Tag Archive - John Saddington

Tony Steward: What Are You Passionate About?

February 27, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media with 7 Comments

What Are You Passionate About?
I like all the creative things that different bloggers are doing online to help us connect and get to know others in the online community. I love Rick Smith’s “double popped” interviews and John Saddington’s chats or Friday 5′s, as well as the other creative things bloggers are doing.

One of the questions I’m constantly curious of is, “What are you passionate about?” It doesn’t matter if it’s in a therapeutic setting, church setting, or in a casual conversation with a friend, or someone I hardly know.

Locating your passion in life is of utmost value, especially when it correlates with what you do in life, whether that be your vocation, hobbies, service work, etc.

So I’m starting a new series where I plan on asking a different person online “What are you passionate about?” It’s my hope that it’s a great opportunity to get to know others better and see what drives them, and what things we can learn from them.

tonyWho is Tony Steward
Tony is the Online Community Organiser at LifeChurch.tv and someone who I have really come to know well over the last 6 months. And according to Scott McClellan at Collide Magazine he is the first person to hold the title of online community pastor. He is a great guy who I have learned a lot from and you can find his blog here, and his Twitter here.

Let’s begin…

What are you really passionate about?

I am passionate about what happens when the power of the Gospel touches someone and they are able to step into God’s call on their life – the results of that are so exciting. And what is incredible is how the emergence of online tools have allowed us to bring the gospel to people who are gathering online. There is also a tremendous opportunity in how online tools can be used in discipleship, leadership and extending the ministry of the church to the world.

How does what you are doing vocationally or volunteer wise serve that passion?

I am the Online Community Organiser with LifeChurch.tv on the team that brings church online. This both applies to preparing and bringing the gospel online through our experiences at http://live.lifechurch.tv as well as leadership and discipleship development for the people that are a part of our community.

How can those around you (friends, online community, etc.) best support you?

Ideas, Feedback and Prayer. Nobody has ministry online “figured out” and we are in a constant state of measurement, analysis and refinement. We love to partner with other churches and individuals who are passionate about the opportunities online – so getting connected and working together is always a big help and thrill.

But more than anything, prayer.

Anything else we should know about this passion?

Well, there is a lot to know – lol. I think the biggest learning for me right now is that the web is socially very awkward, like a junior high kid at their first dance. We are all still working through a lot of questions, we keep stepping on each others feet, and things are growing and we aren’t always sure what it means. But the dance is where everyone is at, and not being there just means nobody knows you. That and the internet isn’t going away, it isn’t a surprise to God, and we need to learn how be there appropriately to reach all the people that are gathering online.

Leave any comments, questions, thoughts or words of encouragement for Tony below….

Why I Disconnected Twitter from Facebook

February 16, 2009 in Technology-Social Media with 40 Comments

it’s official..i have disabled Twitter from my Facebook group..2 very different groups..I wrestled with this for months, but now i did it–12:19 AM Feb 12th from web

imagesimages1In the grand scheme of life this decision is about as unimportant as the come…really, it is. But somehow it is something I have been thinking about for months. I attempted to disconnect it twice over the last couple of months, but panicked and reconnected them within hours. Panicked might be a strong word…but it was in reality, a tough decision for a social media/web addict as myself. Yes, I fear that my online habits are bordering on addiction (and so are yours) and must be brought back under control. Sad…I know.

Cynthia Ware was the first person I had talked about this with a while ago…she disconnected them. Then I talked with John Saddington…he too has them disconnected. I saw Justin Wise disconnected his this week as well. I could list you tons more who disconnected them (or never even connected them) and tons more who still do it…great people like Greg Atkinson and Tony Steward.

But here is why I did it.

  1. It floods people’s Facebook Home Page/News Feed. If there are 100′s of people or over a 1,000 in your network (and your friends numbers are reciprocal), then this isn’t as big of a deal.  Your status update may not even be seen.  But lots of new people on Facebook and if one Twitters a lot, well, then you just might flood their news feed.


  2. Noise.  If I send out 25 tweets, the likelihood of someone responding/commenting on them on Facebook goes down.  On the other hand, updating your Facebook status and letting it sit there for most of the day, or at least several hours tends to invite more commenters I have found.  This is the “boy who cried wolf” or “bystander syndrome.” Or that’s how I think of it.  You keep tweeting, lots of people are going to stand by and watch until they hardly recognize your tweets anymore.


  3. Two different communities. Twitter in my opinion is centered more around conversation, and Facebook is place to share photos, news, video, etc, etc.  That doesn’t lend itself well to the Twitter symbols (i.e. RT, @, shortened words, etc.)


  4. Twitter allows you to ignore Facebook.  Because I never had to go on Facebook to update my status I tended to ignore a lot of what was going on there (funny thing is, people probably thought I was on Facebook all day, when in reality it was like every other day for about 30 minutes).  I missed out on great opportunities to be a part of that online community, and share and contribute with them, rather than just taking and wanting them to comment on my ever changing status. Saying it another way…I could not leverage the true value of the Facebook community when I was taking a Twitter shortcut.


  5. More ways to update now.  If I really want to update Facebook without having to go on Facebook, or from my Twitter there are many ways to do that now.  I can just send a message with hellotxt which I use.  Or brightkite which I also use.  Or why not use the #fb in your Twitter update which will post on Facebook (which I have not used yet, but heard a lot about)



I have been on Facebook for over 4 years and Twitter for about 15 months.  Not once has anyone ever complained to me about the number of my status updates (at least not to me personally).  I know some people defriended me and others unfollowed me, but rarely was anything ever said to me.  In fact, I thought Twitter was a great way to bring the two communities together and I often got great comments on Facebook via Twitter.

But I’ve just been rethinking my online philosophy.  It is a good decision for me.  It may or may not be a good decision for you.  I can understand both points of view.

As we spend more and more time online, and in more and more forums, using more and more tools, we are going to have to develop some sort of coherent philsophy…each and every one of us.  If we don’t, we are bound to be taken over.  This was my first step in rethinking how I do things online.

Discuss

  1. What are you doing? Connecting? Disconnecting?
  2. Why or why not?
  3. Are there  differences in the Facebook and Twitter communities?  What are they?

ChurchTechCamp-8 Things To Know If You Want To Help Organize One-Part 3: Collaborative Planning

January 21, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media with 5 Comments

Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together toward an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor[1] [2] that is creative in nature[3]—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Collaboration does not require leadership and can sometimes bring better results through decentralization and egalitarianism.[4] In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.

This is at the heart of ChurchTechCamp. A coming together of people, sharing of their gifts and resources, to bring a greater impact to the Church through the use of technology. This is not something that one person, or one organization can do, but rather is best brought about by a number of people with a variety of gifts.

When planning for a ChurchTechCamp in your area one of the early things to think about is the collaborative nature of the event and who are those people that can get the ball rolling, as well as usher in a presence and demeanor to everyone else on the fringes to participate and give fully of their gifts. Put another way, “Who can help make this a shared event, and not a one or two person show?”

To pull of ChurchTechCamp:.Dallas collaboration was key. It began as I have mentioned before in a Twitter conversation. Tony Steward knew that John Saddington was coming to Dallas and that I was interested in having it in Dallas. So it began as a collaborative effort among the three of us, but was really encouraged by others who commented on the Twitter conversation. We helped organize, but it was the attendees, in person and online, who before and after the event brought the true meaning of collaboration to the event. A few simply helped get the ball rolling, the rest was done by all of you. Thank you to all of them.

Continue Reading…

Help Human3rror Meet His Mother

November 20, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 0 Comments

One of my favorite online friendships is with John Saddington. We have just recently gotten to know each other via email, chat, Twitter, etc. His online humor always makes me laugh and I have found him to be a very giving, and appreciative person.

So…you should help him meet his mother.

Read Help Me Meet My Mother and learn about his story, as well as how you can help him through prayer or financial support.

And if anything, get to know him online. He may be the most prolific blog commenter out there. Does he ever sleep? That is still to be determined.

An Interview with Church Crunch

November 20, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 2 Comments

Church Crunch has definitely become one of my favorite sites. I check it out several times a day and am always learning, being challenged and growing in many areas, but especially their thoughts on technology and the Church.

John Saddington (you must start reading his blog–a must) did an interview with me this last week. It was a cool experience to be asked some questions that I have been thinking about and wrestling with for a while.

I love how he began the interview…made me laugh.

Rhett Smith is one of those guys that after you visit his blog your brain starts asking funky questions like “What’s up with this guy who enjoys psychology, theology, counseling, and social media… at the same time?”

Check out our interview, A Chat with Rhett Smith.