Where Does It End?

I read this article yesterday and found the headline to be a little misleading. It seemed to imply that somehow Google was going to work help supply information to the NSA. It's not hard to make that jump when you read articles about how Google tries to continuously increase the access it has to information about us.

The article is really about Google would like the NSA's help to ward off cyberattacks on their information.

It still causes me to think about all of the information that we have out in cyberspace and who has access to it. I wonder where you draw the line between personal information and what the public should know. *sigh* I continue to struggle with the idea that as we create more and more things to make our life "easier" and "simpler", it seems to only get more complex and confusing.

Productive Meeting

Typically, if I was part of a 2-hour meeting, I would tell you that it was a waste of time...or that we talked too much. Last night Oakfield Church Council meeting was an exception to that. There was a lot on the agenda, but I thought there was some incredible news to report:

• Our apportionment payments went up significantly in comparison to last year. We are close to paying about 80% for 2009, whereas we were at about 50% for 2008.
  
• We approved the creation of a website for the Oakfield and Tabor churches. The cost is very low and we will not have to worry about hosting the site. We will simply need to upload the necessary information onto the pages. Hopefully this will be up and running soon.
• We have shown a great deal of initiative to get a group together to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
• We had a good discussion about advertising. We are hoping to utilize the Oakfield Gazette more, as well as be more intentional about submitting press releases for upcoming events.

It was a lively meeting with good discussion. I hope all of our meetings continue to be like this!

Tabor Ministry Initiative Teams
Next week, letters will be going out to some members of Tabor United Methodist Church regarding our Ministry Initiative Teams. I am hoping to get current members of the these committees together along with some other individuals who I think would be good on these committees. These groups work specifically with nurture (Sunday school, youth, etc.), missions and witness (worship services).

With the excitement of the new addition growing and additional facilities soon at our disposal, I think it's important that we think about new ministries and new opportunities at the Tabor Church. Stay tuned for additional information and updates!

Website and Networking Updates

I will be the first to admit, that as much as I try to be at the leading edge of technological trends, that is not always the case. Since I began as a pastor in July of 2009, I have trying to think of ways that we can move the Oakfield and Tabor churches forward in the areas of technology. In talking with the Oakfield Lay Leader, I got connected with a young man who does technology work for the Oakfield School District.

We met for lunch today and he provided me with some wonderful information as we look at website hosting opportunities and possible ways to network the office. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, we can get a new website started for both churches. Linda and I will also hopefully be able to share files on a server as well as share the same printer. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

New Office Computer

I am typing today's entry on the new lap top that was purchased for the pastor of the church. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have this new resource in my work. I have been able to take all of the church files that I have spread over various computers and flash drives. With it being so compact, I can take it to both churches as well as to any meetings that I might have.

This computer has a fairly strong internal wireless internet card installed in it. It is powerful enough that it actually picks up the wireless signal from our house across the street. This means that I have internet access in the office. Yippee!

As you can see the computer comes with a camera as well that I took advantage of. Thank you to the church councils of both churches for authorizing the purchase of this computer. They managed to order from a place that gave us a significant discount on the computer.

Eagle Eye

Last night Christa and I watched the movie Eagle Eye. It came out last year, and with Netflix we have been making our way through recent major movies.

If I've noticed one habit that I have developed as a pastor, it is that I can encapsulate any book or movie that I read into one statement that opens itself up to dialogue. Eagle Eye was no different.

Watching this movie makes you wonder about the role that computers play in our lives. The movie itself combines plots similar to movies like WarGames and 2001. It brings up the following discussion points:

1. How much are we going to allow computers to in our lives?
2. Computers can be more efficient, but what are the drawbacks?
3. What is the potential gains and risks in Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Whenever I watch a movie like this, I think about these questions. Although computers have made our lives easier in many ways, I feel as though our lives continually get more complicated and stressful. Plus, you deal with computer breakdowns and server outages which can also be very frustrating.

Christa and I gave the movie a: ****. It has good action and keeps you moving, given that the plot line is completely improbable. In all movies, there is a message. I encourage you to reflect on the ones I listed above.