Christian Computing Magazine

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

September 2012

No. 9

4 cover story Over 300,000 People Now Using The CityTM to Be the Church By Steve Hewitt

Copy Editor Gina Hewitt Corporate Home Office

3 Editorial

Who won the iPad3 and MORE! Steve Hewitt – steve@ccmag.com

9 Minstry Leadership

of Christian Computing, Inc. Written materials

The Church Communication Guide to Event Follow-Through

from LOGOS Management Software

Faith that Moves Messages - Gethsemane Baptist Church

from One Call Now

the right to make any changes to materials submitted for publication that are deemed necessary for editorial purposes. The content of this publi-

An Interview With Stephen Johnson - Olive Tree Software

cation may not be copied in any way, shape or form without the express permission of Christian

Kevin A. Purcell – kevin@kevinpurcell.org

Computing®, Inc. Views expressed in the articles and reviews printed within are not necessarily

19 Digital Evangelism

the views of the editor, publisher, or employees

Michael White - mlwhite@parsonplacepress.com

of Christian Computing® Magazine, or Christian Computing, Inc.

22 The Power And The Danger eBooks

become the property of Christian Computing®, turned. Christian Computing® Magazine reserves

16 Higher Power With Kevin

submitted to Christian Computing® Magazine Inc. upon receipt and may not necessarily be re-

15 One Call Now

Prayer Changes Things

12 Logos CMS

Using Macs, iPads and iPhones for ministry: how the right flexible platforms can help settle the PC vs. Mac battle from ACS Technologies

Contributing Editors Lauren Hunter Yvon Prehn Nick Nicholaou Kevin A. Purcell Russ McGuire Bradley Miller Michael L White

By Russ McGuire - russ.mcguire@gmail.com

26 Nick at Church BYOD - (Bring Your Own Device)

28 Ministry Communication

Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com

A primer on responsive websites, what they are and why they are important Yvon Prehn - yvon@effectivechurchcom.com

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Articles that are highlighed are provided by our partners www.ccmag.com/2007_03/2007_03editorial.pdf

September 2012

editorial Who won the iPad3 and MORE! Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com This summer we had a scavenger hunt on our Online Community. We listed approximately 20 questions and encouraged you search for the answers in articles, videos and other content on our site. A good number of you took us up on the challenge and overall, I hope everyone had fun! We promised to pick one reader from those who submitted the correct answers and award a new iPad 3. And the winner is… Bruce Thom, Executive Pastor of Westside Community Church in Beaverton, Oregon! Our thanks to everyone that played! Church’s in America? If you remember, last month’s cover story was a rant from me on the reasons why the church is dying in America. As a result of those articles, a lot has happened in the last month. The Lord has put me into contact with Bekele Shanko, VP of Global Church Movements for Campus Crusade for Christ. We will be meeting next month. In addition, I have been in contact with Paul Becker, President of Dynamic Church Planting International. We will also be meeting in October. And, I spent several hours in a fascinating video call with Max Strother, President of Maximum Impact Churches. We have also scheduled a time to sit and chat further to explore what God is doing in all of this. And, I will be doing a short presentation at a special conference hosted by Group Publishing on “The Future of the Church in America”. This will be a “think tank” type of conference with short presentations and a lot of discussion with key church leadership from across the nation. In addition, there have been over 40 of you that have expressed an interest in more information about learning how to become a church planter or in following this subject, as the Lord takes me deeper into learning how He can use me to help churches and start churches in the USA. If you would like Christian Computing® Magazine

to sign up for the free newsletter, please visit http:// visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=dgve7pkab &p=oi&m=1110781875395 Several men have already made plans to travel to Kansas City in October to spend some time with Mosaics Church and me, in order to learn more about how to duplicate what we have done and start up their own churches. A few of our readers have asked how my passion for starting new churches intersects with Christian Computing Magazine. The answer is found in the meetings and phone conversations that are taking place with many of our sponsors who provide software and services for the church. They are also exploring what they can provide to help new churches startup from scratch. All in all, it is exciting to see how this is all working to come together! Over the last 23 years, I have asked for prayer on many occasions. I would like to ask for it again, especially during the month of October, as I have the opportunity to meet and work with many of these great church leaders and as we together explore ways to combine our efforts to help restore many of our present churches, as well as work out plans to help massive numbers of new churches start up across our nation. I can tell you, God is about to do something exciting, but all of those involved need your prayers as we seek God’s will and wisdom.

Together We Serve Him,

Steve Hewitt Follow me on Twitter @stevehewitt Email me at steve@ccmag.com September 2012

cover story

Over 300,000 People Now Using The City to Be the Church

By Steve Hewitt

n September, The City, the most popular church social networking tool, welcomed its 1,000th client. That’s 1,000 churches and over 300,000 people who now have a private, online social network where church attendees are empowered to be the church every single day of the week. This benchmark is notable as no other church social networking tool has reached this level of paid monthly subscribers. “We find The City helps us keep unified as a church,” said Jay Knotts, the Executive Pastor at True North Church in North Augusta, S.C. “From a pastoral point of view, whatever we believe God’s put on our heart, we can get it out to all of our people instantly and have them respond back. But it helps our staff on the back end, too. It’s doing so much. It’s revolutionizing our volunteer process. And it just provides a synergy effect among our people that’s really powerful.” Also this month, ACS Technologies rolled out the first phase of integration between The City and ACS™, the most widely used church management solution (ChMS), in the nation with more Christian Computing® Magazine

than 14,000 clients. Future integration will make it easy for users of other popular ChMS tools to have syncing coordination between their people databases and The City. The vision is for every church to be able to work with The City to provide the optimum back office and member engagement solution combination regardless of the ChMS used. What is The City? The City was founded at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. The founders of The City, inspired by Matthew 5:14, wanted a tool that was better than mass-market social media solutions like Facebook at giving people the opportunity to become conSeptember 2012

nected, build deeper community, and be empowered to serve each other. The City has continued to grow and strengthen over the years, and joined the ACS Technologies line of products in 2011. Now, The City is the most popular private social network for churches. It’s an online tool that fosters genuine connection with an 84% engagement rate throughout the entire church and a 90% church-wide adoption rate.

How one church is using The City True North Church is a dynamic young church. It’s been meeting for 8 years at North Augusta High School, and plans are in the works to soon break ground on its own building. The church added The City earlier this year, and it’s taken off like a rocket. The vision for The City at True North is boiled down into their motto, emblazoned on the church Web site, on banners on

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campus, even on staff T-shirts on Sunday morning: “The City: Everything True North. Every day.” As executive Pastor Jay Knotts said, “We’re a 24/7 church. It isn’t just about what happens on Sunday.” “We’re a growing church, growing by leaps and bounds,” said Jay Knotts, Executive Pastor at True North Church. “As any church gets bigger, we always hear that you’ve got to get smaller at the same time. Well, The City is doing that for us. And not only is it doing that, it’s bringing a cohesiveness among all of our departments here at True North Church. It’s uniting all us together.” One of the primary benefits the staff at True North Church point out is the The City’s usefulness as a twoway communication tool. Right now, the church sees more than 1,500 individuals every weekend. As the number of church attendees grows, the church wants to assure that the attendees feel they have a way to communicate back to the church. Currently, about 75% of the regular church attenders use The City to engage with each other. “We call it a church movement tool.” “The City is that strategic way that we can connect with our people, get them engaged in ministry, get them engaged in community as we go larger,” Jay said. “We call it a church movement tool. It’s like we’re on this battleship together standing shoulder-to-shoulder out there in a battle for the Kingdom. So we’ve got to stay unified. The City is that platform that’s going to help take us there as we prepare for the future.” Recently, True North Church saw a big impact using The City when it sent a mission group to Haiti. “They were blown away by all the devastation and brokenness that they saw down there, and they wanted everyone back here to feel and know and experience what they went through,” Jay said. September 2012

So one of the individuals on the mission created a daily diary of the experiences in Haiti and posted photos and even videos. “Our people were able to see it in written form, but they could also feel it and experience it the way they did down there in Haiti. So now, that desire to serve the missions and support the missions has just spread. We’ve got a lot more desire to go down there and people wanting to be a part of these missions teams. We think that was pretty cool. It’s like we say: inform, engage, equip, unite. That’s True North on The City.” Allowing parents to be in charge of contact information True North also uses The City as an integral part of its children’s ministry and checkin process. “It was really a mess before we got The City,” said Daphne Brown, director of kids aged 3-5 at True North. “Before, we were basically hand-writing 200 kids in every week. Then we were having to go back into a database system to enter them in,” she said.

Christian Computing® Magazine

Now, with The City and kiosks with bar-code scanners used with the keychain cards just like those you use at the grocery store, check-in is vastly simplified. “The City has helped by taking a lot of the administrative work off of us, and also it allows the parents to be in control of their own contact information,” Daphne said. “It also allows them to communicate with us some special needs their kids may have, maybe some special needs for the day or longer term issues.” The new system includes fun, decorated check-in stations that parents can use to quickly check in their kids on Sunday morning, without staff having to wade through piles of paper to find the correct names. “The people that used to be checking kids in are not more of a greeter, which means we can be available to build relationships with the parents.” Engaging in the digital space Daphne said she’s not surprised The City is growing. She could see The City working at

September 2012

any church because of its flexibility. “In terms of launching The City at our church, we really liked the fact that there was no specific formula for it. It’s usable enough for anybody to fit your church however works best for you.” At its core, The City is an unparalleled tool for churches to build disciples and grow engagement. It takes the notion of social networking – a digital form of communication and engagement – and adds a gospelcentered ministry element. “We’re talking about technology being used to build relationships, equip disciples of Jesus, and help them to move together in one direction, living as the light of Christ in a dark world,” write the authors of the ministry guide “Building Disciples Through Engagement.” The guide explores the topic of best practices for online communication and community from a holistic level. As the ministry guide outlines: “Things like a church website or Facebook page can be great informational tools for people interested in getting to know a little about your church prior to visiting, but they have limited in connecting people into the real, dynamic life of your community.” For more information and actionable advice about how online engagement and communication, download the ministry guide “Building Disciples Through Engagement,” which includes 5 best practices for digital communication.

Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012

Christian Computing速 Magazine

September 2012

ministry leadership

Using Macs, iPads and iPhones for ministry: how the right flexible platforms can help settle the PC vs. Mac battle

from ACS Technologies

ccording to CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey, half of all U.S. households own at least one Apple product, and one in 10 of the households that don’t already own an Apple product plan to buy one in the next year. The popularity of Apple products continues to grow, and ministries are no exception to this trend. That’s why entrepreneurial churches have largely embraced Macs – from pastors to volunteers, everyone loves their iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks. Strong ministries have figured out that they will get better support from all of their staff if they make sure there are ways for everyone to work with the tools they love. Finally, everyone on your team can get on board “Your operation needs to be flexible, including when it comes to technology needs and your IT department,” write the authors of the Apple ministry guide by ACS Technologies. One example given in the guide is Faith Christian Center in Jacksonville, Fla., which operates 7 affiliate campuses all over the Christian Computing® Magazine

southeast U.S. in addition to its main campus. The different needs at different campuses and for various staff meant that IT director and director of finance at the growing ministry, Manch Kersee, needed to provide a platform with flexibility. “Half our leadership has a Mac, but all of our desktops are IBM computers,” Manch said. The solution for FCC was a flexible, on demand approach that allows staff to use Macs, PCs, iPhones, iPads … whatever they preferred. “We’re a combined shop. And the thing you find with a lot of Mac shops is that they tend to be a little more entrepreneurial. Our bishop prefers a Mac, our directors and ministers own iPhones, and we have desktop PCs in use,” Manch said. September 2012

Manch, who has over two decades of business experience working within Fortune 500 companies including Sprint, AT&T and Walt Disney, Inc., had a few other ideas for entrepreneurial churches. iPads for check-in At FCC, iPads are a great tool for child and volunteer check-in. One advantage is that iPads are totally portable, plus they can be used for other purposes when not being used as a check-in station. Think about it: An iPad can be set up for check-in at a big event one week, and the next, it can be used for check-in at a small group. Going off-site for an event? No problem. And in between events, the iPad’s back to being a reader, a web browser, and more. With the right equipment, an iPad can even be used as a payment processor for debit card purchases. Make the creatives happy Another church that has embraced the Apple revolution is City of Life Church in Kissimmee, Fla. The church, which has an average weekly attendance of 4,000 and performs over 3,300 baptisms every year, is a “media-oriented ministry,” said comptroller Carolla McCammack in the Apple ministry guide. “Even though we’re not on TV, we’re moving in that direction. Our Senior Pastor and many of the key pastors are extremely good at video and editing, and that’s a Maccentered world. That’s what Macs do — they’re great from an artistic perspective, and there is a heavy emphasis on that in this organization.” But despite that emphasis, for many years, the staff that ran the church management software were still using PCs. As a result, the church struggled with internal communications. “After a while, we kept getting pressure from all these creative Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012

folks we work with. We were hearing about how Macs are more secure on the Internet, things like that. And our pastor, he’s focused on writing slammin’ music, he’s not worried about accounting, you know? But we had to find a way to communicate with them all.” The solution for City of Life Church ended up being a hosted church software platform that allowed the church to switch everyone to Macs – even the financial office. The Bottom line There’s great strength in creating an environment where staff can use the tools they are drawn to, and that’s increasingly going to mean tools like iPads, iPhones, and Macs. These tools appeal to the comfort zone of your technology users – the church staff and pastoral team. To learn more about how entrepreneurial churches are taking advantage of popular Apple products and how your peers are making the most of the mobile revolution, download the Apple ministry guide from ACS Technologies.

Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012

logos cms

LOGOS

The Church Communication Guide to Event Follow-Through from Logos Management Software

s a church we’re pretty great overall at making announcements, even if we are using age-old technology to make it happen. Many of the church’s communication holes, rather, are found in the follow-through: telling the story of what happened. Why take the time: Follow-through delivers the “inside scoop” and captures the emotional component that builds strong connections among the people in your church community: How did it feel to be there and take part? What moment made people laugh? What moved their hearts? Telling the story in words and pictures can pay big dividends with your people. Think of the greatest human interest stories (even TV commercials) you’ve seen in print or on-screen—the ones that inspired you or made you laugh or cry were powerful because they made you feel. Your church follow-through has that same potential and more! Hearing the stories of other people instills hope, gets people excited (and makes them think they’d better join in next time), and illustrates purpose (there’s a bigger story at work and they are or can be a part.) Like anything else, you’ve got to plan for the follow-through. It doesn’t just happen. C.S. Lewis says, “Be found at one’s post, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last 100 years.” With October here when you read this article—many of your plans are already in place and Christian Computing® Magazine

you’ve likely got lots of events on the horizon. This article doesn’t seek to uproot what you’ve done; instead, consider the following ideas to discern if any can be added to your current communication strategy. Delegate the responsibility. Delegate a point-person who has the patience to work the follow-through on events. It’s not unlikely that once one event is underway, another is following on its heels, especially at this time of year. It’s easy to get caught up in the “next thing” and not do a proper close on the current “thing.” However, not everybody is cut out for that job. Some are better at launching, or starting the task at hand, others are better at towing the line through to the finish. This is, after all, what the body of Christ is meant to do: work together. It’s okay, if this is not an area of your strength. It’s likely somebody’s. Firsthand accounts, get it while it’s fresh. While the table and chairs are being folded up, and the event is coming to a close, look around. Who can September 2012

you talk to? Who is energized? Who is refreshed? Grab this person and get the game recap. No need for this to be daunting, just grab a few thoughts, many phones these days have the ability to record. Be ready with a couple of questions like: • What impacted you the most today? • What take-away will help draw you closer to God? Always ask their permission to record the conversation and let them know you will get approval of the quote you will use beforehand. This will help them to feel safe and know their words will not be misconstrued and it will allow them to clarify a thought if necessary.

Was this a harvest type event where you are drawing in new people? Be sure to gather contact information and ask if it’s okay to contact them with more information. Get all of this data as quickly as possible into your church management software: record interactions, steps taken toward involvement, attendance of the event, updated personal information, etc. If you don’t know the purpose of the event, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate the why. And that’s okay. We all need to re-evaluate from time to time. It helps prevent stagnancy. Maybe it’s time to put your time, talent and treasure into something new and fresh.

Create an archive for referring back. A blog is a great tool for not only announcing your event (giving each event it’s own URL), but also for building an archive of past events complete with stories, pictures and testimonials. Putting in the extra time to post the follow-up on events will help you to get the word out about the event the following year in a compelling way. You now have all the content you developed from the previous event to draw from. Bonus: This also gives potential visitors insight into the activity and vibrancy within your church. What’s your call to action? What is the purpose of the event? Is it for fellpwship? Maybe you have a similar follow-up event where you need to enlist volunteers. Is it to move people into small groups or community groups? Have sign-ups for locations available. Encourage the small group leaders to come and be a part of the event to network. People are always more likely to take their involvement to the next level when there’s been some positive human interaction that led them there. Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012

Follow-through helps transition people in times of change. Let’s say you have re-evaluated the why and are about to make changes. Or perhaps your church is already in a season of change. We all know how difficult change can be. Adding the follow-through after events to your communication strategy can further bolster your initiative toward change. It’s likely your events reflect the changes in your church. Speaking to positive interactions that happened at the event, while also acknowledging change is difficult, can help people adjust and see the benefits of something new. Telling the story provides reinforcement of the idea that the change at hand is a good and healthy thing—or, at the very least, the change is going to work out as God intended. Whatever season your church is in now, the follow-through can make all the difference in the world in your communication. John Maxwell says in regards to credibility as a leader, “Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.” CSG.173.mEs Digital Ad CCMag_Layout 1 8/1/12 9:25 AM Page 2

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Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012

one call now

ONE CALL NOW

Faith that Moves Messages Gethsemane Baptist Church

ounded in 1984 as a 200-member church that met in a high school gymnasium in Newport News, Va., Gethsemane Baptist Church has since grown to more than 3,000 members, making it one of America’s largest churches. THE SITUATION Gethsemane Baptist Church has more than 90 ministry groups. Contacting group members took hours of individual phone calls. “Each person who heads up a smaller group manually dialed the members of their group to get the message out,” said Rev. Dr. Dwight Riddick. When messages needed to be delivered to the entire congregation, TV or radio announcements were used. Riddick knew there was room for improvement. THE SOLUTION Since partnering with One Call Now in 2008, many ministry groups experienced up to a 50 percent increase in attendance and participation. “It’s so convenient! I can connect with the congregation like never before,” Riddick explained. He now communicates so often with the congregation, the church has saved more than 10,277 hours of calling time. Television and radio announcements have been replaced with proactive communication through One Call Now. With One Call Now, Gethsemane Baptist Church can do things that were previously unimaginable. In 2009, services were cancelled due to a severe winter storm. Riddick cancelled services AND delivered his message to thousands of Christian Computing® Magazine

people with just one phone call. He also scheduled a makeup service a few days later, and more than 700 people came. “It would have been impossible to do this without One Call Now,” Riddick said. “(It) has become a part of our church that we can’t do without.” Contact us to learn more! INDUSTRY - Religious – Large Church PROBLEM - Communicating through individual phone calls and TV and radio announcements was time-consuming and unreliable PAYBACK - 50% increase in participation in various church activities; 10,277 hours of phone time saved TOOLS UTILIZED - Phone Calls, Text-to-Speech, Scheduled Delivery, Subgroups GEOGRAPHY - Newport News, Virginia REPLACED - Manually dialed calls for ministry groups; TV and Radio spots for congregation-wide messages

September 2012

higher power with kevin

An Interview With Stephen Johnson Olive Tree Software Kevin A. Purcell - kevin@kevinpurcell.org

or years the name OliveTree Bible Software was synonymous with mobile Bible study dating back to the days of the Palm Pilot and Windows CE and forward to today’s Android, iPhone/iPad iOS and almost every other mobile operating system available today. The man in the driver’s seat at OliveTree was Drew Haninger. He retired this summer and his number two man, Stephen Johnson took the wheel. (see the announcement at http://bit.ly/LICrrM)

I caught up with Stephen via email and asked if he would answer a few questions for us and here’s the result of that interview edited for brevity sake. Read the full text of the interview at my website here: http://wp.me/ p2D1s2-uj. CCMag: Tell us about your journey from cute kid to Bible software engineer with OliveTree. When I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor just like my dad. … Towards the end of high school I realized that I did not have the stomach for blood. Christian Computing® Magazine

So I decided to pursue my love of building things by majoring in mechanical engineering. For some reason I never really thought about pursuing a career in software until after I started college. After my first year of college I decided to try a few programming classes to see if that is what I wanted to do and I never looked back. ... During my senior year of college I did an internship at Olive Tree. I believe I was the 2nd or 3rd person ever hired at that point. ... After graduating from Portland State I started working full time at Olive Tree. It was awesome building software to help people study the Bible. At the time, Olive Tree was very small and so I was involved September 2012

in just about everything. As Olive Tree grew I kept part of my time in software and part in the business and operations. It was a very natural fit for me to move into the role of CEO. CCMag: How did you become CEO? I became CEO on July 9th, 2012. We had a company meeting and announced the transition. At the meeting I spent some time talking about “What We do Matters”. We don’t just create Bible software to let people study the Bible. ... CCMag: Compare the offerings OliveTree has to your competitors. Olive Tree connects people with God and the Bible using technology. We are approachable for someone without seminary training and we have awesome features for those with seminary (or equivalent) training. Olive Tree runs on Android smartphones, Android Tablets, iPads, iPhones, Macs, Windows, and Windows 8 UI. ... CCMag: What do you think that you uniquely bring to OliveTree compared to your predecessor, the founder of OT? Drew and I share a passion for connecting people with God and the Bible using technology. We both love the Bible and technology. I think I bring a little more organization to our operations. CCMag: What did you learn from Drew that can help others in the Christian world who lead organizations of all shapes and sizes? I learned perseverance and never giving up. Drew persevered and continued “pushing on” even when things were hard. I learned to focus on what we know we need to do and not get too worried or distracted with the “competition”. As a side note, we really don’t have competition. We have fellow workers in Christ. Christian Computing® Magazine

CCMag: What’s on your iPod? Vaughan Williams, Tschaikowski, Berstein, Sibelius, and Rachmaninov. Listening to classical music sparks creativity and keeps me at heightened levels of productivity for longer periods of time. I also have the EntreLeader podcast, Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Hillsong United, Zac Brown Band, and Keith Urban. CCMag: What do you think of the current/future direction of the various platforms that OliveTree runs on? I think Android has a lot more potential, especially in the tablet market. It is the leader in the smartphone market for total handsets sold and I think it

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 September 2012

will make a lot more headway in the tablet market. Tablets like the Nexus 7 are very nice and priced really well. (see my post about the Nexus 7 for Bible study at http://wp.me/ p2D1s2-sX) I think we are going to continue to see 3rd party innovation in the Android space. ... iOS is a rock solid OS that just works for most people. It doesn’t always just work. One of the things I really like about iOS the high quality apps in the app store. It is easier to create high fidelity apps for iOS and to compete on iOS you have to create awesome looking apps. ... Macs are continuing to sell well and gain market share. I think we are going to see this continue with the release of Windows 8. I helped my grandfather get set up with both a Windows computer and a Mac. The mac was much easier for him. ... Windows is the interesting one. I am very excited to see what will happen with Windows 8. Microsoft is making a bold move and radically changing the Windows experience. Their designs are opinionated and well thought out. This will create a lot of passionate Windows 8 fans; we have a few in the office. I think that a lot of average computer users who have grown used to the way windows work will be shocked when they buy a new computer and see Windows 8 on it. On the one hand Windows 8 is easier to learn than Windows 7. However, so many people already know how to Windows XP, Vista, or 7 that learning is not an issue. … Thanks Stephen! We look forward to seeing what OliveTree does to help push the Bible software and app market forward.

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September 2012

digital evangelism

Prayer Changes Things

Michael L White - mlwhite@parsonplace.com

es, I know it’s a bit trite to say these days, but it’s still true that prayer does change things. Therefore, we shouldn’t disregard a true statement simply because we’ve heard it a myriad of times. For instance, if I use the time-worn statement, “What goes up must come down,” you wouldn’t insist I stop saying it to warn someone who may toss a one-pound steel ball bearing above his head. The truth of gravity will remain in force regardless of whether we refuse to use anymore trite statements to prove it! How does this apply to digital evangelism? I’m glad you asked. We all know people in our circle of relationships, both familial and professional, who are truly hard cases to win for Christ. We’ve already tried sharing the Gospel with them on multiple occasions, only to be rebuffed time and again, and we’ve prayed for them regularly. However, these truly hard cases require more than mere patience, and they require more than prayer alone; they require some fasting, too. When Jesus was descending the mountain after being transfigured before Peter, James, and John, the rest of His disciples were at the base of the mountain with a crowd trying unsuccessfully to cast a demon out of a boy. After Jesus arrived and cast the demon out, the disciples approached Him later and asked, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” Jesus’ response is reChristian Computing® Magazine

vealing. He said, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 NKJV; compare with Matthew 17:21). It would seem then that there are certain spiritual forces which are stronger than others and which therefore require more focused power from God. Furthermore, these spiritual forces loathe releasing their hold on their prisoners, no matter how fervent our prayers may be on behalf of those prisoners. As Jesus said, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils” (Luke 11:21-22 NKJV). Jesus said this in the context of defending His ability to cast out demons by the Spirit of God, rather than by Beelzebub. September 2012

Since God is the ultimate authority by which we are able to depose spiritual forces of wickedness anyway (Ephesians 6:12), it is actually He Who is issuing the command to depart. We are simply the mouthpieces. This is why we need to strengthen our relationship with God by spending more time in prayer and fasting with Him. I deal extensively with this topic of strengthening our prayer lives in my latest book Seven Keys to Effective Prayer, which is also available in eBook for both Kindle and Nook. Let’s not overlook the disciplined practice of fasting while we pray, because Jesus said the harder cases are managed only by prayer and fasting. In case you need an accurate definition of fasting, it’s very simple: no food or drink (except pure water) for whatever length of time you determine to fast. If you’re doing a short fast (12-48 hours perhaps), you can even choose to leave off water, though you should try to hydrate yourself well before you begin your fast to avoid the potential for dehydration, especially in very hot and humid climates (like the Gulf Coast of Alabama!). I personally disagree, however, with some who claim such a thing as a “Daniel fast” (based on Daniel 10:3) in which some foods and drinks (other than water) are allowed during a fast. Because Daniel uses the term “pleasant food,” some interpret this as a partial fast and call it a “Daniel fast,” but there’s really no such thing as a partial fast, just as there’s no such thing as being partially pregnant. A fast is doing entirely without food or anything else by mouth, except water, pure and simple. As far as giving a truly biblical definition of fasting, that is it. If your doctor tells you to fast before drawing blood or undergoing a surgical procedure, he or she means absolutely no food or drink for at least seven or eight hours prior, though a few sips of water are allowed. If such a definition of fasting is understood by the medical profession, I think it should be equally understood by the Christian community. Now, why does fasting make an already fervent prayer for an unbeliever even more effective? Since fasting is a form of personal sacrifice (giving up something highly desired), it demonstrates a greater sincerity Christian Computing® Magazine

in our appeal. Since God made us the way we are, He understands our appetite for food and how great a sacrifice we make when we choose to afflict ourselves (i.e., make ourselves uncomfortable) in order to further demonstrate our sincerity. While we need to quickly understand that this is not a way to manipulate God to give us anything we want, it is certainly a way to increase our level of intimacy with God when we fast with a truly pure heart. Let me make one more point about fasting in general before I proceed. It seems that fasting has become a lost discipline among Christians today. They tend to dismiss it as something people in the Bible did, but which we don’t need to do today. However, when Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount discourse, He used the phrasing, “when you fast,” not “if you fast” (Matthew 6:16-18). Therefore, we should make time to fast on occasion while we pray, regardless of the target or purpose of our praying. Now, before I conclude, there’s one more resource I’d like to recommend to help with your prayers for the lost. It’s a short book entitled Praying Effectively for the Lost by Lee E. Thomas. You can obtain it in both print and eBook editions at a very reasonable cost. Since Rev. Thomas’s ministry (using the same

September 2012

name as his book) exists to promote evangelism and prayer for the lost, he simply asks for a donation to help the ministry in order to ship the printed edition to you. I did this a couple of years or so ago at the last church I pastored. Though I haven’t taken advantage yet, Rev. Thomas also conducts seminars on this topic at your local church. You can find all the details about this at his ministry Web site (www.pelministries. org). If you’d also like to have the eBook edition of his book (which I purchased while writing this article), it’s available for Kindle at a mere $.99 per copy. This powerful little book is also available in a number of other languages, with more being translated every year, in case you’d like to share it with any foreign missionaries you may support. I highly recommend it. It really will give you a new perspective on praying for the lost. If you get my book about general effective prayer and Rev. Thomas’ book about effectively praying for the lost, and then add in some serious fasting with your prayers, you’ll be all set for praying through whatever spiritual strongholds you encounter while evangelizing those truly hard cases, both in person and by digital means. After you put into practice the principles contained in these books, start watching for your prayers to change things, for God really is more than able and willing to save the lost through our intercession. 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.

Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012

the power and the danger

eBooks

By Russ McGuire - russ.mcguire@gmail.com

his past month, Amazon introduced several new Kindle models. Of course, the Kindle was the first connected eBook Reader, but these days, all of the talk is about tablet computers, so the coverage of the launch focused on the tablet-features of the devices (which are impressive at the prices Amazon is offering them). But, the reason Amazon can price the Kindles so aggressively is because Kindle owners buy profitable content – mostly eBooks.

Which brings me back to my topic – how should we, in the ministry, think about eBooks? Do they have unique characteristics that can benefit the ministry? Are there challenges that we should carefully consider before leveraging the technology? What are eBooks? When I speak of eBooks, I’m referring to books in electronic form. I’m speaking about the content itself, not the physical device used to read them. The Kindle is an eBook reader (and so much more), but the eBooks themselves are the files that get loaded onto a Kindle (or other eBook Reader) for us to read. Although eBooks have been around at Christian Computing® Magazine

least since the 1960s, the mass market became aware of eBooks with the launch of the Kindle in 2007. When the iPad launched in 2010, a major component of the launch was an agreement with five of the six largest publishers and an app called iBooks, quickly making the iPad the best selling portable eBook reader. Barnes and Noble has also introduced a popular line of eBook readers under the Nook brand. However, each of these companies have also made their eBook reader software available for other platforms. I have a Kindle. I also have Kindle software installed on my smartphone and Android tablet. I could also have it on my PC or my Mac if I thought I might read books with those devices. Nook software is September 2012

similarly available for all of those platforms, while iBooks is, not surprisingly, only available on Apple systems. There likely are three factors that have driven the eBook from niche to mainstream: 1. Technology: Moore’s Law and display technology have enabled a form factor and battery life that works well for book readers, while the maturity of the Internet economy has solved previous eBook distribution challenges. 2. Distribution: Amazon created a distribution model that protects author’s intellectual property and enables publishers to make money. Others have followed Amazon’s lead. 3. Content: Therefore, publishers are willing to bring large amounts of content to market that people actually want to read. While in the past, eBook content was largely comprised of old titles that had fallen into the public domain, today, virtually all best sellers and new releases are available in eBook form. What are the ministry opportunities? If your ministry produces content, then publishing that content in eBook format may increase the reach and impact of your ministry. It’s not that hard to get your content into Amazon’s Kindle store, Apple’s iBookstore, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and others. As an electronic product, the costs of production and distribution are very low, allowing your content to be priced very attractively (even free) without burdening your ministry with massive costs. Because of these distribution and cost benefits, your ministry might even be able to make some money through ePublishing. But, of course, what makes eBook content attractive to readers is what really matters – since that is what can help your ministry make Christian Computing® Magazine

the biggest impact. Perhaps an opportunity I’m working through can help clarify what I mean. While vacationing, I recently had a conversation with a family member. That family member had questions about heaven that I could answer based on my basic understanding of scripture, but I want that family member to really dig into the reality of heaven – most importantly why they should want to go there and how to get there. While I can (and have) share the gospel, God has also provided great books as a further means for this loved one to hear the truth from God’s Word. I pray that the Holy Spirit would open his eyes, mind, and heart to hear that truth and respond to the gospel. In doing my research, I’ve narrowed down my choice to two books, Heaven by Randy Alcorn, and The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur. Both are thick, heavy hardback books. I’m about to do some business travel – 3 cities, 5 flights, in 2 days. I don’t really want to lug around two heavy books as I evaluate which is best to send to my loved one. Thankfully, both September 2012

are available in Kindle form, so I’ve bought the Kindle versions (for a fraction of the price of the hardbacks) and loaded them onto my tablet. My relative also has a Kindle, and he’s about to have surgery that will have him in rehab for a few weeks. Although he’s an avid reader, I know he doesn’t want to lug a bunch of heavy books with him to the rehab facility. Thankfully, Amazon makes it easy for me to send him a gift copy of whichever book I think will be most effective. That gives me a few more days to make my decision (since the electronic copy will arrive instantaneously) and arrives in a format that he’s likely to take with him precisely when he’s going to be doing a lot of reading. Sounds great, so what’s the problem? There are some minor challenges with eBook readers that are common to all mobile technology – sometimes the batteries die; you can’t use them during airplane takeoff and landing; you can’t read them while taking a bath; and rain is even more catastrophic than it is for paper. But the real issue for ministries considering publishing eBook content is the fragmentation problem. There is no single standard format for publishing eBooks, and there’s no single distribution channel for selling them. Adobe’s PDF format will work on most platforms, but isn’t optimized for book content. An Open eBook format was developed in the late Christian Computing® Magazine

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September 2012

1990s, which evolved into the open EPUB format. The Google Books initiative uses EPUB, which is also supported by many platforms, including Apple’s iBooks and the Nook. Apple also has their own format – IBA, while the Kindle requires proprietary Amazon formats AZW or KF8. Thankfully, there is both software and commercial services available for converting content into these formats. It is also easy to find companies that will help get your product into a variety of distribution channels, although you should carefully consider which channels are most important for your ministry and which services are most financially attractive for reaching those channels. It is my hope and prayer that these articles on the power and danger of technology will encourage you in your ministry and your daily walk with Christ. From the printing press to eBooks, from mainframes to tablets and smartphones, and from the Internet to social networks and mobility, 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

September 2012

nick at church

BYOD

(Bring Your Own Device)

Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com

nformation Technology (IT) is working through another radical metamorphosis, and the final appearance is not yet clear. The ultimate cause is the nature of technology— it’s constantly changing!— but the current mutation is a result of The Cloud. The issue at hand is BYOD; and it’s a wave that is just beginning. There are management, legal, and even tax implications! Let’s work through ‘em… What is BYOD? In my firm’s engineering of LANs (Local Area Networks) we’re running into an increasing number of church and ministry staff that would prefer to bring in and use their own computer rather than the one provided by their organization. Some are jokingly referring to this as SYOM— Spend Your Own Money! Staff’s motivation is sometimes because the ministry-provided computer is older and slower; other times it’s because the platform of the user’s computer is more familiar and comfortable to the user (Windows vs Mac, for instance). Traditionally the answer from IT has been, “No!” because IT Directors are being diligent about protecting the organization’s data— a very valuable asset. But that traditional answer is starting to get a lot of pushback, and the trend is that the users will win in many cases. IT Directors are having to look at ways to protect the organization’s data in new ways to accommodate this growing trend; and one of the solutions is in The Cloud. Christian Computing® Magazine

There are methodologies being developed to help, and their strength is growing. Is this a good thing? That is a great question! It can be for a couple of reasons, but it has a dark side too. Software is becoming more platform independent, meaning it can run with similar strength in Windows, on a Mac, and in Linux. That platform independence is feeding this revolution, and organizations like that files will be available across all platforms, though formatting will likely be an issue at times. Users can then justify their request by saying they will be more efficient and productive in their favorite operating system or platform. Organizations will be able to reduce IT purchase budgets and simply give an allowance if so inclined, based on the user’s role in the organization. The downside is that organizations will need to support users on more platforms, and some manufacturers don’t ofSeptember 2012

fer enterprise-friendly support options like next day on-site replacement of parts, etc. This is requiring a shift within organizations’ IT departments. What about software copyright & ownership? Those of us who focus on doing everything with integrity are wrestling with this. I recently had the opportunity to talk with tax and legal experts who focus on The Church about this, and I think we ended up in a place they felt comfortable with from a legal perspective and which is practical from an IT perspective. The concern we discussed is that of how software is beginning to be distributed: via App Stores peculiar to the platform of the device. Apple, Microsoft, Google, and others have their App Stores, and they are usually tied to the individual’s ID within that store. So, for instance, when Apple recently offered its operating system upgrade to Mountain Lion, it meant I had to buy it through their App Store, download it, install it, and then seek reimbursement from my employer. It’s the reimbursement part that has raised concerns over taxability and ownership. Most apps purchased through App Stores are under $100. We had full consensus that these were reimbursable without income tax implications even though their license was tied to the user’s ID, but only if it was for a bona fide work-related need and it was fairly inexpensive (i.e., under $100). Some apps, like Adobe Creative Suite, still cost much more than that and should still be purchased by the

organization directly and installed with their media (and uninstalled upon the termination of work-related need). Fortunately those types of apps are still distributed through a more formal process, like packaged CDs and DVDs. Planning for BYOD A colleague asked me recently what we’re recommending for hardware turnover. I responded that because of BYOD it’s becoming a non-issue. Here’s my thinking: •

•

When advising customers to buy computers (servers, desktops, notebooks, etc), we normally say they’re good for about four years. With BYOD on the horizon, we’re advising clients to purchase the computers they need, but to figure that by the time they’re ready for replacement, they may not need to replace them. BYOD may be largely implemented within two years.

BYOD is growing, and exactly where and how it looks when it is more mainstream remains to be seen. But the bottom line looks like it will be good for The Church. 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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September 2012

ministry communication

A primer on responsive websites, what they are and why they are important Yvon Prehn - yvon@effectivechurchcom.com

efore we talk about responsive websites, a clarification is important. A responsive website, for the purposes of this article, doesn’t mean one that meets the needs of seekers to your website, though that is important for a church website. What I’m talking about is a website that adjusts, (responds) to any technology that is used to view it. It’s also one of the most important web trends today.

An honest disclaimer first I’m not writing this as an expert website creator, even though I’ve created several websites for churches and I created and maintain the website for my ministry: http://www.effectivechurchcom.com. Though I can do a little coding if I have to, I usually mess that up and rely totally on WordPress. In the process of updating my website, I discovered responsive websites and was totally impressed with and excited about how they can expand the ways my ministry can help church communicators. Fortunately, WordPress has some fantastic FREE website templates that have all the complex coding of responsive webChristian Computing® Magazine

sites built in. Making my site responsive was as easy as replacing the template. Well, not quite that easy. I’m still rearranging content to take the best advantage of the new way it displays content. Still, the shift to a responsive design using WordPress is relatively painless and I wanted to share this at the start because I don’t want you to worry about this being too complex for you to do. As with many things in ministry technology, somebody has to do the heavy lifting in coding, but I think it is a much better use of most church communicator’s time to use a template where the programming framework is already done and you can focus on the content. WordPress September 2012

phones. A responsive website in contrast, automatically adjusts to the size of the device used to view it, and it shifts the organization of the content, so that you can always read the primary content on the screen. You can view the difference here is a short video I did to illustrate the difference: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=o8pSX5bGRNg

allows you to do that. Later I’ll have some links that show you how easy it is to create sites using it. Responsive technology, what it is and why we need it. Here is a more complete definition of a responsive website: A website that responds to the device that accesses it and delivers the appropriate output for it uses responsive design. Rather than designing multiple sites for different-sized devices, this approach designs one site but specifies how it should appear on varied devices. From: https://itservices.stanford.edu/service/ web/mobile/about/terminology This is very different than what happens on the majority of websites today. Though you can view them on a variety of devices, like a mobile phone, the website is simply smaller on the smaller device. Unless you know what is already there, it is difficult to move around and expand a section of it, even if you have a phone that can do that. To actually use the site, to access drop-down menus, for example, is almost impossible. A responsive website is also different than a website having a secondary version of it coded for mobile Christian Computing® Magazine

Why we need them A quote from Jeff Veen gives the technology reason: “Day by day, the number of devices, platforms, and browsers that need to work with your site grows. Responsive web design represents a fundamental shift in how we’ll build websites for the decade to come.” The ministry reason is: This is simply another step in “becoming all things to all people so that we might win some.” Websites are an essential way for churches and ministries to communicate both the overall plan of salvation in Jesus as well as the details about our church or ministry and how people can connect with us. Though the content remains the same, people now view our websites on an ever-increasing variety of devices. The idea of responsive websites developed as an option for having to create a completely different size for every size device. Instead of having an exact layout for each one, responsive design determines the device and then scales and rearranges content to fit it. If we want to both have our ministry material available to everyone who needs it and be able to manage the creation process at the same time, responsive design is a great tool. How to make responsive design work for you Many of you have highly skilled webmasters or companies that created and or maintain your site and they are most likely in process on adapting responsive design principles to it—if you are happy with that— keep with it. My advice is for those of you who want to create your own website easily and for free (or almost) and that is to consider WordPress. You can start out with http://www.wordpress.com, which is completely free. It is extremely easy to learn and use. At this link here I have a series of free videos that show you how to create a basic site with WordPress. http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=fhAhP30CKzo&list=PL35 207ECE78421EF4&feature=plcp Here is another video that will give you an September 2012

overview of how it works: BLOGGING for BOOMERS: how to create blogs easily with WordPress http://www.effectivechurchcom.com/2011/05/ blogging-for-boomers-free-during-internet-evangelism-month/ As I mentioned earlier, all the work of programming and coding to make a responsive site work has been done for you with WordPress. On my site which was created with WordPress I’m still working out redoing the content and menus to make the most of the different sizes, but it is lots of fun to do that without having to worry about the programming to make it work. You can check on my progress and my comments about it at http://www.effectivechurchcom.com

www.effectivechurchcom.com. She has also written numerous books on church communications including Church Connection Cards, Six Strategies of Effective Church Communications, Back to Basics, writing and designs skills for church communicators, and Devotions for Church Communicators. All these are available on amazon.com at: http://www. amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=searchalias%3Daps&field-keywords=yvon+prehn

For more about Responsive design: I realize I’ve barely touched the surface of this exciting development in website design, but below are some additional resources, from a visual explanation to some excellent and more technical articles. Following is a scrolldeck of responsive design, don’t get overwhelmed by the how-tos at the end of it: http://johnpolacek.github.com/ scrolldeck.js/decks/responsive/ I highly recommend this overview article: http://arstechnica.com/ business/2012/05/whats-responsiveweb-design-all-about/ A good, more technical overview and links to basic resources: http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/ beginners-guide-to-responsive-webdesign Keep learning and growing in your service to your people and our Lord Work in computers and communication never stands still and here is one more challenge. Let’s charge ahead trusting the Lord that this is yet another way we can serve Him and His people. Yvon Prehn is the founder and primary content creator for http:// Christian Computing® Magazine

September 2012