Last week I wrote about living with introversion in the ministry. You can read

7 Pitfalls of Being an Introverted Pastor

and

7 Ways I Work with Introversion to Protect My Ministry

Each of these posts, and every post I ever do about introversion, creates interest from those who share this part of my personality. I had several people at church this week comment on the posts. Apparently, this is an issue worth talking about more!

In an effort to help people, my online friend Adam McHugh, who writes a blog called Introverted Church, is offering his book Introverts in the Church to my readers.

Just discovered this Ted video with Billy Graham talking about technology and faith. He’s humorous, engaging, and helpful about how to deal with technology in the future. He’s talking to a secular audience in 1998, but his words are still practical.

Enjoy some time listening to this honored man:

Do you wonder what’s next after Facebook and Twitter?

Seth Priebatsch thinks he understands the answer to that question, and if he is right, it will change the “rules” of how we do life, just as Facebook and Twitter have. Watch this Ted video as Seth explains.

In my job I hear far more junk than I care to hear. The larger our church gets, the more mess we encounter among the people to whom we minister. We have designed our church to reach hurting people, so we are simply reaching our target audience, but some days it is more difficult than others to hear such sad stories.

One part of the drama of messiness that always frustrates me is how gossip begins about other people’s problems. As if dealing with the consequences of sin is not enough, many times some of the hardest repercussion is the gossip that occurs about the people involved and the situation that occurred. I have never found gossip to be helpful to the people involved or to the Kingdom of God. I have literally become a hater of gossip because I have seen it destroy so many people! Gossip hurts innocent people who are caught in the middle, it exaggerates the situation, and it keeps the one who did wrong loaded with guilt and frustration, and from experiencing the fullness of God’s grace.

With that in mind,here are 7 suggestions for how to stop the spread of gossip.

I don’t know about your family, but we’ve struggled in recent years to find good, well-written, and family friendly movies to enjoy together. Hollywood is paying attention and actually looking for ways to partner with the Christian community. Introducing Warner Brothers Studio’s movie “Flipped”, a story which chronicles second-graders Bryce and Juli over a six-year relationship of growing attachment. We get to experience triumph and disaster, family drama and first love, as they make the discoveries that will define who they are – and who they are to each other.

Written and directed by Rob Reiner, who was the director of such films as: Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle, this movie will entertain all audiences, while leaving some life lessons in the process. Salem Communications, the largest Christian Radio network in the nation has partnered with Warner Brothers to bring a live video chat with director Rob Reiner and actress Madeline Carroll tonight, Thursday, August 26 at 7pm ET on Facebook. Click HERE for a direct link.

In addition, I’ll be giving away a Flipped movie poster signed by Rob Reiner on this site. Simply comment on this post with your name for a chance to win. (I’ll choose a random winner soon.)

People watching is such an art. It takes discipline and practice. If you aren’t careful you might miss something good…or you could scare people away.

In one people-watching day recently I saw…

Casey Graham and Joe Sangl have become good friends. Casey and Joe share several things in common with each other. They are both incredibly high-energy, they are both funny (or think they are) and, most importantly, they both share a heart to help churches and people live in financial freedom. Specifically for the church, their desire is for churches to be able to fully fund the vision God has given the church.

As writers of the new book, “Funded and Free”, Casey and Joe combine their practical experience serving on church staffs with their most current experience helping churches and individuals across the nation achieve financial success. In this easy-to-read, practical and concise book, Casey and Joe help us understand the obstacles churches face and how to deal appropriately with finances and debt. Every church leader needs to read this book.

Do you like summer? Are you ready for the season to change? I am always ready for change and as a runner, it has been especially hot. As an optimist by nature, however, I decided it was best to reflect on the things I like about summer.

Here are 10 reasons I love about summer:

One Tweet should never stand alone in determining the value of a Tweeter. With the rapid fire that most people Twitter 140 characters, the quick thoughts extended are not always a fair representation of the mind, heart and character of the person Tweeting.

There are times I have Tweeted something I wish later I hadn’t. I have mistyped or misspelled a tweet numerous times. My auto-correct has finished words for me that were inappropriate. I have had trouble communicating what I wanted to say in such a small space.

If you are going to follow me (or anyone) on Twitter. Here’s a quick reminder:

When it seems everything is a failure. Go for some small wins.

Life has a way of bringing seasons into our life where nothing seems to go right. Often God uses those times to strengthen us, sometimes our own bad decisions bring those times, and many times those seasons come just as a part of living in a fallen world. During those seasons of life, a person may need to experience a little victory to rebuild his or her confidence.

If everything in your life seems to be going wrong lately, find a few small things you do well and complete them. Everyone does something well. It will help rebuild your confidence and encourage you to take risks again towards the bigger wins.

Are you in one of those seasons? Be faithful in a little and God will bless you with far more. What’s a small win you could accomplish today?