I love the technology and presentation style; it's rather like a weather report for statistics. However, I'm not blown away by the numbers. The static use of $400 to $40,000 might be misleading. There were some countries that remained in the $400 range (oh my, how can that be?), but most countries migrated to the upper quadrants along with the superpowers. It would take some stop action to verify the data or premise that the speaker is presenting.

So how does the technology fit with the church? Perhaps technology will allow our stories will become more enlightening and interactive, but will that make them more or less believable? I think the answer lies with the audience and their individual style of learning and capacity to accept what they are told. I believe some will always want to look at the proof, the raw data, so they may draw their own conclusions.

Mike, perhaps there needs to be a modifier such as "each situation is different, but best practices recommend ..." To disregard theories, solutions and possible courses of action just because someone else has declared the methodologies to be outdated or incomplete constitutes poor thinking on my part.

True leaders will most likely intuit a number of best practice scenarios before they discuss, research or implement their own strategy.

Respect is a two-way street especially in customer service. When I visit a restaurant, I hope to be greeted and served by people who value the opportunity to work in their chosen field. When the wait staff is having a bad day, it is easy to see if it's because they are misplaced in their position or if life is just rough for them that day. In the latter, I think the customer needs to empathize and in the former, act accordingly by letting the manager know their employee may not be the right person for the job. Quietly. Privately.

Recently, I passed a cemetery that seemed out of place with the development that surrounded it and was reminded me of a fear that I had as a child. Strange, I had not thought of this for a very long time.

I was less than five years old and the minister at the church that I was attending said that the at the Rapture the dead would rise and walk among us. Those who were not saved would not survive. I envisioned flashes of light, zombies, and my parents who did not attend church with me being swallowed by the earth.

I was scared and my parents immediately took me out of that church. I've always remembered the reason, but had never had the occasion so vividly replayed in my mind until seeing that particular cemetery. More than 40 years later, it still frightens me. For me, fear is not appropriate in a world that promotes a loving and caring God. Fear is not the faith that I embrace.