Apr 4 2010

How Church Imitates Baseball

In honor of opening day coming on the heels of Easter, here are the top 10 ways going to Mass imitates baseball.

Top 10 Ways Going to Church Imitates Baseball

By jcarwash31 via Flickr

By jcarwash31 via Flickr

10. Sometimes you stand and sing, other times you sit.
9. It can go into extra innings.
8. Hard to follow without a program.
7. Uncomfortable seats.
6. Sometimes you spend more than you want to.
5. Gotta know how to read the signs.
4. Come early to get good seats.
3. Long line for alcohol.
2. You’re preparing for post-season play.

And the number 1 way going to church imitates baseball…

1. If you screw up, you get sent down.


Good luck to your team this year, unless you’re a Yankee fan.

Apr 1 2010

Should Churches Participate in April Fool’s Day?

Toyota, in the guise of a baptismal font recall, was the target of my church’s annual April Fool’s Day stunts. (I’ve covered some of these parodies before.) April Fool’s Day usually falls during Lent and in 2010 it was on Holy Thursday. Is it appropriate for a church to celebrate April Fool’s Day during Lent?

Baptismal Font with Unintended Acceleration from StCharlesChurch.org

Baptismal Font with Unintended Acceleration from StCharlesChurch.org

Yes.

Our goals:

  • Increase traffic to the site.
  • Show that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
  • Give members of the community a reason to share the church’s web address with others. It’s difficult for some to overtly evangelize, but sharing a link to a funny site makes it a lot easier.

We’ve met all of those goals the past several years.

At the same time, we’ve focused on spoofs and parodies rather than outright tricks that could legitimately fool someone. You don’t want newcomers showing up for a non-existent event because they weren’t in on the joke, especially during Lent. It’s a balancing act, but based on the traffic and feedback it’s been worth it for us.

Would your church consider putting on a stunt for April Fool’s Day?

Feb 12 2010

It’s Safe Again to Show YouTube Videos at Church

Have you ever tried to show a YouTube video at a church event, but worried about what kind of naughty or racy clips would show up in the so-called related videos section? At last, Google is offering the ability to filter out inappropriate videos on an opt-in basis.

The filter is called Safety Mode and you’ll find a link to it at the very bottom of all YouTube pages. You can select it on the fly or log in and make this your default. This video explains more.

Please note that I’m against censorship and I’m not suggesting this is for everyone. But it’s helpful to church ministry staff and volunteers–along with parents–to have this choice. If only there were a similar filter available when we’re watching NFL games live and inappropriate commercials come on! For now, I’ll keep my trigger finger on the remote.

I enjoy watching funny clips with my boys, but dread wondering what filth might show up nearby that I’ll have to quickly scroll by. Now I feel like I have another tool on my side.

Have you run into this issue when showing videos at your church? How do you handle it?

By Mark Alves • Posted in Google
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Dec 21 2009

Weather-related Church Cancellations — More Tips

By abac077 via Flickr

By abac077 via Flickr

The Blizzard of 2009 gave me a few more ideas about handling weather-related cancellations at your church so check out that updated post.

If you were stuck in the snow I hope you had fun. On a number of social media channels, many folks are commenting how the snow has been an early Christmas present that has focused them on enjoying their family, making cookies, playing and slowing down in general. It was a great antidote to the usual holiday stress that can arise at this time of year. I had a blast sledding and making a snowman with my boys. How about you?