Never Pennyless

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Electronic Church Collection "Plate"


Pastor Marty Baker of Stevens Creek Community Church in Augusta, Georgia invented the machine so that members of his congregation only need to swipe their bank cards to fill the church coffers. They're so popular with Baker's congregation that he and his wife founded a company, SecureGive, to sell Giving Kiosks to other houses of worship. From the Los Angeles Times:
The kiosks can let donors identify their gift as a regular tithe or offering, or direct it to building or missionary funds. The machines send information about the donation to a central church computer system, which shoots the donors an e-mail confirmation.

The Bakers charge between $2,000 and $5,000 for the kiosks, which come in a variety of configurations. They also collect a monthly subscription fee of up to $49.95 for licensing and support. And a card-processing company gets 1.9% of each transaction; a small cut of that fee goes to SecureGive.

What? Give up the clumsy wooden-handled velvet bag?
[link]

Friday, September 29, 2006

We Suck...

One church's attempt at a marketing campaign...


our church invitation
We Suck...
We have nothing to offer...
We don't know anything...
We are just a small group of people
in a small room trying to discover
more about God...
Come be confused with us...

Umm. I agree. As a marketing professional, I think this attempt at a marketing campaign for a church...well...sucks.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Outdoor Bible


The Outdoor Bible is printed on 100% plastic material, which makes it a fully waterproof Bible. It can be rained on, snowed on, or fully submerged in a body of water – with no damage. Give it to your favorite Sunday hunter, weekend outdoorsperson or send to a soldier.
[link]

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

My Lord Is Not Huggable!


From the Blog of Michael Gregory Steele earlier this month:

"There is a very dangerous children's toy currently on the market and that I wanted to make all the parents out there aware of it. Just because this particular toy doesn't present a choking hazard that doesn't mean it can't irreparably harm your child. In fact, this toy could be more dangerous to your child than a plastic bag filled with razor blades. I'm talking about a Bible quoting and "huggable" version of My Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

First of all, this doll sends kids the message that it's ok to hug any unshaven man who uses as rope as a belt when he says things like “I love you and I have an exciting plan for your life.” I think having this doll in my house could potentially undermine the Steele family policy of not hugging homeless hippie pedophiles.

The second problem I have with this doll is how he looks. To understand what I mean, first I would ask all of you to take a moment and look at the picture of this stuffed abomination above. Notice the doll's dark skin, his dread-locked hair, and the fact that he looks as though he would be quite adept at Frisbee or hacky sack. Now compare this to the picture of Jesus you have on your wall at home. See what I mean? Jesus should look like a beaming blond-haired and blue-eyed Adonis, not some hippie with poor hygiene and a vacant glassy stare.


Having a Jesus doll watching you as you sleep should be as terrifying for a child as being tucked in with a Chucky doll.


Do you see where I'm going with this yet? Of course you don't. What I'm trying to say is that this is not a stuffed representation of the Jesus we all know and love. This is not the Jesus that hates sodomites, loves unfettered free market capitalism, and supports the War on Terror. This doll is a false idol of a false god created by liberals who want to undermine our Christian faith. These liberal nonbelievers co-opted Christ and remade him in their own twisted image. They created a pseudo-Jesus who preaches tolerance toward all, respect for women, and a concern for the poor. I hate this so-called Christ with every fiber of my being.

If this doll were an accurate representation of the angry vengeful God I know then no child would want to hug or play with it. If my son, Michael Jr., had a real Jesus doll then he would cower at the very sight of it. Having a Jesus doll watching you as you sleep should be as terrifying for a child as being tucked in with a Chucky doll. The child should fear and respect their Jesus doll, not love it and cuddle it as if it were a damned teddy bear. It is for these reasons that I'm urging parents not to buy one of these dolls for your child. If you wish to be a responsible Christian parent you need to make sure that your child views the Lord not as his “bestest snuggle buddy” but as the one thing standing between him and eternal torment in Hell."
[link]

Other Jesus Dolls on the market:
Faith Dolls
Heavenly Dolls Company
Holy Huggables
My Loving Jesus (streaming video)
My Sweet Jesus

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Interactive Worship

I found this a week ago and it still brings a smile to my face.


The Internet is For God

Parody of a parody. The people over at All About God created their own version of the infamous World Warcraft video "The Internet is for Porn." (Don't Google it. It's offensive.)
[link]

Dive Chapel Devos
Nathan Shepherd is the fictional pastor of The Dive Chapel in Candle Key, Florida. He is also founder and president of Reef Restoration Ministries. The Dive Chapel Devos are attempts to capture the power and spirit of Pastor Nathan’s teaching in a story-like, devotional format as you go through the book of Judges. As both a diver and a Christian, I found the series simply fun.
[link]

You may also want to check out the Radio Envoy Podcasts. Podcast #3 was most enjoyable. I have yet to check out the others.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Jesus gets His own MySpace


Jesus (and his mum) seem to be appearing everywhere these days. The latest sightings include the face of Jesus spotted on a tree trunk, in the clouds and even in the grease stains on the inside of a pizza box. Hang around eBay for a few days, and a new picture of Jesus is bound to come up for sale. Which is why a new advertising campaign for the churches is starting off with a beer glass with Jesus in the froth. The campaign, which also includes radio ads, wants to get people talking about where they find God today, even if it's in the most unlikely places.
[link]

Have a pint with Jesus


The face of Jesus shows up in the frothy remains of a pint of beer as part of the Churches Advertising Network's Christmas 2006 ad campaign."The message is subtle but simple--where is God in all the boozing at Christmas?" asks Churches Advertising Network Chairman Francis Goodwin. "For many, Christmas is just drinking and partying and God is excluded, yet many young people are interested in finding deeper meaning and exploring faith. We hope the link to Myspace will offer another venue for them to discuss their feelings and debate the issues."
The radio ads are worth a listen, if only to hear the cool British accents.
[link]

Saturday, September 23, 2006

I'm back!

Summer's over. No classes this fall. Work is back to normal. Time to resume the blog.

But first let's begin with a word of prayer.



If you know any terrorists, send them to this link ASAP!

To all you Christians out there...avoid this.

Creepy with a CAPITAL PEE!