-An Internet Ministry Warning:

 My wife sent me this picture today. One must always remember to balance ministry and time on the internet with family or this could happen to you:

-Court: A Right to Bully and be Mean Online

Here’s an interesting internet case. An 8th grade student was suspended from school for “cyber-bullying” and  humiliating another student online in a YouTube video. Her parents took the school to court and last month a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that the school had gone too far. Students do have a 1st Amendment right to be nasty in cyberspace. Implications for internet ministry:

-Online Integrity and Credibility?

Integrity and credibility are two issues that everyone online are going to be involved with one way or another. Whether you are writing a blog, publishing a website, or just reading and commenting. For the Christian blogger or social networker it should be absolutely crucial and obvious.

We really should be asking ourselves before we hit the ‘publish’ or ‘send’ button –How will this reflect upon who I say I am. If I am presenting myself as a Christian does it reflect favorably on Christianity or the church? Is this article, comment, or observation really reflective of what I want to do and be Online?

-5 Common Grammatical Mistakes That Make You Look Dumb!

 Here’s a helpful guide to some common mistakes that I make every once in a while and you probably do to. Written by Brian Clark of Copyblogger: “Five Grammatical Errors that Make You Look Dumb”

He lists five mistakes to avoid when blogging and writing web copy:

1. Your vs. You’re

2. It’s vs. Its

3. There vs. Their

4. Affect vs. Effect

5. The Dangling Participle

Read what he has to say about these common errors. I have broken them all at one time or another. Very helpful!  

-Learning to Take Criticism Well

I started thinking about some of my experiences over the years when it comes to negative comments and criticisms made on my blogs. Particularly those made when I first started blogging 17 years ago:

-Lack of Integrity on Christian Sites?

A few years ago I was checking out the Internet to see what there was about a church organization that I belonged to. I was completely shocked to find so much inaccurate material, and some down right malicious statements about several key leaders that I have known for over 20 years–a bunch of lies mixed in with some 'nearly' truthful highly slanted innuendoes. Amazing!

-Barna: The Techno Generational Gap in the Church

Research by The Barna Group shows that there is a major divide between different generations and how they approach the new media. This seems rather intuitive for anyone with grandchildren.

But it would be helpful for church leaders and outreach folks to get a hold of in order to plan a more effective ministry to different generational groups.  Most churches are adequately reaching the Boomers and the Busters but the church technology is way behind in addressing the younger generations where they live: