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What Will it Take for Me to Change?

Chris —  April 8, 2013

Recently, I found myself in crisis. This crisis was incredibly similar to a crisis I found myself in a few years before…which was a lot like another I had been in a few years before.

Suddenly, I was captured by despair! Will I ever change?

This blog is titled Growth and Mission. It is committed to the belief that people can, and do change. It’s based in a belief that Jesus really meant for people to do all the things he said to do.

Jesus calls his followers to become disciples. When you view your life as discipleship you realize that all discipline is spiritual discipline.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Continue Reading…

In Growth, Life , ,
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GM SQUARE

Growth & Mission: A Preview of This Blog

Chris —  April 4, 2013

The last two months have been the best ever for this blog.  I’ve developed a rhythm that allows me to post 5-6 days a week.  More people than ever have stopped by.  And a greater focus for what the content should be about has bubbled up.

Starting next week the focus of ChrisMorton.info will be two things: Growth and Mission.  Here’s what that means:

Growth

Jesus left his disciples with one main instruction: Go and teach people to do what I said to do.

Doing what Jesus says will require full-life discipline.  It doesn’t just include a better understanding of scripture and learning spiritual discipline, but bringing your entire life into focus.  Since this will include everything from spiritual disciplines to lifehacks, we’ll categorize these entries under Growth.

Some past entries on this topic include:

Mission

Lesslie Newbigin’s said in Open Secret that “We are forced to do something that the Western churches have never had to do since the days of their own birth-to discover the form and substance of a missionary church…”

These posts will focus on what it means for churches and individuals to join in God’s mission.

Some past entries include:

I’ll continue to post 4-6 times a week, including long form and short for writing, quotes and videos.  You’ll see a new “About” page and a separate “bio” page.  There will also be a new social media push and some exciting possibilities like guest posts and video posts.  I hope you’ll spread the word.

 

In Church, Growth, Life , , , , , , , , ,
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Where is this Blog Going?

Chris —  August 25, 2012

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I’ve been thinking a lot about where I want this blog since the reformat a few weeks back. I have varied interests and varied responsibilities. But I believe that they are all important. Not in a “look at me, I’m important” kind of way, but more of a “everything is spiritual” kind of way.

I want this blog to talk about what I’m doing with my life, honestly, and how eternity is woven through it. My hope is, that by sharing my struggle to see beyond the mundane to the mystic and, more importantly, the mission, I’ll find some clarity, and maybe you will, too.

I want to step up my honesty in this blog. I’ve spent a lot of effort trying to get some important ideas across. That will continue, because that’s what I think about. But I also want to share about the things that make up my day to day, because that’s where we live, and that’s important, too. (My inspiration in this is blogger extraordinaire Penelope Trunk, who writes about helping people get jobs, but she also writes about living on a farm, having asperbergers and having a sex life.)

Here’s some things I’ll be writing about, not because they’re anything I think will help my SEO, but because they are what I do and think about:

– Being Missional. Everyday. I’ll be blogging through exactly what that means to me.
– Church life. (Specifically, my little community on the East side in Austin, Texas.)
– Social Media. It’s my job. It’s kind of fun. It’s not going away.
– What I’m reading. I’m a graduate student in the Fuller MAGL, so it takes up a lot of my thinking.
– Pop culture. More specifically science fiction and comic books. It’s what keeps me sane through grad school.

This is a scary step, because in the internet age, we’re always scared we’re sharing too much. What if that picture of that great beer I loved makes everyone think I’m a partier? What if my off the cuff tweet comes up in a job interview?

But maybe the opposite can be true. Maybe the more you share, the more you’ll have to think before you share it. Maybe the spector of having to be honest with the world will force me to be honest with myself.

I hope you’ll stick around.

In Life , , ,
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Welcome to the New ChrisMorton.info (beta)

Chris —  July 30, 2012

After a bit of an absence I’m returning to the blogging world.  In order to help push myself to more regular creative offering, you’ll also see that the page has undergone a complete overhaul.  Here’s a few of the changes you’ll notice:

  • Standard Theme
    The new site is build on 8Bit’s Standard Theme.  I chose it because it’s clean and professional, and had stellar reviews.  It wasn’t as easy to set up as everyone said, but I’m pretty happy with the look and feel.  I’m looking forward to utilizing it’s different types of posts, like quotes links.
  • Better Social Interface
    In line with my new career as a Social Media Coordinator, I’ve tried to make the page more socially friendly.  If we’re not connected on any of the social media outlets, add me today!
  • Updated Bio
    Just a few tweaks noting my new job, and some good series I’ve written and wanted to draw attention to. 
  • Resume Infographic
    When I heard about the guys over at Visualize.me, I had to give it a try.  They’ll change your LinkedIn account into an infographic.  It makes me feel super professional and hip.
  • Pictorial Navigation
    One of the strengths of standard theme is fantastic pictorial navigation. I feel like it really makes the stories pop.
  • Facebook Page
    I struggled about whether or not to make this, but the fact is, you only publish if you want people to know about it.  I hope this will help get the word out.
  • Listen Section
    I love public speaking, and hope to do it more.  Take a listen, and if you like what you hear, maybe we can do something together.

This is a beta.  I have further ideas as far as visual branding, and I hope to find a way to make this site look professional as well as fun.  There’s still work to be done.

Now, if I could just sit down and write.

In Life , ,
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Why We Have to Stop Trying to Sound Smart on the Internet

Chris —  August 17, 2011

 

At some point, somewhere around 1999, people realized that:

1) You could make big money on the Internet.

2) Anyone could publish on the internet.

Social media over has increased #2 trying to accomplish #1 exponentially.

The problem is that, in order to stand out among the voices, we have to convince people that we are smart and should be listened to.  For some this is easy. Seth Godin was the expert on permission marketing long before there were targeted Facebook sidebars.  Rick Warren was already the king of pithy one liners before he became the king of the retweets.

Most of don’t have the authority of Seth Godin or the communication skills of Rick Warren.  And because of the immediacy of social media publishing, we don’t think about what we are saying or edit our words.

The end result is a lot of voicing clamouring to prove to world that they are an authority on something.  Realistically, most of us aren’t authorities.  Even if we are, the chances are that we will never make a living doing this.

What if, instead of trying to sound smart on the internet, we just talked about stuff we know and stuff we like.  Twitter is the new cocktail party, and no one likes standing next to some guy trying to prove how smart he is.

If you’re going to publish online, just talk about what you love and pick your words carefully.  You may never get thousands of followers or make a lot of money, but at least you will be honest and likable.

In Culture, Life , ,
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