Maybe you’ve heard about the controversy surrounding the way people could vote for the speakers at THE NINES. It allowed people to view hundreds of Christian leaders on a “twitter poll” page and either “like” or “dislike” a person. I’m guessing that the people with the highest number of “likes” gets to speak at the conference. I believe this is a great idea because it allows the audience to get involved by selecting who they want to hear at THE NINES. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? But, as Skye Jethani, the managing editor of Leadership Journal points out,

“it a poorly communicated idea that has deteriorated into a popularity contest among church leaders.”

What are your thoughts on the “twitter poll” idea? Do you believe other conferences should adopt this idea as well or do you see where Skye Jethani has a point on this matter?

The story of Joshua starts off as a terrible story, but trust me, it changes for the better.

Sacred Heart, a hospital in Haiti, found a 12 year old boy from Haiti suffering with cerebral palsy and pulled him off of the streets to start caring for him. Before Joshua was found by Sacred Heart’s team, his mother was letting him die on the street because the worse he looked, the more money she made when she begged. She had never given him a name, so for the first 12 years of his life, he was known as her “dog”. He had never been loved, never been kissed and nobody had ever told him that he had value. Sacred Heart changed all of that.

Since then he has been placed in a new home by SafeWorld/SafeWater where he will never go without love again. After they found Joshua a safe home, SafeWorld/SafeWater were asked by the UN and Haitian government if they would help place more children like Joshua in homes. They realized there were too many children and not enough homes, so Joshua’s Village was born. SafeWorld/SafeWater is developing Joshua’s Village in Haiti for at-risk, abandoned children with disabilities. It will also be a refuge for young girls who have been raped/abused in tent cities and to keep trauma counselors on hand to help those toward who need recovery and healing. The elements of Joshua’s Village are things that most of us take for granted each day. These things are sustainable construction, comprehensive primary/secondary schooling and a convenient medical clinic to those that need care.

Now, that the major earthquake in Haiti has done its damage, the people of Haiti need help more than ever. YOUR HELP. SafeWorld/SafeWater is really trying to make a difference there, but of course helping Haiti recover takes time and resources. They have actually been on the ground in Haiti since 6 days after the earthquake. Wow.

After saying all of this, SafeWorld/SafeWater really needs your help to raise $10,000+ for ground work to finalize and launch the project. I will actually be going with a team to Haiti from August 12th-16th to see this story first hand. The completion of this project will change so many people’s lives. Lives that are probably a lot like Joshua’s.

The story of Joshua doesn’t stop here, though. In the coming months I will be updating you on how things are going with Joshua and the building of Joshua’s Village. I believe God can change this nation. I believe we can help. Everyone has something to give. I know we can help make this happen.

DONATE NOW

If I could have any talent, it would be _________.

When big events are coming up I get really excited. Baseball games, fireworks, college football, traveling, vacation, climbing, banging on stuff and the list keeps going. Leading up to the event my face looks like the above photo. I am guessing that you look the same when something huge is about to happen. Well, maybe not.

What are you looking forward to?

Here is the craziest video I’ve seen lately. It makes me smile. Of course it’s about a double rainbow.

Here’s a song that was made from the above video:

What are some of your favorite videos?

Sometimes I write blogs to see your opinion on a matter. Sometimes I write a blog to let you know my opinion on something. Sometimes I just write to empty my mind.

The one thing that I sometimes forget about blogging is that it was partly invented to let other people know what is going on in life. So, here are my happenings and thoughts as of late:

• Haiti trip with SafeWorld has been moved to August 12-16. So excited about this!!!
• I have my book, “Perfect Church” 90% completed. I should have this finished within the next three months.
• Even though my twitter profile says I am located in Denver, CO I am actually located in Fort Collins, CO, which is an hour north of Denver. I list it like this for more exposure on twitter.
• There will be a new jackalopekid.com launching on July 19th. This is version 3.0 and it is by far the best yet. I can’t wait for you guys to see it.
• I am thinking of getting my first tattoo. I don’t know where I want to get it, but I know I want it to say “To the Summit” in Latin, which is “Ad Alta”.
• We are helping plant orchardchurch in Westminster, CO.
• I am at 20 highpoints overall and plan to climb five more by the end of 2010. This will get me to the halfway point.
• My thoughts right now are that I have a farmer’s tan and I need to do some laundry.

There are some other things I have up my sleeve, but I can’t tell all of my secrets here.

So tell me, What’s going on in your life?

I spend a lot of time dealing with blogging, facebook and twitter. It seems everybody does this social media junk these days. This has me thinking about the future of social media and how long it will even be around. Will I be 80 years old and tweeting about my false teeth and my walker? Maybe so. I will not blame you if you don’t read my tweets when I’m 80 years old.

Or maybe my thoughts will be broadcasted for the whole world to see… Nevermind.

The internet is a beautiful thing.

Where do you see social media heading? What are some things you would like to see in the next big social media craze?