Shawn Coons

I'm trying to put together a graphic for an upcoming sermon series, but I have zero skills or training in graphic design.  Here is what I put together so far using GIMP.  Other than the stupidly obvious, like buying the iStockphoto images, do you have any design tips or specific instructions?  Be nice. :)

At the beginning of this summer I tried to get out of my office once or twice a week to work on sermons, visioning, and other creative projects. I usually ended up on the second floor of our local public library.  This change of scenery and getting away from office distractions really helped me to focus and do some good forward looking work.

"Autonomy, mastery and purpose vs. carrot and sticks.  And who wins? Intrinsic motivation, autonomy, mastery and purpose in a knockout."

I was digging through my Gmail archives and got sidetracked in compiling the various email addresses I have had in my 20 years on the internet.  Here they are as best as I can recall/research.

Sorting pictures on the computer and came up with this fun one of Ben.

So the new PC(USA) website was rolled out today.  The old one was somewhat disorganized, visitor unfriendly, and unattractive.  The new one appears more organized, is slightly more attractive, yet remains, in my opinion, visitor unfriendly. The first thing my eye was drawn to on the new page was a video player that has mini-testimonies from Presbyterians about why they are Presbyterian.  Nice idea, start with people. But the videos are just someone talking for a minute.  No music.  No other images . Just a talking head.  The other prominent thing I noticed on first glance was the "Find a Congregation" box.  Which assumes you came here looking for a PC(USA) congregation or the videos moved you to find one (not likely). Let me highlight some things further down the page.

• A big headline that reads "New book honors life and work of Clifton Kirkpatrick"
• A short piece inviting you to listen to the "Revised Common Lectionary Podcast"
• Several links denominational events and resources with no description of what they are

Way down at the bottom of the page is a directory under the title "Looking for a church department of office?"  The headings for this directory are:

• General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC)
• Office of the General Assembly (OGA)
• Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation
• Presbyterian Church (USA) Investment and Loan Program (PILP)
• Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC)
• Board of Pensions
• Middle Governing Bodies

In my opinion, this page was built for insiders with a token nod to appealing to outsiders who like acronyms and don't mind that "General Assembly" is on the page multiple times without ever being explained.  There is nothing here that communicates in an engaging and simple manner who we are or what we are about.  The paragraphs under "Get To Know the Presbyterian Church" read like a General Assembly motion prepared for and approved by committee.  Sound theology but no life or practical application. I'm sure that a number of people put a lot of thought, time and energy into this new website.  Maybe they decided that the target audience was existing Presbyterians and the website doesn't really need to try to appeal to others. I realize I'm coming across pretty negative.  The fact of the matter is that I'm disappointed.  When I heard the PC(USA) website was being redesigned I was hopeful.  I frequently go to the websites of other denominations and I like a lot of what I see there. When I go to the front page of the United Methodist Church website I see lots of headlines that would interest Methodists and visitors.  There are links to the UMC Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as several blogs.  The wording of the various sections are not insider speak (no acronymns).  The visual design of the website could be a little more attractive but at least it has lots of visuals and pictures of people (not just talking heads). Similar impressions from the United Church of Christ website. The visual design is really good and appealing.  I really like their section headings: Church Stuff, Big Things, Change the World.  Their dropdown menus are very helpful as well. I'm not saying that these two websites are perfect or that we should have cloned either one of them to use, but they both share some similar approaches and concepts that the PC(USA) website lacks.  The UCC and UMC websites appear to be outreach to people as well as a resource for those within the denomination. Our website fails to engage or appeal to the world and seems to exists solely for the church's benefit.

This Wednesday I am being "locked up"  to help raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I can avoid being locked up if I come up with $3,200 in bail money (aka donations to the MDA). To raise part of this money I tried to use eBay to auction ringtones created by Mark "Turpster" Turpin and Patrick Beja, but eBay has restrictions on auctioning digital goods, so they shut down my auctions before they were finished. All is not lost!  In fact, this may be to your benefit.  Patrick, Turpster and I have come up with a plan.  First, make a donation of $20 or more at my Lock-Up website: www.joinmda.com/clermont2010/shawncoons. Then send me an email at shawncoons@joinmda.com with your first and last name in it so I can match it with your donation record.  Then you will receive, not one, not two, but six ringtones from Turpster and Patrick. Patrick has created one fabulous ringtone, while Turpster (by his own admission) has gone for quantity over quality with five separate ringtones.  I don't want to ruin the surprise hilarity by uploading the recordings here, and if I did then anyone could download them without donating!  So let me give you some descriptive highlights. Turpster does his own version of a famous internet meme, as well as a celebrity impression, and the ringtone so awesome that you won't want to answer your phone.  Patrick's ringtone announces to the world just what kind of person many men are... But wait, there's more! If you donate $40 or more at www.joinmda.com/clermont2010/shawncoons (and send an email with your first and last name to shawncoons@joinmda.com) then you can have Patrick or Turpster create a one of a kind, personal ringtone just for you!  You can give them your name or other info to work from, or just let their creativity run wild! If you have already donated out of the goodness of your heart with no expectation of goods or services then thank you!  Please feel free to drop me an email and I'd be happy to include you and your donation in this ringtone extravaganza! My bail is due Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m., so you have 48 hours to take advantage of this.  Thank you for your support and big thanks to Patrick and Turpster for their efforts!

...to raise money to help fight Muscular Dystrophy!  I have been chosen to help in the 2010 Clermont MDA Lockup. Sometime on June 30, I will be hauled away and locked up and I will need $3,200 bail in order to be released.  $3,200 may sound like a lot of money but I fully expect to have that and more.  My plans are to raise at least $5,000 in donations. Why am I so confident?  Two reasons. 1.  I want to use this opportunity to demonstrate to people the authenticity of online friendships and relationships. Through my adventures in the church, podcasting, and online gaming I have been able to meet a multitude of wonderful people across the country and across the world.  I have only met a handful of these people face to face, but the experiences and conversations we have shared online are more real than many "real life" interactions I've had with people.  I have also been impressed with the generosity and concern shown in a variety of situations by people whose only connections have been digital. So I am asking any of my blog readers, Twitter followers, and Facebook friends to consider helping me out in this endeavor so that you can 1) support a great cause and 2) demonstrate the reality of these so-called "virtual" friendships. The second reason that I am confident of blowing the $3,200 goal out of the water is because I have seen and experienced first-hand the incredible generosity of the people in the church.  I am continually humbled to be serving as a minister surrounded by people, near and far, who have chosen to give of their own resources because they believe that that is what God has called them to do. The church often gets a bad rap.  God knows that we Christians do some pretty stupid and selfish things sometimes.  But we also are able to do some pretty incredible things too.  In my own church, four time a week we open our doors to people in need and provide meals, food to take home, and other material assistance.  And I know of churches and other faith communities that are doing a lot more. So I am calling on people of faith to help me with this great cause as a tangible demonstration that our beliefs can make a difference in today's world. If you would like to help me with this cause you can see my MDA Lockup homepage by clicking here. Please don't hold the dated page design or the slow loading speed against me! If you don't have the funds available to make a donation at this time but you do have some Photoshop skills then I'd love a donation of a picture of me in jail, behind bars, or somehow locked-up! One more thing.  If I have the biggest dollar increase in donations by this Friday then I win breakfast at Panera's for my entire office.  So far no one has even broken the $1,000 mark.  I can smell the fresh baked bagels now... Thanks for considering this and stay tuned for more updates!