It's Been a Long, Long Time...

If you check the post below this one, you’ll see that the last time I published anything to this blog was June 5. That is a long, long time ago. The reason it’s been that long is because of all the things that have happened in my life since then. I could go on and on about them (e.g., two new jobs, moving to two different houses, etc.), but it suffices to say that I have been very, very busy.

Now I’m back, and I have a plan! I’m excited, and I want you to be excited, too! What I want to do is share with you a few of the things I have planned for the upcoming year.

A New Look

I’m really excited about the new template that I’m using. I love the feel of the site, and the design changes have brought some speed improvements as well. This new look should read well not only on your desktop or laptop, but on your tablet or smartphone, too.

Frequency and Length

In the past, I might do well to post something new once a week. When I did post, you could count on it being about 600-800 words.

But in the coming year, I’m going to focus on providing concise content (200-400 words) on a more frequent basis.

Basically, I’m going to stop writing dissertations on my topics, and start delivering more digestible nuggets. I know there are some of you who will really appreciate that!

New Topics

I will continue to work in my Tech Tip Tuesdays (T3’s), on a regular basis. But what I’m really excited about are my “Tools of the Trade” posts which will be sprinkled in amongst the T3’s. In these posts, I’ll share with you some of the most important tools to my everyday workflow, as well as how I use them.

I also plan to provide a lot more practical advice about preaching, and ministry in general. Working with Southeast and mentoring budding preachers has tuned me in to a lot of things I think ministry workers would find helpful, especially those working with small churches.

These things (along with a regular dose of spiritual content) ought to give you a really good reason to subscribe to my blog, either through email or the RSS feed reader of your choice.

Coming January 2015

I’m going to take a few more weeks to get through the holiday season, as well as get a few more of the particulars sorted out. Don’t forget to check back!

—Daniel

P.S.—If you are excited enough, go and subscribe to my blog! (Click Here)

Five Expectations that will Kill Your Church's Outreach Work

The Bible has a lot to say when it comes to the Christian's responsibility to help others. Here is a sampling:

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10 ESV)

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Ephesians 4:28 ESV)

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16 ESV)

Even Jesus was described by Peter as a man who "went about doing good" because "God was with him" (Acts 10:38).

Why, then, do so many churches struggle with effectively doing good in their own communities? Why might your congregation be struggling with this? Maybe it's because they (or you) have the wrong expectations when it comes to benevolence work.

The following list isn't anything scientific. It comes from my own personal mistakes, experiences, and observations.

Expectations that Kill Your Church's Outreach Efforts:

1) Expecting Massive Involvement

Too often hard workers allow the opinions of the uninvolved (and uninformed) to shape their own attitudes and expectations about an outreach effort. If the uninvolved don't see value in the work, then the hard workers become discouraged and give up.

Don't do that!

Just because a particular effort doesn't seem "worth it" to a huge percentage of the congregation doesn't mean that it's not "worth it" to the people who are helped by it, and more importantly, to God!

Ask Gideon if huge numbers involved in a particular effort matter to God (cf. Judges 7-8). They don't.

2) Expecting it to be Perfect

Many good ideas never get out of the brainstorming stage simply because of "paralysis by analysis."

I've seen people be hesitant to help in a time of need (say, a house fire or natural disaster) because they want to provide exactly what is needed. That's good, but the unintended side effect is that while standing around with their hands in their pockets, waiting to be able to do just the right thing, the opportunity to help disappears—because others jumped in and helped as soon as a need arose!

Not every "at bat" has to result in a home run—sometimes you just need to get on base! It's better to jump in and help, even if what you do isn't "perfect" (in your own eyes) than to sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

3) Expecting it to Bring Quick Results

The scriptures are rife with exhortations to be a patient person. This is especially true for ministry. Consider Galatians 6:9-10 and 2 Thessalonians 3:13, where Paul wrote not to "lose heart" or "grow weary" in doing good—that in due time we will reap the fruits of our labors.

Sometimes outreach efforts fail simply because those laboring in them become impatient. They scatter the "seed" today, but they expect for the fruits of their labors to be harvested next week.

Such thinking in an agricultural context would be nonsense. With plants it takes weeks or months for a seedling to grow and mature into a fruit-bearing plant. The same expectations are also nonsense when it comes to outreach and evangelism. With people, the process may even take years.

Just don't quit before the harvest!

4) Expecting it to be Innovative

First of all, there's nothing wrong with something being innovative, per se. Second, I'm not talking about doctrine, but approach.

Sometimes in a quest for the "new," "cutting edge," and "creative," the "old," "useful," and "meaningful" is abandoned. Maybe sometimes an idea is ignored because of the "we tried that before" mentality (but were impatient—review point three).

While culture constantly changes, have the needs of mankind really changed all that much since... the beginning of time?

Nope. We all have a need for food, clothing, shelter, love, care, compassion, and friendship. Those things will be the same until the world ends.

Sometimes the best thing is the old, simple, sure thing. Don't let faulty expectations cause you to abandon it for new, flashy, and superficial.

5) Expecting it to be Exclusive

I remember talking to someone about doing a school supply drive for the underprivileged kids at local schools. In this discussion they brought up the point that some other local churches already did that very thing every year. They said it with an expression on their face and a tone in their voice that communicated their unspoken thought: "We're going to have to find something else to do."

So what if a church down the street is doing the same thing! Where is the rule that two churches in the same town can't do the same outreach work? For that matter, *who says that we can't do it better, or more effectively!

Don't expect to have exclusivity for every work your congregation does—just do it, and do it to the best of your abilities.

Just shine your light!

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 ESV)

—Daniel

An Open Letter to Older Christian Ladies from a Young Christian Husband

Dear Respected Older Christian Ladies,

Let me make a confession to you: I've always felt a little uncomfortable doing lessons geared toward the ladies.

It's mainly passages like Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35; Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; and Titus 2:3-5 that I'm talking about. Oh, and Mother's Day, too.

I'm so afraid I'm going to say something insensitive, or come across as chauvinistic. I'm already a smidgen nervous when I get ready to preach and those passages and topics only add to my anxiety. I'll preach them, but like I said, I'm extra nervous.

For that matter, I've always thought it a little odd (if not counterintuitive or seemingly offensive) for a man to be telling a woman exactly what her role ought to be, specifically in the home. I'm not saying it's wrong at all. It's Biblical, and necessary. But is a middle-aged man always the most qualified or effective person to do it?

Probably not. Maybe that's why Paul wrote what he did to Titus:

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:3–5 NAS95)

Notice the end of verse three, beginning of verse four. Who should this teaching really be coming from? Well, the most sensible place possible—older women.

Allow me to further illustrate my point.

My wife has made the decision to stay at home with our small children, and work within our home. Let me make it clear that it was her decision—she made it from the heart, and she owns it. When the topic comes up in conversation with some older women, I have often heard the following refrain: "I stayed at home with our kids, and I'm so glad I did!"

I've also heard this: "Oh, that's great—I wish I had, too."

I have yet to meet a respected older woman (or at least one who I respect) who has said otherwise. On the other hand, I have heard and read the words of a lot of very opinionated younger women who are critical of stay-at-home moms. I think that's telling. That's not even getting on the subject of marriage, which can be a minefield of its own.

Could it be that many older women know something that the younger women don't? Yes. Could it be that their experiences in life could help keep other young mothers from steering their lives down a road they will eventually lament if not outright regret?

I think so. Paul thought so. God thinks so. The problem is, many if not most of the older women of our age are keeping their mouths tightly shut. That's exactly what the devil wants them to do.

Older ladies, as a young husband and preacher, this is my call for you to speak up—to teach our young women!

Now I don't want you to misconstrue what I'm writing to think that my wife needs some training, or that she has been inadequate in some way. In fact, she has become a wonderful mother and a model homemaker. But unfortunately, it has largely been without the help of the older Christian ladies in her life. Oh, there have been exceptions, and I truly think they made all the difference. But that's just it—they were exceptions.

In fact, there have been times that I have seen my young Christian wife leading the older Christian women! Is that the way it ought to be? Is it fair? How do you think Paul would answer that question?

As a man, why do I care? Well, because this issue directly affects me—the young Christian husband of a young Christian woman. The quality of my marriage is a direct result of the knowledge and training she has to be a Christian wife (along with my own training to be her husband). Likewise, the quality of our children’s home life is a direct result of the knowledge and training she has to be a Christian mother. I care, because it makes all the difference in the world to my home.

Older Christian ladies, you have a supremely valuable gift—it's called wisdom from life experience. If you have successfully raised a faithful Christian family, you know what works and what doesn't. You know what it takes. If your marriage has thrived after 25, 30, 40, or 50 or more years, you know what makes that happen. That gift of this wisdom is a special, unique gift that only you can give.

For our young families' sakes, if you aren’t already, will you give it?

—Daniel

These Two Bibles are Why I Preach

Today is a bittersweet day. I'm packing up my office.

I hate packing. I despise packing. I loathe packing. It is sweaty, dusty, and monotonous.

But as I was packing up my gazillion Bibles earlier (I have an addiction to the physical form of God's Word), I came across two specific Bibles that broke the monotony, and caused me to pause and think.

The first is a beat up burgundy KJV printed by World Bible Publishers. On the front, in faded gold foil, is the text "DANIEL HOWELL." While it in no way compares in monetary value to an Allan or Cambridge, it is priceless to me.

That's because it is my first Bible.

Well, I say "first Bible," but what I really mean is that it was the first Bible that I actually remember carrying around and using. I, as a six-year-old, remember sitting next to my sister at our kitchen table on Sunday morning, September 6, 1992 (the date being inscribed on the presentation page), dressed for church services. My parents sat us down for a moment in order to give us Bibles. Of course, the (now) beat up burgundy Bible was the one they gave me.

I carried it around for several years. It was the one I took to Bible class. It was the Bible from which first I memorized scripture. Eventually it started to fall apart, so my parents replaced it. But I held onto it.

The second Bible is an unassuming black KJV New Testament, also printed by World Bible. Just like the first, this one is priceless to me as well.

I know the exact date that I preached my first "official" sermon. It was Sunday, February 27, 2000. It was just shy of my fourteenth birthday. The reason I know that is because of this Bible.

You see, my dad gave it to me on the night I preached my first sermon. At the time, the last thing I wanted to grow up and become was a preacher. Well, maybe not the last—but at the time, it really wasn't on my radar as a "career choice."

But in that Bible, my dad (a preacher) wrote a note on the inside cover expressing how proud of me he was. He wrote that even if I never become a "full time" preacher like he was that...

"...You can do a great work for the Lord by filling a pulpit every time you have an opportunity. Love, Daddy"

A few years later I would do just that—filling in from time to time at the small congregation where my wife and I attended during our college years. That experience eventually led to my work with the Sweetwater church of Christ, my first "part time," then first "full time" local work.

As I paused in my packing, I stared at these two books together in my hand—as they had never been before—and thought this thought: "These Bibles are why I preach."

More specifically, what these Bibles represent are the reason I'm a preacher today. Of course I love God, and I want to teach and share the Gospel with others. That serves as the primary motivation for me being a preacher.

But if not for the first Bible, I wouldn't have developed the firm Scriptural foundation at an early age that I have built upon in order to serve God in the way that I now do.

If not for the second Bible (and what led to its reception), I probably wouldn't have the courage to preach.

That's because the Bibles came from parents who truly love God themselves, and who also sought to teach their children how to love and serve their glorious heavenly Father.

I pray I can successfully do the same for my children.

(4) "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. (7) You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ESV)

—Daniel

Using the Apple Dictation Feature to Write on Your MacBook—[T3]

Let me apologize in advance to all of my friends who are Windows users. The super coolness that you are about to read about is only for my brethren who use Macintosh computers.

I know that Siri brings up a lot of mixed emotions for people. Some people really love using her. Others feel jilted by her, because she never seems to be around when they need her.

I have actually had a pretty good experience using Siri. Maybe that's why something I found buried in the settings of my MacBook made me so excited.

I have experimented with dictation software before, but I never really found anything that suited me. Either the software was slow, or it couldn't sort out what I was saying very well. I kept having to back up and edit what I was dictating, which completely defeated the purpose of using dictation software.

Enter Apple "enhanced dictation."

I'm not sure if you ever found it before, but there was a dictation feature in previous editions of Mac OS X. From what I remember though, it was nothing like the features found in Mavericks.

Here's the difference: Siri makes you wait until it uploads your recorded voice to Apple servers, converts your spoken words into text, then sends it back to your phone. From what I remember, the dictation feature available previously in Mac OS X did essentially the same thing. But the new "enhanced dictation" that Apple has added to its dictation feature makes waiting for text to appear on your screen a thing of the past. You can even use it without being connected to the Internet.

With this setting enabled, text appears on my screen at the cursor almost as fast as I can speak it. I can also jump in and manually type anything that I need to without the dictation feature deactivating and me having to reactivate it. That's pretty cool!

How to Set It Up

If you go to "System Preferences > Dictation & Speech" and enable dictation, you can use these advanced features. Just be sure to check the box titled "Use Enhanced Dictation."

The software will make you wait until it downloads A few hundred megabytes of information, but after that you're set to use the feature! I have mine set to activate the instant I double press the "fn" key on my keyboard.

It's that simple!

Questions and Concerns

* How fast can I talk using dictation?* I have found that as I've been using the dictation software, and it has learned more of the eccentricities of my voice, I can almost speak at a normal talking speed. The biggest problem I have is simply trying to figure out what to say next!

What about typing in scripture references? This was one of my main concerns when it came to dictating my writing. I have discovered that this isn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. In fact, there's a formula for speaking scripture references that works nearly every time.

For instance, if I want to add John 3:16 as a reference, I will speak the following: "John three colon 16."

If it is a reference like 2 Thessalonians 3:1 then I just say: "Numeral two Thessalonians three colon one."

Of course you can always simply pause and type it out the old-fashioned way.

What about the crazy difficult Bible names that are not only hard to say but hard to type? What I have found is that I can very easily pause and type a difficult name in, like Naaman. Other names like Nebuchadnezzar seem to have been learned by the dictation software after I corrected them immediately following speaking. Based on what I've read, the software will slowly learn and adapt to your dialect as well as vocabulary.

Conclusion

It's not always perfect, but it's a lot closer than anything else I've ever used to actually being usable on a regular basis.

In fact, I used it to dictate the entirety of this blog post. Occasionally I had to back up and correct something, but the dictation feature actually made fewer mistakes than I normally do typing!

One other quick tip to throw in: I have found that using my earbud microphone for my iPhone actually helps a lot. I seem to get more accurate dictation by using it then I do trying to use the computer's built-in microphone.

The only thing that will really take some learning and getting used to is remembering all of the voice commands to be able to use voice dictation effectively. There is a support page on Apple's website that lists all of the voice commands available.

As I said before, I'm really excited about this feature and look forward to using it to enhance my workflow this week! I will be sure to let you know how things go.

– Daniel

John Moseley: A Tribute

Some of the words you are about to read are ones that I wish I had expressed a long, long time ago. As you will come to understand by reading this, they have a bit of a hollow ring to them now. But I couldn't keep them to myself, because I know there are many right now who feel the very same way I do.

When I entered Austin Peay State University in the fall of 2004, I had my heart set on becoming a music education major. Music was what I wanted my world to be—I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else besides.

Along with my scholarships came a work study requirement. Being as green as I was, I didn't realize that I was supposed to sign up for one. I'm sure I was one of the last to choose a department. Since the Communications Department was in the same building as the Music Department, and there were no more openings in music, I chose communications.

Enter Professor John Moseley. He reminded me of Santa Claus, except without the belly. He could be serious, but almost always wore a smile. Everyone liked him, and if they didn't... well, I never met anyone who didn't! I started work under his guidance.

One semester later I would change my major to communications, and he would become my advisor. It's his fault that I changed majors.

Through the countless hours that I spent with him in studios, control rooms, production trucks, and (occasionally) classrooms, I gained the knowledge and confidence I needed to enter the world of media production.

Instead of my formal classes, I credit my work study with teaching me most of what I learned about cameras, lights, microphones, audio mixers, and the finer points of video and audio production. You see, most of the time that work study was one-on-one time with Mr. Moseley. Professional or not, we didn't interact as instructor and student, but as two friends who shared a common love for what we were doing—whether technology, music, or photography.

Near the end of my college career there were times that he would simply put a project in my hands, and let me "go with it." You can't imagine how much confidence his trust gave me.

More than anything, he taught me how to be curious with technology—to try things out, and continue to learn. There were times that he reminded me of MacGyver, except instead of paper clips and a Swiss Army Knife, he used coax and gaffer tape. I still follow his example and philosophy in my work today.

For a time I worked with the University Facilities as a technician. That led to some opportunities that jumpstarted my freelance video production business. It's that business that helped feed, clothe, and shelter my wife and me during our college years.

It was Mr. Moseley who recommended me for the job with Facilities.

I was privileged to work on projects with both President Sherry Hoppe and President Timothy Hall—because Mr. Moseley recommended me for them.

The man truly did more for me than I ever could have done for him.

I'm not the kind of person to make overly sentimental or emotional statements, so you can know I mean it when I write the following: John Moseley is one of the handful of people who I consider to have shaped me into who I am today.

He had an absolutely profound effect on my life during my four years at Austin Peay. If you knew him personally, you probably feel the same way.

I started by writing that my words seem a bit hollow now. Let me explain why. For all that he meant to my life, I lost contact with Mr. Moseley after I graduated from college. A few days ago I found out that he was losing his battle with colon cancer. This morning I found out that his battle was over, and that he had passed from this life.

Oh, how I so desperately wish that I had told him how much of an impact he had on my life. Again, if you knew him, you might even feel the same way.

Allow me to share a few things that have been on my mind during all of this:

As I write these words, I'm preparing to take on the position of Director of Information and Technology at the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies. Since graduating college I have worked as a minister, but have also done everything I could to use the production skills and abilities I have to further the cause of Christ's Kingdom. I would like to think that some good has come from using those abilities.

But were it not for God's providence and my time with Mr. Moseley, I may have never switched my major to communications and developed the skills and abilities I have today. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to him that I will never be able to repay.

With that debt of gratitude in mind, I also encourage you to do this: Be sure to tell people how much they mean to you today. Never wait to express gratitude, or you may never get the chance.

Finally, it is vital to live a life that affects others in a positive way. Always be willing to share knowledge and insight that will help others grow and become better people. That was John Moseley's modus operandi. Accordingly, his knowledge and wisdom will far outlive his physical existence through the minds and hands of those whom he taught.

Mr. Moseley, you will be greatly missed, but not forgotten.

My prayers are with the family of John Moseley at this time. May the God of all comfort help you through this trying time (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:3).

• Daniel