Archive for category Growing Together
Blogging Platforms for iOS and the iPad
Posted by Erik in computers, Growing Together on May 23, 2011
Over the past couple of months, I have been exploring the various blogging platforms for iOS. I do a lot of blogging, and my primary use for the iPad is a portable blogging platform. That means I need a solid platform to work with. Unfortunately, the offerings available when I first got my iPad were very limited. In fact, there was only option – the WordPress app.
WordPress ($0.00)
Let me begin by saying I love WordPress as my blog platform. I use WordPress.com for this blog, and we use a self-hosted version for our church website. It is fantastic.
I expected the same from WordPress’ iOS app, but after using it for the better part of six months, I have not been able to use it full-time. I first started using it with version 1.0, and it was terrible. It has steadily been improved, and I have a feeling that in a couple more iterations, it will be fantastic; but right now, it is not what it could be.
The interface seems simple enough, but there is little to no UI functionality. All formatting has to be done by means of HTML tagging. (None of the apps I have used feature anything even approximating a decent visual editor.)
In the post editing screen, you can add images from your catalog and from your camera. There is no native support for adding videos unless you subscribe to Video Press, but you can link to the main video services like YouTube and Vimeo through tagging. (You have to know that from using WordPress’ web editor though.)
You can access your pages and comments from the WordPress app as well. This is a functionality not available in any of the other apps I have been using.
The other big advantage of using the WordPress app is that you can preview your page with all the correct online formatting. This option is not available in Blog Press or Blogsy, and it makes WordPress a useful tool.
My biggest issue with the WordPress app is that there is a bug involving the edit screen. For some reason, when a post reaches a certain length, the edit screen cuts in half. The display area is halved for no apparent reason. I think it might have to do with the onscreen keyboard, but more often than not I use an Apple wireless keyboard so it is annoying.
I find that I generally don’t write in this app. The other apps are much better for generating content. What I use this app for is previewing and comments – neither function is available in the other apps. The addition of stats gives me yet another use for WordPress.
The day I started this post, WordPress added stats to the app – something that has been missing for quite some time. This is a serious plus for the app and adds to its value.
Since the app is free, there’s no guilt associated with using it in addition to other apps. I wish it had more functionality, and I am sure that people who host their blogs on other platforms like Blogger wish it supported their platforms. All in all, it isn’t bad but it isn’t quite great either.
BlogPress ($4.99)
In March 2011, LTC Studios released BlogPress as an alternative to WordPress’ app. It has gone through several revisions since, and the current version (2.2.3) has most of the functionality of WordPress as well as a much easier to use UI.
The chief complaint I have about BlogPress (which I am using to write this entry) is that when it started the creators used your pictures for advertising. In previous versions, The app uploaded your photos to their own servers, where they are wrapped with ads. Thankfully, this functionality has been removed in the most recent version.
BlogPress uses a drop-down menu for formatting. You highlight the text you want formatted, and then select the formatting type you want. It only inserts HTML tags, but it is an improvement over the completely absent functionality in WordPress.
As I mentioned before, BlogPress’ strength is it’s UI. In WordPress, you have to know to change your post status to draft in order to prevent it from posting to the blog. When you save a post in Blog Press, you are prompted as to what you want to do with it. I can’t tell you the number of times WordPress and Blogsy (see below) have posted unfinished entries when I meant to save them.
BlogPress’ image interface is fantastic and features a pop-up formatting feature that is lacking in WordPress. (Blogsy is working on implementing a similar functionality.)
One thing that needs to be improved is the screen real estate management. There is no full screen function, and because of the size of the side menu, there is not much room for the blog post you’re working on. Using the onscreen keyboard, you have a writing space about the size of an iPod touch screen – which is not much at all.
BlogPress does have a Preview function, but it uses very sparse formatting and does not download the style sheet from your blog like WordPress does.
Also, BlogPress does not allow you to edit the source code of a page. Most of the time, you really don’t need to do this since you’re not doing a lot of advanced editing. (WordPress is the same.) This is something that needs to be added.
Blogsy ($2.99)
I got in on the Beta testing of Fomola’s Blogsy app. I was immediately impressed by the UI, which is both clean and useful.
Unlike WordPress and Blog Press, Blogsy utilizes a fairly full formatting bar. This does eat up some screen real estate, but it gets rid of the listing of posts as a sidebar. Instead, there is a simple button that allows you access to your blogs and posts. And even with the extra toolbar, you have more writing space than in BlogPress.
Blogsy opts to not include a preview function. Instead, it has a rich side and edit side. You input your blog entry on the edit side, then you insert other content on the rich side.
What Blogsy does better than WordPress and BlogPress is the integration with the web. You can easily integrate photos on Flickr or Picasa as well as videos from YouTube. You can also do google searches from within the browser and import photos directly from the web. This browser function is a major improvement over the other apps and alone makes Blogsy the best of the field.
Currently, Blogsy 2.0 is in beta, and it promises to add a lot more functionality. You will be able to import local photos, something that was not available before, and also edit the photos within the app. This functionality will put Blogsy ahead of the other apps.
Conclusion
Each app has its strength. For my money, Blogsy is the app to beat but each of the platforms have their pros and cons.
- WordPress has the comment and stats integration, and I am hoping that the upgrade that brought those functions also brought a fix to the display problem I mentioned above.
- BlogPress has the superior image handling.
- Blogsy has formatting and more complete web integration. It also wins the UI contest.
If I were the folks over at Automattic (WordPress’ creators), I would be looking long and hard at Blog Press and Blogsy. They have the advantage over these other publishers and should be integrated the functionality they see there.
I would love to be able to help out those of you who use Typepad, Blogger or some other platform but I am pretty much WordPress exclusive and I don’t really know much about those platforms. I would assume the functionality of BlogPress and Blogsy is pretty much the same for those platforms as it is for anything else. I know that there are some other Blogger-specific apps out there as well. I’d love to hear from other bloggers about what they use.
Focus on the the Front Sight!
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on March 1, 2011
You’re going to make a major shift or change at a congregation. You think you know what you want to do. That’s great, but do you know what the result will be?
Most people (including church leaders) make decisions because they are focused on some element of the process. They like a certain style of worship, or they want new music or they want to ‘see people saved.’ But that sort of focus is wrong.
When I was learning to shoot, my instructors at Front Sight kept repeating, “Focus on the front sight!” It got irritating. I was focusing on the front sight! But they just kept saying it.
“Focus on the front sight!”
Over the course of four days, we fired off hundreds of rounds. I missed dozens of targets in spectacular fashion. What was I doing wrong? On the final night, something clicked in my head.
I wasn’t focused on the front sight.
I was looking at it but I was focused on a million other things – my grip, my back, my shoulders, my eye, the steps for clearing malfunctions. There were all kinds of other things in my head, and I wasn’t focused.
I took a breath. I relaxed my grip. I cleared my head. I aligned the sights, and then I focused on the front sight.
In the final shoot, I was the only member of our group from the church to qualify as a graduate, and I missed being a marksman by two points.
Look at the picture above. It is an image of a proper sight picture when firing a pistol. See how blurry the target is? That goes against our nature. Shouldn’t we be looking at where we want to put the bullet?
The answer is, “Yes, and you can do that by focusing on the front sight.“
See that middle post in the sight picture? That’s the front sight. When it is perfectly aligned inside the space created by the rear sights and you are focused on the front sight, you simply can’t miss. (Unless your sights get misaligned, and I speak from experience.)
Why is it so important? Picture a line drawn from the rear sight of the gun to the target. That line will always be straight. But with only two reference points, you’d never know the actual trajectory. The front sight adds a third point, a focal point to align your eye to the target. When you focus on it, it enforces the straight line. Like I said, when you do it right, you simply can’t miss. It’s junior high geometry really.
Think of leading a church when you look at that picture. The target is all the things you’d like to do with the congregation. You’d like to have a cool worship team, or you’d like to see people becoming disciples in amazing ways. Those are great; and they’re biblical. (Although I would say that the target of the church should actually be glorifying Christ, but I digress.)
Now, the rear sights of the picture are the people and relationships of the church. They’re strong and they’re close – just like that rear sight, but they’re easily misguided. They swing this way and that, and without a reference point, they’re not accurate. They’re all over the map.
Remember when I said that the front sight is a third point which aligns the barrel and makes a straight line to the target? Junior high geometry, right?
Here’s where we apply it to the church. The front sight is the reference point between the rear sights (people) and the target (glorifying Christ and all the thinks you want to do). The front sight is what the church needs to become in order to move straight toward the target.
During the merger process that resulted in Bedford Road Baptist Church, it was absolutely imperative that the elders and I kept the right focus. We had to constantly focus on what the congregation needs to be in order to do what is on the target. We needed to be a healthy, diverse group of people focused on Jesus.
Becoming a healthy, diverse group of people focused on Jesus was our focus – not how to merge programs or who got what positions or making sure every political base was covered at the business meetings. That constant focus on our front sight allowed us to deal with the winds of hurt feelings and bruised egos, and even the departure of dear friends over issues we hoped we could work out. When distractions came, we were so focused on the front sight that we dealt with them quickly so we could keep our focus tight.
If you want my advise, it is the same as the advice my shooting instructors gave to me.
Focus on the front sight!
Creed, pt 7 – The Church Growing Together
Posted by Erik in Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on August 23, 2010
You can check out all the messages from the series Creed here.
- The Question of God
- The Gospel of the Son
- The Name and the Presence of the Spirit
- The Authority of the Word
- The Thud and the Crud
- Coming Together with Jesus
We apologize for the fuzziness in some of the audio. There’s an issue in our lines that we’re having trouble isolating.
Rather than discuss the doctrinal stuff involved in the church (known as ecclesiology), I thought I would share some links to a series I wrote last fall as we prepared for merging Heritage Baptist Church and Grace Baptist Church.
Part 1 – Introducing the Merger
Because we will be journeying together toward this merger, we will be posting some thoughts about the merger. Any time two congregations take a faith risk like this, there are a lot of concerns and we want to try to make sure we address these concerns.
Part 2 – Not Giving Up on “Old” Congregations
Here are some faulty assumptions about ‘established’ churches that do nothing but destroy the body of Christ.
Part 3 – Unifying Two Different Congregations
The intensely individualistic local church idea has to be rethought and possibly even rejected in order for it to happen. This product of modernism has bred distrust and disunity in the Church, and it is the biggest obstacle that has to be overcome.
Part 4 – We Are Not a Business
People are not our consumers; they are our fellow human beings. Salvation is not a commodity; it is a necessary gift, a divine blessing. Ministry is not our strategy to ‘get’ more people and preaching is not about ‘appealing’ to people
Part 5 – Redundancy
Redundancy is absolutely essential to survival as a church. When you only have one group of people who can accomplish a task, if something happens to those people, you are in a ‘dead stick’ situation. You’re going in and there is nothing you can do about it.
Part 6 – Expectations
We do expect God to do something awesome and we hope that this is what will happen. But we cannot expect this merger to fix all of our problems or answer all of our questions. Those expectations are too high and no matter how successful the merged congregation is, you are bound to disappointed.
Part 7 – First Meetings
Of course, the church is not the space they meet in, but I am posting it because compared to our current space, it looks positively HUGE.
Part 8 – Facing in a New Direction
For a church to grow together, they have to strike the balance between sitting together and working together. There are times for all of us to sit and learn, and other times when the seats should be emptied. There are times when we have to give our chairs to someone else; and other times when we need to take up a couple of chairs to rest.
Part 9 – Moving Forward
Just a quick update for everyone so you can know what is happening.
Part 10 – First Weekend Together
The big weekend is almost HERE! Our first Sunday worship service together with our sister congregation, Grace Baptist Church.
Part 11 – Schedule Changes
We have changed our schedule for the merger activities between Grace Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church.
Part 12 – First Weekend
There were nothing but positive thoughts from folks as things wound down and people headed out.
All in all, I don’t think it could have gone much better; and all the credit goes to our Lord Jesus!
Part 13 – Ministry without Borders
How do we build a ministry without these age borders? I have to think about it some more and try to engage the entire congregation a little better.
Part 14 – The Votes for Merger
The time is quickly arriving. It has been months since I first posted about the merger between Grace Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church, it had been four months in the making.
It is probably time for me to write parts 15-20, but I want to leave it for a moment and let things continue to play out.
Growing Together, Post 14
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on December 9, 2009
The time is quickly arriving. It has been months since I first posted about the merger between Grace Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church, it had been four months in the making.
On Tuesday, both congregations will vote on a merger in principle. This will be a vote to bring the two congregations together as one and pursue a complete merger of the two in 2010.
[title Growing Together, Post 14]
Growing Together, post 13
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on December 1, 2009
Things with the merger between Heritage and Grace seem to be moving forward well, so I took some time this morning to think about some practical concerns. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is our ‘target’ for ministry.
Now, I need to provide a quick clarification. I am not a big fan of ‘group specific’ ministry (i.e. Gen-X ministry, postmodern ministry, seeker-driven ministry). Scripturally, the church should be diverse both ethnically and generationally. But, that being said, we need to keep in mind who we can reach.
I was reading something from the pastor of a megachurch in Washington, DC. He said that 70% of his church is twenty something singles. I cannot judge his congregation, but doesn’t that seem a little unbalanced? The Scriptures are full of references to families and households in the church, and it seems to be implied that the family is the foundation of the church.
That being said, I am thinking that not only should our church provide ministries for every member of the family (adult Bible studies, children’s ministry, youth group), it should also design worship and large group gatherings with the family in mind. Perhaps the family ministries should be a safety net for the family, but the intention should be to allow the family to worship and grow together.
Why shouldn’t the adult worship gathering be as welcoming to children and teens as it is to adults? And why shouldn’t adults feel welcome and engaged in the children’s ministry?
How do we build a ministry without these age borders? I have to think about it some more and try to engage the entire congregation a little better. I also think we need to build a children’s ministry with just as much spiritual content as the ‘adult’ services. And we have to almost ‘reteach’ church to people because the assumption is that kids cannot handle the adult service and that adults get nothing out of children’s ministry.
A lot to think about.
Growing Together, post 12
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on November 30, 2009
Yesterday, the congregations of Grace Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church worshipped together in a formal worship gathering for the first time. It was a full house, despite several families who were out because of work or illness.
The building was full of excitement – a confirmation of what the leaders believe is a clear direction from the Lord.
It was also full of people. We had 85 in the worship gathering, and if those absent had been with us we would have easily broken 100.
The combined worship band really came together to make the music something special; and I hear the sermon wasn’t too shabby.
Afterward, we had a shared lunch and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Then the kids headed outside (both those who are actually kids and many of the guys who are really just big kids) and made extensive use of the playground and the fields.
There were nothing but positive thoughts from folks as things wound down and people headed out.
All in all, I don’t think it could have gone much better; and all the credit goes to our Lord Jesus!
Looking forward to our discussions on Thursday, December 3, at 7:00pm, and our Christmas party this Saturday, December 5, also at 7:00pm!
Growing Together, post 11
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on November 27, 2009
We have changed our schedule for the merger activities between Grace Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church.
November 29, 10am – Joint Worship Gathering @ Grace, 67 Bedford Rd, Merrimack
December 3, 7pm – Discussions about Merger @ Grace
December 5, 7pm – Joint Christmas Party @ Grace (child care at 21 Londonderry Tpk, Hooksett)
December 13, 10am – Joint Worship Gathering @ Grace
December 15, 7pm – Business Meetings (at separate locations)
December 20, 10am – Last worship gathering @ 21 Londondery Turnpike
December 24, 7pm – Christmas Eve service @ Grace
December 27, 10am – Worship @ Grace
December 31, 7pm – New Year’s Eve Vigil @ Grace
January 3, 10am – Worship @ Grace
January 10, 10am – UNIFICATION SERVICE
Growing Together, post 10
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on November 24, 2009
The big weekend is almost HERE! Our first Sunday worship service together with our sister congregation, Grace Baptist Church.
The worship service begins at 10:00am; but come early and get to know some of the awesome people from Grace!
This is going to be a family worship gathering, so we will be keeping the kids (ages 4 and up) with us. We know little ones sometimes have short attention spans and have to go to the bathroom. Families with children, choose seats that will allow you to take care of your children with minimal disruption.
Excellent, experienced child care will be provided for ages 0-3. The nursery is downstairs; and we will make sure there is someone to help you get your kids to the nursery.
There is a potluck lunch after the service. Many of you signed up to bring meals. Grace has a full kitchen and a warming unit. When you arrive, you can take your items downstairs to the kitchen and someone will help put things in the right places.
If you need directions to Grace’s facility, click here.
Growing Together, post 9
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on November 18, 2009
Just a quick update for everyone so you can know what is happening.
- On November 15, the voting membership of Heritage Baptist Church approved moving forward in the merger 23-0.
- On November 17, the members of Grace Baptist Church approved the move, 24-0.
Now we move to the serious part of the merger. We have had some informal interaction of the congregations but over the next three weeks, we will have some fairly intense interaction. We will worship together on November 29, have a joint discussion of the merger on December 3, a joint Christmas party on December 5, and worship together again on December 13.
Then both congregations will vote on a motion to join together in worship and service, what we are calling a merger in principle. When this is approved by both congregations, I will be called as the pastor of Grace – effectively making me a pastor of two congregations. Heritage will then join Grace for weekly worship and all ministries. Both churches will join in signing a Unity Covenant.
Growing Together, post 8
Posted by Erik in Church, Growing Together, Heritage & Grace Merger on November 12, 2009
Chairs in the church are wonderful things. They give us a place to set our backsides, since standing up for hours on end gets tiring.
When the chairs are all facing one direction, they force us to also face the same direction. This is good because it is easy to get distracted.
But chairs have some downsides as well. Sitting is a restful position; and sometimes it is hard to get out of sitting and go back to working.
Because we face one direction, sometimes we miss important things that happen behind or around us. Worst of all, when the chairs are turned away from the door, we do not who is coming in or not coming in. All we see is what happens in front of us.
For a church to grow together, they have to strike the balance between sitting together and working together. There are times for all of us to sit and learn, and other times when the seats should be emptied. There are times when we have to give our chairs to someone else; and other times when we need to take up a couple of chairs to rest.
How else could we use the chair as a metaphor for growing together as a body?
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