I was just reading an article on the Advertising Age web site that said for the second straight quarter text use has eclipsed talk use. An average teen 13-17 will send more than 1,742 texts per months and make only 231 calls in that same period. BTW, if you haven’t gotten your kids the text package make sure you get the unlimited text plan. With the rise of services like Twitter texting has become an important social tool and with the new site Yammer it may soon become more important to the office. We are using a service called TextMarks here at Arrow Heights to build text message groups that allow us to send a message to large groups of people without getting charged for every message. Our Upward recreation directors really enjoy the freedom to be able to update their coaches and players about weather updates and cancellations. I am planning on setting up several twitter feeds for a scavenger hunt in the future. Stay tuned for details.

I have read about several churches that broadcast their twitter feed onto the wall in the sanctuary so that people can interact with the service in real time across the church. These tools can used to build community with your church or small group. It would be great to have a twitter prayer group for your church that sends a text to your prayer warrior followers who get the update in real time and can respond with other requests or say that they are praying.

How often do you text? How important has texting become to you and/or your kids?

Several blogs sites have been mentioning the need for blue tarps in the LA area due to the recent hurricane. Dino Rizzo and Healing Place Church have been working hard to meet the needs. You can help by donating a blue tarp. Here is how:

You can purchase a blue tarp from http://www.tarpsplus.com/hurricanetarps.html and have it delivered to:

ONE (1) BLUE TARP
Healing Place Church
19202 Highland Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
225.753.2273

Hurricane Torn Baton Rouge Needs Our Help!!! from Catalyst on Vimeo.

The Ike damage looks bad. As I hear what we can do to help I will pass word along.

LifeChurch.tv and Ragamuffinsoul.com are teaming up for an online event called LifeShare and I want to share this with you because I plan on getting in. I am going to embed the Mogulus player in this post and invite you to visit the LifeShare site to learn more about this 7-day event and participate in this online community. You can check out Carlos Whitaker’s post about it and join us as we explore what an online church can be like.

     In preparation for the ArrowHeights.org 5K race in August I met with several of the Broken Arrow Cross Country Team boosters and Coach Shane Messinger on Monday night.  The ArrowHeights.org 5K will be a fundraiser for the Cross Country Team and ties into the sermon series that we are starting this Sunday called Training for the Race. Over the weekend I was thinking about how I could help them team out more. Realizing that one of my strengths is working with blogs and creating web sites I decided to look to see if the team had a web site. Low and behold they had a single page on the athletic web site. I started thinking about how I could help create awareness about the Cross Country and Track team so I created a web site for them at www.brokenarrowtrack.com. At the church we have partnered with a local grade school in a program called Partners in Education. I think of this project as my partnership with education, plus I need to make friends with athletic people if I am ever going to start exercising and losing weight.

     Programs like Partners in Education provide churches the opportunity to interact with people outside of the church and is a great outreach.

     How are you involved in your community or local school?

I am working with the Community 35 Ladies to set up their small group blog.  I will let you check it out next week.

       I am kicking it at the house right now taking some needed time off.  We had a conference at the church on Saturday and Sunday was a 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM adventure.  Ferris Bueller’s Day off is on T.V.  The refrigerator repair man has been by.  My phone got recalled and I am going to see if they will replace it.  There is a colored dot underneath the battery that changes color if it gets wet that appears to be the wrong color, but I have never gotten it wet so I hope that they are going to replace it.  It is a Samsung BlackJack and I drop about 70-85 % of my phone calls, which is why they are recalling the phone. 

Finished reading Fusion:Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church by Nelson Searcy of www.churchleaderinsights.com this morning and started reading Pop Goes The Church: Should The Church Engage Pop Culture? by Tim Stevens of www.LeadingSmart.com.  Check out the web site for Pop Goes the Church.  I can see a clear direction for AHBC to head in how we engage our guests each week and how we can assimilate them.  I have putting some of the elements into place.

Sound off.  What are you reading right now?

       We are starting a new book study over at the Book Blog.  The book is A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders.  Click over to the blog and check out the study introduction.  This a study for anyone who wants to learn how God has shaped their heart for leadership.  This will be a six week study and will start Monday April 7th.  I hope that some of you will join the discussion.  Contact Jeremy Davidson at jeremy@arrowheights if you are interested in participating in this study. 

-Jeremy Davidson

       There are a bunch of skaters coming to the church these days.  In response to that I have created a blog to kick off the skate ministry at Arrow Heights.  Check out www.sk8ba.com to see what I am talking about.  This is going to be the place for BA and Tulsa area skaters to go and see themselves in action through our picture posts and where we will advertise skate parks trips.  Tell the skaters you know about it.  FInd some time in your schedule and come hang out with these students.  They love to chill out and have fun.  Peace, I’m out of here. 

      I created a blog for our small group to interact online at.  Check out the new blog at www.ArrowHeights.org/newlywedblog.  If you know any nearly or newlyweds that are looking for a small group to be a part of send them to the site so they can get to know us and find out where we are meeting this week. 

My friend Jennifer Johnson has written a book called Royal by Blood.  Randall House has published the book and is featuring it on their web site.  Click over there and check it out.  While your online go to Jennifer’s blog and leave her some comments about the book.  If you are looking for a study for teen and young adult girls I recommend that you check this out.  It is great stuff.