The College And Major You Choose Is Important

July 25th, 2010 Mark

Where you go to college and what you take for a major has great implications on your future.  For example, if your school is not recognized by employers, you may find it difficult to secure a job.  If you choose a major that employers are not seeking, you won’t get a job.  As well, if you incur a lot of tuition debt, you won’t be free to take a job that requires you to work your way up through stages of employment. Finally, getting a degree that does not take you to a good job and buries you in debt will inhibit your ability to later get married and have children, buy a house, have a safe reliable car, and may greatly hinder your ability to serve the Lord on mission trips or assist those in the work of the Lord.

Here is an article as to what majors are getting the big time jobs.  http://is.gd/dHE72

You don’t think you need to be concerned?  Then listen to these students/former students.  http://is.gd/dHEP0

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Using Foursquare In A Ministry

July 23rd, 2010 Mark

So you think that Foursquare is just a game?  Well many people think that but every day it is used by businesses to make people aware of a restaurant or other establishment.  Look at how it is used by a restaurant:

1.  People click on the location which others can view.  If enough people see it, people will think it might be a good place to eat.

2. Tips about the restaurant are visible for other Foursquare users to see.  Something like, “Great appetizers” can draw attention that brings in new customers.

3. A restaurant can offer discounts or other things through Foursquare ads.

4. Users can get a badge if a swam of 50 or more visit and click on the restaurant at the same time.

5. Facebook and Twitter can also be used to draw Foursquare users to use Foursquare at a restaurant.

6. Foursquare ‘friends’ will see who is checked into a restaurant…it invites friends to join them there.

7. Foursquare users make unknown restaurants known.  Bang, more business.

NOW, how can this apply to a ministry.  It is easy to see:

1. Foursquare users show that people are visiting a ministry.

2. Foursquare friends see where others are attending meetings.

3. Non-ministry/church goers see that others are attending church/ministry events.

4. You can create a swam by asking your smartphone users to use Foursquare at meetings.

5. People can view the comments of church/ministry goers.

6. You can create ads for Wednesday night dinners, Upward discounts or whatever will assist your participants and members.

So before you spend thousands of dollars on newspaper ads and door flyers, which few read, use free social media and then enhance it with inexpensive ads.

www.foursquare.com/businesses

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A Summer Reminder

July 16th, 2010 Mark

THIS VIDEO reminds us not to complain about summer heat and to appreciate its warmth.

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Did You Borrow Much In College?

July 13th, 2010 Mark

Compare your school loans to these collegians and graduates.  http://is.gd/dqnSx

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From Mortgage to Credit Cards to Student Loans to Contributions

July 13th, 2010 Mark

Our country is reeling from debt repayment.  One out of every 10 people are listed as unemployed but we all know that many more are unemployed (those who were not listed as unemployed before the recession but are still wanting to work, those stay at home moms who are now ready to work but there are few jobs available which fit them, those who have graduated from school but cannot find work, and those who have been laid off and no longer qualify for assistance).  These people are having a difficult time paying their mortgage.  In addition, they are taking on higher personal credit card debt to provide for daily living expenses.   It is bad out there but just when you think the recession could not get worse, along comes the student loan.

For many years college students have been paying for their education through work, grants, and loans.  Once a student is accepted into a school, they are almost automatically qualified to receive a student loan.  That does not mean that students really qualify to repay it but schools don’t care.  Schools need the student count and the students money (FSU just laid off 21 tenured profs due to budget constraints).  Their concern is to pay their bills and the way they do that is through receiving student loan checks.

Under the old economy, college graduates could expect to receive a good job following their graduation and therefore easily make their monthly student loan payment.   With college enrollment up 17% since 2000, there is a lot of money being borrowed.  In 03-04 the average college graduate owed 17,125 but in 07-08 the average college student graduated with $23,000 in student loans.  That is a huge increase in personal debt.  Nearly 66% had received some amount of student loan.  The typical government backed student loan is around 4.5%.  This means that in addition to paying for a car loan, car insurance, and other living expenses, the average college graduate now holds a student loan of 26,719 and will pay around $250 per month for the next 10 years.   If they graduated from a private four year college, that amount is 29,000 which slightly increases the loan payment.

So, with all this debt and a bleak outlook in the job market, how will this affect contributions?  Students, and all Millennnials, love helping others.  They are quick to contribute time, energy (when they aren’t at the mall with mom!) and are ready to toss in cash to any personal needy cause they see.  They even make commitments for future donations…all with OR without a job.  What that means is this:

1.  They live on hand outs from relatives.

2.  They spend when they have it and narrow their choices in spending or giving.

3.  They don’t just give to a cause because their ‘suppose’ to contribute.

4.  When they give, they are doing so on the back of someone else, usually their parents because they end up asking for more help from them.

5.  They give less to organizations….they don’t have it to give.

6.  Churches and organizations that put themselves in debt better bail themselves out before the boomers die off.

7.  Churches and organizations that center their operations around building, may have a generation coming that cannot even pay the light bill nor may they want to.

What can you do to help a student:

1.  Encourage them to select an affordable college.  Maybe community college then transfer for the big name on the plaque school.

2.  Help them understand that life is tough and jobs are often earned by hard work.

3.  Help them structure their finances.  Move them from relational spending to budget care.

4.  Start by telling 8th graders the importance of good grades in receiving grants for college.

5.  Help those who receive grants understand that maintaining great grades is their #1 job.  It provides the money for the grant!

6.  If you are a parent, hold somethings back.  Challenge your student to understand your money is not theirs. Make sure they ‘feel’ what responsible living is like in life.

7.  As a parent, get your financials in order.  Life is more caught than taught.  Let your kids see good borrowing practices and how it impacts your spending, savings, and contributions.

A couple of resources:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/college/2010-07-11-college-funding_N.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/college-debt_n_471023.html

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How To Get People To Retweet

July 12th, 2010 Mark

Statistically, How to Get Retweeted

(by Tommy Swanson…more go to www.tommyswanson.com )

Statistic driven data that explains the art of retweeting.

I recently read a report by Dan Zarrella, a social media scientist, which outlined what statistically gets retweeted. After taking a look over the in-depth report which can be read by signing up to his email subscription list here, these are the major points that I took away from the data.

Call to Action
Some of the most retweetable words according to Zarrella’s report are words that encourage individuals to retweet. By simply adding something at the end of your tweet such as: (Please RT) or (Please Retweet), not surprisingly, you have a much higher chance of being retweeted.

Get to the Point
Another interesting point that the data brought out is that users don’t want to hear you blabber. By using nouns, rather than descriptive adjectives, you provide your followers with quality content, rather than fluff, something that Zarrella advocates at speaking events often.

Many twitter users, including myself, still use the traditional RT: to retweet. By getting to the point, you can more likely leave 10-20 characters at the end of your tweet for followers to put RT: @username at the front of the post. Those who fill their tweets with fluff leave followers with no room to perform the traditional RT.

Provide Quality Content
Some of the least retweetable content is that of casual conversation. Words such as going, haha, lol, and game are some of the least retweetable phrases. Other data presented asserted that tweets with links, specifically with a bit.ly url shortner, is a much more viable way of getting your followers attention.

Zarrella made the data proven pitch that celebrities are far less retweetable than other users. Why so? It’s because they are self-driven. By constantly posting updates that pertain to themselves, rather than providing useful information to their followers, they leave their followers with no reason to retweet.

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President Obama and the Graham’s.

June 22nd, 2010 Mark

I just discovered this meeting.  Here it is from the Religious Herald:

Obama, Graham meet at evangelist’s home Print E-mail
By Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service
Thursday, May 06, 2010

MONTREAT, N.C. (RNS) — President Obama and ailing evangelist Billy Graham exchanged prayers during their first meeting recently at Graham’s home in western North Carolina.

President Obama meets with evangelist Billy Graham at his house in Montreat, N.C. (RNS/Pete Souza/The White House)

Obama had traveled to nearby Asheville, N.C., and requested the visit — the first time a sitting president has visited Graham at his residence, said Graham’s longtime spokesman, Larry Ross.

Graham, 91, issued a statement saying he was pleased with the visit and encouraging “Christians everywhere to pray for our president.”

The White House described the meeting as one of conversation and “private prayer” and said Obama “is extraordinarily gratified that he took the time to meet with him.”

During the 35-minute meeting, the men — joined by Graham’s son and fellow evangelist Franklin Graham — discussed their wives, golf and Chicago. Graham gave the president two Bibles, one for himself and another for first lady Michelle Obama.

Graham has met with 12 presidents over six decades, starting with Harry Truman in 1950.

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USA TODAY & College Life

June 18th, 2010 Mark

Several of this weeks USA Today papers had a couple of articles about college students.  They are summarized here:

1.  Freshman enrollment is up.  6% increase in 2008.  This indicates that enrollment is not being driven by unemployed people.   Also, 75 percent of this increase came from minorities.

2.  Some schools are granting admission to students who  do not have the proper SAT scores.  The school needs the bucks.  I believe there are some students who may not qualify per SAT but they may earn the grades with hard work, actually attending and listening in class, doing their homework, etc.  It will show up at graduation ceremonies.

3. Students are receiving student loans which they will never be able to repay.  The next ‘foreclosure’ issue.

4.  California colleges continue to be hammered with funding shortages BUT they are asking students to assist them with creative funding ideas.  One idea was to hold free classes lead by volunteer teachers.  These classes cannot issue class credit but they are well received and attended by traditional students.

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College Faculty: Religious Beliefs

June 10th, 2010 Mark

Per a study on the religious beliefs and behaviors of college faculty in a 2006 study by Gary Tobin and Aryeh Weinberg, 25% of college faculty say they are non-Evangelical Christians, 18% identify themselves as Catholics, 14% claim no religion, 11% say the are Evangelicals, 8% claim that they are atheists, and 5% are Jewish.  Muslims, Hindus and ‘other’ represent around 1% of college faculty.

At the same time, the general population of the US claimed to be the following: 33% are Evangelicals, 24% are Catholics, 22% are non-Evangelical Christians, 11% have no religion, and 2% are Jewish.

source: Profiles of the American university, Volume II: Religious Beliefs and Behaviors of College Faculty

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Relationship Building OR Relational Encounters

June 8th, 2010 Mark

Many people think that it takes a long time to build a good relationship but does it take a long time to build a relationship that matters?

A couple of weeks ago at KSU I met a student named Austin.   It was fun to meet him because he worked in the school bookstore which had one of the best displays of college t-shirts I have ever seen.  When I mentioned this to him, he told me that they had a lot of Wildcat stuff.  He also mentioned that they had the original Wildcat mascot head in the display case just down the hallway outside the store.

Austin took me to the mascot display and took my photo with the Wildcat head.  Pretty cool.  We then discussed how he enjoyed going to school there, his work, and his life.  He shared with me about his family, that he had just graduated from KSU, that he was considering graduate school, and that he thought alot about spiritual things.

We discussed spiritual things for a few minutes and I found out that he had attended quite a few Christian activities but had not taken a step of faith in Christ.  So I asked him, why not now?  He then said ‘yes’, so we sat down in a quite spot where he could commit his life to Christ through prayer.

All of this took place in less than 20 minutes.  Its all about relationships but I think they can be skillfully developed in a short period of time.  So, let’s think, talk, and pray about relational encounters.  What do you think?

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Robbed At Gunpoint In Brasil…and I’d Go There Again, Right Now!

June 6th, 2010 Mark

This is a little long for a blog but you need to at least scan this.  Two weeks ago I was in the streets of wonderful Sao Paulo, Brazil.   It is a very crowded yet kind of edgy place.  A place of busy well dressed and pleasantly kind people.   I visited the University of Sao Paulo where that kindness was extended to me, many times over, by their students who guided this wandering Yankee around campus.

I toured campus with Church Planter Rob Gaschler.  During our visits to campus we met linguistic graduate students like Edson who helped us order food at the school lunch counter.  They didn’t use the easy numbering system that we’re used to at McDonald’s!  We liked Edson from the git go…just like all the students we met.  He is a believer in Christ but right now without a home church.  It is our hope that he eventually ties into the local church ministry called Zoe.  Zoe, meaning Abundant life, is the church we met with there.  They are made up of students like Edson.

During our first campus visit we met students Sergio and Rafael.  Both are language students and they play on a college rugby team.  That’s right, rugby in Brasil!  I mentioned that I had never personally seen a game so they invited us into their team practice/scrimmage the next night.  I have some video of it on YouTube.  http://is.gd/cEdc3 It was fun to watch the practice and to meet their coach and teammates.

The day before our return to the States we had lunch with Sergio.  Sergio told us that Brasil is a divided country, just as in the US.  They have the privileged class (the rich) and the less privileged.  People have to work alot for their pay which is often pretty low.  We had gotten to see this first hand on campus.  The teachers had received a pay raise but not the regular staff.  Therefore a strike was going on with  loudspeakers blaring from passing vehicles.  One campus cafeteria we tried to visit was closed due to the strike.

Our visit with Sergio was great.  An inexpensive lunch and cheap expresso coffee at none other than McCafe!  We parted with the hopes of one day seeing each other again and then Rob and I headed off to find the US Consulate.  We thought it would be cool to visit and to have our photos taken there.

Although the Consulate was only four blocks from our hotel, Rob and I managed to get disoriented (not totally lost).  I had previously viewed what appeared to be the US Consulate on a google map.  At some point in the walk we thought we would circle the block and discover its location.  However, what we found was a somewhat run down US Chamber of Commerce building.  Pretty unimpressive walk at that point.

Moving down the street for the final leg of our circulous jouney we heard a motorbike stop behind us.  We were now halfway down this quiet street when we heard someone yelling.   We turned and about 20 feet away was a gunman coming directly at us.  Although I could not describe him today, I sure could describe that gun!  It was a gray older looking revolver and it was pointed right at my lower chest.

The entire robbery could not have taken over 25 seconds.  With the gunman approaching, I quickly stripped off my lightweight jacket to reveal that I had no weapon.  He pointed to my front pocket so I withdrew my wallet and pulled out my cash to give him.  As he got to me, he knocked my hand away and the money (all 32 Brasilian ‘reals’) floated down like a butterfly to the ground.  I can still recall how it floated!

The thief grabbed my wallet (probably thinking I was holding tons of cash) and then waving, yelled at me to walk on down the road.  He then ran at Rob, grabbed his backpack and quickly skirted off to his bike.  The robber was really in a hurry and left Rob with his watch and wallet.  I think he figured everything important was in Rob’s backpack.   At that point I noticed the robber had an accomplice who just watched.  He showed no weapon and it seemed like he was there to just witness the event.  Maybe it was a gang initiation or he was a backup if things went poorly.   He had his own motorcycle which was parked in the street.

I have no idea why but the robber continued to yell at us in Portuguese as he zoomed off.   He was still waving his gun.  The robbers turned the corner ahead and were gone.  Dazed to say the least, I returned to gather my money and jacket and then we walked to a safe busy intersection around the corner and down the street.

At  the intersection we gathered our thoughts and met a teacher returning from school.  “Eddie” was a GREAT English speaker who called the police and stayed with us.  He said that although robbery happens quite often in the city, we were in one of the safest neighborhoods in Sao Paulo.   As Rob and Eddie spoke, I squated down to relieve my sore back from all the walking we had done.  In that moment I prayed and thanked the Lord for our safety.  I also told the Lord that I knew the wallet and backpack were gone forever but I asked Him to somehow get them back.  I told Him that I knew He had the power to do this impossible thing.  Rob needed the backpack to carry some things home to the US and of course I wanted my personal info returned.

Eddie thought the police were taking too long to arrive so he called and told them to meet us at the Consulate.  Yep, we got to the Consulate through our new friend Eddie.  It was just a few hundred feet from where we had turned down the side street…figures.

The Consulate was now closed for the day but Eddie got the Portuguese speaking guards to let us in.  We were greeted with great respect by the friendly guards and shortly thereafter by Joe, the head of security.  Joe said that Sao Paulo had 28K armed robbies in the last three months of 2009.   He did not know how many Americans but at least 2 too many now!

After a few minutes at the Consulate, the local police showed up.  Joe told us that a trip to the police station would take us about three hours to complete.  Joe also mentioned that their investigation would unlikely produce any results so we waved them off.  We decided our report to Joe was sufficient.  Joe was kind enough to call us a cab, even gave us money for the ride, and we went on our way back to the hotel.  Oh, I should also mention that while at the Consulate, I got to call my bank and block my debit card from use.  Whew!

When we returned to the hotel, Rob got his cell phone use blocked (it was in the backpack) and I got my credit card blocked too.  Neither his cell phone nor my credit card had been used following the robbery!  The whole robbery now seemed so senseless.

Returning to my room, I sat down on my bed and immediately thought about my lunch conversation with Sergio.  He had talked to me about injustice and how hard it is to forgive.   I thought about how Jesus had asked the Father to forgive those who were about to crucified him.  So I immediately went to prayer and asked the Lord to forgive my robber.  I wasn’t going to let anger or hatred hold me hostage nor did I want him to suffer future judgment by God.  Done.  I moved on.

Following my prayer for the gunman, I realized that people face robberies all over the city and in many places of the world.   I then prayed for missionaries and chaplains.  Many face the possibilities of unexpected harm but missionaries and chaplains are definately targets who need our prayers.  I now pray for them quite often.

Shortly after praying, I and a friend went across the street to have dinner at the Morumbi Mall.  We had a fairly good meal and an intreging conversation with two men from China.  One told us that he had recently been robbed in Rio…oh surprise!

As we left the mall, my friend received a call.  The call generated some excitement in his voice and he said “you have got to hear this in person”.  Our friend Melody was on the phone and informed me that my wallet and Rob’s backpack had been found and returned.  Not only did she say that my wallet had been found but that everything was still in it.  WOW!  I got everything back.  I lost nothing.  My wallet nor my money.

Even though I was frighteningly robbed, I would go to Brasil again.  The people there are friendly, have a sense of their spiritual need, and a willingness to talk about faith.  I believe that the Lord will open many hearts in Sao Paulo.  As Christians we are told to take the gospel everywhere…including Brasil.   Robberies can happen anywhere, and we can get hurt, but God goes with us and is watching over us.

Oh, we never did get a photo of being at the US Consulate!  I guess there is always PhotoShop.

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