Blog Changes Coming Soon

For the past several years, OVM has used BLOGGER.COM as our primary communication for ministry news and tech tips, however, effective SEPTEMBER1, 2009, we will be relocating our blog to WORDPRESS. Until the official date, we will be posting to both blogs, however, once the changeover date is reached, no additional posts will be submitted to Blogger. If you would like to go ahead and change your feed information, the new feed address is listed below. Thank you for your continued support.

http://ovmonline.wordpress.com/feed/

Shawn Howell
OVM Online

Social Networking for Churches

With everyone from major television networks to your next-door neighbor embracing the world of social networking, shouldn’t your church as well? Join us for an engaging and insightful discussion on how to effectively do church online. What can you do to create community while expanding the reach of your message? Learn how to welcome and adopt the digital trends and tools that will foster ministry growth.

Register now for this FREE Online Seminar: Social Networking for Churches, taking place July 29, 2009 at 12:00pm ET. Can't attend, forward this message to a friend!

Moderator:
Carol Padgett, Editor, Worship Facilities magazine

Presenter:
Mark MacDonald, President, PinPoint Creative, LLC

Be sure to bring your questions, the seminar will end with a question and answer period.

Free Music

Who doesn't like FREE anything?? Right now you can own your own copy of a CD download by the very talented DAYBREAK QUARTET. The album, simply titled "Hymns" is a very well produced project with some great harmony and one awesome pianist. Download your free copy, and don't forget to support the group by purchasing another of their albums while you are there. To take advantage of this LIMITED OFFER, visit the link below. Hurry, the offer ends soon.

http://www.greghowlett.com/daybreakdownload.aspx


Shawn

Special Prayer Request

Please pray for the family of Evangelist Jamey Ragle. His daughter has been taken to the ICU at Cincinnati Children s Hospital. She is stable but is in need of your prayers. She has been having uncontrolled seizures and may have pneumonia!

Jamey is an amazing preacher and man of God that has brought many people to Christ. Let's stand behing him in prayer throughout this crisis.

Challenging Oprah in the Gay Debate

Challenging Oprah in the Gay Debate


This is a an article from a few moths back I thought was worth sharing...

Challenging Oprah in the Gay Debate
Tuesday, 03 February 2009 13:02 J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

Last week Ted Haggard's wife, Gayle, dared to defy the high priestess of America's new morality.

Last week former Colorado pastor Ted Haggard hit the talk show circuit to promote the new HBO documentary about his fall from grace, The Trials of Ted Haggard. I'll admit I wasn't too excited about Haggard going public with the story of his relationship with a male prostitute, but there was a bright spot amid the awkward interviews. When Ted and his wife, Gayle, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show Jan. 28, Gayle dared to defy Oprah and her audience.

Oprah tried her best to pin Ted down and get him to admit he is a homosexual. Ted balked, saying that his sexuality is complicated. He explained that he had sexual experiences in the seventh grade that confused him. He spoke of sexual impulses that he struggled with but didn't act on until he hit 50.

"Oprah is the closest thing we have to a high priestess of America's new morality, and she seems obligated to push the politically correct idea that it's OK to be gay.”
Oprah told Ted, who is now 52, that he should just accept his "identity" rather than hiding it or running from it. Then Gayle, who has raised five kids and knows a lot about discipline, struck a nerve. She told Oprah that just because a person has certain inclinations doesn't mean he has to act on them.

Oprah got upset at that point. She even got out of her chair and said to Gayle: "That's where I disagree with you"-and her audience cheered. (I couldn't help but wonder if they had been cued.)

I was cheering for Gayle-not just because she has modeled Christian forgiveness during this embarrassing scandal but also because she clearly articulated the gospel during the interview. She stuck her neck out and defied the false religion of our times.

Oprah is the closest thing we have to a high priestess of America's new morality, and she seems obligated to push the politically correct idea that it's OK to be gay. She is paid a lot of money to promote this agenda, and she's good at it. She is articulate in her arguments and velvety smooth in her affirmation. Just come to Oprah, all you who are weary and burdened, and she will console you.

Oprah's feel-good doctrine is the same one adopted in the last 30 years by mainstream psychologists, Hollywood producers, gay rights organizations and some mainline churches. It basically says that if a person struggles with any level of same-sex attraction, they shouldn't fight the urges or label this a sin or a sexual disorder. They should simply accept their gayness, celebrate their new sexual identity and then hop in bed with whomever they please (unless of course they want to settle down into a same-sex marriage, which all state governments should legalize).

This "just accept who you are" argument certainly doesn't make sense for other categories of sinful behavior or emotional dysfunction. Consider these examples:

* I've prayed with countless people who struggle with addictions to alcohol, marijuana or prescription drugs. In most cases they were using the substances to numb their emotional pain and they hated their condition. When they received prayer ministry and counseling they found the grace to break free from these addictions. Can you imagine a counselor telling these people: "Why fight it? God gave you an addictive personality! Embrace it!"

* I know several single straight guys who struggle to stay sexually pure. They want to honor God and save sex for marriage, but sometimes they give in to the temptations of pornography or they cross barriers they shouldn't when they're dating. If I embrace Oprah's philosophy, I should just tell my friends to accept these temptations as their "identity"-as in, "Go ahead, God created you to be a fornicator! Let your hormones control you!"

* This week I met a man who spent more than 10 years in prison and is officially classified as a sex offender in police records. He found Christ during his first year of incarceration, and today he is a strong Christian. He has been out of prison for 10 years, and has had no further criminal incidents, yet he occasionally struggles with lustful thoughts. Should I tell him to stop trying so hard and just accept perversion as a way of life?

It would be absurd to discourage these people from seeking change. The very essence of the gospel is that Christ gives us the power to live a holy life. We are helpless to overcome sinful urges on our own, but when we have the presence of Jesus in our lives we discover the truth of Romans 6:14: "Sin shall not be master over you (NASB)."

God does not want us to stay the way we are! The apostle Paul told the Corinthians: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Cor. 5:17). That is the hallmark of genuine Christianity.

The issue on the table in this debate is whether homosexuality is (1) a sinful condition that can be overcome by the grace of God; or (2) an inborn genetic quality that should be accepted like skin color or a personality trait. Oprah and the majority of the mainstream media today are obviously pushing the second viewpoint. "Sin" is not in their vocabulary.

We cannot be silent while this debate rages. Let's tell our culture that Jesus Christ's amazing grace has the power to transform people whether they are gay or straight or anything in between.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.

A (jelly)fish out of water

Today I arrived at Tybee Island for my business trip and wasn't quiet sure what to do with myself. Ang and the boys weren't able to come with me this year, so I decided to take a walk. There is just something about walking alone on the beach that washes away the cares of the world. Calendars and alarms are silent and for just a moment, the entire world seems to stand still.

As I began walking past the lighthouse and towards the bird sanctuary (a nice spot with no houses or people), I began to notice a large number of jellyfish washed up on the shore. Feared and respected in the water, these creatures were little more than a blob of goo lying helplessly at the water's edge. As I looked at them, I couldn't help but think about how much our spiritual lives mimic that of these grand creatures. When we are where we are suppose to be, we are beautiful and respected by all that are around us. Following only the current of the spirit as it gently leads us along and reflecting His light to those all around. . .but what happens when we leave the place we are intended? We are useless, ugly and disgusting to all who look at us. We are no more revered, but looked at in shame.

Where are you living right now? Are you in the will of God, following the guidance of the spirit or lying on the shore? Think about it and let the tides of His love bring you back to His will.

Until...

Shawn

Going Through The Motions

Sometimes a song just hits you in a way that takes your breath. I have heard this song on the radio so many times, but this time it got my attention. How often do we just go busy with life - or even serving God that we forget what it's all about. We don't take time to worship God because we are so busy doing the stuff that has to be done, but what if. . .what if we gave Him everything instead of doing what was expected? What if we totally sold out to God instead of just doing something because we "have to"? What if our lives really did revolve around God and not just service to the church? What if our motivation for serving was really so that God woud be uplifted, not ourselves?

Find a quiet place and a time when you can sit down undisturbed for 4 minutes to watch this awesome video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dva6-Yu3zkI&feature=channel

Media Shout V4

For those of you using Windows systems in your projection ministries, Media Shout Version 4 has now been released. The new version appears to be pretty cool. I have used pretty much every projection software on the market and have leaned in the direction of Media Shout for gigs over the past few years, including the GEORGIA MOUNTAIN PASSION PLAY.

At first glance I see some things I like - such as the ability to project two different feeds, one for the congregation and one for the choir (with no pretty backgrounds). For those of you using confidence monitors, this is a NICE addition.

I also found that the new interface appears to be much more user friendly. I found some of the earlier versions of the software to be difficult to use. While V3 was a huge improvement, I believe that V4 really takes the software to a new level. I think everyone will be pretty impressed. Check out the FREE demo at http://www.mediashout.com/products/mediashout.

Full Edition $429
Upgrade $249


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
* Windows XP or Vista
* Dual Core Processor
* 2GB RAM
* Multiple Video Cards (DirectX 9+

An amazing Easter Video

Song Review

I am a sucker for a good "prayer" song. I heard one this morning that I thought was well worth sharing. If you enjoy it, help support the ministry of the artist (Josh Wilson) by purchasing a copy at the itunes store.

New Web Page

The new web page has been loaded, but seems to have a few kinks to work out on Safari and Firefox. Please bear with us as we try to figure out what the issues are. We should be back up and running at full force by the end of the week. Until then, we appreciate any feedback concerning our new look.

Prayer Request

Please say a special prayer for some friends of ours in the ministry. I do not know the need, but I do know that it is great. In all the years I have known them, Ihave never seen this family broken as I have through this trial. As you celebrate Easter with your family today, please take a moment to say a special prayer for them.

Shawn

New Web Site

The new site is now loaded, but still has a few kinks. Please excuse the mess. We expect to have it fully functional before Monday.

~Shawn

Another Extreme Makeover

Please accept my apologies for not having written in so long. I have been so overwhelmed with work this year that I barely had time to complete the video for the Georgia Mountain Passion Play. Now that we are starting to see a slight break in activities, I felt it was time to deal with the decline in hits on our web page.



Since our last update, our numbers have steadily declined in several target user groups. I believe a great deal of the decline has to do with the difficulty that slower connections have in loading a Flash site, and the inability to easily maintain the site in that format. For these reasons, we have decided to downgrade the site back into an HTML format. You can expect a greater deal of updated information coming from our ministry in coming days