you what I have learned. Hopefully, this will be helpful to some of you as you decide how to host your websites.

First Step

Starting out, I created my blog on blogger.com. It was free and it introduced me to the world of blogging. It worked great, but I quickly outgrew it and decided to switch to WordPress. If you are starting out and only want to blog, I would now recommend you go with the free WordPress.com. If you decide to go with a self-hosted WordPress.org account, you will need your own hosting account. That leads me to the second step.

Second Step

I setup a Bluehost account for my blog and several other websites I managed. I paid around $4.95 per month at the time for a shared hosting account, and it worked fine for over a year for me. But I started noticing my websites were loading slowly, and I encountered CPU throttling for using too many resources from Bluehost, so I realized I needed to take the next step.

Third Step

After much research, I decided to open a reseller account at Site5. I decided on going with their Cloud Reseller Hosting for $50 per month due to their high reviews and reputation for good customer support and uptime. I’ve been with Site5 for over a year and have used their customer support several times. I have been impressed with their company and would highly recommend them. I’m now up to hosting around 15 WordPress sites, and I have been reaching my resource limits for my hosting account. So I decided to take the next step. I wasn’t impressed by the VPS (Virtual Private Server) accounts that Site5 offered, so I started my research again for a new host.

Fourth Step

Last week, I created a new account with Knownhost.com. They offer a high degree of customization. I went with a Managed VPS account. VPS accounts allow you to easily upgrade or downgrade the resources for your site. So as I add more sites, or if my sites start receiving more traffic, I can add memory or disk space to my account as needed. VPS really allows you to grow and expand. I customized my account with the WHM/Cpanel and a Litespeed webserver with APC Opcode caching and I couldn’t be happier. My sites are loading much faster and I still have room to add additional sites. I have much more control of my hosting now and I’m not paying much more than I did with reseller hosting from Site5. VPS hosting can be a little overwhelming if you don’t have experience in linux or website configuration, but Knownhost does a great job of managing the complicated parts for you.

Conclusion

The four steps listed took place over seven years, so this has not been a speedy process. I don’t know what my next step is, but with VPS hosting, I should have a lot of room to grow.

What do you use to host your sites? Feel free to add any comments or suggestions.

Update: Check out this link for a great infographic about the different types of hosting.

note: All links in this post are advertiser free. No affiliate links will be permitted in the comments.

 

 

In Technology
permalink

Flipped: A Sermon Series on The Sermon on the Mount

April 5, 2013 — Leave a comment

FLIPPED-Slider-600x218

The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known, but least understood and least followed, of all the teachings of Jesus. It is challenging and yet refreshing. We all are called to live differently from the world around us. As citizens of the Kingdom, we represent the King. That means our conduct, our character, and our heart should be different. This week at Cornerstone, I will be starting a 12-week series on The Sermon on the Mount.

I tried to find good graphics for the series, but I couldn’t find what I wanted. I finally decided to make my own. I got design inspiration from a church in Winston-Salem, and then came up with a title and video opener for our series. I’m calling the series Flipped, because Jesus uses this sermon to turn everything upside down. Here’s our opening video.

If you want to find out how I created the video, keep reading.

Continue Reading…

In Church Related
permalink

Making the Switch to Feedly

April 2, 2013 — 2 Comments

Along with many other bloggers, I was disappointed when Google announced the end of their Google Reader service. I have used Google Reader for years to keep up with church and technology news from around the internet. So, I decided to check out Google Reader alternatives. Almost every article I read pointed me to a service called Feedly. I’ve been using it for the past week and I love it, so I wanted to share about how you can make the switch.

First, read their blog post about how to migrate to Feedly. Second, sign up for their service. It will automatically import your Google Reader Subscriptions.  And finally, you can switch to the Titles View if you want it to appear more like Google Reader. Feedly also has great mobile apps for your phone or iPad. The best part is that Feedly will continue working after Google shuts down Google Reader.

After a week of using it, I can honestly say that I like it better than Google Reader. Sometimes, it takes a surprise to move us out of a rut and try something new. That’s true in technology and in faith. Feedly is fast, and their iPhone and iPad apps work great. The ability to quickly swipe through posts is a real time saver. Their user-interface is also clean, sleek, and contemporary.

If you want to stay connected to FaithEngineer and you aren’t currently using Google Reader, you can subscribe to my RSS Feed using Feedly or you can even subscribe to my posts by Email. 

feedly

In Technology
permalink

Water Sunday 2013

March 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

watersundaybanner

For the last two years, our church has partnered with Water Missions International to participate in Water Sunday. It has been a great opportunity to bring awareness to a global crisis. Throughout this past year I have been inspired by one of our Cornerstone Kids. Mia was troubled last year as she heard about the lack of clean water. So she decided to do something about it. Here is a video of her story.

Water Missions International is doing a great job around the world. They understand the roots of poverty and they use community development and involvement to solve the problem. If you are a pastor, I would encourage you to consider holding a Water Sunday at your church.

 “What if the American Church came together and said ‘We want to end this crisis?’” Water Sunday is an initiative of Water Missions International, inspiring a movement within The Church to respond to the global water crisis. Together, we can be the solution. Water Sunday is the start.

Every day is a disaster, as nearly 884 million people lack access to safe water, and nearly 2.6 billion people do not have adequate sanitation.Since 2001, Water Missions International has responded to the world’s largest natural disasters and daily tackles the world’s single biggest cause of illness – lack of safe water and adequate sanitation (U.N. Report, 2005) by providing safe water to more than two million people in 49 countries.

Continue Reading…

In Church Related
permalink

I’m excited about a new miniseries premiering on the History Channel this weekend. Christians have long complained about the content of movies and tv, and we now have the opportunity to show our support to a series based on the Bible.

The Bible is a ten-hour, five-week, miniseries created and produced by husband and wife team, Roma Downey (Touched By an Angel) and Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor, Shark Tank, Celebrity Apprentice). Beginning on March 3, 2013, for two hours each Sunday night, viewers will see some of the best-known stories from the Bible, from Noah’s Ark and the Exodus to Jesus’ birth & the disciples. The final episode of The Bible TV miniseries will air on Easter Sunday and will feature the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Visit http://thebibleminiseries.com for more information

I have watched several movie clips, and read multiple reviews from pastors. My hope and prayer is that this series will bring the Bible to life in a new and exciting way, and that it will encourage people to open up God’s Word. The producers have stated “As with any dramatization, some stories and timelines were altered to create a moving story that fit the 10 hour time frame.” However, they have also consulted numerous pastors and Christian leaders to ensure that the message of the Bible remains intact. I plan on setting my DVR since I am typically busy on Sunday nights, but I’m really looking forward to this movie event. Help spread the word, and use this as a discussion starter with your friends and colleagues.

Posted on March 1, 2013 In Culture
permalink Leave a comment

Book Review: When Helping Hurts

February 25, 2013 — Leave a comment

When-Helping-HurtsAt church, we have been struggling with how to best help those in crisis in our own community. Since we are a downtown church in an area with a high level of poverty, we receive many requests for assistance from individuals and families. So many people are struggling to pay their bills. High electric rates coupled with high unemployment levels lead to despair and hopelessness. The requests have been increasing, so we are slowing down to see if we are truly helping those in need or hurting them by how we handle benevolence and assistance.

One of my missionary friends suggested this book to me last year, and this seemed like the perfect time to read it. We ordered several copies of When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself for those on our benevolence team, and we plan on discussing this over the next few weeks. This is a great book on how we do local relief and international missions. It highlighted many of the things we are doing right, and it definitely shows areas where we need improvement.

The basis of the book is determining the appropriate response for those in crisis. The author shares ”A helpful first step in thinking about working with the poor in any context is to discern whether the situation calls for relief, rehabilitation, or development.” The book then works through the Biblical basis for each, and gives practical advice and training on how to do each effectively. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a difference with people in need. It is not a call to do less or spend less, but the book challenges us to do the hard work of rehabilitation and development. Honestly, this is not easy. It is messy, and it is hard work. But if we truly want to help people who are in need, we cannot hurt them by helping them.

This book also spends a considerable amount of time talking about short-term mission trips. It encouraged me to see that much of the work we are doing oversees is truly helping. In Nicaragua, we are working on training pastors who minister to their own communities, and we have helped with a model farm that trains people in how they can provide for their families. This type of development is needed, and my hope is that this book will encourage people to do more for missions, not less.

Have you ever done anything to hurt poor people? Most of you would probably answer no to this question, but the reality is that you may have done considerable harm to poor people in the very process of trying to help them. The federal government made this mistake for decades. Well-intentioned welfare programs penalized work, undermined families, and created dependence. The government hurt the very people it was trying to help. Unfortunately, the same is true for many Christian ministries today. By focusing on symptoms rather than on the underlying disease, we are often hurting the very people we are trying to help. Surprisingly, we are also hurting ourselves in the process. As followers of Jesus Christ, we simply must do better. (from the foreword by Dr. John Perkins)
But this book does not stall in the sphere of the theological and theoretical. It moves wonderfully from timeless truth to contemporary application. As you read, you won’t just learn about problems in the world; you will discover how poverty in the world can actually be addressed. … For all of these reasons (and more), this book is virtually required reading for everyone in our church who is intentionally engaging the poor here and around the world. I cannot recommend it highly enough for anyone who is passionate about spreading and showing the love of Christ to the “least of these.” (from the foreword by David Platt)

Continue Reading…

In Book and Music Reviews
permalink
Page 1 of 12412345...102030...Last »