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Ok, I’ve narrowed it down to my top 5. But I need you, my loyal blog friends to crown the Ordinary Radical sitcom theme song champion.

Here are the contestants:

1) Coming straight out of the 60s with a catchy whistled tune titled “The Fishin’ Hole” by Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer. It’s the Andy Griffith Show theme song.

2) In the 80s this theme song invited us all to a place “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” – it’s the theme song from Cheers written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo.

3) Filled with soul and a bit of sass this sitcom from the 70s and 80s brought us higher with a gospel infused theme song called “Movin’ On Up” written by Ja’net Du Bois and Jeff Barry. It’s the theme from The Jeffersons.

4) In the 60s, we rocked the Island with this catchy nautical theme song “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle” written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle. It’s the theme from Gilligan’s Island, little buddies!

5) Back in the 90s, a group of “Friends” gave us one of the most catchy and annoying theme songs of all times. Written by Michael Skloff and Allee Willis specifically for the show and performed by the Rembrandts, it’s “I’ll Be There For You” – theme from Friends.

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Honorable mentions (including non-sitcom themes):

Theme song from The Fresh Prince
Theme song from Knight Rider
Theme song from Dallas
Theme song from Bonanza
Theme song from The Flinstones

Ok, friends, let the voting begin. Which song deserves the crown? And what is YOUR favorite TV theme song?

Why Blog?: The Series

1) Why I Blog: I blog for fun.
2) Blogging As A Worship Leader: I blog to connect, to share, and to encourage.
3) Blogging & Social Networking. My blog is it’s very own social network!
4) Staying away from the Dark Side.

Today: Why Blog?: Blogging & Stats

First, I love stats.

I love checking them to see how many people have visited my blog and the other handful of sites I administer. It’s fun. It’s almost a game.

For me, blog stats are a vital part of blogging. I don’t check them because I’m trying to win the world over to my blog. I don’t even follow them because I need to be popular.

I’m a man. Yep, a male. I’m very task oriented. You could even say I’m goal oriented, though my wife might disagree!

In my inner workings are wires that cause me to desire to SEE where I’ve been, where I’m at, and where I’m going. I love checking my blog stats.

Thing is, I’m never disappointed if I don’t reach a certain number, because my blog is ultimately about having an outlet to express my creativity and to connect with people along the way. It’s not about conversions and clickthroughs and what not. It’s fun.

Now, that being said I know there are many people who run successful blogs that DO need to set goals and hit targets to bring in income. More power to you. Maybe one day I’ll have the desire to run a blog for that purpose.

If you’re willing to journey with me by reading my blogs and commenting, then gosh darn, you’re so much more than a stat to me anyways. I consider you a friend!

And in my book, I’d much rather have a friend than a number on a chart!

I DO post top referrers and I do visit my google stats at least twice a week. Mostly to see where traffic is coming from and to give link love to those that are passing new friends my way!

So to sum it all up (for me):

1) I check stats because it’s fun, not because I need the popularity.
2) I’d rather have a few good friends to journey with than a few thousand ticks on a chart.

Why Blog?: The Series

1) Why I Blog: I blog for fun.
2) Blogging As A Worship Leader: I blog to connect, to share, and to encourage.
3) Blogging & Social Networking. My blog is it’s very own social network!

Today: The Dark Side of Blogging

Today’s thoughts about blogging are simple. There are some great aspects of having a blog. But for me, there is also one ugly thing about blogging. Some would call it narcissism, some would call it self-love. I call it vanity.

Whether it’s by posting too much about our own accomplishments, being too driven by stats, or simply by stroking on our own egos, it can be a slippery slope, the one that leads to the dark side.

It’s so easy to get caught up with yourself while blogging. As a blogger who blogs from a ministry perspective, my hope is that in all my ranting and raving; in all my confessing and creating, in all my sharing and showing…I hope that I never come across as self serving.

As cheesy as it might sound, I hope that the effort and time I spend blogging somehow in the end points people to Jesus.

Be it directly or indirectly, I’m not ashamed to say that my goal is to connect with God and to connect with others on my journey through life and to use all necessary tools to make that happen. In this case it is a blog.

While it is all good to blog about our own journeys and experiences in life, let’s make sure that we are blogging to share and encourage, to connect with others, and ultimately with God.

To keep this short and sweet: as bloggers who represent worship ministries, the Church, and ultimately God, let us not fall victim to the Dark Side of blogging.

Why Blog?: The Series

1) Why I Blog: I blog for fun.
2) Blogging As A Worship Leader: I blog to connect, to share, and to encourage.

Today: Blogging & Social Networking. (*Started this post on Thursday but work got in the way so I’m finishing it up today).

MySpace, Facebook, MyChurch, Virb, etc. Social Networking sites have been around for years but these behemoths are the ones that rose to the top. Of course there’s plenty of niche sites out there as well where people congregate to share info and connect.

Right now is a transitional period as far as the interweb goes. We’re somewhere in between web 2.0 and web 3.0 – web 2.0 brought the whole interactive and community vibe to the web. With the advent of social networking sites, photosharing, podcasting, and blogging web 2.0 has been a huge part of the interconnectivity of our generation.

One of the crazy things that I’ve seen with this whole 2.0 wave is blogging ON social networking sites. Now, I think it’s a great idea to blog. In fact, I think if you don’t blog and you’re reading this, as soon as you’re done with this post, rush over to WordPress.com or blogger.com and start now.

:)

Here’s my opinion, when it comes to the social networking sites, the option to “blog” is overkill. Don’t get me wrong, like I said blogging is great, but I think if a person is trying to maintain umpteen blogs instead of focusing on one, they’ll probably spread themselves too thin and end up with umpteen mediocre to bad blogs instead of one great blog.

You got a myspace or facebook? Learn some keystrokes: CTRL+C = copy; CTRL+V = paste (pc); CMD+C = copy; CMD+V = paste (mac). Copy and paste snippets from your original blog into these sites. For facebook you can actually turn on a feature that imports your blog. All you have to do is enter your url.

The idea (for the most part) is to give people in your social networks a taste of what’s going on over at your blog. Use your myspace to connect with old highschool buddies or to post new music for your fans. Use your facebook to stay in contact with friends and to draw cute graffiti messages on their wall. Use your blog to blog.

Anyways, now that I’ve ranted a bit about the overblogging (clogging up) of your social networks, let me state the why a little clearer.

The idea behind a social network site is that it’s generally just that: a social network. It’s truly a way to connect with people and sometimes to distribute data and info. While your blog can also perform these functions, trying to maintain several different thought streams on different sites is just asking for mediocrity.

If you’re tracking with me here, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been very redundant, repetitive, and redundant.

It was intentional.

Blogging combined with social networking sites can be a beautiful thing. But it can also burn you out. Blog on your blog. Tease on your networks (as in teasers).

Now, one last thought: Your blog IS a social networking site (of sorts). Think about the conversations you have with people throughout the week on your blog. They’re not that much different than the comment box on your favorite social networking site. With one big exception: the majority if not ALL of your comments are focused and specific. No crazy random posts from people you don’t know trying to increase their friends total. Especially if you have your spam filters up and running and you moderate your comments well.

The beauty of your blog as a social network is that it’s a niche. A very focused and specific niche. It’s all about YOU. People that are interested in that niche will join you on your journey. I don’t know if there’s a coined phrase for this, but I like to think of blogs as micro-social networks. If you blog you’re already running your very own social networking site, centered around whatever you blog about.

Your blog is a micro-social networking site. If you have 10 people who visit regularly and comment you’re doing well! Why? Because 10 people who are interested in a niche are better than a million random people who are not. I’ve always read and heard that in internet marketing, that finding and working a niche is the way to achieve and maintain success.

Although, you’re not necessarily blogging to make millions of dollars, hopefully you’re blogging for:

1) fun
2) connection
3) sharing
4) encouragement

…and to be “successful” in those things just remember that you and others will enjoy your blogging journey if you keep in mind that YOU are already a social networking guru (haha).

Yesterday I opened this series (Why Blog?) with a look at Why I Blog. If you haven’t been able to catch the series jump on board and enjoy the ride. Just to review: I blog for fun.

Now, onward!

Today I’m tackling the why behind Blogging As A Worship Leader. Many of my blog friends and those that are in my blog circle are involved in church ministry in some shape, form, or fashion. More specifically, a lot of them are key leaders in worship ministry.

I, too, am a “music dude” at the church I serve at. I currently lead the Media/Music ministry at House of Joy. Now that you know a little bit about me we can forge ahead into the cyberjungle of blogging as a worship leader.

So why would any worship leader blog? Well, I do have to admit, that I’m sure that every worship leader has their own reasons, but in my experience and over the last year especially, I’ve seen 3 big reasons come to the top. Let’s take a look at them.

1) As a worship leader I blog to connect. That’s right, it’s a form of “professional” networking. What better way to stay in touch with my ministry peers from all over the world than blogging? I guess I could pick up the phone and give them a ring? I guess I could drop a few hundred on a plane ticket and take a trip to see them?

No, no…imagine getting a call from me every day. Imagine if I showed up on your doorstep for dinner each night. Sure, I know it’s an exciting thought, but the reality of life is that blogging is the most efficient and inexpensive way to connect with my peers.

Why should I connect? Well, no man is an island. We NEED each other. Having a blog and regularly journeying with others by reading their blogs is a great way to stay connected. You have resources, ideas, and methods that may be transferable and applicable where I’m at and I may have something that you could use!

I blog to connect.

2) As a worship leader I blog to share. This one is quite simple. As I said yesterday, I’m on a journey, and I love that you can come along with me through my blog. As a songwriter/worship leader my blog gives me an opportunity to share specific insights into serving people through music and song.

I love that I can share a song I’m working on. Just 20 years ago it was almost impossible to share the fruits of creative songwriting on a large scale. You had to have connections, know somebody, or work at a huge church. Today, it’s as simple as uploading a video or audio recording to your blog and voila! the interweb gives you the potential to distribute that song worldwide.

As a songwriter, eventually I’d love to make a living writing. I don’t now. But I KNOW the potential power of the internet. If a God-given song moves people and can truly be used in congregational worship I believe a worship leader’s blog is the first tool for sharing it with the world. For me I know the “world” that is connected to my blog isn’t huge, but I know that those who are connected would prayerfully consider using a song I wrote if it were good.

I’ve also connected to post, share, and receive constructive criticism for my graphic design work. The other “half” of my role is media which includes web, print, signage, mailers, etc. It’s been a beautiful journey with the help of a lot of others.

I blog to share.

3) As a worship leader I blog to encourage. Yeah, this might fall into the area of cheesy, but for realz, I am so encouraged by the various blogs I read daily. Again, we live in an age of interconnectivity and it’s a beautiful thing. With the click of a button I can send an encouraging story out. In the blink of an eye I can dispense advice.

It’s truly amazing how connected we can be, how much we can share, and how we can take encouragement from being connected by blogging. I’ve been so encouraged by journeying with folks through blogs like: Just A Girl, Chris from Canada, and Worship Matters.

I blog to encourage (and to be encouraged).

For me, blogging (as a worship leader) really comes down to those 3 things. Connecting, Sharing, and Encouraging.

Tune in tomorrow for Why Blog? Social Networking.