Trends

I must admit that I am an avid blog reader and Google fan boy. I use Google to find all sorts of nifty (did I just say nifty?) gadgets and sites that I would not have found other wise. One of my favorite Google inventions is Google trends. If you have never visited I suggest you do. What is Google Trends?

It is a site where Google shows what the hottest searches are for that day or you can compare how popular keywords are by a date range. The reason I think this is important is because I think it is important to have your finger on the pulse of culture. We as a church need to know what people are searching for on Google and use that. Why would you do a sermon series on "Thunder Cats" for instance when only a few people even still know or care about "Thunder Cats" ( I loved Thunder Cats). I mean you have to know your audience. If you have a bunch of 26-32 year old guys in your church by all means do a Thunder Cat series. What I am saying is the church needs to pay attention to what is trendy and use it to connect. Don't over use it and look cheesy either. Just because "LOST" and "24" are hot right now does not mean you should do a sermon series on them but maybe you could use a clip from one of these shows to drive home a point in your message (rather than a clip from "The Wonder Years").

World of War Craft (WOW) is hot right now, it's a video game for those of you who don't know. How awesome would it be to open your church during the week to teenagers and supply them with a few computers to play video games. Open the doors before a Wednesday youth gathering and let them stay for the gathering after playing games (thanks Jim for the idea). Be smart, study, and don't assume you know what is popular and what is not. Don't just use Goggle trends! Build relationships with people, ask questions, find out what is important to people who you know don't go to church. Don't assume that because you like a certain type of music that everyone does. Don't assume that your way is the best way because that's they way you have always done it. Don't just pander to your current audience. Broaden your mind and change the world.

My inspiration of the week

I decided that once a week I will post 1 tutorial that really taught me something and one piece of inspiration I found during the week. Now my skill level may be lower or higher then who ever reads this. I am sure you have seen some of these images or videos before but hey whatever. Here is video I love. This is a worship leader at Granger Community church in Indiana. Not only is the song beautiful so are the lights and motion graphics behind him. The guy's name is Seth Bible. Mark Beeson wrote a pretty cool blog post about him. If you want to hear more of his stuff you can go here

Relevant vs Copying

I read an article the other day in Collide Magazine (A great Mag if you have never read it) about bad church design practices. In the last segment Cameron Smith rants about how annoying it is when the church copies popular TV Shows as the title of their sermon series and chalk it up to relevance.  The truth is it's lame. I believe as alot of others do that the church should be on the forefront of innovation. It is important to leverage the culture and to know the culture but copying is not nececary. I have a passion to be on the forefront of innovation for the sake of communicating the greatest story ever told. I worship God through my art and videos. I just wanted my first blog to give everyone a good idea why I do what I do. More Later!