YOU WILL SOON BE REDIRECTED TO MY NEW BLOG

WordPress it is

I have moved my blog over to WordPress. Please change the link on your blogroll if I am on it. You can find my blog here. Thanks for reading.

SNYDER

Blogger or Wordpress

I'm thinking about importing this blog over to Wordpress. Any thoughts at all? Does it even matter? Do enough people read my blog anyways? I think I am going to do it.

SNYDER

Spiritual Gifts Tests

Last week I had some great ministry conversations with some really good friends who I have known for 25 years and one I have known for just over a year. The conversations were great and I really miss working in a church. Anyways, as you can see the title of this blog is Spiritual Gifts Tests.
We some how got on the topic of these tests. One of the guys I was talking to was mentioning the fact that every time he has taken a test his gifts change. What he realized was that what ever stage he was in in his life reflected the results of his tests. For example. If he was in a leadership role at his job then leadership was his number 1 spiritual gift. If he was teaching a small group at this time then teaching and discipleship were his top gifts. I got to thinking about this in my life too and the times I have taken Spiritual gifts tests. Very similar and the same results. When I was a full time volunteer and I took the test, Serving was my top gift. The next time I took it I was leading a small group and discipleship was my number 1 gift. I really don't know what all this means, but it was just interesting to look at. If you have taken spiritual gifts tests have you noticed this trend? What does it mean, if anything? Is it even a big concern? Just thinking outloud. Thought it was an interesting thing.

SNYDER

Okla-home-a

I am back from my original home of Oklahoma to my adopted home of California. That is why I have not blogged. It felt great not to while I was gone. You should try it as well.

SNYDER

Who is worship really for?

I have heard a lot of people over the years say they do not like the worship at ________ Church or I don't like so and so as a worship leader. Or the music is too loud. The music is too slow. I don't like hymns. Now, who is to say that God doesn't enjoy all of this. And I understand that we want to enjoy worship and what it is all about, but we have to remember that worship is not for us. Worship is for God and to God. So the next time you are worshiping remember who it is for and why we do it and you might have a different perspective on it.

SNYDER

More of my brother

I found another video on www.msnbc.com



SNYDER

Sunday Night Service - Mariner's Church

Here is one of our logos for this new service. It was created by Brian Hurst. We now have a Facebook Group that you can connect to here.

SNYDER

My Brother was on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

Here is the story that was shown tonight



and here is some web only stuff.



Super proud of my brother.

SNYDER

Sunday Night Service

This Sunday at Mariner's Church in Irvine we will be launching a new Sunday Night Service.
Our desire is for people to meet with Jesus in community, have our lives transformed, and be used by Him to change the world around us.
Our service will start at 8pm and last until about 9:30 in the Upper Room above the Global Cafe.
It is for all ages and life stages.
Come check it out.
If you go to Mariner's and want to check it out or even volunteer please let me know.


SNYDER

Church 2.0

Right now I am at a church 2.0 forum that is being lead by Greg Atkinson. How is your church or ministry using web 2.0? I know a lot are, but what does it look like? How do we use social networking for the church and especially our youth? I think online community can be used super well for youth. What ministries are doing this well?

SNYDER

I really like NewSpring Church

This was done for their student ministry.


So, In This Hour... from Ben Coleman on Vimeo.

Cool new online community

I know you can some how use this for your youth ministry. Some of you might already be using it. If so let me know. I just signed up for it today. Stickam Check it out. Let me know your thoughts. I am sure you will not be disappointed. You can find mine here.

SNYDER

Called to something more

The past few days I have really been thinking about a lot of stuff. I currently am part time at a school as the elementary/JH chaplain, but lately I have had this tugging to do more and bigger. Can I do it part time, the time I am away from the school? I think so. What is this more and bigger? I am not sure. I have been talking with my wife about and praying about it. I know that I can contribute to something bigger and more, but what is it. As I think and pray through this I will let you know what I come up with, but in the mean time I would love for some prayer. Thanks.

SNYDER

Can Big Brown win the Triple Crown today?

I hope so.

SNYDER

Are they really lost?

Why do we (Christ Followers) call people who don't know Christ lost? They do not think they are lost. When non-Christians here this do they just laugh? Is there a better name people who don't know Christ the way we do? We know what that means, but they have no idea. Thoughts?

SNYDER

Mike Foster

Recently I have been reading Mike Foster's Blog, Deadly Viper. It is a really good blog. Check it out.

SNYDER

Are you REALLY training your small group leaders?

I hear all the time that Small Groups is where the growth happens. This is especially true for Seeker Friendly churches. I have heard over and over again people complain that they don't get anything out of the Sunday message and that if that's what they want they should join a small group. I agree. But I also believe that you can always get something out of a message. For more on this check out Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis. And I think it is more important for youth than for adults to have small group leader training. I believe adults can discuss and carry on a deep conversation without much direction, but youth need that direction and push.
So, how are you training your small group leaders?
Do you have one training at the beginning of the year and that is it?
Are you meeting with them once a month?
What does your training look like?
Do you even have training, or do you throw your leaders to the wolves?
I personally, don't believe there is enough small group leader training. Some people don't need it. They have been small group leaders for years, and they get it.
It's easy to read out of something and start a conversation, but do your small group leaders really invest in their students?
Are they doing more than showing up on a Tuesday night for an hour and a half?
What are your thoughts?

SNYDER

iPhone iBroke

About two weeks ago I dropped my iPhone on its face. Yeah it was awesome. I feared the worst as I picked it up. Yup, you guessed it. The face has about 30 cracks on it. The best part though is that it still works just fine. I got all the glass out that was loose or could cut me. I am still pretty ticked about it, but I am super glad that Apple makes a product that even when dropped and shattered still works. The bummer, too, is that it is not covered by the one year insurance protection it comes with. I know the new one comes out soon, but I cannot afford it right now, so I will have to make do with my broken one.




SNYDER

Tech in Youth Ministry

How are you using tech and social networking in your ministry?
Are you using Facebook or Myspace or Twitter?
Do you have a blog set up for your ministry? What online tools are you giving to your students?
Do you use YouVersion or suggest it to your students?
How do you use video and other media tools in your ministry?
The more you use tech and and the web and all these gadgets do you tend to find them to be a hindrance or a help in relational ministry?
What do you provide online for your students?
These are some questions I think you need to ask yourself and evaluate. Technology, if used right, is such a great way to reach your students. Use it.

SNYDER

In Youth Ministry do we tend to be anti-family?

How are you accommodating the families of your students?
How are you including families?
Is your Youth Ministry family based? If so how is that working for you?
Do the parents know what is going on in your ministry?
What resources do you have available for parents?
How are you creating shared experiences for students and their parents?

These are just some questions I think as a ministry we should be asking ourselves. Any thoughts? Other ideas?

SNYDER

Why do you do what you do?

The past couple of weeks I have been asking myself this question. Am I doing ministry because I feel called to it? And by ministry I mean either in a church or in a Christian school setting. Am I doing ministry because this is all I have known for the last few years? Do I keep forcing myself to do church or school ministry when I should be doing another type of ministry? I don't know the answer to these questions. I am trying to figure this out. I know that I love ministry and I love tech and media and I love how we can use the internet and technology to reach people, but how does this translate into a job for myself? I would love to do some kind of church consulting with youth, but some would say I do not have enough experience. Is there a youth consulting position out there? I know there is a church consulting job, but what about specifically for youth? I know there is a perfect ministry job out there it is just finding it. The other hard part is I can't work at another church than where my wife works. Mariah, my wife, is a youth pastor and we love our Church. So working at another church is out of the question. Does anyone out there have any ideas for me? If so let me know.

SNYDER

The New Look SWERVE

The guys over at Lifechurch.tv have revamped their leadership blog called SWERVE. It is a great blog and it looks great. If you have never checked this blog out then you are really missing out.

SNYDER

Happiest place on earth

We went to Disneyland last night and i shaved my head. It is really hot. If you know me at all I tend to flip out when my hair is long and it is hot.



SNYDER

Collide Magazine

I know I have blogged about Collide Magazine before. It is a great magazine for some one who works in a church, but even better for some one who works in the media department in their church. They just launched their new website. Check it out here.

SNYDER

Drive conference

My youth ministry friends from Saddleback are in Atlanta at the DRIVE Conference. Kurt and Josh took the JH and HS teams there this week. Check out their thoughts.
And if you are a dude and your wife works in youth ministry at a church check out My WIFE is a Youth Pastor and if you happen to be a lady whose husband works in ministry you will want to check out Married to a Youth Pastor.

SNYDER

Stream from your phone to the web, LIVE

My friend Bobby has been using qik to stream some things live from his phone to the web. Right now only a few phones work with it, but it is definitely worth checking out. If you are doing an event or something that you want people to see from anywhere this is one way to do it that is fairly cheap. You just need a phone. If you are using qik, let me know your thoughts.

SNYDER

My wife is a youth pastor

Obvious statement I know. But I just started a blog called My Wife is a Youth Pastor. If you are a husband of a youth pastor check it out or even if you just want to check it out I would be happy to let you. I got the idea from Jeff Maguire. His wife runs a website call Married to a Youth Pastor. It is for wives, but I am in the minority. Pass it on, let others know. It is a Wordpress site. So if you know anything about Wordpress I could really use the help. Thanks,

Snyder

You Version goes Mobile

You Version has gone mobile. It is a great tool for anyone who wants to grow closer to God. You will not be disappointed. Check it out.

SNYDER

Sunday night services

If you were starting a Sunday night service and you wanted it to cater to a younger generation what are some things you would add? Kind of an alternative/liturgical service. Here is what it will kind of look like. The message is video from the same weekend. Everyone sits around the low rise stage where the band will be. So, it's in a circle. There is one big screen and then 2 flat screen tv's around the circle for the video message. There will be some community hang out time before or after. There will be cushions on the floor, some chairs, maybe some beanbag chairs. What would you add to this? Have you seen this work anywhere else? If so, where? What are your thoughts?

SNYDER

Research, Research and more Research

That is what I have been doing for a few days now and will be doing for some weeks to come. Research for a documentary is a huge part and very time consuming. Good thing I love research. I have a lot of people I need to contact in youth ministry and a lot of questions to ask. The style will be Direct Cinema Style. More handheld, genuine locations, non-professional actors. "Fly on the wall" style. Very non intrusive.
I am not looking to make any money off of this at all. I have a love for the church and for youth ministry and my audience will be church staff. This is project I really want to do. We will see how it turns out. It might be my first and last attempt at this or it might be the first of many.

SNYDER

Started the process

SO if you read my last post you will see I am working on a new project. I am currently in the pre-production stages of a documentary. I would rather not say what it is about right now, but it does have to do with the church and youth. I have a lot of research to do before I even begin writing. I am super excited about this and am ready to see what comes of it.
As I was doing some research today I began thinking about how Sunday School and Youth Ministry used to be. A question cam e to my head. What will the the next flannelgraph be? What in youth ministry will fade away like the flannelgraph has? Any thoughts. It's kind of weird to think about, but you know it has to be something that we are using today in youth ministries everywhere, but what is it? Let me know what you think.

SNYDER

New Adventure

So, here is the deal. I am actually going to use my degree. In college I majored in Broadcast Journalism. During this time I took a documentaries class. I really enjoyed it. During the class I had to make a video documentary and an audio documentary. I still have the audio documentary to this day. As for the video one, who knows where it is. I really don't know why I told this other than I have been working on an idea for a documentary. I have been working on putting the idea together and will begin working on the script this week. Does any one reading this have connections to a documentarian. I would love to talk to one about this idea. So let me know if you are one or know of one.

SNYDER

Super excited about the future of Oklahoma State basketball

Right now I am watching the live stream of the introduction of our new coach. I am really excited about this. I was against Sean Sutton when they named him head coach designate. This is the first time I have been excited about OSU basketball since 2004. I know that Travis Ford will be a great coach. He has learned from some of the best and knows the game. He is a gym rat and loves the game. Can't wait for October when practice starts.

SNYDER

Stuff Christians Like is so true

I had seen this site a few times, but never really looked at it. But today I took a closer look, thanks to Kurt. Stuff Christians Like is so funny. Take some time today to look it over.

SNYDER

Can't wait to go see my Royals play the Angels next week

SNYDER

Why do you go to conferences?

My wife is currently attending the Shift Conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. I got to thinking. Why do you attend conferences? Do you go to copy a system or what they are doing? Do you go for the breakouts? Do you go for spiritual renewal? Why do you go to conferences? Or are you one of those people who does not attend conferences because you don't need to learn or you like what you are doing and don't want to change anything? I actually had a boss tell me once that they don't go to conferences, they just do their thing. If that is your philosophy, then great. But I hope you are someone who wants to learn and especially learn from others. When I was at Saddleback, it was ground into me by Rick Warren that "Leaders are Learners." I love seeing what other churches are doing. It is great to get a fresh perspective on things. I love to learn and to read about ministry and everything that goes into ministry. I want to continue learning no matter what my role is.

SNYDER

EGM.TV

One of my friends, Brent Ryan Green is the Director for Ethnographic Media. They are doing some amazing things and have an awesome vision. This is what the "About Us" page says on their website.
"We are a video magazine designed to explore, discuss, and act upon the stories and social issues of our time.
We are a global youth community working together to change the course of these issues while we examine them from all sides. And all the while, we seek to experience for ourselves what it can mean to live what the Bible says is true.
We encourage each other with transparent stories about living truth, and we invite all stories, thoughts and expressions that are along this line."

SNYDER

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk

a picture really is worth a thousand words.

The last great day of sports for a while

Well, college basketball season is over after tonight. Right now I am reading Collide Magazine and watching Sportscenter on ESPN. I hope Kansas can win tonight.

SNYDER

So, I turned 28 yesterday

April 4th, 1980 I was born. It also happened to be Good Friday. The nurses also happened to tape bunny ears onto my head, and every other baby who was in the hospital over Easter. It was a good birthday. My wife and I spent yesterday with some very close friends at the happiest place on earth also known as Disneyland. I am sure she will have some pics of it on her blog soon. But if you head to her blog now you will find some awesome pics.

SNYDER

Are your numbers down?

For those of you that "Count people, because people count", don't get discouraged when your JH and HS numbers are down in the next few years. Blame it on the baby bust, not on your Youth Pastors.

U.S. college registration is expected to be down for most of the next decade because of a baby bust that began in 1991. The number of 18-year-olds is expected to drop by 10 percent by 2016.
- Source: U.S. News & World Report website

SNYDER

MinistryTECH

I wish I knew about this sooner. I am huge tech nerd and someday hope to work at a church that is doing multi-site. I would have gone to this conference if I knew about it. It is called MinisrtyTECH. It is held in Edmond, OK (just north of OKC. I really hope they do this again next year.
You can go here to see the schedule if this is something you would be interested in doing next year.

SNYDER

Sean Sutton out as men's head basketball coach at Oklahoma State

No, this is not an April Fool's joke. Everyone in sports is reporting this. Why they (OSU) took so long to announce this is odd. I feel like a lot of people had a feeling this was coming. I have head that a lot of people (OSU higher ups) were against this hire before his father Eddie retired, but Eddie used his position to get OSU to name his son head coach designate. It is sad that the Sutton era at OSU is coming to a close, but I am very excited about this. I was against Sean being the coach when they announced he would take over. I am very excited for what the future of OSU basketball looks like. Eddie was able to build such an amazing program in over 16 years as head coach while it only took a little over 2 years for Sean to destroy it. I am looking forward to see what happens in the next few weeks as OSU looks to hire an excellent coach who has had some head coaching experience unlike Sean. Here is the short list that I have heard so far.
1. Kansas Head coach Bill Self. He was a former OSU point guard, his wife was captain of the cheerleading squad. They were there in the 80's. Also, Coach Self is from my hometown of Edmond, OK and his mother-in-law was my Grandfathers secretary when he was a Oklahoma County Commissioner.
2. Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispe.
3. Former college coach and NBA coach Lon Kruger

Being that we have the deep pockets of T. Boone Pickens, all of these candidates are great possibilities. That's why there is a chance Bill Self would leave Kansas to return to his Alma Mater. It is a stretch, but it is a possibility.
What are your thoughts.

SNYDER

Lifechurch.tv is at it again

Lifechurch.tv is doing something amazing this summer. They are already giving away their resources here. In June they are doing something amazing with hundreds of other churches. The Church. Watch this video below by Craig. He explains it all.

SNYDER

This just makes me sad

What is our world coming to. Once again another time I wish people would use their time for good. This story is terrible. What possesses someone to do this. What kind of person would do this to other people and what happened to this person in the past to cause them to think this would be funny. It is really disappointing. I wish people who had this talent to hack would use it for good.

SNYDER

How to have the best website

This guy explains it all. What he is saying is accurate and it's awesome.

SNYDER

So, I went mountain biking today

I found out that I am really out of shape. I know that it will get easier the more I go. It is also good for the heart. Thanks to Jaime I hope to mountain bike more often. And don't worry the pic below is not me.

SNYDER

The Warrior

The End User

My parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece were in town for a few days, but I am back in the blogosphere.

When you are designing something for your church, or you are programming the weekend, or shooting a video, or designing the worship set who do you have in mind. I really ope it is the end user. Now i know this sounds like common sense, but sometimes we get into a groove of just getting your work done. We need to remember that what we do is not just a mundane job. If every time we are working on something in ministry we need to remember who the end user is. I think if you recognize who the end user is at the very beginning your job will be a lot more fun, have more purpose and be easier. Remember the end user.

SNYDER

War Protesters are funny

So tonight I'm driving south on PCH. That's Pacific Coast Highway. And I see these people at Main Beach in Laguna Beach protesting the war. Not actually the people in that pic, but war protesters with signs and candles wanting peace not war. Now don't get me wrong. I would much rather have peace and I also believe that this war has not been going the way we had hoped and that it has lasted way too long, but I feel like these people should put forth their energy in a more positive way. They don't have to support the war, but I believe as an American they should support our troops who are involved in this. Love on our troops rather than protest to deaf ears. You can protest all you want, but I have a feeling it's not going to stop the war. And my last rant on this is to all the war protesters. I appreciate your effort and dedication to a cause, but if you know history at all there was a little war back in the 1700's that if it hadn't happened you would not even have the freedom to protest this war or protest anything at all for that matter. Without war protesters would have no voice. I believe this is kind of the same thing we are doing for the Iraqi people. Giving them a freedom that they deserve and want.

SNYDER

Church Planter or Missionary

I am not sure where I stand on this. "Stand on what?", you say. Well, if you feel a calling by God to plant a church then I would call you a missionary rather than a church planter. If there is a group of people in an area asking you to plant a church and God then I would call you a church planter. Not that any of this matters, but it might make you look at things differently depending on what side of this line you fall on. It might make you look at how you start a church. Or dare I say, It might make you think about becoming a missionary rather than a church planter. I don't know. Think about it. Did that just blow your mind? Check out this post by Ben Arment on this same subject.

SNYDER

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is my favorite video associated with this day. Please enjoy. Also, check out the rap video to go along with the news report.

SNYDER

Mission Trip Time

This was made for the High School ministry at Mariners Church. You can find J Pockets blog here.

SNYDER

March Madness

I will not be blogging very much in the next couple of weeks.  I just returned from 6th grade science camp with my school, and now college basketball is on 24/7.  I will try to blog, but can't promise a lot of it.

SNYDER

Church and the iPhone

Apple just released the iPhone Developer Kit for applications.  This is so awesome especially if you are an iPhone owner.  But the real question is how will the church embrace this and use it to reach more and more people.  How many churches will not even try to build iPhone applications for their church?  Technology is only getting better and better.  If your church has not embraced this it is now time to.  There are so many great things out their that churches can use.  

What types of applications are you most looking forward to that relate to the church?

SNYDER

Where does the time go

This last year has flown by, and it has been crazy.  You can read about it here.  Every once in a while I have to relive what has happened in the last year because people ask and want to hear all the details.  It really was a crazy year.  I know that people aren't perfect and because of that churches will not be perfect, but they should still represent Christ behind the scenes, and treat staff with dignity and respect.  As you can tell I am still struggling with this.  I would love some prayer in this area.   Anyways, I write this post because I had to explain the whole Oklahoma, job, story again this weekend.  Don't get me wrong I love sharing the story with people, but it does rehash some stuff.  I definitely learned a lot and would not trade the experience for that reason, but am so glad that God took us away from that church.  It was not the right place for us.  And we realized that when we only attended because I was on staff.  That is also a great question to ask yourself if you are unsure of the place you are in now.  We are in a much better place now.  Yes, South Orange County is amazing, but Mariner's Church is our new home.  After everything that happened in Oklahoma I was very skeptical of churches, and if you know my story you know why.  It took me about 2 months to buy into our new church and I now love it.  

    If you are someone looking for a church job, please research it and  check things out thoroughly before you take a job.  I know this sounds like common sense, but sometimes excitement takes over.   If you read my blog and know me or want to know more about my story, you can find my email on my complete profile.    Sorry if this sounded like a journal entry, but I feel like it is a story that needs to be shared, to inspire, to motivate, to warn and to encourage.  I also tell everyone what happened and what we learned because I feel like it is good to not hold things in.  Some people might disagree, but thats okay.  Thanks for reading, don't hesitate to email.  

SNYDER

Theological, Non-Essential thought

So, God creates man.  Adam and Eve are created.  They have two boys, Cain and Abel.  Cain kills Abel.  God takes pity on Cain, and says whoever kills him will have sevenfold vengeance on them. God puts a mark on Cain so people will know not to kill him.  So, hold on a minute.  Other people.  His family knows him.  So, are there other humans on the earth?  Who does he need to be protected from?  Did God create more humans after Adam and Eve, but it just is not recorded.  So the population of the earth had to be somewhat substantial for people to not know Cain, but to know his mark.  Crazy.  What are your thoughts?

SNYDER

Lifechurch.tv Open

If you need any video loops or ideas or openers for a sermon series then check out Lifechurch.tv OPEN

SNYDER

Lifechurch.tv Evolve

If you are a college student or a young career adult who attends Lifechurch.tv, particularly the South Oklahoma City Campus, and you are a member of Facebook, then you should join this group.  Even if you have never heard of Lifechurch.tv or you just want to join this group, go ahead it is open to anyone.  

SNYDER

Supposed to...

I ran across this great blog post by Scott McClellan.  He is an editor for Collide Magazine.  Are you supposed to be doing what you are doing.  Read the blog and subscribe to Collide.  It is great and makes you think.

SNYDER

Another Book Review

I just started reading this book. You can go here to buy if you want.
There are 208 stories in the book about the most important people, events, and ideas of the Hebrew Bible.
I just read the first story about the beginning and the very last paragraph says, "Yet good as it was, creation was still unfinished (after the 7th day). The Rabbis of the Talmud deduced from God's ceasing to create that it is humankind's mission to serve as God's partner in finishing His creation and perfecting the world."
I had never really thought about creation in this way, but I really like it. It is a very interesting take on it. What are your thoughts about this? What are you doing to help God create? Very thought provoking.

SNYDER

Starbucks + iPhone = good stuff

Went to Starbucks with a friend named John. I put his drink and mine together to make my name. Lame I know.

SNYDER

Blogging should not be this hard

I am trying to get on a normal blogging routine.  I am going to start blogging Monday - Friday and if I blog on the weekend consider it a bonus.  And yes this is my blog for today.  See ya Monday.

SNYDER  

Moderating Comments

I was hoping it would never come to this, but the time has come where I have to moderate comments.  On my last 2 posts I had some SPAM comments.  It said "click here" with a link.  I clicked to check it out and it wanted me to install some antivirus program that I know is not legit. Thanks for understanding.

SNYDER

Lifechurch.tv launches its new site look

Lifechurch.tv has a new look for its website.  Their site was easy to move around on and looked clean before, but now it is even better.  It is said that your website is the most important thing that people first look at when looking for a church.  

Is your church's website outdated?

Is it hard to find things on your website?

Does your website look the same as it did 3 years ago?

It's time to update.  And here is some more advice, don't try to do it on your own unless your tech and design teams are amazing at this kind of stuff.  There are too many churches who think they can do it all on their own and in the end it looks like they took a step backwards a few years.  Get up to date and see what happens.  

SNYDER 

 

This is where we live...

well a mile from here.

This is me enjoying a green tea lemonade 3 pumps melon


Sean and I chatting and enjoying the ocean

My best photo yet

Our Neighbors

My wife, Mariah, and some sea lions

SNYDER

Some blogs to check out

I stumbled across these blogs and I wanted to share them with you. They are really great and worth reading.

1. Scott Williams. He is campus pastor of the Northwest OKC Lifechurch.tv campus.

2. Ben Coleman. Ben is a Production Designer at New Spring Church in Anderson, SC.

3. Anna Meadows. Anna is the Associate Youth Pastor at Northwest OKC Lifechurch.tv campus.

"Barack Obama is a good public speaker, I'm voting for him"

I usually stay away from politics on here, but please people, please stop telling me you like or even you will vote for Barack Obama because he can speak really well. If that is why you are voting for him then you should have your voting rights taken away. If you are voting for him because you believe he will make a great President and you like what he stands for then great. I personally don't like what he stands for. Okay, I will get off my soap box now.

SNYDER

Do you HULU?

If you don't know what HULU is please check it out. It is the best way to watch TV on your computer. I received an invite for it a while ago and just realized that I have some invites to give away. I have 6 of them that I am giving away right now. I will give an invite to the first 6 people who comment. I just need your name and email address, and I will send you an invite.

SNYDER

Home and tired

I just got home last night from an amazing JH retreat. I got a little sleep, but got to enjoy some good times with our students at CVCS. IT started raining here last night and not one weatherman predicted it. I really miss Oklahoma weathermen, although I am biased considering my brother is one. Any ways it rained and then our ceiling started leaking on our bed. Good times.

SNYDER

Busy Week

We had a pastor's appreciation day this week at school. He put on a chapel just for pastors. It was very cool to get to know some of the youth pastors in the area a little better.
Also, this week we have been gearing up for our JH retreat. As usual it has been a busy season. I am looking forward to the retreat, but am also looking forward to having a little breathing room before our yearbook has to be finished. Hope your week is good.

SNYDER

Lifechurch.tv on Tuesday

Lifechurch.tv has added a Tuesday service. I am guessing it will be a replay of the weekend, but I am not sure. This will be good for me, since I miss the Weekend services because of church. You can check it out here.

SNYDER

Congratulations Eddie Sutton

I went to Oklahoma State University. I managed to cram 4 years in to 5 and a half. My parents were so proud, but at least I received my degree. While I was there I attended every single home basketball game except for maybe 5. During my time there I witnessed Eddie win 149 games and lose 50. It was so great to be able to see one of college basketball's great as our coach. Eddie had to retire after amassing 798 wins. 2 shy of the elusive 800 wins. Only 4 other coaches in college basketball have won more than 800. This year Eddie took over at the University of San Francisco to get his 800 wins. And he will tell you it was a selfish decision. He wanted 800. Well this past weekend I was lucky enough to see Eddie coach the Dons at Pepperdine. Before the game Eddie was at 799, after the game he reached the mark of 800. I have seen Eddie coach a lot of games, but this was one of the best. They were down 19 early in the second half, and they managed to fight their way back to pull it out in the end. Here is a pic I took with my phone. I wish he was still at OSU, but it is what it is. Congrats Coach.

SNYDER

Are you expelled?

Ben Stein has a movie coming out that looks really interesting. It is on intelligent design and evolution. Go here to watch the trailer.

SNYDER

love this video by Lifechurch.tv

Whiteboard

This conference will be amazing. To find out more about it you can go to Ben's blog or you can go to the Whiteboard website that went live today. Check it out. It is going to be an amazing conference.

SNYDER

my friend Trey is leaving on a jet plane

He is going to Africa for a month. He currently works at First Pres of Nashville, but is taking some time off for this trip. He was suppose to go to Kenya, but because of the unrest he will be staying in Uganda and Rwanda. If you know Trey or just want to hear some great thoughts by a young leader he has set up a website to keep everyone posted. You can go here to stay up to date.

SNYDER

The foods I miss

I am originally from Edmond, Oklahoma and there are some restaurants I really miss. I am going to list my top 5 in Edmond.

5. Around the Corner - It is in downtown Edmond. Great for breakfast. Sorry, no website
4. City Bites
3. Taco Bueno
2. Charleston's
1. Steve's Rib

Quick story about Steve's Rib. Right when you walk in the doors, look to the left and left again at the door. There is a framed picture of me and my buddies eating. It was in the Oklahoma Gazette. You can only see the side of my face, but you can see my other 3 friends really well. The reason we are laughing so hard is because my wife said something hilarious.

This is heartbreaking

Why is it so hard to show the world what we are for instead of what we are against. Check out this flier and read the article here. Let me know your thoughts.

SNYDER

Flock to social networking

There is a new web browser called Flock. It is great if you have a Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, or a Twitter account. It is geared towards social networking. I just downloaded and I am checking it out. It is pretty sweet, but it is not simple. I like simple. You sign into your accounts and they all show up on the side. It is very interesting, but I am not sure whether it will take off or not. Check it out and see for yourself. You might really like it. I am still trying to make up my mind.

SNYDER

Really Bill, really?

Even if the guy speaking is boring, your were the President of the United States. Wake up and at least act like you are enjoying it.

SNYDER

How are you using the internet?

This is a really good question in this day and age. Is your website up to date? Do you blog? These are very important questions when it comes to ministry. We need to realize that the internet can be used in many ways when it comes to ministry. But what about cell phones. How are you using cell phones in your ministry. I know of several youth ministries that are using mass texting in their ministry. I just read a very interesting blog post by Bobby Gruenewald at Lifechurch.tv. He brings up some very interesting thoughts and ideas about the future being mobile. Very thought provoking. What are your thoughts on this idea and can it work?

SNYDER

Pop Goes the Church

Tim Stevens has a book coming out and I am very excited to check it out. Last I heard it would be out mid-May. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

SNYDER

Merry Christmas from Collide Magazine

After my last 2 posts it is funny that my Collide Magazine showed up in the mail today. I have not read it through yet, but what I have seen is awesome. There is a great article by Tim Stevens and many other articles that deal with the church and media. Check it out and I hope you enjoy it.

SNYDER

New title

So, I changed the title of my blog. Why, you ask? I have a huge heart and desire to work in church media someday. I want to use my degree and my calling together to work in ministry. This blog will look at what churches are doing and what software, hardware and toys are out there that churches should be using. in this day and age, media plays a huge pat in churches. I hope you find this useful and helpful over the next year. And there will be some personal posts on here as well every once in a while. Enjoy.

SNYDER

Living out your dreams and desires

I just spent about 30 minutes putting together a blog post and decided to scratch it. I guess now is not the time for it to be posted, but maybe some day.
So instead I ask this simple question. Are you living out your desires and doing your dream job? If not why? Are you scared? Worried you can't do it? Don't think your good enough?
Why aren't you doing what you love? I ask myself this question. It is a tough question. I am trying to figure it out myself.

SNYDER

Crazy start to the year

A lot of stuff has been going on. It is all good stuff though. Hopefully I can explain more in the next couple of weeks. In the mean time I have a lot going on at school. We have our JH retreat coming up in the next month and some other things. Basketball season is under way. We already had our first game. We lost by 7 I believe. We have our 2nd game this afternoon. It should be a good one. Will let you know the outcome.

SNYDER

Whiteboard

I would love to attend this conference. Ben Arment is the brains behind this idea. The website will be up soon, but you can head to his blogto read all about it. I love the idea and all it will consist of. If you are going let me know.

SNYDER

America's most innovative churches

Tony Morganhas written on article in Outreach magazine listing the top 25. It is a pretty accurate list, but there are a few on there I question. It is a great list and there are many great churches on it. Tony has a great blog and one worth adding to your blog roll. The church where he works, NewSpringin Anderson, SC is an amazing church that seems to be doing great things. NewSpring was 12th on the list. Don't be surprised if next year it is easily in the top 10. Check out Tony's blog and his church. I am sure you will enjoy both.

SNYDER

2007, a crazy yet great year

2007 is gone, but will not be forgotten. Here is just a glimpse of what happened.
1) My 2 year internship at Saddleback Church came to an end.
2) I took a job as a Junior High Director at a church in Oklahoma. (that's where I'm from)
3) I bought my 1st house.
4) My wife, Mariah, and I got married in May in California. (that's where she is from)
5) Found out the church I was at was very unhealthy and not the place for my wife and I. I remember my pastor, Craig Groeschel, asking the question, "If you didn't work at the church would you make that your church home?" I knew about 2 months in the answer was no. We left the church in July. Although it was a disappointing experience for many reasons we did learn a lot. Kurt Johnston asked me, "As hard as it was, would you do it again or go through it again?" That is a tough question. We did learn a lot and it was a huge growing experience. It was definitely worth it.
6) In August my wife accepted a job as a junior high small groups coordinator at Mariners Church in Irvine, CA. This was the exact same job she had at Saddleback.
7) I accepted a job at Capo Valey Christian Schools in San Juan Capistrano, CA as the K-8th grade chaplain. I also teach yearbook and coach 5th and 6th grade girls basketball.
8) We sold our 1st house a month after it was on the market.
9) My grandfather passed away in September. Really hard time for our family.
10) Moved to Dana Point.

As you can see it was a crazy year. There were many things I learned about myself and other people. I know that 2008 is going to be even more incredible and will still be crazy, just not the way 2007 was. Thanks for reading my blog, my thoughts, my rants, and my heart.

SNYDER

New Year, New Look

I figure i would change the look of my blog. I want it to be simpler and cleaner.

SNYDER

Happy New Year

2008 is finally here. I am very excited for this year. It is going to be a great one for many reasons. I hope you had time to reflect on '07 and are ready to take on '08.

SNYDER