Ya'll come back now, hear?
Friday, February 1, 2013
Our 1st Video Blog!
Our first video blog with SAVN.tv Executive Director, Guy Noland.
Ya'll come back now, hear?
Ya'll come back now, hear?
Saturday, November 24, 2012
OMNIPRESENT! The SAVN.tv Story (1)
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OMNIPRESENT
Shrinking Globe,
Shrinking Gospel
The SAVN.TV Story
(An eBook in the Making)
(A Work in Progress)
God Incarnate! The omnipotent and omniscient triangulated and shrunk into the form of a vulnerable flesh and blood human being, ten fingers, ten toes, five senses and all - the first Cyberspace transmission of compassion in action. Heretofore, unconditional love was an emotion unknown unto men.
The mind cannot
conceive, what the senses cannot perceive.
Jesus embodies compassion
in action, his behavior exasperating traditional, legalistic skeptics:
"We've never done it this way before!"
Love Triumphs Law
Cynicism Erupts
"Blasphemy!"
Jesus communicates the Gospel visually: compassion in visual action. He understands the power of story,
scripting His message into parables (painting verbal pictures) and object
lessons, always leaving his audience wanting more:
An Adulteress
Protected and Forgiven
Feeding the Hungry Five
Thousand
Lepers Touched and
Healed
Compassion In Action!
The message is not confined, liturgically, within the temples;
it goes viral throughout the land, mouth to ear, ear to mouth, all flocking to
hear, see and touch however, whenever and wherever Jesus is.
"In no time at
all a crowd gathered along the
shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he
addressed his congregation, telling stories" (Matthew 13).
No Microphone
No Internet
No Media
The shoreline: taking the Gospel to wherever people are to
be got at.
The water: natural sound wave amplifier.
The boat: innovative use of resources.
Using modern
techniques to reach the greatest number of people instantaneously and visually with
'The Story.' Compassion in visual action!
From 12 disciples to 1
million Christians by the end of the 1st Century, an amazing increase in number
considering the primitive means of communication and transportation at their
disposal. By the time the Industrial Revolution rolls around (early 1800's),
the global population has ballooned to 1 billion with an estimated 23% claiming
to be Christians (the definition having broadened considerably in scope). Industrial
innovation ushers in the beginnings of a modern phenomenon - a rapidly shrinking
planet.
One century later
(1930) the population doubles to 2 billion with 35% now claiming to be
Christians. By 2012 growth more than triples to 7 billion, phenomenally fast by
comparison, 33% (2% less) now professing Christianity. This rapidity in growth
creates social chaos and upheaval heretofore unimaginable. The traditional
"missionary sending" method cannot keep up with it.
In the midst of this
population explosion, enter the Informational Revolution. The computer and
Internet, et al, gives instant access to the global masses. The resulting
culture clash is mind-boggling, leading to a diminishing Christian population,
percentage wise (2% = 140 million souls) - a declining trend in the midst of
instant, omnipresent access to the Gospel.
The church is slow to adapt
Shrinking Globe, Shrinking Gospel!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
No means no
As the old saying goes, "No means no." In truth, the saying should be rephrased to say, "No means 'I'm afraid to take chances and commit to something at which I (or you) may fail, regardless of the fact that we'll likely succeed'."
On the whole, people trend toward "NO" as a knee jerk response to both simple and complex requests. Why? Simple... POWER. This short, simple, two-letter word carries more power than any other word in the English language (with the exception, of course, of "love"). "NO" possesses the ability to shut down progress, disable hope, cripple change, and side-step risk. It's a word wielded by bullies and coveted by cowards. It is a safe word, devoid of risk. "If we don't take risks, we can't fail! Maintain the status quo! Bury our talents and wallow in mediocrity! Let someone else say 'yes.' THAT'S the safe path! After all, we may not succeed, but at least we won't fail."
The opposite of success is not failure. Every successful man in history can attribute his success to the failures that made him stronger. Failure becomes an inevitable companion to success. The opposite of success is mediocrity; the failure to even attempt at succeeding.
Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney, was quoted as saying, "To punish failure is to encourage mediocrity... failure is not a death sentence." If failure is not a death sentence, what is? In a word... complacency.
Eisner also said, "If it's not growing, it's going to die." Life dictates movement in one direction or another. If we don't go forward, we must go back. Nature does not abide stagnancy. An organism must either age and mature or whither and die. There is no in between.
And so it goes with an organization. The fear of failure envelopes the Movement and slowly suffocates it into hibernation. In this stasis, it ceases to grow and invariably withers and dies.
So let us champion risk! Rally around our leaders and pray for the growth that will stay our demise! Let us encourage our brothers to dig up their talents, abandon fear, throw caution to the wind and say "YES."
On the whole, people trend toward "NO" as a knee jerk response to both simple and complex requests. Why? Simple... POWER. This short, simple, two-letter word carries more power than any other word in the English language (with the exception, of course, of "love"). "NO" possesses the ability to shut down progress, disable hope, cripple change, and side-step risk. It's a word wielded by bullies and coveted by cowards. It is a safe word, devoid of risk. "If we don't take risks, we can't fail! Maintain the status quo! Bury our talents and wallow in mediocrity! Let someone else say 'yes.' THAT'S the safe path! After all, we may not succeed, but at least we won't fail."
The opposite of success is not failure. Every successful man in history can attribute his success to the failures that made him stronger. Failure becomes an inevitable companion to success. The opposite of success is mediocrity; the failure to even attempt at succeeding.
Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney, was quoted as saying, "To punish failure is to encourage mediocrity... failure is not a death sentence." If failure is not a death sentence, what is? In a word... complacency.
Eisner also said, "If it's not growing, it's going to die." Life dictates movement in one direction or another. If we don't go forward, we must go back. Nature does not abide stagnancy. An organism must either age and mature or whither and die. There is no in between.
And so it goes with an organization. The fear of failure envelopes the Movement and slowly suffocates it into hibernation. In this stasis, it ceases to grow and invariably withers and dies.
So let us champion risk! Rally around our leaders and pray for the growth that will stay our demise! Let us encourage our brothers to dig up their talents, abandon fear, throw caution to the wind and say "YES."
Monday, October 1, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Welcome!
SAVN.tv is thrilled to welcome visitors from all over the globe! We still officially dwell in the "open beta" phase of our launch as we have yet to concentrate our efforts toward any sort of marketing campaign. Not to fear... a BIG push looms just over the horizon.
That said, we still boast regular visits from our brothers and sister all over the globe. 6 of the 7 continents have made regular appearances to date (we have yet to hear from Antarctica, but we're keeping our fingers crossed!). So far our biggest supporters have been Australia, UK, Canada, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Costa Rica and Sweden.
The list doesn't end there! We've also had the pleasure of welcoming friends from Central and South America (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chili, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Jamaica), Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco), Middle East (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan), Asia (Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines), Europe (Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Portugal, France, Croatia, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Estonia), and Russia.
We're so happy to have you all with us and pray that you continue to support our mission and spread the word!
Blessings.
That said, we still boast regular visits from our brothers and sister all over the globe. 6 of the 7 continents have made regular appearances to date (we have yet to hear from Antarctica, but we're keeping our fingers crossed!). So far our biggest supporters have been Australia, UK, Canada, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Costa Rica and Sweden.
The list doesn't end there! We've also had the pleasure of welcoming friends from Central and South America (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chili, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Jamaica), Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco), Middle East (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan), Asia (Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines), Europe (Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Portugal, France, Croatia, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Estonia), and Russia.
We're so happy to have you all with us and pray that you continue to support our mission and spread the word!
Blessings.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Remembering 9/11
Let's pause for a moment in the midst of all the political campaign rhetoric.
The eleventh anniversary of 9/11 is almost upon us. In order to keep the memory going, please share this film - http://savn.tv/campaign/view/34 - with those in your social media network and ask them to share it forward without breaking the chain - take it viral. And all donations will go to recent disasters occurring. Click Share. Click Donate.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A Crusade!
SAVN.tv spent the last two days participating in Harvest America - an amazing evangelism campaign founded by Greg Laurie (the next Billy Graham to my mind).
Allow me to set the stage ... imagine, if you will, a large baseball stadium (Angel Stadium to be exact) filled to capacity with 45,000 believers and seekers all gathered together for the same purpose... evangelism. Some were there to be evangelists, others were there to receive evangelism. All were there to be blessed.
Bands like Mercy Me and Jeremy Camp (who sat down for an interview with SAVN) rocked out on the massive stage which encompassed half the infield. TV Networks, radio stations, and bloggers blasted the event over the airways and internet, nationwide. 1500 churches across America tuned in and volunteered, aiding in the execution of this massive effort.
Both evenings concluded with a "call to seekers" where Pastor Greg invited people down to the field to accept the Lord. Are you ready for this? ... 10,000 PEOPLE RESPONDED TO THE CALL. Each night, 5000 seekers crammed the outfield and were greeted by volunteers who helped them make a decision for Christ. From there, contact information was taken and disseminated to churches in the area for follow up. To be clear ... the follow up with these new Believers does not come by way of Pastor Greg's church. It's done by ANY church that expresses an interest in attracting new converts.
On average, every church choosing to participate in follow up typically gains 8 new church members per Crusade. Harvest does all the work, spends all the money, brings them in, gets them saved ... then GIVES them away! "One Savior, One Mission, One Church." It's all about Salvation. Nothing else matters.
I stood in the outfield, surrounded by this enormous ministry, watching thousands of new souls enter the Kingdom simultaneously. Clearly, these Harvest guys have figured it out.
Here's the amazing part: They didn't NEED us! Their mission is not dependant on any single ministry in order to succeed. The place was crawling with TV networks (TBN and CTN) and ministries from all over Southern California... the last thing they needed was SAVN.tv running around, getting in their way.
Did they close the door on us? Did they look down their noses, push us aside, and insist we stay out of their way? NO! On the contrary, this enormous evangelistic crusade went out of its way to welcome The Salvation Army in and make us feel like one of the family... the family of God. They were kind, humble, compassionate, and patient. When we asked to be carried a mile, they carried us two. When we asked for their robe, they gave us their tunic as well. Not once did they ask for a single thing in return. They simply wanted to help another ministry spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The members of Team SAVN were blessed to be involved in this incredible outreach. Be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming series, "Harvest Daze." You're sure to be blessed as well.
If you would like to get your corps or church involved in this outreach, visit www.harvest.org and click on "Crusades" (there's another Crusade around the corner). I promise, you'll never forget the experience!
Allow me to set the stage ... imagine, if you will, a large baseball stadium (Angel Stadium to be exact) filled to capacity with 45,000 believers and seekers all gathered together for the same purpose... evangelism. Some were there to be evangelists, others were there to receive evangelism. All were there to be blessed.
Bands like Mercy Me and Jeremy Camp (who sat down for an interview with SAVN) rocked out on the massive stage which encompassed half the infield. TV Networks, radio stations, and bloggers blasted the event over the airways and internet, nationwide. 1500 churches across America tuned in and volunteered, aiding in the execution of this massive effort.
Both evenings concluded with a "call to seekers" where Pastor Greg invited people down to the field to accept the Lord. Are you ready for this? ... 10,000 PEOPLE RESPONDED TO THE CALL. Each night, 5000 seekers crammed the outfield and were greeted by volunteers who helped them make a decision for Christ. From there, contact information was taken and disseminated to churches in the area for follow up. To be clear ... the follow up with these new Believers does not come by way of Pastor Greg's church. It's done by ANY church that expresses an interest in attracting new converts.
On average, every church choosing to participate in follow up typically gains 8 new church members per Crusade. Harvest does all the work, spends all the money, brings them in, gets them saved ... then GIVES them away! "One Savior, One Mission, One Church." It's all about Salvation. Nothing else matters.
I stood in the outfield, surrounded by this enormous ministry, watching thousands of new souls enter the Kingdom simultaneously. Clearly, these Harvest guys have figured it out.
Here's the amazing part: They didn't NEED us! Their mission is not dependant on any single ministry in order to succeed. The place was crawling with TV networks (TBN and CTN) and ministries from all over Southern California... the last thing they needed was SAVN.tv running around, getting in their way.
Did they close the door on us? Did they look down their noses, push us aside, and insist we stay out of their way? NO! On the contrary, this enormous evangelistic crusade went out of its way to welcome The Salvation Army in and make us feel like one of the family... the family of God. They were kind, humble, compassionate, and patient. When we asked to be carried a mile, they carried us two. When we asked for their robe, they gave us their tunic as well. Not once did they ask for a single thing in return. They simply wanted to help another ministry spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The members of Team SAVN were blessed to be involved in this incredible outreach. Be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming series, "Harvest Daze." You're sure to be blessed as well.
If you would like to get your corps or church involved in this outreach, visit www.harvest.org and click on "Crusades" (there's another Crusade around the corner). I promise, you'll never forget the experience!
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