"So You Wanna Be In Pictures?"... Feb. 3rd

Sat. February 3rd... noon til 2pm.

Graphics artist, Ellen Spencer will be leading a special training session called "So You Wanna Be In Pictures?".

It's about... well... EVERYTHING to do with taking digital photos, editing them, uploading to the web so you can share them... and how then to share them online with your friend & neighbors.

Be with us, at the cafe that day.

Live... from the cafe... Lionel Batke reception

This morning at the cafe, we hosted Rev. Lionel Batke from Vancouver, British Columbia (Canadian).

[Lionel is 2nd from the right.]

See previous story.

Merger Video: "21st Century Police Dept"

[hat-tip, Marquisha Bridgeman]



"Effective January 1st, hundreds of police officers will come together as a single force due to the consolidation of the Marion County Sheriff's Department and Indianapolis Police Department. This Video Magazine was created in order to inform Indianapolis and Marion County residents about what to expect when the best of these two world-class law enforcement agencies come together to form the new Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Force."

[Watch the videos at PoliceMerger.IndyGov.org]

'J4J'... "We Lift Him Up"

[How cool is this! Praise God for this brother...]

Atlanta holy hip hop artist, 'J4J' has just finished producing "Lifting Him Up" -- a soundtrack especially for our TechMission program -- helping our friends and neighbors 'cross the 3 great divides'...

• the 'digital divide'
• the multicultural divide
• and God's eternal divide

"We Lift Him Up".

The TechMission program is underway at the Unleavened Bread Cafe, a 501(c)3 ministry in the heart of Indy's inner-city. Come down and join us any Saturday morning, 10 a.m. til noon.

'J4J' -- Reginald Blanchard -- has been nominated for a 'Gospel Choice Award' as Best Holy Hip Hop Artist for 2006. But more than that, Reggie himself is a tech-adept, e-capable Christian who knows the importance and the power of acquiring internet skills... no matter what your profession. Check out his MySpace page as he uses it to network with others, and utilize his talents for the glory of God.

Then visit his commercial site... J4Jmusic.com.

But most importantly, listen to the lyrics as he guides young people toward Christ, acknowledging Him daily, and a life-long learning.

Let's hope to meet Reggie at CCDA St. Louis 2007 !

**********************

[Reggie, we praise God for you!]

Prayer Reception at the cafe... Dec. 16

From Tom Walker
President - One Accord Minnistry

Dear Friends,

Blessings to you all in the name of our risen Lord. A free prayer reception is being held at the Unleavened Bread Cafe (30th x Central Ave, map-link RSVP if you can) at 9 AM Saturday, Dec. 16th for new friend of Indiana, Pastor Lionel Batke, who is visiting us from Vancouver, British Columbia some 2400 miles away. Lionel is connected with my friends from Prayer Canada of Surrey, BC whom I visited back in September.

I wish to take some time Saturday to pray for Lionel (you could say a prayer for him now..) but I believe Lionel would much rather spend time praying for Indianapolis' needs so come and agree with us in prayer. Feel free to purchase breakfast from the Cafe while with us for the hour and Lionel and I will stick around for an additional hour to create additional linkages and time for additional prayer as the Spirit leads. It's important that Lionel connects with key leaders like yourselves while here to further improve and create US/Canadian spiritual collaboration.
Lionel Batke

PERSONAL PROFILELionel Batke was born and raised the son of a leading Full Gospel Pastor in Western Canada. He was trained in ministry and music as a youth. When he sings, his strong baritone voice can fill the largest auditorium. The Full Gospel Bible Institute, Eston, Saskatchewan provided further training and graduation in 1963.

In 1965 he was ordained into the ministry and during the early years served as pastor of churches in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. He and his wife, Virginia, of over 40 years live in Vancouver and have three children. This new generation in turn, are raising up nine grandchildren to be a godly seed in the earth.

As a father, he desires to mentor competent and effective ministry that will serve the next generation by the will of God. To this end he travels internationally with the burden of a teaching and prophetic ministry, equipping especially leaders to fulfill their personal purpose and call in God.

Real hunger and thirst for the fresh water of life forced his spiritual roots down deeply into Ireland during the latter days of Charismatic Renewal among Roman Catholics. This opened up his life and ministry to the whole Church and the whole world, further preparing him for ongoing prophetic input into a growing number of nations.

Lionel first went to Japan as part of Team Thrust Ministries and the interdenominational Holy Spirit Seminars of 1971, 1972 and 1975. He has since traveled in ministry often to remote places in South Africa, Rhodesia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ireland, Holland, Poland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, Pakistan, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Australia, the Philippines and the Canadian High Arctic.

I look forward to seeing you all there Saturday!

May God bless you and all those you love ,


Rev. Thomas C. Walker
President - One Accord Ministry Inc.
865 Country Walk Court
Brownsburg, Indiana 46112-1770
mailto:tom@oneaccordministry.org
http://www.oneaccordministry.org/
Office 317-286-1117

Abbott and Costello Buy A Computer...

If you're old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, you may also be just old enough to have these kinds of computer questions. If so, come on down to the cafe any Saturday morning, 10am til noon. It's all free, and it's all good. Just ask Who.


Listen to the original
Visit Baseball-Almanac.com.


ABBOTT AND COSTELLO BUY A COMPUTER
by Tom King

For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, read on.

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out something like this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals and track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".............

Annual Timeline Planning Meeting... coming to cafe.

The annual Timeline Planning Meeting for 2007, sponsored by Transform Indiana ministry networking initiative, is coming to the Unleavened Bread Cafe... Noon, Tues., December 19th.

Important details at Transform Indiana.com.

************
Subsequent note: Here are some of the shots from among the 45 leaders gathered together that day!


[Visit Flickr.com to see the growing set of 'ubcafe' photos]

IndyStar: Pastor John Hay to bicycle India

[full article at IndyStar.com]

[Ed.Note: John is one of the regulars here at the cafe's Weds morning Bible study.]

[Visit BikeHiker Blog]

Ruby Anderson, Martindale-Brightwood community

Here's an example of just how easy it is to write and post something to a blog... it's as easy as email...

• log-in
• write something
• hit send (publish)

Example:
We met this nice lady at the cafe this morning... Ruby Anderson. She's formerly at the library in the Martindale-Brightwood community.

Here's a great link she gave me today.

We also visited WhenYouNeedSomeone.com.... and OutreachIndiana.org... which may be helpful to her in her ministry pursuits.

See you next Saturday.

Sacking Hunger

Here’s another opportunity to help those in need this coming Thanksgiving. Please help us those who may fall through the cracks this season. Know anyone who could use some help?
Thousands of families in Indy are deprived of typical Thanksgiving Dinner.
Faith, Hope and Love www.fhlcommunity.org (FHL) is partnering with Helping Hands, Save the Youth, Shepherd Community and several other organizations and churches to collect “Sacks of Groceries”. The sack would include:
2 cans of green beans
1 jar of applesauce
Bread Rolls
2 cans of corn
1 packet of noodles
Cookies
2 cans of sweet potatoes
1 box of instant potatoes
Pudding2 cans of cranberry sauce
1 box of stuffing
Brown Sugar
2 packets of brown gravy mix
1 bag of marshmallows
Paper Products
Collections dates, time and sites are:
November 6 - 17 (Mon-Fri) 8am to 4pm at Save the Youth http://www.savetheyouth.org (STY) building at 1701 N. Trumbull, 317-923-5642; (Mon-Fri) 10am to 4pm at the Vineyard Community Church http://www.indyvineyard.org at 8383 Craig St. Ste. 185, 317-842-3510 and Bethel Lutheran Church http://www.bethellutheranchurch.com/ at 20650 Cumberland Rd. Noblesville, IN 46062 317-773-4315. Grocery packages will be delivered through the help of organizations who are strategically located around metropolitan Indianapolis to reach those who may fall through the crack.
There will be Thanksgiving Dinner at Save the Youth building on November 21 at 6:00pm. Please provide Macaroni & Cheese in large packages, turkey, paper plates, cups and plastic utensils. Your donation of $20 will feed 4 persons; $15 will buy a frozen turkey; $55 will provide complete groceries for a family. Please make your check payable to Faith, Hope and Love and mail it to: 5730 Bruce Blvd. Noblesville, IN 46062.

Please contact FHL to find out how you can volunteer in this Community Thanksgiving Outreach.
FHL is also partnering with different organizations such as 93.9 The Song, the local government, schools, churches and businesses to provide opportunities to the public to “Sack Hunger” together.

Merlin Gonzales
mgonzales@fhlcommunity.org

No vote on disputed bar

[Here's an article from the cafe neighborhood... from the Indianapolis Star]

Thursday night's Mapleton-Fall Creek Neighborhood Association meeting had all the makings of a showdown -- tension, wildly divergent opinions, businessmen with money at stake

[continued at IndyStar.com]

Free Hugs

[Just like Sister Elease's 'Jesus Hugs' at the cafe!]

'Reformed Gangstas' Video

[too funny not to run today... click the pic for today's video.]




Hat-tip Blews.Network's review of a number of great 'reformed' articles, people and links.

"Has God provided for you?"

From the Levite Chronicles... [Ft. Wayne]

"A new way to capture stories and share them with other people and a way to involve more voices in the services."

"If either poverty or prosperity was the measure of being in good standing with God, the other group would always feel pressure. Instead, we can depend on God to provide what we need at the time it is needed (not to be confused the the time at which we want the need to be met!). I asked some people to call their stories in to my K7 number, and this is what they said...."

Study: Digital Divide Separates Children

[excerpted from CNN.com]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Many more white children use the Internet than do Hispanic and black students, a reminder that going online is hardly a way of life for everyone.

Two of every three white students -- 67 percent -- use the Internet, but less than half of blacks and Hispanics do, according to federal data released Tuesday. For Hispanics the figure is 44 percent; for blacks, it's 47 percent.

"This creates incredible barriers for minorities," said Mark Lloyd, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an expert on how communications influence civil rights.

Not using the Internet "narrows their ability to even think about the kind of work they can be doing," Lloyd said. "It doesn't prepare them for a world in which they're going to be expected to know how to do these things."

Kids use the Internet most often for completing school assignments, the new study says.

[continued at CNN.com]

***************************

[IndyChristian Commentary: This is one of the very reasons we do what we do at the cafe each Saturday morning (10am til noon) -- we help our friends & neighbors cross the digital divide, the multicultural divide, and God's eternal divide.]

"Are You Ready?"

Gerald and myself and Elizabeth are going to create a short video-clip -- well, not really CREATE -- we're going to post one that we found and really, really like... and think you will too. Or should.



Once we learned how, we can teach ANYONE to post their favorite video-clips in just a couple of clicks.

Ahhh, but that's the secret -- y'gotta KNOW SOMEBODY who knows HOW. And you DO know somebody -- you know us. So come down any Saturday morning at 10am, and we'll gladly share with you.

Btw, that ALSO goes for showing you how YOU could 'be ready'... that is, how YOU could 'KNOW FOR SURE'.

Our neighbors in history online

Today at the cafe, Bennie Sayles and I surfed to Google... and found an interesting page at IndyGov.org... showing black history in the IFD (Indianapolis Fire Dept).

'How the Internet Works'

Are you one of those folks who thinks the internet is too complicated to understand?



But really it's quite easy, if you have the right person explaining it. Or better yet, here's a great animated diagram that will clear everything up for you.

[You'll want to turn your sound on, so you'll get the full benefit of the presentation.]

[Now... click to ENJOY.]

And if for some reason this doesn't clear everything up for you, then come join us every Saturday morning at the cafe for coffee, conversation and informally asking your internet questions. 10 a.m. til noon -- every Saturday. Everyone's welcome.

The Hope Team Summit... Sept. 15th

Kim Boyd, Founder

The H.O.P.E. Team, Inc. invites you to attend our 5th Annual Citywide Summit. This year's theme is "The Road to Recovery..."

It's a day to discuss issues on how to recover from Homelessness, Unemployment, Illiteracy, Inccarceration, Illnesses & Sustance Abuse.

Hosted at Martin University (Gathertorium, 2171 Avondale Place, Indianapolis).

Contact 822-HOPE... or email Kim@TheHopeTeam.com.


[click for .pdf flyer]

Visit TheHopeTeam.com.

Oak Tree Idea... a neat social-networking site

Worth checking out. Let me encourage you to sign up and look around. It's the best one I've seen for Christians. Let me know what you think.

Here's my page there. Admittedly not much, at present; but I'll be working on it. And I'm very much considering launching a "Transform Indiana" 'project' there. Members are easily searchable by state, so it should help us easily expand our contacts base.

Visiting TheBethlehemHouse.org

"The Bethlehem House provides support services in an environment that is spiritual in a holistic manner and is designed to meet program participants at their level of need."

[continued at TheBethlehemHouse.org]

[Meet some of the people at The Bethlehem House.]

Video: "Are You Blogging This?"

OF COURSE! Too funny not to blog it.

Lyrics at David's site.

Bound for Wireless Philly...

Well, almost.



Lord willing, we're headed to Philly, ok... but it won't yet have launched its city-wide "Wireless Philly" system.

What a great concept though! And they have some beta-areas we'll hope to visit. And leaders to talk with?

Click the link to visit their site. And especially watch the tv video clip from the Lehrer News Hour.

Can't wait to get to CCDA Philly!

Photos from "Urban Community Tech Day"

[Click to see our Flickr photo-set from "Urban Community Tech Day" at the Unleavened Bread Cafe, Saturday, July 29, 2006. It was a great day among all our friends & neighbors, as a part of "Faith Hope & Love Week" here in Indy.

Win a Free iPod Shuffle... at the cafe

Come be with us at 9 a.m. Saturday... for "Urban Community Tech Day"... focused on serving our inner-city friends, by helping neighbors cross the digital divide. [affiliated with "Faith, Hope & Love Week"]

We'll be giving away an iPod Shuffle and other door-prizes.

[Special thanks to SimDesk Indiana, for sponsoring today's prizes & costs.]

• Smaller than a pack of gum, it's just over 0.3" thin and weighs only 0.8 oz.
• 512MB* internal flash memory stores up to 120 songs (128 Kbps AAC)
• Supports MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, AAC, Protected AAC and WAV formats

Other door prizes to be given away:

• Free Breakfast Combo (4 prizes)
• Free Rib-Tips Dinner (1 prize)

All Participants on Saturday will get:

• Free Email
• Free Internet Access
• [Free Wi-Fi available]
• Free Continental Breakfast items
• Free 'Digital Backpack' Training
• Other Free items provided by participating organizations.

"Urban Community Tech Day" will help 'cross the digital divide'

• by helping neighbors obtain internet capabilities
  [such as Free Email, surfing and other computer skills]
• by helping neighbors connect for jobs-search, training & resumes.
• by helping churches, cafes & community-centers set up an urban tech mission in their neighborhood.

Free Registration starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 29th...
at the Unleavened Bread Cafe (30th St and Central Ave).

Door-prize drawing will be from among registered participants... and must be present to win. All children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, to win.

***************************

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED !!! Can you surf? Do you have an email address yourself? Then you're qualified to help! [If possible, email us ahead to let us know you can help. But don't let that hold you back -- the main thing is that you come on Saturday morning and be ready to help others.]

Also, the 'Prayer On The Move' Trailer will be onsite that morning by the 9 a.m. Registration time. Come visit. See this specially-equipped trailer, and meet others who are regularly praying for our city.

The event is hosted at the Unleavened Bread Cafe, in conjunction with the TechMission [free] training program conducted there every Saturday morning.

Everyone is warmly welcome... and volunteers are appreciated any Saturday morning.

Judy O'Bannon features 'Community Buiders East'

Everyone at the cafe knows Dan Gushee, the cafe ministry's board-chairman. What you may NOT know, is that as a result of a Bible study at the cafe, Dan 'connected' with Mark Stout, and quickly became friends in urban ministry.

Good things come from 'connecting'. [And the cafe is just the place for it!] The following story demonstrates this principle...

Recently, former Indiana First-Lady Judy O'Bannon featured Mark & Dan on her public television show... "Communities Building Community".



[View Video]

And here's a link to 'Community Builders East'... helping rebuild inner-city homes in the Brookside Park area.

[Visit Community Builders East]

'Urban Tech Day'... Sat., July 29th

"Urban Tech Day, Saturday July 29th... is a day focused on serving our inner-city friends, by helping neighbors cross the digital divide... and the related economic ramifications.



This day of service is a part of the metro-wide 'Faith Hope & Love' initiative. Community residents are invited to come for breakfast and learn to surf the internet, get a free email account, and even start a free website of their own.

A special 'Internet Safety' presentation will be given to help community residents prepare their children and teens for this rising new problem.

Door prizes will be given away.

Urban Tech Day is sponsored by SimDesk Indiana -- 'Where Opportunities Come To Life'. The event will be hosted at the Unleavened Bread Cafe (at the corner of 30th Street and Central Ave), starting at 9:00 a.m... til noon.

Urban churches and community centers are specially invited to come learn more about the TechMission program to help their neighborhoods 'cross the digital divide'.

How do I upload a document to my blog?

One of our key people just asked... "How do I upload a document to my blog?" [example: a .pdf flyer for instance]

Two considerations...

• #1. Since the document is fairly sizeable, it needs to be uploaded (somewhere) onto the web.
• #2. Then your blog really just somehow needs to 'point' to the uploaded document, so that your readers can just click on something on your blog, to go directly to the uploaded document.

Ok, dealing with #1 -- the Uploading.

• Upload it to WHERE? This is a biggest issue, because unfortunately, Blogger doesn't currently provide server-space somewhere to house your document. Perhaps our readers here will leave a comment re their favorite place to house documents online. And in the near future, we're working on a solution, especially with 'SimDesk' (SimIndiana.com), sponsors of our upcoming 'Urban Tech Day'. But right this moment, there IS NO good answer, other than our standard response... "Ya gotta KNOW somebody" (who's got server space and are willing to help you).
  
  But then, that's a pretty good affirmation to our basic philosophy at UBbloggin -- "It's not WHAT you know, so much as it is WHO you know... and thus our focus on building great relationships... for this life... and the life to come."
  
  Ok, fortunately... you know ME. And I've got (some amount of) space on the IndyChristian.com server, and am willing to help those who collaborate well in the cause of Christ. Email me your document and I'll see what I can do.
  
  And for those of you now coming aboard BEHIND the scenes via CrossroadsConnection.com... there's an ability to attach your files to an entry there inside CC. But the neat part is that the attachment can be seen PUBLICALLY... by anyone. And that's the way I cured this person's issue. I attached it to a blog-entry inside CrossroadsConnection.com. [read on]

Now... dealing with consideration #2... what to do at your blog, to 'point' to the now-uploaded document?

• The easiest way is just write a phrase and hyperlink it to the document. Example... "Click here for detailed diagram".
• But personally, I often prefer creating a little teaser pic of some kind to add a little pizazz... and hyperlink the PIC so it'll take folks to the diagram document when anyone clicks it. Creating a little thumbnail pic of the larger document or picture... is a separate issue... for another day though. Stay tuned here at UBbloggin.com.

Blessings!

Technology Education Vehicle

[Gerald/Damita... Wanna put in a requisition for one of these?]



"The Orange County Rescue Mission is committed to providing long-term solutions to homeless and impoverished families who desire to change their lives.

[continued at Blews.Network]

LITTLE GUYS FOOTBALL!

Yes, it's that time again!
Time to outfit our young men to play some football, instead of trouble. A friend of the Cafe, Gerald Alexander, has taken on the big job of coaching some neighborhood kids on the Eastside of Indy - but he is a Big guy & we know he can handle it. He already has 2 teams, of 14-18 players, 9-11 years old.

These are kids from single family & low income homes, so they are in desperate need of uniforms & equipment. So we are sending out this plea for your help in outfitting these little guys so they can have some fun, learn some discipline, and have an alternative to the gangs & streets!

They begin practice in June, with their 1st game coming in August. They are in need of the following: Helmets, cleats, mouthpieces, pads, cups, balls, jerseys, shoes, etc.

Anything you can bless them with would be greatly appreciated. Or if you know of someone who would like to sponsor a team, please contact Gerald Alexander @ 412-8382.

Thanks in advance & be Blessed!

Bloggin' Together For The Gospel

Wish I'd have been there to see/hear this...
I can only imagine... LOL...

[continued]

[Also visit Together For The Gospel]

[Also visit Challies.com -- live-blogging it all]

One Year Bible Blog

"Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

[continued at OneYearBibleBlog.com]

CoffeeHouse Ministries

[Thought you'd all be interested in this new site here in Indy... and is operated by a Christian friend of ours....]



"Coffee House Fellowship Ministries is a forum for men to discuss issues relating to life and faith and how these impact our daily lives. We are dedicated to building men into effective leaders, husbands, and fathers through critical thinking and mutual fellowship.
We are based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and meet bi-weekly... [continued at CoffeeHouseMinistries.org]

***********************************
[IndyChristian Ed. Note: As more & more such ministries and coffee-house Bible study groups show up on the radar screen here around Indy, we're mapping them and linking you to them at NeighborhoodCafes.com. Know of any others? Email us.]

1000 Mentors?

"A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with one step."

Our journey to help raise up a 1,000 mentors for at-risk kids in Indianapolis schools... took another step this morning. We helped Pastor James Carter start a web-site and procure the domain-name "1000 Mentors .com".

The concept emanated from last year's Transform Indiana discussion series, "Breaking Out of the Jail Cycle". Many among the ministry network are involved in various aspects of prison ministry'... during and after incarceration. And others, like Pastor Carter, concluded that God was calling them to try to help stem the problem as far 'upstream' as possible. Help impressionable youth.

One of the forum panelists, Olgen Williams from the Christamore House, told the crowd... "The number one determinant as to the likelihood of a youth ending up in jail someday... is whether he failed to finished school."

Pastor Carter resolved to do something about that, Lord willing.

So when he heard IPS Superintendent Dr. Eugene White put out a call for mentors to come alongside at-risk IPS students, he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted the (big-C) 'Church' to provide 1,000 such mentors. A tall task, to be sure.

The Transform Indiana ministry network has joined in the effort, and brought in the founder of "Kids Hope USA" to speak at a monthly TI networking meeting. And a number of the TI networkers are helping Pastor Carter get underway.

One 'step' was to help James get a web-site started.

And that's one way we can help.

How to create a hyperlink...

This morning, one of our bloggers said, "Ok, I know how to log in, write something, hit the Publish button... But how do you make those hyperlinks in your blog?"

Ok, fellow bloggers... LOL... Here's a start. Here's how you can create a hyperlink, so you can effectively 'point' folks to other great sites, articles or webpages.

After you've logged in to Blogger.com, and started creating or editing a blog-post...

1. Write something.
2. highlight something you wrote (which you'd like to see turned into a hyperlink.)
3. Click the tiny little 'hyperlink' icon (which is just above the white text-box you're writing in.)
4. When the little dialog box appears, type in the URL of the site you want your hyperlink to go to.
5. Click 'Ok' in the little dialox box.

La Voila! Here's what I decided to link to, to show you MY FAVORITE PIC on the world WIDE web !!!

[More next week. Y'all come.]

How To Get George Bush To Read Your Blog!

We need to soon build a cafe-blogging segment on...

"How To Get George Bush To Read Your Blog!".

(...or anyone else.)

Sure, he COULD accidentally get bored some day while vacationing at the ranch, and just HAPPEN to type in your blog url. [Or so could anyone else.]

But that's not likely.

So the question is... How should we quickly go about getting our blogs seen?

We'll answer that in upcoming blog-posts, probably by going and searching out best-practices that someone else has already compiled for us. Then we'll link you to THEIR best ideas.

[And btw, we know some bloggers that George respects.... so just MAYBE....]

But at the very least, we'll start compiling some tips & tricks in the meantime. Like... go try to get your blog-url added at the following blog-searching sites:

• UBbloggin.com -- Ask them (oh, I mean us) to add your url in the 'Begats' section.
• IndyChristian.com -- If you're a Christian blogger, maybe you'd qualify for the Who's Who of Indy Bloggers. Email Neil.
• IndyBloggers.com -- Aggregator associated with IndyChristian.com. If you get aggregated there, you'd automatically also be seen wherever THEIR site is aggregated. Eg... ChristianHeadlines.com's Indiana News & Blogs page.
• Email IndyChristian's listed Who's Who of Indy Bloggers... and maybe they'add add you.
• BlogIndiana.com -- a secular list of Indiana blogs.
• Ask your church to add your link. LOL -- Yeah right **rollingeyes**. Maybe not yet, but sooner or later you'll see an openness by churches to reflect the nature of the Church... as the PEOPLE... not the centralized meeting place... or the staff... or just the leaders. So hang in there in the meantime, encourage them to start thinking that way. If we're ever to totally impact our neighborhoods and culture, it'll be by WORKING TOGETHER as a networked tapestry of driven Christians. They'll add you one of these days. Trust me. Btw, though... here's a start... here are some progress IndyChurches(.com) at least doing some blogging.
• Go join a 'blog alliance'. There are a number of Christian alliances shown at IndyChristian.com. And there are many more.
• Consider your favorite activities, ministries, hobbies, etc.... Chances are, they considering a blogsite, and might soon even be aggregating blog-feeds like YOURS. Ask them to add your link to their site.
• Other ideas or search-engine links for bloggers?

Now in the meantime, take some time and consider... "If not George Bush, who WOULD I like to read my blog?" [That is... what's the purpose of my blog anyway? How could I change the world a little, or a lot, if I published my best stuff here? Or how could I change the world by networking people to other people who are working to change the world for Christ?]

SimDesk Saturday, March 18th... 12:30pm

We're welcoming a returning friend this week, as she represents SimDesk, and will be talking with several of our geekier friends (**LOL**) about helping us sponsor a Tech Awareness Day in the inner-city this year.

So y'all come, if you're interested in how we can work together to help folks cross the digital divide, in neighborhoods across the city.

Say hi to Donny...

Welcome our newest blogger...

Donny G. Jackson, Sr.

The Kings Kids....

Remember us talking about our new friend Rachel? She likes being called 'Antoinette'... especially now that she's starting a cleaning business blog.

This morning at the cafe...

[Hey, what's this? A WEDDING reception is taking place this afternoon... for our friend Beverly. Wishing you the very best!]

We'll try to blog some more a little later, but here's one link we wanted to put up today... ReformU.com is an addictions program with a couple of locations right here in Indy.

• Soul Harbors Church, 317-638-0533
• Eagledale Baptist Church

We'll try to get some more info on them and perhaps include them at WhenYouNeedSomeone.com -- the needs-based Christian site for the city. Stay tuned.

*******************
Later... Ok, we're back... blogging another key piece of Saturday morning's 'connection & internet-training'... We added a link to a new friend who just arrived in Indy... Eric's bivocational pastor... Floyd Miles, who is... get this... an eminently qualified addictions counselor among other things. Welcome, Floyd! Hope you like Indy as much as we do.

Why do we do what we do?

Why? Because we enjoy making friends at the cafe. And because some of us are kind of geeky. LOL. So we enjoy helping our friends get a little geeky too. Well, at least enough to learn some of the basic internet skills together. Learn to find stuff you want. And importantly, learn to find WHO you want to find... ie, friends that love you too and will help find stuff, etc. And the list goes on.

But even if we helped people acquire great computers skills, or find great jobs, or learned to surf for answers about how to fix their homes so they could be warm, dry and well-fed all their life... til they died... and fell off into an eternity in hell... THAT WOULDN'T BE VERY NICE OF US !

So a big part of the answer to 'Why do we do what we do?' is....

...because many of us have received the most valuable gift known to mankind, and we're willing to 'love our neighbors as ourselves'... that is... share it with you too.

Jesus has done sooooo much for us, it wouldn't be right not to share it.

If we ourselves enjoy peace with God Almighty, now and forever.... then surely we're not REALLY loving our neighbors as ourselves if we don't pass along that 'good news'... of how you too could have eternal life.

So let me ask you... [click to continue if interested]

Far-flung Friend of the cafe... Ken Bussell

Remember Ken? [see his comment] He's now out in Oregon ministry... worshipping, administrating... and blogging.

Today at the cafe...

The place was buzzin' today again... a meeting going on in the back room, and doing internet training out in the front of the cafe. Another new young lady joined our networking group this morning. [Welcome Rachel!] And James & Thomas were back with us again this morning, and the normal crowd. So the group continues growing...

And that's the essence of the theme here... the more the merrier. 'Teams' and 'networks' can help people success more often than 'Lone-Rangers'.

Example: Today Rachel asked... "How could I use the internet for job-hunting... or starting a cleaning business?" A perfect question. And something that a network can help with. Thus the need to keep networking further & further.

[continue discussion at CEO Indy.com -- a jobs blog]

Video-bloggin'

Hey the cafe's new video is now available via the web !

A special thanks goes out to Dave Streit, at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church. We praise God for you, Dave, and for all the fine folks at Tab who are actively involved at the cafe and other urban ministries throughout the city.

Each One, Teach One

By Neil Cox
"I may not be a poet, but I understand math."

I teach You.
You teach Somebody.
Somebody teaches Him.
Him teaches Her.
Her teaches Them.
Them teaches Who.
Who teaches Y'all.

"Y'all can teach Everybody."

TechMission Jobs Postings

Hey here are some Job-openings at TechMission (Boston). These are the great folks that are helping Christians run urban tech centers all over the country, and they're apparently growing like crazy. Neat guys & gals. We had several of them here in Indy, running the CyberCafe at CCDA Indy 2005 -- remember?

[continued]

**********************
[And don't forget WhenYouNeedSomeone.com -- where we're trying to help a number of folks with various different types of needs... connect to the Christian ministries that will try to help. A couple of the ministries seen there help with JOBS-related issues... such as... CEOindy.com.]

DAVID IVEY, A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART!

Just had to let you all know that there is a true Psalmist on the scene of today's music -
he is an Anointed man of God,
he sings of God, he sings to God --
his words & music are given by God,
and he, in turn, gives them right back to Our Heavenly Father
in Worship, Praise, and Thanksgiving!

Don't take my word for it - go out and buy these CD's:
Your Today & the Bottom Line, by David Ivey.

You will not regret it --
you will not be disappointed --
in fact, your life will be changed --
your heart will be mended --
you will be set free & made whole --
your relationship with Your Heavenly Father will be renewed and made stronger!!

Now, please -- go buy the music - then come back and thank me!
Love in Christ always!

Cafe bloggers... and CEO blog

This morning we had fun practicing together on CEO blog.

There's no better way to understand what a blog is... than jumping right in and start 'bloggin'.

So each person took a turn bloggin' an entry there as a fun way to practice together.

And ultimately, we want to help build this particular blogsite to help direct folks to great employment-focused resources, opportunities and to start networking with each other for jobs.

[continued at CEO blog]

And here's one of our new bloggers already putting up a site...


[Shazodan]

*********************
[And after we finished at the cafe, several of these folks proceeded on to Crossroads Bible College for a meeting of young folks who intend to be involved in a citywide renewal event called 'Really Big City'.]

Baloney Bloggin'

Here is a picture of Gerald.
Know why he's so wiiiiiide?

Cuz he's full of baloney!




Hi everyone. Forgive us for having a little extra fun today. Gerald had it coming. He suckered us all in with a long-winded yarn... ending in a 'sackful of baloney'.

Every week it's different, but we have a lot of fun here building relationships across various cultures. In fact, we say that we're not only trying to cross the 'divide divide', but we're also crossing the racial divide, and ultimately helping our friends cross God's eternal divide.

And yeah, we have fun doing it. So we used Gerald's baloney tale to also teach folks how to search for pictures out on the web, and how to easily put 'em into their websites.

Hope to see some of you on Saturday -- come join us. It's free and easy, and holds eternal rewards.

When You Need Someone... for Jobs...

One of our objectives at IndyChristian.com is to link pastors/leaders to best-in-class partnering ministries... particularly 'care ministries'... such as Jobs Partnership here in the heart of the inner-city, when Minister Doug Hairston is the Executive Director.... [continued at WhenYouNeedSomeone.com]