Church

Yesterday while scarfing down a quick lunch, I zipped over to the NY Times on my phone and read the techology section (ironic, I know).  I came across this interesting article entitled "Study Shows People Ignore Generic Photos Online." The premise is simple: people are more likely to interact with photos of people they know or recognize than with generic stock photos. Using eye-tracking software, Jakob Nielson discovered that generic stock photos are largely ignored; even more so, they are considered to be annoying. What does this mean for websites that are in the "people" business?  Stock photos are counter-productive.  They not only do not contribute to the message, they may actually be subconsciously working against the message. It may take a little more time, effort, and coordination, but utilizing "real" people from your church, business, or organization may produce unseen (pun intended) benefits.

Have you received a flu shot yet?  The change in season brings a new round of sniffling, sneezing, and wheezing.  If you catch a cold, remember to wash your hands.   Most of the time it's not a good thing to be contagious.  The folks around us may love our sense of humor but they're not big on our germs.  It's why wash our hands, cover our mouths, and stay home when we're really sick.  (Unless you're a parent, then you send your kid off to school).   But there are times when it's good to be contagious and one of those is when it comes to being generous.  We may not wish to receive someone's germs, but receiving their generosity is another matter.  And as far I can tell, spreading generosity is a socially-acceptable thing to do.   Barry Cameron's book, "Contagious Generosity: The Key to Blessing", makes a…

In a recent E4U class on the book of Acts, I talked about how the apostle Paul varied his method but stayed true to his message. A good example of this is in Acts 17.  While in Thessalonica, he visits the synagogue and uses the Hebrew Scriptures to proclaim Jesus.  The Jewish synagogue was a familiar place to Paul, who was raised as a "Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees."  With a primarily Jewish audience, Paul uses methods familiar to his audience.  Even though his methods/reasoning reflected his audience, his message remained simple: Jesus is the Christ. Later in the same chapter, he stops in Athens and finds himself in the marketplace of ideas. I love how Luke describes the Athenians: "All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas" (Acts 17:21).  Sounds like a…