Pretty
weird to me... my name and a dot com. W-W-W dot G-R-E-G-R-E-A
dot C-O-M. Who do you think you are, some kind of celebrity or
something, some kind of big shot, some kind of fancy preacher?
For me, this kind of thing; pastors making their names into
url’s for some reason brings out some type of primal anger from
the days of the 80’s and 90’s when much of the church movement
consisted of slick TV preachers who lived in mansions, wore silk
suits and had really dorky haircuts. Maybe it’s just my issues
with being an 80’s youth and having survived that era of Modern
Christianity. It reminds me of things that happened in the 80’s
that I’d just as soon forget, like parachute pants, neon
t-shirts, and yes, I did have a mullet too.
Anyway, beam us into 2007, the technology explosion, information
overload and it doesn’t take much to be a big shot. But the
really cool thing about technology in 2007 is this; you need two
things to look like a big shot, I call it the 80seven Rule.
The first part is the number 80. It stands for people who were
born after 1980. This is the best thing that happened in the
80’s, people were born then who are now young adults and
probably my favorite generation on the planet. They have a
special advantage when it comes to technology and these people
are the world’s greatest secret weapon. I happen to have one of
these Secret Weapons, his name is Kyle, he is my son, and he was
born in 1987.
He can make a web site in the time it takes for me to make
breakfast. If I were to try to make a web site, you would have
to put me on suicide watch. That’s it, remove my belt and shoe
laces and any sharp objects.
These Post ’80 people also have a very special God-given talent,
they have the dork-filter built in. If you are ever going to put
out something in print or a slogan or a logo, you must first run
it through these young people. They have the dork-filter and
you—if you were born much before 1980—do not.
The next component of the 80seven rule is the number SEVEN,
which stands for $7.00.
That’s it, that’s all it takes to host this site for one year, 7
bucks a month. You can have “YourName.Com” and look like a big
shot for seven bucks a month. Yep, that’s all it takes, seven
bucks a month to host this thing... and a really smart son.
So if you think I’m just another narcissistic preacher who can’t
wait to see his name in lights, or in this case, in the world of
my-name-dot-com, think again. I’m just a guy who’s finding his
way and somewhere along the line found some people walking with
me. Sign me up for anonymity any day, but that ultimately is a
selfish way to live. I think one of the greatest things we can
do is to share ourselves and our thoughts with other people and
possibly encourage them along the way. In trying to follow
Christ since I was fifteen—in the 70’s—I’ve learned a few things
and maybe, as imperfect as I am, I can encourage someone else.
And maybe, just maybe, this life of mine can make a difference
in someone else’s life.
All you need to know is the 80Seven rule.
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