God

Digital Campus. No. no we are not crazy, stop looking at us like that!

Jan 16th

One of the most interesting things I get to see from time to time is what I call the tilt head and look oddly into the distance look when I tell people about Redeemed Point. Some assume right off the bat that because we are streaming “church” online, and because, at the moment, don’t use pews and a “standard” seating arrangement, that we are some sort of strange radical group or trying to do things in a completely new way. If you get nothing else from this post please at least get this:

THIS IS NOT NEW!

Ok, sorry for shouting. When the church began some 2000+ years ago it is safe to say that the Internet did not exist. Nor phones, television, cell phones, twitter, facebook, or even. . get ready . . mass produced books! The church was successful not because of what or how they did things, but because of WHO they did things for.

Jesus gave us a commission;

Mark 16:15 And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Like the early church we need to go to where the people are. You and I know people who would never consider stepping foot inside a “church”, yet make contact with them by some online means and you may just have an opportunity to tell them about your faith.

Above all things Tanya’s and my desire it to reach the lost for the Lord. Tanya does it in her own way, she shares insights of her walk on her own blog (hehe, took me long enough to convince her to start it) while I use podcasting (in the past), blogs, games IE (World of Warcraft) and other geeky and techie things. Redeemed Point is born out of this.

Imagine if you will a small group of dedicated men and women who seek to do what Christ has called them to do in a local body, not only local but not forgeting Mark 16. We are going out, and if by chance we can reach just one person, one at all, it is worth it!

So are we crazy? Yea, don’t you want to be crazy about Jesus as well?

(NOTE: Wordpress had eaten my first attempt at this article. If it seems disjointed please forgive me and know more will come.)

Merry Christmas all!

Dec 25th

Posted by Mike Norton in God

1 comment

What a great Christmas this has turned out to be. Bethany is home from university, I have the day off, and the four of us are going to go see Avatar later tonight. We awoke to are standard tradition, be it much later than when the girls where younger, where we are met with cups of coffee that the girls prepared for us; find our place around the tree and begin the passing out of the presents.

Everyone is happy with the gifts they got. I am thrilled, Bethany got me 2 books, A Year with C.S. Lewis and the audio book version of his Screwtape Letters! (can someone say more Lewis inspired writings this year? hehe)

This year is almost at and end and it has been one of those years you wish to just let pass by. But the Lord is good. It has taken over a year of healing from the wounds of the year before last, but with the renewed love and hope in my heart we have begun something exciting and thrilling. If you have not heard about Redeemed Point yet then head on over and check out our church plant.

As far as the world of gaming, I am playing WoW still/again/still. I have re-rolled and found a home with AIE (Alea Iacta Est) on Earthen Ring US horde side. To say its a large guild would be. well an understatement. It happens to be the largest guild in the world, made up of fans of The Instance Podcast hosted by Scott Johnson. Even though its over 5000 characters it is a refreshing community of players. Finlay truly casually/hardcore raiding without the pressure. It has been a nice change.

But most importantly I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. Always remember that no matter how commercialized or busy this time of year gets, its all about Jesus, the best Christmas Gift ever!

Redeemed Point

Apr 28th

Posted by Mike Norton in Life

1 comment

Redeemed Point started as a concept many years ago. I was one of those people that fell in love with computer’s from the very beginning. As a young boy I would spend hours using our family Tandy TRS 80 III Computer. I would buy BYTE Magazine and slowly input the code in the back to test out programming. I loved to see how things worked and always believed that computers would be the future.

No one can argue the place of computers in our world today, more specifically the use of the Internet as the greatest communication tool available to us. How else can you get a message out to people around the world, all at the same time, for such a minimal cost?

Henry Blackaby’s study, Experiencing God, as well as Rick Warrens Purpose Driven Church/Life, both speak about finding where God is working and joining him there. I love the illustration that Rick uses in the opening chapters of Purpose Driven Church. He says that trying to “start” things yourself is like riding a surfboard out into a flat ocean only to beat the water with your own arms trying to create a wave. When what we should do is paddle out and look for a wave that God has already set in motion, position ourselves into that wave and ride baby ride!

We see the wave that God has created, its called the internet and social media. We need to do what we can as God’s people to join him where he is working. One of the more popular places on the net is Facebook. Facebook provides tools for people to get in touch with others from around the world. It is amazing how many people are turning to sites like this to reconnect with friends from the past that may have moved on to some other location or country.

So some people ask, “Why start a church that uses the Internet as a means to reach out?” Here is why, and mind you these are just statistics from one site:

More than 200 million active users
More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college
The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older

Facebook Statistics

We have an opportunity to touch millions of lives on any given day by simply logging into a website and checking up on friends and family. We need to live out our lives online for Christ as we do away from the keyboard. We can not ignore a mission field this large any longer. Matthew 28:18-20.

Redeemed Point will use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Streaming Video and more, along with a local group of believers working behind the scenes to perform its mission. We are excited about joining God where He is working and can’t wait to see the harvest. Email onpoint@redeemedpoint.com if you would like more information or have suggestions or questions.