• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Seabourns

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • About God
  • Give

Archives for September 2010

Cellphones can transform indigeneous fund raising

September 30, 2010 by Keith Seabourn 3 Comments

When I lived in Nigeria, my Nigerian Campus Crusade staff friends would spend their evenings and weekends visiting donors to collect cash, then transport this cash to the national office where it was receipted and deposited into their staff account. Their salaries and ministry expenses were covered in this inefficient way.

Most countries are still primarily a cash-based society where the banking system can be a slow and inefficient way to pay bills or transfer funds.

God is revolutionizing the payments system in many countries around the world. Perhaps, he’s creating a way for indigenous fund raising of national missionaries to explode! As I’ve traveled, I’ve found that the desire to help finance God’s Great Commission exists in the hearts of people everywhere. But the process to transfer funds has been difficult.

And we are leveraging what God is providing to simplify the process of donors participating in the Great Commission.

M-PESA Story

Here is an article and video explaining the huge impact the M-PESA system is having in Kenya. We are running a pilot project in Kenya which we call mGiving. We are adding important fund-development steps to the M-PESA system to build a helpful ministry partner development system.

  • a thank-you notification by text message from CCC that the we have received the donation, and processed it appropriately.
  • a notification to the staff member by text message that they have received a donation so that they can then thank the donor personally.
  • reminder messages to the donor that it is time to give the next donation, thus bringing African donors as close as we can to the automated process that Western donors use with automated monthly giving.

Enthusiasm is high among our fellow staff. We are on a mission to help our national staff around the world raise 100% of their monthly needs.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  Matthew 9:37-38.

Part of praying for the Lord of the harvest to send out workers is to fund those workers. The Lord of the harvest is providing a new funding system to enable his workers to be provided for as they harvest.

Filed Under: ccc, gto, Ministry Tagged With: mGiving, mobile phones

Staying connected to our users

September 30, 2010 by Keith Seabourn 3 Comments

I read that Google is going to modify Gmail so that users can choose to not use the threaded Conversation View. Since it’s beginning, Gmail has threaded conversations together so it’s easy to see all my communication on each “thread” or “subject line”. However, that is not the chronological (sorted by date) way that Outlook and many other email programs tend to show messages.

Google has pushed hard and held firm to the “new way” of threaded conversations rather than chronology.

But they have “thrown in the towel” and will offer users a choice.

This isn’t the first innovation of Gmail that Google had to adapt to more traditional users’ expectations. Remember the folders vs labels war of a year or two ago? Gmail’s original author staunchly refused to provide folders, wanting to help people adapt to the much more flexible labels idea. But after a couple of years of users’ complaints, Gmail added folders.

What does this have to do with us? I’m glad you asked.

I think it’s important to push the technology envelope with innovative advances. But most people are not early adopters, and if you want many people to use your tools, you need to make evolutionary changes rather than revolutionary changes. It must be easy for people to take a small step in using your tool rather than a large step. You can more effectively introduce a new way to work by advancing in a series of small steps rather than large jumps.

Software designers in Campus Crusade: Take note! Stay connected to your users. We’re about advancing the mission more than advancing the technology.

What do you think?

Filed Under: ccc, gto, Leadership Tagged With: Leadership

mLearning Pilot Project has launched

September 14, 2010 by Keith Seabourn Leave a Comment

We are launched. The mLearning pilot project launched in Kenya with 33
students. Over the next 12 weeks, pastors and Campus Crusade staff will
learn more about following Christ as his disciples.

Our team’s goal is to learn about delivering discipleship training in a
mobile phone. After just 2 weeks, we’ve learned a lot! We’re hoping the
students learn too! Like most pilot projects, we had to make many
adjustments just to get started.

There were technical challenges to overcome, administrative matters to break
through, financial opportunities to trust God. Like NASA’s Space Shuttle, it
takes a huge amount of energy to get liftoff. The shuttle consumes 1.5
million pounds of fuel in it’s first 1 minute of flight. I don’t know how
much energy our team in Kenya expended, but we do have liftoff!

This project is a partnership between our Global Technology Office (GTO),
the Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST, International Leadership
University-Nairobi), an Orlando mega-church, and an unnamed
corporate/academic partner. We are using technology developed by a research
university for government and commercial purposes.

We thank so many of you who have prayed these past few weeks. So many
difficulties have been worked through or worked around.

Kay and I leave for Thailand this week. We’re helping lead the Operations
Leadership Connection
, 80 global leaders coming together for training, vision
and fellowship. More about that project soon…

Please pray with us:

  • Visit our OLC prayer site. We will be posting prayer requests daily over the next 2 weeks.
  • Join Kay and I in praying that we will be “the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing”. [2 Corinthians 2:15]
Co-workers David Ngaruiya of NIST (left) and Jerry Hertzler of GTO (right)
meetin with Pastor Robert of Rongai, Kenya (center).
NIST staff learning to use the mobile phones.
50 mobile phones being prepared to carry the basics of the Christian life to students.

Filed Under: Ministry, Prayer Letters, Prayer Requests Tagged With: mlearning, mobile phones

How I use GTD

September 13, 2010 by Keith Seabourn 3 Comments

Getting things done

A new staff member of Campus Crusade for Christ recently asked me if he could learn more about how I’m using David Allen’s Getting Things Done process. He sent me some questions. How would you answer? I look forward to your comments.

1. How do you do GTD on the road? Conferences, retreats, summer projects, etc.

GTD works well on the road. I’m out of the office about 60% of the time. There are a few keys to GTD that I’ve found work well. I’m not sure this list is complete, but here are the things I think of right now:

  • Everything stored in a trusted place. All emails containing actions. All telephone commitments. All verbal commitments. All thoughts while driving to an appointment (practice safe-driving!!! I keep a notebook on the seat and jot ideas while at stop lights then transfer into my trusted system later!)
  • Review frequently. Formally, the weekly review is where I plan my week. Daily, I do mini-reviews to adjust priorities. Work from the lists daily. Don’t work from non-lists. If it’s not written down and cannot be done in 2 minutes, it’s not to be worked on unless I renegotiate my commitments with myself.
  • Schedule into my calendar appropriate appointments with myself to work through lists. In an office environment, or probably in a field environment, these appointments are the times I give myself to work through the commitments I’ve made and documented in my lists. Life can fill up with meetings, but meetings are rarely the places where I “do” the things on my lists. Rather, my lists contain the commitments I’ve made in meetings. I must give myself time and permission in my calendar to do the things I’ve committed to doing.
  • Break multi-step projects down into “next actions”, line them up in sequence, then start doing them. The feeling of progress is great!

To answer your specific question, at conferences and retreats, I write down my commitments in my lists. I set aside time to work on “getting things done” every day during the conference. Much of my life is travel and participation in conferences, retreats, meetings, so I must do this in order to continue to fulfill my commitments.

2. Do you know of any field staff using it? How successful have they been with it?
This is a very good question? Please use the Comments below to help me answer this question!

3. If you were in the field, rather than in the Global Technology Office, how would you change your implementation of GTD, if at all?
That is an interesting question. Looking back over my 34 years with CCCI, including field ministry, I’ve always had some type of system to write stuff down so I wouldn’t forget it. I’ve always worked from lists. Over the years, I started with a paper 3×5 card in my pocket. I’ve used the 7-star classic pocket diary system, the Covey Organizer, now called Franklin-Covey, various electronic things beginning with the original Palm Pilot.

In my early staff career, I found that I was forgetting commitments I had made, sometimes writing things down on scraps of paper, then was unable to find them or remember. I finally learned to a) write every commitment down and b) write all things in one place where I could find it again (a “trusted system” before I knew to call it that).

Because field work often involves verbal commitments, like someone asking “Can you send me the link to the retreat registration site?”, I turn these requests into something in my inbox by saying “Can you send me an email asking me for the retreat registration site link?”, or a Facebook message, or whatever. I keep the responsibility on the person asking, and I turn it into a written request so I can remember it, or can easily get it into my trusted system of lists.

What I find most helpful about GTD is the focus on getting it written down, getting it into a trusted system, and a weekly review of next actions in which my schedule is filled with times to work on my commitments. This is the essence of getting things done in my life.

4. Do you see any disadvantages to using it in the field?
No, I see huge advantages. You become a person who can be trusted to do what you say you will do. You become a trusted team member who gets things done. You become a model to students of a person that they respect because you respect the commitments you have made with them. You teach them, by your life model, to become people who keep the commitments they are making. You show up with a prepared bible study because you made a commitment with yourself to prepare, you put time into your schedule to prepare, and you show up ready for the study. When you agree to get the brochures designed and printed by next Thursday, you deliver and you are not stressed about it because you are on top of your commitments and you schedule to succeed.

5. Do you see the seminars being necessary to learning GTD well? I’d love to attend, but $495 for a weekend seems more like a luxury at this point than a need.
I never did a seminar. Someone gave me David Allen’s audio book. I listened to it. I found 2-3 others who were learning GTD. We shared ideas like you and I are doing. I’ve experimented.

I have found that personality type has a big effect on how you do with the GTD approach. I think all personality types can be successful at GTD, but you cannot simply emulate someone else’s approach. You might benefit from this article, Is there a Myers-Briggs Connection to GTD? . I encourage you to find a way that works and not get locked into an ideal that you cannot live with. Understand the Jim Collins’ “flywheel” concept. He talks about it related to an organization, but it is very true of any good habit in your personal life.

Success at GTD is very similar to learning to walk in the Holy Spirit, or learning to powerfully live a life of taking opportunities to share Christ with others. It’s about pushing and pushing and pushing, feeling overwhelmed but making small steps forward. Then it gets easier and goes faster. Eventually, it’s hard to remember how hard it was at the beginning, how consciously you had to remind yourself exhale/inhale, how to just start asking questions as a curious co-journer in life and see where the conversation goes and how you can talk about Jesus,

write it down – identify the single next action – review it regularly – get time into my schedule – do what is on the lists.

These are my thoughts.

What got you interested in GTD? How have you had success?

Filed Under: ccc, gto, Thoughts Tagged With: gtd, Leadership

Online Security eBook

September 12, 2010 by Keith Seabourn Leave a Comment

Microsoft has released a free electronic book aimed at helping teenagers be safe online. Own Your Space–Keep Yourself & Your Stuff Safe Online is available as a free download. You can download the entire book, or specific chapters that might be helpful to you. It’s written with teenagers in mind, but the rest of us can get by OK also!

Do you want to know more about viruses, phishing attacks, SPAM, safe when cyber shopping, tips for staying safe and social, and much more? Try this book. It looks good.

Lifehacker wrote a brief review if you want more information.

Filed Under: ccc, gto, Personal Tagged With: phishing, security, spam

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Give a Gift

Sign up with your email address below to read our stories.

Archives

  • July 2022
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • October 2017
  • June 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • April 2015
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • August 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • June 2005
  • May 2005
  • April 2005
  • March 2005
  • February 2005
  • January 2005
  • December 2004
  • November 2004
  • October 2004
  • September 2004

Copyright © 2023 · Parallax Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in