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Back to Church, Part I: Keystone Church

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

After about ten years, I’ve started going back to church because it the kind of community that has always worked for me.

So far it hasn’t been a perfect experience. It’s a little awkward navigating my way into a new church community where I don’t know anyone. Before I left church, I was always a part of the music ministry and experienced church from the platform — rarely from pew. It’s very different to be anonymous in a congregation than being a *star* on the stage, but that’s a good thing.

So far, I’ve tried three churches. The first one is Keystone Church in Keller, Texas. It’s mission statement is “Leading everyone to experience a passionate life in Christ.” Services are contemporary, casual and just cool enough that the effort to be cool isn’t lame.

One of the things I’ve always said about going back to church is that I wish I could find one that just had praise and worship — no preaching. It’s interesting that I don’t care for the music at Keystone at all, but I could listen to the pastor, Brandon Thomas, talk all day long. He’s young, engaging, smart and his teaching has seriousness and depth.

I’ve been twice and watched and listened to Brandon’s talks on the Keystone Web site.

Keystone has a pretty good site. They do a really nice job with media (audio and video). They use Vimeo Plus for video, and it’s very obvious that in addition to loving God, this church loves Apple products. Since I do Internet TV for a living, I give them a strong B+ for what they’re doing with media. I’d like to see them stream services using Ustream.TV and make the podcast subscription option a little more prominent, but mostly, Keystone is getting it right.

During my second visit, people were encouraged to SMS questions. Brandon and his wife answered the questions at the end of Brandon’s talk. They even had the questions formated on a slide that matched the artwork from the teaching. It was effective.

Everyone is encouraged to fill out a card with personal information and prayer requests. I usually hate that, but since I’m longing to connect with a church community, I happily filled it out. No one contacted me and that’s either a good thing or a bad thing depending on what a person wants from a church visit.

Keystone clearly sees the importance of social media. They have a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account, a Flickr Photostream and a Blog. They have all the right pieces in place for winning in social media, but it doesn’t seem like they have a great strategy for social media. It’s all very promotional and not very relational. I feel like I can engage with Keystone through their social media efforts, but I don’t get the impression they are trying to engage with me.

I definitely plan to visit Keystone some more, but I’m not sure yet if it is where I should plug-in and get involved.

In Back to Church, Part II, I’ll talk about a church that does a great job engaging through social media, especially Twitter.

Filed in Apple, Social Media, church | Comments (0)

Overcoming Huge Obstacles

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Our littlest Chihuahua, Zoe can do more than she thinks she can. She’s about six inches tall, but when she stretches out her body, she’s about two feet long. To make it easier for our two little dogs to get on and off our bed, we built two stairs out of two six-inch thick cushions. That gets our dogs six-inches from the top of the mattress. Sitting up on the bed, it looks like we created an easy journey from the hard wood floor to the cushy comforter on the bed.

From Zoe’s perspective, it doesn’t look so easy. That first step is as tall as she is. She can barely see the top and sometimes she’ll stand on the floor looking at that first step and start to doubt herself. Once she starts to doubt herself, she’ll start to whine. It’s kind of like praying. She’s crying out for outside help to overcome a problem that just seems way to big for her.

There are times when we’ll reach down and pull her up to cuddle, but more often we don’t. We know she can make it. We’ve seen her do it hundreds of times, and the path we created for her was all about making her journey easier. She just can’t see the big picture. All she sees is that big stair and she’s worried about it. She seems to have forgotten all those other times she jumped up without hesitation. I know she just has to stretch herself and put some energy into it and after a little whining, she eventually comes to the same conclusion.

Throughout my life, I’ve seen social situations as a huge obstacle. Connecting with people you want to know better seems so easy for other people, but for me? I really have to stretch myself and put some energy into to it. When I’m focused on how hard it seems, it’s easy to forget all the times in the past when I did what was required and it worked out great. I assume Zoe thinks she’s going to miss if she tries to take that jump, but the thing she fears almost never happens. Same thing with me in social situations. The things I fear almost never happen, and even when they do I survive and I end up a little smarter than before.

I wonder how many times in life we end up not doing something that could turn out great, just because that first step is all we’re looking at and it seems way too big and way too scary. In reality the path is not the big, old, bad challenge we fear. The pathway has probably been setup for us in a way that makes it possible for us to win. All we have to do is stretch ourselves and put some energy into it. I learned that from a Chihuahua!

Filed in Chihuahua, change, encouragement, motivation | Comments (4)

One of My Favorite Experiences

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

We were doing some cleaning today and I came across something beautiful I wanted to share.

Three years ago, my sister-in-law asked me to perform her wedding ceremony. Not only did I get to officiate, I got to write the wedding “sermon.” I read it this morning and thought I’d share it (with some personal bits removed)…

We’re gathered here this afternoon, in this beautiful place, to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, to give recognition to the value and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words that will unite Fielding and Michael in marriage.

Fielding and Michael, we start life out as individuals, but you know what? God says it’s not good for us to be alone, so He created within each of us a driving desire to find someone…to find THAT SPECIAL someone…and you guys did it! You found each other.
It wasn’t easy. It might have even taken longer than you would have wanted, but it happened and when it happened, you knew.
And now today, you guys begin a life-long adventure of love. Your life together is blessed by God and it’s blessed by us, your friends and family.

When Fielding and Michael asked me to perform this ceremony, I was excited because I LOVE love! And, I love weddings because a wedding is a formal celebration of love…a time when friends and family join together to acknowledge love is more than just a chemical reaction or an emotion that comes and goes. It’s a decision that changes your lives as solitary individuals into a team ready to take on the world, with all it’s ups and downs.

The Bible says, Love never gives up. Love cares more for other than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love isn’t proud. It isn’t me first. It doesn’t take pleasure in the sins of others. It puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back and keeps going to the end. Love never dies.

A movie called love “a many splendored thing.”

John Lennon says, “All you need is love.”

Shakespeare says, “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.”

I say, nothing is more awesome than love, so my question for you guys, is this…are you ready to get married?

Then let’s do it.

Michael, do you take Fielding to be your Wife? (“I do”) Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others, holding only unto her? (“I do”)

Fielding, do you take Michael to be your Husband? (“I do”) Do you promise to love, honor , cherish and protect him, forsaking all others, holding only unto him? (“I do”)

Wearing wedding rings is an outward symbol of your inner commitment to each other and a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. You give love and receive love and the circle goes on and on without end. Each time you glance down and see the rings on your fingers, you’re sure to remember the vows you’re taking today.

Michael, as you place the ring on Fielding’s finger, repeat after me:

I, Michael, take thee, Fielding to be my Wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you forevermore. With this ring, I thee wed. all my love, I thee give to thee.”

Fielding, as you place the ring on Michael’s finger, repeat after me:

I , Fielding, take thee , Michael, to be my Husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise My love to you forevermore. With this ring, I thee wed. all my love, I give to thee.”

Fielding and Michael as the two of you come into this marriage united as husband and wife, you are affirming your faith and love for each another. I ask you to always remember to cherish each other as special and unique. I ask you to respect each other’s thoughts, ideas and suggestions. Be able to forgive without holding grudges. Be best friends and enjoy your life together. From now on, you’re each other’s home, comfort and refuge. Your marriage is strengthened by your love and respect for each other.

Let’s pray. God, just as you made the ocean a delightful, beautiful place to be, you made love and marriage. You didn’t have to, but I’m so glad You did. I ask you to bless Michael and Fielding throughout their lives together. Join them together so nothing on earth or beyond will shake their love for each other. Amen

Today, Fielding and Michael honored us all with an invitation to witness their wedding, and also today, they declare before all of us that they will live together as a team in marriage. According to tradition, they entered into their marriage by joining hands, taking vows, and by exchanging rings. Therefore, it is my pleasure, to pronounce them husband and wife. Congratulations, Michael, you may kiss your bride!

Break the glass and Mozel Tov!

I’m so grateful to Fielding and Michael for giving me the honor of performing the ceremony to bring them together in marriage. It was one of the greatest joys of my life. They had a baby girl in January and named her, Campbell, but it’s only a coincidence that it is also my last name. Fielding wanted to name a daughter that long, long ago. Still, it’s pretty cool!

Filed in GOD, beliefs, love | Comments (1)

Take Real Vacations!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

When you start a business you love, you may be tempted to put 100% of your time and energy during waking hours into making it a success. Cali and I have done that with GeekBrief.TV. Even when we took time off from the show, we used the time to work on parts of the business you don’t see. We took that quote, “Find something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” to heart.

The problem is, people aren’t designed to only work. We need rest, and we need play.

Yesterday morning I was listening to the audio version of My Life in France by Julia Child and I got a life lesson. She wrote,

In 1963 I was shooting four episodes of The French Chef a week while also writing a weekly food column for the Boston Globe. In the Fall, we were scheduled to take a break from TV work and had planned to visit Simca and John at their rambling farm house in Provence, but as November hove into view, we began to regret it. The quicksand of my cookery work, Paul’s painting and photography projects and all the mini bits of upkeep and improvement that 103 Irving Street required were sucking at our feet.

‘I just don’t know if we have the time for a trip to France right now,’ I sighed.

Paul nodded, but then we looked at each other and repeated a favorite phrase from our diplomatic days,

‘Remember! No one’s more important than people.’

In other words, friendship is the most important thing–not career or housework or one’s fatigue–and it needs to be tended and nurtured. So we packed up our bags and off we went, and thank heaven we did!

Throughout the last five years we’ve produced Geek Brief, we had similar opportunities and intentions to travel, but we always made the other choice. We prudently decided we should use that time to work on the business. Sure it would be great to go to Italy. I want so bad to go to Scotland. Hey, we should go to Japan and see all the crazy gadgets and have real Ramen! Instead, we opted for the more prudent choice. We stayed home and worked on our business.

Rest and play are the other side of the work coin. You can’t just breath in. You also have to breath out. Lot’s of people look at our story and think it is inspirational, but I hope people will learn from what we got right AND from our mistakes.

Take real breaks. Leave the Mac at home or at least in the hotel room. Enjoy life with friends and enjoy the beauty in the world. Otherwise you’ll just wear yourself out and burn yourself up.

Filed in People, Uncategorized, production, tech media, travel, us | Comments (7)

Music City Unites for Haiti

Friday, February 19, 2010

This is much better than the We Are the World Remake, but it isn’t a competition. It’s about helping where help is needed.

Come Together Now (Music City Unites For Haiti) from Music City Unites For Haiti on Vimeo.

Filed in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Wow! Look at God!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

The people who know me best know I’m going through one of the most difficult times in my life. People who believed in me hoped and prayed I would get to this point as soon as I could … the point where I stopped trying to conquer life the way that makes sense to me. My take on taking on the world made lots of sense to me and led to some degree of professional and financial success, but it left me ultimately hopeless and empty.

In just a little bit more than a week, I’ve turned my eyes back upon Jesus and recaptured that joy unspeakable and full of glory that I’ve been missing for the last several years.

Tonight I was watching the Olympic opening on NBC and I read a tweet from someone I was following that said, “Praying for the Cfni recording tonite! It’s gonna rock!” Somehow, some way I was following someone who tweeted about CFNI. I went to CFNI and not many people know what it is. Don’t get me started about how going to CFNI was not the greatest of experiences for me, but I loved it for the music. Each year they record a new praise and worship album and it’s always very influential in terms of the music you start to hear in churches around the world.

So I clicked on the person who tweeted that. It’s a woman named Kari Jobe and she just happens to be a worship pastor at a church five minutes from my house. That isn’t enough to move me because I’ve been sick of worship music for the last eight years. I clicked through to her Web site and then through to her YouTube page and OMG!!! She writes songs about God and our love relationship with Him that are not cliché and redundant.

The first thing I watched was this video …

Then I watched this one …

And then this one …

Do I need to tell you? I’m going to Gateway Church on Sunday. He who the Son has set free is free … indeed! I also bought her album.

Filed in Uncategorized | Comments (11)

We Are the World 2.0 FAIL

Friday, February 12, 2010

UPDATE: I think I take back the FAIL. This is the extended version and it is MUCH better than the version they showed on NBC before the Olympics opening. The use of autotune is still a FAIL but I liked the rest of it including the rapping.

Filed in music | Comments (2)

People I’m Pleased to Know – Part 2

Monday, February 8, 2010

(The idea for this post came from the backside of a Chipotle soft drink cup.)

If you read my blog, you probably know I took a short sabbatical from GeekBrief.TV to restore, refresh and renew.

I grew up in a small town in Arkansas and the thought that I might be able to make a living doing something creative when I grew up never crossed my mind. I just didn’t see examples of that. It was the third year of doing the show before I realized … I’m kind of professional writer now! Being able to be creative every day and get paid is amazing, but no matter what you do sometimes it’s best to kind of step away and not do what you usually do every day. I was able to do that thanks to Cali, of course, but also thanks to Dave Curlee.

Dave is a friend we met at WordCamp Dallas 2008. He and his wife Kat produce a cooking show called Cooking with Kat. It’s a cooking show for real people … kind of like what Rachael Ray does, except Dave and Kat have real kids who sometimes make appearances on the show. Kat’s recipes are simple and super tasty!

Dave has a passion for helping companies bring video to the Web. He believe every company, product, Web site and cause is better served when it uses video to communicate on the Web. He’s produced, directed, edited and published Web video for WordPress, OrderDog, Inc., Layered Tech, DSNews, and of course GeekBrief.TV.

He has a great video on his Web site, DaveCurlee.com, where he explains the basics of what you need to know if you’re interested in creating your own Web video. You might want to follow him on Twitter and @davecurlee if you have any video questions or would like to hire him to help with your video project.

Filed in People | Comments (4)

People I’m Pleased to Know – Part 1

Sunday, February 7, 2010

(The idea for this post came from the backside of a Chipotle soft drink cup.)

Just after Cali and I started GeekBrief.TV, someone at Mevio told us something very strange. It was worded like something like you’d hear from a fortune teller or a prophet. It was so oddly distinctive, we never forgot it. He said,

At some point soon, someone will come along who will become attached to you both. That person will become your strongest supporter and they will be there to help you. You won’t need to look for this person. He will find you and know who it is and he will become a part of your team.

Isn’t that weird? It was very weird, but it was also true. That person is Dave Peterson. He is a software developer and new media enthusiast. He describes himself as a frequent early adopter with a lot of opinions on where he want to see personal technology go and what he want us all to be able to do with it. He’s also become one of our best friends.

Dave Peterson started a blog called GadgetyTech, a rechargeable, touch screen love fest. He has a particularly keen interest in various electronic readers. He’s purchased every version of the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble Nook and his credit card is ready to order an iPad as soon Apple puts it up for sale.

Anyone who has connected to the Geek Brief family probably has encountered Dave in comments or on Twitter. What you may not know is that Dave also helps out with the show by maintaining the GBTV archives and Cali’s Facebook Fan Page. He has an encyclopedic memory for when Cali talked about “that gadget that ____.” We’ve learned to google it or just ask Dave when we can’t remember.

If you don’t know Dave you’re missing out! Follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his blog. I think you’ll find him to be a person you’re pleased to know too.

Filed in People | Comments (5)

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