robwestbrook.com » technology

Church Creative Process

Rob — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:18:51 +0000

Mars Hill Church shares a behind-the-scene look at their creative process for a sermon series video. The Resurgence has the video and here’s what they write on their website:

Our God is a creative God. He spoke the universe into existence (Genesis 1) and actually carries the ultimate title of Creator (Romans 1:25). One of the ways we enjoy imaging him is also through being creative in our life and work.

Take a look. (Thanks to Ben Arment for the link)

Directed by
Jesse Bryan

Artwork
Patrick Mahoney
Grant Rowles

Animation Director Compositing Color Correction
Andy Maier

This post Church Creative Process originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Google Challenges Facebook with Google+

Rob — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:54:29 +0000

Take a look. Are you going to jump on the Google+ platform?

http://www.google.com/+/demo/

This post Google Challenges Facebook with Google+ originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Keep a Good Online Reputation

Rob — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:45:15 +0000

The Church Mag site has a fantastic little article entitled “10 Easy Steps to Ruin Your Online Reputation.” Sometimes I can’t believe what people share on Facebook or Twitter. They just don’t realize how they’re shaping people’s opinions of themselves by what they are sharing. I hope this article helps people understand this a little bit better.

This post Keep a Good Online Reputation originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

The Story: Now an iPhone App

Rob — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 15:00:16 +0000

Last month I wrote this post where I linked to several online resources to aid online evangelism. One of those resources is a gospel presentation called The Story. The Story also allows you to link to the presentation via tracking code, so that you can view stats on the number and location of those viewing through your link. I really like the attractiveness and content of The Story. Printed copies can also be ordered, with the same content as the website. It’s a great resource.

Now, The Story is available as an iPhone app. The presentation has been reproduced exactly as it’s found on the website. Instead of carrying tracts around, you have one as close as your iPhone. In fact, there’s an extended “conversation tool” included, as well. You can log in to the same account as your website presentation. And the views from your iPhone are included in the stats.

I highly recommend The Story, both the web app and the iPhone app. With the iPhone app, we now have another tool in our evangelism toolbox.

Links:
View The Story Presentation
Get your The Story Account
Get the iPhone App

This post The Story: Now an iPhone App originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Social Media Stats in Real Time

Rob — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:29:05 +0000

To state the obvious, social media is huge. Facebook, Twitter, and other websites have totally changed the way we think of the Internet. Here’s a real time ticker to give you a better idea of just how big social media is. As you watch these numbers, think about all the opportunities social media presents for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can we better harness these opportunities and share our message?

(Thanks to the Web Evangelism Bulletin for pointing to this resource)

This post Social Media Stats in Real Time originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

You: Online Missionary

Rob — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:59:18 +0000

The world is as close as your web browser. Today, with just one message, there is the potential of millions receiving that message almost instantly.

What if that message included the Gospel of Jesus Christ? That would make you a missionary to the entire world, right from that seat. Never has the world been so accessible to us. With technology, there is no limit to the people we can connect with, right now. So how can you leverage that potential?

There are many websites that provide you the tools to be an online missionary. I want to list just a few that will get you started.

yesHEis – yesHeis provides culturally relevant videos that you can share on Facebook, Twitter, or any of your social networks. These videos can be used to start or enhance discussions with people who have concerns about Christianity.
Find the site here: yesHEis

The Web Evangelism Guide – I’ve been following this site for many years. They provide good, simple tools for your online missionary efforts. Their monthly email newsletter is a subscription must. Their newsletter first brought my attention to the above site, yesHEis.
Find them here: The Web Evangelism Guide

Internet Evangelism Day – Internet Evangelism Day is coming up the last Sunday in April, which will be Easter this year. This site is part of the Web Evangelism page listed above. You can learn more about how you can participate in Internet Evangelism Day, and interact with others throughout the year, at this site.
Find them here: Internet Evangelism Day

The Story – The Story is a great Gospel presentation that you can link to and embed in your church website or blog. The Story provides tracking information, so you can see how many people view your page and their reactions. I love this presentation. You can also get printed copies of The Story. Our church uses the printed copy to include in our welcome packs for 1st time guests.
Find The Story Here: The Story

This is just a very small sampling to get you started. What are some websites you’ve found that help you be an online missionary?

This post You: Online Missionary originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Huge Online Bible Study Resource

Rob — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:30:01 +0000

The web can be an awesome tool for Bible study. There are thousands of websites dedicated to the study of the Bible. Just type in “bible study” at Google and you’ll get almost 17 million websites to choose from. There’s no shortage of Bible study on the Internet.

However, not all of those websites can be trusted. Many are correct in doctrine and content, but almost as many are unreliable. Religious agendas thrive on the web and there’s no shortage of people using websites to twist the Bible to say what they want it to say.

So how can we know the website we’re looking at for Bible study is reliable?

Let me suggest just one website to get started with for online Bible study: Bible.org. Bible.org is a huge repository of Bible study, from doctrine to daily Bible reading calendars to their own accurate, readable version of the Bible. You can spend days on Bible.org and not read everything that’s on the site.

While it’s not the only reliable website on Bible study, it’s one of the first places to start. Take a look at Bible.org.

Visit now. Here’s the link: Bible.org

What are some other Bible study websites you would suggest?

This post Huge Online Bible Study Resource originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Free Seminary Courses

Rob — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:01 +0000

The Gospel Coalition has over 1,000 seminary courses available FREE online. Interested? Here’s the link.

Link: The Gospel Coalition Courses

(via @joethorn)

This post Free Seminary Courses originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Online Greek Interlinear Bible

Rob — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:41 +0000

For those of us who are interested in the Greek of the New Testament, but need a little English help, here’s a link to an online Greek Interlinear Bible. Each chapter of the New Testament is available as a PDF file. Very nice.

The link: Online Greek Interlinear Bible

(via @mcProdigal)

This post Online Greek Interlinear Bible originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Using the iPad for Preaching

Rob — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:00:49 +0000

Back in October the awesome people of LifePointe Church gave me an iPad for Pastor Appreciation. Yep, they are a great bunch of Jesus followers!

I immediately set about finding a way to work the iPad into my sermon prep and preaching. I’ve always used sermon notes. Over the years, I’ve refined how I prepare and use them, but generally I type them into WordPerfect (yeah, I know!). The notes have to fit on the front and back of one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. I don’t like more than that because (a) the sermon will be too long, and (b) I will probably lose one of the pages. After printing, I review and mark them up using different colored highlighters. I usually add extra notes in the margins. Then I’m ready for Sunday.

The challenge is to incorporate the iPad into that workflow.

As of now, I haven’t found an iPad text editor I’m really comfortable with. So I’m still hanging on to WordPerfect and it’s 1990s technology. I type up my notes, still trying to keep them to the size limit of one page, front and back. When the notes are complete, I step up all font sizes to 18 pt. This destroys my page limit, but is needed for the next step. I save the notes as a pdf file.

Next, I send the pdf to the iPad using the app GoodReader. I can upload from my PC to the iPad with GoodReader’s wifi transfer. (I also upload my notes to DropBox, which GoodReader connects to, as well.) Once I have the notes on my iPad, I use GoodReader to review and mark them up. This is where the larger font size helps. With a 10-12 point font, the text is just a little too small on the iPad screen. I’ve experimented and found 18 pt to be a good fit for my eyes. With GoodReader you can highlight pdf’s, underline words, and add notes, all in different colors. So my marked up notes are all there as they were with paper notes.

I take the iPad on stage with me, of course. On our stage, the iPad is much easier to read from than paper. Since I’m no longer concerned about the number of pages, I’ve started adding the Scripture passages to my notes. With GoodReader, you simply turn the page by touching either side of the screen.

Overall, I’m very pleased with this set up, with the exception of a text editor. I’ve got a few on my iPad but they’re all text only; no formatting. I may try Apple’s Pages and see how that works.

Do you use an iPad while preaching? How do you use it?

This post Using the iPad for Preaching originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.