Check the Cool New Blogroll

Well, I have to admit that my experiment with Blogger's rolling dynamic blogroll is a big flop. It was cool to have a blogroll updated dynamically with content from some of the blogs I follow, right in the sidebar.  But it was big time slooooww.  And it was kind of huge.  Took up a lot of real estate over there.

So, I've punted, and gone back to a traditional blogroll.  It is broken up into logical sections. And, yes, these are the people that I read regularly.  I think they offer best practices and are best of breed.  Many are my friends and colleagues.

So, check out the blogroll to the right!  And, if you're listed there, I'd love to have some link love in return!

Now, back to regular programming.  Have a great holiday.

F1 Makes the Paper in Wichita!

You know you're famous when you make the front page of the Faith and Values section of the Wichita Eagle. 

This is a reprint of a story that ran earlier this month in the Dallas Morning News.  There are at least a couple of Wichita churches using Fellowship One, including NewSpring.  I sure hope First Church joins that illustrious list before the end of this year!

YouVersion Times Two!

Big news today from Terry and his Digerati team at LifeChurch.tv.  They've dang near doubled the number of versions available in YouVersion to 31, in 16 different languages!  If you haven't used YouVersion, you should.  It's an online bible, with tagging and notes and all kinds of other web 2.0 features.  The best part: It's all being developed by a church, and it's all free.  How's that for Kingdom cool.

The World Is Changing

Just in case you hadn't noticed... things aren't the same today as they were last year, or last week. Maybe not even the same as they were yesterday. It's entirely cliche to say that change is constant, but we live examples of that cliche every single day. I spotted this tweet a few minutes ago:

"How weird is this... I just renewed my truck plates from my iPod."

Two or three things here. If you didn't know that there are connected iPod's, you're not keeping up. If you don't know what a tweet is, you're not keeping up.

Whether not keeping up is good or bad is probably more of a function of who you are and what you do than anything else. It may not matter. Or it may matter a great deal.

I am beginning to wonder if we need to readjust our internal glossary. If change represents moving from one state to another, with our surroundings and daily experience being altered or amended or adjusted, and if change has indeed become a constant, what does that mean?

Does the word "change" have any meaning in a new reality where "normal" is change. We all go through seasons, but I think the human spirit seeks constant, looks for foundation, and longs ultimately for that which does not change.

That's a sobering, but ultimately exciting thought for those of us called to communicate that which is truly unchanging. Maybe now, more than ever before, this new and ever changing world is receptive and waiting for the Good News we have to tell.

Google Grabbing Wireless Whitespace

We've talked before about the issue of wireless microphones, and the changes in the use of the radio spectrum impacting wireless use.

There's a fascinating piece in FOH Magazine's online portal that looks behind a couple of the "consumer groups" lobbying to open up white spaces, and points out that they want to essentially criminalize the use of unlicensed wireless microphones.

Turns out these "consumer groups" are anything but grass roots. Google CEO Eric Schmidt is chairman of the board of one group. Another has a board full of telecom company lawyers/lobbyists.

So the "consumer groups" are being driven by the giant companies who would like to grab this wireless spectrum up for their own commercial purposes, preferably without having to pay billions for it, like they have for other spectrum.

Now, hear me, please! There is nothing wrong, fundamentally, with Google and other companies wanting to offer new services and products. I'll be an early adopter of some of them. But how about being up front about it instead of hiding behind the phoney groups pretending to represent average Americans.

Here's the bottom line. Wireless users are willing to play nicely in this sandbox. Google, think carefully about the ramifications of what you're considering here. Do you REALLY want to be on the other side of every stinkin' church in the US?

How about a "Day Without Google" to make a point?

The Clutter Factor is REAL!

Isn't that a beautiful picture. Michelle Wegner posted this mess last week, asking when schools will go green. More than 100 flyers and pieces of paper sent home from school with her two girls in the first week of school. HT to Kem Meyers for making the following point:

Clutter is real in the lives of our members. We need to make sure we're not contributing. A flyer for your event? Bad idea. A brochure for your favorite program? No, please don't! We have created periodicals, and have worked to train our members to look there for that information. More just contributes to the noise.

Will You Miss Me?

Forgive what I'm afraid will be a pretty quiet week here at Technopraxis.  I'm in Hutchinson, Kansas doing some training for my friends at The Strategy Group!  It's been a fun project, but we are going to be wiped out by Thursday.  Lots of folks to introduce to a new brand, logo and tagline for the Hutchinson hospital.

Oh, and by the way... it you're traveling to Hutchinson, DON'T stay at the Grand Prairie.  Wireless access at a blazing 300 Kbps up and down.  Unless you pay $8 a day.  Then they're glad to unthrottle you, and open ports so you do really outrageous computing tricks, like using remote desktop.  Nice, from a facility pitching themselves as a convention destination.

Wrapping Up a Project

My new friend Duane is teaching me again about the value of a detail oriented project manager, and showing me again the importance of buttoning up a project cleanly.

Duane is a pit bull! He's actually a great guy, but when it comes to getting a perfect set of a "as built" drawings, he's a pit bull. He spent about 3 hours going over the drawings of his new video production system, and he found a few errors. Nothing major, but there were a few items mislabeled. When the install crew was in town last week, knocking out the punch list, he pointed out the errors and asked for a new set. When he gets them, I bet he'll spend another three hours making sure this set is perfect.

Why does it matter? It doesn't, right up until you need to trouble shoot an issue with your system. Then, the fact that DVR 5 is labeled as DVR 6 in your drawings makes a big, big difference. Maybe hours of frustration's worth of difference!

Take a tip from my friend Duane. Review your drawings. Insist that they're absolutely error free. Ask for a set as .pdf and .dwg files. If you don't know what those are, ask your contractor!

And once you have that done, make sure you have them updated whenever you make a significant, or even not so significant change to your system! You can thank me later.

Now That's Billboard!

This is a billboard that is up on the New Jersey turnpike.

Now... I've taken my share of hits for criticizing church billboards, but let's look at this. How about we take off the line promoting the atheist web site... and replace it with a push site promoting a sermon series on the existence of God. Isn't that a whole lot more effective than slamming other churches, or honking your own horn, or any other church billboard series we've seen? I think so. HT to Church Marketing Sucks.

Wireless White Space in the News

A couple of mentions on the "White Space" issue in the last day or so. "White Space" is the radio spectrum where wireless microphones operate. The FCC is considering a proposal to open that space up to all kinds of wireless devices, and that could be a headache for wireless microphone users, like us. I posted a very good update from an expert on the topic here, just a few weeks ago.

Yesterday, the Religion Newswire moved one story.

This author seems to be under the impression that it's only mega-churches who are using wireless devices.

The other story was on Wired.com. It's about a new Google sponsored ad/pr blitz called "Free the Airwaves." Google wants to get their hands on the white spaces, and they'd prefer the FCC not make them pay billions to do it.

Interesting, in that Google even says in the article that they don't want to interfere with wireless users. They're proposing the use of a Geolocation database for all existing wireless devices. Wonder if they've through through how many churches there are in the US????

It's not time for panic, but we do all need to keep an eye on this.

(Just in case you've not worked on a show with a bunch of wireless, the picture is of an over the door shoe case, full of wireless packs ready for actors to pick up prior to a musical.)

A Quick Mixing Tip

Life is a bit crazy right now... so pardon the quiet around here!  I did want to pass on a very, very wise tip from an audio guru and friend of mine, Ray Rayburn. He posted this on the Church SoundCheck list serve, which you should read every day!

"One of my pet peeves is the operator who has a mic that is ringing or even into feedback and they don't pull the gain on that channel a few dB instantly to stop the problem.  Instead they let the system continue to ring (and be a major distraction to the congregation) while they fiddle for a minute or two with the EQ trying to stop the feedback while not reducing the gain.  It is like they feel that if they drop the level that couple of dB to kill the problem they have somehow failed as mixers."

Great point here.  Fix the PROBLEM first. Then look for cause.  Kill the snake!  Always kill the snake.  Talk soon folks.

P.S.  From the looks of things on FeedBurner, we've got some new faces hanging around here.  Welcome!  Let me know if there's anything we can do for you, and invite a friend.  The more the merrier!

An Absurd Window: Religulous

Let's see what we have here.

Bill Mahr, an angry comedian who's never been funny. The director of the Borat flicks, who's a willingness to lie and mislead to make folks who go to church look stupid. And then add in every moronic stereotype of an embarrassment to Jesus that you can find.

This should be good.

Not sure you can legitimately call this a documentary. What it will be is an open, harsh window with a great view of what a lot of our culture thinks about the church.

And, if comes out on my birthday. Oh good grief.

The Church 2.0 Crew

That's my buddy Greg Atkinson along with new friends Tony Steward (new Internet campus pastor for Lifechurch.tv) and Cynthia Ware (of The Digital Sanctuary) stealing a few minutes at the Echo Media conference last Saturday.

They're working on Greg's new book project, called Church 2.0. It's all about how the church can leverage the interactive and viral tools that make the web what it is today. Can't wait to read what they have to say!

Grace All Around Us

"There is discouragement in my world, but if I am honest, most of it is smaller than I make it. I am the one who amplifies it most of the time...  I’m learning that Jesus was very dependable when he taught us that the Kingdom of God is upon is. Right here, right now, close by."

There's more here from Michael Spencer aka The Internet Monk

Going Live on the Web

Received an email last week from Curt Taipale, the Church Soundcheck guy, who was forwarding a question he'd received about making the shift from recording and editing a service, to going live on the web with video of your service.  David was looking for best practices, and pitfalls to avoid, and how to introduce "live" to the congregation.  Here's my best shot.

If you've been hanging around here at all, you know that the church I serve has been live on broadcast television for more than 30 years... so we've seen just about everything happen that can happen! 

We've had a mentally unbalanced person interrupt the sermon.  We've had kids, and adults pick their noses live and in living color more times than I can count. One of my directors is particularly gifted.  He can make someone yawn simply by taking the camera that happens to be pointed at that person!  It's amazing!

So... the jump to live is an adventure.  It's that raw quality that is actually the cool thing about being live.  Folks who are watching have a great opportunity to fully join in a worship experience... more than a highly edited service can ever be.

As for communicating the live dynamic to the congregation... a couple of things come to mind.

1.  Cameras in people's faces are a real distraction from worship.  We have cameras on both sides of the room... but they rarely shoot faces on their own side of the room.  Shoot over the heads to the other side, and you'll find that members feel much less intrusion.  Invest in pedestals that will let you get up high.

2.  Be very careful about closeups of individual worshipers. Particularly during quiet and intimate moments,  it can be intrusive.  We have a rule of thumb that we want groups of three or more in a shot.  In a moving shot... you can push toward an individual... but don't get too tight before transitioning to the next shot.

3.  Be aware of your medium.  I'm becoming more and more aware of how very, very different a broadcast feed is than an IMAG feed or a web feed.  In broadcast we need wide establishing shots.  In IMAG, wide shots are just kind of silly.  A friend of mine once told me that if the image on the screen isn't bigger than the person in real life, it's not IMAG, it's DEMAG.  Funny, but true.

Web is another animal altogether.  A very, very small screen most of the time.  So... you need establishing shots... but they can't be too wide, or too long.  Medium to closeups are staple.  We're actually struggling with web right now... recognizing that it really needs to be a separate cut than broadcast or IMAG.

4.  Don't forget to allow for archive streaming.  The beauty of the web is that you can be there on their schedule, not limited to yours.

5.  Check your licensing.  We've had this discussion in the past.  Head on over here  for more on those issues.

We've been doing broadcast so long that the cameras really aren't even noticed, but if I was starting again, I'd do some education with the congregation.  Give them permission to opt out of cameras.  Designate a small area where people who really don't want to be in camera shots can sit.  Call it your "Witness Protection Program."  There is actually legitimate reason to do this.  We had a woman who was in hiding from an ex-husband end up on TV and it was a very real problem.

Present the live streaming as a huge positive for the congregation.  It gives folks an opportunity to participate more fully in your congregation... so make it a positive in presenting it.

And finally, start right away to embrace the extra planning and prep that live requires.  There's no edit to fix a bad transition! If you aren't already doing it... plan a weekly review and planning session with everyone who participates in the service.

Watch the service on video.  Look particularly at transitions within the service.  In a live video environment... these are killers.  Whoever is next up has to be ready to go.  A 20 second gap while someone moves to get to a lectern for a reading is forever!  Over time, you'll find that simply watching the service and doing a critique as a group is a great help.

Streaming live to the web is not technically difficult, nor particularly expensive.  But the live environment can be challenging.  Make sure you're ready to take on that challenge before you give up the safety and comfort of the edit suite!

Craig Groeshel at Fellowship Church

 

 "Worry is trusting our enemy more that God."

Craig Groeschel at Fellowship Church on Saturday evening.

Some Closing Thoughts on Echo Media

The Echo Media Conference wrapped up this afternoon at Watermark Community Church. Produced by the folks at Collide Magazine, it was a very interesting weekend. Very interesting mix of tech folks and creatives. An interesting mix of speakers and content that I think hit the mark.

It was great to connect with Tim, Greg, Pace, Cynthia and Tony.

The focus at Echo was the artist and the creative behind the technology. The technology was represented, but there was much more conversation about story and narrative. I think that's a great niche, and it's a needed outlet.

Mark Steele of Steelehouse Productions wrapped up the weekend perfectly with a call to authenticity in telling our own stories.

Mark says the most important group of un-reached group are people are artists. They will only listen to other artists, but they have the ability to influence and reach the rest of the world.

"We can't be funnier, we can't be wittier," Mark said.

"We have to be Jesus."

Make plans for next year's Echo Conference now. It's worth it.

Echo Conference Keynote - Donald Miller

Donald Miller, author of "Blue Like Jazz" is amazing. His speaking style is so understated and engaging, your forget to take notes!

Here at Echo, he talked about the power of story, and the power of our own personal narrative. Here are my nuggets.

• Narrative is the best way to change somebody's mind. So much so that most of scripture is narrative.
• You ARE out of what you do. You do not DO out of who your are.
• Imagine about a documentary film crew making a film crew about you. The character in your story is what you do.
• I want to take my kid fishing is different than taking my kid fishing.
• The difference between a hero and a villain? The hero cannot think more of himself than he does of others.
• The best story: When a character in a story wants something, and if they don't get it, people die.
• Change in a character only comes through pain. We change for the better, only through pain.
• When the ghosts in your life come back, and they will, just start telling a new and better story.

Echo Conference Breakout - Tim Stevens on The Process

Tim Stevens from Granger Community Church did a breakout at Echo on the process they use in developing a weekend experience.

Granger has always been a leader in the creative use of metaphor to communicate the truths of God. Their process, though, isn't really all that complicated.

6 months out - A speaking schedule is completed. It's pretty bare bones. Just who is speaking when, when each series will start and end, and the basic theme for the series. This comes from senior leadership.

10 weeks out - Senior leadership develops each message with a title, and a "big idea" they are looking to present. That information is presented in a worksheet that is handed off to the creative time.

Here's where it gets interesting. With the title and big idea, the arts team begins brainstorming, and is given a LOT of freedom to create. The creative teams are taking the topic, and looking for a cultural theme to wrap that message in. They are looking to create a reason for people to invite their friends.

There's another step where the brainstorming is refined, but this conceptual programming takes place two months out! Then the creative departments get to work on the elements of the service.

I asked Tim how often this process goes off the rails. How often does the creative team miss the mark? His guess was one service in 20. That's pretty amazing. There is freedom to create, based on trust between the teaching team and the creative team.

I do have some questions about issues of copyright an intellectual property in some of Granger's series. Tim talks about it a bit in his new book, "Pop Goes the Church." Still not sure I can agree with him. I'm hoping we can have that dialogue with Tim here in the next week or two. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Tim has a link to a couple of .pdf downloads that you might want to take a look on his blog!

The Best Lead Ever Written

I've debated about posting this for a week or so.  I am, first and foremost, a writer and lover of language. Given that, I can't not post this lead from Wired.com on a recent story about fruit flies and, well, semen.

"Most people would be appalled to find a fly in their soup, but Drosophila researchers at the University of Washington are studying the soup in their flies."

I stand in awe.  And the picture is worth a thousand words, too.

We've Moved!

Just so you know, the staff of TechnoPraxis packed up the office and moved overnight!   We're now at www.technopraxis.org.  The feed address remains the same.  If you're linking to TechnoPraxis, we love you.  Please do us a favor and re-point your link here!

Inspiring the Heart Olympic Style

Nancy Beech from the Willow Creek Association is a bit behind in posting on the opening ceremonies of the Olympics... but hey, I haven't written anything on it at all! I tuned in a bit late... and was just blown away. The sheer scale was stunning , even in a compressed medium like television. In person it must have been simply overwhelming, breathtaking and awe inspiring. I liked Nancy's take on why that matters.

"The next time any of us has to orchestrate 10 people or 100 people or even 300 people to craft an experience, we should learn something from the Chinese about aiming high, about the power of beauty, about the pay-off for excellence and how inspiring it is to the human heart."

Yep! That's it. That's the core of the power of experience.

Batterson at Echo: Innocent in Motivation, Technologically Shrewd in Execution

Mark Batterson, lead pastor at National Community Church was the first keynote speaker for the brand spanking new Echo Media Conference. Echo is being held at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, sponsored by the folks at Collide magazine.

His new book is just about out, but tonight he took on Matthew 10:16, where Jesus tells his disciples they must be innocent as doves, and shrewd a snakes, to encourage the media geeks and creatives here for this very interesting and eclectic conference.

For those in ministry, he says, it's a call to a motive check, and to avoid comparison of what you are doing with what others are doing. Comparison looks either down at those who aren't doing as well as you are doing, or up at those who do better. Pride vs. Envy.

"If you do the right thing for the wrong reason in the kingdom of God, it doesn’t even count. Whatever we do for the right reason will come out all right."

We're also called to be shrewd as a snake, approaching the world with a contextual intelligence that allows us to use technology to beat the world at its own game.

"Last year, I preached in 83 countries, without going anywhere... There are ways of doing church that no one’s thought of yet."

Lots more on the Echo schedule tomorrow and Saturday.

Heading for Echo

Been out of pocket for a few days working on a freelance project. Tonight, heading out for the Echo Media conference in Dallas. If you're going to be there, give me a holler so we can get together!

Fellowship One in Dallas Morning News

Very nice profile feature on my buddies at Fellowship Technologies in this morning's Dallas Morning News. They profile the use of Fellowship One in the children's department at Prestonwood, and talk to LifeChurch.tv about their use of the system. Some nice background on the company, and a great couple of grafs about Jeff Hook's commitment to the Kingdom to wrap it up.

"In some ways, it seems the company's Christian values transcend religious doctrine."

Now that is killer copy! Congrats!

We are actually still waiting to deploy a ChMS here at First. We have Shelby in house, but the database is a mess. It's primarily a financial reporting and accounting tool for us. After we finish a little server project this fall, moving to F1 will be top of my agenda.

It's only been a three year sales cycle. Jeff and Jeff are very patient!

Chasing the Wildest Goose

Mark Batterson, the Lead Pastor at National Community Church is back with his sophomore book offering, and it's worth every minute of your time.

Wild Goose Chase is a call to action in your life and mine. Celtic Christians, he says, referred to the Holy Spirit as a wild goose, unable to be tracked or tamed. That wild unpredictability, he says, is a good reflection on what life is like when we are following God. Wild Goose Chase is a call to honest reflection on our own "stuff," the things that keep us from chasing the wild goose that is God's best purpose for our lives.

In the book Mark identifies six "cages" he says we have to escape in order to begin pursuing the life God has for us. He's also offering 10 steps to help you develop life goals that will honor the purposes God has for you. Here are a few nuggets...

"Boredom is wrong. You cannot simultaneously live by faith and be bored. Faith and boredom are antithetical."

"Your greatest responsibility is to pursue God-ordained passions."

"When God puts a passion in your heart... that God-ordained passion becomes your responsibility."

"One of the greatest acts of worship is keeping a good attitude in a bad situation. Doing a good job at a bad job honors God."

"Hurry kills everything from compassion to creativity."

"The smartest people are the people who know how much they don't know... who make the fewest assumptions."

"Vision is the cure for sin. One reason many of us get entangled in sin is that we don't have enough God ordained vision to keep us busy."

Mark Batterson is, without question, one of the formative voices of a new generation of church leaders. He has always been someone to listen to. In Wild Goose Chase, his voice makes a spectacular transition from speaking to the printed page. He is open and transparent. He is funny and his writing is engaging.

Wild Goose Chase is a book that you may well read cover to cover, in a single sitting. I did. And I'll read it again.

The book is available for pre-order all over the place now. It will ship on August 19. If you would like to read it now... drop me a line. Mark's publisher has been gracious enough to give me an extra copy that I'd like to pass on to you!

Seeing the Stink

Ben Arment talked recently about understanding what we're NOT gifted to do.

"Most of us have gift disillusionment in some way or another, which makes it awkward for other people around us."

So, he says we're stuck with continuing to live the lie, struggling to be diplomatic (which generally leads to hurt feelings,) or just hurting feelings up front.

My question: How much of this blind spot is cultural in the church? We put a premium on relationship. But does the cost of that premium include sacrificing excellence?

Cool Audio Trick

Listen to this.  Now replay it.  Do it again. Notice how it seems like the scale is continuing to get higher and higher?  It's really not!

It's called the Shepard scale.  It's two tones, separated by octaves. When played with the base pitch moving up or down, it creates the auditory illusion of a tone that continually ascends or descends in pitch, yet which in reality gets no higher or lower

Location, Location, Location

When purchasing ad space or time, about the only thing that matters is placement. Usually, you're looking to get the most eyeballs for the dollars invested. Just as important is making sure you're not tied to something you don't want to be associated with. Like being right next to pictures of Chinese religious oppression, when you're trumpeting your connection to the Olympics in Beijing.

Twitter Reconsidered

If you've been hanging around here for awhile, you know I gave Twitter the official kiss-off a while back. Drove me crazy. Hated it.

Actually, what I hated was people misusing it. My gripe was that it polluted good, focused blog content with minutia and garbage that I didn't care about. My complaint is still valid. Ken Wilson from Ridgestone agrees with me, and recently posted his own set of Twitter rules.

Ken also nails what I think is the key value that Twitter brings to the table. It's all about keeping up with friends. If you have a content focused blog, don't make the mistake of assuming that all your readers want to know every time you stop by Starbucks.

I do think it's cool that the SENDER is willing making an effort, investing in relationships by taking the time to send tweets. I like being able to keep up with Andrew and Todd.

And, if you care, you can follow me @klonghofer. Not promising I'll be there all the time, but if something funny, or irritating or interesting happens, I'll probably shoot out a tweet.

Alltop Goes to Church

Thanks to the folks at Alltop for featuring TechnoPraxis in the "Modern Church" section of Alltop.com.  Alltop is a great idea that grabs all of the top stories from their estimation of the "best" content available on the web.  You can check out topics ranging from ADHD to Yoga, which means they need to find something that starts with Z.  We are in the "Modern Religion" topic area.  Just look for Tony Morgan, and jump up one! It's pretty cool, being able to rapidly scan a lot of fees, reading the first few lines of each post in the rollover. Check it out at Alltop.com and Church.Alltop.com

All Our Eggs

Yes, you are correct. That is a jackhammer.

The orange line is where our primary connection to the outside world enters the building. All coming in on one wire. Phones, Internet, cable TV. No, we're not sure how deep it is. Matter of fact, we know it's pretty shallow.

Tomorrow morning, they're going to use a backhoe to dig more. I can hardly wait. I understand that replacing a sewer line is pretty important. I like to go to the bathroom as much as the next guy. I just wish that the sewer line didn't cross directly underneath our cable path.

Starfish and the Spider

Just finished up this great read by Ori Bratman and Rod Beckstrom.  It's all about the power of the decentralized organization and the fundamental shift we are seeing away from a hierarchical control of, well, just about anything.  They look at web giants like Craigslist, and the whole P2P phenomena, as well as a lot of history to explain the whole concept of a decentralized organization.  Some takeaways for me: 

• Size matters.  Small size and large network equal both flexibility AND power.
• Networks are about shared ideas and values. The network effect will increase value to the network as a whole, with each addition to the network.  When the cost to add a new member is zero, or close to it, and each new member really adds value... look out!
• Creativity creates chaos, but good ideas naturally attract a new circle and that circle will execute them.  "Where creativity is valuable, learning to accept chaos is a must."

It's a fairly quick read, with tons of story and illustration to move it forward.  Definitely worth your time.

Intro to Video and Camera Operation

A while back, I put together a short course on the basics of video production in the church.  The primary purpose was to get folks on the same page with vocabulary and give them tools to begin learning their new cameras.  We did a handout, and have had quite a few requests for it.  So, here are a couple of .pdf's for your enjoyment!

Oh... and if you'd like me to come do the training session in person, give me a yell!  Be glad to help out.

Talking About Ideas, not About People

Seth Godin has opened a new social networking tool, with a twist. It's called Triiibes. It's a runup to his upcoming book, and I'm intrigued. I need another social networking tool like I need another hole in the head, but I like what Seth told Tony Morgan about the concept behind Triiibes.

"A tribe is not a crowd. A tribe is a group of people with a connection, a purpose and a leader. A key element of a tribe caring about an idea."

Seth will be speaking at Catalyst in Atlanta in October.  If his conversation with Tony is any indication, you probably don't want to miss it.

"I worry that we’re confusing faith and religion, and I worry that we may be willing to sacrifice community in exchange for fealty to traditional rules. Faith is never going to go out of style, and community is more important than ever. It’s just got to be relevant."

Triiibes is by invitation only until October... but if you are interested, drop me a line and I'll see if I can hook you up with an invitation!

Some Things, You Just Can't Change

Don't Touch That Switch

 

 

My biggest question?

Why was it off?

Church IT as a Model For the Kingdom

This is Dean Lisenby. He is one of the good guys at ACS Technologies. I snapped this at the MinistryTECH conference a few months back, when I caught him hanging out in the Fellowship Technologies booth.

And to cap it off, check out the name badge holder he's wearing!

Yeah, the photo is kind of funny, but it's actually demonstrative of an ethos I find so refreshing in the entire church technology community. It's not surprising that Dean is spending time with the guys from F1. As a community, the Church IT folks are the most ecumenical group I've ever been around. Competitors are respectful of one another. F1 and ACS are competitors, no question about it. Dean and Jeff Hook, based on my observation of them, are also friends. I've never heard a negative word from either one about the other. That's just plain cool.

Beyond the vendor community, people like Tony Dye, and Clif Guy and of course, Jason Powell, spend a lot of time just helping other churches. It's not like they have extra time, but I've never asked these guys a question, and not gotten a very quick, and always helpful response. I don't know what it is about the technology guys, but this ecumenical heart just seems to be innate, how they live and breath.

Wouldn't it be great if the rest of the world that is the Church universal worked like this!

PS... I knew Jason was working on being more healthy, but who knew how far it has come!