Archive - April, 2011

Why You Can’t Use the New Testament As a Pattern For How To Do Church Today

I’ve been guilty of it.

I used to look at the New Testament, specifically Acts 2, as THE pattern for how to do church. Within that I’d pull out the concept of small groups, for example,  and say, “You see…the Bible says that they met in homes and in the temple courts…and the church grew! Therefore if we begin to meet in small groups and have this ‘two-winged’ concept of church (small group and large group experience) then the church will grow.” The kicker for me was always vv 46-47 where it says:

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Real Men Don’t Buy Girls (Videos)

I think these videos are a great use of technology:

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Apple Harvesting Your Location Is A Reminder That Not Everything Online Is Secure

So…here’s the evidence of where I’ve made calls from in the last year. Apple calls it a glitch. I’m not so sure.

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The Five Qualities That Top CEO’s Share

Have you ever wondered what the common traits are amongst top CEO’s? Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be a top-level leader? Here’s a great article from the New York Times, based upon the book The Corner Office that shares these basic traits. These principles were distilled from interviews with 70 top executives.

1. Passionate Curiosity: “They ask big-picture questions. They wonder why things work the way they do and whether those things can be improved upon. They want to know people’s stories, and what they do…It’s this relentless questioning that leads entrepreneurs to spot new opportunities and helps managers understand the people who work for them, and how to get them to work together effectively. It is no coincidence that more than one executive uttered the same phrase when describing what, ultimately, is the C.E.O.’s job: “I am a student of human nature.”

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Using a Kindle 3 For Public Speaking

This past Sunday I used my Kindle 3 to have my notes for a wedding I was officiating in. How did it perform? Quite well, but there was one major flaw. Here’s the lowdown:

1. Getting documents on the device. This part is easy. If you have a Word document, you can simply email it to the email address you get when you receive your Kindle. Mine, for example, is rodlie.ortiz@kindle.com. A few minutes after emailing it the document appears on your home screen, and you’re good to go.

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Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire (book review)

If I were to have written the book of Colossians Remixed, I would have given the subtitle as “Speaking the Language of Postmodern People.” I initially thought this was going to be a type of commentary on the book of Colossians, but the authors expand the book to be much more. Yes, they cover what the gist of Colossians is about, but more importantly, they use the book as a backdrop to illustrate the tension between the absolute claims that are often made in biblical texts, and postmodern thought that tends to eschew absolutism in any form.

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How To Prevent Hackers From Stealing Your Data While On a Public Wi-Fi

Have you ever thought about your web security? You should.

If you’ve even been in a Starbucks or any other place with a public wi-fi you could potentially be making your info available to hackers and identity thieves. Besides, these days there are tools that make it easier than ever before for them to quickly steal your data.

So here’s a few strategies to think about courtesy of Access Now.

1. Use HTTPS for every website you can. This means that when you type in the web address, add an “s” to where it says “http.” This establish a secure connection. Not all websites have this option, mind you. So if you have to do anything on websites that can’t be secured, I would do it elsewhere, or use a VPN. I’ll mention more about VPN’s later.

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