Founder & Editor-in-Chief Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com Online Community Manager Kevin Cross - kevin@ccmag.com
Applying Tomorrow’s Technology to Today’s Ministry Volume 24
August 2012
No. 8
4 cover story Why is the church in America dying? - Part 2 By Steve Hewitt
Contributing Editors Lauren Hunter Yvon Prehn Nick Nicholaou Kevin A. Purcell Russ McGuire Bradley Miller Michael L White Copy Editor Gina Hewitt Corporate Home Office
3 Editorial
Mosaics Church Startup Ministry Steve Hewitt – steve@ccmag.com
11 Special Feature
Why is the Church in America Dying? Part 3 – The Solution Steve Hewitt – steve@ccmag.com
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34 Ministry Communication
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editorial Mosaics Church Startup Ministry Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com
Obviously, with this month’s cover story and the follow up as the special feature, I have had the opportunity to really expose the desire of my heart to see a move to birth new churches across our country. It seems a bit crazy that I would even suggest helping others start churches since I am not the pastor of a megachurch, nor am I the head of some great church ministry. Nevertheless, I feel I must answer God’s call to help any and all that wish to try to expand on what I have learned these last few years concerning the birthing of new churches. Both the cover story and the special feature on “the solution” were very difficult for me to write since there is so much more that I would have liked to say on the subject. However, I am a magazine publisher, not an author of books, so I tried to be concise. I will have much more to say on this subject, and I continue to pray for the opportunity to help others start churches like the little Mosaics Church that I have started in Lee’s Summit MO. If you would like more information about Mosaics Church, visit www. mosaicschurch.com, or if you would like more information about my thoughts and ideas about starting such churches, I encourage you to sign up to receive a new newsletter I plan to publish about the Mosaics Church Startup Ministry. I will be expanding on many of the ideas I have introduced in these two articles this month. And, I will be sharing many new ideas on what is working and what is not, as our church conChristian Computing® Magazine
tinues to grow and reach others in our community with the love of God. If you would like to sign up for the free newsletter, please visit http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=dgve7pkab&p=oi&m= 1110781875395 And, as always, I appreciate your comments and thoughts. Even if you disagree with most or all of what I have stated in this issue, I would still like to hear your opinions. One reader has already informed me that “I” am the very reason the church is dying in America. While he didn’t expand, and I disagree with his conclusion, I really do need to hear your thoughts on this subject. There is nothing wrong with dialog and discussion and I look forward to hearing more from those serving churches across our nation! Together We Serve Him,
Steve Hewitt Follow me on Twitter @stevehewitt Email me at steve@ccmag.com
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cover story
Why is the church in America dying? Part 2
I
By Steve Hewitt
have spent almost ten years pondering and working on why the church in America is dying. I have spent a lot of time in prayer, and I believe I have spent a lot of time hearing the Lord speak to me on this subject. After doing research for several years, I felt God calling me to start a small church and put into practice some of the things I have learned. Less than two years ago, my wife and I, along with four other women (in the 50-60 age range) started Mosaics Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Last Sunday we had 42 in attendance and so far we have baptized eight people, five of those being adults, ages 75, 62, 40, 30, and 18. My point is that our church wasn’t a mission from another church. Nor have we had any help from a denomination or association. We started with older adults, no families with children or youth. Yet, on a regular Sunday service with good attendance, 20% of those attending have been baptized recently. I had the joy of praying with four of the eight when they received Christ as their savior. I do not work full time for the church, nor do I take any pay. We don’t have a secretary and the church isn’t even open during the daytime. We don’t even have anyone to lead music during our morning worship! So why is this church growing? Why is it reaching people for Christ (including older adults)? I believe it is because we have avoided the very reasons the church is dying in America. I appreciate the responses from those who dropped me an email after reading Part 1 in this series (http://www.ccmag.com/2012_07/ Christian Computing® Magazine
ccmag2012_07editorial.pdf). While no one seemed to disagree with the conclusion that the church in America is indeed dying, many offered their own reasons. Some felt it was because the church had become too “worldly” especially in their style of worship, while others seemed to think it was a lack of discipleship. Others felt it was because the August 2012
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church has failed to be relevant. Others felt it was a “sign of the times” and that the decline of the church in America is part of a “great falling away”. However, it is hard to believe this is correct since Christianity is doing great in other places such as in Asia, Africa and in countries like Hungary! I don’t believe any of these are the real reason we are declining. Before I tell you why my opinion on this even matters, let me explain what I have been doing for the last three years. For over one year I visited churches across the country, all sizes, many different denominations, as well as those in associations or non-affiliated. The Lord seemed to provide a lot of opportunities the last three years to visit with individual pastors as well as church leadership groups, where an open discussion took place on this subject. I have also been called to consult with some of the fastest “dying” churches in America. They contacted me because they were told by their denominational leadership that the statistics showed that the decline in attendance and membership by their church had reached an alarming rate and they were rated as the “fastest dying” church in their denomination.
Christian Computing® Magazine
So What Is The Reason? For almost a year, I could easily list several reasons why the church in America is dying. It has only been recently that I realized they are all related to one simple thing! It should be noted that ALL of the reasons behind WHY the church is dying in America, is centered on the fact that we have lost our ability to love others. At Mosaic’s Church, our mission statement is simple, Love God, Love People, based upon Matthew 22:35-40. I think most churches are doing a great job of leading their members to love God, but many have failed in the area of loving others. Remember, in Matthew 22:39 Jesus said that the second part, loving others, was “like unto it”. Our churches, especially those that are dying, are filled with people who claim to love God, but simply don’t love others. They don’t love the needy. They don’t love other Christians who might disagree with them when it comes to interpreting some specific passage of scripture. And they simply have lost their love for the lost or those that are different from themselves or for those they would classify as a sinner. Yet, it is clear that Jesus came
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to this earth for those that were sinners. His followers were made up of those that others rejected. Yet, instead of loving the lost, we have become known for our judgmental actions against those outside our walls. Let me look at each of these separately. First, in the USA, we have given away many of our ministry opportunities to our government. The church was charged with taking care of the elderly and the widows. We were charged with feeding the hungry and taking care of the poor. However, we decided we preferred to be a “Christian” nation, and as a church, gave up these ministries to our government. Most churches have a disdain for those that are needy and simply want to pass this ministry off to our government. However, Jesus never said he would be the head of a government, but the head of the church. I love America, and I am grateful for the many ways God has blessed us as a nation. As we settled this country, the church built schools, churches and hospitals, and people came to Christ as a result of the ensuing ministries. However, we lost our love for the elderly, the sick, and the needy, and we decided to pass these ministry opportunities off to our government. We have lost our love for the needy. Second, we have lost our love for our fellow Christians. However, we have allowed our pride to cause us to divide into 3,000+ different denominations and associations, largely because we can’t tolerate each other and any differences we might have when it comes to theology. We can’t agree on what we are to “allow” our members to do or not do. We can’t agree nor tolerate those that wish to worship in a different style than we prefer. As a result, we have led our nation in division. The Bible, which we all agree that we cherish, admonishes us in John 13:35 that “all men will know we are Christ’s disciples by the love we have for one another” and the entire New Testament is filled with admonitions to the early church to “be of one mind”. And, while I know this certainly isn’t true for many of our larger churches that are reaching people and growing, the church in America is one of the last places that segregation still exists, with many churches be predominately White, Black, Hispanic or Asian. One of the greatest outcomes of our lack of love for one another, and our pride in holding to the belief that each of us has the “true” Word from God, is that we have made Christianity too complicated. As a result of our divisions among the church here in the USA, we have clearly sent a Christian Computing® Magazine
message to the unchurched that the Bible is complicated and that even our best theologians can’t agree on thousands of different issues. While we have sought to follow scripture such as 2 Tim 2:15 “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” and 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”, we have forgotten Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man”. Our Church leadership is driven to have God “in a box” so that they can explain every passage of scripture and even suppose what it is that God was thinking and doing in every recorded passage. Yet God’s ways and his thoughts are far beyond my understanding, and he tells me so in Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”. I have read posts online from those that are unchurched. They believe that if there is a God, he must be all knowing and all powerful. They openly shun the church with Christians who have “God in a box”. Christians who think they have the answer for everything pertaining to how God works and how He thinks, is actually a major turn-off to the unchurched. Third, we have become so judgmental of those outside our walls that few would ever consider giving us a chance to share the Gospel. Our churches have become full of self-righteous saints who feel better about themselves by judging those who do not have Christ as their savior. And, worse yet, we have condemned so many in our own ranks that on any given Sunday in America, it seems clear there are more Christians who stay home from church then those that go. You might say that this isn’t the church’s fault and that ANY Christian should be obligated to attend a local church, but I continue to run across many Christians who have been burned so many times while attending church, that they have given up. They still love their savior, attend a church service online or on TV, and do their best to follow God, but it is hard from them to ever trust Christians enough to walk back into our buildings. Sometimes, the judgmental actions are inAugust 2012
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tentional. As I began writing this article, recently I heard from a single mother. She told me that her son had started attending a church and had become a Christian. She was invited, along with her teenage daughter, to attend the church to watch her son’s baptism. The next week the daughter decided to join her brother and go back to church. She was pulled aside by some of the women in the church and told that if she or her mother were to ever come back again, they needed to wipe off their makeup and purchase some dresses since they wouldn’t be allowed to worship if they came back again wearing jeans. WHERE is the love for those without Christ in such actions? Other times, our churches are just not aware of the hurting individuals around them. With the divorce rate as high as it is in America, almost any and every adult in our church has been either impacted personally, or someone they love has been affected, such as their parents, their children, their brother or sister, etc., etc. So, when you recognized the couple that has been married for 50 years by having them stand while everyone applauds, the single mother in the next row that got up by herself to get her three children to church and that is working two jobs (because her ex-husband won’t send the child support check) will silently slip out the door and probably never return because she is tired of being overlooked, judged and shunned by some in the church. What seems really sad to me is to read the comments and testimonies you can find online from people who are seeking a Savior, seeking answers to their problems and needs, and yet can’t find it Christian Computing® Magazine
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even when they walk into our buildings. Why? Because the members of the churches they walk into do not have a burden for those who do not know Christ. They have lost their love for those our Savior came to seek and to save. From my own experience at our little small church, I recently prayed with a 75 year-old man as he accepted Christ as his Savior for the first time in his life. Two years earlier, he was told he had a spot on his lung after having a medical exam. He didn’t want to do the follow-up appointments since, as a smoker, he feared the worse. Instead, he decided that his time on this earth might be almost up, so he began attending churches in the hopes of someone telling him HOW he could become a Christian. He would attend a church for several weeks in a row, and if no one reached out to him, he simply moved on to another church. After two years of attending churches and WANTING to find out how to become a Christian, he wandered into our little church. It was a joy to see him jump to his feet in a testimony service a few months ago and share that he had just prayed to receive Christ as his savoir for the very first time. After learn-
I encourage you to sign up to receive a new newsletter I plan to publish about the Mosaics Church Startup Ministry. I will be expanding on many of the ideas I have introduced in these two articles this month. And, I will be sharing many new ideas on what is working and what is not, as our church continues to grow and reach others in our community with the love of God. If you would like to sign up for the free newsletter, please visit http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=dgve7pkab&p= oi&m=1110781875395 Christian Computing® Magazine
ing his story, we encouraged him to go back to the doctors and do the needed tests to find out about his health issues. It turned out everything was fine (we had prayed for it to be so). But, what should amaze all of us about his story is that he SOUGHT to become a Christian for two years and attended different churches all over the Kansas City area without success! It should also be noted that I didn’t have a lot to do with his conversion. It was the members of Mosaics Church that immediately took an interest in him the first service he attended with us. They invited him to a church dinner and book study that meets on Friday. They called to see if he needed a ride and simply ministered to him. Why, because they love those seeking Christ. Is our church overly evangelical? No. We don’t offer an invitation at the end of each service, and when I preach, I do not share how to become a Christian in each sermon. Yet, we have seen a large percent of people become Christians, become baptized, and become active and ready to serve. Why? Because we emphasis our obligation to love others, inside our church, and to love those outside. We call ourselves Mosaics Church because a mosaic is a beautiful picture made up of broken pieces. We acknowledge that, as Christians, we were all broken. Therefore we are constantly reminded that we welcome others who are broken and in need of God’s love! We simply don’t judge those who are without Christ. Our people saw this 75 year-old man slip into our service and they made connections, invited him to dinner, invited him to join them for a Friday night book study, etc. As the pastor, I did very little. This is the way it must be if churches are to grow. Our people need to love the lost. More on How I Came To These Conclusions But just observing the decline and just speaking with church leadership wasn’t enough. Somehow I needed to be able to hear from those that have decided that the church doesn’t have the answers to their needs (even though, more than ever, our society is plagued with needs.) Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to stand in a booth at a city outdoor festival and talk to people about why they don’t attend church. During the three days I had the opportunity to talk in detail with over 100 different individuals or couples. I saw their pain, as well as their disdain for the church August 2012
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Christian Computing速 Magazine
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based upon their personal experiences. All of their reasoning for leaving the church could be covered in the three reasons above. I combined that with something else that broke my heart… Google searches. Google has a feature they call “auto-complete”. When you start a search, Google helps you determine what it is you are seeking to find by completing your search criteria based upon the most popular searches that others have made on a similar search. So, if you were to type in “Why are Christians so” you will see the top results that others have searched for using the same combination of words. It changes day to day, but at the time that I am writing this, the top three most popular searches according to “auto-complete” is 1) Why are Christians so judgmental 2) Why are Christians so mean and 3) Why are Christians so arrogant. The fact that people are searching for these answers DUE to their frustrations at having been in contact with Christians says much about our problem. However, I didn’t stop there, I took the time to search for “Why are Christians so a…” and Why are Christians so b…”, etc., etc., and went through the entire alphabet. Then I followed the top leads that Google showed for these results. I read hundreds and hundreds of posts from people, many of them sincere, seeking to find out why it is that Christians are so judgmental, mean, arrogant, divided, cruel, condescending, creepy, easily offended, full of hate, etc., etc. Again, these are not my conclusions, but are based upon what people are searching for on the Internet, seeking to understand why Christians are acting the way they do. Again, do a search for “why are Christians so e” and you will see “easily offended”. Do a search for why are Christians so f” and you will see “fake” and “full of hate”. It is not a pretty picture, and if you begin to read the questions, posts and comments, you will probably find yourself feeling a little depressed. Our problem it seems is not that we haven’t preached the gospel, or have failed to disciple and teach our members. The problem is that once Christians are leaving our church Christian Computing® Magazine
buildings, they are simply not living it. Want an example? Check out this video by Restoration Videos on SermonSpice.com (http://www.sermonspice.com/ product/1414/faith-without-love). While this video is probably a re-creation, I have personally seen it happen too many times in public. In fact, I am getting to the point where I hate to see people pray before their meals in a public restaurant, only to see them act un-Christian-like, or listen to them complain about everyone else, or gossip. If you see a church that is greying, and dying, and not reaching anyone new with the Gospel message, you are looking at a congregation that is satisfied, selfish and self-centered, self-righteous and judgmental and are happy with the way things are going. They want their ministers to see to their every need and are actually uneasy with “new people” coming into the church and risking the chance that something might change! They have simply lost their love for others. They are happy being spoon fed. They don’t want to have to search for a parking space, nor have anyone new sitting next to them in their pew. It has to do with power and control, and most are comfortable and don’t want anything
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to change. I am not saying that these Christians don’t need to be ministered too. Matter of fact, I think these churches need to stay open and minister to their present memberships as long as they can, BUT I think these same churches, these same members, need to begin to get a burden for the lost in our nation. They need to begin realizing that there are new ways to reach the lost than the ways they did in the past. They need to realize there are new ways to worship, new ways to communicate, and even new ways to minister. They need to be given a new mission of helping start new churches in their community, even if that means starting one across the street from where they are currently located. Sadly, I don’t think we can turn things around in most of our dying churches. I don’t think that is the solution. When the Great Awakening happened in the mid 1700’s, it didn’t happen in the church. In fact, many of the great preachers that impacted both England and what was to become the United States were not allowed to preach in the pulpits of the churches of that time. They held “brush arbor” meetings across the nation, speaking on stumps, porches or at any other opportunity. I witnessed much the same thing with the “Jesus Movement” of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s (of which I am a product). Most of the young people who lead the movement did not have the clothes required to walk into a worship service at a local church. I still remember meeting in store fronts, parks, any place available, as hundreds and sometimes thousands of us young people shared in Bible study, singing and worship. So what is the solution? Check out part three of this series, “Why the Church in America is Dying – The Solution” (found in this issue of CCMag!) Christian Computing® Magazine
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Part 3 – The Solution By Steve Hewitt
I
n part one of this series I shared the data from multiple sources, showing that the church is dying in America. In part two of this series, I shared what I believed were the reasons the church is dying in America. Briefly, our churches have lost their ability to love others. This certainly doesn’t apply to many Christians or churches, especially those that show the fruit of proper love for others (church growth, new converts, new baptisms). However, for those churches that are filled with grey hair, lack children, and haven’t seen an addition as a result of a conversion experience in several years, they have lost their love for others; something that is vital for any church if it wishes to survive and grow. As stated in part 2 of this series, many church members have lost their love for the needy, lost their love and tolerance for other Christians who are not exactly clones of themselves, and/or have lost their love for those in need of a Savior, choosing instead to be judgmental and condemning of the sinners they come into contact with. While I believe those churches that still emphasize loving God and loving others will continue to grow and reach the lost in our nation, the statistics show that they are not going to be able to do it alone, and that the death of a large segment of our churches is inevitable as those that are supporting Christian Computing® Magazine
the present ministry of the church (members in their 70’s and 80’s) pass on. Can the church in America be saved? Of course! But can a church that has no life, no new conversions, no young people or children, be saved? Probably not! And, as history has shown (such as the Great Awakening and the Jesus Movement), the greatest increases in Christianity in America didn’t start with those already established in our churches. But instead were started outside of the present church structure, and led to the birth of a great number of new churches that sprung up across our nation. August 2012
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The Solution? For me, it is simple. Start new churches! We need new churches that start from virtually nothing. They need to be free from tradition, doctrine, rules and the trappings of traditional worship. They need to be free from power struggles and strict hierarchy. They need to reach those that are needy, those that are broken, those that no one else seems to want, and those that are seeking a Savior but are not welcome in many of our dying churches. I come from a specific denominational background. I used to believe that there was only one way for the government, structure and traditions of the church to operate. I believed in specific doctrines that made my denomination unique. And I held to many beliefs that were traditional in nature, yet were not really set in stone in the Bible. As I explored why churches in America were dying, I realized that we as Christians have fought over too many things for too long. I no longer care about many of the doctrinal issues that seemed to separate me from my Christian brothers and sisters who served in differing denominations. And, in starting my new Mosaics Church, we determined to simply ignore many of the very issues that seem to separate us and cause us to be at odds with each other. We set our mission statement to be very simple, Love God, Love Others. In our commitment to love others, we consciously made the decision to set aside doctrinal issues that seem to easily separate us as a community of believers in this nation. We decided that concentrating on sharing the good news that salvation was available through the life and death of Christ was a sufficient start. After that, our discipleship is simply centered on exploring Christian ComputingÂŽ Magazine
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ways to love God, and to allow him to love others through us. We don’t have a list of things we are against, but our members are delighted to share with others what they are for and how God’s love has restored them from their previously broken lives. How We Hope To Complete The Solution! I have learned a lot in the last four or five years. And, the last 21 months that I have been pastor of Mosaics Church has been some of the most exciting in my life. We believe that what we did wasn’t a miracle, nor was it difficult. We have no desire for Mosaics Church to become a mega church, since connection to others is easier to maintain in a new startup than in a mega church. Therefore, my next goal is to help others start similar “Mosaic Churches” across our city, across our state, and across our nation. It isn’t hard; it just takes a calling and some commitment. Here are a few of the steps we think might be needed. First, it takes men and women leaders, called of God, to step up and follow God to start a new church. They need to realize that this isn’t a money thing, it is a ministry thing. So far, I haven’t taken a single dime in salary as pastor of Mosaics Church, and I hope I never have to. This isn’t to say that pastors should not be paid, but one of the hindrances of starting new churches is the cost, and most of that cost is the salary of a pastor. While many denominations have programs to start new churches, their programs come with stipulations, dogma, and in some cases, built in power struggles. We need a burst of new churches in our country that are free from the very things that are causing our downfall. So, I am praying that God will lead men and women to step up to the task of this ministry, yet will be able to obtain a living from other sources, at least until their church is capable of being able to pay them a salary. Second, since I obviously believe in using technology tools and services to enhance ministry and facilitate communication, we have adopted such in our new church, and I am working to establish a package of such for others that wish to start new churches. As a small church, we started out with a video projector and a computer with multimedia worship software. We had a budget for videos to be used for illustrations as well as to meet the needs of our music worship portion of our weekly service. We started with a great website and ChMS package that enabled us to take full advantage of group Christian Computing® Magazine
emails as well as texting. And, shortly after our start, we began to broadcast our services live each Sunday via the Internet and a streaming service. We have now added online giving and videos that can be posted on YouTube and shared by our membership to their friends and family. Third, I believe that religious training is important. I value the degree in Christianity I received at a fine Christian denominational school back in the 70’s. I think it is important for Christian pastors to know how to understand the structure and doctrine of the Bible. But I also believe many of us have allowed our pride and knowledge to get in the way of the simplicity of the Gospel. I remember writing term papers, 18 pages long with a required number of references on subjects such as “Who wrote 1 Peter”. I never remember a single class that covered the importance, methods, or message of simply Love God, Love People. I am working on developing the opportunity to train others to not only start new churches, but to also help them to keep the message of Christ simple. For my brothers who think discipleship is understanding the various interpretations of the ten toes in Daniel, I must respectively disagree. I think real discipleship is CSG.173.mEs Digital Ad CCMag_Layout 1 8/1/12 9:25 AM Page 2
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leading our people into a greater understanding on what it means to love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, and then to learn how to love others (which is basically learning how to get out of the way and allowing Him to love others through us.) IF we could start churches where our members concentrate on that last sentence, we would quickly bring our nation back to God! So, What Can You Do? I am looking for people who would like to start Mosaics Churches! They need to be able to support themselves with another occupation. I actually have a vision, or maybe just a hope, that in some cases, pastors who are presently serving churches that have ceased to be able to grow but are entrenched in their traditions to the point that they can’t adapt, might be given the opportunity by their present churches to continue their ministry to them WHILE they start a new Mosaic church across town at the same time. I am looking for Christian leaders, present pastors, future pastors, who will be willing to set aside many of the doctrinal issues that separate us, set aside their traditions and habits, and consider starting a new church centered on the simplicity of Love God, Love People. They have to be able to look past the sin of those around them and see the soul that God loved enough to die to redeem. And they must be willing to use new services, new technologies, to communicate to our society in ways that will actually reach them where they are. Our church, Mosaics Church is willing and ready to open our doors to those that are willing to come for training. There will be no charge for the training, and if you can make it, we will provide as much free housing as our members can provide. I don’t have a date yet, but two men have already contacted me and are interested! I am starting the process of obtaining the services and technology support from companies that have the products and services Christian Computing® Magazine
and are willing to join us in helping others start new churches from scratch. I am sure some will point out this should be the job of someone else, some denomination or association. And, I am certain that others are already doing a great job in helping to start new churches and train and equip new leadership and churches. However, based upon the decline we are still seeing in America, I have felt the call to do what I can to help others start churches as well. I have already had a couple of people contact me and ask how they could become a church planter, so where there are a few, there might be more. It’s not hard, but it does take commitment. If you feel you might be called to start a new church wherever you might live, I would be more than willing to have you join us sometime this Fall or Winter for a week or two of training and equipping. We will do all we can to help with the startup, but it will take commitment and sacrifice to start a new church. Remember, you don’t have to be smart, you just have to be willing. If you would be interested in more information, drop me an email (steve@ccmag. com) or give me a call 816-550-8082.
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Special Feature
Presenting On A Budget By Bradley Miller
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he lights dim, and guitar, piano, or synthesizer rips out a holy power chord and the worship service is off and humming with a crescendo of excitement. In a more modern era of church technology, it’s probably not the hymnals that everyone is going to be flipping to and fro for the next halleluiah praise. The prices and availability of high-output projectors has given anyone the ability to present to a large gathering of people. As a church plant we recognized that this would be one of our key technology pieces and would provide an interface between the participants, the band and ultimately the pastor/preacher/whatever your calling. Presentation software can be as simple as to connect an iPad to the built in Open LP service PowerPoint slides. Many churches function just manager. We could then control the slides being fine with those options for a number of years but presented while roaming with the iPad. With the then things like lyrics or backgrounds can be a bit unwieldy. We had the benefit of learning a bit from our sending sister church on what things did and didn’t work so we knew we wanted something beyond PowerPoint or expensive software to run our services. We looked at many commercial packages, but the best combination of features and pricing was given by an open source (non-commercial, free) program called Open LP. (www.openlp.org) Our first iteration of Open LP was very simple, we had a Windows 7 laptop hooked to an Epson projector and we would flip through the slides right on the laptop screen. The next iteration was adding stand-alone wireless network that allowed us Christian Computing® Magazine
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screen mirroring feature, we discovered that the pastor could read the verses from the laptop like a teleprompter and then when we capture video (via BoinxTV - www.boinx.com) it looks very natural. The next iteration was slightly more ambitious. The teaching slides and lyrics are made into a weekly presentation and that is created by a couple of teams of people. The final product is dropped into our DropBox.com folder for the service that week. This worked great for the laptop because it would sync up to a shared folder and then when we brought it with us we were ready to roll. The laptop was a borrowed item and wasn’t going to be a long-term solution. We needed a computer that we could transport and leave hooked up in our storage area at our rented space. We built a cart from an old overhead projection cart from a high school surplus auction. (www.govdeals.com) The projection cart was for a regular transparency projector so we created a platform about 3 feet higher in the air. The cart slides perfectly between the seats at the theater. The extra height keeps people from walking into the path of the projector. We went to a local computer surplus store (www.surplusexchange.org) and bought a $30 computer and loaded the free Ubuntu Operating System (www. ubuntu.org) on it. A $10 dual output video card was sourced off CraigsList (www.craigslist.org) and some spare speakers were added. A VGA y-cord was placed on the secondary screen and a dual video switcher was added to that. ($40 or so from www.monoprice.com) The main LCD screen ($25 - used store) is used in getting Open LP up and running and then when the presentation is loaded from the synced DropBox account over the network, the switch is flipped and the LCD mirrors what the projector is displaying on the overhead screen. Whew! I hope you are following all that . . . but the bottom line is we have a really snazzy system that we built for less than $300 (not counting the projector, which we already had). We have Christian ComputingŽ Magazine
a spare wifi router that creates our own wifi connection that allows the pastor to flip the slides from his Android phone app for Open LP. We can watch the lyrics and flip them as needed during the music with an iPad (on loan) but any cheap Android tablet with a decent browser and screen would work. The next addition will be allowing our child check in system to perhaps flash messages via the service if any parents are needed - all via the Open LP web interface. The possibilities are endless when you stop thinking with your wallet and start asking to open your eyes to the solutions right before you.
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ministry leadership
Children’s Security
Best Practices for Four Key Risk Areas from ACS Technologies
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he back to school season is a great time to sit down and reassess our practices on our church campuses. Now, as you prepare for heavier church attendance as summer comes to a close, is a perfect time assess your child security process.
Security experts recommend performing a risk assessment of your church facility first, then assessing your ministry areas, starting with the children who have been entrusted to your care – you may be seeing new faces in your children’s ministries this fall. Below, we’ll help you look at the initial stages by outlining four key areas of risk when it comes to your children’s ministry. Getting Started: Know Your Risk “As families enter your ministry, they expect to find a sanctuary that provides a haven of protection from the rest of the world — both spiritually and physically. All week they hear about terrorism, natural disasters, fires, and crimes. They don’t need to come to the church worrying over their safety while attending services,” say the authors of the ministry guide Is Your Children’s Ministry at Risk? “Moms and dads should not have to worry about whether their child is safe and secure while they try to worship. The more you can assure these families that Christian Computing® Magazine
the church is a safe place, the better off each of your ministry areas will be, from your children’s programs to your adult.” The guide outlines details on how to understand your risk level, assess your needs, and it outlines technology solutions that can help you succeed. Key area of risk: 1. Emergency Evacuation Best practices: Keep maps with the fire evacuation route to the nearest emergency exit in every room. The route should be in plain view and be located near the exit point of each room. Include evacuation routes in main hallways that indicate the locations of exits, fire extinguishers, and medical kits, as well as designated locations outside of the buildings where people should gather during an evacuation. “For your children’s programs, do you have the ability to see a complete, accurate roster for each class with all of the children in attendance at the time of the evacuation?” ask the authors of Is Your Children’s Ministry at Risk? Ask yourself these questions August 2012
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as you assess your children’s security plan. Key area of risk: 2. Shelter-inPlace or Church Lockdown Best practices: Train volunteers to know where they should be with their classes during a lock-down and who is responsible for securing entryways. Be sure you know how all of the children in your care will be accounted for. If you have a good child check-in solution, you will quickly be able to generate an up-todate list of all of the children in your care. Key area of risk: 3. Medical Emergencies Best practices: Keep records on children’s allergies and medical conditions that could impact activities while the child is on campus. Knowing a child is allergic to peanuts ahead of time can help keep any food items with peanuts from being present while that child attends scheduled activities. A central database is an excellent way to maintain and store this type of information, allowing volunteers and staff access to the information without having to track down a particular staff person or gain access to a locked filing cabinet in some office. Is Your Children’s Ministry at Risk? suggests looking at how you track allergy information and medical conditions, and how you communicate that information to staff and volunteers. You can’t expect volunteers to seek out the information, nor can you expect children to pipe up.
Download our FREE ministry guide for ideas on how to succeed!
Key area of risk: 4. Lost/Missing Child Best practices: A secure check-in and check-out system ensures that children are returned to the proper adult. The most effective check-in system will be fast and convenient Christian Computing® Magazine
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for families to use and provide locating tools for children and adults. Because so many families are nontraditional, be sure to track who is authorized to pick up a child in the case of emergencies. Both parents may not be authorized, or you may have custodial grandparents in your church. Implementing Your Plan Once you’ve done your end-of summer assessment in these four key areas, as well as the other assessment areas outlined in Is Your Children’s Ministry at Risk?, including doing a safe-environment walk through and taken a careful look at your volunteer screening processes, a list of short and long-term changes may begin to accumulate. As you get the ball rolling, personnel communication will be essential, but technology solutions may also be a key to your success. For detailed information on a child security risk assessment, implementation, and a detailed infographic that can help you lay out a check-in system for maximum security and efficiency, download the free ministry guide Is Your Children’s Ministry at Risk?
Christian Computing® Magazine
August 2012
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logos cms
LOGOS
Engaging Your Staff through Internal Communications from Logos Management Software
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he church vision is in place: You have already run past years’ reports on attendance growth rates for the month of September, you have your projections in place, and you know your plan of attack. But have you communicated the vision to your staff? Are you confident they are onboard? Do they know what your expectations are of them? Do they know the details for upcoming projects pertaining to them? You could have the most inspired vision, but if they, your staff-team don’t know and share the vision, you could be stuck treading water instead of moving forward. The health of the internal communication amongst your staff is vital to maintaining and achieving a shared vision. The good news is that, thanks to all the technology tools available, communication is more prolific than ever. The bad news is that communication requires increased strategic thinking. Since we are all bombarded with different forms of communication—email, phone, social media, blogs, web pages, mail--how can you make sure that your church staff actually hear your message above the din? Here are a few ideas to help guide your communication plan: 1. Promote interactive communication.
cation is a two-way street. You do have important messages to convey… and so does your staff. Utilize technology to make two-way communication the norm at your church. If you have a webpage or a Facebook page that you use for staff communications, allow people to comment and leave input on announcements that you post. If you’re making a decision that will affect staff members, create an online survey to gage their opinions. When you implement new practices—like a new format for staff meetings or a new system for assigning tasks—give it a month, and then take another survey to collect feedback. Seeking two-way communication will give you new ideas and earn the respect of your staff.
The Two-Way Street While it’s tempting to think that, as a leader, you need to do most of the communicating, communi-
Staff Meetings: Rotate, Share, Keep it Fun A great venue for interactive communication is the staff meeting. Despite the importance of this type
Christian Computing® Magazine
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of meeting, all-staff meetings can sometimes have a negative connotation. One way out of this is to balance both casting the vision for your church and also giving staff the opportunity to take ownership of their jobs through involvement in the staff meeting. Dr. Richard DuFour, who wrote the book Professional Learning Communities at Work, discusses the idea of Loose-Tight Leadership. In this model, the leaders set the parameters (tight) for, say, the need to draw everything back to the vision in a unique way. Yet within those parameters, there are different things that can be done (loose). In other words, staff members have the freedom to bring ideas to the table, but those ideas need to fit in the framework of your plan. Another way to encourage interaction and allow staff to take ownership of their jobs in staff meetings is rotating the responsibility of running the meeting between departments or individuals. Give those whose roles tend to be behind-the-scenes a shot at taking the lead. Make the agenda available to everyone beforehand and be open to feedback regarding changes. Build in avenues for people to share what they’re excited about in their jobs. At churches, we’re in the business of being the hands and feet of Jesus so He changes lives. Share these stories! It can be difficult in the day-to-day grind to remember why we all do what we do. And finally, keep it fun. Volkswagen initiated this video about “The Fun Theory” where a staircase is turned into a keyboard to get people to use the stairs in lieu of the available escalator. The premise that people will change their behavior if it’s fun holds true for staff meetings. If your meetings are painful, try starting out with an ice-breaker or group activity. Get people talking about their lives outside of work and bring a little fun into the atmosphere! 2. Work with technology already in use. There’s no need to burden your staff with extra technology and new communication channels. Chances are most of them are already connected to the same technologies, so all you should have to do is make sure you’re communicating on the same frequencies.
a few bullet points summarizing the latest updates, is a great avenue to make sure everyone is in the know on upcoming projects. Facebook: Your Digital Huddle Have you thought of using a private Facebook staff page as a vehicle for your communication? This won’t work for all churches, so you’ll have to decide if this is an appropriate communication portal for your staff. The nice thing about Facebook is your staff is likely already there and it’s built for two-way communication. While it’s not a good place to post in-depth plans, it is an avenue for cultivating unity amongst the staff. You can easily upload pictures of staff members, manage the calendar, post encouraging notes, give accolades to staff, and post reminders on and before “game day.” Think of it as your digital huddle. 3. Tear down barriers. Encourage the Heart James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner wrote a book called The Leadership Challenge. It proposes five practices of exemplary leadership based on over three decades of research: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. It is interesting to note that the fifth practice, “Encourage the Heart,” is probably the most pivotal: if you are very good at it, but not as proficient in the other practices, your people will forgive you; if you are stellar at the other four practices, but poor at this one, you will struggle to lead successfully. This is the key factor that makes leadership work. Encouraging the heart will go a long way in carrying your message across people’s emotional barriers. At its core, this comes down to a deep care and concern for those around you and the ability to communicate these feelings. Here are a few specific idea of how to communicate your genuine concern:
• Set clear standards for your staff. People like to The eNewsletter: Short and Sweet know what is expected of them. Utilize email by sending out a simple internal • Expect the best of your people — believe they newsletter once a month. Your staff won’t miss it can perform well, and let them know your expecbecause they’re already checking their email, and if tations. you limit the newsletter to once a month, they’re less • Pay attention. Active listening speaks volumes. likely to ignore it. The newsletter, though as simple as • Give personalized recognition. Christian Computing® Magazine
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does you a favor or has just been doing a fantastic job in general, shoot them an email. It takes about 30 seconds to let someone know they’re appreciated! Consider including uplifting “shout outs” in your monthly eNewsletter. You could also tag staff members in your Facebook status or write on their page—let them know that you value them and your relationship transcends office work. After all, they are you brothers and sisters in Christ!
• Tell the story. Share the stories organization-wide of what people have done, and tie them back into the vision of the organization. • Celebrate victories — even the small ones—that move you closer to your goal. • Set the example. It can be discouraging when a leader does not follow through on what he/she is asking of others. Touch with Technology There’s no need to limit your encouragement to face-to-face interactions. Simple tools, like email and Facebook, can give you extra opportunities to share words of affirmation. For instance, when someone Christian Computing® Magazine
As always, grace. The ability to articulate is a uniquely human gift—no animal in God’s creation has the capability to communicate with precision the way we do. Unfortunately, the gift of communication is a curse as well as a blessing because we inevitably fail to do it perfectly. Even with the best systems in place, there will always be a person left out of the loop. There will be times when you don’t send the email soon enough, forget to CC or Reply All, or fail to plan an interactive staff meeting. Certainly, we all need grace when it comes to failed communication. The upside is that while we while people will be hurt when communications run awry, they can be greatly blessed by good communication. At its root, communication is words. Proverbs 12:18 says “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Assuredly, words of sincerity and encouragement can help cultivate unity amongst your staff. Using a variety of two-way communication/technology channels that everyone understands and encouraging the heart will go a long way toward ensuring a shared vision and a sense of ownership for the work of your organization.
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one call now
ONE CALL NOW
Get off the phone and with the congregation!
Flat Rock Pentecostal Holiness Church
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he Flat Rock Pentecostal Holiness Church is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range on the North CarolinaVirginia border. Located in Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mt. Airy, NC, this real-life Mayberry is proud of its congregational connection where everyone knows everyone, and where prayer chains are an essential part of daily life. With 140 members, keeping everyone informed of medical emergencies, prayer requests, and church events is a daunting task. THE SITUATION The church leadership team was pouring hours on end into making phone calls to the congregation, informing them of prayer requests, service delays or cancellations, and reminding people to attend church functions. “When an event happened, it literally took hours to notify the church members,” Pastor David Sparks recalled on times before his church used One Call Now. THE RESULT Pastor Sparks learned about One Call Now from another pastor at the Billy Graham Conference Center in 2008. Since joining, the leadership team has been able to connect with their congregation like never before. “What used to take hours now takes minutes,” Sparks explained. In fact, since partnering with One Call Now in 2008, they’ve saved more than 681 hours and counting—that’s more than 1.3 hours per day of time saved. Flat Rock Pentecostal Holiness Church has also seen an increase in attendance of church functions. “It has taken a lot of stress off me and the leadership team. I’ve called from hospitals, while driving in my car, or even from another state to deliver messages to my congregation—it is a very powerful tool, and very Christian Computing® Magazine
convenient too”, Sparks continued, “At just over a dollar per day, it is hard to believe how affordable such a powerful tool is.” The benefits delivered by One Call Now are so great, Sparks’ regional denominational headquarters, Cornerstone Conference, adopted and is now using One Call Now to communicate with the officials and pastors of more than 150 churches in North Carolina and Virginia. “What used to take hours now takes minutes.” Pastor David Sparks, flat rock pentecostal holiness church Contact us to learn more! CHURCH MEMBERS - 140 SIGNUP YEAR - 2008 INDUSTRY - Religious – Small Churches PROBLEM - Needed a rapid and effective communication tool to keep congregation members informed. PAYBACK - More than 681 hours saved and increased attendance at church functions TOOLS UTILIZED - Phone Calls REPLACED - Manually placed phone calls
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higher power with kevin
Logos Brings More Parity Between Android and iOS Bible Apps Kevin A. Purcell - kevin@kevinpurcell.org
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his month Logos released a major update to their mobile Bible apps for Android. The development of their Android apps continued to lag behind the features of their iOS apps frustrating those of us who used the apps on our Android phones and tablets. Thankfully, that all changed as Logos released the new versions. Logos Bible App You can learn more about the new app at http:// www.logos.com/mobile/android. Let’s take a look at what the app now has, some new and some improved or continued from previous versions. • Notes: users can attach notes to a verse or selected book something that every mobile app must have if I’m going to use it consistently; add to different note files and sync them with the PC or Mac versions of Logos • Highlighting: as you find a Bible verse or statement in one of the books you’re reading, highlight it to make it easy to find in the future; use a lot of colors and add to different highlighting files that sync to the desktop • Language Study: users can use one of the best version of mobile interlinear tools available Christian Computing® Magazine
• • • • • •
by tapping and holding a word which pops up grammatical information about the word Split Screen: Read two books at once, a great feature for reading a Bible and a commentary or to view two texts along side each other Bible Word Study: Get a lot of info about Greek or Hebrew words to better understand a passage Search Improvements: Search texts and save them Passage Guide: Enter a text reference and search your entire mobile library for all the information related to that text at your finger tips Text Comparison: Get a parallel view of a text in multiple translations Reading Plans: They are now more robust and sync more consistently with other devices
These feature mean that the Android version of Logos Bible app is no longer a simple book reader with a couple of new features. It now sets with other August 2012
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world-class Bible study apps. One improvement that I especially like is the better sync. I use Logos on my laptop, my iPad and on my Samsung Galaxy S III Android phone. If I create a note on one device it shows up across the others. Download the Logos Bible app on the Google Play Store at http://bit.ly/NMpPP4, on iOS at http://bit.ly/NMpITJ and on Kindle Fire at http:// amzn.to/On0XMN. Other Apps From Logos Logos introduced their Logos Bible App quite some time ago, but since then they’ve also released a few other apps for mobile Bible study and book reading. They include the following: Vyrso: Logos released this app as a Christian book reader. It shows every book in your Logos account, but primarily works as a simple e-reader. For those who use the Logos Bible app, this one seems superfluous to me. If you don’t want all the features listed above, then go with this one. You can highlight text and add notes. You can also share verses via social networks, something also possible with the Logos Bible app. Find it on Google Play Store at xxx. On iOS find it at xxx and on the Kindle Fire at http://amzn.to/ On0Ws7. FaithLife: The FaithLife Study Bible gives users all the tools you’d expect in a good study Bible, but was designed with digital in mind. It includes the Hexham English Bible, some Bible dictionaries and notes as well as atlas features. The app also offers some multimedia content like photos, infographics and videos. You still get access to other books in your Logos account. I use the Logos Bible app more than I do this app, but I keep it on my Android phone Christian Computing® Magazine
because its a really good app. In addition to the great Faithlife Study Bible tools, you also get access to the FaithLife community, a kind of social network centered around Bible study. Users post community notes, set up groups for their church, Sunday School class, Bible study group, family or just some friends. Check out http://www.faithlife. com for more about the community. Get the app in the Google Play store at http://bit.ly/NMoZSx. iOS users can find it at http://bit.ly/NpMbBe and Kindle Fire users can get it at Amazon’s App Store at http://amzn.to/NMphsv.
How will you reach them... ĂŌĞƌ the service? SPREAD THE WORD… with One Call Now Voice, Text and Email messaging for churches. Visit us online at onecallnow.com or call 877-698-3262 to learn more. 201208LS259
onecallnow.com August 2012
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digital evangelism
Back to School
Michael L White - mlwhite@parsonplacepress.com
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he month of August is generally the time when kids of all ages, from kindergarten to college, return to school for another term, although some educational institutions wait until after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) to resume classes. It has been quite a while since I was in college, and even longer since I was in grade school, but I can remember those days (the good ones and the bad ones) like they were yesterday. However, there is not a cell in my body that has any desire to return to either of those stages in my life. It is a permanent part of my personal history, but it is not something I wish to repeat or even revisit, though sometimes I wonder how my life would be different if I had the opportunity to go back and make different decisions about certain things. Nevertheless, I try to think like the Apostle Paul in this regard: “… forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV). The process of education is actually a lifelong process. Once we graduate from college or graduate school, we then maintain and further our learning with courses we call continuing education. All of life is like that, and so is the practice of digital evangelism. That’s what I want to discuss in this article. So, how do we go back to school for digital evangelism? It’s really quite simple. I mentioned utilizing such power-packed Web sites as InternetEvangelismDay.com last month for personal instrucChristian Computing® Magazine
tion, but there is also a host of other opportunities for taking courses or short-term classes and seminars in Bible Colleges, local churches, and other settings, both on-campus and online. While as a pastor I have attended numerous seminars on evangelism at local churches in the past (I’m sure many of you have, too), and while I’ve also taken some online continuing education courses for other subjects, I think it’s time for me to sign up for some online courses in conducting evangelism, though it may be a challenge August 2012
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to locate a course that deals specifically with the topic of digital evangelism. Here’s an idea: why don’t you share with me some of the courses, both on-campus and online, which you have either taken or are considering taking related to the subject of evangelism, specifically digital evangelism? You can share these in the Digital Evangelism Community of Christian Computing Magazine’s (CCMAG) online community. If you haven’t joined that yet, I urge you to do so at community.ccmag.com/ and to begin sharing not only the courses you’ve taken or are contemplating taking, but also share some of the ways you have done and/ or are doing digital evangelism in your own ministries. I’ve already posted this question in CCMAG’s Digital Evangelism Community, and at the time of this writing, one person has responded, albeit directly instead of through the online community as I expected. Nevertheless, in appreciation for Patrick Steil’s participation and recommendation, I refer you to his site: www.churchbuzz.com for Web-based instruction on how to use your Web ministry more effectively. I strongly recommend taking advantage of this and as many other opportunities as you can discover
Christian Computing® Magazine
to broaden your knowledge and understanding of the practice of evangelism (whether by digital methods or otherwise), as well as the ongoing process of discipleship and sanctification in the Christian life. This instruction is essential to personal spiritual growth and development not only for the “people in the pew” but for spiritual leaders, such as pastors and others, too. Unfortunately, most spiritual leaders, including pastors, believe that they are fulfilling the Great Commission simply by shepherding their local congregations each week (I used to think this way myself), but that is only one aspect (the discipling part) of the Great Commission. How are we going to acquire new disciples for our local congregation if we don’t go out into the highways and byways to evangelize the world? Waiting for unbelievers to drop by our weekly worship services to hear the Gospel or for current disciples to grow up and procreate so we can evangelize their children is a rather slow and ineffective method of evangelism. Meanwhile, untold thousands die in their sins all around us every day. I heard Keith Moore, pastor of Faith Life Church in Branson, Missouri (www.flcbranson.org), state on his weekly television program recently that statisticians calculate that two people die every second all around the globe. That’s a very sobering thought. I was also watching pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie some time ago on his weekly television program Harvest (www.harvest.org) where he quoted the statistic that 95% of confessing Christians admit they have never shared their faith as a witness to anyone else. This is quite disturbing! Evidently, the church at large doesn’t need to attend continuing education, but rather it needs to go back to school to learn the fundamentals of the Christian faith! Among those fundamentals is that immediately after accepting Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Savior, we are commissioned by none other than Jesus Himself to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19 NKJV, emphasis added). The word nations in this passage is translated from the Greek word ethnos, which today might be better understood as ethnic group. Therefore, Jesus says we are not to overlook or ignore any people group in our evangelistic efforts. King Solomon wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Proverbs 11:30 (NKJV) that the one “who wins souls is wise.” How is this wise? First of all, it is wise because this is what God desires, indeed commands, us to do, and He has promised to greatly August 2012
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reward those who faithfully obey His Word (compare with Matthew 24:45-51 and 25:14-30). Our minds cannot even begin to imagine the rewards God has in store for His faithful servants (1 Corinthians 2:9). Secondly, the Apostle James also wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20 NKJV). While we may debate whether this “anyone among you” refers to a believer or a hypocrite (literally, an actor or pretender), the result is the same. Turning such a one back to the Lord will rescue his or her soul from death (compare with Revelation 20:6 & 14). Despite the need for ongoing education in this area, however, I don’t want that to interfere with the actual practice of evangelism either. Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke described this problem quite well in an episode from his film series Full Flame (www.bonnke.net/fullflame/) where a dramatic enactment depicts a rescue ship whose crew refuses to help another ship in distress because they’re busy conducting training on how to rescue a ship in distress. I have watched this series on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) a couple of times now, and although I have not attended one of Reinhard Bonnke’s Fire Conferences, I can attest that his Full Flame film series is truly inspiring and instructional. Clearly, this practice of evangelism (the sharing of the Good News of what Jesus has done for the world: John 3:16-18) and discipleship (the role of teaching and shepherding the believers at every level: Matthew 28:19-20) is a very serious business for the Church to remain engaged in. I’m sure there’s room for improvement in this area for all of us. I, for one, am ready to go back to school so I can get better prepared to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ, but at some point, we all need to graduate and begin to actually do the work of evangelism. Are you Christian Computing® Magazine
with me? Oblivious lost souls are unwittingly waiting for rescue. Michael L. White is the founder and Managing Editor of Parson Place Press, an independent Christian publishing house in Mobile, Alabama. His book Digital Evangelism: You Can Do It, Too! (Parson Place Press, April 2011) is available wherever books are sold. For a list of his other books and articles, visit his Web site at books.parsonplace.com.
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the power and the danger
Intellectual Property
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By Russ McGuire - russ.mcguire@gmail.com
ne of the major storylines that anyone in technology needs to pay attention to is the war being fought over Intellectual Property. This is most evident in the smartphone space, with the most active litigants being Apple, Microsoft, Google (especially through their Motorola division), Samsung, HTC, and RIM. How these battles play out could have a significant impact on all of us. What is Intellectual Property? According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) website: “It [Intellectual Property] is imagination made real. It is the ownership of dream, an idea, an improvement, an emotion that we can touch, see, hear, and feel. It is an asset just like your home, your car, or your bank account.” The USPTO identifies four ways to protect Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets. Utility patents generally protect inventions, including new products, new materials, and new processes. Design patents protect new, original and ornamental designs of manufacture such as the look of a shoe or the shape of a bicycle helmet. Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that are used to identify products or companies. Copyrights protect writings, music, Christian Computing® Magazine
and works of art. Why are companies fighting over Intellectual Property? Some companies invest millions of dollars to create Intellectual Property that can give them access to, or advantage in, a lucrative market. If someone else copies what they spent millions to create, it is like stealing. Most companies are willing to license their technology to other companies for a fee, and in some cases, there is a requirement for companies to license technology essential to implementing technology standards on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. So, a company that implements an invention without paying the licensing fee for the technology truly is denying money that is rightfully due to the other company. For example, it is believed that August 2012
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Microsoft makes more money licensing Intellectual Property to makers of Android smartphones than they make from the sale of Windows-based smartphones. However, it isn’t always just about licensing fees. In some cases, a company will refuse to license their Intellectual Property to competitors, making it impossible for anyone else to create a product that can effectively compete with them in the marketplace. Apple is most often accused of this tactic and they have been very aggressive about seeking injunctions against competitors to prohibit them from selling their competitive offers. Apple has been particularly successful in keeping versions of Samsung’s tablets out of different markets around the world, but have also won injunctions against HTC, Motorola, and Samsung smartphones. Even murkier is the validity or applicability of different patents. There is a current case in San Jose, California between Apple and Samsung that involves a number of Apple design patents, including the design of a device that has edge-to-edge glass on the front, and a design with a rectangular shape. Kevin Packingham, Samsung’s product chief, was quoted by Wired magazine as saying “it’s unreasonable that we’re fighting over rectangles.” Who can blame him? Nearly every smartphone on the market today is rectangular in shape and has glass pretty much from edge-to-edge. So, why are these companies going to all this trouble? It’s all about money. The smartphone market is exploding. ITC estimates that $111 billion in smartphones were shipped last year, and this figure is expected to grow to $174 billion in 2016. Asymco estimates that Apple earns 73% of the profits in the smartphone industry, with Samsung taking 23.5%, HTC barely breaking even, and everyone else losing money. In Apple’s most recent quarter, they made $8.8 billion in profits. They want to protect that cash flow by keeping products out of the market that may be more atChristian Computing® Magazine
tractive to customers, especially if that attractiveness is due to competitors implementing Apple’s inventions. Why should churches and ministries care? I think there are two reasons that we need to pay attention to this issue. The first reason is impersonal, logical, and rational. Licensing fees drive up the price we pay for the technology we use in serving the Lord through our ministries. These battles will undoubtedly result in increased licensing fees and higher retail prices. More troubling, injunctions can keep us from being able to purchase technology that we may have counted on for our ministry. If you’ve been working hard to launch an Android app for your ministry, but Apple is successful in their legal efforts and compelling Android products are no longer available, your efforts may be wasted. (Many are suing Apple as well, so injunctions keeping the iPhone out of the market are also possible.) The second reason we need to pay attention to this issue is personal, moral, and emotional. EsAugust 2012
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pecially those of us in ministry, serving the Lord with limited budgets, are often tempted to violate the Intellectual Property of others. We may use software that we haven’t properly licensed for our computer. We may download a photo or audio file from the web and use it on our website or in our church service without proper permissions and without paying appropriate fees. We may plagiarize what someone else wrote in our blog because we simply couldn’t think of a way to say it any better. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28) Let us heed this admonition, especially in our service to the Lord. It is my hope and prayer that these articles on the power and danger of technology will encourage you in your daily walk with Christ. Whether it is the printing press, personal computers, the Internet, mobility, Wi-Fi, social networks, or tablet computers, new technologies continue to advance our ability to know God and to serve Him, wherever we go. Russ McGuire is an executive for a Fortune 100 company and the founder/co-founder of three technology start-ups. His latest entrepreneurial venture is Hschooler.net (http://hschooler. net), a social network for Christian families (especially homeschoolers) which is being built and run by seven young men under Russ’ direction. Christian Computing® Magazine
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nick at church
Telecommuting Can Work! Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com
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ome members of our (MBS’) team have been telecommuting since the 1990s. I’m often asked how I know whether it’s working for us. The unspoken question is, “How do you know you’re getting a full day of work in exchange for a full day of pay?” That is an excellent question, and one every employer wrestles with— whether their staff works in the office, on the road, or from home! And the answer is the same regardless of where employees work: Does the amount of employee output meet or exceed the expectations of the employer?
The Challenge Let’s face it: even employees who work in offices can under-produce. They can waste time doing things their employer hasn’t asked them to do, and their output suffers accordingly. That can also be true for employees who work on the road or from home. Studies show that employees spend a high percentage of time on websites that are not related to their job, emailing friends and family, and texting friends and family while at work. Doing so on a break— which is personal time— is acceptable; but is doing so while on “company” time okay? Probably not. So, I recommend two things to help in this area: • Employers, give your team members clear guidance on what you believe they should be able to accomplish in the time they are at work. If they exceed your expectations, reward them for their diligence and capability! If they under-produce, let them find employment elsewhere that is better Christian Computing® Magazine
suited for their skill-set and motivation. • Employees— especially those who are Christians— the Bible encourages you to do your work as though working for the Lord himself! Writing to those who were enslaved to their employers (a far worse condition of employment than most of us experience today), Paul said in Colossians 3:22-25: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.” (NIV) And telecommuting has some significant advantages! Studies show that it increases employee morale August 2012
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and job enjoyment. And it reduces employer cost because of the reduction in office space that must be maintained. Some employers also find that employees who work from home are willing to do so for less salary too. The Technology Mobile devices are the obvious answer to many who think of working from off-site. Notebook computers, tablets, and smartphones are good for this; but they are only part of the answer. And technically, even desktops can be easily set up for remote access. But what about connecting to the data on your network vs locally stored files? It is surprising how often I talk with church managers who don’t know they already have the tools necessary to enable telecommuting. I don’t think our firm has engineered a network that didn’t have this free tool configured in a very long time! Since before the turn of the Century the technology has been freely available in Windows networks to connect remotely, and to do so securely. Originally called Terminal Services, remote access is fairly easy to set up. All that is required is a modern version of Windows Server, and Client Access Licenses (CALs) for those who will connect remotely. And the CALs, which can be installed for concurrent access, only cost
about $19 each (charity license pricing). Cross Platform Capable! I work on a Mac. I access our Windows-only database and accounting system via Remote Desktop. The applications to do so are free (Remote Desktop Connection from Microsoft: www.mactopia.com, or CoRD: http://cord.sf.net), and they consume very few resources on the Mac. For those on Macs who run a lot of Windows applications, we recommend doing so via a virtual Windows computer in VMware Fusion. My favorite app for running a remote desktop on an iPad is iTap RDP. It’s not free, but it works well. Yes, telecommuting can work! It takes diligence and trust on the part of the employer, and needs to be matched by diligence and integrity on the part of the employee. But that’s really true of any employer/ employee relationship, regardless of whether the location is an office, on the road, or at home. Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, a consulting firm specializing in church and ministry IT and CPA services. You can reach Nick via email (nick@mbsinc. com) and may want to check out his firm’s website (www.mbsinc.com) and his blog at http://ministry-it. blogspot.com.
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ministry communication
Lessons from YouTube for church communications Yvon Prehn - yvon@effectivechurchcom.com
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e all know video is growing as a communication medium, but when USAToday recently (mid July 2012) used one third of their page that usually is all television scheduling to list recommended web programs, my initial response was that it was an interesting article. A few days later I realized this wasn’t a one-time article, but a consistent feature. This is a significant shift, more observations and advice follow. Cisco’s VP for Marketing and Emerging Technologies, David Hsieh comments on the pervasive nature of video: “Video is invading all aspects of our lives.” He says, “Today over half of all Internet traffic is video—51 percent. And based on the current trends, we predict that in the next three years over 90 percent of all Internet traffic will be video.” Video isn’t just for entertainment anymore. It’s crossing over into all aspects of our lives. As an example, Hsieh says that he recently met with a client that works in the healthcare industry and that he learned that some hospitals are now turning to online video as a means to educate patients about how to continue their care after they leave the hospital. . . . . Christian Computing® Magazine
It’s clear that, in modern society, people crave a quick, easy way to consume information. They don’t want to have to read big chunks of text, don’t want to have to search around for explanations and online video has positioned itself as the perfect way to provide people with that quick, easy to consume content that they crave, when and where they crave it. From: http://socialtimes.com/cisco-predicts-that90-of-all-internet-traffic-will-be-video-in-the-nextthree-years_b82819 How should churches respond? No, video won’t replace all other forms of communication, but it is a tool to add to our communication toolbox so that we might “be all things to all people to August 2012
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resource for creating a credible YouTube channel. Here is the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/yt/creators/ playbook.html . The ebook--it’s free for anyone who wants it. The Creator Playbook has 91 pages of how-tos. The book is one of the most useful, well-written and laid out of any ebook I’ve seen in a long time. It is worth the time to download it simply to study the structure. More than that, it is a reality check. If I want to use video effectively to help train church communicators (and notice I said help train, not everyone is into video and I will continue to practice what I preach on the need for multi-channel communication), it will take lots of time, work, focus, and prayer for understanding to make it work. The big and splashy aren’t what count--it is learning how to do many new, repetitive, tasks: adding annotations, creating playlists, sticking to release schedules, better links, captions, descriptions--learning how to use analytics. Yet when I get past the initial, “Oh, my.... how will I ever do this?” --there is also a growing excitement of how powerful the final results can be and awe of the incredible tools the Lord has given us.
win some.” However, once a church realizes the importance of video, the frequent response is to put up talking head videos of the senior pastor on YouTube and then announce you have a video ministry. If you want to do more, the popular perception of YouTube is that it is really simple, easy, and anybody with a catchy, funny, or inspiring enough video will have a successful video ministry. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t work that way. I’ve spent a lot of time on YouTube lately trying to understand how it works and how I can make the most of it to equip and inspire church communicators. Part of that has been to study some of the popular producers and to look the advice YouTube gives on realistically how to make a video channel that will have significant impact on the audience you want to reach. I’ve realized that it is much, much harder and more difficult than I imagined. At the same time, if you follow their instructions--which require a tremendous amount of time and precise, repetitive work--chances are you will create a very useful communication tool for your church.
How this YouTube experience applies to church communications Success in church outreach and growth is similar to success on YouTube. There is a belief some churches that if the church prays enough (not to diminish the power of prayer and its absolute necessity) that the church will discover some magic tool that will solve all their communication challenges and have newcomers flocking to the church and members growing into mature disciples. It usually doesn’t work that way. Church success in fully fulfilling the Great Commission (having people come to know Jesus as Savior and grow to mature disciples in Him) is not done with one flashy PowerPoint, a cool church video, an expensive outreach campaign or any other one thing. Like the work required by the YouTube Playbook, church growth in numbers and people in Christ-like maturity requires many, communication pieces done well and repeated indefinitely. Once again I am reminded that effective church communication, like many other aspects of the Christian life is “a long obedience in the same direction.” To check out my updated YouTube Channel and view over 100 FREE instructional videos for church communicators, go to: http://www.youtube.com/yvonprehn
One set of instructions is their Creator Playbook The Creator Playbook from YouTube is a fantastic Christian Computing® Magazine
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