Archives For Web/Tech

My Windows Problem

September 16, 2012

This week, I got a call on my cell phone that appeared as “Blocked” and when I answered it, a guy with a thick foreign accent told me he was from “Windows Technical Support” and that he was calling because they had discovered a major problem with my Windows computer. Because I don’t have a Windows computer, and I recognized this scam from a few weeks earlier with my step-dad, I decided to have a little fun with the scammer.

  • Him: “You’ve got a problem with your Windows PC.
  • Me: “Oh no! What kind of problem is it?”
  • Him: “Well, we can fix it.”
  • Me: “How do you know there’s a problem?”
  • Him: “We can see it when you get on the internet.”
  • Me: “Really, you can see my computer?”
  • Him: “Yes. But we can fix it.”
  • Me: “How can you see my computer?”
  • Him: “When you get on the internet.”

I just kept asking questions and was actually nowhere near any computer as he was giving me instructions that would have allowed him to not only see my computer, but make changes to it as well. That’s a really bad idea. At that point, he’d have complete access to any info on my computer or install whatever software he wanted.

I eventually just told him I knew it was a scam and that he was a criminal and should be charged for this scam and then I hung up.

But as I thought about it, I realized that I do have a kind of windows problem. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

My windows problem is that right now, I can’t see completely clearly. My vision is a little blurred and I don’t understand nearly as much as I would like to. Whenever I think I’ve got it all figured out, I find out that I don’t know as much as I need to know.

But the promise of God is that one day, I will see Him face to face. And one day, all my questions will be answered. And I will finally understand the answer to the all-encompassing question, “Why?” And I think at that point, some of my questions won’t be as important as the fact that all the answers will be found in Him.

And the best news in that verse is that God does know me completely right now. He knows all the dark corners of my life that I try to hide and yet He still loves me just as I am. It’s mind-blowing that the One who knows me the best, loves me the most!

In Devotional, Web/Tech
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A New Way To Get Connected

May 22, 2012

Can you do that at church? That question gets asked sometimes at The Connection Church where we love to be creative and try new ways to connect God’s timeless truth with our ever-changing culture. I’m excited about a new feature that’s coming soon to our lobby. We’re calling it a Connection Kiosk. It will be a place where people can take next steps while they’re with here with us. The kiosk is a streamlined, electronic way to get connected.

There are 3 key steps you can take at the kiosk. Today, fewer people are carrying around cash or even checks. While everywhere you go, you can use a debit card, the church is the last place that seems to understand that this is how people operate. I know for me, I usually have very little cash on hand and I never carry a check book (it’s in a drawer somewhere at home with the Muppets printed on them). So now, people will be able to give their tithes and offerings through the kiosk, in addition to the typical ways they’ve been able to give. You can also find out more info on Connection Groups and ministry teams and sign up for them instantly. There will even be an opportunity to register for events and even pay for them if there is a fee associated with an event.

So be on the lookout for this innovative addition this summer and check it out for yourself.

In Web/Tech
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What’s the Wordle?

October 10, 2009

Bethanie showed me a cool site called Wordle that creates a very creative word-cloud of your webpage/blog. You just enter your URL and it takes the weighted words that it finds and makes a randomized picture that you can customize with your chocie of fonts, colors, etc. The results are very interesting.

wordle

Give it a try and feel free to link to yours in the comments section below.

In Web/Tech
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Thoughts from C3 Day 2

February 20, 2009

God really moved in my life and in the lives of every one of us at the Creative Church Conference this year. Here are the simple takeaways from today:

  • People need to belong before they will believe
  • When Jesus called His disciples He didn’t preach a sermon to them, He simply said, “Follow me”
  • If you dont have some cigarette butts in the parking lot of your church, you don’t have much of a church.
  • The church is not a waiting room for the saints it is a hospital to the sick.
  • “The hurting people get front row seats.” We need a long front row
  • The method is not sacred, the message is.
  • There is provision for the vision
  • Jesus is not our HOMEBOY, He is the supreme Lord of lords and King of kings!
  • Jesus doesn’t want our props, He deserves our praise!
  • We should be known for what we love, not what we hate
  • Let’s honor the men and women who have been serving faithfully in the trenches!
  • To reach people no one else is reaching, you’ve got to do things no one else is doing. that means: don’t do what everyone else is doing
  • You’re greatest limitation can be your greatest potential when you have faith
  • Failure is often your first step to success
  • What has God called you to do that you’re afraid to try?
  • Creativity costs nothing
In Leadership, Web/Tech
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Thoughts from C3 Day 1

February 19, 2009

Today, I am up in Grapevine at the Creative Church Conference. It was a day filled with incredible teaching, awesome worship, and connecting with some friends. I think the best way to get a feel for the nuggets that I picked up today is to check out my Twitter posts throughout the day:

  • Ed is up to speak first this morning, riding the Crazy Train  http://twitpic.com/1kicm #
  • Crazy (not legitimate mental illness) is when I say to God, “I am in charge of my life.” It’s the ride of pride.
  • We’re all a little crazy in some way, but there’s a good crazy and a bad crazy.
  • The devil throws crazy people around Christ-followers to distract us from our mission.
  • My bad artwork of the concentric circles of crazy: http://twitpic.com/1kikz #
  • The signs of crazy: crazy eyes, playing the God card, name droppin’, 1 upping, blowing up the phone, not listening to advice, talking about themselves all the time, I bet you think this song is about you, have no filter, are 1 issue people, ” got an issue, grab a tissue”, space invaders, enjoy their dysfunction, have crazy pets, dress in full-team uniform, the first or last to talk to you, answer the phone: “umyelloo”
  • We all have a built in crazar, to discern craziness
  • How to cut out the crazies: live a life of holiness and honesty and integrity before God
  • Ministry is brutiful, that is: both brutal and beautiful
  • If a business man understands how you do finances at church, you’re not doing it right
  • Don’t get lazy or hazy about crazy
  • Daniel 5:20 – speak the truth and shame the devil
  • Integrity brings opportunity to the front, don’t be afraid to confront in love
  • Deal with pride because it binds and blinds
  • Technology (blogs, etc.) can give a false sense of your importance, nobody cares about your cat’s gastro-intestinal issues
  • Humility is power under control
  • You know you’ve preached too long when your wife closes her Bible
  • We’re more likely to be jealous of those in our same field of occupation/vocation
  • The majority is usually wrong: Everytime God’s people voted in the Old Testament, they were wrong
  • It’s so tempting to swallow the crazy pills in ministry
  • Elijah, a man with a serious faith went through a serious funk
  • after the showdown, Elijah went through a letdown
  • We need to put our best offensive energy into what we do best
  • Because public speaking is such a fear, at a funeral, the guy giving the eulogy would rather be in the box.
  • leadership is measured by what happens in our absence
  • “Cannibals aren’t the only ones who get fed up with people”
  • Having lunch with the senior pastor’s lunch, there’s “The Biggest Loser”‘s mom from last season by the wall  http://twitpic.com/1km4z
  • At TCC, we make it hard to get to hell from Hays County
  • Bil Cornelius: “Before God fills the house with people, He wants to fill the house with His glory”
  • Ben Young: “Truth was a Person before it was a doctrine”
  • Be aware of the chair! The place in your church where ANYONE can come in and hear the Gospel
  • Maturity in Hebrews 6:1 – To get to it (maturity), we’ve got to go through it
  • A Biblically-functioning community will have unbelievers, new believers, and maturer Christ-followers
  • Spiritual adolescents are the first to leave a church to go to a place that’s more comfortable for them
  • Students listen up… your parents know more than you and they used to be cool but you made them uncool.
  • “Being obsessed with what people think about you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you” – Craig Groeschel
  • “I can’t please everyone, but I can please God.” Live for an audience of ONE!
In Leadership, Web/Tech
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