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Calvary Chapel has been using WordPress for several years and we wanted to keep the momentum going with this redesign. One of the major goals of the new site was to allow church staff to design promotional graphics for events and activities and incorporate them into the site in addition to adding events, news and other textual content.

Site Design

For this project I started with the Aperture theme from Woo Themes (affiliate link) and then customized the design and developed new widgets and along with other PHP enhancements.

We wanted to keep the design framework minimal but feature the colorful promotional images that Paul Funk (J.P.), our creative assistant pastor, creates week after week. The Aperture theme was designed for a photo blog and that worked out great to feature the image links on the home page which draw site visitors in to find out more.

Church and Social Media

Many of the church family members have been using Facebook, including the pastoral staff. It has been a great way to keep in touch with people here in Miami but even more so as a way to stay connected with those who have moved away. Calvary Chapel Miami Beach is in a “transient” community and we see many people come and go. If you come to our church and then return 6 months later you will find many new faces.

The logical next step was to create a Facebook Fan Page for Calvary Chapel Miami Beach. Pastor Robert Fountain updates the page regularly to let people know what’s coming up and to share devotional and encouraging messages.

We hooked up the Facebook page to the Calvary Chapel Miami Beach Twitter account. The twitter posts are really links back to the public Facebook page. We have found this to be effective since it expands our audience to the general Twitter community but makes it easier for us to post on Facebook.

The custom theme features in-site integration of our Facebook feed as well as an embedded Google Calendar for our events. It was a definite win to use Google Calendar for managing our schedule. With a little bit of tweaking I was able to get it into a widget on our site footer.

Lastly, we started using MailChimp for our email newsletters and mailing list management. MailChimp has an API that we use to allow people to subscribe right from the website and also manage what groups they are interested in.

The Point: Better Communication

The new site looks better and is easier to use. But the major change we have seen is improved communication with our community. Using WordPress and social media has allowed me (geek) to get out of the way and allow the pastoral staff to do the communicating themselves. I think I did my job right this time.

The ERP Software Blog brings together a group of experts nationwide to assist financial professionals in the ERP/Accounting software selection process.

Read more about the project on my projects page.

One of the cool things about going to Refresh Miami was that I got to meet in person many of the people with whom I had already interacted with over the web. It turns out that last night there was a common theme in the presentations and announcements that were made: I would tag it as “Working Together”. I really appreciate what Alex said about social media interaction over the web:

Social media is not about the platform, it’s about the people.
– Alex De Carvalho

Coworking

First up was a talk by Alex and Brian about Coworking, which I would describe as a new way of working that basically involves sharing: sharing office space, sharing tools, sharing ideas, sharing skills and experience. Coworking is something that is of particular benefit to freelancers, solo entrepreneurs and startups who should be working together rather than just going it alone. It’s obvious that coworking can help you lower overhead costs but as Alex also said at the event:

Coworking is not about the space, it’s about the people.
– Alex De Carvalho

So, consider the benefits of coworking and get involved. If you’re not familiar with Brikolodge then you should be. Brikolodge is Miami’s first coworking facility and it’s run by Ali and Eduardo, two very friendly people who embody the ideal of sharing.

LaidOffCamp & FreelanceCamp Coming to Miami!

Next up at the event was a brief announcement about LaidOffCamp Miami and FreelanceCamp, two BarCamp-style unconferences that I hope to bring to South Florida. The idea is to have an event where freelancers, independents, startups and job seekers can come together, share ideas and opportunities; bottom line…find work. Please follow @LaidOffCampMIA and @FreelanceCampFL for updates and RSVP for the May 15 event on Facebook.

VOIS.com – Global Social Sourcing

Finally, we had a presentation at the event by Craig Agranoff and Herb Tabin from VOIS.com. VOIS.com is a social networking site that is all about connecting people who need projects done with those who can help them. VOIS stands for Virtual Outsourcing is Social. They call their concept “Global Social Sourcing” which combines a lot of the best features of social networking and freelance bidding sites and helps you build long-term relationships for business around the world. Visit VOIS.com – Social Networking for Freelancers, Outsourcing and Coworking!

This was my first time at Refresh Miami and I’m glad I finally made it. Thanks Brian, Alex and the rest of the community for a splendid evening.

I admit I was a little skeptical about how this was going to work out. It was my first unconference and I am not generally of the opinion that things “just happen”. You need leadership and fortunately we had some leadership with the visionaries who brought BarCamp to Miami, namely Alex De Carvalho (@alexdc) and the rest of the BarCamp team. There were many volunteers who helped make the event a success. Thank you.

So, the way this gig started was with a big slab of paper on a wall with time slots. People rushed to put up post it notes with the presentations they had prepared. This was the part that had me nervous. I had ominous visions of an American Idol tryout for geeks.

It turns out many of the presentations turned out to be quite good.  Here were my favorites.

• David Bisset (@dimensionmedia)  introduced us to BuddyPress.  I’m very excited about BP and am thinking of using it for a community site for solo entrepreneurs at Solo Startup.
• Jim Turner from One By One Media (@Genuine) spoke on Blogging for a Living and did a live web broadcast of Social Mediasphere on Blog Talk Radio once he got the wifi working.
• John Carcutt (@johncarcutt) gave an information-packed session on WordPress SEO that confirmed what I have learned and taught me lots more about SEO for WordPress.
• Finally, Jay Berkowitz (@JayBerkowitz) and Alex Harris (@alexdesigns) gave a super session on tips for using social media increase traffic to your site.

There were many other sessions that I did not attend but I heard were very good. I hope to see some of the info online after today and maybe I’ll link up to some at that point.

The best part about today was that I was able to meet several people whom I had gotten to know “virtually”.  It’s always good to have some face-to-face to strengthen a relationship.

Dumb Video Smackdown

It’s the veteran “Ken Lee” versus the new contender “Obama’s Elf”. Who will win this dumb video smackdown? Cast your vote now!

Obama’s Elf

Ken Lee

Not sure whether I’ll present something about iPhone web development or just stick with WordPress. I hope to use a current project as a case study.

8 Things I’m Passionate About

1. God’s forgiveness
2. Loving my wife the way she wants and needs to be loved
3. Being a dad who reflects the heart of my heavenly Father
4. Hymns, especially those of Charles Wesley
5. Classical (naked eye) astronomy, especially observing Venus (morning star) and watching the moonrise over the ocean.
6. Old Testament Messianic prophecies. I wish I could have been there listening to Jesus himself explaining these on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27)
7. Rescuing children from sex trafficking (Check out Shared Hope International, and International Justice Mission)
8. Garlic and pretty much any food that contains a generous amount of it

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die

1. Record and publish the scriptural children’s lullabies I have written for my daughters
2. Publish or at least write down the many night time stories I have told to my daughters, the details of which they remember many months after I have forgotten.
3. Record and publish my original worship songs (about 15 so far)
4. Be healed physically, feel it and know it
5. Take my family to New York City for Christmas, watch the New York City Ballet perform “The Nutcracker”, go skating in Rockefeller Center, eat roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, stay at a fancy hotel, go to a prayer meeting at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
6. Travel: one or more of the following: ancestral homelands of Cuba, Spain, France; historical tours of Israel, missionary journeys of Paul; go hiking in the Canadian Rockies. Visit Middle Earth or at least New Zealand.
7. See my grandchildren grow up and be a good influence on them (note: my daughters are currently ages 9 and 7).
8. Speak Spanish well enough that people won’t feel embarrassed for me.

8 Things I Say Often

1. “Bless God” (I prefer it to “God Bless”)
2. “Ay, Yay, Yay!” (eye-yigh-yigh, like a Cuban)
3. “Sing it out!”
4. “Papa Loves You”
5. “Cool.”
6. “Wow!”
7. To me life is like a paella. “Pa’ ella, Pa’ ella, Pa’ella” (for her, for her, for her)
8. “I know you haven’t heard this song before but it’s pretty straight-forward. Just follow me.”

8 TV Shows I Recently Watched

We don’t have a TV or cable but I do get DVD’s from the library. Here are some shows I have watched on DVD over the past year.

1. 24 (seasons 1-5, waiting for 6)
2. The Civil War (Ken Burns documentary)
3. Baseball (Ken Burns documentary)
4. Jazz (Ken Burns documentary)
5. Ulyssees S. Grant (An American Experience documentary)
6. Mark Twain (An American Experience documentary)
7. Frank Lloyd Wright (An American Experience documentary)
8. New York (Ric Burns documentary)

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over

1. The Maker of the Universe – Phil Keaggy (based on a beautiful poem by F.W. Pitt)
2. Broken Things – Julie Miller
3. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – Kathryn Scott (soft arrangement of the Isaac Watts hymn)
4. Handel – Messiah (in its entirety but favorites are the 4 or 5 pieces based on Isaiah 53)
5. Beethoven – Moonlight Sonata
6. Mozart – Andante from Piano Sonata in C K545
7. Dvorak – Largo from New World Symphony No. 9
8. Kabalevsky – A Short Story (short piano song)

8 Things that Attract Me to My Friends

1. They have a sense of humor
2. They appreciate music
3. They have a passionate love for God that inspires me
4. They are honest and transparent
5. They love the classics (literature, music, history)
6. They care more for people than programs
7. They are quick to listen and slow to speak
8. They are givers and not consumers

8 Things I Have Learned (or been reminded of) This Year

1. The Sabbath was made for man
2. Leadership is caught rather than taught
3. My fictional capacity to do things is about 250% of the non-fiction version
4. My capacity to eat is about 180% of what I should eat
5. I need to dwell with my wife with understanding
6. I need to spend quite time in prayer especially when it seems my schedule will not permit
7. God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love
8. I am blessed

8 People I Think Should Do “8″

Mary, Paloma, Anna, Dad, Mom, Liana, JP, Robert

You may have different mentors for different areas of your life. You may look to your parents or a relative as an example of how to live. A teacher or a supervisor may become a mentor. One thing is necessary in a mentor: good character. You want someone who will give you an honest assessment and help to teach you right from wrong.

The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong. They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.
- Psalm 37:30-31 (NLT)

You won’t (or shouldn’t) just walk up and ask somebody to be your mentor. The right person will simply become a mentor to you as you build a relationship by asking questions and getting to know that person and their life. Watch how that person lives and interacts with others.

Are you a follower of Jesus? If you are, then the right mentor for you is someone who is following Jesus and has followed him for some time.

We use the word “mentor” because Mentor was an advisor of Telemachus in Homer’s Odyssey. However, the perfect example of one we should follow is Jesus the Messiah. Your mentor should be able to say, “Follow me as I follow Jesus.”

Maybe we should change the name. You need a “little Jesus”, not a “mentor”.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
- Proverbs 12:15 (TLB)

:p

I found some good online tutorials at kirupa.com that gave me some concrete examples to follow and I went to town.  Throw in a little ActionScript programming and now I can be pretty dangerous in Flash.

Along the way I’ve also picked up some skills in sound recording, editing and podcasting.  And on a personal note, one other thing that this old dog is learning to do is play the piano.  I’ve been taking lessons once a week for a few months now.  It helps that I play the guitar, know quite a bit of music theory already and I have a good ear.  I wish I would have done it a long time ago but that is neither here nor there.

If you think that life has passed you by and it’s too late to learn something then let this be an encouragement to you: It’s never too late to learn.

It turns out that the It’s a Wonderful Life in its entirety is up on Goolge Videos.  It appears that the movie is in the public domain and the copyright has expired (someone please educate me if I am in the wrong).

We sat down and watched our favorite holiday classic and cried our eyes out as usual. Thanks Google.