Feeds:
Posts
Comments

How I Use This Blog, Facebook and Twitter

July 13, 2009 by kentsanders

social_networking_sitesI want to share a little bit about three of the most popular “social media” tools available today, and how and why I specifically use them:

Blog. A blog is basically a website that allows someone to easily make regular entries. Hence the name “blog” is a shortened version of “web log.” Although my blog is called “Sacred Stones” (www.sacredstones.net) and is geared toward worship, I also use it for creative writing of different kinds. Individuals, companies and churches use blogs for various reasons, but I use mine for a blend of personal and ministry writing. Although worship is my main area of interest (as far as ministry and teaching), I’m interested in a lot of other things as well. I think many people are way too “focused” in their particular area these days, and although a leader should excel in his or her specialization, they can also learn a great deal from other areas. The blog is just an extension of my interests and perspective on life.

Facebook. This has really caught on the last couple of years. Facebook has become the tool of choice to connect with people. I have re-connected with literally dozens of people I would have never found otherwise. While my blog is focused more on essays, perspectives and that sort of thing, I use Facebook to interact with friends I probably wouldn’t interact with any other way. What’s interesting to me is that Facebook is starting to become the communication method of choice with many people (in addition to texting), as opposed to email. Personally, I think Facebook is a very bloated application but it does have the advantage of kind of putting all your friends right at your fingertips. (At least, all your friends who are on Facebook.)

Twitter. This is the newest social media tool to gain widespread popularity. Twitter is a lot like Facebook in the sense that it lets you post your “status.” But that’s basically all it does, and your “tweet” has to be 140 characters or less. I was pretty skeptical at first because it seems incredibly self-centered since you “follow” people on Twitter, and others “follow” you. But the advantage of Twitter is that it’s very, very simple, and it’s easy to follow people. Facebook tries to be all things to all people, but Twitter does only one thing, but does it really well. I basically joined Twitter because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So far I would say it’s a win. My favorite aspect of Twitter is that people I admire like John Maxwell, Max Lucado, Steven Curtis Chapman, Andy Stanley and other Christian leaders regularly post what they’re doing that day. It’s fun to keep up with them.

Here’s how all of these tools play together in my world: My blog posts are sent to Facebook, so people can comment on blog posts either directly on my blog, or on Facebook. A direct link is also sent to Twitter each time I update my blog. My Twitter updates are sent directly to my blog page, where is a running series of links on the right side. Twitter updates are also sent to Facebook. I can also update Twitter or Facebook from my Blackberry. It’s confusing, I know, and I barely have it figured it out myself.

All of these tools can be very helpful in keeping in touch with people and doing ministry. However, we should never mistake the tool for the relationship. I’m just old-fashioned enough to believe that real friendships involve something other than logging onto Facebook or Twitter and telling the world what kind of cheese we put on our salad last night.

One other thing: All of these tools are useful for the classroom. I keep up with students on Facebook (and a few on Twitter as well), and I’ve set up a separate blog for my classes, where I post syllabi, assignments, handouts, etc. Anything I can do to help communicate and develop relationships with students is a good thing.

Posted in Culture, Relationships, education, ministry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Reflections on Area Worship Leaders Meeting

July 12, 2009 by kentsanders

worshipleaderFor the last few weeks I’ve been inviting area worship leaders to a meeting to network and share with others doing the same ministry in other churches. I was very pleased this past Tuesday when 11 people came (representing 9 churches). Most of the people there were full-time staff at area churches, but there was at least one volunteer and one intern. We spent about an hour getting to know one another and talking about helpful resources, and some current challenges in ministry. Then a few of us went out for lunch afterwards.

There have been other similar groups in the area for youth ministers and preachers, but there is no network (that I know of) for worship leaders from Christian Churches. Most of my ministry friends are from the Christian Church (Restoration Movement), but this meeting is certainly not limited to folks from Christian Churches. I’m hoping that in the next year or two, if we continue to have successful gatherings, that we can involve more people from other denominations. There is certainly no reason we can’t learn from one other.

Here are a few reflections on the meeting:

1. I heard a number of positive comments about the meeting. It was incredibly simple, and I tried to make it  un-structured, yet people seemed to respond to this. There seems to be a hunger among worship leaders to network with others doing the same kind of ministry.

2. What is the benefit of this kind of thing? An obvious one is getting new ideas from others. Worship and music ministry thrives on creative ideas in music and the arts. All you have to do is ask, “What are some effective things you’ve done lately at your church?” and most any worship leader will have some things to share.

3. On the flip side, another benefit is hearing about the struggles and mistakes of others. Seeing how others have failed (especially bigger churches) makes us feel more “human” and reminds us that at the core, we’re imperfect. There is never a “perfect service” (nor should that even be the goal).

4. But I think the biggest benefit is developing relationships with others in the area. Ministry and leadership can be incredibly lonely, and worship ministry in particular can be very draining–emotionally, spiritually and physically. Hearing about others’ struggles, and the opportunity to share your own, can be a great support.

5. There is also the benefit of Christian unity when leaders from different churches meet together. We’re reminded that we’re not alone in trying to advance God’s kingdom in our neck of the woods.

In the coming months we’ll see what happens with this. I hope that in some small way (and maybe in some big ways?) this is an encouragement to worship leaders in the area. If you know of someone who would benefit from this, feel free to drop me a line or comment.

Posted in Leadership, Worship leading, ministry | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

Another Guy with a Cardboard Sign

July 10, 2009 by kentsanders

Cash(1280x960)As if the last post wasn’t strange enough, the story keeps getting stranger. I wrote the original post this afternoon. Later on, I was out again, this time with my son. I was on Hwy. 70 west and turned onto the Mid Rivers Mall Dr. exit, and was shocked to see yet another man with a cardboard sign. It’s not unheard of to see people with these signs in my neck of the woods, but I’ve never seen two in one day. The light was green and the flow of traffic didn’t allow me to stop, and I couldn’t really make out the sign. I turned left through the light and stopped at the next one, perplexed that this had happened twice in the same day, and thinking about the cash I still had in my truck. When the light turned green I turned left and Ben said, “Where are you going?” I said, “We’re turning around and going back.”

Again, I hesitate to call something a “God thing” unless I feel certain it is. Whether this was again, I don’t know, but it felt like it.

I took about eight minutes to finagle my way back onto the interstate and turn around, and on the way Ben asked why we were turning around. I explained that sometimes when you see people in need, you need to do something to help them. He said, “You mean like the Bible story?” Jackpot! Actually, he was thinking about the story where Jesus heals the blind man, but the basic principle of helping someone was the same.

I pulled onto the exit again, and wouldn’t you know it, it was a red light and wound up right next to where the guy had been standing. But now he was sitting down behind some bushes for some reason. I was kind of perplexed about what to do, so I called out to him, “Excuse me, sir!” He didn’t hear me, and it took two more times to get his attention. He came out, had tattered jeans and appeared to be in his twenties. Turns out he didn’t have a family, but was trying to get a bus ticket back home (somewhere out west, I think). I decided to forgo any judgment about whether this was a worthy cause and gave him the 40 bucks. He was shocked. I pulled away and that was that.

Why did I give him the money? Really, I don’t know, except that I felt I was supposed to. These couple of posts aren’t intended to put me in a good light; God knows there have been plenty of times I’ve let Him down. I’m just sharing a strange little story of my wrestling with obeying God in this small matter. But what I have found in life is that if I obey God in the small matters no one notices, I will be more likely to do the same in the big matters that everyone notices. When I compromise in the “pebbles,” the “boulders” are more likely to stay in place.

One more thing. I have found that when I give, it releases the grip of materialism in my life. I tell the money, “You don’t have power of my life. You don’t control me.” There have been times when I’ve not given with a joyful spirit, and there have been times when I’ve given from a joyful, generous heart. And let me tell you, it’s much more fun to be in the second state. The state of my giving attitude reflects the state of my heart.

I like what Dave Ramsey says: When you hold everything with a closed fist, you can’t receive anything with an open hand. I want to have an open hand, an open heart and an open life — not so God’s blessings will flow to me, but rather that they might flow through me. May our lives be open channels through which God blesses the world.

Posted in Discipleship, Reflections on Life, ministry | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Responding to a Guy with a Cardboard Sign

July 10, 2009 by kentsanders

ist2_546252-scraggly-old-homeless-signThere have been relatively few times in my life when I’ve felt that God was communicating something to me directly. I believe God communicates through various means (the Bible being the most important), and I enjoy a conversational relationship with God. But once in a while I get a very direct, undeniable impression about something that I can only believe is from God. This morning was one of those times.

I was coming back home from running an errand and got off on the interstate exit. There were about ten cards ahead of me stopped at a red light. Up ahead I could see a haggard-looking man standing with a cardboard sign. I couldn’t read it yet, but I was prepared to play “the game” you usually go through this these types: hope that the light changes soon, and drive by without making any eye contact or acknowledgment. And that’s just what I did. The light turned green and the cards ahead of my pulled forward. Following them, I glanced at his sign, scrawled in handwritten letters with a marker: “STRANDED. WILLING TO WORK.” His appearance, along with the few words on his sign, told a story I’d seen countless times on the curbs and exit ramps of the city.

I drove by and went to QT (a St. Louis-based convenience store and gas station) where I bought a soda and a packaged salad for lunch. I got back in my truck and headed toward home and instantly felt an impression from God: “Go help that man.” Over the years I have driven by countless people on curbs and exit ramps, and didn’t stop for various reasons. But this time was different. I thought, “OK, God, I’ll get $20 and give it to him.” I was proud of myself for being such an upstanding Christian! But God said, “Don’t be stingy. Go double and give him $40.” OK….

You have to understand that this kind of thing doesn’t happen to me every day. But I felt very clearly that God was leading me to do this. So I went back to QT and took out $40 from the ATM machine. I got back in my truck and started to drive toward the previous exit (so I could wind up at the right exit), and God said, “Give him your lunch, too.” By now I was excited to see what would happen. I got back on the interstate and drove toward the exit, prepared to follow through on the small mission God had given me.

But when I reached the exit, the man was gone, nowhere to be found.

I am not one to over-spiritualize everything. I don’t look for a demon behind every bad situation, or an angel behind every good one. But I do know that this was a test of faith on my part. I know people have varying opinions on whether we should give handouts to people with cardboard signs, and that’s fine. Everyone should do what they feel is best, and should respond how God leads them. I’m not interested in debating the ins and outs of whether to give handouts or how best to help people in this situation. The point for me here is that I tried to follow through on the simple question that God was asking me:

“Kent, are you listening to my voice, and will do you what I’m asking?” That’s a piercing question I must truthfully face each day.

Am I chump? Am I naive? Am I a sucker? Do handouts just enable the problem rather than offer a real solution? Are there more constructive ways to address the social and economic ills of society rather than handouts of money or food? The answer to all these is a definite “maybe” and possibly a “probably.” I don’t have the solutions to these complex problems, but here are some things I do know:

1. The issue of how to deal with those who are jobless and homeless is more complicated than just giving out money randomly. Therefore, we should support organizations and churches that attempt to address the issues in constructive ways.

2. I tend to be judgmental of people in situations like the man described above. But you never know in what kind of situation you might find yourself someday, given the right set of circumstances. “There but for the grace of God go I.” It really could happen to any of us. That’s why it’s so important for us to have our financial houses in order.

3. When I’m faced with a situation like I’ve described above, it’s impossible for me to determine the person’s movites. Therefore, as God leads, I would rather err on the side of giving than withholding. Better to give to the undeserving than withhold from the truly needy.

I could be totally off base with all of this; it wouldn’t be the first time. All I know is that God has been “crazy generous” with me, and I want to develop more of that quality in my life.

Posted in Personal worship, Reflections on Life, ministry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

MercyMe Covers “Thriller”

July 2, 2009 by kentsanders

Yes, Michael Jackson became very strange the later part of his life and was accused of some terrible things. But you gotta hand it to him, he had some great music. Here is MercyMe covering one of his classics in a fun way you can’t resist! (If you click on the video and go to YouTube, there are a bunch of other great songs they’ve covered – lots of fun.) I love these guys because they’re not afraid to show their goofy side. I like it when artists are real and don’t just project a perfect image, don’t you?

Posted in Arts, Fun stuff, Humor, Music | Leave a Comment »

On Vacation This Week

June 21, 2009 by kentsanders

I’ll be gone on vacation this week and will return to regular posts next week. In the meantime, I’d encourage you to look through some old posts and see what you’ve missed. Or better yet, do something more productive like watching old episodes of “Gilligan’s Island.”

Posted in Site news | Leave a Comment »

Letter #2: To Dad

June 21, 2009 by kentsanders

For the last several months I’ve been reflecting on the fact that I will turn 35 this year. It seems like a “halfway point” of sorts, and I’ve decided to spend the next year thanking 100 people who have made a real difference in my life. Two letters a week for nearly 52 weeks. I also plan to post each letter on my internet blog (www.sacredstones.net) because I want to publicly share how each person has influenced my life. You might even call this a “reverse eulogy”—why wait until someone’s gone to tell them what they mean to you?

The order of the letters is not necessarily important. At times I may skip between family, friends, teachers, pastors and others who will receive letters. The important thing is that you’ve made a big difference in my life.

This is letter #2.

June 21, 2009 (Father’s Day)

Dear Dad,

A couple of nights ago I found myself standing in the kitchen around 1:00 a.m., half asleep and eating a cup of chocolate pudding. As I took the last couple of bites a single thought came into my mind:

I’m turning into Dad.

One of the quirky memories I have as a kid was hearing (or seeing) you get up in the middle of the night and head to the kitchen for a snack. It always seemed to be potato chips. Perhaps I remember because I could hear your crunching all the way down the hall. At 3 a.m.

It’s funny the things you remember about growing up. Mostly I remember trying to stay out of trouble for being a smart aleck. (I still have trouble with that one.) My personal favorite was when you were cleaning your rifle and accidentally shot a hole through the wall. My observation: “Dad, I think you need a new gun.” Your reply (with an impatient tone): “I think you need to be quiet.”

How can I do justice to what you’ve meant in my life with just a few words? It’s impossible. All I can really do is say thanks.

Thanks for coming to all of the concerts, competitions and ball games when I was playing in the band.

Thanks for being a great provider for our family and sometimes working several jobs at once to give us a comfortable life.

Thanks for making our home and yard a great place to grow up. I still miss the old place—the big yard, the woods and the whippoorwills.

Thanks for taking me fishing and hunting (although I didn’t really like hunting). I wish I would have gone much more with you and Grandpa. It took me years to realize it wasn’t about the fishing and hunting.

Thanks for setting an example of compassion by helping anyone in need.

Thanks for helping me see the value of extended family. (And for being the only person who knows how I’m related to my 3rd cousin such-and-such.)

Thanks for showing me the importance of honoring and respecting your father and mother.

Thanks for taking us into the woods to cut down our own Christmas trees. Those are great memories.

Thanks for serving our country in Vietnam. That’s a tragic understatement, but I’ve just begun over the last few years to understand all the things you experienced there.

Your life has changed dramatically the last few years. One of my treasured memories is helping Donnie baptize you into Christ a few years ago. What an honor to welcome my Dad as a brother in Christ. And I’m so glad that you met and married Kathy, a wonderful Christian woman. You are making a big difference in the lives of other people.

Space doesn’t permit me to put into words everything I’d like to say. Maybe some things are better left unsaid. Instead, there is an unspoken understanding of the intangible values handed down through the generations: father to son, man to man, and heart to heart.

Hard work. Family. Honor. Serving others. Maybe turning into Dad isn’t such a bad thing after all.

I’m proud to be your son. Happy Father’s Day.

Love,

Kent

Posted in 100 Letters, Family, Relationships | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Killer Prayer Tips from Johnny and Chachi

June 19, 2009 by kentsanders

Who says you can’t have fun on Fridays? Check out this video: “Killer Prayer Tips” from Johnny and Chachi. These guys were at the Arts Conference last week and brought down the house. Really, there’s no way for me to explain — you just need to watch.

Posted in Arts, Creativity, Fun stuff, Humor | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Willow Arts Conference Day #3, and Personal Reflections

June 18, 2009 by kentsanders

This is a few days after the Arts Conference, but if you’re interested a few more tidbits, here goes…

The first session was a presentation by Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the very successful book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die. You wouldn’t think a couple of professor-types would share some fascinating ideas, but I enjoyed the session from the perspective of teaching and communication more than anything. A “sticky idea” has several qualities: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Story-oriented. The big takeaway here (for me, at least) was a concept called “the curse of knowledge” — as we become more knowledgable in our field we forget what it’s like to not know what we do. (Example: when you go to the DMV to renew your car license and the people behind the counter are very irritable because you don’t know the 87-step process of getting your sticker. They forget that the general public is confused and frustrated by this process. Apologies to all the DMV workers out there.)

Additionally: When we communicate with people, what do we want them to know/feel/do as a result? This is applicable to any kind of teaching or preaching, and asking this question gives focus to our communication.

The speaker for the last session was Efrem Smith, Pastor of Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis. Wow, was he fantastic! I loved this quote: “Arts is a kingdom-advancing movement.” Think about the potential in that statement.

Perhaps my favorite moment of all the speakers’ messages came right at the end of this one. He shared the example of the African Impala, an animal that can jump very high and long. Yet when it’s put in a zoo it can be retained by a mere 3-foot high wall. Why? It won’t jump because it can’t see what’s on the other side. What does the wall represent for us? Fear, brokenness, doubt, etc. That is an incredibly powerful image for me.

A few random thoughts and points of application from the conference:

- At conferences like this, it’s easy to feel inferior to the “big name” speakers, authors, artists and musicians. Over the years I’ve had to work my way past these kinds of feelings. One important thing to remember is that looks can be very deceiving. When we look the people who have fame, book deals, big churches, and are asked to speak at conferences, it may seem like they have an ideal life. They have “made it.” They are “successful” (whatever that means). But we only see the “glamorous” side of having notoriety, and that’s a pretty limited perspective. I love John Maxwell’s definition of success — that those who know me the best would love and respect me the most.

- In addition, I’m convinced that God has placed me where he wants me for the time being. I am where I am because I am the only person in the world who can fulfill my specific calling in that place. Other people cannot carry out what I’m called to do in the specific way God has in mind for me.

- One of the best things about the conference is the chance to see a diverse community of people giving their attention to the arts. I see an expanded vision for how SLCC can be a catalyst for thinking about the arts — a network that brings together artists, students, teachers, church leaders, theologians, good thinkers, and others who have something to contribute to the discussion. I don’t know what this might look like, but there’s no reason to limit our thinking. (The concepts of “thinking” and “thought” are not usually associated with music and the arts, but that’s shouldn’t be the case. The areas of music, worship and the arts should be filled with the best thinking we can produce.)

- There is a human tendency to accept the status quo. If you serve in a small setting, it’s easy to become victim to a mindset that says, “We’re just little ‘ol (name your church or organization); we’ll always be small and there’s no reason to think we will ever improve substantially, so why even try?” It’s very easy to think this way in a time when budgets are small and you have a whole lot of reasons to give up. But you know what? I don’t accept this. At all. Are we here to be the absolute best we can be, or do we just surrender to our circumstances, and roll over and play dead? Can we find the resolve to see beyond the “3-foot walls” that limit our thinking? I’m betting that in your setting it’s easy to think this way also. But let’s do better, shall we? God and those we serve deserve our best.

Posted in Arts, Leadership, SLCC, Worship conferences, education | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Wackiest, Wildest, Weirdest Animals in the World

June 18, 2009 by kentsanders

_225_350_Book.57.coverI don’t usually review books like this on my blog, but I thought would be a fun departure just for kicks. You can also receive free books from Thomas Nelson through their Book Review Blogger Program.

I received The Wackiest, Wildest, Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna through Thomas Nelson’s “Book Review Blogger” program. I thought it would be fun to enjoy it with my son, who is 5 years old. It’s a quick read (33 pages) and features nearly 30 different animals, from the Giant Anteater, Hissing Cockroach, Tasmanian Devil, and my personal favorite, the Naked Mole Rat. (You can guess my 5-year old had some fun with that one.) The book is full-color and truth be told, I enjoyed it as much as my son did. The writing is geared toward the junior-high level, but anyone will enjoy the pictures and the fun facts about the variety of animals featured in the book.

Although it’s not intended to be a “spiritual” book, it spurred an interesting conversation about why God would create some of the animals featured in the book. You never know what will spur those kinds of conversations!

My only critique is the DVD included with the book. My impression (and a logical one, I think) is that it would feature various animals bloopers from Hanna’s TV show. While it did feature a few of these, it mostly consisted of outtakes of Hanna and his crew. I’m curious why the producers took this direction because some of the clips present Hanna in a slightly irritable, condescending light. The book would have been much better served if the DVD focused on clips of animals (i.e. all the animals in the book) rather than Hanna’s outtakes.

This criticism aside, the book itself is a lot of fun, and despite my impression that it was a book for kids, I did enjoy it quite a bit. My son certainly enjoyed the pictures…especially of the naked mole rat.

Posted in Book Review, Fun stuff | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

Older Posts »