Thursday, January 28, 2016

Image Is Everything


For the Pharisee, image is everything. It wasn't legalism that drew the majority of Jesus' rebukes but their hypocrisy. They did everything to make sure they did all the right things in public, said all the right words, prayed elaborate prayers but it ended there. Surely, we're not like that today, are we?


Check out this episode!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Jesus The Rockstar


We're back! Four years ago, the first episode when the program changed to Jesus' Outsider dealt with the leaven of Herod. Now, as the first episode of the relaunched program, we're revisiting the topic since it's even more relevant now than it was back then. Is Jesus really a rockstar? We talk about rockstar preachers but who put them there?


Check out this episode!

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Moving Forward

As of right now, we are up and running at about 50% capacity. We have the use of an older machine that allows some of the older versions of software to run but videos are still out of the question. Producing new episodes of Jesus' Outsider may be possible but we haven't had time to test it yet. We're putting everything we have into laying the groundwork for the Sex, Porn, and Freedom Conference so we can get that ball rolling.

We have been able to make several key updates to the Jesus' Outsider website reflecting the shift from being a podcast page to a full media, evangelistic, and conference ministry. Preliminary team bios are on the page for the start of our core leadership team with more to be added soon. As soon as time allows, we will also be adding a resource page with an Amazon store and a separate store for apparel. Big things are coming but they take time.

The SP&F conference must go forward. The need is huge. We have dedicated an entire page of the new Jesus' Outsider Ministries site to the conference with more content to come. We've been teasing a little of what we intend but it's time to go farther. Even at our reduced capacity, we know we must do everything we can to make this happen.

That means we need your help. In order to book a venue, musical talent, and cover other starting expenses, we need some resources. There are a number of ways you can get involved in helping us get the initial boost in bringing this much needed conference to Peoria and, as the Lord allows, beyond.

  1. Individual Donation: Any amount helps, even as little as $5. There is a special PayPal link on the SP&F page on the Jesus' Outsider site.
  2. Business/Ministry Sponsorship: We are looking for ministries and businesses who understand the scourge of sexual sin in our community to sponsor the event. A rate sheet is available for anyone interested.
  3. Church Offerings: Allow us to come and share the vision for the conference and overall ministry with your congregation or appropriate committee. We also can bring a straightforward Gospel message for an evangelistic event.
  4. Spread The Word: If you are not in a position to make a financial contribution, help us to spread the word about the conference and ministry. Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Share as many of our posts as possible with as many people as possible. In many ways, this is at least as important as direct financial assistance.
We need your help to make this happen. Please email Pastor Mike with any additional questions.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Sex, Porn, and Freedom

What's so important that we need to be fully functional again? Sure, the podcast has listeners who will miss it, but there needs to be something more that's worth the work and supporting.

There is. We are planning our first conference and it's going to be a big one. (Go big or go home, right?) A few have already been briefed on what we're planning but, in light of current situations, we going public now. To catch anyone who missed the last few posts, we had been working on planting a church but the Lord hit us on the side of the head and asked us why we were doing that when He had already given us a part to play in His kingdom that we had been neglecting. That word, along with a reignition of passion at a Josh McDowell conference, put us where we are today.

Our first conference is Sex, Porn, and Freedom: Breaking the Bondage of Sexual Sin. I told you it was a big one. In the years of broadcasting Jesus' Outsider, this topic is one we hit often especially since it seems that few are actually addressing it. It's the giant elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about yet it's destroying the Body of Christ and our nation. Oh, and it's not just a men's problem.

We're building a great lineup that will be announced soon. We'll be sharing statistics, tips on web and mobile device safety, and a lot of what you'd expect in something like this. However, we're going a lot further than that. We'll give you the science of porn, how the industry has changed and its impact on the greater culture, how to break the chains, and a dose of prevention.

One piece will be of great interest. My lovely bride will be sharing her testimony publicly for the first time. It's not a pretty story. She lived the BDSM lifestyle that millions of women were introduced to in Fifty Shades of Grey. Despite the growing acceptance of this lifestyle, it has consequences. Come and hear some truth about how people get into it, how BDSM affects those involved, and how hard it is to get out. During the story, we'll use the words and writings of the advocates to demonstrate the reality of what she shares. It will be challenging for her, but you won't want to miss it.

Our purpose in doing this conference is more than just providing information. We are going to demonstrate how widespread the problem really is within the church with both genders. That's just the beginning. Our goal is to break the silence surrounding sexual sin so that the light of the Gospel can shine into the dark corners of all of our hearts. We want to see people set free from these chains. We're doing this for anyone who wants to be free, desires to minister to people trapped in these sins, or just wants the information.

Oh, there's much more. This is just a teaser. We are tentatively planning for May but that will be dependant upon fundraising efforts and how fast the response comes through. As soon as the studio is fully functional, the Jesus' Outsider site and our Facebook Page will have all the details as they develop and when tickets go on sale. We'll be posting here as well as the full speaker lineup is confirmed along with the music (courtesy of Be Loud Promotions). It's going to be a day you'll not soon forget.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Update on Getting Us Back on The Air

Thanks to all who have made offers and have given aid so far. We do have a long way to go to get there.

For those of you who may be unaware, the studio computer system is completely inoperable. It is beyond repair. This has taken us completely out of commission including knocking Jesus' Outsider off the air.

Just before the failure, we were in the final stages of preparation to greatly expand our ministry into more than just podcasts. We had been working in planting a church but discovered that the Lord's will was in developing what He had already given us rather than adding new. We are doing conferences, more media work including expanding the reach of our current program and doing more ministry videos on the hard subjects we've been called to tackle. There's more to the vision but that's a tiny little snapshot. Unfortunately, we are dead in the water without a fully functional studio computer.

When I first posted, I estimated the total financial cost at around $2500. I deliberately figured a little high to set a good target. My experience with fundraising has been to set the goal higher than what's actually needed to increase the odds of getting the real need met. I didn't pad much (only a couple hundred dollars) but there is some wiggle room in the amount. The original basis was a built around a projected price of $1300-$1500 for the tower.

In doing some price checking, I found a tower hundreds of dollars less than the least expensive one I speced out originally that is ideal for our purposes. It meets and exceeds the minimum requirements for the most demanding software we use. It's on Newegg and can be found here. Please take a look at it and prayerfully consider how you can help us get this system before the sale expires.

I have been asked how I came up with the amount for the fundraising effort to get us back on the air and expanding. $2500 seems like a lot of money for a computer and it is. However, the need is based upon making the tower fully operational and that requires more than just the hardware.

Because the old system had been pushed well beyond its normal useful life, the programs I used everyday on it were out of date but still worked on the older computer. However, while the age and reduced system requirements allowed us to keep going on the old system, it does mean that they will not work on a new one. Our versions of Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and Quickbooks are so old that the manufacturers no longer support their installation. We will need to replace them and their price is included in what we are asking for in the campaign. For the Adobe Suite, I figured in three months of subscription to their cloud service which gives access to their entire product line. Considering the cost to purchase the entire suite freestanding was close to $3500, a monthly fee of $60 for a business or ministry is very reasonable.

We do have some additional hardware needs in the request but we should be able to get by with what we have until we can afford them. We do need to upgrade our printer to a higher capacity office model for quick print fliers, invitation cards, and other low quantity print jobs. The studio sound board works but, like the tower, has been pushed beyond its capacity and has a couple of dead channels. It does however, meet our requirements for now.

This is a serious attack from the enemy. Just as Jesus' Outsider Ministries and the related Deep Mystery Studio are about to break out and have a massive Kingdom impact, we're knocked out of the fight. I cannot believe that the Lord is opening up all these opportunities to make a monstrous difference and let us drop. The interest in the Sex, Porn, and Freedom Conference alone is even more that we ever could have anticipated. Without meeting this need, we cannot pull off this much needed seminar.

If you are able to help, please use the PayPal link on this page or on the Support tab on the Jesus' Outsider main page. If you prefer to mail us a check, please send us an email (mike@jesusoutsider.com) for the address and who to make the check out to in order for us to get back on the air and fulfill the vision the Lord has for us.

I am going of faith and am going to continue to work in the limited capacity I can under the assumption that the Lord is going to come through for us. There's not a lot I can do other than writing content until we have what we need to put it all together.

As a side note, some of our income was tied to this computer and we have lost that as well until we're back online. Please, share this need with as many people as you can. Pray for us while we see what the Lord has in mind as well as how you can help.

Blessings,
Pastor Mike