Passionately Procrastinating

I always tell my wife that I'm very helpful, just in the least helpful way possible. I usually say that when I'm getting the look that tells me I didn't get done what was supposed to be done. I usually only imagine that I'm getting that look due to my deep seated (or is it seeded?) insecurities, but my imagination is quite compelling, so I usually feel guilty about whatever it is I haven't done - while simultaneously exulting in some other triumph.

For example, maybe, I mean just hypothetically speaking for moment... Maybe the grass needed mowed, the flower box removed, and the old dryer taken to the dump. But instead of tackling any of those half hour jobs, I decide (again, this is hypothetical) to remove all the crushed rock from a 60' x 3' section of our front yard, so that we can plant a couple bushes, put down some weed block, and replace all the rock. Which I would hypothetically guess would take about 4 days, 2 shovels and a bucket, 7 blisters, and 4 grouchy and underpaid child laborers.

See - helpful.

Just not necessary. Not well-timed. Not integral to the continued smooth functioning of our household. But helpful.

So today, when I have several other things to do that suddenly became less than urgent, I decided to take it upon myself to build a website. I've messed around online enough to know how to manipulate a little bit of content on this free (and pre-designed) site, but I have zero experience actually starting from scratch. So naturally, instead of finishing a couple easy jobs that need done in my office, I registered a domain name, paid for a year of hosting, and set up cPanel access. Then I proceeded to install the self-hosted incarnation of Wordpress (twice, since I didn't quite get it right the first time) on my host's server, purchase Standard theme (which I'm told will raise the speed of awesome on my site from 0 to 60 in the blink of a pixel) and... well, then I hit a road block.

See, in my imagination, there's supposed to be this easy, 'click here to download Standard theme' button that you click after you pay for it, then another 'install Standard theme' button to finish the job. There were buttons to click alright, but somewhere in the process, what I needed to be one easily managed .zip file became a folder full of files that would've made Hulk smash tanks and unicorns and stuff. I ended up figuring out how to sort of 're-zip' all those files into one, then how to upload that through the file manager on my cPanel, and finally how to then unzip that within the file manager on the host's server. Not bad for a guy who didn't even have a cPanel to open a couple days ago! (They're nothing like the old 70's panels that used to be in my basement, by the way.)

So, despite nearly forgetting to take my daughter to pre-school, then being a couple minutes late to pick her up, and not finishing a couple other projects that are about 27 hours from regaining urgent status... I am proud to say I've successfully set up the skeleton for what I hope will be a blog that makes a difference. (I'm not telling you where it is, yet - it's still a little shy.) I'll still use this space here to collect my thoughts about our journey through life to God (as I have for several years), but I wanted to start something more focused on one thing: unleashing potential in the young church.

I'm tired of seeing churches just get old and tired and wear themselves out running around the same old circles. There's a better way... I'm about to launch into a long, impassioned diatribe, here, so I'll stop - that's what my new digs are for. I hope to see you there soon (that is, once I reveal where 'there' is)...

Thoughts on Klout & Influence

Several months ago, I was invited into a beta of something called Klout. That may sound kind of cool and trendy, but I think it just means I write a blog and have a twitter account and Klout found my e-mail address somewhere. Regardless, it's a site that aims to measure the amount of influence a person has online. By analyzing "pieces of content and connections" (2.7 billion of them each day), Klout formulates a person's online influence.

I hesitantly decided to splash around in the Klout waters a little bit. I jumped in because I'm generally curious, plus I'm a sucker for something new and techno-social; but I was hesitant because it just seems weird to be trumpeting how much influence I have or don't have. Self promotion has never felt right, even when the darker parts of me crave the adulation it brings from time to time. And self humiliation is something I'm already pretty good at and with which I don't really need the help of another web site. Besides, if you have to tell everyone you're influential to get them to listen to you, are you really that influential?

One of the interesting aspects of the Klout site is that they'll designate certain topics in which you are most influential. There are a lot of different topics. A couple days ago, I received notice that my influence was being recognized in a new topic. Thinking of all the things that are important to me and that I blog or comment about, a list of possibilities flitting through my mind. But when the site loaded and I saw what the topic actually was, it was nowhere near my list of possibilities: Mascara. Yes, friends, it seems I am influential in the realm of mascara. It dawned on me that I'd made a flippant comment on twitter about boys trying too hard to make something of no-shave November that was re-tweeted by a couple guys (Thanks Drew & Robert). Because they repeated what I said, that must mean I'm influential, right? Ok, maybe not!

So anyway, I'm currently sporting a Klout score of 26, with a 'conversational' style, influencing 53 people (one of whom apparently clubs baby seals with sticks of kittens). But what the heck does that really mean? What does it really mean that I have 168 'followers' on twitter? (It was 170 before I re-tweeted Rick Warren this afternoon, but that's a whole other issue.)  What does it really mean that there are 531 people who 'friended' me on facebook?

What this really has me thinking about is the relationship between online connections and real life influence. There are people whom I know I heavily influence in some areas who will never show up on some websites radar. There are others who, according to the data, appear to be being influenced, but are they really?

What do you do with influence when it's granted to you?

How do you handle influence?

What are the benefits and drawbacks of measuring influence?

Sticks & Chisels 4.2

I came across an interesting study today dealing with the use of and attitudes held toward social media by college students. The study was originally done in a class of a couple hundred students at the University of Maryland, but was subsequently undertaken by a dozen different universities throughout the world. About a thousand students in Uganda, Chile,  the UK, the US, China, Lebanon, Argentina, Mexico, Slovakia, and Hong Kong participated in a 24-hour assignment in which they used no media: no phones, no newspapers, no video games, no tv, no internet, no iPads... you get the picture. These students unplugged.

While the scope of the study isn't really broad enough to say this represents all young people, it's interesting to read their responses. Technology is everywhere and media is consumed in nearly every moment of many lives. Some students enjoyed the break, but many recognized what they called their addiction to media.

There CAN be too much of a good thing. A recent Fuller Youth Institute article talked about a report in Pediatrics (the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) about the use and effects of social media on children and adolescents (and their families). In addition to the benefits of social media use, the report highlights a number of new problems that are coming up like online harassment, "facebook depression", sexting, & what amounts to manipulation via targeted ads.

All this should simply serve as a reminder. We shouldn't just blindly buy into whatever is next in the social media/technology world. Think about what we're doing and the patterns we're setting. What kind of mess are we making when we thoughtlessly plug in to whatever comes next?

Sticks & Chisels 3.4

(Continuing thoughts regarding the use of media in ministry)

...First and foremost, the media ministry must always keep in mind that their function is to enhance the church's communication (internal, as well as external).

Anchored in that mentality, it’s best for a church to make use of every technology it can effectively manage. This will depend on a number of factors, like church size, location, and budget, and the personal expertise of the media ministry team. There’s little argument about the use of older technologies. Who would oppose the use of print in the church, or electricity? When it comes to adapting newer technologies, however, there is sometimes resistance to what can be seen as unnecessary innovation. The keepers of the status quo may even feel threatened by proponents of technology and media that they don’t understand. Balance is important here. We don’t have to always chase the latest and greatest, but we should certainly be aware of the pulse and pace of technology’s current advance. Imagine a preacher who carved out his messages with sticks and chisels. He’d be seen as a relic and much of his message, no matter how good it is, may be lost to the perception of irrelevance.

Which leads into my final assertion regarding media ministry. More important than any technology we use or don’t use is this fact: we are the media. We are the media that God is using to reveal Himself to the world. God has a message He wants to deliver, and He wants to do so through our lives. If a certain media technology enhances our ability to be used by God to communicate His love and ours, then we should take hold of that tool and put it to use. But we are by no means obligated to use any particular media just because it is there. And we should be careful to craft our use of any media technology to minimize our separation from the intended recipients of His message. 

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This letter is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.              -Paul

Stop Motion Fun with Cans

Recently, we had a sweet Cloverton concert with Delusions of Pluto. The cost of admission was 3 cans of food, which are going to a local food pantry led by Panhandle Love In Action. As the pile of cans grew before the concert, I thought "It would have been cool to have set up a stop motion video of the counter as the cans were collected." Good thought... too late.

But, last Thursday morning, I stole my wife's camera, set it up on a tripod, and dumped out a box of cans to play. (Is it ever ok to play with someone else's food?) I've never done a stop motion video before... just thought it would be fun. It was. I learned a few things though:

• Fewer moving parts would have been a good idea!
• More pictures = better.
• Small movements make for less stop, more motion.
• Stop motion takes a lot of time.

It's fun to experiment, and just so I don't keep all the fun for myself, here is my first jerky jump into the stop motion world. Also debuting is the compositional skill of my soon to be 9 year old son, Dakota. He's been messing around with Pattern Music on my iPad and I used something he composed for some background music (based on his recent obsession with Phineas & Ferb). I'm much more impressed with the results of his technological experimentation than with my own!

Can We Go Out To Play? from Mike Andrews on Vimeo.

Sticks & Chisels 3.3

We're closing out a missions emphasis period here at WestWay and had a guest speaker yesterday. Dave Robinson is a Bible College professor, an elder here at the church, one of my lifelong friend's dad, & my wife's uncle. More to the point, he's also very passionate about missions, having given several years of his life to translating Scripture for the Mbore speaking people of PNG (and many others to helping English speakers understand the Word as well). During Dave's sermon yesterday here at WestWay, he mentioned how we have to be faithful to the message of Christ AND creative in using every resource at our disposal to communicate that message. His statement reminded me of a paper I wrote a few weeks ago that I had intended to post here. I never got around to posting, but now I will... Here's what I think I think about using media in ministry.
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... And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.             -Paul

The church has been entrusted with the greatest message known - that the reconciliatory love of our Maker has been offered to humanity in the atoning death of His own Son, and that the power that affected His resurrection is the same power available to work transformationally in our own lives. By any measure, that is a hugely consequential message to carry to an innumerably vast and diverse audience. Eternal life and death are at stake, so we should make the most of every available resource for the communication of that message. That is the essence of media ministry.

The word, media, is used to talk about a means of communication. Media is simply a conduit for the transference of a message from the giver to the receiver. Media ministry, then is not about the shiny, new toys of technology. It is about the effective communication of Christ. This is a key issue to effectively leading the media ministry of a church. It’s too easy to become so distracted by Dells and pixels that the technology can actually hinder our communications efforts. First and foremost, the media ministry must always keep in mind that their function is to enhance the church’s communication (internal, as well as external).
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I'll post the rest of the paper later this week, but for now:

• What are some creative uses of media you've seen? 
• How are you making the most of the resources available to you to communicate Christ's message?

Gone Mobile

I just enabled a mobile option for the blog here.

Mobilized friends, let me know what you think - and how the blog appears on your device. Thanks.

Sticks & Chisels 3.1

Image: Kyle Key via creationswap.com

Without interaction, social media is basically pointless. Dare I say it... "Like so much other media!" Without the give and take and sharing of opinions, social media is just a bunch of introverted narcissists staring deeply into their own mirrors. Blogs are one part of the social media parcel. This blog, for example - I started it, I write it, I am responsible for it. But I don't want this blog to just be me spouting my opinions & collected thoughts. That's what books are for, right? Just kidding authors! A blog is completed (or maybe fulfilled would be a better word) by the thoughts of a community sharing perspectives. But there are some obstacles to that sort of interaction online. Here are several:

• Fear of Broaching Boundaries - We are afraid to say something wrong. Is there a different etiquette to online interactions? It seems some people lose all sense of civility when digitally interfacing. We know we don't want to be those people, but we're not quite sure where the line is, so we just stay quiet. If this is you, step out a little bit. Don't be a jerk, but share your thoughts.
• Fear of Exposure - We're afraid to reveal something about ourselves to people we don't know. A colleague recently stepped into the realm of facebook, very reluctantly. He'd been afraid that specters from his past would arise to cloud the respect & relationships of today. It was great to see those fears assuaged a couple days ago as he connected with a long-distance grandson he loves like crazy. Remember that the internet is a very public place and not every detail of your life needs to be shouted from the rooftop - but really being known in relationship requires taking the risk of letting someone close enough to see our faults.
• Technological Roadblocks - Sometimes, we just can't figure out how to comment the way we want to. I know this has been a problem here. I get e-mails often from some of you who wanted to comment, but had a hard time navigating the comment section. While I've tried to make it easy, the system doesn't always work. And if I make it too easy, the comments can quickly become a dumping ground for all kinds of unwanted junk. I'm actually looking at a couple options to make this easier - possibly installing a different commenting system in the template if I can figure that out, or moving the blog altogether to another service with easier commenting.

What other boundaries do you see to connecting online?

Sticks & Chisels 2.4

I found a link to something called The Table Project that looks interesting. It seems to be an attempt to accomplish some of the community building that I've mentioned here before. In light of discussions in and out of class, I thought I'd share the video here as well.

Basically, The Table is a platform built for group interaction. I really like the potential for this to connect people - from basic introduction to praying and working and playing together. Being a part of the same crowd for a couple hours on Sunday morning is just not enough to be discipled, to be an integral part of the Body.


The Table Project - Introduction from The Table Project on Vimeo.
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What do you think of this use of technology to deepen relationships?
What other ways are you seeing churches really engage with each other in the mission we're given?

Sticks & Chisels 2.3

A couple days ago, I mentioned on twitter that my flipbook app was not updating well. I couldn't figure out why and wondered if it was just me, or if others were having issues. The last thing I expected was a follow up from the CEO and co-founder of the company. But after a simple question,

6drews Mike Andrews 

Anyone else having issues with @flipboard not updating?

that's exactly what I got:

mmccue Mike McCue 

@ 

@unctor @6drews @flipboardcm all is good on our servers. How's your internet connection? Also, what version are you running?

7 Feb Favorite Retweet Reply

6drews Mike Andrews 

@ 

@mmccue @unctor @flipboardcm I'm using 1.1.1 on my iPad. It seems to be working sporadically - updated 7:30 last night, then just now

9 Feb 

mmccue Mike McCue 

@ 

@6drews @unctor @flipboardcm are you still seeing refresh issues? We should be automatically refreshing every 15 minutes...

10 Feb 

6drews Mike Andrews 

@ 

@mmccue It seems to be. Updated when I opened the app this morning...

10 Feb 

mmccue Mike McCue 

@ 

@6drews ok. let me know if you have trouble again. often times when we debug these issues it has to do with a less than ideal net connection

23 hours ago 

6drews Mike Andrews 

@ 

@mmccue That's probably the issue I'm having. future release idea, however: a refresh command if the user doesn't want to wait 15 min.

23 hours ago 

in reply to ↑

@mmccueMike McCue

@6drews yes, you won't have to wait long for that feature request. :-)

This is one of the fruits of social media that is turning all kinds of systems upside down. 30 years ago, the end user of most products would never have access to the chief executing officer of the company that developed that product. How many Chrysler drivers called up Lee Iacocca in 1980 to ask about that whirring noise they heard under the engine? The thought is ridiculous.

But today, someone in a small town near nowhere can mention a problem, and with alerts and searches and other monitoring software, the CEO of a company can discuss the problem with me. Social media has given us a line into the boss's office - and it's given the boss an ear in the community that hasn't always been there.

Thanks, Mike McCue, for developing a great product. Thanks for putting processes into place that allow you to notice someone having an issue with the product and respond. And thanks for continuing to make it even better...
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There are a lot of ramifications that are beyond the scope of this post, but I wonder how well we're using social media in the church in a similar way. Do the people we lead (and the people we hope to lead) feel like we're listening? Are leaders paying attention to the chatter about their ministries? How do we follow up effectively when concerns arise?

The best leaders will be those who listen and effectively tailor quick and meaningful responses to the issues that need addressed.