Greetings!
Either you have successfully updated your bookmarks and found your way here, or you used the old mikecope.blogspot.com address and found yourself miraculously swept through the ether and wound up here anyway. Whatever the case, we’re glad you’re here.
Some of us have been trying to get Mike to switch from the old Blogger setup for some time. Google, the owner of Blogger, is a very useful tool, but sometimes we must rebel against the Empire. Launching out into the World Wide Web with your own “dot com” is one way of rebelling. Whereas Mike used to have one room in Blogger’s multi-roomed mansion, he now has a cottage all of his own.
This is beneficial for two reasons. First, with his own hosted blog, Mike now has room to store podcasts and sermons (podcasted sermons or sermonized podcasts), for you to download. Don’t go rushing off looking for them quite yet. They’re not there. But at least now, he has the room and the ability to do so. Second, with a unique URL, a website’s exposure is increased exponentially. This isn’t to say that Mike’s blog wasn’t popular before now, but with this migration to the standalone site, Mike can now be reached by a wider audience. And that’s a good thing.
Third (and this one just came to me): no more “.blogspot.com.” That just gets annoying after a while, doesn’t it?
Anyway, now that you’re here, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the layout. The list of links directly beneath the header will always help you find your way back to the front page, or to Mike’s profile (in progress), or to the Archives page. If you know exactly what day a post appeared, Archives are a great way to navigate to them. Or, if you aren’t exactly sure when a post appeared, you can always use the search box in the sidebar on the right-hand side to try and find them.
Leaving comments is relatively straightforward. Type the name (or your “nickname” or your “handle”) that you want to appear with your comment on the “Name” field. Enter a valid email address (which only Mike has access to, and won’t be shared with any third parties) in the “Email” field, and if you want, enter the URL to your own blog, or to your Blogger profile, in the “Website” field. Type out your comment, hit “Submit,” and you’re done.
The little ovals in the blue title bar of each post are used to collapse or expand the post itself. This is either incredibly useful, or incredibly pointless, depending on your point of view. In the Archives, for instance, it is helpful to view them all collapsed, so you can see a large number of posts all at once. Use them if you’d like, or ignore them.
Mike’s new blog is graciously and professionally hosted by WebbleYou, a webhosting company that is run by a middle-school science teacher and vocational church planter. He offers the best rates on the whole Internet, so if you’re experiencing some envy over Mike’s Blogspot-free existence, check out WebbleYou, and ask for Justin.
If you have any problems with the site, don’t tell Mike! He’s still getting his feet wet with WordPress, but feel free to contact me through my site.
Happy Blogging!
[And, the cat-helmet picture is staying up until a) Mike tells me to take it down, or b) figures out how to delete it himself!]
Excellent! I love it! Good job!
Greg (oh yeah - and you, Mike) -
About the cat - too cool that he’s staying! He’s got my vote.
(P.S. Why did my comment just now not show up at the end of the list (on the previous post), but further up the list? Or, don’t ask? Oh yeah - I’m not supposed to tell Mike either. Sorry.)
Dee
P. S. I like the heading picture better now with more detail of the people and “preacher mike” above in the dark color in front of the sky. Good layout, very readable and meaningful. IMHO.
Dee
Oops! Now it’s gone again. Bring it back. I like it MUCH better. Really. For all that’s worth.
I just want the cat-helmet-substance debate to continue. My family all says “lime” but I don’t think any cat’s head is that small. Greg, it does look like some kind of melon — maybe an extra-green canteloupe? I don’t know, but it may keep me up tonight. . .
Mike, congratulations on the new and improved communication medium! It rocks! That guy behind the curtain is going a great job too! Keep up the excellent work!
Welcome to the wonderful world of wordpress.
Rock on
Is that a Kadesh picture? Not the cat; the cross scene at the top.
The cat has got to go. It’s going to give me nightmares. Besides, I know for a fact that Preacher Mike hates cats.
Mike
Just when I was trying to figure out my new computer and reconnect with tour site you changed.But it is streamlined and I hope it will let many others around the believing world interact with you and us. By the way is Bruce McLaren’s books on your to read and keep list? I have finished A New Kind of Christian and am half thru The Story we Find ourselves In. I am astounded and jubilant because he is talking to so many of the feelings I have had as a young adult and now as an old one. Please continue to do what you do best. Making me think.
Obiwan Kendall-Ball -
Is there a way to put times on the comments?
Your blogging padawan.
You mean like so?
The new site looks great! And I LOVE the cat picture. It literally made me laugh out loud. Half because it is a funny picture and half because it caught me by surprise
Nice!
This is nice. I don’t even have to fill in my info every day! I guess it is cookie enabled?? or something like that. I am computer illiterate. Can’t wait to see future developments like the podcasting. I don’t even have an iPod but I may have to get one now!
I like it and I like all the new possibilities and I even like the cat. I think he looks somewhat like Mike learning a new way, focused and intent.
It’s fun to follow along although I have no idea how these things work. Look forward to seeing the site develop.
Love the new look!!!
Dee Andrews:
The header images are currently “rotating.” It’s a little piece of internet wizardry that makes the site look a little different every time it’s reloaded. Sometimes you’ll get the “clear” picture, and sometimes the more “stylized.” I suppose if enough people complain to the management, the stylized one can be taken off. Alternatively, we could try and add a whole lot more Preacher Mike header images, so the likelihood of one you don’t particularly enjoy is diminished!
I love the new look, and it looks like there is a great team that helped out in the conversion! Next time you see Matt, tell him I said hello. We are on spring break, so just trying to catch up on all the stuff that medical school causes you to get behind in. Was in town this past weekend, and was able to attend early service. It was great getting to see a lot of people that I have missed since medical school keeps me so preoccupied that I am not able to go to Abilene as much as I would like.
-Leslie
Congratulations on the new venue! I look forward to recommending your website to my gracEmail family. I appreciate you and your ministry immensely.
To quote Mike - “Obiwan” Greg -
Thank you so much for the clarification this morning on the header. I had already surmised that must be what you were doing. I like both of them okay. I just like seeing the detail in the people walking up the hill to the cross - especially the boy with the cap and baseball. (Is that anyone we know, perhaps?)
Adding more would be really nice, too, though. I’ve seen others with several selections of pictures in the heading and it’s neat.
As far as the cat - Mike - if you hate cats, then that’s the perfect one for you to have as your mascot. He rather looks like he might hate people, too. I’ve already thought of a great name for him that would add a bit of whimsy to your new set up blog wise over here. I know you’re a very serious person writing about serious things on your blog (like about Christianity and baseball), but just a “touch” of whimsy would be appropriate, I think. So we could all share in how wonderful God is to have given us such great senses of humor (well - MOST of us).
I think you should call the cat “the Rev,” as in “Preacher Mike” and “the Rev”. Just a thought . . .
Greg–Is there a feed for comments hiding around here somewhere?
Mike,
A friend i met with yesterday told me about your blog and asked if i had ever read it or heard of you. “Well, i’ve never read it,” i told him, “but i certainly know him. In fact, we’ve sat in many of the same classes together.” I think of you fondly. As i begin moving into blogdom, i’ll make a point to visit your site.
It just occurred to me that there is a big citrus fruit that is green like that. We ate them in Thailand some years back on an AFCO trip. It’s bigger than a grapefruit, so it would be big enough to make a full-sized helmet for a full-grown tabby (bless her heart). I think the Thais called them “somo” (SOH-moh) fruit.
Or, maybe not. I don’t have as many synapses firing these days, at 41, as compared to 1988, when I was…you mean I went over there at the age of 24? For heaven’s sake. Pass the Geritol.
qb
Wade:
I have added a link to the Comments RSS feed to the top of the sidebar. Let me know if you have any problems.
(Sorry it took me so long to answer your question. I wasn’t aware of it until today).
Congratulations on your new space. Following in the grand tradition of churches throughout the ages, someone convinced you that Good Old Tradition (or The Status Quo) wasn’t good enough for you and you went out and blazed your own trail. And so, the Golden Age of Blog Schisms was born!
But seriously folks - love the new look. Don’t like entering in my email and website address every time, but I can deal with it.
I think the helmet might be a nerf ball …. possibly
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