Jack Fisher

We are the World- YouTube Edition

2010-03-06T16:54:28Z

Collaborative, crowdsourcing and viral are three words to describe this video. Amazing is what I say. 57 amateur artists worked together to produce this video remake of "We are the World." It is their response to the version done professionally to help raise money for the earthquake victims in Haiti.

Times have certainly changed since the original "We are the World" video in 1985. Social networking tools like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter didn't exist. Email was in it's infancy and people who used computers were still considered nerds.

This video, which has been viewed well over a million times, proves how powerful social networking and the Internet can be. Communication has changed, dramatically. While embracing social networking may not be everyone's choice, you can't deny it.

Click on any of the artists while they are singing to view their page.

Don't Panic, It's Only Snow

2010-02-26T13:41:19Z

It snowed two weeks ago here in Auburn, AL. The schools, university (Auburn University) and most businesses closed for the day. The biggest concern was driving in the snow and ice. We were all being careful.

I spent much of last week in Granger, Indiana at a conference. It snowed there too, more than in Auburn. I think there is snow on the ground most of the winter in Indiana. The schools, university (Notre Dame) and all the businesses were open. The roads were clear and life seemed normal.

What's the difference between Auburn and Granger when it snows? Knowledge and tools. The Granger community experiences snow on a regular basis so they have the knowledge to deal with it. They also have snow blowers, snow plows, salt, snow shovels and all the tools to move or eliminate the snow.

Think about the team you lead; at work, at home, in a volunteer role. Do you give your team the knowledge they need to do their job well? Do they know what you expect? What is going on in your industry?

Does your team have the tools they need? Are they up to date and in good repair? Do they know how to use them? It's hard to plow a snow covered road if the trucks don't run.

How about encouragement. Do you encourage your team and add value to them? It is amazing how adding value to your team offers both the knowledge that you believe in them and a tool that helps them be bold.

Proverbs 24:5 A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength;

The Grass is Always Greener

2010-02-13T12:49:10Z

People run away from things all the time. We run from our job. We run from our marriage. We run from our parents and children. When things get tough we find it easier to make a career change, get a divorce or be too busy to spend time with our family. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Here's a news flash... it's not, not as long as you are running from something. If your job stinks be bold, find a way to make a difference at work. If you marriage is bad be bold, figure out a way of fulfilling that commitment you made when you got married. If there is a rift between you and your parents or kids be bold, pick up that phone and talk to them.

Whatever it is that you want to run from, don't. Take those first steps towards being bold. It has to start somewhere. It never works to just run away. If you learn to be bold first you might find the grass is greener right where you are.

Acts 9:27 Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.

My Man David

2010-01-29T14:50:42Z

The Lego Lowdown | King David from Granger Community on Vimeo.

The story of King David is powerful. It is a story I have read and heard taught many times. King David is the famous David who slew Goliath. It wasn't until I saw The Lego Lowdown about King David that his story really stuck. David was a sinner, he did some really bad things and still God forgave him.

Two things to point out -

David was a sinner. Even though he sinned, God referred to David as a man after His own heart. He made mistakes, but his heart was always pointed towards God. David asked for forgiveness and God forgave him. We sin too, but like David we can "hit our knees and beg God for forgiveness and get back on track."
We all learn differently. It took a three minute Lego video to bring David's story together for me. It might not have the same impact for you. That is why at Cornerstone we are committed to being relevant. We know it takes different ways of communicating the story of Christ to impact the variety of people we touch every week. We might never tell a Bible story using Legos, but we want to find our best way of communicating. We are committed to "not using elements that appear outdated or irrelevant to how people live today."

So, I hope you enjoyed the video about King David. If you liked it you might want to pass it on to a friend. Speaking of being relevant, try using Twitter to pass it on. That's how I discovered the video, someone Twittered about it and I happened to read their Tweet.

Should this have happened?

2010-01-23T15:00:25Z

I watched this unfold yesterday on FoxNews. It was an incredible rescue by a 50 year old fireman named Joe St. Georges. The stray dog had been in the river for well over an hour with no way to escape due to the steep concrete banks.

Before the story ended, the criticism came rolling in to FoxNews. One man went so far as to say they should have just shot the dog and been done with it. Others said it was a waste of money.

Should this rescue have happened? My response is yes. Every community has rules and guidelines on how to deal with lost and homeless animals. Leaving a dog in peril to it's own resources is not one of them, neither is simply shooting it.

The same values that push us to assist in Haiti come in to play here. Don't get me wrong, the life of a dog doesn't even come close to that of a human. But as a society we aren't wired to turn our back on people or animals in desperate situations.

I applaud the rescue team, the supervisors who approved it and the community cheering them on. Having worked in the field of animal welfare (not to be confused with animal rights) for 10 years, I especially applaud the rescuer Joe St. Georges.

Cornerstone Responds to Haiti

2010-01-16T18:19:23Z

Tomorrow Cornerstone Church will take up a special offering for the people of Haiti at our three services. The staff leadership met this past Wednesday and talked about how we can most effectively help. While our hearts were tugged and we wanted to go immediately to Haiti, we realized it wasn't the right time. That time will come but for now the reality is cash donations are the best help.

The donations collected will go directly to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). From there they will be used as UMCOR determines best to help the people of Haiti. There are many relief agencies pouring time, resources and money in to Haiti but we landed on UMCOR because of their history of results and our connection with the United Methodist Church.

Established in 1940 by the General Conference of the Methodist Church, UMCOR works with and through partner agencies. Their focus is to coordinate with local groups who know the people and their needs. When the earthquake hit Haiti, there were already members of UMCOR in the country doing relief work unrelated to the current tragedy.

Know that your donations will be used effectively and properly.

United Methodists have had a long-standing relationship with Haiti through the Methodist Church of Haiti. The strong ties between the Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) helped in facilitating the opening of the UMCOR Haiti field office in 2005. 100 percent of Advance gifts made will go to support relief and development efforts due to emergencies in Haiti. -from the UMCOR Web Site

We haven't figured out what our long term commitment to Haiti will be. I do know it will not be done without a lot of prayer, research and discussion. For now though our biggest impact will be felt through our prayers and our donations of cash.

Is this Proselytizing?

2010-01-12T11:38:17Z

I saw this video on Kary Oberbrunner's blog this morning. I know there are many people who do not like FoxNews and Bill O'Reilly, at times I am one of them. But I have to say this encourages me, it's an interview you will not see on any of the other major networks.

Just curious, is this proselytizing and does it matter?

Conflict Management

2010-01-12T03:16:55Z

Conflict is good... when it's handled the right way. I have watched good leaders run from conflict because they don't understand it. They think it's a sign of dysfunction in their team. Quite the contrary, conflict managed in a healthy way can grow a team and raise the bar on maturity.

Here are five steps to help keep conflict healthy:

Be clear and direct about the conflict.
Don't make it personal, it's about the issue.
Respect the gifts and contributions of other people on your team.
Stay true to the vision of the team.
Trust God to reveal the truth.

Don't run from conflict, make it an asset for you and your team.

Getting Things Done in 2010

2010-01-01T17:40:16Z

I like productivity applications... everything from Franklin Covey's PlanPlus for Windows to Appigo's To Do and Remember the Milk. It's not so much about the end result for me but more about figuring out the system. If it's free or has a trial version, chances are I've looked at it.

I have a Tablet PC running Windows 7, an iPhone and we are a Mac family so cross platform and cloud computing are important. After weeding through quite a few, here is a review of the productivity apps I'm sticking with to start the new year.

Google Apps- This is actually a suite of applications including a word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, email and much more. It's collaborative so it works well with a team. Google has free and paid versions and it can be branded with your company, church or non-profit Web address and logo.

Remember the Milk- RTM is an online project and task/to-do manager that is Web based and comes in a free and paid version. It works with several different social networking programs like Twitter and AIM to help you stay on top of your tasks. There are iPhone, Blackberry and Andriod apps as well as a mobile formatted Web site. It is collaborative and also integrates with Google maps.

To Do by Appigo- I have used several iPhone apps like Things, Omnifocus, Toodledo and even Remember the Milk for iPhone. The one I like best is Appigo's To Do. It uses either GTD or Franklin Covey formatting, manages projects easily and has a ton of other features. Appigo has both a paid and lite version.

Dropbox- "A new way to sync, store and share your files online." It's Web based, it works and it works well. If you are part of a team and need to share files or if you work from several different locations sign up for Dropbox. It has a free subscription and you can purchase more storage space as needed.

Microsoft Office OneNote- I have been using this one since 2003. It is a mainstay if you have a tablet pc and is slowly moving in to the realm of cloud computing. It is basically a notepad on steroids and is great even if you don't have a tablet pc. It only works on Windows, but a Web version is supposedly in the works. OneNote comes as a paid version only.

Evernote- "Remember Everything" is the tag line for Evernote. If I could only have one productivity app it would be this one. Evernote comes in Mac, Windows, Web, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm and windows mobile versions. It captures, pictures, web sites, files, handwriting, audio, video and type. It is the Swiss Army Knife of productivity software and it does it well. It comes in a fairly robust free version and a great paid version.

Awesome Note- I just discovered this iPhone app and so far it seems very promising.

These applications are ones I keep coming back to when I am wooed away by a pretty interface or slick marketing. For me they are tried and true and do make a difference in my daily productivity.

What apps make you productive? Let me know I'd like to give them a try.

Rage in the Express Checkout

2009-12-31T05:39:16Z

I get frustrated with people. Rarely does a day go by that I don't grumble under my breath or think a thought of frustration about something someone has done "to me".

I have little patience for the lady with more than 15 items in the express checkout, the guy who drives slow in the left lane and blocks traffic or the rude kid working the drive-thru window at McDonald's.

The problem is as a Christian I am called to love God and love people. So what is going on when I get frustrated with people? When my patience is short and I am tempted to say something I shouldn't?

I know one thing, Satan is having a good laugh. He loves it when we Christians get angry with others and especially each other. He thrives on our impatience and cutting comments. It's what Satan does, and he does it well.

I am learning to stop and think about the people I cross paths with. I know they have a story just like I do and they matter to God just as much as me. It feels good when my anger is in check and my patience is long.

It also feels good to know it makes Satan mad. He can't stand it when we follow God's commandment to love Him and to love other people. I like that.

Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.