camron ware: visual jedi

This kid’s got game.

Remember THIS POST a couple months back?  Check out what he’s been doing with FBC Houston.  This stuff is just breathtaking to me.  I’m curious though how difficult it is to maintain equipment/excellence and how you keep it from getting a little stale…either from lack of available content, over-stimulation, or even from desensitizing people after prolonged use.  We use some architectural projection at Watermark that’s nowhere near this scale and even we struggle to find good content to keep it fresh.  I love it though.  Any thoughts, Camron?

filler vol. 2

I’m working on my post on the Echo Conference from a few weeks ago, but figured I’d blog something just to keep this train a’rollin.

So I finally broke down and bought an iPhone.  I had held out because I didn’t want my phone to dominate my life like it did during my brief stint with a Treo a couple years back.  I’d have panic attacks if I couldn’t find it or left for work without it.  That’s just not healthy.  But I decided to make the compromise by vowing not to have my work email sent to it, just my personal.  I really think I made the right decision.  My phone isn’t constantly chiming during meetings like everyone else’s phones on staff.  I also love Twitterific and the Facebook app.  Not to mention the ability to make my own ringtones.  Now if only I can find a college football app that will update scores in “real” time.  I would think this idea was a given, but I’ve not found one that really does that yet.  Suggestions?

I find myself reading CNN and Drudge far more than Fox News nowadays.  I don’t have a problem with Fox leaning right…it’s just that they’ve been so sensationalistic lately with borderline obnoxious headlines.  Come on, guys.  You’re losing your integrity.

I’ve kind of rediscovered Digg recently.  Not sure how we grew apart, but we’ve kind of been seeing other people over the last two years.  I hope we never fight again.  Digg and FARK are the best sites for random news.  I highly recommend them.

Love how the new iPod nanos are back to their original design.  Those squat ones were awful.

Lines for gas are getting out of hand in Dallas.  Stupid Ike.  Sposed to hit around midnight here.  But we’re only supposed to get lots of rain.  Should be exciting.

Still mourning VT‘s first week loss.  Feels like everyone lost that week.  I mentioned that to my new Tech Arts co-worker Blake; to which he replied, “well…only half of them lost.” *zing!*

Been watching the entire X-files series over the last couple months.  I’m in Season 4 and it’s tremendously better than the earlier seasons.  Even the standalone episodes are much better.  Also, apparently Terminator is back on.  I missed the season premiere.  You need to check out this show if you’ve ever liked the movies.  It’s solid.

Ok, that’s it for now.  I’ll have the Echo post up in the next couple days.

just feel like we don’t have the means

A few months ago, I shared with you all how much I wanted to believe.

I wish I could now say that I did.

I’ve been spending a lot of time watching the DNC and RNC over the last week or so and I kind of feel myself swinging back towards my conservative foundations.  While I still think McCain is old as dirt, I can’t say with a straight face that I think Obama knows what he’s getting himself into should he be elected.  He just doesn’t say anything!

He also started to lose me during the whole oil crisis.  Prices were soaring and the economy tanking and Obama claimed he was against exploratory and offshore drilling because we would not see any returns on those projects for many years. In other words, it wouldn’t help the then-current crisis.

OK, Hold up.

Let’s look at this logically.  Oil is at an all-time high.  Oil has only continued to rise over the last several years.  The dollar is tanking.  While I see his point, I feel he completely misses the fact that nothing is going to change in the next several years unless we act NOW.  Let’s get this drilling showboat on the road NOW so we can avoid this as much as possible in the FUTURE.  I’m really not as smart as most of my friends think I am, but that’s just common sense, Mr. Senator.  Moron.

You reap what you sow.

But then there’s stodgy McCain.  The Dems have a point in reminding us that even McCain himself has stated that he has stood by 90% of the decisions President Bush has made.  And while I think Bush’s legacy will only be accurately reflected through the lense of a few years’ time, I can’t help but think that McCain is too much of the same.  This country NEEDS change.  Not because of one man’s controversial term of office, but because America has dug itself a hole.  A diplomatic hole.  An economic hole.  Insert your favorite qualifier.

However.

Enter Sarah Palin.  Talk about a game-changer.  She’s not perfect, but she was a brilliant choice for the GOP campaign.  She’s everything McCain isn’t.  Young.  Spunky (without coming across as mean).  Female.  You name it.  She didn’t say much in her speech at the RNC either, but I get the impression she’s more the maverick that McCain claims to be.

Now if only the VP actually did anything worthwhile.

And yet despite my argument for change not 2 paragraphs above, my vote has swung back towards McCain for the time being.  But that may only be because I don’t believe Obama has what it takes to protect America from terrorism.  I’m not saying Bush does.  I’m not saying McCain does.  But when it comes down to it, Republicans represent the Daddy of government.  You turn to them because they’ll protect you from outside harm.  (Democrats represent the Mommy.  You turn to them when you need a helping hand.)

Who knows where I’ll stand next week.

Do you think there’s enough room in that little voting booth to flip a coin?

heavy lies the crown

So a few weeks ago Watermark played host satellite location for the Willow Creek Leadership Summit.  I’ve had the privilege of going to this thing for the last three years.  I say “privilege” because the accumulated experience has greatly helped me to understand something quite clearly:

This conference is not for me.

Don’t read that the wrong way.  I’m not saying it’s without value, I just don’t believe I’m the type of guy who this conference can really speak to.  I’m just not that guy who’s going to go plant a megachurch.  I’m just not that guy who’s going to be CEO of a Fortune 500 some day.  I don’t have the patience or the charisma.  I’m just not that guy.

Now, Hybels is that guy.  While I don’t always agree with him, I have the utmost respect for his experience in leading others.  While I’m not normally impressed by his speaking, he did say one thing that had me on the verge of ovation.  He was talking about a day a few years ago when he had an extremely busy schedule to keep (not unlike most people in vocational ministry) when a guy he knew begged him to come and talk to him for a while over lunch.  While slightly annoyed, Hybels agreed to meet him and went on to have one of the most important counseling sessions he’d ever had.  And during the conversation, it struck him:

“This is church.”

It’s not the buildings.  It’s not the meetings.  It’s not the strategy sessions.  It’s not even the services.

He’d been so busy with the logistics that he had forgotten that ministry is all about changing lives for the Kingdom. Let me tell you boys and girls, I’ve met a LOT of so-called “successful” ministers over the last few years and I can ashamedly tell you that not many actually understand this.

I hate the word “church” nowadays just about as much as I hate the word “Christian.”  So my version of Hybels idiom is this:

This.  Is.  Ministry.

You can have the best technology, programming, and butt-filled seats in the world, but if you’re not changing lives for the cause of Christ you’re just wasting everyone’s time…including your own…including God’s.  It was really cool to hear Hybels affirm that.

My only complaint about the Leadership Summit is that it promotes itself as secular/corporate-friendly because it features leaders from all over who are not necessarily believers; the purpose being to provide a place where we can learn from their experience and therefore influence others to our respective causes.

Well, that’s all good in theory.  But this year’s conference wasn’t even close.  It was for church leaders.  Every bit of it.  Not intentionally, mind you, but it was what it was.  Watermark felt so bad for all the businesses that took 2 days off to bring their staff to the Summit that we offered a full refund for those that didn’t feel it met their expectations.

Anyhow…I’m no “Level 5″ leader.  I’m just not.  That’s not how God wired me.  Instead I’ve always been the guy standing behind that guy.  A utility man, if you will.  The guy who picks up all the pieces when the crap hits the fan as well as the guy who’ll hold the leader up the highest after a victory.

And you know what?  I’m not ashamed in the least to be that guy.

I’m proud.

to fly me over yesterday

Guys, this week is NUTS!

I’m going to try and post about the Willow Leadership Summit later this week, but the annual Launch Retreat for Watermark Young Adults is this weekend and I’ll be working my tail off to make sure that comes together in time before I leave Friday, so no promises.  But I did see THIS (via gizmodo) today.  It looks like Burj Dubai is almost complete.  This tower is NUTS!