new conference with 200 Christian authors

 internet  1 Response »  Tagged with: , , , , ,
Jan 312009
 

Just got an email from ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) announcing its 2009 Christian Book Expo. It’s an inaugural event, meaning its the first-time this event is happening. The Expo will have 150+ seminars (PDF) and 200+ authors. This is a big book expo for people who buy & sell non-fiction and fiction Christian books, like pastors, lay leaders, counselors, retailers and consumers.

cbexpo_dated_rgb_lowrez
The organizers are using new media to spread the word. Here’s what they’re asking help with:

  • Visit ChristianBookExpo.com for the scoop on this first-ever show
  • Check out the social networking links (MySpace, etc) at the CBE website. Bloggers can join group/s and tell friends about CBE.
  • Blog about the idea of a Christian Book Show for the public, the panel topics and panelists, etc. The first 200 people to publish a CBE blog post of 100+ words will receive complimentary admission to the show! Send the link to your post to be eligible.
  • Interview Mark Kuyper in advance of the show for a blog post.
  • NOTE: Press registration is for professional members of the press only. However, coupons for $5 off admission are available at Family Christian Stores in the DFW area.

pr-2009cbeRead a copy of the full press release >>

Looking at the conference registration pricing, this blog post has a retail value of $59. Now I have to figure out if I can go, then how to get there & where to stay & how to get around… looking at the 10 results at Google Blog Search, there’s still plenty of room for more bloggers to get complimentary admission.
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back home from Innovation3 Dallas

 conference, journal  6 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , ,
Jan 292009
 

I’m back home now, had been away since Saturday. That’s 5 nights in a hotel bed. While soft and cushy, couldn’t get the temperature right. More on the warmer hot side of things by middle of the night.

Just sent out a dozen personal video emails to thank the dozen deputized bloggers who provided way more #i3 coverage than I imagined! Know it’s way faster than a thank you card via snail mail. And with us new media types, maybe video email can be just as meaningful and personal. At least I hope it’s received as such.

A quick video update before I turn in. Need to catch up on my sleep deficit, and taking a long weekend off.

I’ll likely blog from a full-size keyboard some time this weekend, so you can read some of my germinating ideas. So glad and grateful I had the freedom to do lots of research & development during the tech breakout, as we had to improvise what to do with 2 out of 3 session speakers unable to be there.

Here’s one of the recorded segments of the tech breakout, a portion of interview with Terry Storch and Bobby Greunewald by Cynthia Ware — how’d it turn out?

brief debrief from innovation3 Dallas

 church, conference, internet, journal  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Jan 292009
 

had a blast here in Dallas and so much has happened and it’d take hours to write out what i’d want to write out…

got to worship on sunday at cross timbers… celebrate a friend’s birthday + chinese new year simultaneously… breakfast w dave lee (harvest community church) later this morning…

connected with 100+ people at innovation3, a 1-time-only 1-of-a-kind event; saw bloggers and twitterers generate so much buzz that it showed up on top trends in twitter search page.. amazing how much content & conversation #i3 packed into 26 hours.. Bent Tree Bible Fellowship one amazing host w excellent people who provided vital help; so generous, so collegial..

spontaneously used 3 web tools for tech breakout session, where 2 of 3 presenters couldn’t make it, and @cynthiaware and @kentshaffer masterfully pitched in; we used skype video call, ustream, and tokbox, over wifi, with at least a dozen laptops online in room too, and no bandwidth problem, 60+ joined us online with only a real-time twitter announcement… this session coulda easily been its own conference…

will write more on a real keyboard later… one regret: didnt get to eat at Little Sichuan, oh how i like it hot & spicy..

Innovation3 Gathering starting soon

 church, conference, journal  5 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 262009
 

My blogging forecast: very light for Tuesday and Wednesday. The prevailing westerlies bring in everyone for the Innovation3 Gathering starting up tomorrow Tues 1/27 at 1:00pm Central. The adrenaline has already kicked in for our staff. Tomorrow will be off the hook! Close to 900 church leaders will be in the mix, with lots of room for great conversations that will shape the future of the church.

10+ other bloggers will be covering Innovation3 — see the list over at digital.leadnet.org + Rhett Smith is planning to be live-blogging using CoverItLive (!)

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1-day event for SoCal English Ministry Pastors 2/25/09

 Asian American, journal  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , ,
Jan 242009
 

The following event is being hosted by the Fellowship of American Chinese Evangelicals (FACE) and you’re invited! The email below is posted with permission. This is one of those rare opportunities to glean from the life experiences of older English-speaking Chinese/Asian-American pastors.

An email from Calvin & Priscilla Hai [cphai69@yahoo.com] >>

Dear Colleagues in Christ,

Happy New Year! Praying that you will have a year of growth and exciting ministry in the Lord.

During the English Pastorsʼ meeting last October and from the feedback on the follow-up survey, many of you indicated that you are interested in a one day vision seminar. In response, the FACE Directors will host a one day Vision workshop on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, from 9am to 5pm. It will be held at:

Chinese Evangelical Free Church
1111 So Atlantic Blvd (north of the 60 and south of the 10)
Monterey Park CA 91754
(626) 570 6971

We have invited Peter Lin who has helped a number of ministries and for-profit corporate bodies develop compelling visions that drive their businesses. In all of USA , California is probably the most strategic state for English speaking ministries. Peter has been doing some research in this area and we will share some of the statistics with you of the compelling need to raise a new generation of pastors, to plant new churches, and to develop and strengthen existing ministries. The goal of the one day event is to develop a compelling vision so that together we can meet that need.

I realize that it can be very lonely in ministry. I pray that this one day of sharing will be the beginning of building a true kinship in Christ through fellowshipping, networking, and accountability with colleagues in ministry, which will multiply our effectiveness in our service to the king.

All this may sound grandiose, but we have a great God who has proven Himself all through history. And, unless the Lord is in this, we will be building in vain. May I count on your not just coming to this event but that you will lift it to the Lord in prayer that he will glorify Himself in our midst on that day?

If you know of others in ministry or have other staff who would benefit from this time, please feel free to invite them and let us know. Would you please respond to us by February 13 for planning purposes? If any questions, please email or call.

Blessings,

Wayland Wong

Retired pastor and FACE Director
(714) 848 6184

Please RSVP to Calvin and Priscilla Hai so that we can have adequate space and lunch for everyone. Again we will have some resources to recommend for your ministry.


About Peter Lin:

Peter Lin was born in Hong Kong and raised in the USA. After his MA in Dallas Theological Seminary, God called him back to Asia in a “business setting”. He served as VP in AIG in Singapore/Taiwan/HK and then went on to become President of Prudential (Hong Kong) and President for Asia for Liberty International (the international arm of Liberty Mutual). In 2002, he was called to be the lead pastor of Grace Baptist Church – Singapore. His god given passion is in leadership and vision development. God had given him a burden for developing a long term vision for the companies and churches that was under his responsibility. He had also developed the long term vision for the English Task Force for CCCOWE (Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism). He is currently at Fuller Theological Seminary focusing on studying Christian Leadership.

how Randy Pausch lived a full life

 journal  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Jan 222009
 

I’m a bit late on the Last Lecture phenomena. Never read the book. Didn’t see the Youtube video that millions saw last year — 8.6 million views to date. the-last-lecture
I only watched it a few weeks ago in 2009.

What prompted me was listening to a Menlo Park Presbyterian Church podcast, of an 11/26/08 interview with Steve Seabolt about Randy Pausch, with John Ortberg (video | audio). Steve was a close friend of Randy, even being with Randy during his last moments. Steve described Randy’s faith convictions as follows:

“So Randy chose not to talk about faith, and a lot of people very wrongly concluded that he was not a Christian, or he was not a believer. And that simply wasn’t the case. Religion as Randy had so often seen it practiced was more about words and divisiveness, than action. And he believed in Christianity in action, and not so much talking about it.”

The Wikipedia entry for Randy Pausch notes that his faith was Unitarian Universalist, with the family regulars at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.

As a person of faith, it’s my opinion that none of us have a perfect theology, though some people think they have the gold standard. I’m not one to venture to say I have the “ONE” right one out of the 3,000+ Christian denominations and sects. While I certainly do not agree with the Unitarian understanding of God, the comment by Randy’s friend Steve does give us pause to re-consider and not be so quick to judge someone’s faith convictions. I’m not God, and neither are you. :)

randy-on-timeFrom the videos I watched of Randy’s lectures and interviews, he did have a good perspective and understood the value of life. What was compelling was not the profoundness of his insights, but that he knew his life was terminal, and did not give up on living life to the full. That got people’s attention. Some of the salient quotes I caught:

  • tell the truth all the time
  • we can’t change the cards we’re dealt, just how we play our hand
  • [live with] no regrets, [and able to say that you] gave it your best shot
  • [about the last lecture] It’s not about achieving your dreams, it’s how to lead your life. And, the talk is not for you, it’s for my kids.
  • Think of time as a commodity.. you can never get time back; you can always earn more money..

The last quote is the one that is still swirling around in my brain matters. It came from Randy Pausch on Time Management w/ associated lecture notes.

Truth of the matter is, all of our lives are terminal. My days are numbered.

Contrasting the journey and the destination, I’m much more excited about the journey and who comes along with me, and very uninterested in the destination or goals or milestones. I ask myself: what would it look like to live my life well?

a new day with a new President

 dialogue, journal  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , , ,
Jan 202009
 

// [update] video of Rick Warren’s #inaug09 prayer @ saddleback.com/video/rickwarrenprayer.html + watch 1/21 AM’s national prayer service @ C-span link //

All the world’s attention has centered on Washington DC today, as Inauguration Day 2009 brings forth a new President of the United States (POTUS), Barack Obama. While the day is not yet over, there are a few thoughts from my fellow Asian Americans floating around on the Web:

Inauguration Morning
Kevin Doi

… this may very well be the most significant historical event of my lifetime. … The sight of millions of people on the Mall is nothing short of breathtaking. … Obama represents a different kind of change. For one, he’s the first president of a new generation. Along with significance for African Americans in this country, he is a president for a multicultural, hi-tech, grassroots generation of people who have a different worldview about race, a different way of communicating, and a different expectation of a president. … With a new generation awaiting its new president, America expects nothing less than authenticity in its leaders. With that, Obama may very well be the only kind of president who can unify, inspire, and involve the country…

The Inauguration and the Third Culture President
Dave Gibbons

We are celebrating what many consider a dream fulfilled. Of course, there are still conflicts, racism, prejudice and stereotyping even in the church but it is a new day when the most powerful political person on the earth is Black. This is a historic moment for the world to celebrate. But before you simply see this as a race thing . . . how about seeing it also from the lens of culture or rather, CULTURES.

Third culture is about the fusion of multiple cultures, the art of adaptation, dialogue rather than dictation, diplomacy over strong arm tactics, and the embrace of discomfort as part of the journey to real community.

… the world is focused upon NOT either/ors BUT both/ands. . . people and leaders who can live in the intersections.

… It’s a third culture world. How are your third culture skills? President Obama is just the beginning of a whole new wave of leaders who will have significant impact in a world where the rules have changed or are changing.

And I can always count on Eugene Cho for color commentary on current events:

what advice would you give to president obama?

… Everyone’s talking about the historic nature of his election, inauguration, and presidency. Certainly… but I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head and heart around it. It’s so new.

… Someone asked me what advice I would give to Obama if he asked me to be a pastoral/spiritual adviser?

… Be a global leader. You’re not only the President of the United States but also a global leader. Reach out your hand…

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who’s gonna be there at Innovation3 Gathering

 conference, internet, journal  16 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , ,
Jan 202009
 

In addition to the 100+ presenters, here’s (some of) the bloggers and/or twitterers (aka tweeps, tweeple, …) I know will be at the Innovation3 Gathering next week [or take a look at the big mashup Google Map with (almost all) registered attendees]: gmaps2
Cynthia Ware thedigitalsanctuary.org
Carlos Whittaker ragamuffinsoul.com
Tony Morgan tonymorganlive.com
Greg Atkinson gregatkinson.com
Rhett Smith rhettsmith.com
Camron Ware visualworshipper.com
Jaime Jackson jamiejacksonxp.com
Charles Lee charlestlee.com
John Atkinson http://johnatkinson.typepad.com *
Jason Curlee http://jaycurlee.blogspot.com/ *
Kent Shaffer churchrelevance.com
Scott Williams www.bigisthenewsmall.com/ *
Mary Beth Stockdale http://marybethstockdale.wordpress.com/ *
Bobby Greunewald swerve.lifechurch.tv
Dave Gibbons davegibbons.tv
Dave Ferguson daveferguson.typepad.com/
Mark Driscoll theresurgence.com
Ed Stetzer edstetzer.com
Todd Rhoades toddrhoades.com
Dave Travis davetravisnow.com
Sherry Surratt sherrysurratt.com
Geoff Surratt geoffsurratt.com
Eric Swanson ericjswanson.com
Marc Payan http://marcpayan.com/ *
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