Cause to Pause

This is probably going to be an “ACS week” since there are two major developments coming out of Florence.
One is their newly redesigned website, launched last night. It is built and hosted on their “Extend Platform” CMS and it looks to me like they fashioned it in a “multi-site church” sort of way.
Instead of multiple campuses and then multiple ministries, they divided the product lines into Mega(Enterprise), Medium/Large(Foundational), Small(Membership Plus), etc. and under each one of those are the different product lines as applicable. By playing with the URL a bit, especially between the Mega and Med/Large you can see how this pans out. Also helps a lot with the navigation.

They did a nice job of taking the focus off the company and putting it on the user. Do our church websites do that? Is the focus on us as a church or is the focus on the person in front of the screen?

Disclaimer: For those who think I say “all nice things all the time” about ACS, Dad said “If you have something good to say about someone, tell others. If you have something bad to say, deal with just that person or shut up.” Dad was a man of brevity. I don’t always live up to Dad’s words, but I do try.

This is the minor announcement. The major one? Stay tuned..

ACS Technologies: Home

Sunday, we went out to Loxahatchee for an airboat eco-tour of the Everglades. As as much to ride the airboat as anything else. We tried on Friday, but by the time we got there, a monsoon had blown in.
Both my wife and I grew up in the midwest and airboats are about as close to driving a car on snow and sliding around as you can get. Great fun!

Anyway, we went out to http://www.evergladesairboattours.com and just had a blast! The guide Lyle

was quite informative as he has been doing this for over 50 years. We did see the obligatory alligator:

and learned how they (alligators) will discover where a turtle nest is on a bank. When the hatchlings come out and slide down the hill to the water and……you get the rest. Delicate balance of nature and all.

We really do live in a wonderfully created world. Let us not take it, or the Creator for granted.

1. Derek Berg, his wife and the whole crew from Woodland Community Church who are either going or sending on a mission trip. Yes, I posted about it earlier. Shameless Plug Friday.
2. This post about becoming “Search Literate”.
3. San Marco Rolls Saddle. If you are a road cyclist, get one of these. I ditched my fancy carbon fiber, ti railed job and dug this worn out trusty dusty:
   Yes, it weighs more. But you can go faster, longer by being more comfortable. And don’t give me that “there’s no cut-out for my-well-youknow” line. All the pressure is on your “sit bones”. Everyone will be just fine.
   They really are that comfortable. I need to find a new one with a smooth cover.
4. Kudos to the Iranians for finding any way possible to get the word out. Never thought you could get hauled off to jail or executed for sending a tweet.