I was reading a post by Joe Wilkert the other day and something he said stuck me:

Closed platforms are dead.  Even Apple opens the iPhone platform for extensibility.  Amazon should have not only allowed but encouraged third-party extensions and apps for the device.  What sort of new and exciting functionality would exist for the Kindle today if Amazon would have created a Kindle app store 2 years ago?

This, right here, is why I love the capabilities of technology. There’s a reason why Firefox is the second most popular browser on the planet–developers can add their own “touch” to it. Same thing with the iPhone–there’s a reason why people jailbreak them. Sure, there’s a “cat-and-mouse” factor involved with iPhone hackers and Apple, but mostly people want to add their own touch to an already outstanding mobile OS.

Naturally, I look at this statement through the eyes of the local church. I’ve written about open-source sermons before, but those are only the beginning of my thoughts when it comes to open platforms and the Church. Can you imagine the exciting combinations that could evolve if the local church were to go “open source”?

• A blurring of the lines between clergy and laity. I’m considered part of the former, but I long for the day when all of God’s people feel like they have something to contribute to the local body.
• Church buildings being “opened up” to the community for anything from Boy Scout meetings to an entrepreneurs conference to a health clinic.
• Refining and integrating lay leaders into the life of the church. Giving people of different professions a chance to use their gifts in “real” settings–giving a pediatrician with a teaching gift a chance to preach a message on a Sunday morning, for instance.

Open platforms are all about sharing what you’ve discovered and how it can benefit those around you. What could you bring to your church setting if it was an open platform? If closed platforms are dead, seems the only alternative is to be open and live. If you’re not busy living then you’re busy . . .

What do you think?

I’m starting a new series of posts called “Cultural Exegesis”. The basic premise of these posts will be to examine an aspect of culture and evaluate the merits (or lack thereof) in light of the Biblical narrative.

This week I’ll be taking a look at the MTV series entitled, “Jersey Shore”. Here’s MTV’s description of the show:

MTV has focused its lens on various subcultures and rites of passage, uncovering a host of memorable characters in the process. With its newest series, Jersey Shore, MTV peels back yet a different curtain to follow eight young adults as they move into a summer share to indulge in everything Seaside Heights, New Jersey, one of the most popular summer hot spots, has to offer. Jersey Shore uncovers sometimes surprising, often hilarious and usually over-the-top personalities as they juggle work, love, nightlife, friendship and the drama that ensues. In the end, viewers see that there is more to these tan and buff individuals than hair gel.

Simply put, this is Real World New Jersey. MTV has cast various young, attractive, East-coasters to star in a reality show that follows their exploits over the course of a summer. All in the context of a beach house on, where else, the Jersey shore.
(more…)

I found this little gem via Mashable and thought it too awesome to not pass on to you:

What you’re looking at is a new power outlet developed by True Power that integrates two USB ports into a standard power outlet. This, in a word, is awesome.

I’ve already got a perfect spot for one of these picked out in my house. The outlet by my bedside is what I usually use to power my iPhone at night. No more adapters, just plug that baby right into the wall!

For those nervous about power usage and expensive electronics not mixing well, True Power offers this assurance:

Please also note that the USB ports only draw power when something is physically connected to the port. We didn’t want a vampire port that continually sucks and wastes power when not in use so this was one of the features on the top of our priority list during the design phase.

These start shipping in early 2010. You better believe I’ll be on the pre-order list!

Help me figure out what Robert K. Greenleaf is saying here. From the book Servant Leadership:

We live at a time when holders of power are suspect and actions that stem from authority are questioned. Legitimize power has become an ethical imperative. Can discriminating people be helped to find the means for legitimizing power?

There are legions of persons of good will who could sharpen and clarify their view of the more serving society they would like to live in and help build–if in no other way than by holding a deepened interest and concern about it and speaking to the condition of others. Is not such widespread action necessary if the climate that favors service, and supports servants, is to be maintained.

I think I understand, but I’m not sure. Any ideas?

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the privacy policies of Facebook would be changing in the next few weeks. He explains in his blog:

Facebook’s current privacy model revolves around “networks” — communities for your school, your company or your region. This worked well when Facebook was mostly used by students, since it made sense that a student might want to share content with their fellow students.

In it’s infancy, Facebook revolved around college campuses. You didn’t need to “friend” someone in order to see their full profile. You simply had to be a part of the same campus “network” and you had full access to their profile.

Eventually Facebook brought this same functionality to cities, meaning if you lived in Anytown, USA, all the people who claimed Anytown as their home could see your full profile. You could change this setting, but not without wading through the Facebook settings.

Zuckerberg and his team saw a need to change this–for various reasons–and are planning to do so very soon. Again, from the Facebook CEO’s blog:

The plan we’ve come up with is to remove regional networks completely and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone.

We’re adding something that many of you have asked for — the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload. In addition, we’ll also be fulfilling a request made by many of you to make the privacy settings page simpler by combining some settings. If you want to read more about this, we began discussing this plan back in July.

What does this mean? Networks, as we know it, go bye-bye. The only people who can see your profile are the ones you give access to.

This is a good move. As online privacy and identity control becomes more of an issue, Facebook is smart to tighten up access points.

Religion is too hard. That’s why I’m giving it up. Too many rules to remember. Too many toes to look out for so that I don’t step on them. Too many fragile egos to stroke, my own included.

Reflecting on my faith life, I made the following statement on Twitter the other day:

Taken at face value, that’s quite the statement. And, really, it is. I didn’t come to this conclusion on my own, however. Neither am I alone in my assertion. From Kristin:

How Do You Lose Your Religion?

This begs the question that Kristin asked, “Just what does this all look like anyway?” Giving up a humanly structured religion sounds noble, but just how does one put this lofty idea into action? Allow me to offer a simple starter list as to what I’m thinking:

1. Dying to self: I realized recently that there is very little dying to self involved in my walk with Jesus. My natural instincts win out most of the time. This is ironic because the promise of the Christian life is to be led by the very Spirit of God and not our natural instincts. When we reject Jesus, we reject life. I want to embrace life. Therefore I need to put to death my old way of living.
2. Being Spirit-led: One of my professors recently stated in class, “I challenge you to spend more time praying for your sermon than you do reading commentaries for it.” Wow. That hit me right between the eyes. But he’s right–how often do I look to the words of people rather than consulting the Spirit who wrote the Scriptures in the first place? Granted, this approach is more “messy,” but much more life-giving.
3. Judging the hearts and motives of people: I have no idea what’s going on beneath the surface of most everyone’s life. Neither do you. So I’m going to stop acting like I do. I can only judge by the fruit I see coming from someone’s life. That’s it. I’m going to stop looking at people and assuming I know where their heart is with God. For all I know the drug-addicted, transvestite prostitute could be miles ahead of me on the road to eternity. I just don’t know. You may not have as flagrant a besetting sin as drug addiction or prostitution, but as my mentor says, “You have herpes of the soul.” Vivid. True.

The implications for following Jesus instead of cut-from-stone, person-centered religion are staggering. Asking Jesus to “teach me, LORD” affects every aspect of my life: From my marriage to my ministry; from the books I read to the way I treat the cashier at Target; from planning a ministry event to spending offering dollars. But I’m ready for it.

So ready for it. Are you?

How are you losing your religion?

I must preface this post by saying that I shamelessly stole this idea from Anne Jackson. I stole it because, well, she’s a blog that I read. She has her own list going here and a wrote a book that you can buy here. Now you know!

Here are some “must-reads” for me lately:

1. Dave Housholder: He’s a dyed-in-the-wool Lutheran that doesn’t think like one. I appreciate that. All of the richness of the heritage without the baggage. Great read.
2. Michael Hyatt: As far as established generations using new media go, no one can hold a candle to Michael Hyatt. A great blend of practical and the personal.
3. Ben Arment: Short and purposeful. Easily digestible posts. I don’t miss what he writes because it makes me think and I don’t spend an hour reading it.
4. Iowa Girl Eats: A great foodie blog–vibrant photos, practical wellness advice, and she’s an Iowan. Plus, she’s my baby sister. I’m biased!

What about you? What’s a “no-miss” for you on the blogosphere? Who should we be reading and why?

Do tell.