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Search Term: dennie
Tool? or Toy? (Part 2)
I bought one of the early Palm Pilots, back around 1997. I envisioned it being a good tool. But it didn't fit the way I work. It became something cool that I showed people. Not something that made me more effective. For many people, a Palm Pilot is a great tool. For me, it became a toy.
A tool, on the other hand:
- Will enhance your ministry.
- Will solve a problem.
- Can be cool and fun to show people, but that's a bonus.
Tool? or Toy? (Part 1)
Every time your mouth waters over some new gadget or software or social media site, ask yourself, "Is it a tool or a toy?" That's the question posed in the excellent book The Blogging Church, by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch.
Tech-savvy people (like me) love new technology and usually believe more technology can only bring good things. But toys can merely waste church money and consume the pastor's (and volunteers') time.
How can you tell if it's a toy?
- You use the word "cool" to describe it.
- You spend more time playing with it than using it.
- You want it because other people have it.
- You love to show it to other people.
- You hear, "We should get a...." You'd like to have it, but can't articulate a compelling ministry need for it.
Going First
At the MinistryCOM conference, the closing speakers (Jon Acuff, who runs the delightful StuffChristiansLike blog), made this point about people and churches who break new ground:
"When you go first, you give everyone else the gift of going second."
I don't know if we were the first denomination to oppose slavery--we probably weren't--but our stand in the early 1800s no doubt emboldened other denominations to take such a stand. If we didn't go first, we at least went early.
In 1853, we sent a whole wagon train of UBs from Iowa to start churches in Oregon. I'll bet no denomination had done anything like that.
In 2005, we eliminated regional conferences--the middle-management layer--and cut assessments to a mere 3.5%. Churches in most denominations would salivate over paying just 3.5% to higher church administration. I know our example hasn't gone unnoticed.
Several years ago, on vacation, Pam and I attended a Vineyard church that planned to always use rented facilities, rather than pour megabucks into facilities. We haven't had a church follow through on that strategy. We need a first.
Where else have we gone first?
Where else do we need a United Brethren church to go first?
Notes from MinistryCOM, Day 1
I'm in Oklahoma City attending the MinistryCOM conference--my third year. It's designed for local church communications specialists, most of whom come from megachurches. Some churches come with an entire staff of 4-5 people who work only in communications (graphics, video, internet, etc.). Then there are a few folks like me.
Today, I met two persons who do fulltime communications work in churches of less than 1000 attendees. First time I've seen that. (I'm not aware of any UB church with a person working fulltime solely in communications. Doesn't mean there aren't any. But if they exist, they should definitely attend MinistryCOM.)
Just finished lunch with three people from Houston. The one couple said they planned to attend MinistryCOM before the hurricane, but the hurricane made it even more attractive, because they're expected to be without electricity for another 3-4 weeks. Bummer for them.
The opening speaker was Mike Foster, founder of XXXChurch.com Some notes from his session:
- Spend your life in the ocean, not in the tank. Be in the wild. Experience new things. Get out among nonChristians.
- The average age of videogame players is 33. (I would have guessed much younger.)
- Our guardian angels are bored. We're playing it safe, not taking chances.
- Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's easy and fun to dream. What's valuable is a well-executed idea.
Target the Young, Get the Old
One of the blogs I follow is TonyMorganLive.com. Tony Morgan is on staff with Newspring Church in South Carolina, one of the fastest-growing and innovative churches in the country (as was his previous church, Granger Community Church, which he was lured away from two years ago).
Morgan told about a couple in their 60s who found Christ at one of their satellite churches. The curious thing, he said, is that the service isn't designed for people that age, but for much younger people--loud music, video teaching, coffeehouse atmosphere.
"Here's what we've learned," he wrote. "If we design our service experiences for a younger audience, we're more likely to reach that younger person and we'll also reach older folks. The reverse is not true. If we designed our service experience for an older audience, the younger crowd would not show up."
There is a lot to talk about here, and most of us have talked about it plenty. How much to cater to the younger set, while seemingly ignoring older folks. The mix of hymns vs. contemporary songs. Etc.
But in the end, there are several inescapable and competing realities:
- In most churches, the people calling the shots are older folks (baby boomers, like me, tend to be in control nowadays).
- Young people aren't necessarily thrilled with the shots they are calling.
- Older Christians need to say, "The church shouldn't need to cater to me. I'll let other people's tastes and preferences take precedence over my own."
- Most older Christians aren't mature enough to say that.
Do you agree with Tony Morgan?
Jamaican Pride
I sent a note to Owen Gordon (right), UB endorsed missinoary and president of Jamaica Bible College, commenting on how excited Jamaica must be over the success of their sprinters in the Olympics. Owen responded:
"Oh yes Steve. There has been a euphoria that has swept across the country. People gathered in groups to celebrate. It reached a high when the 4x100 relay was being run. People felt badly for Asafa Powell, so when he took off in the final leg and broke the world record...it was simply GREAT!
"We all are hoping that this new inspiration will have a positive effect on all of us as Jamaicans, and that the scurge of crime and violence will be addressed.
"This has been a great Olympics for Jamaica: six gold medals, three silver and two bronze. For such a very small country, we all feel very proud of the athletes. The government and the country is planning a big welcome celebration!"
UBs in Wikipedia
I made a number of much-needed changes to the Wikipedia entry on the United Brethren church. I updated links to various UB websites (including this blog), added the Church Covenant, updated info on mission work, and much more. It was already a very good entry (thanks to a lot of contributors), but needed to be updated.
Annoying Website Design
On the Communication Tips page, Steve Dennie has a three-part post called "Annoying Website Design." Between part 1, part 2, and part 3, you'll find about 20 things to avoid in designing a church website.
How many of these characteristics are true of your church's website? And do you have any additional things that you find annoying?
Where can you get a domain name?
On Wednesday I encouraged all churches to get a domain name, whether or not they have current plans for a website. Now you may be wondering, "So where do we get a domain name?"
There are many places. My experience is limited to Network Solutions, Aplus.net, and Yahoo. Yahoo! was extremely frustrating, Aplus not so much. But I've transferred all UB domains to Network Solutions.
Network Solutions makes it easy to configure domains to use with websites hosted by other service providers. We have domains scattered among several providers, and have never had trouble configuring things through Network Solutions.
- UB.org and UBMissions.com are hosted on the Huntington University system (with the server in my office).
- Ubonline.org (home of the UB News page) is hosted by Aplus.net.
- Bluehost.com hosts our atmychurch.com and healthyministryresources.com websites.
GoDaddy.com is the largest domain registrar; Tucows.com is also popular. I'm sticking with Network Solutions (which is a bit pricier) for the UB accounts, because I've had such good experience.
If you open an account with an internet service provider (Bluehost, Aplus, GoDaddy--there are scores of them), you often get a free domain name (at least for a year). But make sure the account is in the church's name (not the name of a staff member or layperson). Make sure the church controls the name.
To search for available names, go to the homepage of Network Solutions or GoDaddy.
What advice or experience can you share?
Got a Domain Name?
Your church needs a domain name.
- The potential domain names for your church decline every day. Unless your church has an unusual name, or you add "ub" to the end, you'll probably have trouble finding an appropriate name. So get on it now.
- When my church, Anchor Community Church, started a website in 2002, we had a terrible time finding a good domain name. Most any name containing "Anchor" was already taken, and that was six years ago. We finally settled on "Anchorpeople.org."
- Domain names are bargain-priced real estate on the internet. Prices vary, but $20 a year might do it.
- Once a name is gone, it's gone. Unless somebody forgets to renew it somewhere down the road (in which case, somebody else will probably grab it first).
You don't need a website to have a domain name.
- Even if you have no immediate plans to create a website, I recommend obtaining a domain name. Set it on the shelf until you need it.
- The national office owns 37 domain names, most of which aren't being used. We're just saving them for possible future needs, and don't want anyone else to own them (like unitedbrethren.com, ubchurches.us, ubchildren.org, and ubusa.org).
- If you have an internet service provider, you can possibly use your domain name for email even if you don't have a website.
To search for available names, go to the homepage of Network Solutions or GoDaddy.
What advice or experience can you share?
The Crossroads Up Close
A few days ago, Jeff Bleijerveld talked about "crossroad cities," a concept that fascinates me. He says he's got a lot more to unpack on that subject.
Fort Wayne, like so many American cities, has some crossroads qualities. We've got the largest population of Burmese outside of Myanmar, plus a lot of immigrants from Bosnia and Darfur. And yet, they remain somewhat invisible to me. I don't know where to find them.
Last Saturday, I attended the dedication of a Habitat for Humanity home that my church, Anchor, along with three local Presbyterian churches, funded and built. The keys were handed over to a Muslim family (seven kids!) from Somalia. That's them in the photo, along with some other folks from Somalia. This family spent 13 years in refugee camps before making it to the States four years ago. The husband and wife, and I assume the kids as well, now speak English very well.
During the ceremony, two young men, immigrants from Ethiopia, expressed their appreciation to us for helping their "brothers and sisters" from Africa. Very cool.
So we got a touch of the crossroads thing. In building this home, they saw the best of Christianity, and maybe some seeds were planted.
Microsoft Non-Profit Licensing
A call came today regarding non-profit licensing of Microsoft products. The Healthy Ministry Resources office took advantage of this several years ago, buying multiple copies of Microsoft Office for the Mac for about $30 apiece (a huge, huge savings). Learned about it through Chris Moore at Emmanuel Community Church. But in checking for the Office 2008 version, I learned that Microsoft changed the requirements to, basically, eliminate churches. Their new policy reads:
Religious organizations with a secular community designation may participate in the Microsoft and I CAN software donation programs. A secular designation is defined as an organization separate from the church or religious organization that provides services to people regardless of their religious beliefs and does not propagate a belief in a specific faith. Example: A food bank with nonprofit or charity status that is run by a church, but is a separate and unique organization that provides food and meals to anyone who qualifies for services, regardless of religious beliefs.
The pastor who called today had been told, through CDW, that they do qualify, and he should submit an application (which, ultimately, would need to be approved by Microsoft). I'm skeptical he'll get approved, but told him to go for it and keep me informed. (I also read on a discussion board somewhere about a church that got non-profit Microsoft licensing through Dell. Whether or not they represented themselves truthfully....)
What's been your experience? Can you clarify anything here?
Make the Drive to Church Worthwhile
Confronted with the price of gas and a 20-mile daily commute to the office, Jeff Bleijerveld and I thought it made sense to ride together. So today, I picked him up. We both live on the southwest side of Fort Wayne, maybe a mile apart. It was good fellowship, we saved money, and we reduced our carbon footprint.
Seth Godin predicts that in the business world, with the price of fuel, it'll become more common to hear people, after a meeting, complain, "I came all the way here for this?"
Churches don't have nearly as many meetings as they once did.
- Monthly board meetings have become bi-monthly or quarterly.
- We've dispensed with lots of committees that once seemed necessary.
- We've streamlined our church structures. Streamlining is good.
But now, church meetings don't only take up a person's time. They also hit the wallet.
- Every trip Pam and I make to church costs us around $5.
- Other people drive much, much farther.
- A single board meeting could involve a collective cost of $50 or more.
- Since we're a low-income church, gas hurts.
So whatever awaits us at church, whether a meeting or music practice or a service, needs to be well worth not only the time, but the gas money.
That, of course, should have always been the case. But money has a way of focusing our attention.
