Actual Me

According to a short test this is the actual me.






I wonder what the other options are?

St. Augustine, FL

Pat and I got to spend 3 days and 2 nights (well sort of) in St. Augustine courtesy of Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro was promoting their partnership in a time share resort for $49 for this stay. We had wanted to visit St. Augustine and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Of course we had to listen to an hour and a half sales pitch (which turned into 3 hours). We said no. But they kept a coming. There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago. But they kept a coming. A deal designed for our low income situation. We said no. Another aspect to sweeten the deal. We said no. But wait there's more. A sampler package. We still said no. And you can apply this amount to the down payment later on. What part of no don't you understand? Finally we received a cell phone number and 2 $25 gift cards to Bass Pro Shops. Now that's what I'm talking about. Can't wait to go to Orlando and use those cards.


This is the Castillo de San Marcos, built by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695. It was built after Sir Francis Drake (a corsair at the time, a sort of state-approved pirate) attacked the city of St. Augustine. Since its completion it has never been taken during battle. Period (There's an illustration in there for someone's sermon.). The city has fallen several times but never the fort. We didn't have time to tour the fort (plus it was hot) but we will another time.



This is the lighthouse. We did climb all 219 steps to the top. What a view! Except that it was hot and a little hazy that day. We had a great time in America's oldest city. It was founded in Sept. 8. 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. He came ashore with 1,500 soldiers and colonists. If you want to read more about St. Augustine and its history you can click here. As you can tell we had a great time. Our accommodations were quite good. The only complaint - the heat. But the one really good thing - we were together.

Our Media Culture

Here are some links to some interesting posts at FaithVisuals. The first is a two part interview with Shane Hipps. Hipps wrote The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture. I would recommend reading it. He has some interesting insights because of his work in the advertising business. The folks at FaithVisuals had a two part interview with him that you can read beginning here. Then you can read the second part here. He doesn't reject the visual media outright but does explore cautionary thinking toward the use of video projectors during our sermons.

FaithVisuals also has an interesting post about using icons in your PowerPoint slides rather than photos. I think the author makes an interesting point. Read his insights here and see what you think. He claims that sometimes photos can be distracting since the photo represents something specific rather than an idea. For instance, if you are talking about the home and use a photo of a home, some might sit in the audience and think, "I like that home!" They are distracted from your point. But an icon of a house helps them to picture their own home rather than someone else's. I think to a degree that this discussion fits in with Hipps's discussion about the medium having a message all its own.

Another thought pertaining to distractions during a PowerPoint sermon, Dr. Arlene Taylor recommends using only a white background. She maintains that colors bring up memories and thus a distraction. Dr. Taylor has a bi-monthly enewsletter about research on the brain. You can read her discussion on the use of white backgrounds here. Scroll down to the Q&A section. I suppose anything can be a distraction to anyone. You can never be sure of whether a fragrance, color, article of clothing, a word, or almost anything could be a distraction.

So what do some of you preachers do with your PowerPoint slides? How do you craft a presentation? For those of you who don't preach, what do your preachers do with PowerPoint? What do you think is an effective use of PowerPoint? I've been thinking about this for some time now. I've read a couple of books but I'm still trying to grow and learn. Share your thoughts with me.