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Blog
dtour.com.au - take the journey!
dtour is a great site put together by Malcolm Hawker. It is good to hear voices on the journey from all over. An e-mail from Malcolm made me realize how much I wish I could go to Search Party 2002. Sadly, Lakeview Church had a horrible year last year financially so I had to choose where I wanted to go the most (and that was Soularize). I am going to have to fly on my Air Miles but at least I will be able to go.
We are thinking of planting a church in Saskatoon in one of the downtown warehouse spaces. There was an old bar that is closed that is sitting empty. I would love to move into that space. I am talking to a real estate agent tomorrow about it.. We will see how it goes.
Am reading, "Whoosh: Business in the Fast Lane" by Tom McGehee. It comes highly recommended, I'll let you know what I think. Peter Block's The Answer to How Is Yes is also underway as well. It also looks promising. Labels: Lakeview Church, Saskatoon
Sexual Abuse Allegations Covered-Up by Vatican
The accusers say Vatican-based Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican office to safeguard the faith and the morals of the church, quietly made the lawsuit go away and shelved it. There was no investigation and the accusers weren't asked a single question or asked for a statement.
He was appointed by the pope to investigate the entire sex abuse scandal in the church in recent days. But when approached by ABCNEWS in Rome last week with questions of allegations against Maciel, Ratzinger became visibly upset and actually slapped this reporter's hand.
Frozen Chosen
Antarctica gets its first Orthodox church. How is that for your first posting after seminary? Labels: seminary
Was just interviewed in Christian Week. Jeb gave them a really bad picture of me. I look like a dork. Any revenge I may feel towards Jeb get taken care of at lunch today. Every Tuesday we go to a Vietnamese restaurant for the spiciest soup I have ever had. It leaves everyone that eats wondering if they will see tomorrow. Every Tuesday I go, "never again, this stuff could kill me" but it tastes so good.
Am working on my review for tomorrow's TheOOZE. Am reviewing Seth Godin's Survival is Not Enough. Labels: book reviews, TheOoze
Religion for Dummies
Frank Rich's Op-Ed piece in the New York Times about the Roman Catholic sex scandal. What has been most shocking about the church scandal so far is not the revelation that some priests prey on minors but that their bosses are looking out for No. 1 (and I don't mean Him) rather than their victims. "Mistakes may have been made," said Cardinal Edward Egan of New York � but always by somebody else. Instead of taking responsibility for their own failings, American cardinals have made a hymnal out of the Enron playbook
alternativeworship.org - I never know how to rate sites but the very best, I find myself hollering for other people to come and see it. This is one of those sites.
Free Worship Media Resources
A lot of churches are selling their stuff online. We decided to give our stuff away. Jeb is Lakeview's media artist and is cool enough to post all the public domain and original stuff he has done. The images are formated as background slides for teaching, choruses and other stuff and are all free to use and download.
Small Fire
The movement known as 'alternative worship' has released the creative and artistic gifts of many people; but the fruits of their labours often last only a short time. Environments of startling beauty come and go in a night like desert flowers, seen by just a few. These photographs were taken to record these artworks for the future, and to give a wider audience some idea of what is going on. Labels: environment
Killing the biggest myth of web design
But how long must we infantilize the very people we're building sites for? Why must we make these blanket judgements about the way all users read, based on the dimmest bulbs in the pack? Can we not acknowledge that the web is now a pretty big place, and generalizing about user behavior is sketchy at best? Why not just talk about each site's particular audience? Where is the room to say, if I treat my readers like adults, perhaps they're more likely to act like adults?
If web writers and content managers could stop coddling their readers for a moment and challenge, engage, and interact with them instead, maybe people might just start scrolling, clicking, and, yes, reading their content.
After all, if you stand in front of a room and tell everyone that no one reads what you write online, maybe the problem isn't with the users or the medium. Maybe you're just not saying anything interesting.
The Heresy(?) of SimplicityHave you ever heard Christians called to live a simple life? Is it possible? In our branded, franchised and global lifestyles, how can anything be simple? Should we withdraw from complications or do something (how?) about them?
Okay, this is my first post using a Mozilla, the open source web browser. I really like it. It is fast and renders pages a lot better than Netscape 6 (did they mess that up or what!). While it is still a beta and there are some problems (it seems messed up while using Blogger), this could make me switch away from Internet Explorer when it comes out as a full release. I will be watching this program develop. It is really nice. Time reviews Mozilla in a short article. They like it too. Labels: Blogger, blogging
What is Church? A new blog I discovered while taking a look at the my server log. It looks good!
A really cheap media projection alternative... if you are like some churches and the idea of a media projection system is out of your ball park, any computer with a video out signal and a scan convertor will work with a television. It will allow for some rudimentry PowerPoint and you have to be careful about your fonts but it will do the job. I have an old 486 notebook that I hooked up with a $50 scan convertor and it looks okay. Office 4.2 for Windows 3.1 includes PowerPoint and there isn't a lot of difference between PowerPoint 6 and PowerPoint XP if you know what you are doing. Actually, if you look at eBay, you can get a fairly nice notebook for under $500. A lot cheaper than what some of the solutions I have been reading about lately.
Britain to co-operate in dented sub investigation First the navy subs spring a leak and now we find out they are dented. Too many jokes, so little space. Here is what the Canadian government has to say, "Cmdr. Bill Woodburn, who runs the navy's submarine squadron, says the sub is so badly damaged the navy has decided to restrict the submarine to half of its normal diving depth. The navy says it can't repair Victoria right now. It's going to take at least three months and millions of dollars. In the meantime Defence Department lawyers are trying to determine who is legally responsible for the repair bill: the Canadian taxpayer or the British government."
I got an e-mail the other day asking me if I was still updating the rest of the site. The answer is YES! He must not have noticed it but there has been a fair amount of new content added to the site. Since the front page is a weblog, it gets updated a couple times a day but many of the links and sites and quietly placed in an appropriate page somewhere else on the site. Some are just foolish or are really time sensitive and they don't always make it but the good ones do. The site continues to develop a more international flavor which is cool. There are sites from all over the world. For some that bothers them but believe it or not, there are Christ followers outside of the mid-west USA. You can find some new links and content in the worship section today. Thanks for the feedback and the e-mail (even the hate filled stuff)!
the collective : alternative worship group : bradford From the site, "we are a small group of christians based in bradford uk . in 1998 we started to create worship events on a sunday evening, free from the constraints and tensions of trying to explore and be creative within a more traditional morning service"
The Scriptorium | building blocks for creative worship
The Iona Community The restored Iona Abbey, originally a medieval Benedictine foundation, welcomes up to 50 guests each week - as well as thousands of pilgrims every day during the summer months. The Abbey provides neither a retreat house nor conference centre, but offers a unique opportunity to live with people from all over the world and all walks of life. Guests and staff of the community share all aspects of life - meals, daily worship, programme activities, chores and social events in a place which allows them to feel safe in exploring issues that challenge or concern them and to have space to reflect on their lives.
FOXNews.com This is a very insightful interview on FOXNEWS with Dennis Ross, Clinton's middle east peace envoy...
HUME: What, in your view, was the reason that Arafat, in effect, said no?
ROSS: Because fundamentally I do not believe he can end the conflict. We had one critical clause in this agreement, and that clause was, this is the end of the conflict.
Arafat's whole life has been governed by struggle and a cause. Everything he has done as leader of the Palestinians is to always leave his options open, never close a door. He was being asked here, you've got to close the door. For him to end the conflict is to end himself.
The whole interview was interesting... Labels: interviews
:: brainfuel media :: A sneak preview of my friend Ryan Ukrainetz's new blog for Brain Fuel Media. The site isn't totally up (he says later tonight) but the blog is.
Odd blogging moment today
Was sitting beside Darren in Browsers surfing the web. He was looking at my blog and I was reading his.
Kaliber10000 { The Good Vibe Provider � }
KALIBER10000 is a non-commercial design zine which strives to inspire, to provoke, to allow both others & ourselves the joy of having creative freedom - to give people a break & re-charge their batteries.
ZDNet: Story: Can a Windows guy learn to love the Mac? You bet!
I am a Mac user wanna be. I have owned one Mac in my life, a Powerbook 150 which met an untimely demise when I dropped it. Speaking of Lee in my previous post, he compared it to an accordian the first time he saw it (considering he had a Sony Vaio at the time, I was kind of short on the witty comebacks). I really want a Apple iBook but it a couple hundred dollars more with less power than a similarly configured Dell Inspiron. It does have wireless networking... This collumn kind of took my Mac envy away for now...
Labels: technology
Browsers Coffee and Used Books Lee Barbour introduced me to Browsers yesterday for some Starbucks Coffee. Some how my existing network of friends had not passed on the word about how great this place is. I told Wendy that I am leaving home and moving in. Kind of like Dilbert's father who went to a 24 hour all you can eat buffet 20 years ago and has never come out... Labels: Wendy Cooper
Two Cultural Giants
Both Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis were emotionally wounded as boys and struggled with depression as men. But a worldview can make a tremendous difference.
Old Book, New Eyes Reflections on Making Scripture More Accessible to Postmodern Readers - article by Brian McLaren
Fewer Americans in church Nearly 100 million Americans live without a connection to a church, synagogue or temple, writes pollster George Barna
Lakeview Church's weekend media slides are now online. There are 15 slides that use royalty free or inhouse images that you can download, manipulate and use in any way you want. Of course they are free (we haven't sold out yet). There is a title and background slide as well. Enjoy!
1. Emergent in the United Kingdom
Emergent is a global friendship, and there are some great ways to get connected if you're in the UK or northern Europe. "Emergent UK Theology Conference" - June 21-22, London. Taking practitioners/pastors/leaders who can and want to do theology, in the context of still believing in church, with a positive agenda to see the church grow and engage in better ways with our culture, are the reasons for this symposium. We will be looking to take theology and missiology into the realms of positive construction. Key thought leaders directing the symposium are, John Franke, co-author of 'Beyond Foundationalism', Todd Hunter (www.postmodernmission.org) ex National Director of vineyard churches in the USA, and now a church planter and church planting consultant, and Dr Graham McFarlane, head of systematic theology at London Bible College. Jason Clark is your contact person Website
2. Emergent in Czech Republic
Andrew Jones is your contact person for an event in Central Eastern Europe this summer. "Inspiration Bohemia" - June 24-29, Prague. Mornings will be dedicated to teaching. Evening events include Epicentrum art installation, electronic music event, rock opera and round table, as well as the International go-cart race. Learning journeys led by Brian McLaren, Parush Parushev, Doug Pagitt, Andrew Jones, Wolfgang Fernandez, Derek Chapman and others. Website
3. Emergent in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.
We've had quite a bit of interest in the 2002 Emergent Summer Institute (Washington, DC, June 3-7). We're hoping interested people will sign up in the next few weeks to help us in planning for logistics, etc. This will be a wonderful experience -- part retreat, part conference, part experiential learning, part vacation in a wonderful city (with sightseeing!). Please spread the word, and check out details at the website.
4. Emergent on the U.S. West Coast
This will be a great event co-sponsored with our friends from theooze.com. "Seed Stories" - May 2-4, Newport Beach California, $49 - A Forum for
Church Planters in two year old and younger churches and a forum for those looking into missional church planting. Website
5. Emergent in the Rocky Mountains
Doug Pagitt is your contact person for this camping event. "Summer Get Together", August 1-5, Golden Gate Canyon Park, Colorado - A time of
friendship, life building and camping for those in the emerging church. No cost other than campsite rental. Website
6. Emergent songwriters?
We're looking at the possibility of conducting a songwriter's workshop October 13-14, before The Ooze Soularize event in Minneapolis. If you would
be interested in participating in an event of this nature, please email Laci Scott (laci@emergentvillage.com)
If you haven't signed on yet at the website, we hope you will (www.emergentvillage.com). There you'll find a complete Emergent calendar (under gatherings), some interesting reading, as well as a place where you can sign up to become an official "friend" of Emergent (structure) We hope you'll spread the word to interested friends. Labels: Emergent, theology, TheOoze
More Doctrine, Not Less
Colson seems really confused about what he is talking about. According to him we need convert people to modernism so we can convert them to Christianity. If you aren't like us, you aren't welcome according to Chuck.
Who's Not Online 57% of those without Internet access say they do not plan to log on...
In Conversation with...Jeb Runquist
This is the first of some mini-interviews that I am doing every week (if possible). Jeb is the media artist at Lakeview Church and is in charge of producing most of the print and video media that we do around here. Some of Jeb's media creations for weekend services are online if you are interested. They are a free download. He is also a die-hard Edmonton Oilers fan and a little bitter still that the Calgary Flames knocked them out of the playoffs. Jeb has his own blog at http://jebrunquist.blogspot.com
How does media add to a worship experience at Lakeview Church?
I feel it gives people a chance to truly encounter God on more than one level. In today's culture, we are finding that people are becoming more image-driven, and using media enables us to reach people in whole new ways and gives them the ability to connect to God on a visual level as well as through their other senses.
What is the future of media in the church?
I see media becoming something which surrounds us in everything we do. Whether it's worship, teaching, or something else, media enhances any experience and complements it, whether it's music, someone standing at a pulpit, or something totally brand new.
How important has media become in a learning context?
At Lakeview, media has become a vital component to teaching. Any teaching that goes down in the classroom, usually brings in a projector or a television. Also, it's extremely vital to our sermon on the weekend services. We are always image based, it goes beyond just notes and points, and becomes a metaphor for which the pastor uses to deliver his message, like Jesus always did with His parables. We're basically carrying forth a 2000 year old principle into our current age.
From what sources do you find creative ideas?
Anything media-wise, although I would say television is number one. Between movies, TV, internet and any other form of media, television remains dominant and so we base our media philosophy around its culture.
A lot of local churches have spent a lot of money with laughable results, what's the problem?
I tend to find that most people involved in media ministries across North America are generally those inclined towards technical giftings. From being on forums relating to media, I'd say the number of questions relating to technical questions versus media/creativity questions is about 10-1, which tells a story in itself. Now while a firm grasp of the tools you're using is important, you can never forget that media is an art form, and anyone who uses media should be an artist first and foremost. You wouldn't use a singer who can't sing, so why would you do media if you're not creative and artistically gifted? Most media ministries today are started by technical people who are passionate about seeing the church leave the 50's and enter into the new millennium, but fail to recognize the importance of creativity and relating to the media culture so that they can better understand it, and in turn, fail to create media which is effective towards reaching people. If you don't watch TV, you should really ask yourself if you should be doing it.
What is the best way for churches to support and develop people with talent in their local churches?
Let them play around with your stuff, and see what they can do. Also, look to the younger generations. They understand media on a more inherent level because they've been raised in it.
Who was the worst player in the Edmonton Oilers history?
I have to break this question up into 2: Worst player (Draft pick) - Jason Bonsignore; Worst player - It would be a tossup between Louis Debrusk and Selmar Odelein. Labels: hockey, interviews, Lakeview Church, sports
Rant #2 - The Christian Bookstore
Veggie Tales is amazingly brilliant and creative. But do we really need veggie tales flatware? Don't give me this "we're competing with the world manure" We are not competing with the world. So stop trying to win. Trying to replace Pokemon with a Bibleman action figure is asinine. If it was a competition Pokemon would kick Bibleman's ass all the way back to his Brady Bunch days.(or least Charles in Charge) On the other hand I am still looking for a Christian video game to hit the market. I'm ok with that as long as the first one is called "Circumcision: A Virtual Reality Game".
Discipleship Journal magazine mentions jordoncooper.com but also makes sure it readers know that I am a Canadian. I have always wondered why American's find it so important to label the nationalities of Canadians as they don't seem to do it with other nationalities. Same with the "Canadian anchor man Peter Jennings" or the "Canadian band leader Paul Schaefer." Maybe they have figured out Canada's plan to take over their country (politely of course). An anchor man at ABC News, a band leader on the Late Show, a Canadian pastor writing stuff on the web and all of a sudden we have sacked the White House like we did during the War of 1812. Maybe there are some bad feelings left over from the War of 1812... and they don't want to let it happen again. Speaking of the War of 1812, everyone needs to read Pierre Burton's excellent two volume set on the subject. As he says, never in the history of modern warfare has there ever been such an incompetant collection of generals and leaders on both sides. It was almost comical. They are both excellent books.
Labels: discipleship
Business pros flock to Weblogs From the article...
Omar Javaid describes himself as a �pretty prolific� Internet reader who used to fire off hundreds of e-mails each week with news tidbits that might interest staff and customers of his consulting firm. Then about six months ago he began a sort of online diary known as a Weblog and began posting his thoughts and findings there instead. The experiment has been so successful that Javaid says he plans to expand it until virtually everyone at his 60-person company, Mobilocity, has a Weblog. Javaid�s brief experience has convinced him that far from an exercise in self-indulgence, Weblogs actually can be used to increase worker efficiency.
Tom Shugart made some comments that I had to reply to. First of all, thanks for the feedback. The site design seems to be working. I got a some great feedback back saying the font size was too small. The people were right and I think I got it fixed. Tom also mentions Roger Clemons. There are just certain people in sports that you enjoy watching getting beat badly. Roger Clemons is one of those guys. I saw him pitch a couple years ago against the Rangers in Toronto and I didn't even like him then. The whole Mike Piazza incident and the bat toss in the World Series didn't make it any better. Some players the fans bond with, others you just can't stand. Roger isn't all bad, he does have a charitable foundation online. Among the numerous organizations that The Roger Clemens Foundation has supported are: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Variety Clubs International, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Make A Wish Foundation, The Jimmy Fund, Sunshine Kids, Periwinkle Foundation, and the National Paralysis Foundation, Starlight Children's Fund of Canada.
I am constantly frustrated by the lack of Internet knowledge people have that I work with. I am working at fixing this by creating a "personal portal". It is a 5 x 4 table (20 categories) of links that people can use to start their web search. When I am done it will contain around 100-127 links. We will make it the start page for the browsers at work and see if that helps. It may encourage people to explore some more. I will post it online when I am done so you can take a look at it if you want.
It is online now here. It will hopefull encourage people to explore the net a little more and not feel so intimidated. If you like it, steal the idea!
david hopkins
David Hopkin's new blog. David is the editor of Next-Wave. I am looking forward to watching his blog evolve.
The 'silent revolution' that's transforming our planet
An alarming UN report warns of 'major economic, social, cultural, psychological and spiritual implications' of the dramatic aging of the Earth's human population. Mark Kennedy reports.
We live in a world in which humankind will likely never again be as young as it is now. Labels: economics
A short review I penned for TheOOZE...
Dictionary of the Future: The words, terms and trends that define the way we'll live, work, and talk.
Faith Popcorn & Adam Hanft
$22.95 - 414 pages
I was recently browsing at my favorite bookstore when the Dictionary of the Future by Faith Popcorn and Adam Hanft caught my eye. I bought it on a whim and am glad I did. It has been one of the more enlightening works on the future that I have read in months. Despite its title, the Dictionary of the Future is not a traditional dictionary or reference book. It is a well written glimpse into the future trends, innovations, and factors that will be changing the world we live in. Introducing concepts like "Patient Poaching" (international hospital competition for wealthy patients), "Ivy-Brands" (take a look at my new Harvard brand socks), "Me-Quel" (a personal sequel), and my personal favorite, "BABOONS" (Baby Boomers with no savings), Popcorn and Hanft manage to give us a glimpse into tomorrow's lingo, cliches, and ideas. Of special importance for many pastors, she does an excellent job in mapping out many of the challenges and stages of life that an aging boomer population will encounter. The DOF does a decent job of documenting some of the issues that the Xers (her language, not mine) will have to deal with along our journey as well.
It is hard to categorize this book in that it isn't a traditional reference book. Instead of a being a compilation of already existing ideas, it is a melting pot of possibilities, ideas, and events. The strength of the book is that in addition to providing glimpses into the future, it also shines some light on the present. By doing that it gives us a little larger context to work with. The book is well written, humorous, and one that you will want to keep near by to read over again. Despite the lack of a strong central thesis, it does enlarge the reader's worldview in a multitude of ways. The book isn't perfect and the weakness would be its target audience. It is geared towards marketers and companies who sell comsumer products. It also tends to be quite specific in places (which makes her reported 95% accuracy rate seem even more amazing) which left me wanting a broader view at times. All things considered the book would be rated a 3 1/2 out of 5 and has a really high probability to be one of those oft-borrowed volumes in anyones library. Just make sure you get it back.
There are a load of other books that can be found in the sites bookstore if you are interested... Labels: book reviews, TheOoze
Windows XP Patch: System Recovery Error Appears After Every Reboot - 6 Mar 2002
From the "This is embarrassing to release as a patch prior to SP1" department of Microsoft.
Words of warning to Windows XP users, if your system repeatedly tells you it's broken when you turn it on and prompts you to report the problem to Microsoft repeatedly, MS apologizes and offers you a patch to fix it from being broken.
Windows XP Patch: System Recovery Error Appears After Every Reboot - 6 Mar 2002
From the "This is embarrassing to release as a patch prior to SP1" department of Microsoft.
Words of warning to Windows XP users, if your system repeatedly tells you it's broken when you turn it on and prompts you to report the problem to Microsoft repeatedly, MS apologizes and offers you a patch to fix it from being broken.
Windows XP Patch: System Recovery Error Appears After Every Reboot - 6 Mar 2002
From the "This is embarrassing to release as a patch prior to SP1" department of Microsoft.
Words of warning to Windows XP users, if your system repeatedly tells you it's broken when you turn it on and prompts you to report the problem to Microsoft repeatedly, MS apologizes and offers you a patch to fix it from being broken.
I am writing a regular review of books of interest to those in ministry at TheOOZE when it is relaunched. I need your help with your recommendations of good books that are of interest to those serving the church. Send your e-mails to coop@theooze.com.
Thanks Labels: TheOoze
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