robwestbrook.com

I interrupt this blog for an important message. I’ve cleaned up all those Rob’s LifeStream posts that were badly uglying up the blog.

I started archiving my LifeStreams primarily as an archive for myself. At the moment my LifeStream is pulling all my info from:

• robwestbrook.com Blog (Me)
• lifepointeonline.org(My Church)
• My Google Reader Shared Items
• My last.fm feed, (displays songs and podcasts I listen to with iTunes & my iPod)
• My Pandora feed (displays songs I bookmark)
• My TwitPic pictures (photos taken with my blackberry)
• My Twitter feed (everybody should be on Twitter!)
• YouTube (videos I upload for LifePointe Church)
• FoodFeed (stuff I’m eating from time to time)
• Viddler (personal videos I put online, none at the moment)

I’m using my LifeStream to gather this information as kind of a personal journal, and I wanted to keep those entries. But they really made a mess of the site. So, they’re still being created (if you’re a glutton to see them they still display in the archives), I have my journal, but they’re kept out of the main stream. You can always follow my tracks on the LifeStream continuously updated and displayed on the right. I now return you to your regular blog reading.

Don’t miss the blog post below: The Pocket Testament League.

I guess you’ve noticed I’ve been on kind of a blog vacations the last couple of weeks. I hope you’ve been reading those “Rob’s Lifestream Archives” post, which document some of the things that goes on in my day. I’m getting geared up to start a new year in a soon to be one year old church. 2008 was a great year but I think 2009 will be our breakout year at LifePointe. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Now that 2009 is officially here, the blog will start to pick up steam. Thanks for sticking with me in 2008 and things promise to get even more outrageous in 2009. Are you ready!?!

There’s this website called Typealyzer. Typealyzer analyzes a blog’s contents in some way and determines the personality type of the blog’s author. So I typed in robwestbrook.com and this is what it said:

ESFP – The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don’t like to plan ahead – they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation – qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

I don’t know about the soft fabrics and sweet smells. But it pretty much nailed me on the other stuff.

You might have noticed robwestbrook.com has a new look. Drastically different from the old one, don’t you think? Take a look around. Since “maverick” seems to be a buzzword this fall, I went with a wild, wild, west look. I’ve still got some tweaking to do but I really like the change. If you’re looking for my Twitter and LifeStream stuff, you can still see it by clicking Rob’s LifeStream in the top menu. I’ll get it back out front soon. If you run into any problems or bugs, let me know ASAP.

Well, what do you think of the new look?

I’m a big fan of Google Reader, where I can scan many blogs from one location very quickly. I keep up with a lot of church planters, pastors, and all kinds of things related to the church. Occasionally I’d like to share that info here but I don’t always have the time at the moment and eventually it slips my mind. One of the tools Google Reader has is the ability to share with others. The items shared even have their own web page. So I’m going to start using that tool a lot more. You can see my shared items at Rob Westbrook’s shared items. You might want to check it out, bookmark it, and revisit from time to time. There’s always a lot of very good, interesting stuff out there and I want to share with you the best of the best. See it all here.

[EDIT]
If you will look over to your right, you’ll now find an up to the minute list of all my shared Google Reader items. Check them out.

There are millions of blogs on the web today, with thousands more popping up each day. If you’ve surf the web for very long, it’s highly likely you’ve been on blogs. You’re here, so you’ve been to at least this blog! A blog can be part of a large company’s website, or it can be more personal, such as this one. The blog may appear to just be one long page of articles (also called posts) to read and that’s it. Well, you definitely can read all those posts, but blogs are unique from other web pages, because you get to interact with the author. How can you interact on blogs? I hope to show you how, or at least, give you a few pointers on making your blog experience more than just reading. In this how-to, I’ll use my blog as an example on how you can interact with a blog.

Start With the Menu

This is a screenshot of the top of my blog page. You’ll notice a menu on the bar, under the title. Different blogs have different menus, but this is how mine is laid out. There’s the “Home” button, which will always take you to the initial blog “home” page. I have an “About Rob” button that, when clicked, will take you to a page that tells a little bit about me. The “Contact Rob” button will take you to a page with a form. Fill out this form, send it, and I’ll get an email with your message. “Rob’s Twitter” button goes to a page that displays my last 25 twits. Twitter is an exciting little web app that I plan on writing a how-to about soon. You can find out a little more here. The last button I have is “Rob’s Photos.” These are pictures I’ve taken that are on my Facebook page, another how-to for the future.

A Blog is More than One Page

There’s much more to a blog than just the one page where you read the posts. Let’s dig a little deeper. This screenshot is what you typically see on the home page of a blog. The date it was posted is shown and the title is on top, in bold print. The actual post is below, the stuff you read. There’s a few other things to notice. Underneath the title of this post, you see a folder and “how-tos.” This is the category for the post. All the posts here are filed under all types of different categories. This category is clickable. In this example, click “how-tos” and you’ll be taken to that category’s page, where every post in that category is listed, all for you to read.

Another link you’ll find under the title is “click here to make a comment.” Click that link and you’ll be taken to a page that only has this post listed and a comment form. (You also are taken to a single post page by clicking the title). Here’s where the interaction comes in.

The Single Post Page

By clicking on a post’s title, or by clicking on the “make a comment” link, you’re taken to the single post page. Clicking the title takes you to the top of the single post page and clicking the “make a comment” link takes you to the comment section of the single post page. The single post page is just what it’s name is, a page with a single post. Let’s take a look at some of the elements of a single post page.

This screenshot now shows the top of the same post as we looked at on the home page, but we’re now on the single post page. You see the date, the title, the category, and the add comments, as well as the post itself. A few other things to notice. Above the title, on the left you see an arrow and “Big Weekend Planned.” On the right you see an arrow and “A Church called LifePointe.” These are links to other posts. Click the one on the left and you’ll go to the post written just previous to the one you’re now on. Click the one on the right and you’re taken to the post written next after the one you’re reading. These are called navigation links.

At the bottom of the post, you’ll see what we have in this screenshot. You won’t find these on all blogs but quite a few now have them. These are called social links. I have links to del.icio.us, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Clicking any one of these links will send the post to that site if you have an account set up. For instance, if you have a Facebook account, clicking the Facebook icon will add the post as a note to your profile. Pretty neat, huh? Click it and instantly you can share the post will all your Facebook friends.

There’s also two other icons in the social links. The envelope is an email button. Click it and you can email the post to anyone you want. Think someone might be interested? Email it to them and let them check it out. The other icon is the print button. Yep, click it and you’ve got a hard copy of the post.

Getting Interactive

The comments section is the place where blog interaction best takes place. In this screenshot, you see the comment form found at the bottom of every single post page. Agree with the post? Let the author, and everyone else, know here. Have some additional information related to the post? The comments is how you share that information with everyone else. Somebody sees your comment and wants to join in. So they follow up with a comment. Before you know it, there’s a conversation going on. Blog interaction.

How to Comment

So how can you get into this blog conversation? Simple. Fill out the comment form. On my blog, I require a name and valid email. I like to know who I’m talking to and I find that identifying yourself makes for calmer, more on-topic conversation. In other words, it helps keep down spam! So, enter your name and email address. If you have a website or blog, enter it, too, so that, when your comment is posted, your name will link to it. In the big box, type in your comments. When you’re done, click the “Submit Comment” button and your comment is published.

Stay in the Conversation

Once you post a comment, it’s always good to check back on that post often. Someone may read your comment and add more. You wouldn’t want to miss what they had to say, would you? Most comments will take place in the first few days after posting or until a new post goes online. But it’s always good to follow the conversation. Not following the conversation is like walking off when someone’s talking to you! Keep up with the conversation. That’s all part of blog interaction.

Conclusion

For many of you this post is old news. But for some of you, I hope it’s helped introduce you to a much broader world of blogs that the one page reading. More how-tos are in the pipes. Check back for more.

And now, let’s practice. Click the title, find the comment form, and let’s interact!

There is a blog called Revolution. The guy who writes the blog posts is doing Church Field Trips. He’s visiting a different church every
Sunday. Then he writes about his experience at that particular church, their music, etc. His primary emphasis in whether the church he visits clearly presents the Gospel during the service. If you plan on being on some of our teams, especially the greeters, welcome desk, worship team, and pastor, you really need to read this blog. Just read it and you’ll see what I mean.

Here’s the web address: Revolution Church Field Trip

As you scroll down this page, you should notice a small box on the right of the page, with the title “Links”. These are links to other blogs that mean quite a bit to me and I’d like to tell you why. The first link, of course, leads to the official LifePointe Church website. The second link reads “Byron James: HCC For the World.” Byron is one of my good friends who is the pastor of a new church plant in Atoka, TN, north of Memphis. Byron and I worked together at Cooper Tire a looooooong time ago. He was a member of Cason Baptist Church here in Monroe County when God called him into ministry. God’s using this good ol’ local boy to build His kingdom in the Memphis, TN region.

The next link says “Terry Ledbetter: Pastor T’s Blog. Terry is the church planter and pastor of a new church in the Tupelo/Saltillo area: Northstar. Terry is originally from Amory and was a member of First Baptist Church, Amory, when God called him to his unique ministry. God’s is using this good ol’ local boy to build His kingdom in the Tupelo, MS region.

The last link reads “Devin Hudson: graceisthepoint. Devin, along with his brothers, Dale and Derrick, are all in Las Vegas, Nevada, serving God there. Devin is the church planter for Grace Point Church, where Derrick also serves. Dale is in another church in Vegas. All three are the sons of Van Dale, a local evangelist, and his wife, Sandy Hudson. The couple also owns Hudson’s Bible and Book Store in Amory, MS. God is using these good ol’ local boys to build His kingdom in the Las Vegas, NV region.

When you think about it, where does the small town of Amory, MS really fit into the much larger and broader global context? How many people outside of northeast Mississippi actually know that Monroe County even exists? There doesn’t seem that Amory would have that much to offer the world. But, by the power of Jesus Christ in the hearts of His people, Amory and Monroe County has direct influence in the lives and eternities of potentially tens of thousands of people across the country and around the world. It’s amazing to watch and see God do what only He can do.

God loves good ol’ local boys who are sold out to Him. He’s not through. He’s still scanning the area, looking for guys and gals whose hearts and lives are sold out to Him. God loves good ol’ local boys and uses them to expand His kingdom. Have you felt the tug? Could He be looking at you?

I’ve decided to jump in and begin blogging again. This blog will serve as my personal journal to record some of the things that my nerve cells exchange with my brain (which some will tell you is very little). This will not serve as the official anything for LifePointe Church, although LifePointe Church will frequently be a subject. No, this will be a place where I can share about the ups and downs of attempting to plant a new church in an area where many, many other churches already exist. It will also be a place where I can talk about things that may not have any direct connection with LifePointe at all. It’s primary function is to serve as a mind dump for me. Maybe some of the stuff I dump my get your attention.

The comments will be open on every comment, with probably a few exceptions. With the comments open, that means I want to hear from you. I want to hear what you think about whatever I might have writtein in a particular post. The only thing I ask of you is to keep it clean and civil.

Welcome to robwestbrook.com!