Strategic Planning Weekend

Thanks for praying for the team that met in Dallas this past weekend. We had a God-annointed time and have a clear sense of the priorities we need to focus on in the next 6-12 months. Check out the Downloads page under the Resource tab for the VSN Strategic Planning Diagram and a great devotional given by Rob Hoskins.

Pray for us in Dallas

19 of us from across the US are gathering in Dallas this weekend to plan and pray for God’s direction for the growth of the visual story movement. Pray for us as we prayerfully plan!

Tim Burton's Failures

Seth Godin on Tim Burton: When I was at MOMA last week, I saw a list of director and artist Tim Burton's projects. Here's the guy who's responsible for some of the most breathtaking movies of his generation, and the real surprise is this: almost every year over the last thirty, he worked on one or more exciting projects that were never green lighted and produced. Every year, he spent an enormous amount of time on failed projects.
A few: Catwoman, Conversations With Vincent, Dinosaurs Attack!, The Fall of the House of Usher, Geek Love, Go Baby Go, Hawkline Monster, Lost in Oz, Mai the Psychic Girl, Mary Reilly, Superman Lives, X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes.
One key element of a successful artist: ship. Get it out the door. Make things happen.
The other: fail. Fail often. Dream big and don't make it. Not every time, anyway.
Tim got his ideas out the door, to the people who decided what to do with them. And more often than not, they shot down his ideas. That's okay. He shipped.
Next!

Africa, the Church and the Mobile Phone

Nice link from Tony Whittaker to a helpful article. Check out the most recent post under the Mobile Media Ministry group.

Internet Evangelism Day

Check this out from our friend Tony Whittaker: "Digital media are transforming the way we communicate, behave and even think. Internet Evangelism Day is a strategic resource to help the worldwide church understand these issues and use the Web to share the good news. It is both a year-round online guide and an annual focus day - to be held this year on Sunday 25 April." www.InternetEvangelismDay.com

Google Takes Another Step to Complete Control

Aaagh. The Media Mission Partnership team had a call this a.m. When we went to access the EtherPad tracking all the notes we've taken, we found the site was shut down. This is the second time Google has done this in the last 6 weeks (since they acquired EtherPad). The bottom line...get used to Google Wave.

Barna Research in US: Year End Perspective

Barna Research Group reports the following four major themes in his research:
1: Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.
2: Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience.
3: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S.
4: Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality – conducted personally or through a church – is not common at this time and it is not likely to become common in the near future.