HighCallingBlogs.com is part of a larger vision
October 31, 2008
Recently, there was a feature article in the San Antonio Express-News about the H. E. Butt Foundation. That organization makes it possible for us to publish this blog network.
Be sure to look at the companion slideshow of pictures from our Foundation Free Camp program. Each year, more than 20,000 people use the H. E. Butt Foundation Camp property for retreats free of charge.
I just thought some of you might be interested in the larger vision that this network is part of.
Blog Action Day Is Coming…
October 10, 2008
Marcus here. Our good friends at the IBNMA just let us know about Blog Action Day Poverty.
Next Wednesday, October 15, we’re going to join the ranks of 7,248 bloggers who are doing their part to talk about ending poverty.
Listen to me now, people. If EVER there was a blog idea that was a perfect fit for our network, this is it. Blog Action Day Poverty is prime time, love your neighbor kind of stuff.
So take a look at their site. REGISTER YOUR BLOG if you plan to participate. Install their badge if you like. But most importantly, join us next Wednesday in thinking about how we can all do our part to end poverty.
One more thing. Talk is good, but let’s do more than just talk and post and comment and pat ourselves on the back for the good deed we did to post about ending world poverty. Let’s take some action.
Do me a favor. Pray about it for the next four days. If you’re the fasting type, fast about it. Read up on ways you can participate–or share them here to help inspire the rest of us. Then make a decision about what you are going to DO on Wednesday.
And DO IT. Involve your whole family. Be creative. Volunteer at a homeless shelter–then post pictures, stories, maybe even video. Reflections of times when you volunteered in the past are good, but let’s see some action next week. Let’s do something NOW. Donate time. Donate yourself. Donate money. That’s always good, right? And recession or not, we’re one of the wealthiest countries in the world. That’s a hard statement I know. I’m living it out. But we’ve got to keep some perspective here.
As Bono puts it, “Around the world 30,000 people are still dying of extreme stupid poverty everyday.”
But maybe I should let him speak for himself.
Lessons from the field
September 8, 2008
While in the Dominican Republic this last week I was constantly in a state of shock and awe. The people I saw were completely awesome, the work being done is nothing short of amazing, and the kids were absolutely amazing. As you can see by the picture on the right, kids are cute there, just as they are all here.
On the last full day in the Dominican Republic God gave me such an amazing opportunity that I was not prepared for at all. I did not have my Blackberry at this particular moment so I am sorry I do not have a picture…Read More
Ten Commandments of Talking (or blogging) Politics
September 3, 2008
Marcus here. For just a minute, I’m going to adopt the role of pastor here. So file in. Take a pew. Sing a song by yourself. Say a prayer. Is your mind in the right place? Good.
Let’s talk about politics.
It’s that time. Now that both parties have had their convention, things could get heated. Here’s a reminder to folks to behave appropriately. In fact, let’s hold each other accountable in this network to a higher level of discourse for the next few months with these Ten Commandments of Talking (or blogging) Politics.
1. Do not worship political theories or parties. (You shall have no other gods before me.)
Do not worship ideas or theories instead of God. Not your stance on global warming or Capitalism or deregulation or education or abortion or gay marriage or health care or international trade or war. Do not put your hopes in a political stance or party line or economic theory. Those things are important, but they should not distract us from our unity in Christ Jesus.
2. Do not worship political figures or images. (You shall not make for yourself an idol.)
Obama is not the savior. Neither is McCain. Neither is the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Do not bow to Elephants or Donkeys. Good leadership is important. Political pep rallys and mascots are fun, but they should not distract us from our unity in Christ Jesus.
3. God is not divinely endorsing your political opinion. (You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God.)
This is slippery. But it is important. We can’t answer the question Who Would Jesus Vote For? except in the privacy of our own hearts. I’m serious. This doesn’t mean Christians can’t express political opinions if they are so inclined. But it does mean we must humbly represent our opinions as our own personal opinions, not God’s opinion. Neither party is God’s party. And in a sense, both candidates already belong to God because they both acknowledge him publicly. (And of course, we don’t judge hearts.)
4. Do not use God to prop up your politics. (Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.)
OK, people. Both sides fail at this too. Corporate worship is not the place for political messages. Period. This is a fine line to walk. It doesn’t mean politics can’t come to church at all. Rick Warren did a fair job at Saddleback recently. But it wasn’t under the guise of worship. In your blogs, do not use the Word of God to prop up your political hopes. Don’t.
5. Honor your father and mother. (Honor your father and mother.)
Election season is probably not the time to try to convert your parents to your political viewpoint. Here’s my suggestion. If they start ranting and raving against your candidate, respect them by keeping your mouth shut. Don’t take the bait. And certainly don’t bait your parents! This doesn’t mean all political discourse is off limits—but remember that elections aren’t sporting events. Do not let abstractions become a wedge between you and your family. It’s not worth it.
6. Don’t be cruel. (You shall not murder.)
Elvis may have said it best, but Jesus had some good words on this too. He said, “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment… anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matt 5:21-22). If another blogger slanders you, talk to him or her privately first (Matt 18:15-16). Don’t air ugly conversations in your comment sections. Don’t attack people or ideas in public posts. This doesn’t mean you have to be silent. Respond to comments with an email. Engage them as Jesus says. And remember that it isn’t a sin for two Christians to disagree about politics.
7. Be pure. (You shall not commit adultery.)
I’m not sure how this applies to politics except as a reminder that we need to be examples of purity. Before you post a comment for or against someone, ask yourself if you are going to sully yourself or discredit yourself as a Christian. And don’t forget the comparison between idolatry and adultery. Don’t get so excited about politics that every conversation and post and comment reveals which side you are “in bed with.”
8. Be honest. (You shall not steal.)
Be honest when you vote. Stolen elections won’t help anyone. For some people, this may be a call to volunteer to work the polls on Election Day! A friend of mine volunteers for every election. Of course, every state is different, but she recommends contacting your local democratic or republican headquarters. Tell the party chairman for your party that you want to volunteer on Election Day. (You will need to be trained before you can work the polls.) The phone book should list contact information for both parties under “Associations” or “Political Organizations.”
9. Defend the truth and the facts. (You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.)
And who is your neighbor? Barack Obama. John McCain. Joe Biden. Sarah Palin. But also the Democrat next door and the Republican across the street. Here’s my practical suggestion. Refrain from sending asinine email forwards. But let’s take it one step further. If you receive a slanderous email, check the Snopes page on McCain or the Snopes page on Obama. Then send a kind response to the person who forwarded the email (NOT the whole list) explaining the error as gently as possible.
10. Be prepared to accept the results. (You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.)
In November one party will win control of the executive branch. The other will lose. When the time comes, do not covet your neighbor’s political victory if your side loses. If your side wins, do not gloat.
With God’s grace, we can all get along for the next few months regardless of who we will support at the polls on November 4, 2008.
NOTE: For the sake of simplicity and familiarity, I’ve used the protestant version of the Ten Commandments from Adam Clarke’s commentary. However, there are other ways to splice and dice Exodus. Wikipedia has a simple chart to show other views.
And just in case you are still confused about Commandment #6:
Faith is defined by hard times
September 2, 2008
I was at Carl Holmes’ blog today, reading about his health problems. Carl has been facing hard times, and he is now facing an operation in October. He’s 31 years old and is using a cane. His very frank and honest post reveals something of how hard this is for him. And he ends the whole thing by confessing that his dependency on a cane is teaching him things about depending on God.
Our church is praying for Carl. I hope you will too. Maybe you can drop by, read his inspiring post, and let him know.
So this week I had to come to terms with something that I have loathed wanting to do, I have started walking with a cane. I am 31 years old and I am stuck with it for the time being. I am having vertigo and headaches that hit quick and hard. This week some vertigo hit me and down a flight of stairs I went. If I am going to survive until surgery date (October 9th) I need to take some precautions.
I hate feeling dependent on something for my health and well being. To me carrying a cane is a way of saying to my Chiari condition “hey, you got me, you win this round” and that I am not strong enough to fight it myself. The truth is that I am not strong enough to fight it on my own, I need a neurosurgeon, a understanding family, and a lot of patience and the grace of God to get through it.…Read More.
Affliate Marketing Could Be the Key to Monetization
August 22, 2008
Marcus here. I know many of the people here at HighCallingBlogs.com are really blogging for hobby or nonprofit.
But some of you are business people, too. Or at least non-profit entrepreneurs. And you should hear the conversation Chris Cree, Dustin Steve (pronounced “stev-ie”), and I had with Wade Tonkin of ChristianAffliateMarketers.com. (Be sure to click through and watch Wade’s HILARIOUS promo video.)
For the business people and nonprofit entrepreneurs, you MUST go to blogworld. Register NOW. I’m serious. If you are serious about social media, this is seriously the place to be. Did I mention that I was serious? I’m serious. Listen to me. Read the words I am typing onto this screen:
This conference is important.
Flesh and blood encounters with like minded bloggers is important.
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now.
After you do that, consider downloading the podcast interview and listening to it on your commute. Or you can listen to it right here in one of my little podcasting experiments:
Non Profits and Free Gifts
August 5, 2008
I remember being in college and watching a Public Television fundraiser event. For a donation of a certain amount, you would receive a thank you gift, in this case a set of Monty Python Halloween masks. Suddenly I wanted those masks. I wanted them badly. I grabbed the phone and impulsively pledged $20 to our local PBS station. Unfortunately for me, I had not noticed that you only got the masks for a pledge of $100 or more. I received a mug in the mail and an bill for $20. By the time the bill arrived, I was out of money, having spent it on a pizza. What followed was something I’d rather forget - an embarrassing series of calls and letters that ended up with a humbling phone call from me to the station wherein I confessed that I had no money. They were kind enough to allow me to keep the mug, which was good since someone had poured themselves a cup of coffee and then walked out of my apartment with it.
To this day I feel rather sorry about that whole affair. If you happen to know people from the Waco Public Television station, please don’t mention my name or that I live in San Antonio now.
This event does bring up an interesting subject. Nonprofit organizations are always needing to raise money. And there are money raising techniques that work, or at least work unless you are dealing with broke college students. Handing out little thank you gifts is one of those tricks. But if you work for a Christian nonprofit organization, just how far will you stoop to raise money?
Christian Nonprofit employee Carl Holmes is struggling with this right now. In fact, his organization does give out little gifts to donors, and he’s having second thoughts about it.
As you know, I work in a ministry. A very successful and God centered ministry that is being blessed more and more each day. I work in the contact center with people and encourage them to give to support the ministry and educate them on what our ministry is. Something is bothering me as of late though. It is not in just our ministry, it is rather endemic to the non profit evangelical world right now, and I am getting fed up with it.
My employer over this last year has capitulated and started offering you something in return for your giving to the ministry. Recently we offered to give you a NIV Bible if you gave to a certain project we had going, before that it was getting a photo book if you shared our ministry with a friend and so on. What is wrong with this picture? …Read More
Meet Andre Yee the Wiki Moses
July 13, 2008
Marcus here.
Andre Yee has been a friend of HighCallingBlogs.com since the very beginning. His blog Every Square Inch nearly always has some specific bit of insight about faith and work. And we feature him here from time to time (like last week) because we just like what he has to say.
Which got me thinking. Andre is leading a really cool new project called Open Source Mission. I posted about it over at GoodWordEditing.com.
More important than my post, though, is the social media press release.
I think we have some pretty well connected people in this network, and it’s time for us to start serving our online neighbors as best we can. Here’s my suggestion.
Spend five minutes and watch the Gospel Translation Project video.
Then, if this is something you can get excited about…
- favorite the video on youtube
- share it on Facebook with just one click
- or blog about Open Source Mission with these tools
Here’s that video:
We’re Sponsoring GodBlogCon.com!
July 8, 2008
Marcus here.
And that’s not a typo. We’re sponsoring GodBlogCon.com 2008, the Christian track of Blog World in Las Vegas, September 20-21.
Your Mission if You Choose to Accept It
Remember the old Mission Impossible? If you’re serious about social media, you don’t want to miss this mission. The contacts you’ll make and the things you’ll learn are truly invaluable.
(GodBlogCon.com is also a good excuse to hang out with other Christian bloggers in Las Vegas. Like me! I’ll be there! Come hang out with me and my Frau.)
Even if you can’t come, you can still help us with this mission. We need bloggers to promote the event by posting our affiliate link for your readers. The GodBlog folks have agreed to donate 10% of the proceeds generated through our links back to TheHighCalling.org and HighCallingBlogs.com. We’re pretty excited about seeing if that works, and we’d love your help.
There may even be a prize for the person with the highest number of referrals. (We’re not 100% sure we can track things like that, though.)
Listen, this is a really important experiment for us. For HighCallingBlogs.com to work, we’ll need it to become self-sustaining in the next few years. That means we’re running this site as non-profit entrepreneurs. Tracking click throughs, eyeballs, and now actual affliate income are all different strategies we’re taking.
We hope you’ll consider joining our experiment. If you’re up for the mission, here are some badges and code you can grab. But be quick. This post will self-destruct in three… two… one…
The Badges
To get this: GodBlogCon.com
Use this:
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Thoughts of a Gyrovague
November 12, 2007
Thoughts of a Gyrovague: A place for the musings of the mind about life, Christ, and the pursuit of He who gives all good things
Frederich Buechner described vocation as the intersection between your greatest desire and the world’s greatest need. Carl Homes expands our ideas of vocation to include the kind of work men and women to do everyday in our world.
Next time you look at your job and your heart starts to ask the tough questions, not the least of which is “what is my motivation?” Remember what the Hebrews did, they viewed their vocation as a ministry. Now go out and be the best at what you do and do it all for the glory of God. God does not care if you are scooping poop, writing novels, teaching, preaching, singing or flipping burgers. He just wants you to do it with an attitude of worship and praise…Click here to read more.
