RockTheDesert

Rwanda in 5

It's Friday. Normally a busier day than most because of all the weekend prep that goes on. Setting the stage. Designing Easy Worship presentation. Music copied and put on music stands. Worship order finalized and printed. All these tasks are familiar and necessary like dots on i's and crosses on t's. But today, this Friday, I've added a new layer of tasks to be completed. I'm determined to not have a terrible Tuesday the day before we leave. So I'm trying to cross huge chunks of items off my to-do list, starting today. I've got guest musicians scheduled to come in on the Sundays I'm gone so I'm finalizing details with them. I'm burning CDs for the worship team and band. I'm putting together packets of music for both weeks. I'm also building the Easy Worship shows for both weeks. I'm buying batteries and Lay's potato chips (long story). I'm re-confirming availability of band and singers. I'm even putting together a contingency plan in case of catastrophic projector failure. I've got lyric sheets ready to pass out to the congregation and lyrics & music for singers and band. Just in case! 

In just 5 short days, we will board a plane and head to Washington D.C. where we will meet the other members of our North American team of Missionaries to Rwanda. We will then travel to Ethiopia and spend one night before the final leg of our journey which takes us to Kigali, the capitol of Rwanda. After we go through customs, we will be greeted by a welcoming committee of e3 trainers and Rwandan nationals. It's a custom they have of coming to the airport to greet us. Then we'll pile our luggage and supplies and ourselves into 12 passenger Toyota vans which will carry us to the Kibuye region. We will check into a guest house. Get settled. Then get started on the work which we've been called to do.

This is a picture of Kibuye and Lake Kivu. I found it on Joshua and Alyssa's photo blog. Click HERE to go to Joshua and Alyssa's photo blog (BrooksAfrica.blogspot.com). They were in Kibuye in May so you can get an idea of this incredible place where we will be sharing the Gospel. Be sure to check out the ONLINE VIDEO of the entire team ministering in Kibuye. It's very inspiring and hopefully will give you a glimpse of why we are so passionate about Rwanda.

Encounter

OK, something totally cool happened to us on Saturday. We took Michael to work at Chickfila. Decided to swing into Sports Chalet to look for last minute travel items. When we went to start up the car to head toward home, we had a sluggish, "the battery is dying" start. Since my knight-in-shining-armor was with me, disaster was avoided and we were able to head straight over to WalMart to get a new battery. The wait was about an hour. We decided to do some more last minute travel shopping. Travel alarm clocks. Batteries. Vitamins. Etc.

Now, in the past, we had noticed that WalMart had hired some African refugees. We even had spoken to one of them before and he said he was from Sudan. So, today we decided that we should look for someone from Sudan and, if possible, strike up a conversation. We chose Checkstand #15. I just had a feeling that the cashier was from Sudan. There was only one couple ahead of us. They were chatting with the cashier and telling him that they were from South Africa. He mumbled something about Sudan. I was ecstatic. I knew he was from Sudan! When it was our turn, Dan started asking him if he was from Sudan. Dan mentioned that we were traveling to Africa and that he would be in Sudan soon. Well, the cashier not only was from Sudan, he was from the very region, in fact, the very village that Dan will be working in, Kapoeta. We decided that we absolutely had to be-friend him. He has agreed to have dinner with us before we leave so that he can tell us all about Sudan and Kapoeta. We are very excited about this "chance" encounter and I'm sure I'll have much more to post after we have dinner. Pray that we would have a chance to share the Gospel with him and that we would establish a friendship with him and possibly others who've been recently relocated to Phoenix from Africa.

Packing, packing, packing

Today was a packing day. Dan spent 60% of the day packing and re-packing for Africa. He is a very thorough packer. He packs all food items in large ziploc bags. He packs sets of clothes in extra large ziploc bags. We are taking a lot of printed materials - discipleship lessons, tracts, etc. We are taking a lot of Evangecubes. We've got MegaVoices in Kinyarwanda (language in Rwanda). We've got Proclaimers in Kinyarwanda. Since Dan is staying and going on a campaign to Sudan after Rwanda, he is taking packs of tuna and canned fruit and granola bars. We're taking gifts for translators. Gifts for people Dan will be staying with. Toiletries to give to translators. Hand sanitizer. Malaria meds. We've got pens and notebooks. Umbrellas. Mosquito repellent and sunblock. We're taking an extra load of stuff for the team - 6 large jars of peanut butter. 6 large jars of jelly. 5lb jar of honey. 500 sandwich baggies. Dan usually loads a bag as full as possible. Then he stands on the scale with it. He deducts his weight from the total to find the weight of the bag. Packing is a lot of work. But it's also a lot of fun. It's exciting to plan and dream and pray for the trip and for the people we will meet and for the churches that will be planted and for the team members who will receive an immeasurable blessing from the trip and the translators who will be loyal, inseparable friends/ministry partners before the end of the first day.

This is Dan with Jean-Marie, his Ministry Partner in Rwanda in March '07. We are hoping he'll be a part of the September e3 campaign. We've kept in contact via email. I'm excited about seeing him. He was just a part of the August campaign in Rwanda. He is a great translator and a student of the Word and a wonderful co-laborer in God's work!

Working At Home

Last week Alyssa and Joshua started school. They ordered a brand new laptop for Alyssa. However, it will not be delivered until September. So, I lent my laptop to Alyssa until then. Since Dan and I both share an office in our home, time on the computer is now at a premium. So, in order to have alone time for blogging and emailing and creating, every day at 2pm I serve cookies on a little glass plate with a doily and a tall glass of milk (rice of course) to Dan. Then I solicitously tuck him in for his afternoon nap. And of course, in order to ward off any potential intruders, I carefully place a Ruger 1022 within easy reach. You really can't be too careful in the 'hood.

OK, OK, this picture was actually taken on a Saturday afternoon. And I do believe that Dan was dreaming of milk and cookies, but unfortunately for him, it was only a dream. As for the Ruger, you  really can't be too careful in the 'hood.

Noodles for Lunch

Steven had an odd request for his lunch today - "sort of a pasta salad but without all those tiresome crunchy things in it and minus the vinegar and oil." So, I boiled up 4 handfuls of whole wheat penne (trying to be healthier), tossed these with butter, salt and pepper, gave Steven a sample which he pronounced "perfect." Then I scooped it into a plastic baggie and added it to his lunch bag, along with an orange and a handful of peanut butter pretzels. An interesting combination of items, but Steven was pretty happy. For my lunch, I think I'll find some crunchy things to add to the remaining pasta, maybe some leftover chicken, a handful of freshly grated parmesan, and, well, that sounds perfect!

Football Season Is Here!

This is Michael putting away a huge nylon bag full of NFL-quality footballs. These get locked up in the equipment room after practices and games. Phoenix Christian played their first regular season game last night. They won - it was definitely an ugly win. They were losing the game until 3 minutes before the end of the game. Then they had a spectacular run for a score. Then the defense held the other team back from scoring. Then we had the ball with less than a minute on the clock. Then we started playing the game by micro-milli-seconds. Throw in a few timeouts from us and the other team. Then we finally punted the ball on 4th down with 7 seconds to go. The ball sailed high into the air then the clock ran out before it hit the ground. I could hardly watch. But we did it. Success & victory came at last. We sat in the front row, near the middle of the bleachers. I watched Michael out of the corner of my eye the entire time. He was always in motion, filling the water bottles, offering them to players, taking them out on the field when there was a time-out. He must have walked five miles by the end of the 2 hr game. He said he had fun. I'm really glad. It had to be at least 100 degrees in the stands. But it was fun to cheer on a team. Mike's team. Our team!

Worship As A Lifestyle

Found this at a blog called The Cartoon Church. I'm not sure how I feel about this picture. It sort of reminds me of an experience I had several years ago. I was attending a local worship serminar. One of the speakers was the leader of a fairly well-known worship band. He spent an hour talking about worship to us. He simultaneously carried on a conversation with God. He really did. Every other sentence he spoke was to us. The remainder of his thoughts he spoke directly to God. Out loud. Once I got the rhythm of this down, I was able to figure when he was speaking to us. I'm still not sure how I feel about that experience. I'd like to think that I have a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And that I'm a worshipper who worships in spirit and in truth, 24/7. Yet I've never carried on a conversation with God out loud while conversing with others. And I've never raised my hands to the heavens at a bus stop or any other public place unless I was stretching and yawning. On the one hand, I secretly admire this utter abandon and apparent devotion to God. But my logical, judgmental, rational, conservative, non-demonstrative instincts tell me that this guy is quite possibly crazy. So if I were to look for middle ground where would I find myself? Or is middle ground too lukewarm? Just imagine this guy with his favorite football team's jersey on. The bus pulls up to the stop. There's a lifesize ad for his team on the side of the bus. And maybe a few other fans on the bus, headed for the big game together. Would they be raising their arms up, doing high fives, head-butting each other, cheering and yelling "score!" and being lost in "worship" and adoration of their team? I'm thinking that the same bystander would probably still have the word "idiot" in her thought bubble. My thought bubble might just say "smiling on the inside."

2 Week Checkup

We leave for Rwanda 2 weeks from today...

I'm already mostly packed.
I know exactly how to pack for Michael & Steven.
Dan packs for himself. That way he can sneak in his stash of candy bars, cans of nuts, fast food condiment packets, etc.

My goal is to be more spiritually prepared this time. We've been asked, as team leads, to be prepared to speak for 20-25 minutes each time we are at a church gathering. That means I'll have to be able to impart spiritual truths to both those we do ministry with and the new converts who gather with us every afternoon and at the church service on Sunday. I am intimidated by this task. I know that God will hold me accountable for the words that I speak. I'm also looking forward to seeing God work in me and through me to make His name known.

I don't want to be like Megaphone Man. When we first moved to Phoenix, we were driving west on Camelback Road toward 16th Street. We were in the left turn lane and had the red light. On the south west corner, I could see a white mini-van with a couple of bored looking teens loitering around it, sitting on the bumper, etc. And I could see a man - youth pastor looking guy - with a megaphone milling about on the street corner. We all rolled down our windows to listen to what he was saying. MM was yelling at every car, every pedestrian, the entire intersection - something about hell, sin, condemnation, burning in hell, repent, repent, be saved, turn from your evil lives...etc...etc. Wow. Now that's real commitment, don't you think??? Actually, I was absolutely mortified that someone could possibly think that yelling into a megaphone could actually produce anything but ridicule, anger, apathy and rolling eyes in the passersby.

My prayer is that God would use me and give me words to speak that glorify Him and encourage & challenge both the believers and the non-believers. No megaphone will be necessary.

2 Calendars and a Video

Download prayer_calendar_rw07c.pdf

Click on the link above to download and print our Rwanda prayer calendar.
We would love to have you partner with us in prayer during our upcoming trip to Rwanda. Dan, Mike, Steve & I will travel to Rwanda on September 5 for an e3 partners church planting campaign.

Dan will then continue on to Sudan for another e3 partners church planting campaign which also happens to be his first training trip. I know that Dan and the entire team would really appreciate your prayers as well. Click on the link below to download and print the Sudan prayer calendar. It's actually a combined calendar - our Rwanda trip back to back with the Sudan trip - since there are 3 people on our Rwanda campaign who will continue on to the Sudan campaign.

Download prayercalendarPatriciaSeptember.doc

And finally, check out this video. It was recorded recently in the area where Dan will be in Sudan.

Dominoes

We have a new family addiction. Not that we needed another family addiction. We're already working on several others. But now, thanks to our friends Tim & Lisa, we are holding nightly domino tournaments around our game table. We've had a set of dominoes for about 10 years. They've made every move with us. Scottsdale. Florida. Scottsdale. Phoenix. Phoenix again. Our set of dominoes goes all the way up to 15 little dots. Enough to play endless games of chicken feet and Mexican train. I think we've played dominoes once maybe twice since we received them as a gift. But now... every night after homework is done, we get our game faces on and go for it. Oh yes. It's a good time. Competitive. Fiercely competitive. We've got attitudes going on. And we've got some gloating going on. End zone dances pale in comparison to our domino champion dances.

The competitors. This isn't fun. It's serious business.

This is my hand. Not so good actually. I never even had my own train started. I had to rely on the compassion of others starting new Mexican trains. Still, I managed to end up in 2nd place.

Here's the final layout of the game. It's so colorful and fun. And cutthroat.

End of Summer

Tomorrow I will begin giving piano lessons again. Summer is over. Fall routines are being put into place. School is in session. Sports are in full swing. And it's time to start coaching kids on making music and enjoying the process. I will have 4 students, possibly 5. That's probably about my limit right now. The "season" at church is right around the corner. Life is full and busy and kind of almost balanced. For now.

Tomorrow is my youngest sister's birthday. Happy birthday Cris. You are an amazingly strong woman. Thanks for inspiring me and others to persevere through the hard times and live life to the fullest no matter who's watching or what the circumstances are. Love you lots.

This pic is of Donni, Cris (middle - full of attitude and spunk) and me. Early 80's I think.

Equipment Manager

Michael is now the Equipment Manager for the Phoenix Christian Cougars football team! He has decided that playing football wasn't something he really wanted to do, but since he's been working out with the team all year, including all summer, and he enjoys watching football, well, it seems like a perfect fit for him to do this job. We went to the team's first scrimmage last night - it had to be 110 out there. Michael was running on and off the field and keeping track of the water bottles and the giant thermoses full of ice water. Everytime the offensive line went on the field, Michael got to go out with them. It was great to see him working hard, serving the team, and enjoying the best "seat" in the house - the sidelines!

Websites

I love websites. Well, I love websites that are good websites. The kind that answer the question that brought you to the website in the first place. Right now, as I type, I am supposed to be helping Ean (IT guy at FNC - see pic below) design, create, build, launch, etc. a new website for FNC. I am excited about the prospect of the website turning out great. I will post updates to our progress as soon as something materializes that is really cool. For now, back to the creative process.

 

Decorating Is Fun

Where to start...we've got a retro 50's "I Love Lucy" theme which transitions to John Wayne (there's nothing that says "romantic hideaway" like The Duke decoupaged to a wooden box lid), which naturally progresses to a hand-carved wooden Rwandan plaque finally landing on a stunning montage of all 5 Star Trek Captains in a tastefully understated floating glass frame. Oh yeah, the orange decanter sort of anchors everything down with a splash of my favorite color. Yes, you're right - this is the fireplace mantel in the lodge, aka our temporary Master Bedroom. Our bed is directly opposite this beautiful collage. There's plenty more "wood" paneling to go around. And of course our King size bed frame with the queen size bed fools the eye and makes the room look much more spacious. To the left of the mantel is our lovely assortment of camping supplies cleverly half-hidden by our dresser which is dead center in the middle of the room. There's a wooden bench right in front of the hearth which is just the right size to hold our TV - this works out great because the wires which connect the TV to the 6 foot tall antenna on top of our house are just long enough to reach the back of the TV. To the right of the mantel is our chrome floor to ceiling shelving unit replete with tax files in banker boxes, extra blankets for those cold Phoenix winters, shoes, beach towels, a DVD player, a combo DVD/VCR (only the VCR works - how convenient), and the extra movies that don't fit on the shelves in the office. But with all this "chaos" it's really nice to have the mantel complete. I don't have to worry about shopping for tiresome accessories like vases, candles, picture frames, candlesticks - you know - all that typical, overrated mantel attire. I just get to go into our bedroom, kick off my shoes, relax in a camping chair, and watch "Coach" with the family.

Deluxe Accommodations

Team Berryman leaves for Rwanda on Sept. 5. We return, minus Dan on Sept. 16. Dan will part ways with us at the end of our trip and head to Sudan for 10 days. The Sudan trip is his first training trip. He has been working with a seasoned e3 church planter for the past month or so, figuring out the forms, logistics, finances, communications, and so much more. He is also working with a church planting coordinator who is in charge of travel and accommodations (among many other things). Now, keep in mind that Sudan has been involved in a Civil War for many years. The area where they will be evangelizing has been mostly bombed out and destroyed. Lots of reminders of death and destruction are everywhere. There are no stores. No hotels. Limited transportation. No roads. But there are people in this area who have never heard the Gospel. Ever. E3 is specifically targeting these groups for evangelism.

This is a picture of the place they will be staying in Sudan. The tent was abandoned by the UN when they pulled out of there. Some of the 12 person team will sleep in the tent. A few of them will sleep in one of the two bldgs. Dan always dreamed of being on "Survivor." Now it looks like his dream is coming true!

Shoe Shopping

 

I took my 13 yr old son shoe shopping today. We went to Sports Authority. 1000's of pairs of shoes were stacked ceiling-high. It was an overwhelming sight. Nike. Asic. NB. Adidas. Walking. Cross trainers. Basketball. Running. Tennis. Golf. Hiking. Cleats. Whyyyyyyyyyy meeeeeeeeeeee??????

Now, when I go shopping for shoes for myself, I go to my favorite shoe store, head straight to the clearance rack, pick out the 3 pairs in my size, slip each one on for the 30 second comfort test, then I purchase the one that is the least ugly. OK, so I know that I have a terrible shoe wardrobe. I admit it. It's pathetic. Again, this is an area of my life that needs assistance, so fortunately my mom and sisters come to the rescue a few times a year with at least a couple of cute pairs of shoes.

Today's experience with Steven was the perfect example of why I don't shop. For anything. Least of all for shoes and clothes. It's so frustrating. The walls start closing in on me. I desperately want to lay down on the floor and cry 'til my mom takes me home in shame. Oh, yeah. I'm the mom. SO, I sit patiently on the cold metal bench watching Steven peruse the selection of shoes. And of course, the $149 shoes are the coolest ones - these are the ones that have technology built into the shoe designed to interface with your ipod nano. Unbelievable. These shoes transmit info like calories burned, distance walked, etc. It's like an electronic pedometer. And if your pace is slowing down lower than your goal, you can hit OK and a Power Boost, High Energy song will come blasting at you through your nano, motivating and inspiring you to pick up the pace and finish strong!

We did not purchase the $149 shoes. Steven knew not to even ask. After trying on what seemed like endless pairs of shoes, Steven decided that all the new shoes looked too, well, NEW. When you're going into 8th grade, the last thing you want to do is call attention to yourself with bright, shiny, perfectly brand new shoes. Shoes need to have a casual amount of wear and tear at all times. We almost left the store several times. OK, I almost left the store several times. Steven was a ruthless shopper. A real professional. The Nike swoosh was too red. Girlie almost. The clear, blue plastic heels - too preschool. The gray - not gray enough - too silvery. Black and gold? No. Gold and white? No. Orange shock absorbers in the heel? No. Lime green? Heck no.

We settled on the gray Nikes. With the red swoosh.

   

July-August 2007 Team Berryman Update

I just sent out our July-August 2007 Team Berryman Update tonight. I really like creating these newsletters. It's fun using LetterPop to create them. Here's a link to our Profile Page at LetterPop. http://letterpop.com/people/TeamBerryman/. You can view all three of our newsletters and subscribe to them at this page as well (if you want to).

Michael starts school tomorrow. Steven starts on Thursday. Then we leave for Rwanda 3 weeks later. They will miss 8 days of school. But the experience will be worth it. Dan and I will both be team leads. I believe we will be starting/planting 16 new churches in the Kibuye, Rwanda region. We arrive on Friday. On Saturday some of us will visit a refugee camp on the border of Rwanda/The Congo. Some of us will visit a prison. We will have an opportunity to share the Gospel with large groups of people in both of these places. We are praying that the fields will be ripe for harvest. I am really getting excited about this trip. I fell in love with Rwanda last time I was there. The place, the people, the Spirit of God being poured out in that place. It's really an indescribable experience.

We will be posting a prayer calender on this blog very soon - watch for it! We would love it if you would pray for our team and for God's continued favor and revival in Rwanda.

Prayer Pavilion

We had dinner with some friends last night at their home in Phoenix. Dan used to lead the college group at church (former church, former life) and Ray hosted the group at their home and assisted Dan in leading. After dinner (fabulous shish-kabobs on the grill) and dessert (angel food cake, assorted fresh berries, and globs of cool whip) Ray wanted to show us the new prayer room at Phoenix First Assembly. So we headed up Cave Creek Road and in the distance we could see a glowing "room" built into the hill above the church. Did I mention that it was glowing? Not only was it glowing but it was changing colors every few minutes. Green. Blue. Purple. Red. Orange. I was mesmerized by the colors. The inside had probably 250 very simple, Ikea-like birch and metal chairs. Nothing on the walls. The entire front wall was sliding glass doors that in good weather completely slide open so that the room becomes joined with the beautiful green lawn outdoors. The view of the mountain is stunning. It seems only inches away. There was instrumental music playing. We walked outside. There were benches and minimal landscaping. There was a huge white cross on the patio. The whole thing was very geometric in design. Evidently the room is open 24/7, 365 days a year. I know I don't need a special room to pray in. I can pray any time, in any place or space. But if I wanted to really spend some time on my knees, in an uplifting, beautiful environment, I think I might find myself walking the path up to this prayer room.

Chocolate Cake

I just baked the world's most scrumptious chocolate cake ever. Then we ate it. All of it. The sheet pan is empty. Gone. Hardly any crumbs left. I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman blog. PW has some mighty tasty looking recipes on her blog. http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/the_pioneer_woman_cooks/2007/06/the_best_chocol.html

My cake looked sort of like this one...but a little better! Don't you wish you could taste this cake? I could hardly get the frosting spread over it before the family demanded giant slices on real plates with cake forks and tall glasses of milk. I caved in and joined them. Wow. That's some amazing combination of chocolate, butter, sugar, freshly chopped crunchy pecans, vanilla, flour, sugar, buttermilk, salt, powdered sugar, and milk. Oh yeah. Happy birthday month to me!  [I "borrowed" this pic from PW]

You might be wondering how we could polish off a sheet pan-sized cake in one evening. We had help. We brought in one of the all-time great dessert eaters - our son-in-law Joshua. He really knows his way around a piece of chocolate cake. This time I doubled the amount of pecans I folded into the homemade fudgey frosting. That frosting just melts down to the perfect consistency over the top of the cake. And I baked the cake for 19 minutes instead of 20 minutes which made it even more moist than last time. Ah yes, last time. That would be yesterday. Actually, I took the first cake to Bible Study at church last night. They helped it disappear almost all the way. Dan pretty much demolished the rest of it for breakfast this morning. Of course he had his assistant - Michael - inhaling it right along with him. There are certain things you want your house to smell like - I'm thinking a homemade chocolate cake ranks right up there on the heavenly smells list.

Birthday...#42

Sunday was my b-day. Our new family tradition (started last year) is to spend the afternoon together eating out and then seeing a movie. Last year it was Talladega Nights. I don't recommend that movie. At all. To anyone. This year it was The Bourne Ultimatum. I LOVED IT! We got Cine Capri tickets which means we had the 500+ seat theater with the massive screen. I saw the 1st Bourne movie - loved it. Didn't see the 2nd one, but I'm told we have it on DVD. So, now I've got to watch it. The Ultimatum was fast-paced, intense, suspensful, and triumphant! I recommend this movie. Totally. To everyone!

We also enjoyed 2 awesome meals together. Our Kenya reunion was scheduled right at lunch time and David Mitchell went all out preparing a succulent feast for us. We had spicy beef shish-ka-bobs, wild rice salad, baked cheesy bruschetta, chocolate dipped strawberries, and other yummy stuff.

Then we went to the Outback for dinner. I had the pork chops and they were great as usual. Everyone else had steak except for Alyssa. She had the mac & cheese off the kids menu because she could barely open her mouth after having all four wisdom teeth removed on Thursday. We shared a Sidney's Sinful Sundae which the server mistakenly (what a great mistake) rolled in cinnamon pecans before rolling in toasted coconut. That's my favorite dessert in the world. How does the chocolate sauce become chewy? It's so good and so good for you!

Innovation

Interesting thoughts on innovation in the church - found it at d-plum's blog - http://www.mosaicland.blogspot.com/

The iPologetics of Innovation

1. Podcasting - circuit riding at the speed of light. Any church of any size can exponentially increase its impact via MP3 technology.

2. Blogging - digital discipleship. Blogging increases your bandwith and allows you to digitally disciple just about anybody, anywhere, anytime.

3. Video Technologies - postmodern stained glass. Jesus isn't just the Word of God. He's the Image of God. The Church needs to communicate in images!

4. Viral video - get contagious quickly. There's a reason why YouTube is one of the top visual communication sites on the Web.

5. Multi-Purpose Church Buildings -doing ministry in the marketplace. Jesus didn't just hang out at synagogues. He hung out at wells. Wells were natural gathering places in ancient culture. Coffeehouses are postmodern wells. That's why National Community Church in DC built a coffeehouse instead of a church building (and they annually aren't ranked one of the best coffeehouses in the city, serving 600+ customers weekly).

6. Multi-site Churches - one church, multiple locations. This is one of the most effective ways to plant strategic, intentional churches.

7. Website - your church portal. Most people will visit yor website LONG before they visit a service.

8. Email - word of mouse. An e-letter is an easy and affordable way to keep the church connected... and it's another form of evangelism

9. Branding - the greatest message deserves the greatest marketing. The opposite of brand is bland. The most important truths ought to be communicated in the most unforgettable ways.

10. Social Networking - church as a tag-team sport. Create a MySpace (or Facebook) page and create an online congregation.

11. Get a [Second] Life - "go into all the [virtual] nations..." Check out LifeChurch.tv's campus at SecondLife. com... it may be more real world than this world.

12. Get Joost - the magic of television meets the power of the internet. Imagine watching your service (or other content) online and chatting with viewers at the same time on the same screen.

13. Text Message - get instant feedback. Instant audience polls. Text to vote during the service for immediate results posted live on the sidescreens. Or text to donate to a cause, building campaign, etc.

14. RSS - the feeds that matter most. Use RSS to get your info fed fast (weekly bulletin, small group announcements, daily devotionals, blog entries, etc.)

15. LIVE! Missionaries - bridging the geographic distance. Link up (live) around the world with missionaries your church sends and/or supports.

http://mosaicland.blogspot.com/2007/08/ipologetics-of-innovation.html

Another Family Pic

My favorite color is orange. I used to think my favorite color was hot pink. Then I thought it was blue. Then purple. Even turquoise is still in the running somedays. But overall, most of all, orange is it. It's such a bright, happy color. My first car was an orange Dodge Charger (think Dukes of Hazard). I think I had an orange corduroy bedspread when I was in Jr Hi (matched my Shaun Cassidy posters on the wall). My mom sent me this family picture today. Notice the carefully coordinated outfits...long pink chiffon gowns, pleated organdy dress, pink dress shirt on my dad with burgundy tie...then there's my favorite dress of all. My orange dress. My grandma made it for me. I especially loved the long, green bow at my waist. I vaguely remember my mom wanting us to all have matching outfits on for our family portrait. But I really was determined to wear my favorite dress. And in the end, it turned out OK because I match the lovely family crest hanging above the fireplace.

Awesome Hair Day

I just had to post this picture. When we were in CA recently, our last night there we had a cookout at San Onofre beach. My sister-in-law, Lori, and her husband and kids meet at this beach every Friday night with some friends from their church. The kids all run around and play in the sand and surf. Some people go surfing. They all bring firewood and fire pits and lots of food to grill. Dan was the cameraman for this picture of his sister, Lori and his brother, David. As he was framing the picture, he noticed Lori's friend, Ross, in the middle of the picture and realized that with a quick adjustment, he could give Ross and really great 'do. When I saw the picture on the camera I just about died laughing.

Summer Camp

I've just returned from Summer Camp. Not as an attendee. Not as a counselor. I was the Chef (that's what the kids called me). Dan was one of the counselors. We stayed at a home owned by a friend of FNC. Now, this home was not your ordinary 3 bedroom 2 bath with a great room. This was a lodge / cabin / ranch / cabin. We drove up a gravel driveway  past beautiful green pastures enclosed by white rail fences. There was a wind mill spinning busily away in the breeze, reminding us of the impending rain storm. We went inside the house and started exploring. I entered through the downstairs (ground level) entrance. It was sort of like a huge finished basement with a kitchenette, tons of carpeted floor space and a huge bathroom with a shower with 3 shower heads in it. Interesting. Up the stairs to a hallway with a laundry room. Then left into the massive, commercial-sized kitchen. My home away from home for 3 glorious days. No internet. No cell phone zone. Only 8 gas burners, a truckload of uncooked food waiting to be baked, boiled and fried, and 25 hungry campers. Did I really volunteer for this?

Dan and I shared the master bedroom. It was huge and had an antique oak bed that was at least 4 ft off the ground. Our room was icy cold at night. That was a total luxury. We actually needed all the covers!

 

The girls all slept downstairs on the floor. We also had our worship services downstairs. Upstairs there were 4 bedrooms and a bathroom. That was Randy's sacred domain. Billy (the other male counselor) snuck upstairs on Friday nite to sleep because the bunkhouse was too hot and stuffy and humid.

The boys all stayed in the bunkhouse which was built above the garage. They had their own bathroom. Dan snapped a picture of their bathroom on Saturday morning. He started out from the main house (air conditioned, cool, comfortable) and headed over to the bunkhouse (30 sec. walk). He entered and a blast of humid air enveloped him. He got the picture, but it was so humid that the camera lens got completely fogged up. I think you can make out the pile of wet swimsuits on the floor next to the toilet.

Here is a view from the front porch. It was really a beautiful place to be for 3 days. It rained every afternoon just for a few minutes. The kids played outside literally for hours. Tug of War. Capture the Flag and Slip & Slide on Bubbles. They also played indoors for hours. Leg Wrestling. Chubby Bunny (marshmallows were involved), and Charades. Lots of card games like Peasant Revolt and Kill Your Neighbor. They all worked up an enormous appetite. Today I cooked 4 lbs of bacon, 2 dozen eggs, 48 biscuits and it all disappeared in about 5 minutes.

 

They all learned a lot about worship and about faith and about putting on the full armor of God. All in all it was a wonderful experience.