32% of Influential Churches in U.S. Using Facebook

Very interesting stuff here. I’m actually working on something along these lines for the Chattanooga area. Hat tip to Andrew Yeager-Buckley for tweeting this.

Thirty-two Percent of Influential Churches in the U.S. are on Facebook.

(April 8, 2009) According to a recent survey conducted by Sojo, Inc. (Sojo), 32% of the country’s most influential churches surveyed are using Facebook. Companies and brands are not the only ones noticing the creativity and interaction benefits that the mainstream social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace offer. Many organizations, especially religious affiliations like churches, have begun to experiment with Web 2.0 technologies.

Read more here and here.

One church’s perspective on the “English Only” charter amendment

TOMORROW, January 22, is voting day on the English Only charter amendment.

Hearing the biblical call to welcome the stranger, the Session invites the congregation to prayerfully consider the following:

On December 18 the Session voted to urge members of Trinity to vote against the “English only” charter amendment in the January referendum. The Session gave the following reasons for its action: The “English only” requirement does not acknowledge the linguistic diversity that has always characterized the U.S. (the result of many factors, including voluntary migration, conquest, employment practices, and compassion toward refugees) and continues today. Furthermore it does not manifest the hospitality toward immigrants and refugees that we have every reason to expect in our public and private life. And it is out of keeping with the future character of our nation, region, and city, which will remain both red and blue, black and white, yellow and red and brown. The Presbyterian General Assembly in 1990 acknowledged “the special claim that immigrants make on Christian conscience and the contributions they make to U.S. society,” and reaffirmed the following principles:

-providing for the human needs of refugees and immigrants;

-non-discrimination in aid and in application of laws and policies;

-upholding constitutional and civil rights;

-protecting lives;

-special consideration for women and children, individuals with special needs, and unification of families;

-provision of adequate resources to communities in order to reduce tensions;

-vigorously combatting expressions of racism in policies and their implementation.

From Trinity Presbyterian Church PC(USA), Nashville, TN

Job Nonfulfillment

You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Commencement address by Steve Jobs, delivered on June 12, 2005 at Stanford University.

The only time I have felt like I have been doing “great work” or at least meaningful work, to me, was working for the Montreat Conference Center. And that was in any capacity. I’ve been a wilderness ranger taking care of their 2,500 acres of wilderness, a bellman in the Assembly Inn, a night auditor in the Inn (3rd shift one winter and read The Shining. Awesome.), AV Technician on up to Director of Production. I, also, felt like I was doing good work as a sound guy and sometimes bartender at the original Grey Eagle in Black Mountain working for beers instead of money. In each of those positions I have felt like I was doing something I loved. Maybe it was being surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Maybe it was the folks I was working with or the people I was serving. Maybe, in Montreat, it was working for the “Dear Lord baby Jesus, lyin’ there in [his] ghost manger, just lookin’ at [his] Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin’ ’bout shapes and colors.” It just might be a combination of all of those things. While I’m in an industry that I enjoy I just can’t get behind what I’m doing here. Sure, it’s putting food on the table and insurance for the family, but, ugh. I just can’t stand being here wearing a tie and pushing for the almighty dollar instead of the Almighty.

I suppose I’m having some employment angst. It’s come up more so since I have been the new director of event technology at my current location. Also, with the Elder Extroverted Holy One’s graduation from Vanderbilt Divinity School and her current church search (that’s sounds kinda cool, “Church Search ’08” should be a t-shirt). There is a possibility that depending on the call she gets I might be able to be a stay-at-home dad. With the Young Extroverted One going to public school I could stay with the Bobblehead to save on childcare costs. We’ve even had a short discussion of possibly just owning one car.

With all of the possibilities of being able to be more of the domestic goddess that I could be I am certainly finding it difficult to get motivated to get up in the morning and put on that tie and coat. Thankfully, my work ethic kicks in and I continue to do the best I can no matter what I’m doing. . . . Stupid ethic . . .

“God Bless Us Everyone.”

I’m a gadget guy. I would love to have all the new stuff that’s out. I want an iPhone, the latest iMac, even a MacBook Pro just for kicks, a sweet slr digital camera, a flat-panel HDTV. Luckily, I can’t afford that stuff or I’d be consumed by my consumerism. Instead I have exactly what I need: snuggles from my five-year-old and six-day-old daughters and my beautiful bride on a cold night, a big ole dog in my lap on the couch, and family (blood, married-into and adopted friends who are now family) near and far who I love and love me. You can’t get that kind of warmth from the glow of a 60″ LCDTV (even though I would probably try).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving Ruminations

Wow, where the heck have I been? I haven’t been getting much computer time at work getting the new director all trained and situated and I have been busy at home wrestling with a wall in the babies room trying to get it stripped, primed and painted.

The following is a post I wrote right after Thanksgiving and am now getting around to putting it up here:

I was sitting in the rec room of the Elder Extroverted Holy One’s mom’s house watching the Green Bay Packer game on turkey day. EEHO’s aunt, uncle and cousin’s were there watching as well. They’re from the West Virgina/Ohio area and are surprisingly Packer Backers. Unlike myself, who is contractually obligated to be a Packer Backer according to my birth certificate. But, it was nice to have some like-minded folks to watch the game with. As I sat there I looked around the room and said with my eyes glistening just a little, “This is just like being in Wisconsin with a house full of Beckers!” Well, except for the lack of stale cigarette smoke, drunk uncle with hands firmly clasped around my neck and other assorted showings of family love and bar paraphernalia. It was a good day with good food, good sports (not only did the Packers play but the Predators played as well.  I had to settle for watching it on T.V. because the EEHO wouldn’t let me go to the game) and good family.

“What’ll You Have?”

This Goes Out to All My Bros, Both Real and Adopted

. . . your brotitude is so brossential that, in many ways, you are the ultimate brototype: You sprung out of the brotean ooze at the very broment of creation, unformed, unmolded, and became the ultimate bro, more powerful than any who came brofore. I don’t fear your power, bro, but I respect it. And I will always brobey it.Brosemite Sam. Potassium Bromide. Brobi Wan Kenobi. Brover Norquist.Like Broseph Stalin, you are leading the way to the dictatorship of the broletariate. It is truly revbrolutionary. Like the Bro v. Wade of our generation. You brobliterate the enemy from the very peak of Mt. Brolympus. That’s some shit. That’s brolific. But that’s the kind of bro you are.

Bro-S.A.! Bro-S.A.! I’m so pumped right now! Bro-S.A.!

You are the epitome of bro, in every brossible way, and that’s the Bro’s honest truth, bro. I may have a bropensity for broverstatement, but this no mere hyperbrole: You are 100 brocent, absbrolutely the broest. Brotally.

I wish I had the words to describe what a good friend you are, dude.

h/t: chez béz which led me to the Onion

B-double-E-double-R-U-N

Went to the Music City Brewer’s Fest on Saturday.

Mmmmm. . . beeeeer. . .

Mmmmm. . . humidity . . . ugh.

Lots of great brews, including my all-time favs The Highland Brewing Company.  I hovered around their booth for a little while but figured I should branch out.  I would write about my impressions of all the different beers that I tried that day but I can’t really remember.  I must have drunk too many good ones.  The heat is really the only thing that I can remember.  Oooof.

I do remember that I missed having a little water to rinse out my cup at each booth.  You should be able to wash out the remnants of the prior beer before you tried a new one.  I feel that I didn’t get a good representation of taste because they were really all mixed together.  Oh well.  This was my first time away from my favorite brewer’s fest, the Brewgrass Festival, and maybe they don’t offer that everywhere.  At least it gave me a hint of beers that I’ll try to find the next time I’m at Midtown Wine and Spirits.

I did a lot of comparisons between the Music City Brewer’s Fest and the Brewgrass Festival.  My apologies to my partner in brew, I  sounded like a guy talking about his old girlfriend that just dumped him.  I must have sounded like such a putz (no real connection for this link I just love the name of this company)(a shout out to my buddy Mountain Kilter).

On the subject of beers and festivals, walking around amongst the throng of amatuer and professional beer drinkers in downtown Nashville in the humidity I came to realize that I really love to listen to bluegrass drinking fine brews in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Here I am talking about my old girlfriend again.  So sorry.

Sigh . . . well, the introvert/extrovert clan may have to take a trip come September 22 to Asheville, NC.

Independence Day Ruminations

First things first, a little link love to coolpeoplecare.org and today’s email inbox gem:
5 minutes of caring

Be Independent

by Sam Davidson (Wednesday, July 4, 2007)

As you are probably aware, back in 1776, a group of folks got together and celebrated the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. You can also commemorate some other things today, such as:

If you want to celebrate today, make sure you do so wisely. Make today memorable as you enjoy your time off.

And now for something completely different:

fuck_yeah.jpg

Nothin’ says America like a blond woman with a shotgun in the front yard and an Amercan flag!

Are You On the List?

For the readers of this blog who are elsewhere in the states:
CoolPeopleCare‘s on a roll with 30 cities in 30 days.

Here’s where they’ll be:

June 1-Portland
June 2-Austin
June 3-Dallas
June 4-Fort Worth
June 5-Louisville
June 6-Phoenix
June 7-Baltimore
June 8-Charleston
June 9-Denver
June 10-Houston
June 11-Pittsburgh
June 12-Indianaplois
June 13-Seattle
June 14-San Francisco
June 15-Oakland
June 16-Berkeley
June 17-New York
June 18-Chicago
June 19-Charlottesville
June 20-New Orleans
June 21-Charlotte
June 22-Fort Lauderdale
June 23-Orlando
June 24-Tampa
June 25-Raleigh
June 26-Philadelphia
June 27-Lincoln
June 28-Detroit
June 29-Minneapolis
June 30-???

Get a Grip

Okay, it seems that every blogger in Nashville is talking about this potential purchase of the Nashville Predators by a Canadien (gasp) businessman. As a hockey fan I might as well jump on this bandwagon and say my piece (or is it peace? MTA a little help?) about the impending transaction.

To start off this post I must share an anecdote. The day I drove the Uhaul filled with our possessions I tuned in to one of the sports radio networks (I can’t remember which one) when they announced that Paul Kariya had just signed on to be a Predator. Hearing that announcement made the move from my beloved Black Mountain, North Carolina to Nashville worth it. The Elder Extroverted Holy One’s acceptance into Vanderbilt Divinity School aside I was all about living in a town with a NHL team again.

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

First of all the deal is not done.

The sale must be closed by June 30. Approval before that date from the NHL’s board of governors would be required.

Balsillie, the co-CEO of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd., who saw his recent bid to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins fall apart, said he is respectful of all the “due diligence” required before the Predators deal can close.

“This is still Craig Leipold’s franchise until the deal is completed, so for me to comment at this time on any number of topics relative to the franchise would not be appropriate,” Balsillie said in a statement.

Hoops need to be jumped through and so forth and so on. However, I am as pessimistic about the outcome as most others are.

I must say that the current predicament the Preds are in I’m going to have to blame the corporate entities here in Nashville. As the Wall Street Journal says, “In a league where teams shoot for a 65-35 split between corporate and consumer ticketholders, the Predators’ fan base is about 30% corporate and 70% consumer.”

One can’t expect the fan base in this southern town to carry the whole burden of supporting the team. It has to be the whole community, which includes the local businesses. It seems that we, as fans, have done quite a lot to support our team. Heck, the Young Extroverted One loved our experience so much that she cried when I took someone else to a game! If I could afford it I would definitely get a couple of season tickets so I can take her to every game and to support our team.

When I worked for the Carolina Hurricanes it was extremely tough to make fans out of NASCAR and ACC basketball fans. It basically took a Stanley Cup win to build a following but there was definitely a core fan base that stuck it through the whole time. Plus, it took the local Raleigh businesses to get behind them. That’s what we need here.

But I must also keep in mind that this is all about business. If the deal goes through and the lease agreements aren’t made then Balsillie can do whatever he chooses with the team. If he decides to move it to a more hockey friendly community, like anywhere in Canada, then that’s his prerogative. I love hockey, I love the Predators but this relationship can’t work if the entire community doesn’t jump in to support them as well.

If any out-of-towners would like to support the Introvert/Extrovert family’s wishes to help support the Nashville Predators with season tickets then leave a comment below with your pledges. A hockey fan representative will contact you shortly.