One of the coolest parts of being a pastor is being able to baptize your own children. This past Sunday, November 6th, I baptized Charis into the covenant family. Sunday was, not coincidentally, Orphan Sunday (celebrated the first Sunday of November each year. Here is the video from the baptism. As you will see, she was crying… a lot… right up until Kim gave her some goldfish to snack on!

On July 31st, Kim and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. Here is the video I made for her as a gift. I love you, Kim!

Last night, Kim and I went out to dinner. As we stood up to leave, I saw a copy of the Wall Street Journal technology section. There, on the front page of the technology section, was an article labeled “How to Be a Star in a YouTube World.” Instantly, I was intrigued. In it, they evaluate the success of sites such as LonelyGirl15 and Ask A Ninja as well as Grammar Girl, a former teacher who does a weekly podcast on proper grammar.

In the article, Michael Totty evaluates what caused these people to “become bona fide online stars.” He lays out six keys for others who would seek to do the same…

1. Be Consistent – Regularly scheduled programming allows people to expect when there will be new content.
2. Get in Early – YouTube is so big, this will be hard now. But what twist can you offer that no one else is?
3. Find a Niche – Is there a niche that is empty and you could fill?
4. Work Your Network – Best way to create interest in your content is to get interested in others – post comments on other blogs/videos, interest with their content. Totty notes that by doing this, LonelyGirl15 had 200 subscribers on YouTube BEFORE releasing their first episode.
5. Act Like a Pro – Good writing and editing/camera work that match the story are important.
6. Beauty Sells – Do I really need to elaborate?

So again the question is, how can we do this? How can we as Christians leverage this medium to create new means of sharing the great story that Christ is King over all and that in His love, He has made atonement for sin?

Ok, this is pretty funny. This is part of a series of videos on being a “Christian” vs a “Christ-follower.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etHujh8Ao7Y 425 350]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liDJHss1bHM 425 350]