June 2008

You heard right.

Ingenious, Christian image-sharing site, CreativeMYK.com, is giving away a new iPhone to a winning artist.

To participate, CreativeMYK.com invites artists to submit their original works in the form of images that will be re-digitized and used and distributed through CreativeMYK.com as free or pay-for-use images.  How easy can it get?

Last year, I blogged Innovate '07 podcasts had been put up.  This year, I've been looking forward to Innovate 2008 podcasts.  Since conference goers have to be choosy, podcasts are a vital resource.  And they may become all the more desirable as conferences collide.

Some Christian leaders have a hard decision to make between these two upcoming events being held at the same time.   On Thursday & Friday, September 18 & 19, Oklahoma City will host Ministry COM, a National Church Communications Conference.

"If you're crazy enough to love working in a church, make plans to give yourself a mental break at MinistryCOM. This two-day experience brings together experts and leaders who are balancing the chaos while on the brink of innovation. Their level-headed guidance provides you with realistic solutions. Hands on workshops offer therapeutic interaction. Time away from the office mentally invigorates… and just might keep you from going over the edge."

Keynote Speakers include:

Mike Foster - Founder, XXX Church

Scott Hodge - Senior Pastor, The Orchard

Dawn Nicole Baldwin - Founder, Aspire!One

Jon Acuff - Blogger, Stuffchristianslike.net

Also on Thursday & Friday, September 18 & 19, 2008 in Granger, Indiana, Granger Community Church will host Innovate 2008:

"Nobody wants to be all talk and no action. Jesus certainly wasn’t. But sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin. We think that whether you have a church gathering of 100 or 10,000 you can begin making innovative, strategic moves that will impact your community. Start at Innovate 2008.  You’ll experience a multi-sensory showcase of proven, real-life examples from Granger Community Church and other churches doing innovative ministry around the country. Gain perspective and practical steps to take your capacity as a leader, a practitioner and a church to an unexpected level. Get started. Save the talking for later."

You'll also hear from a combination of innovators outside of Granger.

Here's the complete speaker list.

To prevent conferences from 2009 collisions in your schedule start keeping a list of Church Communication Conferences like this one. 

Or, if you're just interested in a media/tech conference list try this one.  In fact add to these two and I'll re-publish them with updates.  Obviously, 2009 dates will change, but if a conference is good enough, the targeted date usually falls close to the year before.

The most prolific author in the field of Christianity & Media Studies, Dr. Quentin J. Schultz, has edited a new publication, Understanding Evangelical Media.  Dr. Schultze is a Professor at Calvin College, a media consultant and co-founder of the Gospel.com Community.

Understanding Evangelical Media is co-edited by Robert H. Woods, Jr., an Associate Professor of Communication and Media at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Michigan. 

The compilation includes the work of nearly 100 authors.  The blogsite will offer both essays and podcasts.

Clover - websites for growing churches and ministries. 

What can I say?  They're local So Cal.  Gotta support your neighbors right?  

Modern Parables (Compass Cinema) is an original film-based Bible study curriculum based on Jesus’ parables. It uses short films of the parables combined with teaching by pastors and in-depth study materials to create an entirely new learning experience.

Modern Parables seeks to re-create the emotional immediacy that Jesus’ 1st-century audience felt when hearing the parables. It does this by using some of the best parable scholarship and exploring it through creative filmmaking. The gut-level understanding made possible visual immersion can often foster deeper understanding of the Bible.   

Worth revisiting. 

image: GodTube

21 years ago, I visited Jerusalem for the first time.  One of the many stops on our trip was the Western Wall (aka - Wailing Wall).  Seeing the particular physical place where people poured out their requests to God really made an impression on me. 

Several years ago I got a picture in my mind of a similar wall, only this one was online, a place where people from all over the world could leave their "Dear Heavenly Father"…..electronically. Recently, I was reminded of this picture because today, electronic prayer sites are increasingly easy to find.  As we see more specialization on the web, 24/7 prayer pages like this one will likely become commonplace. 

Electronic prayer examples are easily searchable.  GodTube provides it's subscribers their own prayer wall.   Third party developers are creating Facebook prayer applications so Facebook members can notify one another of their need for prayer. 

Kindle is a free worldwide social prayer network that helps people form prayer groups to share their prayer requests with each other.  Kindle, in particular, displays huge potential, as the developers anticipate the forming of specialized groups within Kindle where intecessors are matched with individuals who need prayer for specific issues.

I've personally struggled with the "disconnect" associated with technologically mediated prayer.  And yet, at the same time, I've experienced incredible personal benefit from electronic prayers, specifically, in times of crisis as well as during seasons of elongated suffering. 

So, here are a handful of questions surrounding online prayer in the metaverse:

Would you use an online prayer service?

Do you see drawbacks of online prayer?

Do you see benefits of online prayer?

Do you think online prayer will grow in popularity?

The denomination I've been part of for the last 23 years, Foursquare, has launched a website designed to help young leaders find training sites across the United States.  Known as the Emerging Leader Network,* it can be accessed directly or via the Foursquare homepage. It's mission is to engage a larger number of Foursquare young adults in "immersion discipleship" and ministry training within the context of local church schools of ministry.

Although the ELN is not specifically related to the use of technology within the Church, the promotion of it is.  In fact, online searches will likely eventually account for a great percentage of ELN inquiries.  Besides the website, you can also find the ELN on facebook.  As an admin for that page, I'll likely refer to it regularly here and provide regular ELN updates.

According to Tim Mossholder, ELN Director, because of the variety of locations, leaders, and specific areas of ministry focus, each ELN school of ministry is unique.  Every program, however, incorporates three life-transforming elements of immersive training: 

Hands on Ministry
This is an in-the-trenches approach to developing ministry skills.  ELN students engage in a variety of ministry assignments, learning what it means to authentically give of themselves for others.  

Focused Academics  
With a straightforward and intentional curriculum, students grow as they are encouraged and equipped to understand God's Word at a new and deeper level.

Mentoring Relationships
In an ELN program, trusted pastors and leaders walk alongside students, holding them accountable and encouraging them, as they are moving to new levels of faith and excellence.  It is through this critical piece of the immersive ELN structure that students form the rock-solid foundation needed to live out God's call in their lives.

The Emerging Leader Network is part of the Foursquare NextGen Ministries, working in conjunction with the Ministry Training Institutes Office. The ELN exists to serve Foursquare leaders as they work to begin and operate these unique ministries.

* The Emerging Leader Network should not be confused with numerous other ELN groups including the Emerging Leaders Network - social network on ning, the Emerging Leaders' Network - Minnesota Department of Health and The Emerging Leaders Network (Americas for the Arts).

I rarely post on Sundays but…. this weekend marks the launch of LifeChurch.tv's One Prayer month and it's significant enough that it's worth breaking a few routines.

If you're reading from outside the U.S. you might not be well-versed in all things LifeChurch.tv.  Let's just say their online reach is substantial.  When they recently featured my blog…. well, it's a good thing I'm hosted on Media Temple or I could have crashed.

Pastored by Criag Groeschel and a team of tech-savvy leadership, this church is so innovative it has basically invented "the bar" when it comes to web-driven ministry endeavors.  They have a global campus (read internet) so you can visit their church from anywhere in the world.

There's so much available information online about the One Prayer project, I won't fill a post with details.  I do recommend that you check out the links included here.

Suffice it to say, One Prayer is considered by many United States pastors, clergy, denominations, and Christian layleaders to be the most innovative and unique project of it's kind anywhere.  Using technological tools to knit diverse churches into an orchestrated, global month of prayer requires a mammoth vision and the digerati resources to pull it off.  Good thing LifeChurch.tv has both!

LifeChurch.tv we celebrate the launch of One Prayer with you.

Beautiful new web site rolled out by Monk Development for their ekklesia360 CMS.  I'm a big supporter of ekklesia360 and have used their content management system myself.

Plus, I'm impressed with Drew Goodmanson and what he has done to support the planting of San Diego Churches via innovative online means (i.e. SEO).  I've visited his church, Kaleo, and blogged it here.

Another pastor, Fabio Chen, and myself were privileged to have dinner with Pastor Drew last year and hear his vision for planting churches (see Acts 29 Network), growing the Kaleo movement and resourcing churches.

Monk has a substantial portfolio of churches, denominations, and businesses they have worked with.  And, as I said before, I can testify to their service, efficiency and professionalism.  A great user interface all around.