I suppose surrounding yourself with people who inspire you has some drawbacks as well

Have you ever tried to do something more than you were actually doing?  Like not just the status quo, but more or bigger or better?

I’ve been inspired this morning as I’ve read a pile of blog posts from 4:45 am to 5:30 am, to do my part to continue my quest to make Fellowship Church better, bigger, and more, with the intent of connecting and helping people abide in Christ.

Mark shared his adventures in Nashville,which he travelled to from Egypt this week.  He’s a worship leader there.  Pete tells of how the community he’s a part of is gathering steam and doing amazing things for God.  Katie inspires me to want to ride a bike, though the last time I tried, I almost got arrested for stealing a bike,  (the truth is,I had borrowed a really nice bike from a friend, had some problems riding it, rode past a construction zone, and the police officer told himself “no way is that his bike”)  And Buddy not only excels at leading one of the premier churches in the northeast, he also desires more for his health and competitive side.

I desire better when I can help make it that way.  I desire bigger, if bigger coincides with healthier.  And I desire more, if that is God’s intention in my life.  This kind of thinking is not wrong and it’s not easy. In fact, to accomplish this takes hard work, determination, and a lot of perserverence.  I’m thrilled to be surrounded by people in my life who foster this sense of thinking.

One thing that’s not difficult however, is the desire for people who don’t want better, bigger, or more to criticize those who do.  Being critical is outrageously easy.  I could do it in my sleep, and probably even yours (but that sounds more like an episode of “Fringe”).  I’m pretty sure there are times I’m surrounded by people who foster this way of thinking too.

Which one are you?

And now it’s time for the 2nd Bloggle awards, an award ceremony that happens every 6 months here on martyholman.com, giving the common person (like the author) access to some amazing blogs on the web 2.0.  Hopefully, we’ll get some acceptance speeches.

Most focused blog
Nominees:
Ethos: a cultural Watercooler by Randy Elrod;  From where I sit by Michael Hyatt; Gotcha by Jake Holman;  History in the making by Ben Arment;  Reluctant Republicans for McCain by Clay Davis
THE WINNER:  History in the making by Ben Arment
Anything this guy writes is gold.  He’s somewhere around brilliant and then some.  His focus is creativity in the church.

Best blog, comedy
Nominees:
Rainy Day Communications by Katie Ferguson; Stuff Christians like by the Prodigal John; Don Miller is by Donald Miller;  Vince Antonucci by Vince Antonnuci
THE WINNER:  Stuff Christians Like by The Prodigal John.  Wildly funny, and will make you laugh out loud in your office every time you dare to read it.

Best blog, story
Nominees:
Trek to the summit by Tom Hogsed;  Scott Hodge by Scott Hodge;  Jenn with 2 n’s by Jenn;  Connecting with Pastor Mike by Mike Laurence
THE WINNER:
Jenn with 2 N’s by Jenn

Best blog, pastor
Nominees:
Velocity by Dave Ferguson; Leading Smart by Tim Stevens;  Life Church.tv:  Swerve by Craig Groeschel and Bobby Gruenewald;  Perry Noble dot com by Perry Noble;  Tony Morgan Live by Tony Morgan;  Without Wax by Pete Wilson
THE WINNER:
Life Church.TV:  Swerve by Craig Groeschel and Bobby Gruenewald.  This was the hardest to judge.  These blogs are amazing!

Best blog post
Nominees:
“A couple of my rules for startups” by Mark Cuban (March 14, 2008);  “Creating WOW product experiences” by Michael Hyatt (May 17, 2008);  “The Lifetime of an opportunity” by Steven Furtick (July 30, 2008);  “The Secret of the web” by Seth Godin (August 11, 2008);  “The Bible said so” by Winn Collier (September 2, 2008);  “What Complaining says about you”, by Ben Arment (September 9, 2008);  “Palin, Religion, and how Secualrism is out of touch” by Dale Fincher (September 15, 2008)
THE WINNER:
“The Secret of the Web” by Seth Godin (August 11, 2008).  This was not an easy task.  I have so many subscriptions to blogs and highlight very few of them, but very few of so many is still a lot.  These are all excellent posts, written originally by the authors.

Best blog, pictures
Nominees:
It’s all going to change by Kevin and Jen Richardson;  Mark Beeson by Mark Beeson;  Ethos:  A Cultural Watercooler by Randy Elrod
THE WINNER:
Ethos:  A Cultural Watercooler by Randy Elrod  Randy always helps me to think more artsy than I really am.  He bring out the culture in me, and I don’t use that term scientifically.

Best blog, intellectual
Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk;  Dale Fincher by Dale Fincher;  Jeffs Deep Thoughts by Jeff Campbell;
Jenn with 2 N’s by Jenn;  Winn Collier by Winn Collier
THE WINNER:  Winn Collier by Winn Collier. I’m pretty sure his nominated post for best blog post won him this award.

I wish I knew him or her (no winners, just a list of 3)
Steven Furtick by Steven Furtick
Flowerdust.net by Anne Jackson
Blog Maverick by Mark Cuban

I’m glad I know him or her (no winners, just a list of 3)
Mill Industries by Eric Mill
Brian Howe by Brian Howe
You can know God by Michael Lukaszewski

Thanks for joining me for the 2008 Bloggle awards!  Check back for the acceptance speeches and comments about how wrong I was.  And…

Please vote for your favorite all around blog

My Blogging friend Pete (you can find him on my blogroll to the right) is doing a series at his church called “Sync” and he put up the promo on his site, which conveniently left an embedding code so I could steal it and show you it here at martyholman.com.

Sync Series Promo – Full Length from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.

Are you distracted by the noise?