Well… something interesting happened last week that took me a while to process. If you have been following my blog for a while, you’d know that I had been trying to convince my pastor that he needed a new Church website. Well, for a while it looked like I was going to get my wish and be able to tithe my time to the Church and build a cheap and killer web community for them. However, last week I got a call from my pastor that changed everything. In a nutshell, I was denied the web development opportunity that I desired. I was a little hurt and sad, but thanks be to God, he made what seemed to be a defeat into an even greater victory. How is that? Well, you’ll have to watch the video to find out!
[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbgaiu_episode-16-saving-a-dying-church-we_webcam[/dailymotion]
Links that you should check out that were mentioned in the video:
- Natural Design (Dawn’s Blog)
- LiveCatholic (Marcy’s Blog)
catholic, church websites, parish, tithe, tithing, web, websites
Martita
December 11, 2009 at 10:58 amLove the new intro to the videos! And yes, I'd say this was another blessing in disguise – St. Bonny gets a revamped website (bc of your initial efforts) and you still get to maintain that time for other things (family, other business ventures, house projects, working out, a little leisure time!! whatever!) God is trying to keep your life/schedule sane and balanced
Can't wait for the Google Wave blog!!
Dean Soto
December 11, 2009 at 12:04 pmThank you so much! (I'm trying to make the vids look a little more professional) =)
Yeah, I am actually glad that I didn't get to do the site. I have a tendency to get involved with too many projects all at, and my family ends up paying for it through my inability to spend quality time with them. So it's definitely a good thing all around. I just hope that they do end up getting a killer website that allows them to better communicate with their parishioners, and not just one that that looks like thie school site, but doesn't have much functionality.
The Google wave vid will be out on Monday. It's going to be pretty cool and I will have a lot of resources linked in the blog.. It's going to be a pretty sweet platform.
miranda emde
December 11, 2009 at 1:16 pmYes, I agree with Martita! And, it is all about competition.. says great things about your model you put together. God had a better plan for this situation. Awesome job Mr. Productive Catholic. Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world- we are all so blessed.
Miranda
Brett Payne
December 11, 2009 at 4:41 pmDean,
Well said. I appreciate your insight into serving your own church as a “tithe” of your time. I've always been a believer that the mandate of Eph 4 for the work of the ministry (that is in the hands of the congregation) be extended onto a church's web presence. You've got a great thing going on here. My company has several services to update the public on church and ministry websites, and we've been thinking about how to best serve the Catholic community as well. When we get to that stage, I'll make sure to get in contact with you. We'd love your perspective.
Press on ….. BCP
Dawn
December 11, 2009 at 6:45 pm“God is so good, he doesn't give us what we want, he gives us what we need.” Amen, brother! I need to keep reminding myself of this often. Being humbled by our wonderful Father may be painful at times but we (I) just have to remember that this is the will of God for us and for the greater good. There is a reason for everything!
I also like your statement about giving 1 hour of your time per week being worth so much more than the monetary tithes. It's so true! And because you are giving you are also receiving. We always get something from what we give, even if it's just a little flutter in our heart which is God saying, “well done my good and faithful servant.” Now that's a gift!
Thanks for the mention and link, I appreciate it!
Dawn
Dean Soto
December 12, 2009 at 8:11 pmHaha thanks Miranda. Yeah, it was totally about the competition. But the great thing is that the people they hired will work harder for them now. If I don't see anything happen in the next few weeks, I will ping the pastor again. Heh!
Dean Soto
December 12, 2009 at 8:23 pmThanks for the comment Brett! I totally agree with you! The way that I see it is, the early Church relied heavily on saints with various talents to build up the Church and bring the gospel into new areas. Helping the Church to get their message on the web is no different. With Catholics, it's a little obvious that the normal tithing is doing nothing with regard to web evangelization. Soy hope is that people with any talent, use it to build the Church. (Great use of eph 4).
Definitely feel free to send me an email anytime =)
Marcy K.
December 12, 2009 at 8:25 pmGiving our time to our parish is so important. It is those people who do that keep the parish running, whether it is a website, or washing the linens for the altar, or giving financial advice, or promoting the parish events – all are important. I've been doing our parish website through CatholicWeb for 10 years, not knowing anything when I started, but only having the support of the Holy Spirit. It has not cost them a dime (except for the domain name) and gives them a good presence on the web. It is very rewarding. Thanks so much for the plug.
Dean Soto
December 12, 2009 at 10:28 pmHaha, I always forget about the providence of God. It is seriously inasane how one day I can totally trust him, and the next not.
You are so right. There is always a reason for everything.
Yeah, I definitely believe that we should tithe our money, but I totally feel that tithing our time and talents are a great addition. It doesn't have to be anything technical either. The Church needs everyone's abilities.
You are most welcome for the mention. You help to make my blog exciting!
Dean Soto
December 12, 2009 at 10:31 pmSee! Now that is what I am talking about! Did you volunteer to do your parish website, or did they ask you? In other words, did you take the initiative?
You are most welcome for the mention and the link! Thank YOU for your comments!