How You Can Walk Step by Step into a Brand-New Life

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How You Can Walk Step by Step into a Brand-New Life

I have read that as much as 40 percent of everything we do is performed purely out of habit. A habit is something we do without even thinking. It’s a behavior that is developed through frequent repetition. First we form habits…and then they form us. We are what we repeatedly do!

That’s why it is so important to focus on establishing healthy habits. Bad habits are detrimental and keep us from enjoying all that God has for us. However, good habits add joy, peace and purpose to our lives.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that it’s easy. If we’re going to make a good habit and break a bad habit, there’s going to be some effort involved. We will go through a time of trial. But we don’t have to go through it alone…

It’s very important to understand from the beginning that we need God’s help to succeed. The number one mistake people make is that we try to change ourselves…we forget that we can’t do it without God!

Jesus said that when He went away, He would send the Holy Spirit to help us. The Amplified Bible refers to Him as “the Standby” (John 16:7). I love that. God is always standing by in case we get ourselves into trouble and need a little help. He is our Partner – our Strength and Support – as we begin to establish good habits in our lives and break the bad ones.

Where We Start and Where We Finish

I used to have a habit of getting upset every time I didn’t get my way. It was an automatic response – and I lived that way for many years until I finally decided to stop and allow God to help me in that area.

Today, I want to encourage you to make some decisions of your own. Think about the person you are right now and the person you want to become, and then jot down a few new habits that can help you get there.

Remember, one good choice is another step closer to your goal.

One Scripture I’ve found to be most helpful in this area is Romans 12:21. It says, Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good (AMP).

In other words, don’t dwell on your bad habits. Instead, put all of your focus and concentration on making good ones. Because when we think about all the bad habits we’ve got to try and undo, it zaps all of our strength. If we’re going to make progress, we need to learn to focus on the positive!

Similarly, the Bible tells us that by walking in the Spirit, we overcome the flesh (see Galatians 5:16). The “flesh” is simply our human nature apart from God.

Do everything you can to consistently follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Read the Word and meditate on it. Set aside time for prayer. Get around people who will encourage you to do what God’s asking you to do. Don’t give yourself the time or energy to do what your flesh is pleading with you to do.

If you make a quality decision to act, it will change your life. But you can’t wait to feel like it. With God’s grace, just set your mind to do it!

How Long Does It Take to Form a Habit?

Some people say it takes twenty-one days to form a habit. Others say it takes thirty days. So let’s just say that anything you do (or don’t do) repeatedly for a period of time becomes a habit.

I used to smoke many years ago. And when God started convicting me to quit, I didn’t want to do it – and it was very hard for me to stop. In fact, it took several attempts to quit before I broke this habit.

When I reached the point of sheer determination to quit, the first day was bad. And the second day wasn’t much better! I managed to make it to the weekend, but then Dave and I had an argument at a picnic and I ended up leaving by myself to go buy a pack of cigarettes. My plan was to smoke the entire pack.

You see, when we’re trying to form a new habit, we usually reach what I call a “crisis point.”

That day at the picnic, I reached my crisis point. After I got those cigarettes I sat there and thought, If I smoke these right now, I’ll likely be doing it the rest of my life and I’m not going to do that. So I took every single cigarette out of the package and threw them in the toilet.

Every now and then, I’d still think: I want a cigarette. But after about thirty days, I could tell my desire to smoke had changed. I just didn’t want to do it. And I’ve never smoked another cigarette again.

 

Taking That First Step

Some habits in our lives can seem overwhelming and impossible to change – especially if we have lived with them for a long time. But God will meet us where we are. When we are willing to take that first step, He honors our faith and gives us the grace to make the changes that we desire.

Things may not turn around overnight, but if you are diligent and determined to never give up, you will succeed…because together, one day at a time, you and God can do anything.

 

 

Joyce Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored more than 90 books, including Battlefield of the Mind and Do Yourself a Favor…Forgive (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visit www.joycemeyer.org.

© 2014 Printed with permission of Joyce Meyer Ministries

Six Major Implications of the Growth of Multisite Churches

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Six Major Implications of the Growth of Multisite Churches

It is one of those topics that almost always engenders lively discussion. Some church leaders are incredibly and positively excited about the multisite church movement. Others view the movement with many questions if not some level of suspicion.

But recent studies tell us that we should not ignore this movement. It appears to be here to stay for years to come.

The Current Research

LifeWay Research has looked at multisite churches in recent years. Scott McConnell, the director of LifeWay Research, wrote Multi-site Churches in 2009, an excellent analysis of the movement.

Now a study by Leadership Network and Generis, led by Warren Bird, provides new, head-turning information. Simply stated, the multisite church movement is growing at such a pace that we would be negligent to ignore it. I encourage you to read the full report, while I offer six summary implications from the data.

The Study

Because the concept of multisite churches typically engenders strong opinions, it is not always easy to look at the data objectively. This study, called the Leadership Network/Generis Multisite Church Scorecard, however, looked at 535 multisite churches. Of those churches, 91 percent were located in the United States. The breadth of the research is such that we must study the information seriously.

As a point of full disclosure, I led a church in Birmingham, Alabama to become multisite in 1992. I had very few models to follow back then, and the challenges were many. The church I served as pastor was landlocked, and starting a new campus seemed logical to me.

I am also currently a member of a multisite church, Brentwood Baptist Church. I have seen up close an intentional strategy to reach many areas around Nashville and Middle Tennessee through the multisite approach.

 

The Implications

The implications of this study are many. For now, let me share six key issues that jumped to the forefront when I read the report.

  1. Multisite as a growth and evangelistic strategy seems to be successful thus far. One of the most incredible data points in the study was the percentage of multisite churches that are growing: 85 percent. Such a high percentage is unprecedented in almost any previous approaches to evangelism and growth in the past century. These churches are also much more evangelistic than those in most other studies, certainly those represented by studies I have led.
  2. More struggling churches see merging with a multisite church as their best option for health or even survival. The leaders of the multisite churches noted an increased frequency in contact by leaders of struggling churches. One third of all the sites started in the study were the results of mergers. Stated simply, many struggling churches are seeking to be acquired by multisite churches. This new reality has both practical and ecclesiological implications for the future.
  3. The campus pastor is likely the fastest growing position in local churches, especially in the United States. We have focused for years on training pastors and, often, age-specific or ministry-specific ministry leaders. What type of training does a campus pastor need? Who or what will provide it?
  4. Multisite churches are more likely to hire staff ministers internally. While this trend is growing independent of multisite churches, it is certainly being accelerated by multisite churches. Again, the implications for ministry and theological training are many.
  5. An increased number of smaller churches are becoming multisite. The trend of multisite churches has been mostly the work of larger churches, primarily megachurches. Now the median worship attendance of a multisite church is around 1,000, and churches as small as 100 to 400 in attendance are going multisite as well.
  6. More churchgoers are attending multisite churches. Currently about one in ten Protestant attendees are in a multisite church each week. That number will continue to increase.

 

The Future

I am thankful for the work of Warren Bird, Leadership Network, and Generis. They have uncovered many new findings about multisite churches. For those of us who love local churches, we must stay informed about such developments. God is using new churches, established churches, and multisite churches all across the world. But, at least from this study, the multisite movement is making gains we had not seen in other segments.

 

Dr. Thom Rainer is president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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17 US States Ask US Supreme Court to Rule on Same-Sex Marriage

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17 US States Ask US Supreme Court to Rule on Same-Sex Marriage

The attorneys general of 17 states, led by Colorado, have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the U.S. Constitution includes a right to same-sex marriage. The Mormon church and a few Christian groups have also filed a friend-of-the-court brief.

“There are scores of cases requiring thousands of hours to litigate the same legal question presented in this petition,” the filing by 17 states reads, asking the high court to take up the cases challenging gay marriage bans in Oklahoma and Utah, noting that 89 ongoing cases across the country challenge traditional marriage laws.

“These cases are divisive and costly, not only in terms of money and manpower, but in terms of respect for the democratic process and deliberation undertaken by millions of voters where the nature of marriage has recently been debated,” adds the brief, filed Thursday. “Once resolved, the legal issues presented in the Utah and Oklahoma petitions are well positioned to provide the necessary guidance to the other states with traditional marriage laws.”

 

The 17 states include: Colorado, Oklahoma, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Associates Press reports that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and four Christian organizations have also asked the Supreme Court to settle once and for all whether states can outlaw same-sex marriage.

The friend-of-the-court brief — joined by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Ethics & Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod — urges the high court to hear Utah’s marriage case.

“The time has come to end the divisive national debate as to whether the Constitution mandates same-sex marriage,” the brief states.

“Legal uncertainty is especially burdensome for religious organizations and religious believers increasingly confronted with thorny questions,” the brief adds. “Is their right to refrain from participating in, recognizing or facilitating marriages between persons of the same sex, contrary to their religious convictions, adequately shielded by the First Amendment and other legal protections? Or is further legislation needed to guard religious liberties in these and other sensitive areas?”

… READ MORE

Original Post by Christian Post

Understanding your Purpose

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Understanding your Purpose
Sometimes you need to learn things that do not come naturally for you, because they will help you to be more effective in fulfilling your purpose. You may not be good at business for example, but if you want to run a successful dance studio…, you need to learn some essential business principles. Know the difference between when you need to do a degree course to improve a supporting skill, and when you should register for a short course to learn the basics
By Young Adult Transitions  (Coaching)
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Victoria Osteen Chides Critics: I Didn’t Mean Parishioners Shouldn’t Worship God … That’s Ridiculous

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Victoria Osteen Chides Critics: I Didn’t Mean Parishioners Shouldn’t Worship God … That’s Ridiculous

Victoria Osteen’s responded

 

After weathering a blistering week of scorn and ridicule for controversial comments she made during a worship service at the popular Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, including a declaration that worship is not for God, co-pastor Victoria Osteen now says that’s not what she meant and dismissed the notion as “ridiculous.”

“While I admit that I could have been more articulate in my remarks, I stand by my point that when we worship God and are obedient to Him we will be better for it,” she told The Blaze in a statement Friday. “I did not mean to imply that we don’t worship God; that’s ridiculous, and only the critics and cynics are interpreting my remarks that way.”

She further explained that her congregants at Lakewood Church knew exactly what she meant and there was no confusion among the flock she co-pastors with her New York Times bestselling author husband Joel Osteen.

“Every Lakewood member knows what I was talking about because they have experienced firsthand the joy and victory of a Lakewood Church worship service, and the honor, reverence and gratitude we show God,” she said.

In the last week, Osteen sparked a firestorm of withering criticism after a 36-second clip of her controversial comments on worship and adoration for God went viral.

… READ MORE

 

Written by Leonardo Blair of Christian Post: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Original Post by Christian Post

Supreme Court asked to defend Seal of Confession in La. case

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Supreme Court asked to defend Seal of Confession in La. case

Baton Rouge, La., Sep 6, 2014 / 07:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling that a diocesan priest may be forced to break the Seal of Confession.

“This case concerns who – the Church or the state – gets to determine the meaning, content, and requirements of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation – one of the Church’s most sacred and central practices,” the diocese’s appeal read.

Back in May, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that a priest of the Baton Rouge Diocese, Father Jeff Bayhi, could be forced to testify in court about a supposed confession made by a minor allegedly regarding her sexual abuse at the hands of a parishioner.

A state appeals court initially ruled that the alleged confession was “confidential” and thus Fr. Bayhi did not have to testify in court as to its alleged contents or whether it even took place.

However, the state Supreme Court reversed that decision, saying that the seal of confession did not shield Fr. Bayhi from mandatory reporting laws.

Louisiana law states that a “member of the clergy” must report allegations of sexual abuse, except in the case of “confidential” conversations made in private “and not intended for further disclosure except to other persons present in furtherance of the purpose of the communication.” In addition, a priest “is presumed to have the authority to claim the privilege” of confidentiality “on behalf of the person or deceased person.”

However, the high court ruled that Fr. Bayhi can only invoke confidentiality if the girl refuses to disclose their conversation, and since she waived her confidentiality privilege, he is subject to the mandatory sexual abuse reporting laws.

In the appeal, the diocese stated that even to admit the conversation took place – much less reveal its alleged contents – would involve Fr. Bayhi breaking the Seal of Confession, which no priest is allowed to do, even under threat of civil penalty or imprisonment.

The existence and/or contents of the alleged conversation is “knowledge that under church law he [Fr. Bayhi] is absolutely forbidden to share with others for any reason under penalty of automatic excommunication,” the appeal stated.

“The Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision cannot stand,” the appeal stated. “It conflicts with long-standing authority of this and other courts and threatens church autonomy.”

The diocese has previously emphasized that the priest is under the gravest of oaths not to reveal the contents of a confession or if the confession even took place.

“If necessary, the priest would have to suffer a finding of contempt in a civil court and suffer imprisonment rather than violate his sacred duty and violate the seal of confession and his duty to the penitent.”

“A foundational doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church for thousands of years mandates that the seal of confession is absolute and inviolable,” the diocese stressed, also saying that the “matter is of serious consequence to all religions, not just the Catholic faith.”

In a September 4 statement, the diocese said the court’s ruling “strikes a very hard blow against religious freedom, and one which the diocese and Father Bayhi feel compelled to vigorously protest.”

The diocese also spoke out against the court’s “unprecedented” ruling that the trial court decide “whether or not a sacrament actually took place.”

“Doing so allows the state to override the religion’s own determination of what its beliefs and practices require and destroys the sacred seal of confession in the process,” the appeal stated.

Original Post by Catholic news agency

Bodies Litter as Nigerian Town was Captured by Boko Haram; Militants Preventing Burial of Dead

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Bodies Litter as Nigerian Town was Captured by Boko Haram; Militants Preventing Burial of Dead

Bodies are littered across the northern Nigerian town of Bama, captured two days ago by terror group Boko Haram, because the militants are reportedly preventing people from burying the dead.

“So many bodies litter the streets, and people are not allowed to even go and bury the dead ones. So the situation is getting worse and worse,” Borno senator and lawmaker Ahmed Zanna told the BBC’s Newsday program after speaking to a resident who fled the town.
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Government officials had initially denied that the town had fallen, but said that close to 26,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Bama.

Boko Haram has taken control of a number of towns and villages in Nigeria, targeting Christians and anyone who stands in its way of establishing Islamic rule over the country.

The Nigeria Security Network reported earlier this week that the terror group has made “lightning territorial gains” in recent months, and has raised fears that Nigeria could follow the fate of Iraq and Syria, which have been devastated by ISIS, or the Islamic State, as it is also known.

Zanna revealed that the humanitarian situation in Bama is “terrible” and there had been a “lot of killings” in the town.

He also warned that the situation could get worse if Boko Haram attacks the 2 million strong city of Maiduguri, which is the capital of Borno.

“I’m begging the government to send more troops and armoury to Maiduguri,” Zanna said.

“Boko Haram do come overwhelmingly because they recruited en masse in the villages [in Borno state],” he added.

The Nigeria Security Network’s Andrew Noakes added in a report on Tuesday: “Boko Haram are beginning to operate like a conventional army, a major change from before July, when it focused on carrying out short-lived hit-and-run assaults.

“If Maiduguri falls, it will be a symbolic and strategic victory unparalleled so far in the conflict.”

The Islamic militant group declared an “Islamic Caliphate” in the predominantly Christian town of Gwoza in August, mirroring the actions of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but it is not clear if and to what extent the two terror groups are aligned.

“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau says in a 52-minute video, which also shows the execution of civilians.

Human Rights Watch announced in July that the extremist group had killed at least 2,053 civilians in over 95 attacks during the first half of 2014 alone, though that number has risen over the summer. HRW added that Boko Haram has committed “atrocities” which constitute “crimes against humanity.”

International Christian Concern Regional Manager for Africa Cameron Thomas said that “far too many” Christians have been “martyred, displaced, and terrorized at the hands of armed extremist.”

“For years, Boko Haram has waged a campaign of terror against Christians, moderate Muslims, educators and students, and law enforcement and military personnel for the establishment of a separate Islamic state; which, today, they felt capable of declaring,” Thomas said about the capture of Gwoza.

Original Post by Christian post

When Old-Economy Jobs Become New-Economy Gigs

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When Old-Economy Jobs Become New-Economy Gigs

I love the sharing economy because it’s efficient. Got some spare time? Become a TaskRabbit! Spare space? AirBNB it! A car and nowhere to go? Drive for Uber or Lyft! The taxi industry is a regulatory-capture nightmare. Disrupt ‘em ’til they’re dead? Don’t mind if you do!

…And yet our 21st-century sharing-economy dream is beginning to look worryingly like a 19th-century robber-baron nightmare. When sharing-economy gigs supplement your income from your job, that’s great, everybody wins. But when sharing-economy gigs are your job? That’s different.

As the New York Times puts it, sharing-economy workers:

are less microentrepreneurs than microearners. They often work seven-day weeks, trying to assemble a living wage from a series of one-off gigs […] With piecemeal gigs easier to obtain than long-term employment, a new class of laborer, dependent on precarious work and wages, is emerging.

Re-emerging is probably a better word. In the early 20th century, the labor movement won workers eight-hour days, weekends, paid time off, etc. Before then, most labored like serfs, working long hours all week with no job security, no benefits, no vacations, no real prospect of advancement…

…in other words, exactly what you get today when you work at sharing-economy gigs, rather than at, you know, a job.

Not that technology is necessarily making those easier either. Another recent NYT piece reports on scheduling algorithms, which, in the language of Silicon Valley, are ‘redefining workforce optimization through big data.’ But on the ground, this:

pits sophisticated workplace technology against some fundamental requirements of parenting, with particularly harsh consequences for poor single mothers […] Flexibility — an alluring word for white-collar workers — can have a darker meaning for many low-income workers as a euphemism for unstable hours or paychecks

Don’t get me wrong. I’m an engineer. I love efficiency and optimization. But it’s hard to simultaneously optimize for both profits and people. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that algorithms which boost the former often tend to be pretty hard on the latter.

Similarly, I’m a big fan and frequent user of Uber, TaskRabbit, and Instacart. I think it’s great that people can supplement their income that way. But at the same time, as I’ve put it before: “sharing economy” is mostly spin. It mostly consists of people who have excess disposable income hiring those who do not. It’s hard to shake the feeling that, as in the 19th century, the world of work is dividing ever further between haves and have-nots–sharing-economy customers, and sharing-economy providers.

For haves like us, everything is awesome. And if things are rough for the have-nots, hey, that’s not technology’s fault, right? That’s a simple side effect of supply and demand, combined with, you know, healthy competition.

True, Uber and Lyft are in land-grab mode right now, and drivers are reaping the benefits. But land grabs don’t last forever, and there’s a glut of labor out there. “In July, 9.7 million Americans were unemployed, and an additional 7.5 million were working part-time jobs because they could not find full-time work.” Once the land grabs are over, most gig workers will be trivially replaceable, or even entirely disposable–and will suffer the consequences.

As Danny Crichton points out, the sharing economy and its algorithms can, in principle, have real benefits for its providers, too:

workers have the ability to develop their own personalities and brands … startup labor marketplaces are including computational trust and reputation systems from the beginning, ensuring that employers and employees have an incentive to work together and share credit.

This isn’t an entirely unmixed blessing–I’ve seen TaskRabbits sacrifice income in favor of reputation, and I suspect many customers use that tradeoff as leverage to pay them less–but on the whole it’s a good thing. Unfortunately those benefits pale and wither before the inexorable law of supply and demand. If there are too many providers and not enough consumers, too many have-nots and not enough haves, then most people who work in the burgeoning sharing economy are screwed. No scheduling algorithm or reputation system will solve that problem.

So the real question remains: is technology destroying jobs faster than it’s creating them? Are we moving from a Mediocristan world, wherein most people contribute a little, to Extremistan, wherein an ever-diminishing minority uses the lever of ever-improving technology to move the world to their liking, while more and more are excluded from jobs and must fight and scrap to get by with endless dead-end, barely-livable gigs?

That is one of this decade’s most important questions, and if the answer is “yes,” then the sharing economy is no solution. It’s barely even a band-aid.

Original Post by Techcrunch

Holy Ghost Movie Premiere – WATCH Live & Free – September 6, 2014 11am PDT | 18:00 GMT

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Holy Ghost Movie Premiere – WATCH Live & Free – September 6, 2014 11am PDT | 18:00 GMT

Wanderlust has released the full trailer today for their new, highly anticipated film, Holy Ghost. The new trailer gives the biggest look yet at the next installment from filmmaker Darren Wilson.

LIVE STREAMING  – Go To  –   hgpremiere.bethel.tv 

“One of my goals in making this movie,” says Director, Darren Wilson, “was to separate it artistically as much as possible from my previous films (Finger of God, Furious Love, Father of Lights) while still holding onto the spirit of those movies. Those films featured my narrative as more of a curious everyman, wondering about everything he sees. This movie, well, let’s just say that I’ve finally made up my mind.” “I think this is the first time one of our trailers has truly captured the feel of the movie, so I’m excited for people to see it,” continues Wilson. “This whole movie is just electric from start to finish, and hopefully the trailer conveys that we’re dealing with a lot of big, deep stuff in this movie.”

Financed through the popular crowd funding platform Kickstarter, Holy Ghost became the #1 most funded Christian movie in Kickstarter history. As part of that campaign, Darren and his team have brought their nearly 2500 backers with them for the entire movie-making process, resulting in over 100 separate updates from film shoots around the world.

 

HOLY GHOST—the #1 most-funded, faith-based Kickstarter film in history—releases results of exclusive Advance Premiere designed to test new consumer-driven distribution model in which a film’s success hinges on its fans from start to finish; upcoming World Premiere Experience is September 6th

(Chicago, IL – August 21, 2014) Wanderlust Productions—the independent film studio behind the cult hit trilogy FINGER OF GOD, FURIOUS LOVE and FATHER OF LIGHTS—is poised to disrupt the entertainment industry’s long-established business model on September 6th with the 48-hour world premiere of its dynamic documentary film, HOLY GHOST. Fueled by more than 2,500 consumer-investors who surged to support Director Darren Wilson’s Kickstarter campaign, HOLY GHOST raised a record-breaking $360,000 in just 45 days to become the #1 most-funded, faith-based film in Kickstarter history.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hDApnqy1bQM[/youtube]

By deploying a new consumer-driven strategy that will fundamentally change the way entertainment is distributed, Wanderlust Productions is banking on technology-savvy Millennials to drive the demand for—and the success of—HOLY GHOST.

“HOLY GHOST is a film without boundaries, we shot it without a script or a plan. It’s a film about the freedom and unexpected adventure that comes with a life led by the Spirit of God. This fresh vision—a stark contrast to the traditional understanding of the church—is strongly resonating with young people,” said Darren Wilson, director of HOLY GHOST. “As we travel the world with HOLY GHOST in places like the U.K. and Australia, thousands of Millennials have flooded to our screenings and told us the film has changed their lives. They are the enthusiastic audience behind our success, and an underserved segment in the booming faith-based entertainment market.”

Earlier in August, Wanderlust Productions offered select fans an exclusive, paid Advance Premiere of HOLY GHOST just weeks before the free global release. The data from the pre-screening—using the new online video platform VHX—indicates the following:

  • More than 21,000 people paid to see HOLY GHOST four weeks early.
  • Nearly 72% of Advance Premiere purchases came from social media.
  • Nearly half of viewers used mobile devices—such as an iPhone, iPad or Android device—to watch HOLY GHOST.
  • A significant percentage of Advance Premier participants watched HOLY GHOST more than once.
  • 45% of viewers—nearly half—were from outside the United States.

Rather than pursuing a traditional theatrical or direct-to-home entertainment release, Wanderlust Productions is staging a one-time, World Premiere Experience on September 6th during which fans from all over the world will have the opportunity to view HOLY GHOST directly on any digital device, free of charge. Wanderlust believes that the one-time, 48-hour event will attract viewers from all over the world, drive subsequent VOD and DVD purchases, and result in strong profitability for the project. This will enable instant reinvestment in the next project, due out in the fall of 2015.

 

To learn more about HOLY GHOST and view the trailer, visit http://holyghost.wpfilm.com

 

HOW DO I SEE THE MOVIE?

Your next big chance to see the film is on September 6th. We will be live-streaming the world premiere completely FREE

If you want to be reminded of the Worldwide Premiere, go to this page hgpremiere.bethel.tv and click “Keep Me Posted”.

 

About Wanderlust Productions  Wanderlust Productions was founded by Darren Wilson in 2006 when he began work on what would become his first feature length film, FINGER OF GOD. The company currently concentrates on creating feature films that are both creatively exciting and spiritually engaging.

Hands On With The Moto 360, The First Round Smart Watch

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Hands On With The Moto 360, The First Round Smart Watch

As we approach Peak Smart Watch at the Apple event next week, manufacturers are racing to offer product to those who might not want to bow down to Cupertino in the coming months. The latest contender is the Moto 360, a steel and leather beauty that launched today alongside the new Motorola X.

Although I’ve been duly impressed by the Samsung Gear series, you will immediately that the design language of the 360 is far more chic. Made of a round piece of coated steel and featuring a nice leather band and Gorilla Glass crystal, the watch looks more like a Misfit Shine than a nerd accouterment.

How does it work? Well, if you’re not familiar with the vagaries of Android Wear, not very well at first. The interface consists of notifications that appear over the various watch faces available as well as a voice activated screen that allows you to ask for various pieces of information. You can ask Google for directions (delivered indirectly by your phone). You can ask it to take a note or send a text. You can look things up. You can also tell the time just by lifting your wrist.

Unfortunately, the interface tends to dump back to the default time screen if something isn’t understood, which is quite frustrating. Voice recognition has been consistently good, but sometimes it will activate too soon, resulting in something like “OK Google Text OK Google” appearing on the screen.

I’ll have a full review of the new gear next week but we recorded a quick hands-on with the watch today in anticipation of many long hours spent talking to my wrist.

Original Post by Techcrunch

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