Posted by Scott McClellan on March 3rd, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Tony Steward is LifeChurch.tv’s Online Community Pastor, an Echo 2010 breakout speaker, and an all-around great guy. Oh, and he has a brand new blog! I’m happy about that.
One of Tony’s first posts is titled, “Making Videos That Work Socially,” and it’s well worth your time. Tony shares practical tips that’ll help you improve your videos without learning any new techniques, hardware, or software.
So, stop by Tony’s new blog, learn some video tips, and say hello while you’re there.
Posted by Scott McClellan on March 1st, 2010 at 10:09 am
It occurred to me the other day that everything of value that humans create — great ideas, great art, great inventions, etc. — is misunderstood and/or misused by some segment of the public. Think of the best movie or book or painting of all-time. Now, accept the fact that there are millions of people who don’t care for it. Think of the most important invention in history — let’s say the wheel — and now imagine a crowd of ancient doubters saying, “What are we going to do with that thing?” If you need a more recent example, consider the iPod.
I was introduced to an Apple discussion forum in which the original iPod was unanimously bashed by a gaggle of tech-savvy folks who couldn’t recognize the device’s potential. (Not that I recognized its potential either, but I was fortunate enough to keep my opinion to myself.)
The point is, as you create and communicate, you’re going to be misunderstood. Even if your message is timely, relevant, and well-crafted. Even if you do your homework. Even if your delivery is perfect. Personally, I see this play out in Scripture frequently. I don’t remember any of the communicators in the Bible reaching 100 percent of their audience.
People have a hard time seeing new truths. People have a hard time seeing the future. People have a hard time seeing a better way.
Don’t let that stop you from doing what you’re supposed to do.
Posted by Scott McClellan on February 24th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Two weeks ago, I had the honor of being part of The Electronic Gospel conference at DTS, where Shane Hipps was featured as the keynote speaker. When someone in the audience asked Shane about preaching, he gave an interesting answer. He said (and I’m paraphrasing here) one of the greatest things a preacher has to offer his audience is himself — body, presence, actions, being. One of the best ways to become a better preacher, he concluded, was to become a better being — to become more mature in the faith, more spiritually formed, more like Christ. Even though I’m not a preacher, that idea stuck with me.
It occurs to me that in whatever capacity we serve our church (designer, communication director, media producer, student minister, teacher, volunteer, musician, etc.), some of us tend to focus on direct means of growth such as practice, tutorials, workshops, collaboration, and research. (For my part, I’ve done a lot of reading on the art of writing.) However, Shane provides us with an indirect — and perhaps more important — means of improving at what we do.
Each of us (and I’m looking directly at myself when I say this) needs to put our spiritual formation above our professional development. We need to strive for an appropriate balance in developing our skills and deepening our souls. We need to remember to follow Christ as we communicate to other about following Him.
I want COLLIDE to be a better resource, and I want to be better at my job as a writer and editor. Thanks to Shane Hipps, I’m reminded that the most important way I can pursue those ends is to pursue God.
