Gavin Baker

Recently Slate.com, one of my favorite news spots, posted an article by Patty Stonesifer and Sandy Stonesifer with their answer on how to determine if you should  give money to that bikeathon, walkathon, readathon, or danceathon that your friend, neighbor, cousin, collegeue has hit you up for.  (Note: I am all about donating to organizations in need, so this post is not about weasling out of giving, it’s to provide ammunition to help you side step the guilt give)

“the guilt give” phrase; giving because you feel guilty often because you do not have a suitable reason to with good conscious say no.

The test from them (in italics) is copied below and YOUR answers to these questions will give you the knowledge to side step the guilt give:

1. Is the mission of this organization one I would put on my Top 20 list? If not … just hug and release. Life is short.
2. Has this organization demonstrated progress pursuing its mission? If it’s new, is it probably destined for success? To me, this second element is the most important question in all gift-giving. Don’t just ask: “Is Darfur something I should be concerned about?” Ask: “Has the Save Darfur Coalition been successful in drawing attention and pushing progress on the critical issues?” (I think it has been.) If those involved can’t answer this question for you, move on.
3. Is the individual asking for the pledge—or the organization arranging the fundraiser—worth supporting? Do you want to encourage their social efforts? Do you want them to represent you and your intentions? If not, bow out gracefully.
4. What do this organization’s finances look like and why? Please remember that many reputable and important organizations lose money on the effort to get your first gift. They are hoping that once you’ve started giving, you will continue to give them support—your time, voice, or money—and that you will be a profitable partner in the future. Now, this doesn’t mean that any organization should be spending 50 percent of its resources on fundraising. A rule of thumb for an established organization would be between 5 percent and 15 percent. But there are wide variations, so before you give, you might want to dig a bit. Spend a few minutes and see what this organization says on its own Web site, or check out one of the top nonprofit watchdog sites (Charity Navigator, Better Business Bureau or Guidestar).

They identify some great questions to ask, my favorite being #1 – is the organization in my Top 20, (I may even go Top 10).  I’d rather give $1,000 to 1, the $1 to 1000 because I think it makes a greater impact – which is why I’m giving anyway, right?

Remember this list, because if you haven’t been hit up yet, you will.

Photo credit http://chris.moulin.googlepages.com/

UPDATED: 8 list additions thanks to Leslie from the comments.  Now that makes the title of the post wrong, but much more interesting.  There are 16 blogs in the Top 60 that are reformed.

Recently Kent Shaffer from Church Relevance posted his list of the Top 60 Church Blogs and given my love for technology and the church – reading it was like opening a new present on Christmas day.

As I perused, the names Piper, Mohler, Dever, Kauflin, Justin Taylor and Tim Challies stood out to me. Why? because I recognize them as guys who are theologically reformed.  Nothing interesting by itself, but with them locking up the 1 and 2 spots and then placing 6 14 more in the list for a total of 8 16 it made my brain start to whirl and wonder why?

The names I noticed: (Number indicates CR Top 60 rank) UPDATES in italics

1. Tim Challies

2. Between Two Worlds / Justin Taylor

5. The Resurgence / Mark Driscoll

8. Pyromaniacs / Phil Johnson (with John MacArthur’s Grace to You)

13. Desiring God / John Piper

23.  Adrian Warnock

24. Dr. Albert Mohler

26. 22 Words / Abraham Piper (son of John Piper (#13) and with Desiring God)

27. Reformissionary / Steve McCoy

30. Ed Stetzer

35. Worship Matters / Bob Kauflin

37. 9Marks / Mark Dever

41. JollyBlogger / David Wayne

45. Pure Church / Thabiti Anyabwile

56. Drew Goodmanson (Acts 29 church in San Diego)

60. Reformation 21

(if I counted one that isn’t reformed, or missed one let me know)

The why’s??

…did the list breakdown the way it did?

…is it regional?

…theological?

…technological?

Following the assumption that reformed sites led the way with 8 out of 60 (which is an assumption), led me to these questions:

Do reformed/calvinist’s embrace technology adoption at a higher rate then others?

If not are they more prolific writers?

And if so would this break down apply to a list of the 60 top books as well?

I certainly don’t have the answers, but I’m hoping you do. So I want to know what you think, because I sure am curious.

Barnum, possibly the undisputed king of promotion would drive this Ninja hauler below.

NINJA HAULER: 2005 Nissan Xterra – $12900 (Ronan / Lake County)

OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women). My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o’clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck. It is just that manly.

It was never intended to drive to the mall so you can pick up that adorable shirt at Abercrombie & Fitch that you had your eye on. It wasn’t meant to transport you to yoga class or Linens & Things. No, that’s what your Prius is for. If that’s the kind of car you’re looking for, then just do us all a favor and stop reading right now. I mean it. Just stop.

This car was engineered by 3rd degree ninja super-warriors in the highest mountains of Japan to serve the needs of the man that cheats death on a daily basis. They didn’t even consider superfluous nancy boy amenities like navigation systems (real men don’t get lost), heated leather seats (a real man doesn’t let anything warm his butt), or On Star (real men don’t even know what the hell On Star is).

No, this brute comes with the things us testosterone-fueled super action junkies need. It has a 265 HP engine to outrun the cops. It’s got special blood/gore resistant upholstery. It even has a first-aid kit in the back. You know what the first aid kit has in it? A pint of whiskey, a stitch-your-own-wound kit and a hunk of leather to bite down on when you’re operating on yourself. The Xterra also has an automatic transmission so if you’re being chased by Libyan terrorists, you’ll still be able to shoot your machine gun out the window and drive at the same time. It’s saved my bacon more than once.

It has room for you and the four hotties you picked up on the way to the gym to blast your pecs and hammer your glutes. There’s a tow hitch to pull your 50 caliber anti-Taliban, self cooling machine gun. I also just put in a new windshield to replace the one that got shot out by The Man.

My price on this bad boy is an incredibly low $12,900, but I’ll entertain reasonable offers. And by reasonable, I mean don’t walk up and tell me you’ll give me $5,000 for it. That’s liable to earn you a Burmese-roundhouse-sphincter-kick with a follow up three fingered eye-jab. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Let’s just say you won’t be the prettiest guy at the Coldplay concert anymore.

There’s only 69,000 miles on this four-wheeled hellcat from Planet Kickass. Trust me, it will outlive you and the offspring that will carry your name. It will live on as a monument to your machismo.

Now, go look in the mirror and tell me what you see. If it’s a rugged, no holds barred, super brute he-man macho Chuck Norris stunt double, then contact me. I might be out hang-gliding or BASE jumping or just chilling with my ladies, but I’ll get back to you. And when I do, we’ll talk about a price over a nice glass of Schmidt while we listen to Johnny Cash.

To sweeten the deal a little, I’m throwing in this pair of MC Hammer pants for the man with rippling quads that can’t fit into regular pants. Yeah, you heard me. FREE MC Hammer pants.

Rock on.

Just found out about this today, but after a quick search it looks like it’s a few months old.  Either way, this is some very well written and funny copy.  Ranks right up there with often hilarious copy of woot.com and steepandcheap.com for me.

My recommendation: Check it out, have a great laugh, and then block off your afternoon to figure out how you can inject some of this DNA into your company.

- Gavin

I was down in the ATL aka hot-lanta aka the dirty south early last week and got the chance to connect with they guys at Matchstic, which is a branding identity house. They’ve done some great work for some friends and they sure know how to throw down.

I was fortunate enough to get a quick tour of their house and meet the crew,  (Half of them are from Knoxville) as well as spend some time with one of the founders of Matchstic, Craig Johnson. We took about 45 minutes to share our projects, our goals and backgrounds. As we talked, it became evident that we seemed to share a lot of the same philosophy regarding brand strategy, creativity, business goals and how that final package should look.  It’s awesome to see someone like Craig and his team doing such excellent work and having a lot of fun in process.

(more…)

image credit: Mr. Cardinal

So it’s been a long while since I’ve blogged at all. But don’t call it a comeback I’ve been using twitter like a maniac, but have steered clear of blogging.  The reason was two fold, first I didn’t have the time.  I was rapidly adapting to learning how to transition to the CEO of Abunga.  This was the first time I’ve had that much responsibility, and I was taking a crash course in learning how to be CEO, COO and CFO at once – needless to say, better men then me have done that (and more) and blogged their entire experience.  I on the other hand was so thrashed some days leaving the office I could barely have a normal conversation, much less write intelligent and witty posts to delight, challenge and amuse you.

Second, I had a change in communication preference.  I began to detest writing (typing). My inbox seemed to have turned into an endless sea of messages all needing thoughtful responses. Now of course I know that I’m not alone here, but this was a new thing for me.  I started grow weary at the thought of writing anything mildly longer than 140 characters.  Of course I responded to the emails that needed messages to be longer then that, but even though I took a typing class in high school, and Mavis Beacon and I rocked out a computer lab like you wouldn’t believe – I wouldn’t place a dime on my keyboarding skills in any type of contest.

Needless to say, I  began to twitter a lot and call people more often.  Those direct forms helped me out to no end.

But now I’m back.  Primarily because I’m starting to notice things and think about writing about it.  My desire is back and I’m excited to get back in the game.

I look forward to learning from you guys.

- Gavin