Jason Bedell Online

So, I was speaking at CCYC a few weekends ago and my wife was amazingly wonderful and allowed me to get an iPhone 3G and the world is a better place (seriously it is). I have been amazed at how I can get the information for ministry faster, connect to people, share life, and ultimately do more with this little device.

Over the next few posts we'll be discussing how Your Ministry with Tech can benefit from using social networking, blogs, interactive web, mobile communication, email, etc. to meet the needs of your people and to make your job easier.

First, we'll start with something that is overlooked for most people, but it makes total sense... iGoogle. If you are wondering what this is check out an overview video below:



iGoogle helps you dump outlook, calendars, mutliple pages to view, and so on and to bring everything to a web based interface and basically it's your "landing pad" for all things you need (i.e. RSS Reader, Google Calendar, Gmail, To-do Lists, News Feeds, Facebook, Twitter, Etc.)

You can have one place to get everything you need without haveing to visit 10-15 different websites or have your outlook open, calendar open, web browser open and the list goes on.

To start off, just go to Gmail.com and sign up for an email account. Once that is set-up:

• You can make a Google Calendar (import your outlook to google calendar)
• Set up your blog feeds in Google Reader
• Store and edit documents online with Google Docs
• Store & Keep Photos online with Google Photos (Picasa)
• Then you can set-up your iGoogle Page and add all of these to the main page
• Just save iGoogle as your Homepage in your web browser and... That's It!

• Twitter Add-on
• MySpace Add-on
• Facebook Add-on
• Enhanced Bookmarks Add-on
  
• Framed Photo (I keep my family photos on here wherever I go)

Well, Saufley will be up in arms at this one... but I'm testing the mobile posting features from my iPhone. Ha. I can hear his angry rant about Apple & Steve Jobs from across the state.

Until next time,
J-del *over & out*

• God did some amazing things on Sunday
• Beach and Chesapeake Campuses both were great
• I wasn’t feelin’ my message, but God did some cool things despite my thoughts
• The opening rap intro at Beach was off the hook
• “Chesapeake people, you are in for a great service this week! Seriously.”
• Loved hearing everyone yell, “BAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLIIIIINNNNN!” Ha.
• Funny how we just kicked off the finance/money series and offerings were up
• Even funnier is the offering was before the message, God is moving in us big time, before anyone even speaks. I love it.
• Got to eat with good friends at El Pollo Loco after church. Have you been there? It’s GREAT!
• For everyone who was checking out Chloe in the lobby Sunday, “Yes, I know she is a chunky baby. And yes, she does not miss a meal.” I love my baby girl.
• So all you parents looking for a new stroller… have you called these guys? Funny stuff.
• Filming some man on the street video this week, “What would you do if you had $100 dollars?”
• Baptism service Sunday night was AMAZING! 7 people were baptized in a backyard hot tub, the yard was packed, hot apple cider flowing, fire pit blazing, and everyone had a great time (check out the video in last blog post).
  

We had an awesome backyard style baptism service Sunday. Posted this video on the Forefront Blog and figured I would share what is going down at Forefront. God is moving and I feel humbled to be a part of it. Enjoy.

Rumor has is that the Ballin’ series is going to have quite a few spoofs over the next four weeks. One of the shows I LOVED back in the day was In Living Color. There were some sketches done by the Waynes Bros. where they hosted the “Homeboy Shopping Network” (check out the video at the end of the post). They were all about giving tips and tricks on how to make money fast without using your own.

Hmmmm… I wonder if there would be any attempt to do such things in the opening week of the series?!? I smell a video idea…

Ballin' (baaaaaaallll'~en)

1. /noun/ to play basketball (nope, not for this series)
2. /adjective/ one who is in a state of being extremely rich (chiggity-check)
3. /adjective/ to be well respected, in high status, wealthy beyond the norm (cha-cha-check)

In this next series, Ballin'- we are going to take a look at what it means to live a life in God when it comes to wealth, finances, and how does that line up with what American culture tells us. Let's face it, right now everyone is having a rough go at things financially and we all could use a pep talk and direction on how to better manage what God provides for us.

Check it out the next 4 weeks at Beach Campus and it starts the following week at Chesapeake. You won't want to miss it. (Rumor has it there is some rap action going on in the opening?!? I'm just saying, it should be interesting).

See you this Sunday.

Another way we look to change the face of discipleship is to beef up the Gel Group materials. Say you are totally vibing on the series and what God is speaking into your life. Currently if you wanted to dive deeper you have to figure it out on your own.

Well, we are going to provide a list of 3-5 books every series, that will allow you to further explore the topic if you feel God is moving you to. Also, we are compiling a list of online resources to help everyone study the Bible easier and grow on their own.

I know it’s difficult for some to hear, “on your own,” but it’s the truth. The church can be here to help and we should be. We can provide a means for you to grow with God- but it boils down to whether or not you choose to move deeper.

My prayer is that everyone at Forefront will choose to go deeper in ‘09 and God’s church here in Hampton Roads is going to blow up with a fire that can’t be put out.

Until next time,

Jason *over and out*

So, the transition time for me has been interesting, but it's time to get back into the groove. Thanks for being patient as I took some time over at the Forefront Blog to connect, cast vision, etc. So you'll be seeing double duty here. Some personal, some Forefront, some babbling, etc.

In celebration of shocking this blog's little life and bringing it back from the dead, I figured if blogs could talk or scream- they would sound like this. (who let's someone tase them anyway? what in the world.)

We were talking about discipleship in the last post. How will that change? Well, the first thing was providing resources via the hub table year ’round for people to grow and dive deeper. Before we talk about another way we aim to help with this, let me take a minute to comment on something you might be thinking-

“I want to dive deeper, but spiritually I’m a wreck. How do study materials help with the brokenness?”

I do not believe that providing resources will break your cycle of brokenness, but- I do believe that searching for God, admitting you are hurting, using study tools, praying to God about your pain, being a part of a Gel Group where you truly share your life (not just parts of it), and beginning to talk with God and people to work through the mess will bring you to a place of healing.

I hear a bunch of people saying, “I want to go deeper” at Gel Groups. I get it. But as I listen, many times what I hear are not the words you’re speaking- I hear in the background a pain, a hurt, a struggle and what your really saying is, “I want a way to be healed from this.” “I am trying to figure out how God can heal my life in this area, help me.” We want to help. Forefront aims to be place for people to come to Him and seek spiritual healing and meet God.

That’s why we think the face of discipleship needs to change. Another way it will change is to gut the program of “days 1-5 study” and in it’s place have the entire church read through the New Testament this year. If we have the entire church read through the N.T. in one year, I think amazing things will happen. I’ve talked to quite a few people who have told me, “I’ve never really read through a book of the Bible, much less the whole N.T.!”

We’re going to lay it out so everyone is reading it in a way where God speaks to you. You walk through it and ask questions that are relevant to you in your journey with God. If everyone commits to this, it will revolutionize Forefront. A church that knows the Bible is a force to be reckoned with. Seriously.

More on discipleship soon.

Jason

So with visiting Gel Groups we’ve been discussing how Forefront will change. It’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue and we all have our own “ideal way” the church could be better in our eyes. I love that many of you have ideas on how Forefront can be better and the leadership/ staff see areas where we can grow- but if we run with everyone’s idea of the “perfect church” we’ll be an awful church. Because one person’s ideas conflict with someone else’s ideas and then no one’s happy.

As the lead pastor, God has tasked me with the challenge of balancing what the body (the church) needs and what we as a leadership, staff, and volunteers can take on and accomplish. We’ve talked about 2 things to tackle in 2009 so we can really do them and tackle them well:

• Assimilation (a process for people from the moment they come to Forefront to bring them to a point where they are plugged in and really serving)
• Discipleship (taking people deeper with God through aiding them in dealing with their brokenness and providing resources & opportunities for them to grow if they choose to)

With discipleship, we can’t “make” anyone become a disciple of Jesus. It’s impossible. It cannot be forced upon anyone, they have to choose to go deeper and grow. But, the church can provide a means to get there and show people where to go next.

One of the ways we’ll look to accomplish this is providing resources at the Hub Table for free. Study materials to work through on Topics like: Prayer and Fasting, Discovering God’s Word, Confession & Repentance, Resting in Jesus (basically getting away from the chaos of life), and more. We’re also looking to provide study materials that give an overview on books of the Bible. These would start sometime in January with different studies added as we get them printed and would be provided year round.

I’ll share more on some of our plans on discipleship later. Until then,

Jason *over and out*