StriveMind

StriveMind.com “Pushing the boundaries of new media and design”

Today marks the kick-off of StriveMind, my self-run media and design business. And with radio ads beginning, I hope the contracts start pouring in.

Since leaving college, I've mostly run my business through word-of-mouth. Recommendations and inquiries about my work have been enough. But now, I'm approaching the industry in a more unified and professional manner. I'm a multimedia designer, and I might as well act look like one!

Married in 12

Getting married in 12 days is a pretty exciting place to be in. In less than two weeks, Shannon and I will be pledging our lives to each other. But until then, there's plenty of things to do to bring us to that date!

Until Then
Before the wedding, I've got to pack up and transplant the rest of my stuff (including my computer) into our apartment, finish some work contracts, and finish some projects for church. And somewhere in there comes finishing the wedding preparations, and having one last big Xbox Night with some of the guys (if you want to come, let me know).

Their Questions
One thing I've noticed, is that people always ask Shannon and I one of two questions. Either they ask, "how's the wedding planning?", or "are you nervous?", both of which we find rather strange. As for the wedding planning, we'll be done the wedding arrangements before the day, whether we like it or not. I'm not nervous about marrying Shannon either. If I was nervous, or anxious or unsure, I wouldn't have proposed to her. And if I had any hesitation towards marriage, that would have been long since dealt with during the many months of premarital counseling. So in other words, I'm ready! I'm ready to marry Shannon, and follow the biblical meaning of marriage until death do us part.

Canon Digital Rebel

Well, you can now add me to the long list of owners of the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Despite my previous problems with Canon, I picked up their new camera anyways. Mostly because I'm hearing everywhere that it's a fantastic camera, and a great deal. In either case, I'm going to be using it a lot, so I'll give my opinions later.

I did, however, get a fantastic package deal. I got a great quote from Henrys, and then took it over to BestBuy where they have a policy of matching any quote, as well as 10% of the difference. So I picked up the camera (with lens), an accessory kit, and an 8GB memory card. I ended up getting a good $200 or so off the price.

Another little tip, if you're looking for some lens hoods for your camera, why pay good money when you can get them for free! LensHoods.co.uk has some for every imaginable lens, that you can print out and assemble for free.

Facing the Giants

Facing the Giants has easily been the greatest and most influential film I've seen in a long time. For it's story, and the real-life story behind the scenes.

This is about overcoming the impossible. With God, all things are possible.

Not only is it a story about a coach and his football team overcoming impossible odds... but about a church that trusted God to help them make a film that would reach the world.

With a budget of only $100,000, Facing the Giants somehow caught the attention of Sony, who jumped in offering to distribute the film. Since then, the film has grossed over $15,000,000!

The masterminds behind all this? Everyone. Check the credit list at the end of the movie... everyone gets a credit! The only people who were paid to make the film were a couple of professionals to do some of the technical stuff. Then there's the dynamic duo. Brothers, Alex and Stephen Kendrick, wrote it, directed it, edited it, and starred in it. Them and their church family trusted Jesus to make the impossible, possible.

God, use my family and I to make wonderful God-glorifying multimedia like this happen. We can't do this without fully trusting in You.

Church Site Check-list

With the Internet Evangelism Day coming up on April 29th, 2007, Sequoia has decided to completely redo their website. So we've put together a small but promising team to look after it.

So why redo the entire site design and content? Try taking the site design check-list, and see where you stand. In a day and age where everybody looks up your website before dealing with anybody, it would be in your church's best interest to score over 250 out of 377 on that test.

Excellence, Lewis style

"Let choirs sing well or not at all. Otherwise we merely confirm the majority in their conviction that the world of business, which does with such efficiency so much that never really needed doing, is the real, the adult, and the practical world; and that all this culture and religion (horrid words both) are essentially marginal, amateurish, and rather effeminate activities."

C.S. Lewis

Some Christian media groups that are striving:

• Church Marketing Lab
• Church Marketing Sucks
• Church Tech Talk
• Godbit Project

Check out some of the others on my sideboard under E-Ministry

Skimping on Ads

...our instrument is how we present the church's message to those around us. In either case, we shouldn't cheap out or do it halfway in order to save a few bucks. The gesture only works if it's total and complete. A half-designed brochure is a failure.

Go read the rest of this article over at Church Marketing Sucks. I know it's a bit old, but definitely a good one.