http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/djchuang/~3/223529271/

Just got in on a private beta of Hulu, a web service that let you watch television on demand on the web! Very nice user interface. Here’s a clip from The Office that they let me embed here:

So far, they’ve signed on a bunch of partners to provide premium televised content, both broadcast and cable, and of the 4 major broadcast networks, they’ve got Fox and NBC. Maybe ABC and CBS will be next.

With broadband speed continuing to increase, I think this’ll be better than Tivo! And here’s a lil’ Jim Carrey from his In Living Color days:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/djchuang/~3/224692548/

Todd Rhoades, editor and publisher of MondayMorningInsight.com, breaks the news to the blogosphere about changes at the top over at Willow Creek Community Church, founded by Bill Hybels, and he’s getting to experience that “digg” or “slashdot” effect:

Well, it seems that the Willow announcement in this morning’s MMI has brought down our servers (or made them, at the very least, very very slow). There have been over 1,000 pageviews on this one story alone so far this morning.

Please be patient… things will speed up very soon… hopefully.

In the mean time, here’s the link to the Willow Creek elder’s announcement.

And just one other note… it appears that both Gene Appel and Randy Frazee are leaving Willow on very good terms. That’s a good thing for Willow and for the Kingdom. Let’s keep them in prayer as this is, yet another, huge transition for Willow, and for everyone involved. Many will blog about this in the coming days, trying to dissect the reasons why there are two departures announced on the same date. It’s important not to jump to conclusions as some already are.

[disclosure: Todd is also my colleague at Leadership Network]

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/djchuang/~3/225267339/

I had a recent conversation with Lee Yih of Layman’s Foundation. He’s a part of hosting a unique conference called the “3M Christian Partnerships: Transforming the Marketplace, Ministry, and Marriage”, which will be at Lost Valley Ranch, Deckers, Colorado on February 14-17, 2008. Here’s what he had to say about this one-of-a-kind conference:

Q: What is the 3M conference?

Lee: A conference designed for Asian American singles that focuses on Career issues (Marketplace), having a personal ministry (Ministry), and finding a suitable partner (Marriage).

Q: What are your core values?

Lee: We have five: 1) A heart for obedience; 2) A heart for China; 3) Having an eternal perspective; 4) The Priesthood of the ordinary believer; 5) Retail Christianity

Q: What is unique about this conference?

Lee: The conference gathers a very homogeneous group of Asian Americans between the ages of 25-35 years old from all parts of the country and Hong Kong. Instead of workshops we will have small “huddles” of five attendees each meeting with outstanding practitioners of “Lay Ministry”. There will be 8 keynote sessions by 4 different speakers over the 3 day weekend. The conference venue is embarrassingly well appointed and the recreational activities of horseback riding, skeet shooting and square dancing are unique.

This conference’s teaching is especially encouraging to young adults who are are called of God to the marketplace, but not necessarily called to vocational Christian ministry. Read more information about the conference, details, speakers, schedule, etc. and view the conference flyer (links to a page with PDF).

Personal note - my brother will be attending this conference and actively participating, maybe even hang out for an extra day at the “gorgeous area with a pristine, mountain and lake setting, and lots of options to do outdoor sports like skiing, snowmobiling, etc.”

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/djchuang/~3/226006913/

Here in Chicago to drop in on the Evangelical Covenant denomination’s Midwinter Conference at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Came in last night instead of the afternoon b/c my flight was delayed for 3 hours due to inclement weather at O’Hare, and will be flying out tonight.

Walked outside to see snow flurries last night. So nice! Winter finally feels real. Nothing like bundling up and feeling a little chill. (okay, enough winter this season, tho’ making a snowball would be a bonus)

Didn’t plan this trip as well, just booked it last minute last week; otherwise, I woulda stayed the whole time, b/c there are so many next gen Asian American pastors here in this mix, including Eugene Cho, Ed Lee, Walton Yuen, Ted Law, Peter Ahn, Abe Han, Dave Chae, Greg Yee, John Lee, and more. Locals like Soong-Chan Rah and Peter Cha stopped by too. Haven’t seen Scot McKnight or Doug Pagitt. Very encouraging to see how this older denomination is making intentional changes to enter the 21st century with growing momentum.

My conferencing tip I’ll divulge: I skip out of plenaries and workshops to meetup with people, and buy CDs of the talks I want to hear. And, I’ll roam around workshops, drop into several for 5 minutes each, catch the gist, and either settle in on one that most resonates to me, or if I find someone, pull someone out and get a hallway conversation. Though, in this grand and beautiful hotel, there are so many nice sofas and sitting areas all over, it’s ideal for mingling. Love that!

And a book I’ve been highly recommending to my pastor friends, and good for anyone who does public speaking, is Dave Stone’s Refining Your Style: Learning from Respected Communicators — read D-Plum’s raving review too. Plenty of books and courses on the mechanics of speaking and plumbing of preaching, but few books like this that helps you to find and shape your own voice.