Two New eBooks at Amazon Kindle!
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- Written by Rex M. Rogers
The overdue demise of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan Sunday generated worldwide reaction, most of it positive. Bin Laden was an unrepentant terrorist and mass murderer, the mastermind of 9/11, who finally met his fate at the hands of American Special Forces. To put it bluntly, millions are glad the man is dead.
If bin Laden’s ill-spent life teaches us anything, and there’s much that could be said, it is that one life matters, even an evil one. Osama bin Laden harmed thousands and influenced millions. Even beyond those who lost their lives as a result of his hatred for the West every person who’s ever traveled through an airport has been touched by this man’s (and people like him) evil. Throughout the world members of armed forces, security agents, and political leaders have altered behavior, considered thoughts, and took actions that in some way traced their origin to bin Laden’s actions, or at least the threat thereof.
In saying this I’m not trying to overstate bin Laden’s impact. Rather I cite him to illustrate how one person can affect the world.
We’re reminded anew that each individual matters. We may not exercise the extent of influence of an Osama bin Laden. Indeed God forbid any of us would emulate his evil reach. Nevertheless, we all possess a sphere of influence, a reach probably beyond what most of us acknowledge, much less imagine.
While we’re greatly influenced, limited or propelled, by Nature and Nurture no fates control our existence. We make our own way one choice at a time and our lives are the sum of those choices. Bin Laden made his choices. We make ours. And as he is accountable for his, we are accountable for ours. As he mattered, we matter.
Scripture reminds us not to be weary in well doing, that no man lives to himself or dies to himself. While we live we choose and we influence. The question is: what will be the sum of our choices?
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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It’s springtime and baseball’s back. And fans are once again filling stadiums to watch the boys of summer chase a hardball.
Baseball produces sports heroes and one of the greatest in his day was Mickey Mantle. Those who got to see him play still talk about his athletic prowess. But unfortunately Mickey pursued other interests off the field that changed and eventually took his life. For a time he thought he was invulnerable.
Charlie Sheen is not a baseball player but a Hollywood star. He’s in his 40s, “livin large,” thumbing his nose at the world, and also thinks he’s invulnerable. Charlie could learn from Mickey.
Young Mickey was born to play baseball. By the time he was 20 years old, this strong farm kid from Oklahoma was playing for the New York Yankees. At 25 years of age he’d won baseball’s Triple Crown, leading the league with a .353 batting average, 52 homeruns, and 130 RBIs. By the time he’d finished his baseball career, he’d blasted 536 homeruns, third all-time in his day, had played in 12 World Series (Count them: twelve!), and was one of the most popular players in the history of the game.
But for much of that career Mickey’s lifestyle included unfettered excess: alcoholism, drug abuse, and womanizing—with its associated physical maladies. Eventually it all caught up to him. After a failed liver transplant he died of inoperable cancer at just 63, way too young with way too much good left undone.
Just before Mickey Mantle died, though, he made two memorable choices. He made a video in which he sat in a chair with his emaciated body, looked into the camera, and told viewers about his poor choices. Then he said, “Don’t be like me.” It is one of the saddest yet most compelling videos you will ever see. It’s a summative comment on the results of embracing deficient values and making poor, ill advised, wrong, and truly, insane choices.
Mickey Mantle made one more momentous choice. According to the testimony of his good friend and former major league playing partner Bobby Richardson, Mickey Mantle placed his faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his sins and therefore was promised entry into heaven. As he lay dying, Mickey asked God to change him from the inside out, to give him a new reason for living and an assurance of his destiny. Mickey Mantle finally got the help he needed. Though his life was near its end, Mickey embraced the Lord and with that commitment a wholly new and transformative worldview.
Mickey’s spiritual decision, real and wonderful though it was, didn’t alter his life expectancy. But had he made this decision years earlier it likely would have. He could have turned his exceptional talents and popularity toward accomplishing something that helped others and blessed him in the process. But he hadn’t, so in a very real sense his life ended too soon with potential unfulfilled.
Charlie Sheen is on this same track. He’s literally burning himself out in front of the eyes of the world—on Twitter, on UStream.com, maybe eventually back on network television. But however cool, cocky, and bad boy roguish he seems to be to some who voyeuristically follow his every word and deed, he’s spending, a la wasting, his life on excess and narcissistic pursuits.
Behind the Sheen bravado is a scared, scarred, and confused person. Charlie needs a wholly transformed worldview, which as long as he breathes is available to him through rebirth in Jesus Christ.
While Mickey is gone the legacy of his testimony is not. Based on that, I think I know what Mickey would say to Charlie if he could. He’d say, “Don’t be like me.” I sincerely hope Charlie learns from the life and lesson of Mickey Mantle.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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“Proactive” is a word Alexander Graham Bell would have understood, and it’s a word every follower of God should learn. It means taking action based upon forward-thinking. It means we should not just react to circumstances, we should pro-act.
We should act with awareness, think innovatively and progressively. We need to try to anticipate changes in culture and seek to influence them. Better yet, we need to lead, not just respond.
Being proactive is what God talked about in the New Testament book of Matthew (24:42-51, 25:1-30). In a series of four parables, God says that he expects us to be watchful, ready, wise, faithful, and working. In other words, in the time that he gives us on this earth, God wants us to do something for him. He wants us to be active in his service, because he will hold us accountable for our work. He gives us life, creativity, and resources to use according to his rules for good living. It’s a form of stewardship—proactive stewardship.
Being proactive stewards as a way of life prevents us from falling into ruts. We keep fixing our eyes on Jesus, and we keep pressing on to what He has in store for us. We keep following His moral will for our lives and expecting His will to be accomplished in our lives.
By becoming proactive stewards we can do great things for God, no matter what title appears in front of our name, or what letters appear after.
Proactive stewardship—anticipating, working energetically, progressively, and accountably—is a worthy philosophy of life. Pursue the Lord’s will and work in this way and you will live with focus and get things done.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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It certainly seems we’re awash in new media or social media options. And we are. There’s more than any one person could productively engage. But trust the free enterprise system. The invisible hand of quality, work ethic, self-interest, and consumer choice will eventually clear away lesser competitors.
Remember Atari and Commodore? They came along about the same time as Apple. Where are they now? Remember VHS vs Betamax. What person under 30 years of age knows what Betamax is? Remember MySpace vs Facebook? Both are still around, but Facebook is fast conquering the world.
Remember YouTube vs Vimeo? Both are active. Both have their avid supporters divided in camps like Republicans and Democrats. YouTube reaches a vast audience. Vimeo is available to all as well, if they sign up, but Vimeo prides itself in offering “higher quality” service for a “certain kind of people.” YouTube is blue collar. Vimeo is blue blood. Both might survive and thrive, like PC and Apple, but then again, one might go bye the bye.
Then there’re umpteen more social media sites where you can blog or vlog, “tweet,” post pictures or text friends, fans, or followers worldwide, all for free. Amazing.
I find this all quite fascinating because it’s about more than technological tools and toys. It’s about personal space and a sense of validation. It’s about authenticity and immediacy, social interaction yet social independence. It’s about freedom in the most individual yet communal way. It’s about freedom at its most expansive.
And integration propels the march of progress. Communications, computers, cellphones, cameras, and cyberspace are converging. And throw in social media and television, actually all video and audio, along with them.
Social media is a culture-changing phenomenon, and I get to both witness and participate in it. So where am I in all this? I hope, I plan, right in the middle of it.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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I’ve been on a binge learning curve, trying to jettison my video-illiteracy and catch up with the young-uns. I’ve got more to learn, of course, but I’ve come a long way. Very cool.
Today I sat at my son-in-law’s (Joe Drouillard) side as he tutored me in video and audio posting to websites, YouTubing, MP3 and MP4, burning DVDs, and more. Since he’s a web designer (J D Web Design Studio) he also created the video box in the right column of my rexmrogers.com homepage. I can now rotate a new video, most likely from the ministry with which I serve, SAT-7, whenever I want. This is a useful skill that will allow me to add a video blog or vlog feature to the website. Very cool.
Here I’ve learned to “embed,” as opposed to just link, a video from YouTube. This will allow me from time to time to highlight a video with relevant content re my blog. Very cool.
Short videos or films are called, guess what, “shorts.” These days, given the abbreviated attention span of virtually everyone, especially under 40 years of age, a short is all you get. Like the “Making a Difference” radio programs I used to do: you get in, try to say something meaningful, and get out, all in about 90 seconds. Video shorts are generally anything under 10 minutes, but the shorter the better, as in under 2 minutes…kind of like television commercials.
One reason to climb this learning curve is to experience the sheer joy of learning. I know, some people write me off at that one. But I’m an old educator with a lifelong passion for lifelong learning. In fact, I’ll do you one better. I think one of the things we’re going to be doing in heaven for eternity is learning from the omniscient, infinitely interesting, Sovereign God. Very cool.
Another reason to learn is to be able to speak to the current generation. If we want youth to know about Christianity or international missions, for example, we have to go where they are, where they live. Youth and young adults live in cyberspace, online, plugged-in, and tuned-in. They speak through interactive new social media via smart phones. I want to speak their language, so I have to learn. So I am and I have. Very cool.
What this video short phenomenon says about our ability to communicate, much less our culture, I’ll save for another time. For now, I’m happy to catch up, a little, with Generation Y, the Millenials. Very cool.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at http://www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at http://www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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I’ve wanted to learn more about video—recording, importing, editing in iMovie, posting on YouTube, Vimeo, and websites, you name it.
For awhile now, I’ve also wanted to learn how ebooks and audiobooks were made, what’s an MP3 and an MP4, and how to post audio online.
In a manner of speaking I wanted to understand the technological revolution that had happened “behind me.” By this I mean that at 58 years of age, I didn’t grow up with so-called “new media,” which includes social media. Actually, I didn’t grow up with computers of any kind.
I find my way around Facebook pretty well. I even “tweet” on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rexmrogers. I’ve used RSS feeds, sent text messages, and blogged. I know what Flickr is but haven’t used it much, nor have I accessed many podcasts—but I plan to record and distribute audio podcasts shortly. I can navigate the Internet with relative ease. But I hadn’t until this weekend caught up with and climbed the learning curve of video and audio media.
Long story short, over the weekend I took advantage of the infinite number of tutorials available online, on Apple and YouTube in particular. I must have watched more than 50 videos. A lot of viewing, but now I can import a video into iMovie, edit it, and export it to YouTube, iDVD, or some other final resting place (and I have).
I finally understand the general process by which audio or video content becomes accessible, including how it is compressed, which is to say I now know the difference between an MP3 and an MP4. I can post audio and video to my website. And oh yes, I “get” keywords or meta tags, understand embedding videos, and can come pretty close to creating my own ebook. Audiobooks are much more challenging, and maybe as yet less useful. But ebooks are here to stay and increasing in popularity thanks to Kindle, iPad, and the Nook.
I now understand enough new media lingo and functionality to be dangerous. I can’t do everything, but now I can at least talk to more sophisticated techies to get done what I need done. Things have come a long way.
I remember first using a Digital VAX mainframe computer when I was in graduate school at the University of Akron. Some students were learning BASIC, COBOL, and other early programming languages. But I was fortunate enough to come along when packaged programs were being marketed as user-friendly ways for non-techies to use computers. To compute our regression analyses as political science graduate students we used SPSS, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, or SAS, Statistical Analysis Software, still being marketed today. At UA I sat at IMB punch card machines and typed/punched IBM cards to form the “Job” we’d submit to the computer center, then wait, holding our breath. That was 1978-79.
A few years later while pursuing my doctorate, 1980-82, at the University of Cincinnati I worked at the Behavioral Sciences Laboratory (later known as the Institute for Public Policy Research). Here we used SPSS and SAS too, but now we’d moved up the ladder to remote terminals. No more punch cards, no more waiting at the computer center. Here we got feedback on the screen. Here also I saw my first “PC.”
During my first two university assignments I used a PC. Eventually I had to learn about websites, blogs, and emerging social media. Before that, I had to learn how to switch from overhead projectors to PowerPoint slides and video projectors. I did. I even learned to craft my own Ppt presentations so I could model this frontier thinking for faculty members and so I wouldn’t have to depend upon administrative assistants, thus could build my own Ppts the night before if I wished.
Learning is about investment. That’s all. It takes some time and effort, but the dividends can be huge. This I enjoy.
A couple of months ago I talked to a middle-aged pastor and said I’d email him if he gave me his address. He told me his wife did his email and that he wasn’t on computers. I didn’t say anything to him, but I was nearly stunned. How can a person, much less a leader, function well today if he or she remains willingly unconnected and unconcerned to boot?
So, when it came to video and audio I had to climb the learning curve. Or if you prefer, I had to catch the wave. I think I’ve caught it, even if I’m not yet riding it. Surfing that wave is the next thing to learn.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.