Archive for November, 2008
Positive Post Tuesday
Today I’m doing something I’ve never done before: I’m participating in Brody Harper’s Positive Post Tuesday.
I feel compelled to do something. Something big. Something much, much bigger than I am possibly capable of doing.
Unfortunately I have no idea what this something is.
I just know that God is inviting me to be a part of His plan for me. Or, even better, His plan for the kingdom.
This invitation is both comforting and frightening. On the one hand, I find pleasure in believing there’s going to be more to my life than I could ever hope or manufacture on my own. On the other, I have no idea how it will come fruition or even begin to imagine what this life will look like.
And, if I’m honest, if I even have it in me to actually live it.
This self-doubt is fueled by the fact that my reality isn’t syncing with my daydreaming. When I fantasize about my future, there seems to be a significant disconnect between where I am today and where I need to be.
This self-doubt is a result of a flawed view of myself. Not an accurate view of my flawed self.
This self-doubt is helping me draw nearer to God. If I were supremely confident in my elite skills there would be little need for assistance from anyone – much less from the “unseen.”
So while I know very little to nothing about where I’m headed, at least for today, I’m taking joy in knowing that I’m headed.
Thanks for inspiring the introspection Brody.
My Thoughts about Mead’s Corner
Mead’s Corner is Wichita’s newest coffee shop. If you’re in Wichita, there’s a good chance you’ve read about the shop either in the Wichita Eagle or on Twitter – there’s been considerable buzz surrounding its opening.
Hayley and I went to Mead’s Corner on Friday night and I just wanted to post some thoughts about the place.
Let me start with positive reactions:
They’ve done a fairly nice job with the decoration. The floors are nice and appear to be quite expensive. The bar looks nice. The lighting is nice. The order board is nice. The tables and chairs look nice.
The staff seems very friendly. The manager was there, taking orders and seemed to be in a good mood despite being there since 6:30 that morning. He’s been an incredible advocate for the store on Twitter, so it’s nice to see that online passion matched by reality. Also, there was an older man working behind the counter who never stopped wearing a big smile and seemed incredibly likable. I don’t know if he’s an employee or a volunteer, but either way, they need to pay him whatever it takes to keep him there. He’s great.
I think it’s cool that their profits are going to help both local and global causes. That’s pretty cool, and I hope that they somehow tell the story of the good the coffeeshop is doing in some visual or verbal way.
We didn’t try any food, but my cappuccino tasted good – it just wasn’t exactly as I ordered it. I guess I can’t complain too much about that as I very rarely get a dry cappuccino.
Which leads me to the negative:
The layout does not appear to be very well thought out. It’s not clear where people should line up to order and if there’s too much of a crowd, there are going to be some fairly serious logistical issues.
The service wasn’t very quick. Now, I fully recognize that it was their first official day being open, so I have to temper my feelings about this. Serving espresso is never a quick affair, but with only one espresso machine and one barista, it appears this could be a ongoing problem. Combine this with the poor layout and there could be some nasty traffic jams with people waiting for beverages.
The furniture isn’t very comfortable. (I suppose this could be intentional so that people don’t just sit and take advantage of the free wi-fi all day.) Hayley complained about this more than I did, but it’s a pretty big deal to her. The high-top chairs are too tall for the tables and make it impossible to cross one’s legs under the table. Also, I rammed my knees into the legs of the table, though that may have been just as much my fault as the furniture’s.
And, finally, I wish there wasn’t so much press about this being a church outreach. I know that this has little to do with my actual experience, but I fear that it is going to affect people’s perception about the shop. In today’s news story, Dr. Gardner, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, says that church members will not “do any overt evangelism” and that they won’t “push that information on anyone,” instead hoping that visitors will be compelled to know more about the faith based on their experience at the store.
It seems to go against the mission of what is being attempted by talking about it so much. By constantly saying “but we won’t preach to you!” you’re reinforcing people’s perceptions that the church typically exists just to convert – not to simply serve (delicious coffee beverages).
We’ll see how it plays out in the coming weeks, but I hope the “church outreach” angle fades and the “great coffee experience” comes to the forefront. That story will get more people through the doors. That story will be one I can support.
Six Random Things
Brent Logan tagged me, according to the “official” rules:
- Link to the person who tagged you.
- Post the rules on your blog.
- Write 6 random things about yourself.
- Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
- Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Here are six random things about me:
- A number of the TV shows I love are critically acclaimed, but they commercially bomb. Friday Night Lights. Pushing Daisies. Freeks and Geeks (admittedly, I came late to the party on that one). Viva Laughlin*. And, of course, Arrested Development. This fact, of course, makes me feel cool and superior to people who mostly enjoy commercial successes.
- I have a serious problem with trying new flavors of chewing gum. When I’m at the grocery checkout, and I see “Extra Fruit Sensations Berry Pearadise” I’m powerless to withstand a purchase. And, typically, I don’t like the new flavor at all. A complete waste of $1.09.
- I’ve become something of a University of Texas fan. Some might point to their former #1 ranking and the likelihood of their playing at the Orange Bowl as the reasons for my favor. But they’re not. I’m a fan because I went to the Longhorn’s season-opener. The stadium was glorious. The fans were raucous. The atmosphere was charged. Something spiritual happened. And now I’m a fan. Oh, and I have a UT hat.
- I can’t really stand jazz music. Particularly smooth jazz. Ugh.
- I’m getting old(er). I have a goodly number of gray hairs. I don’t understand why the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana are cool. And I like going to bed no later than 10:00 p.m.
- This is perhaps the most random: I had a suite mate in college, a physics major, who was convinced that time machines would not be invented for public use in his lifetime. He reasoned that if a time machine were publicly available, that he would come back and tell his present (or past, depending upon one’s perspective) self about the technology. I argued that it was possible that his future-self decided that he needed to wait until his past-self was more prepared and able to process the time machine revelation, but he made a promise to himself that he would go back to his college-freshman-self and he wasn’t one to break a promise to himself. So how does that translate into a random thing about me? I find myself thinking about that conversation on a surprisingly frequent basis.
I’m tagging:
Thanks for the easy blog post Brent.
Happy Monday everyone.
*Please note that “Viva Laughlin” was intended to be a joke. I don’t know that I wouldn’t have loved Viva Laughlin as it was cancelled after only two episodes. But from what I’ve seen, it probably deserved the axe. However, I do the other shows listed.
Dealing With the Trolls
Blogging can be scary. We understand that. It requires a high level of transparency. Heightened honesty. A willingness to listen. And often a generous helping of patience.
Something happens to certain people when they go online. All decency and kindness leaves them, and they transform into angry trolls, stomping all those who dare get in their way. Having a troll loose on a blog, forum or even the newspaper comment section can derail meaningful exchange and chase off more reasonable commentators.
But you don’t have to let the trolls ruin your day and deny you the numerous benefits a blog affords. A few simple steps will help keep the trolls under the bridge where they belong.
Recognize that negativity is different from trolling.
There are going to be some people who just don’t like your brand, a certain position you take on a topic or the way your hair looks in a particular picture. Just because they disagree doesn’t mean that they’re the enemy. In fact, their voice can be the spark you need to generate valuable conversation.
The key to differentiating negativity from trolling is to remember that a troll is simply there to pick a fight. Their comments will be mean, irrelevant and probably anonymous. There’s no reason to publish such comments.
Create a comment policy.
It’s OK to not post every comment that is submitted. While some might claim that moderating a blog stifles authentic dialog, allowing offensive or off-topic comments will have far more damaging effects. But it’s important to have a set of guidelines in place for what will be blocked. Here’s the summarized comment policy we’ve set up for our blog:
Comments may not post immediately. We review them first in an effort to remove foul language, commercial messages, irrelevancies and unfair attacks. Thank you for your patience.
Reach out.
It’s possible that the trolls are individuals who have a valid frustration with your company, and just don’t know how to communicate it. It might be worth your time to send a quick email to the individual explaining why you blocked the comment and asking if there’s anything you can do to remedy the problem. Sometimes a personal communication is all it takes to defuse a thorny situation.
Dealing with trolls can be frustrating, but remember the Three Billy Goats Gruff. They knocked the troll into the river, making the bridge safe for all who followed. Use your wits and you, too, can make your blog a place where people feel free to speak freely without fear of attack.
What advice do you have for beating back the trolls while encouraging lively discussion?
Photo by Ken Davis.
The “New” Pepsi
You may or may not be aware that Pepsi is preparing to launch a new logo and look for their products.
It seems like Pepsi is changing its logo all the time. For many companies, this would be considered a flawed strategy. We think it’s spot on for Pepsi.
Pepsi has always branded itself as the edgy, progressive, youthful opposite of Coca-Cola, the classic, traditional, unchanging cola.
Since a brand is much more than a logo or packaging – it’s the gut feeling people have about a company – it makes sense for Pepsi to constantly evolve.
Kingdom Coming
Shaun Groves, prolific blogger and Dove Award-nominated softrocker, has done his singer/songwriter thing, writing and singing a beautiful and timely song. And even better? He’s offering it up for a free download.
You can listen here, but I strongly recommend downloading the song for your personal media device.
Here are Shaun’s thoughts about Kingdom Coming:
Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come…” (Matthew 6:9,10)
And the next part I overlooked until only recently. The next part of this model prayer reveals what the kingdom looks like, how it comes. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Whenever God’s will is done below as it is above, God reigns and rules, He is king and His kingdom comes. Jesus called this “good news” (Mark 1:14,15).
The kingdom is good news for me because it means the days I have left on earth don’t have to be spent waiting to die and get to heaven, but instead they can be lived in such a way that heaven comes through me and gets to earth. Every day, every talent, minute, dollar, relationship — it’s all purposed. It’s all a gift to be spent bringing the kingdom, doing God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus said the kingdom is also good news for the poor (Luke 4:18,19). “The bible is full of exclamations of God’s concern for the poor, his desire for them to be treated justly (Proverbs 19:7) and mercifully (Proverbs 18:23), for His people to give them equality (2 Corinthians 8:3–14).
Kingdom Coming released on election day 2008, as a reminder to me and Christians everywhere that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20) and it spreads not by sword (John 18:36) but unlike the kingdoms of this world (Isaiah 40:21–24), the kingdom we serve has no borders and no flags and no end.
To the rich lacking purpose and the poor lacking hope, this is good news.
Click here to download the song. (Links to a .zip file)
Have a listen and let us know what you think.