Modcasting

From Technology Review:

“Forget plain old podcasting. Modcasting lets listeners assemble customized podcasts, turning them into armchair producers.

That’s the promise of Modcast, a technology developed by Florida-based Bind that enables a podcast listener to choose which segments of a show to hear, then have a customized audio file generated on the fly.”

You’ll need a free subscription to read this. But its worth, they consistently have great articles and tend to “get” things that are just on the horizon culturally and technologically.

Some thoughts.

Cultural implications of Modcasting – a sad day when advertising rules the podscape. Its probably inevitable and possibly not an entirely evil thing, but its sad that everything has to be a “business model” for something.

Ecclesial implications of Modcasting – Advertising aside, the desire – to create mash-ups of content to your own liking is part-n-parcel with the ongoing move to customization and personalization that is Web 2.0. Self-directed viewing and listening as opposed to Corporate prescribed doses. True in the spiritual realm as well, which is part of the “popularity” (if that’s a fair word) of things like house churches. I think for podcasting pastors, churches, and Christians we should learn the lesson of brevity. Too many Christian podcasts (my included!) are so wording and looooonnnnnggggggg. Small doses of wisdom (ala Nouwen) are nice.

TallSkinnyKiwi: Church 2.0

I blogged about this abit ago, but as usually Andrew Jones has great links and a very good handle on Web 2.0 and how it is/will effect the Church.

Read and Learn.

I came. I ran

… and now… I ice!

Here are my results:

Not bad. 11:05 minute mile. Just over an hour… 4 minutes after a certain other runner. I am so glad I did it. I am definitely going to keep on running. Hopefully another 10K soon. Maybe… just maybe a half marathon in May???!!

Now I just need to lose body fat and weight. Not sure why I’m still at 238 and 30%, but hopefully I can make some eating changes and lift a bit more regularly. But that’s for another day.

Today, I will rest. Eat. Be with family. And I may even run a mile later (I hear that is good idea and a way to offset soreness and such things).

For Your Listening Pleasure

LizBowater.com

EricFalstrom.com

BrandonDawson.net

MattMurrayMusic.com

Good People. Good Music. Local People. Local Music.

Another Post-Regional Gathering Blog Reflection : Ryan J Hale

“I believe our God wants justice just as much as we wants to extend grace. It is both and he hates the evil that has been brought against his people. I think it gives God more pain than it does us and I can’t even begin to imagine what that means.

And that is why we have a Healer in Christ, a Priest who sat down because the work was done.”

3 Things for Our Network

Dear Network,

What a full weekend this past one was! Wow. So many people converging in one place… people of various communities, neighborhoods, networks, households, and locales. We are a well-connected people. In the midst of this impending season that is quickly upon us I wanted to share 3 things with you that will hopefully be of interest and insight for you all.

Thing Number One >>>>>
Advent Worship Gatherings
Q: Why are we having these?
A: Because babies don’t come from cabbages!

Really. I’m sorry to burst your bubble and you may not want to show this to your pre-pubescent children… but babies come from sex and waiting. Except for one baby… and he came sans-sex but with much waiting. That’s the reason we have Advent. We are a waiting people. We remember the Waiting Israel. We are part of a Waiting Church. Waiting for Christ the King. King of Israel, King of the Church, King of the Kingdom. So it is important for us to Re-Member ourselves into this Waiting Story. We are gathering at 6:00 PM these 4 Sundays to place ourselves as a network in a Waiting Posture. We are careful to not move so quickly to Christmas with out the Wait. Without the Gestation of the Spirit we miss sweetness of the moment.

What’s more, I want to tell you that it is important for us to gather for these Advent worship services because this world in which we live is a yearning place. Our society is replete with expressions of longing… of wanting … more … something …. more. We live in a transitional time when great forces are contending for the future of this age. It is an Advent time in history. Because of this, too, it is important for us to see ourselves into the Advent Coming of Christ. As a wise man in our community said in prayer recently… We look forward to Christ that is always coming.

Thing Number Two >>>>>
Weekly Celebration Gatherings
Q: Why are we starting weekly worship services again?
A: Because sometimes front doors look like fortress gates and front porches are important places!

Yes, WE think that our homes are inviting, welcoming, open places. But to those on the outside, sometimes coming through the front doors of our homes are terrifying affairs. Creating space to welcome our neighbors is important. Creating space where we can all connect with one another and encounter God is important. So these weekly times to gather for worship are specifically focused on our Norwood neighborhood. This is the the hub of our network and where we have a significant concentration of folks. Part of our calling is to this neighborhood and to seeing Christ incarnate, the Kingdom come in Norwood as it is in Heaven. In fact, I can see a day in our network’s future when we have clusters of communities/house churches in neighborhoods all around Greater Cincy, these clusters are all part of our larger VC network, but they also care for the neighborhoods in which they are placed. Right now our main concentration is West Norwood, so those who are placed there are partnering together to create space for their neighbors. Those outside of Norwood may choose to help out or focus on their own neighborhood or both. I hope that helps, I’d love to talk with any of you more about this. Email: aaron@vineyardcentral.com

Thing Number Three >>>>>
Regional Connections
Q: Who were all those strange looking people at the Brownhouse this past weekend?
A: Us, super-sized.

This past weekend many folks from all over the country gathered in our midst. Some of you have long-standing relationships with them. Some of you have no idea what I’m talking about. While we are network of house churches – on a journey to see Christ-centered communities full of Kingdom-bringing people all over the Cincy Metro, there are many others who have a similar calling in their locale. It seems that our Region (Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky) has a large concentration of such communities. So it has often been VC’s joy to host gatherings of these communities and their leaders. This past weekend was one such time.

I wanted to pass on some of these leader’s reflections to you. You may not know it but we are blessing to many and certainly part of a much much larger movement of what God is doing in the world today. I encourage you to read them and become familiar with these other churches, people, and leaders. It gives us a sense of being part of this Great Big God-thing that is much larger than VC, our HC, or personal journey of faith.

Eric Keck, Montpelier, VT
Bill Bean, Indianapolis, IN/Indy Church
Chris Marshall, Liberty Township, OH/Ordinary Community
Glenn Johnson, Oxford, OH/Veritas
Alan Creech, Lexington, KY/Vine and Branches – here and here
Ryan Hale, St. Louis, MO/Levi’s Table
Mike Bishop, West Palm Beach, FL, Vineyard Community -

and of course, our very own, The Venerable Kevin Rains and The Illustrious Thurman Allen

Sorry for the terribly long post. Hope you made it this far!

Blessings on you!
ak

This Weekend…

… was amazing! I don’t even know where to begin. Thursday night with the (almost) opening of St. E’s, Friday with a party extraordinare, Saturday with time for prayer and worship, lunch at PF Chang’s, Sunday at Matt’s for a fun (but ultimately disappointing) Bengal’s game. Like both of my Off The Map experiences of late, it was the quality of people present that made the gathering so good. Here’s my best effort attempt at a list of those present and from where they hail…
Kevin Rains – Cincinnati/Vineyard Central
Bill Bean – Indianapolis, IN/Indy Church
Chris Marshall – Liberty Township, OH/Ordinary Community
Glenn Johhnson – Oxford, OH/Veritas
Eric and Beth Keck – Montpelier, VT
Jim Henderson – Edmonds, WA
Mike Bishop – West Palm Beach, FL, Vineyard Community
Ryan Hale – St. Louis, MO/Levi’s Table
Mark Palmer – Columbus, OH/Landing Place
Kevin “Doc” Savage – Cincinnati, OH/Groesbeck UMC
Tammy Jo Reiser (and family) – Cincinnati, OH/Korean-Madisonville UMC
Alan and Liz Creech (and family) – Lexington, KY/Vine and Branches
Billy Spies (one of my students at CCS) – Sharonville, OH/Prince of Peace Lutheran
DG Hollums – Cold Springs, KY/Th3 Waters
Julie Gross – Norwood, OH/Vineyard Central
Chuck Pfahler – Cincinnati, OH
Thurman Allen – Norwood, OH/Vineyard Central
Alice Connor – Cincinnati, OH/Redeemer Episcopal Hyde Park
Joe Long – Northern KY/Bellevue Vineyard Church
Jon Allis – Northern KY/Bellevue Vineyard Church
Matt Murray – Cincinnati, OH/Vineyard Central
Eric Falstrom – Norwood, OH/Vineyard Central
Ken Oster – Norwood, OH/Vineyard Central
Chad Canipe – Norwood, OH/Poema

…and obviously lots more who don’t have blogs/web presence. Amazing. These are incredible people. They represent communities, households, churches, and neighborhoods. They are kingdom people. They “bring it” on a daily basis.

Amazing.

(Oh, lots of them have posted on the weekend, check out what they say)

Preach on Brutha Kyle, Preach on…

“I am baptized into Christ, and a member of the Church catholic. I share this life with the Vine and Branches in the Eucharist, common prayer and hospitality. We do not live together as a community because we have the same hobbies, or because we agree in our theologies down to the last detail. Hell, I’m not even on the same continent! We are a community because God has called us together as such, to bear the life of the Risen Christ together in the world around us. Our choice to love one another – to struggle with that and to learn what it means – is our response to God’s gracious call.”

Priest Idol – Christianity Today Magazine

Priest Idol – Christianity Today Magazine: “Priest Idol

A Wheaton grad ends up on British reality TV. His mission: Save a dying church.”

“How many American priests end up in their own reality show on British television? James McCaskill did just that when he moved last year from Pittsburgh to the town of Lundwood in England’s South Yorkshire district. He was brought in to revitalize a church whose congregation had dropped below ten, and his turnaround efforts were filmed for one year by a camera crew. The results will air—under the name Priest Idol—in a three-part series in November on the UK’s Channel 4.”

Wow.

I had no idea!

Patron Saint of the Internet!

Bigger than the Internet!