I am slammed at the moment which means the blog is last on the list for any meaningful content.

One of the reason’s I write this blog is because I see it as a barometer for my own development/creativity/learning. If I am not writing the blog it’s either one of two reasons:

1. I’m not growing/learning/thinking

2. I’m slammed

In this case… it is a season of the full calendar. My iPhone has never had more appointments to keep me on time with and we are filming/writing like crazy for Hillsong Kids Big Curriculum.

But even in this season I am still learning/growing… so instead of create content, I am just gonna steal and link to it

So for today’s inspiration check out this episode of TheOoze.tv

Andy Crouch talks about one of my favourite metaphors for faith… music, specifically Jazz and Classical…

(You should check out some of the other episodes, it’s turning into a great series!)

Dave Out

Following up on my last post about the ‘So You Think You Can… Lead Kids’ promo here at Church.

The website (hillsongkids.com/leadkids) is actually just a small part of the whole deal. More of a way to get more information and to put out some vision.

The big part of this is leaders simply inviting friends to be a part of the ministry.

Anyway, here’s how I put together the page.

[IMAGE] Kathryn Macdowall worked her photoshop magic on an image for the promo.

[MUSIC] Got a great member of our team Paul Stokes to put together the jingle and add in ‘Lead Kids’ in his home studio (You’re the man Paul!)

[VIDEO] Simply recorded the video on my own really cheap video camera at home and edited in iMovie (comes with every Mac). I turned it black and white because it looked classier/artier keeping it colour which looked like a cheap video recorder. Popped in the image and jingle at the beginning. Maybe about an hour from start to finish for editing. Uploaded to Vimeo with a free account… looks classier than Youtube.

[FORM] Free webform from Google Docs… this is a BRILLIANT tool. Puts all data input into a spreadsheet in Google Docs. If you look around online, similar tools can run pretty expensive! The form mirrors the invitation we gave out to all leaders. The Google option is not ideal, but the price is!

[WEBSITE] Simply created a new page on our site and had one of our web boys create a redirect (ie. hillsongkids.com/leadkids points to that page… watch your browser when you click on the link… it changes). This took a little bit of technical expertise on my part but nothing too fancy.

So there you have it, hope it gave you some ideas.

Its great for your wired young people, they can email the link, twitter it and connect with their friends in the same way they always do.

This is the world i’m living in.

And I’m convinced that we very rarely realise it and the opportunity it is.

I really don’t want to settle for the status quo.

Anyway watch the vid…

So I took a day today and stayed home… wasn’t sick just had to take a day to get a bite into the new scripts for our next series of BIG. It’s now dinner time and I though I might post something up online because: 1. I haven’t done that in a while, and 2. The software I am using to write the scripts.

I am using celtx, which is free media pre-production software. It has everything you need to take your story from concept to production. Celtx replaces ‘paper, pen & binder’ pre-production with a digital approach that’s more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share (I pasted that from the website in case you think I am that articulate )

If you need to write a script for anything, especially if you are going to film it then check out Celtx!

Dave out!

Love this thought to think on and ponder while you ruminate…

From Seth Godin

Irrationally committed

If you’re looking for the sensible, predictable, long-term strategy, this probably isn’t it. Except when it is.

Entrepreneurs who are irrationally committed to their business are far more likely to get through the Dip…

Salespeople and service providers and marketers who are irrationally committed to customer service can completely transform an ordinary experience and make it remarkable.

Is being irrational irrational? Of course it is. That’s why it often works.

The most fun people I know are irrational, the most successful people I know do unrational things…

Jesus was an unrational dude.

Maybe we should lead unrationally?

I have three questions for you today.

And I’m not giving you the answers.

They relate to you as a leader and more importantly someone who is shaping the world view of a generation.

1. Why do I need to know all the answers?

Lost creator and Cloverfield producer J.J. Abrams has a “mystery box” from New York’s Tannen’s Magic store. This is what he says about it: It’s a cardboard box with a question mark printed on it. It’s one of those things you buy for $15 and they advertise that it has at least $20 worth of stuff inside.

He’s never opened it.

“I love the fact that it has this mysterious value as long as I don’t open it.” – J.J. Abrams

Our job is to instill into children a sense of wonder and mystery about God. (Romans 11:25; 16:25, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 1:9) He can never be completely comprehended, but he reveals himself to us.

Knowable, yet completely unknowable.

Mystery.

2. Why is the part of church life that should be the easiest to build is the hardest?

Community should be easy. Why do we have to work so hard to be relevant?

A group of people connecting around a common goal and purpose.

I think it may be about moving people out of comfort into discomfort. During the aftermath of a tragedy no one complains about the air conditioning – you just want to stay alive and will connect with whoever you can to do so. And that is the most uncomfortable you could ever be.

Community

3. Have I ignored beauty because it was from a non-approved source?

Beautiful art can come from other religions… even Hollywood.

All beauty comes from God.

No matter the human source, they are acknowledging the creator (without even knowing it sometimes).

Beauty

A person like this is interesting.

I like helping kids become interesting.

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” –  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

NOTE: These are some fairly unrelated thoughts. If you find them confusing, I probably will in the morning.

Phil Vischer has just posted the “official” 28 minute JellyTelly demo video for all the world to see at www.jellytelly.tv

This is the coolest concept I have seen in a long time! And the programming is REALLY good. Great animation and quality segments! The great thing is that this is just the start, and the future could be massive…

Get involved, subscribe your family and help get this thing flying!

Here are a few posts that I have ’starred’ in Google reader.

They either caught my eye, or my massive nerdy tendencies.

From various blogs all over this earth:

Creating a Healthy Volunteer Environment -Part 2
Yesterday we talked about what an unhealthy volunteer looks like. It’s not as easy as just firing all those who bring a spirit of unhealthiness to our ministries or arena’s; but I can begin to change the environment that all my volunteer exist within.
I present my Top 6 things to Never do or say to a Volunteer

The Elephant Song
If you have young children, or if you’re young at heart, this is the song for you: The Elephant Song by Eric Herman (video created by Eric’s wife Roseann with the help of their 3-year-old daughter Becca. The little girl in the song is Meghan, who was 6 at the time).

Special Needs Ministry for Autistic Children
By its very nature, children’s ministry is challenging, but special needs ministry takes the challenge to a whole new level. Any children’s pastor familiar with teaching special needs children understands the importance of developing a unique approach and relationship with each child. It takes a great deal of effort, but it is well worth it when you can effectively connect and minister to a special needs child.

Ten Questions: Introspection

1. In what area of life have I lost my passion? (What can I do to get it back?)
2. If the enemy were going to “take me out,” what are my three most vulnerable points?
3. What new burden has God given me in the last year?
4. What have I unlearned that has made me closer to God?
5. What new discipline is God calling me to do?
6. What has God asked me to do that I haven’t yet done?
7. Is there something that I think about more than I think about pleasing God? (Money, possessions, ministry, family, recreation, something else.)
8. Do I have an increasing joy in serving Christ?
9. Am I handling the pain of ministry with integrity?
10. Am I still being persecuted for my faith in Christ?

Putting Strength To Work
As always with these meetings, we learned about the child’s performance that has both good and bad. We ended up discussing about the poor results, carelessness, concerns and how to fix them. What Marcus Buckingham shares in this video resonate with us

Via Best AFP Photos 2007

Talk about a David and Goliath Face off… this is the attitude I love to see in children! Bring it on to every challenge!

Cool Tools in a great blog that highlights awesome products… (You should read it). A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true.

They blogged about these today: Peltor Kid Earmuffs

Which made me wonder why I hadn’t blogged about them.

We have a few sets of these available in our Parenting Rooms (for parents with kids under 1 years old). They can use them to protect their kids ears when they head into the main auditorium for services (our music is kinda loud).

Parents love ‘em!