"Transforming the Evangelical Meme"

[Subsequent Note: 3 years after I wrote the article below, Barna published newer stats on the topic... and surprise... they tell a completely different story (albeit without mention of our work below or a retraction of their now-legendary meme). See the updated story... along with my analysis of the numerous remaining issues with their divorce-rate research. And here's our newest attempt to put the meme to rest in 2010, as yet another high-profile evangelical publishes his (insightful) commentary at yet another high-profile site.]



Transformation is objectively evidenced in the lives of 'evangelicals'.

I realize this seems to run counter to the now ubiquitous meme playing in 'Christian theaters' near you. Very probably your pastor has even preached it...

"Christians live just like the rest of the world."

A distinction lies though, in the care we take when defining 'evangelical'... not to mention, 'Christian'. Self-descriptions are an illusion, dependent on a wide spectrum of motives. But a person's studied understanding of the Word of God makes all the difference in the world.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
[Rom. 10:17]

While 'positional justification' happens immediately when a person is born again, 'sanctification' -- that is, being increasingly conformed to the image of God -- doesn't happen overnight. It's takes time. It's why Paul had to preach to his people (and us)...

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- -- his good, pleasing and perfect will." [Romans 12]

Change doesn't come easy, nor fast. Which of us doesn't identify with Paul -- even as he writes this late in his life -- when he says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do"?

But the Bible is true. And transformation is objectively evidenced in the lives of evangelicals... even if not quickly enough or extensively enough to suit any of us.

Recently a local church's blog led me to read Stan Guthrie's interview with Ron Sider in Christianity Today, coming on the heels of Ron's new book, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience". As it turns out, Ron had also done a previous article at CT publication "Books & Culture" on the same topic.

I've now finished reading his book, and it's absolutely excellent as he calls us to reexamine ourselves and our institutions and to take seriously our obligation to be distinctive from the culture around us. Get your hands on a copy. You'll be glad you did.

But Ron isn't primarily addressing 'Christians' in general. More specifically, he narrows his targeting to 'evangelicals' -- often meaning self-described evangelicals. Still I didn't wince. All sorts of people describe themselves as 'evangelical', but many of them don't even know what makes them 'evangelical'... it's simply a convenient, notional label.

But then he introduced Barna polls into evidence...

"What is the divorce rate among evangelicals? According to a 1999 poll by Barna, exactly the same as the national average! According to that poll, 25 percent of evangelicals -- just like 25 percent of the total population— have gone through a divorce."

Ouch. The divorce-rate thing again. It's the one handle that authors and preachers seem to most easily get their hands around... and repeat most frequently.

I especially bristled because over the years I've read George Barna's reports religiously and knew that he doesn't use self-descriptions in lieu of definitions. He's much more careful in defining an 'evangelical' according to 9 meaningful & measurable standards. I know how suddenly, when using George' methodology, self-described, notional evangelicals start falling like flies -- slimming their ranks from what is sometimes thought to be more than 20% of the adult population... down to only the 7% whom I refer to as 'Barna evangelicals'.

[Btw, Ron did acknowledge evidence of change as Barna narrows the field even further through a few more questions, to arrive at a tighter group (4% of the population) holding a 'Biblical worldview'. But that just whetted my appetite further. Surely we don't have to narrow it that far to start seeing any real transformation. Do we?]

Bottom line, it just seemed counter-intuitive that despite our sinful shortcomings, that Bible-believing Christians would be so generally 'just like' the rest of the population. Paul, the self-described 'chiefest of sinners', aside -- not to mention myself --it still just didn't make sense.

Did Barna really say what Sider said he said? Say not.

My adrenaline kicked in, and my fact-checking emails kicked out. Without diverging now into an ever-so-tempting diatribe about how 'guys in pajamas' are now also impacting the Christian MSM, let's instead stay on-point and cut to the chase.

Sider was accurate. Barna said it.

When asked why they've removed the (1999) documentation from Barna.org, a spokesperson told me it is now old data. He went on to say though, that it had received a lot heat over the years from being so misunderstood. Frankly, I suspect they were just as glad when it finally died of old age.

A marital counselor once told me... "It's not so important that you be understood, as it is that you not be MIS-understood." That applies here. And thus my post today. That old data is still being very misunderstood.

Yes, in a Bill Clinton 'Define Is' sort of way, the data as presented is apparently accurate. Thus an endless litany of Christian opponents -- atheists, witches and gay advocates to name a few -- have enjoyed flaunting it in front of us as they chorus together...

"Christianity doesn't work as advertised."

But let's discover the real 'elephant in the room'...

...that the 1999 divorce metrics were stated
as a percentage of the ENTIRE population,
whether ever-married to begin-with, or not!

Statistically determining the overall rates of tarnished apples found in one bin of mixed apples & oranges... vs. another bin of mixed fruit... is... well... interesting but totally unhelpful. And worse, as we can see from the last 5 years of playing the 'telephone game', it's effectively contributed to a complete MIS-understanding of the data, and thus is suboptimizing the Church's ability to deal with the overall problem... the (slow) rate of transformation among believers. And if we're offering the gift of God, eternal life, peace with God now & forever.... and yet at the same time conveying that it really doesn't make a difference in this world... our mixed message is a disservice to truth. Worse, it helps send people to hell as they rest comfortably that the Church has no proof of any of this... and we're equally non-transformed.

So I applaud Barna for storing that loaded flintlock away in the gun-closet for now.

What is the meme that we should be conveying at the speed of Light?

That transformation through new life in Jesus Christ is objectively evidenced as we analyze Bible-reading, Bible-believing, Christ-followers... represented by Barna's category called 'evangelicals'.

How evidenced you ask?

I'm not a researcher, so I'll have to stick with the most obvious evidence, and leave my remaining concerns to the professionals... such as... the suitability of leaning so heavily on the 'ever-divorced' metric, versus a potentially better metric of measuring an 'annual divorce rate'. Likewise my concern about the somewhat older average evangelical being pitted against the younger average non-evangelical... and especially as they might be affected by this elongated time metric called 'ever-divorced'. U.S. Census and common 'census' bears it out -- the older you get, the more apt to eventually experience divorce. And wouldn't this also be true of eventually experiencing cancer, car accidents, dental visits and winning the lottery? But apparently we lack sufficient data to sift out how much or how little impact these have on the issue at hand.

Btw, I've challenged Barna Research to clarify the situation at their site and add yet more data there, especially now that Ron and others have inadvertantly popularized the misunderstanding at issue. But that takes money. If any of you have some money you'd like to contribute to help Barna fund more intense research, especially about underlying attitudes, practices, and misunderstood biblical principles that drive divorce rates even in Christendom, please join the effort for truth and making a difference in the world today.

Further, the blogosphere as you can see, adds to the pile of daily pressures on Barna's small but impactful ministry. But likewise, the Christian blogosphere could help them greatly by effectively transmitting truth... and helping raise funds for objective research. Personally, I'd love to be able to fund a regular measuring of transformation here in the Greater Indianapolis area. How about your city? Are we making a measurable difference as we increasingly come together across former dividing lines, to pray, plan and pursue greater prayer, care & share here in our community?

Although not a researcher myself, I do have pocket-protector and a bean-counter's certificate. I live in numbers daily. In our new information explosion, I have little tolerance for 'simply interesting' numbers. Interesting numbers could distract us all day... while we fail at our mission -- the Great Commission. But I find numbers extremely valuable when they're used as decision-support and symbols to drive us toward our goals... starkly measuring realities along the way and calling us to redouble our efforts. So let me sort out the apples and oranges a bit, and see if it doesn't form a much different picture about evangelicals amid transformation.

If our real objective is to level the playing field so we can make a head-to-head comparison -- and only compare the divorce-rate among MARRIED evangelicals vs. MARRIED non-evangelicals, then let's first find out who's MARRIED and even subject to divorce in the first place.

It's at that point that we realize from additional Barna numbers (Sept 2004) that evangelicals were appx 55% more likely to be married than their non-evangelical counterparts. (77% vs. 49%).

The effect of this clarification? [Is it obvious yet, you math wizards?]

77% of 14.6 million evangelicals = 11.2 million married evangelicals.
If 25% of all evangelicals are divorced, that's 3.7 million divorced evangelicals.
...which equals 33% of those eligible for divorce.

49% of the 194 million non-evangelicals =95 million married non-evangelicals.
If 25% of all non-evangelicals are divorced, that's 48.5 million divorced non-evangelicals.
... which equals 51% of those eligible for divorce.

Thus the now-obvious, head-to-head (51 to 33%) conclusion... In any given year...

Married non-evangelicals are 55% more likely to divorce than married evangelicals.

Transformation is objectively evidenced in the lives of (Barna) evangelicals.

But let's not get comfortable; even now seeing that Bible-believing evangelicals are 'distinguishably' different, Sider's point is well made... we're a long ways from being 'distinctively' different. And the Barna folks advised me that they believe new data will soon show the gap is even slimmer.

Bottom Line:

As we narrow the definitions and focus on those who read the Bible and take it at face-value, we start seeing evidence of transformation. If we want to see yet greater change in our lives & communities, then let's get out our Bible, read it more, study it more, and with more mature Christians who have read it more and studied it more. Begin & enjoy a personal relationship with the Savior found therein. Apply His teachings at face-value. As God intended, it will change the world, not to mention your eternal destiny.

"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- -- his good, pleasing and perfect will." [Romans 12]

******************

Subsequent commentary by Chuck Colson, and many related links... citing further research. Praise God.

Small is the new Big

"Big used to matter. Big meant economies of scale."

"And then small happened."

"Big computers are silly."

"I’m writing this on a laptop at a skateboard park… that added wifi for parents. Because they wanted to. It took them a few minutes and $50. No big meetings, corporate policies or feasibility studies. They just did it."

"Today, little companies often make more money than big companies. Little churches grow faster than worldwide ones. Little jets are way faster (door to door) than big ones."

"Small means the founder makes a far greater percentage of the customer interactions. Small means the founder is close to the decisions that matter and can make them, quickly."

"Small is the new big because small gives you the flexibility to change the business model when your competition changes theirs."

"Small means you can tell the truth on your blog."

"Small means that you can answer email from your customers."

[Complete article at Seth Godin's Blog]


[hat-tip, Unnecessary Pastor]

Church Webmasters, Stop Working for Free!

Great article today at Boyink Interactive. [Hat-tip, OrangeJack.]

And be sure to read through the comments of some very high-profile Christian tech-bloggers. In fact, you'll also get some insight into why they call one of 'em... "MeanDean".

"Yo, Neil, dude, I want somma the crack your smokin!-)"

LOL.

You can pick up the trail to this neat article at Wireless Coffee Blog, where you can also find a link to a podcast interview with MeanDean. Or what the heck, go straight to his HealYourChurchWebsite.com.

Welcome Xagronaut fans...

At Xagronaut.com, one of my several 'Jeff-tech' friends has momentarily excelled the others by taking 'kissing up' to new levels at the speed of Light. **smile**

Thanks Jeff. And welcome Xagronaut fans. I love hooking up Christian techs who are out to make a difference in their cities today. And let me chime in on one conclusion that Jeff did get right: "God works in very cool ways." Amen? Amen!

It's not about a church web SITE. It's about a web STRATEGY.

Here are some tips I've submitted for addition to the 60-item hopper of "Tips for Effective Church-sites". Likewise, to HealYourChurchWebSite.com.

#1. Just like the Church is not defined by the building, think 'web STRATEGY', not 'web SITE'. That is, develop a web strategy to proliferate the message of the church/Church pervasively throughout your whole community of members and their sites.

#2. Encourage your individual members to start a free site and reciprocally-link with the church site(s) and other member-sites. [Why Blog? Top 50 Reasons]

#3. Make sure your church site is producing an RSS feed. Btw...

Advertise that feed among your membership and at your site(s). Start training your members about the use of an aggegator to keep abreast of news/events (like the church's) they prioritize in their lives.

#4. Contact local media outlets & journalists and advise them that they can easily keep up with your church's news/events by adding your church's RSS to their personal aggregator. And especially let your local Christian community portal know. [Find one via Blews.net. Example: IndyChristian.com]

#5. If your community doesn't yet have a Christian aggregated site, start one. Include the RSS feeds from Bible-believing churches & individuals in your community. Make sure that aggregated site also produces an RSS feed out, and advertise it. Making it easy for local journalists to keep abreast of all the Christian news/events in the area will make their jobs easier... and will help your church at the same time.

[Btw, you'll also enjoy Orangejack's articles... "4 Ways Blogging Can Change Your Church" and "RSS Changing the Web".]

[If your church or city-network needs help
in accomplishing this or other strategic planning,

contact me for professional help.
Coach@ChristianScorecard.com]

Blog Classic

Just finished reading Hugh Hewitt's "Blog -- Understanding the Information Reformation"



No question. It's a MUST-read.

Why Feed RSS To The Aggregators?

Secretaries used to run the world. We all know that, right?

I don't really know why the term 'secretary' has fallen on such hard times. Everyone knows that the key to success was having a top-notch secretary.... a very professional employee who knew exactly your priorities and made sure you got to see who & what you wanted to see... and no one else.

Or if you were on the other side of the desk... as a sales person... the key to success was 'being in good with the secretary'... so that you got prioritized with the decision-maker. Right?

But then came the information age, economies tightened, and we lost our secretaries. Suddenly instead of getting all the status reports with the key information we needed to read, we were innundated with a deluge of emails from sales organizations, barging past that empty secretary's desk, and into our offices (not to mention, homes), and taking up all our time. Some of our employees didn't bother doing a status report anymore -- you wouldn't have time or remember to read it anyway. So they slept. Our organizations failed. Global competition overtook us. Enron had to take shortcuts. Gas prices went up. Our dog ran off. Maybe our wife. Life was chaos without our secretaries.

Well, baby... SECRETARIES ARE BACK!




And they have voracious appetites for digesting & prioritizing information. In fact, now we've gone beyond calling them secretaries or executive admins, we now call them 'aggregators'. And in order to get info to the boss, these aggregators are demanding orderly information summaries be provided, which they call 'RSS feeds'. No RSS-feed? No get in to see the aggregator, much less the boss.

Producing an RSS feed from your website is like that. It's summarizing all of your freshest information laid out in an orderly, summarized manner... in hopes of being selected for daily reading by the boss... thanks to his/her new aggregator. Conform to the simple summary rules and you'll very likely get prioritized and read by the people you want to influence.

Here's a peek at part of my aggregator-page at My.Yahoo.com...



Aggregators and RSS-feeds will change the world back to 'the good old days'. Simpler times. Back when we were the ones who decided the priorities of who/what we wanted to see and read.

Today's 'innovative, early-adopters' are really just throwbacks to previous generations, looking once again for the simple but effective life. They've quickly created their own aggregator page at someplace like My.Yahoo or Bloglines.com (or the real geeks among us download aggregator software). Then they just tell these aggregators who/what they want to see and read... and the aggregators go and get the information in summarized form, ever-ready to be perused at any time.

Bottom line: They read only what they 'subscribe to'... (did I mention, free?)... and often they're perusing it all while enjoying their morning coffee. These folks know what's going on in their companies and around the world -- they even know what's going on with their innovative friends, and in their neighborhood. Did I mention neighborhood blogs with RSS feeds?

You know... come to think of it... these innovative 'throwbacks' may well be the leader-types that you most want to influence. Yes?

Oh, and btw... if after scanning/reading their prioritized info for the day, they MAY get around to all the mail/junk-mail in their inbox...

...maybe.


[Stay tuned for... "But Wait... Why Should The Church Mess With RSS?" Or if you didn't yet read, "Why Blog? Top 50 Reasons", you may want to see how many of them apply to you. In any event, here's a link to my RSS-feed for LovingChange.com. Just feed this link to your aggregator today... and from then on, you'll automatically know when there's something here you want to read & know. Likewise, site feeds like IndyChristian.com's feed, where you get multiple Christian writers' articles daily, and can keep up on what's going on in the local Christian community.... today. One of our writers there is Brian Groce, who provides a more RSS detail in his article... "RSS Feeds". Enjoy. And as you consider the future use of RSS, see Tips for Church Web Strategies. And lastly, after using the term RSS a million times, visit XAGRONAUT -- our friend Jeff Miller -- as he (nicely) shakes us down for using the term 'RSS' so generically. LOL. Jeff is a tech's tech for sure, and knows why the differences between feeds are important. He's got some great links you'll want to explore as you get into RSS/XML ever more deeply.]

What keeps you up at night?

The IBJ emailed its subscribers yesterday... "What keeps you up at night?". They really wanted to know in order to do a feature on it. Immediately my mind went to... "Nothing. Nothing at all. I sleep like a baby."

The irony is, I'm now writing this at 4:00 in the morning, having been awake since 3am... awakened to ponder an animated conversation yesterday among some dear friends at a multicultural college.

With coffee and Bible in hand this morning, I paused to pray specifically this morning that the Holy Spirit would speak to the subject that was weighing heavily on my mind. And He did.

Subject: Culture & Humility. Culture… our own individual ‘heritage’ even. Wow -- how it can even tend to divide us from other Christ-followers. [For further reading, see Christianity Today's new April issue devoted to... "All Churches Should Be Multiracial"] Is our culture, our heritage… at times an idol? And if so, what should I, or anyone, do about it? How should I change? And even if I could adequately change personally, what should my expectations be of others?

So imagine then – it’s almost laughable -- here’s a piece of today’s Bible reading from Acts 4: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”

The early Church's behavior -- love amidst diversity -- was as remarkable as other signs & wonders demonstrated by the apostles. Can you imagine? Not just 'sharing nicely', but sharing among a wide variety of cultures present in Jerusalem at the time. And during the greatest of paradigm shifts!

Clearly, that is the answer. Subject closed. Time to go back to sleep?

But I had recently bought a used book at the college… J.I.Packer’s “Knowing God”. As I read from it this morning, it couldn’t have been more appropriate to what I needed to hear next. Packer directed me right back to the Bible (I Cor. 8:1,2) – and interestingly, even in the context of addressing godliness amid cultural issues.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”

Hmmm. An interesting topic, especially in a college environment… a learning institution, no less. What Packer went on to say hit me dead-on.

"...stop and ask ourselves a very fundamental question – a question, indeed, that we always ought to put to ourselves whenever we embark on any line of study in God’s holy Book. The question concerns our own motives and intentions as students. We need to ask ourselves: what is my ultimate aim and object in occupying my mind with these things? What do I intend to do with my knowledge about God, once I have got it? For the fact that we have to face is this: that if we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited. The very greatness of the subject-matter will intoxicate us, and we shall come to think of ourselves as a cut above other Christians…”

Bingo. Not only 'bought the tshirt' -- I could make a nice living selling 'em on eBay.

Without going into the particular cultural issue under discussion (although please know I do agree with the CT article) the larger point is this… “What will we do with these or any other answers?” Will we simply cure a problem (if indeed we really could), and replace it with another problem… our pride in 'having all the answers'? Lord knows, the Church is well known for this propensity. Just look at the pride-and-divide, fractured Church today.

But beyond just spiritual pride, how about all the other forms of pride that come from seeming to ‘know all the answers’? Answers/solutions about the paradigm-shift, perhaps?

Ouch.

‘LovingChange.com’ -- Is it about loving the new-paradigm concepts of ‘change’? Or is ‘loving’ a descriptor of how I should approach anything and everything… including change?

I’ve a ways to go, Lord. A long ways.



“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”

Blogging the National City Impact Roundtable...

What a great personal opportunity, to come be with 115 city representatives from around the country & globe. Hear from the great city models around the country and to be able to team up with their hearts & minds in prayer, brainstorming and planning together. It's too awesome to blog... but we're trying... at CityReaching.org -- now hosting the new NATIONAL city reaching blogsite, by Mission America Coalition.

Guess where?



[Click to continue at the onsite blog.]

"Productive Friction"...

"PC Forum: Moving from friction-free to productive friction by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- Day three of PC Forum started with a discussion with John Seely Brown and John Hagel about productive friction, which is the subject of their forthcoming book The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction and Dynamic Specialization.Seely Brown described differences between the way Toyota and Detroit car manufacturers work with suppliers as an example of how productive friction works. Detroit tells suppliers exactly what to do, and focuses on getting the lowest price. Toyota looks at how to build relationships where suppliers, who are encouraged to push back (friction) as a way to unleash innovation across a multi-tier supplier network. In another example, a major distributor of motorcycle in China was able to reduce the price of manufacturing..." [continued at ZDnet]

They call it 'productive friction'. I call it loving diversity. Jesus called it 'loving your neighbor as yourself'. It's the ideal model for change. I've enjoyed finding ministry cultures which have over time geared their real core values to create such an environment -- they'll be the leading organizations tomorrow... and making a difference. The core values & culture being taught (and modeled) at Crossroads Bible College exemplify such a culture.

The other day, Jim Weidmann cited an insightful African proverb:

"To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together."

Blogs become soul-searching sites...

[Given that the article below comes from the 'MSM', their back-handed compliment is better than sanctimonously ignoring the blogosphere. LOL. In any event, it's evidence they're 'catching on'.]

[Excerpted from "Blogs Become Sites for Soul-Searching on Life & Death Question"]

"Popular as the uncensored bastions of ideological chest-thumping, Web logs have emerged in the debate over Terri Schiavo's fate as something more mature: a place where people struggle to make sense of their complex and contradictory feelings."

"It really does fill in for what used to be water-cooler talk."

[continued at L.A. Times]

[hat-tip, Blews.net]

Creating 'Community' in a community...

I've enjoyed becoming increasingly aware of JollyBlogger and Adrian Warnock regarding their work at pulling together some of the solid constituencies among the body of (blogging) believers.

So I very much enjoyed seeing David's review yesterday of Andrew Careaga's book, "eMinistry"...



And for the sake of journaling a common tenet of my upcoming (someday, LOL) "95 Theses", I'll cut/paste my comment to David's review:

"Well said. In fact when it comes to 'community building', here in Indy we believe that the internet holds great promise when it comes to expediting real-world 'community' among Christ-followers in a geographic community, across the various divides that heretofore separated us.
And because of the increased transparency of (esp. blogging) believers, their spiritual gifts and passions, the internet serves as a digital 'coin-sorter'; thus when very-like-minded people connect and can get together in the real-world, they can forego superficial interplays that typically have taken years to get beyond. Thus the unity/harmony of the Kingdom is accelerated by the new 'city-gate'. "

Blog unto others...

[Excellent catch, Frank. I think we'll build these into our upcoming Editorial Policy at IndyChristian.com.]

"Blog unto others as you would have others blog unto you."

[continue with "Biblical advice for bloggers"]

[hat-tip, Strategic Digital Outreach]

Are Apple bloggers reporters? Dunno.

Update to one of the 'Bloggers v. Journalists' clashes:

Guess we won't know, from the Apple bloggers case. Judge Kleinberg instead "focused on the notion that the published information included trade secrets and was essentially stolen property". Apple's ability to maintain trade secrets prevailed over the public's right to information. And thus, there was no need to decide if bloggers could also be protected from suboenas, because even journalists would be required to disclose their sources.

Appeals are expected.



[Barry, you were right on target... once again.]

At a suit's core: Are bloggers reporters too?

Xinhua

[excerpted from New York Times...]

"In the physical world, being labeled a journalist may confer little prestige and may even evoke some contempt. But being a journalist can also confer certain privileges, like the right to keep sources confidential. And for that reason many bloggers, a scrappy legion of online commentators and pundits, would like to be considered reporters, too. "

"A lawsuit filed in California by Apple Computer is drawing the courts into that question: who should be considered a journalist? "

[continue at New York Times]

LovingChange.com: Given that a dozen bloggers were credentialed at the recent CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) in Washington, D.C., and they actively reported worldwide to a sizable (and growing) audience, it would seem foolhardy for a judge to try to distinguish between 'labels'. Even individuals, as 'whistleblowers', accrue certain specially-recognized rights under law. The test should clearly be one of 'function over form'. If a blogger reports, he or she is a reporter. Whether they editorialized yesterday about recipes or sports is virtually irrelevant. Sources need to be reasonably protected.

If you publish news, events, opinions online, you should be protected by the constitution's first amendment... freedom of the press. It's a basic American right that transcends publishing methodologies.

"Changing Internet, Changing Ethics"

Their conclusions are just wrong. At least as a broad brush-stroke over all of us.

"Quentin J. Schultze, professor of communication at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., says society’s love affair with the Internet reflects the “increasingly frenetic, chaotic and morally impoverished lives” of North Americans—lives that leave precious little time to consider ethical concerns about Internet use." [See full length article, starting at InternetForChristians.org]

Quentin and the article author are either failing to keep up with the pace of the lead pack, or they're choosing to disregard it. With the current stir being MSM v. Bloggers, I'd hate to think there's now a 3rd classification... "OI" (Old Internet).

Indeed, many 'old' (ministry especially) sites are static, poorly updated and thus only really contain self-pointing 'brochureware'. That alone seems pretty self-centered. I agree. But Internet II -- Blogging/RSS -- is very much about freshening information... VALUABLE information... discussion, learning, sharpening and importantly... pointing to each other... ie, networking... community-building... 'Preferring one another', if you will.

Not only is it not as self-serving as 'OI', it also quickly allows new leaders to surface and rise to the top. Falsehoods fail. Ask Dan Rather and Eason Jordan. Truth rises as more & more bloggers recognize and point to preferred news/blogs sites.

RSS feeds allow people to select who they intentionally want to read. Again, excellent sites rise. Some illustrations: Hugh Hewitt, WorldMag Blog, and La Shawn Barber.

And better yet, blog TEAMS form. Teams are likely to be more trusted even than individual blogsites. Teams collaborate.... for impact.

Quentin & devotees... let me point you (admittedly self-servingly to a degree, LOL) to IndyChristian.com... a Christian blog-team of pastors & other innovative leaders here that are city-focused about getting the Great Commission done! And we've only touched the tip of the iceberg re Christian blogteams. For instance, IC is laying (communication) tracks daily throughout the city, and hooking up with the statewide system (TransformIndiana.com) and nationally. (CityReaching.org).

This new-found ability to network at the speed of Light for the acceleration of the Great Commission... will prevail... over all the ills you've heretofore cited. Building any network takes a little time to develop, but soon this Christian network will become immensely productive as a set of communication tracks... and is quickly coming of age.

So Quentin, take hope. All is not lost. God is alive & well, and is using the capability of the internet, to pull the body of Christ together... and to deliver His Good News.

I hear the distant whistle of a high-speed 'engine of Truth' coming.

Gotta go. Got miles to lay before I sleep.



"Truth will prevail, and Truth at the speed of light will prevail at the speed of Light."

"Lucky...."

"Like the one-legged, blind cat that answers to the name of lucky, Neil Cox has had enough setbacks to be prepared for anything...." [continue]

[Had to laugh when I saw that -- but it's actually regarding the FAMOUS (not infamous) 'Neil Cox'.]

Why Blog?

"Top 50 Reasons To Blog"
by Neil Cox, Founder, IndyChristian.com

Before we start counting, perhaps you're wondering...

What is a 'BLOG' anyway?


Here's Google's definitive answer.

Now... onward... to the 50-bullet count-down... Why blog?

Some of you might only be persuaded after obtaining a thorough understanding of it by studying Google's entire "Top 23,000 Answers To: Why Blog?"

On the other extreme, others of you might simply jump right into it in the interest of developing a new capability 'on faith'... and obtain your understanding of blogging from the 'inside'. "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]

But for most of you who fall in between the extremes, I've started summarizing some quick answers for you below:

• Because you can.
• Because everybody else is doing it.
• [And in the future, twice that many will be doing it.]
• Because ABC News calls us 'People of the Year'.
• Because my pastor mentioned the 'B-word' from the pulpit!
• And this youth pastor blogs with all his teens. Says it's easy now to stay up with what's going on in their lives.
• Pew Internet & American Life Project reports... you're now a key part of online culture.
• Because it's Webster's 'Runaway Word of 2004".
• Hugh Hewitt's new book tells why. "Blog: Understand the Information Reformation".
• Because MarketingProfs are recommending that CEOs should blog.
• After all, even kindergarteners know: Click, Clack Moo... Cows That Type (succeed!).
• It's fun. And an incentive to get 'e-capable'.
• It's an alternate press. Just ask Monica Lewinsky or Dan Rather.
• Because bloggers invented Howard Dean.
• Because bloggers put away Howard Dean (and John Kerry).
• Innovators blog. While Google.com shows "George W. Bush" pages in the lead (12 million pages); SlashDot is a close 2nd with 10 million page references (well ahead of John Kerry at 7 million, Howard Dean at 2 million... and the ever-trailing Ralph Nader on a million pages).
• Wall Street recognizes the value of blogging. Just ask a $52 billion company ('Google', who bought Blogger.com before IPO'ing on Wall Street less than a year ago -- Btw, how long did it take Bill Gates to be worth a $billion?)
• Ask Fortune magazine... "Why There's No Escaping the Blog".
• It's a great concept for sharing information via a corporate intranet... and for organizing large quantities of information.
• Christians blog. Apparently way more than Muslims blog.
• Blogger La Shawn Barber, a self-professed 'nobody' has attained 'Ann Coulter hate status'.
• World Magazine and other leading evangelical magazines now blog in between magazine issues.
• Because Indy Church blogs.
• Josh Claybourn, a young Indiana (Christian) student now is able to reach more folks in a day, than most pastors do in a year.
• A grad student blogs to pan out his philosophical & theological concepts, while improving his writing... in hopes of someday becoming a great philosopher. In the meantime, he's enjoyed an added benefit of meeting new people who share similar interests.
• Colson 'centurion' blogger, Dawn Treader, is organizing Christian apologist bloggers.
• Pro-life bloggers now are a well-networked and impactful affinity group.
• If we've learned from "Divided by Faith" that we need to expand our Christian circles to be more racially heterogeneous, then blogging opens new opportunities for networking.
• Pastor Tod Bolinger implores us to "Blog, for Christ's Sake!"
• Because Seminary professors blog.
• Many of the Global Evangelism egroup successfully used their blogs to lobby-for and proliferate the concept of the new "Internet Evangelism Day" -- April 24, 2005.
• Liberty University media professor Dan Heinrich uses a blog to pull together the upcoming "Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century" conference.
• Oh my goodness... Jerry Falwell will be addressing that innovative group!
• How else could Orangejack's stock skyrocket, short of starting a Blogging University?
• Google currently lists 33 million sites re 'tsunami'... vs. 171 million sites re 'blog'.
• Google lists nearly 4 million 'blog' sites mentioning 'tsunami'. Affected bloggers posted videos.
• Tsunami blogging included Christianity Today's guest-blogger, Rudy Carrasco -- who has been doing an inner-city blog for years. [Oh, and he's been invited to the White House several times since starting his 'Urban Onramps' blog... not to mention launching the idea of CCDA convention blogs, thus connecting many like-minded Christians to each other.]
• It's a whole new platform to get your 'message' out, complete with automated RSS, perfectly suited to feed to the aggregators... not to mention trackbacks. [But watch out for the comment & trackback ping-spam. LOL]
• Free, easy, blog-sites can facilitate 'neighborhood networking'. A blogmap can display the real-world landscape of bloggers in a city. A meet-up can help pull 'em together for a live(ly) meeting.
• Urban pastors are suddenly empowered, if they can quickly and easily put up a website and start posting... without the need of a webmaster... Oh, and did I mention... for free.
• Unlike a newspaper editor's control over dissent, a blog's 'comment' capability provides for valuable feedback... both for the benefit of the blogger... and the surfing audience.
• Traditional journalists read blogs. Bloggers read traditional journalists. Journalists get good ideas. Bloggers challenge media accuracy. Bloggers challenge each other's ideas & accuracy. Truth prevails.
• Unlike the typical church-site, the 'blogosphere' culture encourages reciprocal linking.... and as a result, blogs get seen and read far more than typical church-sites. This is what I've called the 'Google Parable': Reciprocal linkage helps all the boats on the (search engine) river rise. Actually, Jesus said it first, "Love one another; prefer one another". But if we won't listen to Jesus, perhaps the new-paradigm giant will convince us. Networks of 'driven' Christians can impact society more than individuals or self-serving churches.
• While newspapers tend to limit additional reading or researching, blogs encourage additional reading by linking to other articles & related sites. Here's an example of a newspaper's front-page headline article leaving out an important fact... that could have been seen in a click or two, if they'd have provided their reference source's link. [Sorry that this major newspaper doesn't archive its articles with a 'permalink'... like blogs do.]
• Because the Digital Divide Network encourages it.
• The blogosphere is a unique learning system. As more & more people publish in their area of expertise -- and each can suddenly find & learn from others in that area -- everyone develops a greater, and finer, expertise. The blogosphere interacts daily. Learning is increased daily. And not just via information explosion, but rather through sharpening.
• Often, the writer learns even more than the reader. But it's amazing just how much you can quickly learn via a well-written topical blog... like say, "Effective Web-Ministry Notes".
• Conversely, high-quality blogs become touch-points through which innovative types are drawn to your ministry. E.g. your church, outreach, seminary or Christian college.
• In fact, potentially, blogs might be considered to BE innovative type outreaches.
• Or consider that possibly, a blog network could become part of a team-learning experience, or a 'community-building' exercise. When you learn what another person is truly passionate about, you've skipped over a whole bunch of the more superficial steps in relationship building.
• Btw, what's to be said of Blogs4God.com... the semi-definitive list of Christian bloggers?
• And finally, what might be the future of blogging? Ask that question at GodBlogCon 2005... a new conference that just grew up overnight. And what do you make of this... Prayer for GodBlogCon 2005? Indeed, Mr. Morse... "What hath God wrought?"

All this being said... Still we wonder: "BUT WHY???????"

• Because... It's a free & easy publishing/learning system which creates new networking opportunities and uniquely impacts the new culture in which we live!

Bottom line: "Blogging is not about a web-SITE; it's about a web-STRATEGY."

"Truth will prevail. And Truth at the speed of light will prevail at the speed of Light."

Addendum: "Why Team-Blog?"

• Diverse, collaborative blogging will tend to accelerate interaction, feedback and sharpening.
• How to team blog? Typically team members centrally post short 'blurbs' at the team-blog-site... that link to full-length pieces at their personal or ministry's site... thus creating win-win situations for everyone.
• As a team, it's easier to keep content hyper-fresh.... thus quickly drawing a critical mass audience... and creating 'raving fans'.
• ...which encourages the 'blog-team' toward REAL-world collaboration.
• And moves their real-world collaboration forward, say city-wide, toward their (blog-published) goals.

Next... "Why Feed RSS To The Aggregators?"

Subsequent Links: "Why Blogging Is Good For Your Career"

Power of the (Blog) Pen...

Much is now being written regarding the power of the internet's newest capability... the 'blog'. Even Christians are now beginning to imagine its application in daily life. At our church, we're even starting -- just starting -- to consider that the church web-team may not just be about expediting a web SITE, but rather, a web STRATEGY among all our people.

[Here's a local church -- IndyChurch.org (Pastor Bill Bean, "The Unnecessary Pastor") -- that's well ahead of the curve... and learning together. Here's an individual thought-provoking post from one of their bloggers... "Meeting Our Neighbors".]

That is, rather than simply having a singular site about our local church, what if it's more impactfully capable of being a whole tapestry of individual sites attempting to help ACCOMPLISH the mission of our church?

Certainly that thought then begs the question: "What is the mission of our church?" And one might hope that such a 'little-c' question begs the bigger question: "What is the mission of the Church?"

Eric Swanson was in Indy this past weekend doing a seminar -- sponsored by the Indianapolis Center for Congregations. [Some of us were able to share an informal breakfast-time with him at the U.B. Cafe.] And this morning, I've now started reading his book... "The Externally-focused Church". Simply the title gives away its message loud and clear: The local church should be internally-strong and externally-focused.... Be salt & light in your community.

How might this new 'power of the blog pen' be put to work in our community?

If a gaping hole in Christ's Church today is its lack of unity/harmony, then perhaps a city-network of Christian blogs -- all reciprocally pointing to each other -- could at least start to look like a model of what the Church could & should be on the ground.

Start a blog for your neighborhood, and link to other Christian-driven neighborhood sites? Here's a neighborhood blog about how to blog, even.

Transformation Includes Saving Lives...

From the beginning, God told Adam & Eve to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth... and Christ redemptively reiterated our command to be spiritually fruitful... "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you"... which included... "I have come that you may have LIFE and have it to the full". As a result, we easily recognize that true transformation inherently includes the protection of those who can little protect themselves... including the elderly... the disabled... and all children... including unborn children.

My wife & I personally know the pain of losing a full-term yet unborn child -- no amount of 'convenience' could offset that grief. An adult's voice arguing for a pro-choice convenience-centered 'privacy' still pales against the non-voice of an unborn child.

And we grieve not only for the unborn, but for the young mothers (and fathers) that bear this weight for a lifetime. Jesus was ultimate compassion, and we, the Christian community, must be also. Here's a link to my friends at the Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy Center... who similarly express their faith in love & actions of true compassion.

Community 'transformers' ask... "What would a transformed Indiana look like?" The answer clearly includes an Indiana that honors God-designed families... and protecting the unborn.

Every ounce of my vision for exploiting this new tool we call the internet, to weave the Christian community ever more tightly together in purpose & principle, to promote the (whole) Great Commission, includes supporting the pro-life cause.

Time To Change... For Economic Sake?

Governor Daniels is calling for anecdotal feedback about economic reasoning to support one position or the other, regarding the proposed time-change.

Perhaps it's time for the Church to weigh in. Hmmm. How MIGHT we land on the issue of changing our clocks twice a year?

Fundamentalists:
"No mention of DST in the Bible = No. "

Presbyterians:
"Que sera, sera. "

Mainline:
"We already have some pastors up on charges of change."

Baptists:
"We referred the matter to our 'No Change' Committee."

Pentecostals:
"We voted by a show of hands. Both sides won. "


But are there ECONOMIC reasons for taking a position?

Absolutely!

Just do the math: 6.2 million residents of Indiana x appx 60% who normally attend church in any given week = 3.72 million people... times the high percentage of those who would use it as an easy "Oh-my-gosh-the-clocks-changed" excuse twice a year to miss church. Now multiply that by how much money such people would have put into the offering plate... and we quickly see that the churches in Indiana would lose a grand total of.... about $2 a year.


Seriously, Governor...

How about the OBVIOUS reasons, economically, to change time?

Whether or not we're personally supportive of changing our clocks or not, is there anyone among us who believes that Indiana will not eventually... maybe not this time but eventually... enact Daylight Savings Time into law? Anyone? Please, step up. Anyone?

Seeing none, we can quickly start projecting the costs involved with state senators & representatives, governors, and all the rest of us who spend time debating it.... times minimum wage $rate... for X number of years (til it finally gets passed anyway) ...

...adds up to a ton of wasted money by a state that can little afford it.

So let's stop wasting precious time and money debating the inevitable, pass it into law, and do what every other state has done... learned to live with it... and get on with our REAL job here.

Changents...


[Here's a significant step in the progress of the Christian Scorecard approach to helping ministry leaders accomplish their mission... by measuring their mission... and its prioritized working components.]

As we're preparing for Saturday's "Building Blocks for Church Growth" seminar, we had to finally lock down our 'collaborative identity'... and this is it. What do you think? Still better than "The Three Magi", wouldn't you say? LOL.

The 3 founders of "Changents" are Jim Peters (Peterspective), Jeff Hancock (Affinity Portals) and myself. .. all Christians... all change-agents geared to accelerating ministry.

This first seminar should be fun. Now let's see just how much help the American church believes it needs, when it comes to changing into what Jesus called us to be in our 21st-Century culture.

Click, Clack, Moo... Cows That Type...

My wife had this children's book out yesterday and it caught my (kindergarten-level, LOL) attention. It'll someday be considered a classic among new-paradigm children... subtly but humorously learning about the power of publishing.

Here's the same theme, "The Blogging Phenomenon: Who? How? Why?"... expressed by the Digital Divide Network. [hat-tip, Bill Bean, "The Unnecessary Pastor"]

And finally, from the monied perspective... here's Fortune magazine's "Why You Can't Ignore Bloggers".

Now, for those of you who might be urban pastors & leaders -- I'm offering private help, over a cup of coffee, to help you start a personal or ministry website such as these articles describe that will be free & easy to post to... without having to rely on your webmaster. The suggested donation of $25 will go toward urban technology. It's win-win. Call 317-490-1255 or email for an appt.

"Click, Clack, Amen -- Pastors That Type".

Rudy Carrasco, our good friend at UrbanOnramps.com (Harambee Center, L.A.) has been pressed into service for Christianity Today magazine, to run their new Tsunami Blog.

[hat-tip to EmergencyBlog.com]

Internet Blog Quiz....

Take this short quiz to help us with the upcoming January 17th "Innovation Forum" on blogging & RSS feeds.

Net proceeds from the special forum on MLK holiday will specially benefit urban technology. What pastors/leaders take home that day may start benefitting their ministry for years to come.

So thank in advance for your help. And if you send other surfers our way, so much the better.

Blogging Bandwagon...

Admittedly because of year-end reflections here and elsewhere around the internet, I've recently devoted an extra (did I admit to excessive?) attention to 'blogging'. So the following may seem like 'piling-on'... but here goes anyway...

Pew Internet & American Life Project reports :
"By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. Two surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November established new contours for the blogosphere: 8 million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users; 5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online; and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is."


...thus supporting my belief that it's important to hold TWO symposium/training session for pastors, leaders and other 'driven Christians' on coping/excelling in the new paradigm... January 15th, "Change, Risk, Availability: Building Blocks for Growth"... and the January 17, Innovation Forum specifically re: Blogs/RSS

Websites of Clay...

Paul described us as 'jars of clay'. Perhaps the analogy carries over to our Christian websites as well.

In the new paradigm, our critics now believe they can generalize about our hearts by reviewing our websites:

"Christian right's compassion deficit:
More than 100,000 dead in south Asia,
but it's business as usual at the web sites of America's
Christian right organizations." (Berkowitz)

Obviously Berkowitz has overlooked 'the elephant in the room'. Nonetheless, Christians... after we get done being among the first & most effective on the tsunami scene, and most generous from our pocketbooks, let's learn what we can from his criticism and take another look at our web capabilities... so as to more adequately 'preach what we practice'.

Perhaps we could at least start with a world-wide call to Christian webmasters everywhere to include a simple display-capability into (all?) their webpages -- a clickable dynamic-alert-gif, say like this one...


Normally it would simply be an invisible 'pixel.gif' (coming from a centralized site, say at CEN)... until replaced during an emergency with an informational warning image like the one above.

Or for that matter, perhaps we should implement a thin, standardized (invisible) top-bar as a potential emergency dashboard, complete with clickable Christian & governmental warning lights & RSS-fed announcements, 'soundable' at both national and community levels.

These clickable icons could readily focus our web-attention toward coordinating information and relief efforts.

[Btw, also see related CEN article at CCNews.org.]

And let's also continue working together locally -- community by community -- to build-out something like the

WhenYouNeedSomeone.com
localized needs-driven Christian resource network system... with life's most valuable resource always only a click away.

Admittedly, these sites are immature at best, but with the Christian blogosphere growing daily, and with the buzz regarding the coming of a special "Internet Evangelism Day" -- drawing attention to how Christians can and should use this new God-given tool -- the standardized alert-bar concept could easily start asap, and be somewhat perfected by IE Day, April 24, 2005.

Btw, here in Indy on the campus of Crossroads Bible College, a special Innovation Forum on MLK holiday (Jan.17, 2005) will be devoted to helping pastors & leaders cope (and excel) in the new (blog/RSS) communication world we live in. Then, April 1st & 2nd, Liberty University is hosting a special Internet Conference, leading toward IE Day. Any or all of these gatherings could be useful in prospering such a concept.


And as always, remember to pray for your communities regularly. If you're fortunate enough to have the government **smile** sound a 'Community Prayer Siren' each week, so much the better. Btw, this might not be a bad idea for a test mechanism of the system proposed above... And frankly, it may also help many of us remember to pray regularly for our communities, neighbors, leaders & other heroes.

Please leave your thoughts here as comments, or email me.

Tsunami Blog...
As I attempt to journal significant developments of the paradigm-change, surely this may be one such development. Much as the Iraqi war bloggers brought us first-hand compelling updates & stories that moved us, now the tsunami disaster has initiated a number of ground-zero blogs to aid in information exchange to expedite disaster relief, this is a major one.

[See Christian network of distaster-resources listed at TransformIndiana.org.]

[hat-tip, Bill Bean Blog: "The Unnecessary Pastor"]

Earthquake/Tsunami Relief...

Wish you knew how best to provide urgent relief in this situation? The 'Transform Indiana' network offers this wise counsel.

Top 5 blog-posts of 2004...

[Hat-tip to InternetforChristians.org]

Bob Carlton (The Corner) is collecting Top-5's around the blogosphere. Makes for best-in-class reading here at year-end.

And maybe it's a good exercise for all of us -- whether it's a family newsletter at Christmas or blog-posts -- what were some of this year's items worth reconsidering?

Given it was an election year, not surprisingly several of my 'Top 5' here at LovingChange.com were reflections on cultural issues in an election year:

#5 "Most Pro-Gay Presidential Candidate Ever"
His campaign's words, not mine.

#4 "Who Are His Wise-Counselors Anyway?"
Are Muslims going to heaven? Bush: "Yes".

#3 "Intolerant Indy"
Blog challenges Indianapolis Star glaring omission... and implication.

#2 "What More Could A (White) Evangelical Ask For?"
Post-election call for a clear-cut choice for ALL Bible-believing Christ-followers.

#1 "We Can Do Something About All This."
The Bible's clear prescription for change.

President Bush Encourages Cross-hating Group?

(WorldNetDaily.com)
Oops!
Interesting article; we'll no doubt hear more from this episode. Stay tuned.

"Decoding Da Kid"... A Parent's Guide To Internet Lingo

(click pic)
Sounds great! Maybe Stephen & Sybil will be at our Innovation Forum, Jan. 17 ???

[Sybil & Stephen carry on several ministries to our area, including Heart Communications and FishersWorship.com, to name a few.]

[Hat-tip, IndyStar.com]

"City Impact"...

Perfect gift to your city for Christmas!

[I'll try to soon update this with a much more adequate review of the book, but I'm half way through it and can't keep it quiet -- Buy one for your favorite pastor in your favorite city.]

Transform Indiana takes networking up a notch...

...by adding a team of "Blue Heelers Bloggers".

Building Blocks For Growth...


Here's a seminar I've been asked to help with... for pastors, administrators and board-members. It should be interesting... grappling with the issues of how to implement 'change' and still do things in a 'fitting & orderly manner'.

IBM to send PCs packing...

For those of you who thought yesterday's runaway word ('blog') was hard...

Today try "Vic20, Trash-80, Commodore, Kaypro, 2e, Wang or Visicalc". Were those easier? If so, you're probably as sad to see 'Charlie' go, as I am.

But Forbes has it pegged.

The Runaway Word of the Year is....



"Blog".

Having discovered 'blogs' in the new dictionary this morning, Bill Gates announced blog software for MSN, instead calling them "Spaces", and will be re-inventing RSS feeds by his name... "Gleams". The concepts are being beta-tested at his home this morning, and are due to roll out to the marketplace... approximately... well... um... before Google moves on to their next winning venture. [Google purchased Blogger.com in 2003 -- prior to its IPO on Wall Street.]

Patches for Spaces & Gleams are already downloadable at Microsoft.com... and are called 'NewImprovedTide'.

Forbes Magazine intimates that the software giant may be a bit tardy to the blog banquet.

_________

In late breaking news, Microsoft announces a hasty move of their corporate headquarters to Indianapolis purportedly to accelerate their R&D learning-curve. Unreliable sources report that board chairman Gates has registered (under the alias 'Rev. William Gates', First Church version1.03) for the upcoming "Innovation Forum" there on January 17th.

"Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century"...

The "Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century" conference will be held at Liberty University Apiril 1-2, 2005. This conference expects to draw attendees from the 8,000 member residential student body as well as pastors and leaders from Central Virginia and beyond. LU's state of the art wireless campus is an ideal venue for IE-21st Century. For more information visit http://ie-21stCentury.com and/or email Professor Daniel Henrich at mediastrategy@readmail.biz.

Journal Note: The "B-word"...

CNN.com carried a story last week. The Indianapolis Star carried a story the week before. And this morning my pastor actually said it from the pulpit...

...the B-word .

There's no retreating. Life as we know it, will never be the same.

[Mark your calendar for January 17. We're going to help pastors and leaders here in Indy learn to cope with it. Stay tuned.]

Internet E-Day...

Patricia's Story... pretty much says it all. So I've marked my calendar for April 24, 2005. See you online.

If You Had Your Rathers...

If you were Dan Rather announcing your retirement from CBS, wouldn't you rather that CBS/Viacom stock hadn't jumped $1 Billion (market capitalization) today?

Varvel's View...

Hope In Taiwan... Little Hope In Artest (or Detroit)...

One is among Indianapolis' finest. The other,'most fined'?
One's underpaid and a great representative as she ministers overseas.
The other... well, hmmm.... what an embarrassment to our city & state.

Nonetheless, this is not at all to exonerate the owners of the tinderbox in Detroit. This isn't Iraq. It's the U.S., where civility is a core value and where 'Love Thy Neighbor' is taught. So if the NBA commissioner is going to hand out heavy penalties on Ron Artest and the Pacer boys, then let justice prevail: Hand down heavy penalties on the Detroit club for gross negligence in brewing such a fan base... and failing to secure them. And Ben Wallace, who clearly started it all, should be culpable for the results. How does he walk with only a 6-game suspension?

And as for the NBA in general... Physician, suspend thyself. You've loosened every rule in the book in order to make the game more 'exciting'... to sell more tickets and commercials... and the cost is a loss of dignity.

Ron... while we might all have the inclination to retaliate, you're getting paid bigtime to take the abuse... all the way to the bank. You've made your Rodman reputation, so live with it... perhaps elsewhere.

Go spend your time off learning from someone like Hope.

"Conservatives Capture Whitehouse... Liberals Overrun Pentagon"...

"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."

Such ideals were routed early today as the ACLU overran positions at the Pentagon. American Legion moves to retake lost ground. Story at eleven.

Barna's Election Analysis...


George Barna
Barna Research

"The difference was in the rates of turnout of each segment. Although the born again population constitutes just 38% of the national population, it represented 53% of the vote cast in the election. If the born again public had shown up proportional to its population size, Senator Kerry would have won the election..."

[If you've followed my blog post below: "What more could a (white) evangelical ask for?", you'll understand why I also found the following very interesting...]

"However, a key comparison is the shift over the past four years among born again blacks. In 2000, this segment rallied behind Mr. Gore by a 92% to 7% margin. In the current election, the margin of preference was reduced to 85% to 15%. That reflects a doubling of the percentage of the black born again vote delivered to Mr. Bush."

Access To The 'Exit-Polls'...

[click here to see Exit-Poll results, state by state]

[Click here for Barna Research analysis.]

Besides all the other post-election analysis we've all heard, one number that jumped off the Indiana page was... the low number of white Catholics who voted for Kerry, a white Catholic...
35% (vs. 63% who voted for Bush).

I think I'll cheer for Notre Dame this weekend.

Who Are His Wise Counselors, Anyway?

Interviewer: "Do Christians and non-Christians and Muslims go to heaven, in your mind?"

President Bush: "Yes they do."

Makes me wonder where he's getting his advice. Presumably not from Jeb. Perhaps 'George Bush 41'?

Thankfully many Christians pray regularly for President Bush. And many Christians pray for you & I too -- that we may know God exactly as He desires to be known. Apparently none of us are entirely there yet. So it begs the question: Where do we get our understanding?

May we first & foremost look to & through the authority of God's Word. And how will we gain such an understanding if not by reading it extensively (and obtaining all the wise counsel we can find)?

We need not struggle with the interviewer's question -- it's an easy one. At least President Bush got the ground rules correct: "I don't get to decide who goes to heaven. The Almighty God decides who goes to heaven."

So if Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)... then the answer is simple enough -- it's through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ that we can someday stand justified before God.

Jesus was asked point-blank: "What must we do to do the works God requires?" He answered, "The work of God is this, to believe in the One He sent." That's pretty straightforward for anyone who has heard the Good News... trust in God's redemptive promise... ie, His own personal sacrifice on our behalf, paying the penalty for our sins if we'll but receive that promise by faith.

Perhaps the question arises: "What about those who do not know Jesus by name?" Abraham didn't. But he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Gen.15:6). The same standard applies, trust in God's redemptive promise.

Do Muslims know of Jesus? Sure, and call him a prophet, but vehemently deny He is God... not to mention their denial of His sacrifice on their behalf.

Any questions? Wish you knew more about how to relate to your Muslim friends & neighbors?

What More Could A (White) Evangelical Ask For?

It's hard to imagine how an evangelical Christian could hope to improve on yesterday's election results. After all, God seems to have directly answered our prayers... did He not... that winners would be those who aspire to govern with biblical insights & character. Bush won, while the most pro-gay presidential candidate ever... lost. In a related bad bet, pro-choice John Edwards ended up giving his Senate seat to a pro-life Republican. Indiana's Baron Hill is leaving the hill. No tears for Tom Daschle either. Pro-life Mitch Daniels won the governorship of Indiana by always trying to take the 'high road'. On the other hand, his opponent gave 'dirty politics' a bad name... not to mention flying in the face of his own church's position on the sanctity of life. Indiana statehouse Republicans who couldn't even get a motion onto the floor last spring under Speaker Bauer's dictatorship... will now soon be in control of the microphone.

So let me take that challenge. How could we improve on a night like that?

By making the choice clear-cut for ALL Bible-believing Christ-followers... not just white ones like myself. Let's stop being oblivious to the very real problems of vital Christians on the other side of the aisle... and town. Let's humbly walk a mile in our brothers' shoes to find & eliminate the reasons that our Christian brothers & sisters of other races end up with the hard choice between being neglected by one party and taken for granted by the other. Let's include 'Christ-like compassion' as one of those key 'moral values' that differentiate the good guys from the rest. Let's do more than just pray 'thy will be done on earth' -- let's do what Jesus also did... heal problems as we come across them. Let's be generous. Let's go to war on poverty. Let's be overcomers. Let's give grace as it's been given to us. Take seriously our obligation: "to whom much is given much is required". Let's re-engineer the social networks that perpetuate inequities from one generation to the next. Let's stop building 'self-driven churches" -- i.e., favorite flavor (or color!) homogenous churches catering to our particular whims. Instead, let's get over ourselves and start building heterogeneous churches around the pillar of Christ-like love .

Let's get to work now... and see to it that next time, Christ-followers need not split our votes at all.

CCDA -- "Stand For Africa"...

"AIDS in Africa is an issue so big that it will take the entire Body of Christ working together to change the course of the plague. The civil rights movement and apartheid are the last social movements which required people regardless of color, class or gender to unify into action. We must do this for Africa!" -- Dr. John Perkins, Founder, Christian Community Development Association (CCDA)


Herb Lusk

In a specially-called session at the conference, Dr. Perkins introduced Herb Lusk, Founder of "Stand For Africa" -- Philadelphia Eagles running back turned pastor -- using a Bill Hybels phrase: "A leader is someone who turns vision into passion. Herb Lusk is such a man."

Pastor Lusk then challenged us, alluding to the rattling of the 'dry bones', to come together and come alive.

"I'm not so fearful for Africa, as I am for us, if we don't hear and respond."

[Also see "President Bush Discusses HIV/AIDS Initiatives in Philadelphia".]

CCDA & TechMission...

Boy, it is so hard to choose between great workshops here in Atlanta this week. But when push comes to shove, new paradigm technology for the Church is what wins the day for me. So given my love for technology in the hood, I elected to attend a couple of great workshops re technology. Here is one of the TechMission.org presenters...

Ron McConico... who talked about starting a community tech center. He's started 4 of them in urban Minneapolis. And rather than try to reiterate all he said, let me just toss out some phrases. If anything picques further questions, contact him.

"consider walking your 501(c)3 app through a regional IRS office,Beaumont grants, make disciples (start 'em as assistants), do job descriptions (even for volunteers), do background checks if working with children, fire volunteers... if you need to..., get a vol coordinator, corporations sometimes match $$$ as well as encouraging their people to volunteer hours, TechSoup.com -- MS Office for $15/ea., QB$52, etc. XP$5, freecolorprinters.com, throwing away monitors costs $15/ea to trash, how about a computer center that ONLY plays games... but voucher for it ONLY comes from schools, unemployment offices will (may) pay you to train folks, schools sometimes will let you have their kids on detention... or sent 'home' from school. (in-school suspension) and suddenly you're the hero of the school principal -- and he's glad to have you then bring in a Bible-study, etc., and last but not least...

The govt loves those who can turn tax recipients into tax payers!"

CCDA Atlanta 2004 -- Dr. Samuel Chan:

The CCDA national conference opening night plenary speaker was Dr. Samuel Chan. He was, in a word... awesome'.


"The illiterate of tomorrow won't be those who can't read or write, they'll be those who can't learn, unlearn and relearn."

His message... "7 Things To Unlearn"...

• It's no longer 'global' missions or 'local' missions. It's 'glocal' missions.
• Form then function? No longer. Now, just do it... do what you're passionate about... and clean up the form as you go along.
• Old models don't work like they used to. Now nobody's in charge -- but things get done.
• Independent ministry is out. Interdependence is in. We're collaborating now... and we need each other.
• Philanthropists no longer just write the check. They 'bring' the check.... and sometimes their corporate ways. Some good, some not so good. But often, the ministry changes.
• Unlearn that ministry is 'simple' any longer -- it has become hard... sometimes laden with institutional considerations.
• Ministry makes 'sense'? Nowadays, Ministry too often makes 'cents'. So we need to pipe in a refreshing new sense of humility and listening to the Spirit. He'll provide for what He's called you to do.

Like I said. Awesome.

Innovation Forum... VoIP discussion...

[See Wireless Coffee Blog.]

Been called worse...

... just not lately.

Here's a Planned Parenthood newsletter article characterizing Indiana Right To Life PAC (and I guess by association, many of us)...

"these single-issue extremists have a lot of money to spend getting their twisted views and nasty rhetoric out to the voting public."


Wow. Did she really say that out loud?

Maybe one's viewpoint depends on which end of the forceps you're coming from.

Target Missed?

I can hardly believe for the sake of a 'new corporate policy' that they'd effectively abandon $9 million dollars-worth of needy families at Christmas, when it's no skin off their (corporate) hides. ... I'm not sure if bloggers can make up the $$$ difference but we can try. ... Can Christian bloggers make a difference? I'm willing to pray ... and try. Join us.

Target Missed .com

Contact Target

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Donate to S.A.

'Most Pro-Gay Presidential Candidate Ever'...

His campaign's words, not mine.

Unbelievable.

[And I'm not picking on any particular sin vs. another... or one political party or the other. It's simply a matter of overtly flying in the face of God's direct communication to us via His Word. And if we admit it, we've all flown in His face at one time or another or in one way or another. Did it ever turn out well?]

If indeed we really love our neighbors as ourselves, we'll help reasonable folks see the lunacy of backing any candidate who openly defies the Almighty God... and even boasts about it.


YBIC,
Neil

Mitch Daniels...

[In his address last evening, accepting the nomination to run for governor of Indiana...]

"My friends, listen closely. A freight train of change is coming in our state."

Free to Choose...

Our soldiers are dying in the defense of freedoms around the world. But what 'freedoms' are they defending?

Freedom of speech... the legal freedom to be heard... even a prayer?
Does the 'majority' have any freedom simply to be heard?
Or only the freedom of the 'minority'... to squelch, via threats of suit?

Have our soldiers historically defended some kind of 'Freedom from being offended'?

Personally, I fought for everyone's freedom to be legally heard. And I'm offended that anyone would then simply give those rights away, for fear of reprisal.

It's dishonoring to anyone who has ever risked their life for you.


[Further info at IndyChristian.com]

We can do something about all this...

The barbaric decapitation of Nick Berg, the shameful abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the deterioration of marriage, the Florida Senate apology for a pastor praying in Jesus' name, the removal of Ten Commandments from a priority status... and so on. We, the Christian community, can do something about all this. Turn up the war heat? Civil uprising in the U.S.? At least go vote? No, none of that was what I really had in mind today.

The Bible simply says at one point... "If MY people, who are called by MY name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from THEIR wicked ways... then will I hear from heaven and will forgive THEIR sin and will heal THEIR land."

And Jesus said "...and the gates of hell will not prevail against it... my church". As Dr. Roy Blackwood effectively put it... "Perhaps to the degree that we indeed are HIS church... and not Roy's church or Bob's church, etc... the gates will not prevail -- but as long as we're Roy's church and Bob's church... we are not making much of a dent in those gates."

We can do something about all this. And it starts right here... with each of us... humbling ourselves before God and each other... pulling some stones from the walls that divide us, in order to build the Church itself.

"God, how does that apply to me today?"

If You're Reading This...

You're among the internet elite 3% !!! [LOL. Or maybe you're just weird.]

Today's released "Pew Internet & American Life Project Report" includes the following...

"Evangelicals are among the most fervent Internet users for religious and spiritual purposes. Online Evangelicals are a significant subgroup of the American religious landscape. This study found them to resemble other Protestants in terms of their Internet behaviors in some ways, but to be unique in other ways. They are slightly less experienced in Internet use than other categories of religious affiliation. Conversely, they are more likely than others to engage in all categories of online religious activity. For instance, 69% report going online for personal religious or spiritual purposes. "

[Btw, the 3% elite... are those who read blogs on a daily basis. LOL]

"Intolerant Indy"...

Here was the headline story in the Indianapolis Star this week... "Image of Intolerance May Cool Job Climate". I only wish I could also show you the juxtapositions on the front page, showing Curt Smith's pic next to the headline... and across from the ayatollah's pic involved in another story. I had to laugh at their not-too-subtle sense of humor. LOL.

[Subsequent note: While the Star has deleted their article online, you can still read it as republished by America's largest Gay/Lesbian organization.]

Beyond its humor though, I do wish the Star had been more careful to include a key stat missing from the Brookings study in question -- that despite our poor ranking on their 'diversity' index, Indianapolis finished 17th on the tech scale cited.... seemingly contradicting the headline's implication and the study's metro correlation. It might have begged the obvious question: How did Indianapolis do so well? But I guess that point of view will never get aired.

We cannot know the hearts of the staff involved; it would be unfortunate to accuse them of intellectual dishonesty, if it truly was an oversight. On the other hand, having contacted the Star about it, they have not chosen to correct their story... so they leave us to our own wonderments about the omission, I guess.]

But the ability of Christians to impact our local communities is not at all dependent on our coverage in the press. Just among ourselves, kids, we're sometimes our own worst enemies, are we not? I am. So I suspect we all are, at times. So let me go on to say...

If as Barna suggests, Christians with a mature Bible-believing worldview constitute only 4% of the American adult population... and if those 4% are as fractured as we appear to be... then perhaps there's good reason for our limited impact. To our shame, it seems likely that our fracturedness contributes to the minimal percentage. The devil's obvious scheme of 'pride and divide' is enjoying great success these days.

But devil take warning...

"If MY PEOPLE... will humble themselves and pray... and seek my face..."

And that's much of the goal of Transform Indiana ministry coalition... Truth & harmony.