Transparency
TransparencyCamp 2009 just finished in Washington brought about by Obama’s initiative to make government more transparent. Personally I think this is a good thing, we need to be more transparent everywhere, it builds trust and accountability.
The fact that there was even a conference to discuss and converse about transparency is a step in the right direction government or not. If our government is trying to be more transparent to its people by the hand of the first African-American President, how much more do we as Christian people need to open up our homes, lives and churches. It would be wonderful to see a conference on transparency surrounding the operation of churches, denominations and non-profits.
Tags: Church, Denominations, Government, Obama, Transparency, Transparent
The News Landscape
Today’s news landscape is vast and troubling. Communication mediums have reached new heights for deliverance and consumption. One online service called "daylife" has created a new landscape to capture the news and put it in a context that really makes you think. It’s a creative context that gives the listening and watching audience a view of what is popular in today’s world of news corruption. (All news isn’t bad) The platform seems to give one a glimpse of what God might see looking down on our dysfunctional stories.
I should also mention that they have a service where publishers can submit their stores to their news platform for readership. I’m sure there are some creative ministry possibilities or sermons that could be derived from the service.
Check out the labs and some of their innovative platforms.
( I especially like the Universe one ) http://universe.daylife.com/
Tags: daylife, universe, news, stories, corruption, communication, labs
Injustice For All
In reading a blog post on Spectrum, it reminded me of a scripture that I also read today.
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong? ….. Habakkuk 1:3
Why does it seem that Americans aren’t standing up for injustice in our world as much as previous generations have? I know this is my personal view, but based on our materialistic society of greed we don’t want to be taken out of our comfort zones to contradict injustice. We only help when it’s politically correct and we don’t provoke our voice to injustice unless we are getting something in return for our risks. An example of this is the homeless in America. Helping the homeless is a good thing to do, but the injustice is how the homeless got there in the first place. over 70% of the homeless are veterans and many have been cast out of society because of their mental state, either from birth or abuse. The injustice is allowing the veterans to be left to the world after seeing and doing the awful things of war. The injustice is not providing counseling services for the abused and not educating society about how homeless need more than just soup. There is is injustice all around us, pick your battles of injustice and lift your voice. God promised the prophet Habakkuk that hope was near and that all injustice would be righted with the coming of the Savior.
Tags: Habakkuk, Injustice, Spectrum, Homeless
Values = Vote
Matching up your values, religious beliefs and social concerns up with a presidential candidate can be a tough task. Well, now there is a online tool that helps you choose based on what you believe, even if your not sure what you believe. Connect2Elect.com masters this difficult sometimes confusing connection. I gave it a try and was surprised about some of the results. You might find that you have been endorsing the wrong candidate all along!
I mention this site because so many times politics divide us religiously. I think this is a site to help bridge the gap of understanding, instead of assuming or believing everything the media tells you.
{Quote of the day}
It’s hard sometimes witnessing to someone that is a Christian with Republican values when you are Christian with Democratic values.
Tags: Politics, Religion, Connect2Elect, Republican, Democrat, Gravel, Christian
