Here is the new Soulies logo. I like it. Props to Fi for helping make it happen!
High Quality Design at an Affordable Price
Some mates have just launched a new design business. Introudcing: Tyro Designs.
For too long, good quality design has been out of the reach of the ‘little guys’. We’re hoping to change that with our company!
We are seeking to offer many of the design skills that usually cost thousands of dollars at a reasonable price for people who are just trying to get off the ground.
Good stuff. Definitely worth checking out.
3photos: My First Thomas
Kid number two has just hit the 6 month mark. Before we know it he’ll be driving!! Here are 3photos of Tom. Maybe I made them a little dark? Still cute…
2 more below
Continue Reading…
Webcam 101 for Seniors
Last week: Digital Natives. This week: Digital Immigrants. Cute + funny old couple:
(h/t Justin Buzzard)
A Little Bit Behind // 48 Hour Film Project
Jason Perini stars in this funny short film. Best Film, Script + Male Actor. Check it:
More on 48 hour film project. Cool concept.
Online Youth Ministry – Resources
“A ‘Digital Native’ is someone who has grown up in a digital and web-connected world. How do we effectively minister to ‘Digital Natives’? The Internet brings with it great dangers as well as incredible opportunities. How can we teach our young people to avoid the harmful while leveraging it for good? This seminar will not just raise the questions; it will give you an achievable strategy for developing an effective web presence for your youth ministry. This includes creating a website, using social media and protecting children online.”

The above is a blurb for a 3 hour workshop I ran today at National Youth Ministry Convention (NYMC). Did I deliver? You might need to ask someone else! But it seemed to be a useful time for people with plenty of good interaction. I really appreciate the collective wisdom that can be gleaned from that type of forum. My prayer is that youth ministries would unleash the internet for good that Jesus would be made famous and God glorified
HERE ARE MY SLIDES FROM THE WORKSHOP
Here are websites I referred to that aren’t on the slides:
- melindatankardreist.com
- collectiveshout.org
- noisetrade.com
- comeandlive.com
- matthiasmedia.com.au/little-black-books-sex
- statcounter.com
- www.google.com/analytics
- docs.google.com
- youthworks.net/safeministry
Talks will be available for download from the NYMC website.
If there’s anything else I said that I’d put on line that I haven’t… let me know!
If you’ve got any questions, feel free to contact me, or if they might be helpful for other people – leave them in the comments below.
See more of my posts on technology.
See more of my posts on youth ministry.
Vote for ‘Broken’ Directed by Michael Snowdon
After his success in 2010, my mate Snowy has a made another video entered in this year’s Ignite Film Festival. Check out Broken:
If you like it, you can help him win the People’s Choice Award. Check out the other entries here and then vote for his video and two others here.
It’s exactly a year since this blog post…
Sideshow Alley // Indie Hipsters from Melbourne
What do you get when you combine Melbourne alleyways with tight indie folk musicians and killer video design skills? www.sideshowalley.tv It’s a tidy little project. Matty J linked to this vid from The Waifs:
I haven’t watched them all yet, but really enjoyed the ones I’ve seen. See below for a selection and/or browse the site:
MOVE + EAT + LEARN
“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..” These were commissioned by STA Travel Australia. Short. Simple. Creative.
EAT + LEARN below
Hunger for the WORD + Pray for the WORLD
SOULIES UNDERGROUND is on this Friday night. As I’ve learnt more about the persecuted church, I’ve been struck by the hunger for the Word of God of underground/secret church members. So SOULIES UNDERGROUND will be an opportunity to be BOUND WITH our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church by learn from their hunger for the Word and also spend time praying for them and for our world. We’ll be looking at Romans 8.
If you’re not part of our youth community, you’re more than welcome to join us online!
We’ve just launched www.souliesunderground.com which will include a live video stream and the opportunity to interact via twitter and facebook. Check it out for details.
Why broadcast it online? There probably aren’t many ‘real’ underground churches broadcasting their gatherings via webcam!!
Here are 3 reasons:
- I first read about running an event like this in David Platt’s book Radical. And then Secret Church was simulcast to over 50,000 people around the world in April this year. Our aims are smaller scale, but I like the idea and that leads to point 2…
- The technology is fairly straightforward. Livestream is free. LIVE THEME is relatively cheap and easy to customise. And it’s brilliant! (Affiliate link)
- If a few more people can be encouraged from God’s Word (in Romans 8 ) and spend some time praying for the persecuted church, then why not?! I’m keen to keep leveraging new technology for good things. I think this is a good thing.
It’s not cool to ride a bodyboard
Unless you’re a professional, it’s not cool to ride a bodyboard when you’re 30! So next summer, I plan on finding a cheap surfboard and shredding some salt. In the meantime, I enjoy learning from the daily photo gallery emailed out by the Saltmotion Gallery Manly.
Joel and his team take regular shots of Northern Beaches waves as well as pics from surfing trips around the globe. Check out their website.
I’ve been given permission to use their pics on blog posts. So keep an eye out for more pics in the future! Peace.
Jake Nauta @ Paradox Cafe
After a killer time with Mike McCarthy at Paradox during April, we’re running another one in a couple of weeks time. For various reasons (Thomas is one of them!) I was slow off the mark in securing an artist for the night. But I’m very excited (and thankful) that Jake Nauta has agreed to play. He’s originally from the well-known and much-loved band Playjerise.
Northern Beaches peeps, find out all the deets at the Paradox website or the Facebook event.
3 Quick Shout-Outs
- Jake Nauta – check his website. Grab his latest gear on iTunes.
- Creation Swap – I blogged on them last week. Sweet free design stuff. I didn’t have much time to produce promo material. It didn’t take too long to edit this free photoshop file and produce a smart looking business card.
- Worldwide Online Printing – I’ve used them for a number of years. Since coming to St Faith’s Narrabeen, I’ve been using the Brookvale office for print jobs. Super speedy service, competitive prices and amazing turnarounds on print jobs. Check ‘em.
Creation Swap – Free Stuff for Church Design
Creation Swap has recently re-launched. They used to operate as CreativeMYK (see all the times I’ve mentioned or used their images), but now hit the refresh button with more great free stuff for church designers. It’s free. It’s generally good quality. And it’s free.

The Blurb:
Search royalty-free stock photos, church bulletins, sermon art, logos and more shared freely or sold by Christian artists worldwide. Also, visit our Network to connect with artists, view portfolios or post jobs free.
Get into it. Peace.
3photos: Paradox Lamps
Paradox Cafe. Wednesday night. Good vibe. Sweet tunes from Mike McCarthy. Raised cash for Japan. Amazing story from Sal. Solid intro to Jesus from Ben Molyneux. Legit coffee. Dessert. Lots of new faces. June 2011. It’ll be back. Boom. Latest in 3 photos series:
See 2 more below
Jesus Hates Religion – Campus Posters
The Jesus Hates Religion mission at Sydney Uni has kicked off well. I appreciate the many who have partnered in prayer. Keep praying! This post isn’t actually about the mission. I wanted to share the posters they have on the notice boards around the campus:

Here’s 4 things I like about them.
- They look good. Striking.
- I like the font
- The important information is massive. The rest of the content is minimal, but sufficient.
- They’ve got 4 posters displayed together, the 3 colours used in the arrangements are good. 4 would have been too many, 2 not enough.
I haven’t really written anything profound here. But hopefully it might provide some design inspiration.
The pic originally appeared here and this is the app that grunged it up.
soulies.net is now open for business!
Go check it out: www.soulies.net. Soulies is the youth ministry @ St Faith’s Narrabeen.
If you’re part of (or interested in) our church and/or youth community:
Harbour Bridge Construction and other Amazing Sydney Photos for FREE!
The State Library of New South Wales (Australia) has recently released a bucket-load of historic images on Flickr. Yes way. There are some amazing shots, and they’re all free from copyright. So feel free to use them royalty free for design projects. I’ve already used them in a number of places, and have some ideas for future use. Check this beautifully composed shot of Sydney Harbour Bridge construction during 1930. Hotness:

Click here for ol’ skool sweetness. If you have a browse, leave a link to your favourite in the comments. Peaceout.
Dan Au Photography
My friend Dan Au has recently launched a website to promote his photography business. He skilfully wields his camera as a way to support his family while he studies full-time at Bible College. If you want pics taken of your family, wedding, event, pet rabbit, or whatever – Dan might be your man! Check him out www.danauphotography.com.

Dan featured in an old blog series of mine called SNAPSHOT – see his work here.
The death of the iPod
Great article on the life and death of the Apple iPod in the SMH. Some really interesting comments on the iPod as the “first cultural icon of the 21st century”. Here’s a snippet:

Apple has changed the way we think about technology and design, the way we shop, the way we consume media and the way we interact with each other. Via the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad it has opened up doors for other methods of technology to come into our lives. None of that would have happened without the iPod. “It was the first cultural icon of the 21st century,” says Dr Michael Bull, a lecturer in media and film at the University Of Sussex, south-east England, where his studies on the sociology around the MP3 player have earned him the sobriquet “Professor iPod”. “It was the first MP3 player that really worked. With the earlier ones you had to get down on your knees and pray to get a bit of music out of them. And it became symbolic of the way people like to move around in cities. It fitted the desire for a technological freedom, whereby you moved to your own soundscape. Roland Barthes argued that, in medieval society, cathedrals were the iconic form. Then by the 1950s it had become the car – the Citroen DS. I argue that 50 years later it was the iPod, this technology that let you fit your whole world in your pocket. It was representative of a key moment in the social world of the 21st century.”
Read the rest here. Some of the content reminded me of some of Stu Crawshaw’s thoughts from his Youth Ministry as Shock Absorber article.
Do you have an iPod? Do you still use it? Can you name a competitor for other 21st Century icons?



















