Fear.Less

In a recent post Seth Godin points to a new online magazine called Fear.Less. It's well written, has half a dozen interesting contributors from a variety of fields, and can be downloaded, or read on your browser, or printed out. All for free.

The magazine promotes itself this way: fear.less is a free online magazine that empowers people through unique stories of overcoming fear. From entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists and scientists to survivors of extreme experiences, these stories demonstrate the hidden potential we have to confront our fears and come out victorious. Fear.less is our answer to an emergency.

Okay, so why am I mentioning it here, since there's no particular Christian connection in it? Well, firstly in each case the contributors discuss overcoming a fear or failure in their life that could easily have debilitated them for the future. Secondly, it's a biblical principle that fear is something to be overcome, or it will be your master.

Thirdly, it's a prime example of what magazines might look like in the future. I don't think that future is here yet; not quite. Paper magazines are still rampant, even though large numbers of them are losing money, and increasingly they have more ads than content. (fear.less has more content than ads.) Depending on the state of the Internet in the next ten/twenty years, this could be the way magazines go. Far more economical to produce, environmentally more friendly (I think!) and accessible to larger numbers of people - or just to a small group that wants to read about those particular issues.

Check it out. You can read it online in your browser, or download it or.... And it's just as classy-looking as anything you'll find on your newsstands.

Missions e-books

An increasing number of books are available as e-books, in various formats (to read online, to download as pdfs, as Kindles and so on). One of the Christian publishing houses - Authentic Books is now offering e-books on their site.

They write that their "passion is to equip the missional community with great content. With our ebooks, people anywhere in the world have the ability to select a book and be reading in seconds."

Digital formats are proving to be particularly useful in areas of the world where print titles are unwieldy or too expensive to order and ship. And in countries that restrict access to Christian materials, digital downloads can provide isolated believers with essential resources.

To celebrate the launch into e-publishing, Authentic is offering visitors to its website a free ebook and a monthly e-newsletter. Books come with a satisfaction guarantee and will be replaced free if customers are not happy with them.

The books on the site are a bit of a mixed bag: some mission biographies, several titles relating to new ways of doing mission overseas, some leadership books and a few others, like Cat and Dog Theology, or, If Nobody Loves You, Create the Demand, or Adrian Plass's Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation that seem to have strayed in from another publisher...

However, there are some very good titles amongst them, and since the list isn't that long at this point, it's worth checking them out. Prices are pretty reasonable, as you'd expect.

We can't resist these Top Ten lists!

One of the intriguing things we (the congregation of Dunedin City Baptist) learned in our last Sunday at the Teachers' College auditorium was that sermons on the church's website are downloaded in all sorts of places around the world. Some of those downloading will be ex-DCBC people, but by no means all.
So it was interesting to find on Cynthia Ware's Digital Sanctuary blog (a blog that focuses on innovative use of technology in the church scene), that downloading sermons came second on the list of top ten things people look for on a church website - and also appears in another form as the fourth item. Here's the whole list.

1. Find service information (times, directions, etc).
2. Listen to/download Sermons (audio recordings).
3. Learn about the church’s Beliefs/Mission/Values
4. Connect with other members.
5. Read/download Sermons (text transcripts).
6. Join and/or interact with a home/bible study group.
7. View weekly information/calendar/news/events.
8. Find serving opportunities at the church.
9. Post prayer requests or needs.
10. Read articles or other content.