Just ordered the plane ticket, so I’ll be on my way to the Bay Area (San Jose / Cupertino / San Francisco) of California for March 25-28. On the 25th I’ll have the privilege of hanging out / sharing at Apple Headquarters with an online friend (and group of others). A few years ago they asked me to give them a ring if I was ever in the area, and the time has come. Obviously, being a serious Apple supporter / user and starting the God’s Mac Podcast, this is a real treat for me. The rest of the day I have planned to check out San Francisco and enjoy a few hours of free time and taking some nice photos.

If you are free on March 26-27, I would definitely recommend checking out BibleTech 2010 in San Jose. Last years conference allowed me to meet some really neat and talented individuals, and I am really looking forward to sharing at the conference for the second year. I’ll be discussing what it’s been like to see God start moving through the Digital Disciples network we’ve started here in Columbus, OH (and now in three other cities – and counting).

It’s been a huge blessing to be given the opportunities to share at various conferences the past few years for sure. The timing of the trip is a little odd, since that is the week I will be starting my new job at 104.9 The River. But I’m not complaining one bit, since it’s obvious God is at the center of both and had all of these things planned for quite some time, LOL. How has God been working in your life? I’d love to hear ways you have seen him work, and what you thought of His timing?

I will be sure to list some of the great people that God allowed me to meet, listen to, and challenge while at the BibleTech 2009 conference in Seattle this past weekend in a future blog post. All of the presentations that myself and others gave will be available in MP3 format in a short while.

God really opened my eyes at the conference to the fact that He is moving across the entire globe through technology. So many times I get wrapped up in my own little web that I don’t even try to understand what might be going on at a distance. There are unbelievable things taking place in Switzerland, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Israel, China, New Zealand, and many other countries. Individuals who have given their life to serve God through technology flew into Seattle from those countries to connect and hopefully improve the work our Father is doing.

I’m a few hundred yards behind with my personal workload, but I know God wanted to give me this time and it was very evident as I returned on my flight home. Ramblings will continue to show up about the conference as I blog more. Just thought I’d say thanks for sticking around, and pray as I tighten up my boots and get back to proclaiming Christ online. How is God working this week through you, either online or off?

PRAYING for my brother as he hosts Skillet in concert this weekend in Lima, OH. Dreams will come true, and God will rock the house! PRAISING God for speaking through us all at the conference. His Word is alive and being read, heard and seen by new people every day.

Our podcast at www.GodsMac.com is celebrating our 50th episode at 9PM EST tonight, and we’d love to invite you to join us as we will be broadcasting live via video on the web! If you’re not familiar with how this works, all you will have to do is visit our website during that time and click on the image that we will have available right on the front page. You will be sent to a page where you “should” see us via video and have the chance to type in questions or comments yourself as you are watching. I guess you could call it an “online television show” if that might help.

We’ve been producing audio podcast episodes that usually run over an hour in length since August of 2006, and have had the chance at building some great relationships with our audience and interviewing some great people. This will be something new for us, and we’re not promising an evening of no technology malfunctions of course. We’re using a new technology from Mogulus that lets myself and my co-host Lee swap which of us is online although we are both a few hundred miles apart. There are other options out there, but none give this flexibility and do it for FREE! We’re always up for the challenge of trying out new things, and if it all works out, we’ll possibly be doing something like this more often than just once every 50 episodes. We’d love to have you join us, and hopefully be of any help that we can be to you at the same time.

One thing I’ve learned recently about being a Christ-follower is that the path you are walking cannot be planned. There are some things that you pursue in your walk with the Lord that require more out of you than you can handle, and then there are some things that arrive as a blessing almost too soon for you to be able to truly understand how much of a blessing they are. The two events / organizations below have made this even more clear this month as God has brought them into my life.

BibleTech 2009 is a conference sponsored and hosted by Logos Bible Software in Seattle, Washington on March 27-28th. This is the second year for the conference, and I’ve heard last year was a tremendous success. After interviewing Logos Bible Software and seeing the impact their Bible study software has had on believers around the world, it’s not really a shocker to believe that.

Somehow talks began of me traveling out west and being one of the speakers for this year. It will be an honor to hang out with so many individuals who desire to allow the cross of Christ to invade their lives and re-define how they are using technology. I will be discussing what it means to “Become a Digital Disciple”. God is moving in today’s culture through technology, but I think He’s ready to stretch us beyond a few limits. If you’re interested in joining me at the conference, I’d love to hear from you. If you can’t make it, but long to be stretched in both technology and theology, I believe the ministry below might be for you. I’d be thrilled to have you pray for me as I prepare for this exciting event – specifically that God would really change lives through the discussions and friendships made.

It’s finally here! The first gathering of Digital Disciples will take place on February 5th in Columbus, OH. A ministry that excites me more than any that I’ve been involved with before. God’s called me to start something that I really wish would have been around years ago. A ministry of free monthly local gatherings, starting here in Ohio, where individuals will have the chance to grow deeper in their use of technology and their walk with Christ. This truly is the first of its kind, from what I have seen across the web and while interacting with others. There are groups and conferences whose desire is to push the church (organizations) to increase their use of technology, which are great and definitely needed. I’m thrilled those groups and conferences exist, but I believe that God desires to move beyond the four walls of an organization and really stretch individuals to unselfish measures.

The first time I got some decent technology training was while attending college, a result of some serious sacrifice on my parent’s and my part to even make that possible financially. Imagine your friend or family member having the chance to come and learn from others that have been in their shoes. People enjoy technology, but there’s always room for improvement. No matter if you are what the world calls an “expert, amateur or beginner”. But that’s not where it stops. Just learning technology is fun for sure, but that only takes us so far. What about understanding how God wants to use it, or even how He might want to shape the rest of your life through His Word and lessons you can learn with others like you. God works through His Word, through the Spirit and through the lives of others. I believe that can be accomplished, and that’s why I have started this ministry. I’d be thrilled to have you join me on February 5th here in Columbus, Ohio, or to help you start a Digital Disciples group just like it in your town! Please do me a favor and share the http://www.DigitalDisciples.net website with your friends and family that might have even just a little interest in this. My first desire I have in starting this ministry is to allow others to grow in Christ, or possibly even meet Him for the first time.

Kind of ironic that the cross is at the center of both of these logos, don’t you think? Thanks for reading and praying!

I’ve been in touch with a national organization called PodCamp, who is hosting a free “UnConference” here in Columbus in a few weeks. I helped them design the event guide (photo), and I will actually be speaking to other bloggers, podcasters, and media professionals in a session that day. I really want to share the message of Christ through technology, and this will be a great opportunity for just that.

An “UnConference” allows for the visitors to jump into a session and leave if they want to go check something else out. There’s always a new fad for everything I guess. In my opinion, it’s just a result of our generations losing our patience and having more trouble with our attention span. Pray that the Spirit grabs a few people’s attention! Below is an overview of my session.

Technology often seems impersonal, but it is actually one of the best ways to share who you really are and what is most important to you. Our faith is just as much a part of our life’s story as anything else, so why miss out on some of the best opportunities to share it with others.

Creating revenue through your media is great, but by focusing so much on that we might be missing out on rewards that are eternal. Come and hear examples of how you can make this happen through podcasting and other new media.

If you’re interested at all, feel free to visit PodCampOhio.com.