by John Parrish More than 2,000 years old, the Advent story keeps finding new ways to spread. This video was shared this past Sunday as part of the sermon. Continue reading

by John Parrish So, there's a lot of talk about the rapture happening this Saturday (May 21, 2011) at 6 p.m. Now we can take the attitude that all these people predicting rapture for tomorrow are misguided. Or, we can... Continue reading

Just some quick reminders about Saturday's Gasparilla Distance Classic event: Wear your sunny yellow "Running to Make God's Love Real" t-shirts Runners (and those cheering) should meet at the church fountain - at 6:40 a.m. for the 15K and 8:30... Continue reading

by John Parrish Know the triumphant moment when we raise our candles to heaven singing Joy To The World on Christmas Eve? What a moment of community and connectivity. There's such a presence of the Holy Spirit, as the light... Continue reading

In a mall food court, 100 brave souls remind shoppers that there's a reason for the season. Take THAT holiday commercialism! Continue reading

New Year’s Day typically brings new feelings of hope with renewed self-promises and resolutions. In that same light, hundreds of people in Canada will jump into the frigid and icy waters of Lake Ontario raising money to bring clean water to the people of Tanzania. The goal is to give clean water to more than 95% of families in the region who must use unsafe wells or draw their drinking water from polluted ponds. via blog.sungarddealer.com I live in Florida and have no earthly idea how people in Canada have the strength to jump in a lake in January. A... Continue reading

You're invited to join Matt Horan for an "Evangelism for Normal People Workshop," Tuesday, October 26, 6:30 p.m. in Knox Hall, Room 156 - at Hyde Park United Methodist. This Sunday, Jim Harnish shared a favorite poem about evangelism. I... Continue reading

by John Parrish Have you heard of "Undies Sunday" at Hyde Park United Methodist? It's a new ministry where members of your group can purchase a multi-pack of men's underwear or cotton socks of various sizes to donate to the... Continue reading

Comedian Lewis Black jokes about walking out of a Starbucks and seeing another Starbucks right across the street. Yes, Starbucks has developed an incredible brand presence wherever it has chosen to set up shop--across the country, around the world, on the web, and in just about every social media venue on the internet, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and even via internally "owned" properties such as MyStarbucksIdea.com. Starbucks' ability to engage community and foster customer loyalty is nearly unmatched. via www.openforum.com Wow, and I thought Starbucks just did it with free lattes. Continue reading

The net has spawned two new ways to create and consume culture. The first is the wide-open door for amateurs to create. This is blogging and online art, wikipedia and the maker movement. These guys get a lot of press, and deservedly so, because they're changing everything. The second, though, is distracting and ultimately a waste. We're creating a culture of clickers, stumblers and jaded spectators who decide in the space of a moment whether to watch and participate (or not). via sethgodin.typepad.com Seth Godin offers some sobering thoughts about our shrinking attention spans. Is life becoming too much about... Continue reading

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Let’s make an immediate assumption. You’re already on Facebook, have more than 2,300 “close” friends, and generally know your way around the system. If so, you’re probably already familiar with Facebook Fan Pages - one of the easiest and cheapest ways to promote products and services on the web. In fact, all it costs is your time. You can use Fan Pages for a whole litany of things, from celebrities to major brands to the ridiculous. But, for our purposes today, let’s focus on small local businesses. It helps if you’re already a member of Facebook and know your way... Continue reading

Our Gasparilla race t-shirts have been to Nicaragua every year, worn by our missionaries and left behind to clothe the Nicaraguan people. (Click the image above to enlarge it.) by John Parrish It was a chilly, drizzly Saturday morning at... Continue reading

by John Parrish This past Sunday, last year's Nicaraguan Mission Team presented a powerful presentation of how Hyde Park United Methodist is helping reveal God's love in one of the poorest places in our hemisphere. The goal of the presentation... Continue reading

Good friends of ours, Gary and Reva Austin, were kind enough to remind us of the reason for the season with this impactful video. Continue reading

This was me and my wife's second year ringing bells for the Salvation Army. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, church members representing all walks of life spend afternoons and evenings at Publix on Bayshore Boulevard (Tampa) ringing and... Continue reading

Soren Gordhamer works with individuals and groups on how to effectively use new technologies. He is the author of the book Wisdom 2.0 and the organizer of the Wisdom 2.0 Conference. He is @SorenG on Twitter. via mashable.com Here's another way to look at Tweeting. Seems like the Tao can apply just about anywhere. Continue reading

Growing up, my family, most not born in the U.S., threw out nothing. Leftover pasta was mixed with eggs for breakfast, stale bread and banana peals ended up as compost, and empty butter tubs got filled with olives. via www.diet-blog.com Continue reading

Companies have traditionally let their customers know about sales and special discounts through newspaper advertisements, radio spots, and in-store announcements. But now, they are increasingly turning to a more avant-garde form of communication: Social networking sites. via www.usnews.com Continue reading