August 2008

1. Accept the Virtual World’s significance (MySpace is the most visited site on the Internet)
2. View online expressions of Christianity as valuable extensions of real world faith
3. Embrace the opportunity for Church without borders (time, geography, etc.)
4. Welcome the presentation of God’s Word in the vernacular of current culture
5. Respond to the globalization of the planet with hope not cynicism
6. Develop and maintain an online presence purposefully populating cyberspace
7. Establish virtual outposts for evangelizing, preaching, equipping & training
8. Create interactive portals for experiencing Church (streaming media)
9. Practice spiritual disciplines in the global online conversation
10. Encourage strategic investment in the iGeneration
    

Why?    Because there are “multitudes in the valley of decision” online.

If you’re a regular reader you might recognize this post from May of last year.  MySpace has given way to Facebook in terms of popularity but other than that, not much has changed.  It’s funny how some observations seem outdated so quickly (when it comes to online technology) and others have a longer shelf life.

Although it’s been well over a year, the point of this post still seems to work.  What would you add?

You can also read the original comments for Ten Challenges facing the Church in Cyberspace.

Christianity online, CyberChurch, electronic evangelism, New Media, online church, Online Religion Participatory Media

If you enjoyed our interview with the Tall Skinny Kiwi a few days ago, then your sure to like this overview video designed to promote GodblogCon.

Blog World, Christian Internet Technologies, GodblogCon Las Vegas Convention Center

Last Thursday night, I had the privilege of hearing Washington D.C. Pastor Mark Batterson speak at the ECHO Conference in Dallas, Texas.  Mark is the Lead Pastor of National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches.

NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill.

Pastor Mark is a widely read pioneer blogger (evotional). He’s also one of the very first pastors to add The Digital Sanctuary to his blogroll.

Wild Goose Chase was my airplane reading on my way to ECHO.  I loved it.  Brilliantly basic, crystal clear and cheerfully convicting, Wild Goose Chase is an exploration of the pursuit of the Holy Spirit.  Using a non-scholarly, conversational approach Mark writes the same way he teaches, using fresh parables and simple illustrations. Challenging us to leave behind the cages that obviously hold us captive, Wild Goose Chase is an invitation to freedom and adventure.

Here’s an excerpt from the book’s introduction:

Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect.
“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’  The name hints at mystery.  Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed.  An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him.  And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life.   I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time.  And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.”

You can win a free copy of  Wild Goose Chase by telling me what I tweeted (twitter.com/cynthiaware) about National Community Church’s baptism video — the one played at ECHO Conference.

You can also purchase Mark’s other best-selling book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day online.

Echo Conference, Evotional, free book, Mark Batterson, National Community Church, Theatre Church, Washington DC Church Wild Goose Chase

Earlier in the week, as a preview of GodblogCon 2008, several bloggers, including Dr. Andrew Jackson, Rhett Smith, Matthew Anderson, Marcus Goodyear and myself, got the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Jones, a.k.a. the Tall Skinny Kiwi. 

Andrew, beloved missional pilgrim and blogfather to so many, can be heard via podcast at The Scriptorium. You can also hear him speak live by attending GodblogCon 2008.

 

Andrew Jackson, Andrew Jones, Cynthia Ware, GodblogCon, Marcus Goodyear, Matthew Anderson, Rhett Smith, Scriptorium Tall Skinny Kiwi

A conference for church leaders that love using media, technology, and the internet to be more effective in sharing God’s story.

This Thursday through Saturday, Dallas will host the ECHO Conference.  If you have interest in using media, technology and the internet to be more effective in ministry, then Echo is for you.

Hosted by Watermark Church (I blogged Watermark here) it promises to be an inspiring and creative gathering of church innovators.  Authors, pastors and media-savvy experts will explore the dynamic opportunities available for churches & individuals and sponsors will provide the means to do so.

There are ample breakout sessions and keynotes that include these speakers:

Donald Miller, Matthew Paul Turner, Mark Batterson, Todd Wagner, Mark Steele, Brad Abare

Echo is brought to you by the team at Igniter Media, WorshipHouse Media, and Collide Magazine

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Want more information?  Check out the Echo Blog, watch this Teaser Video, or use this Conference Quick Look

If you’re in Dallas, stop by and check out Greg Atkinson’s Church 2.0 breakout session.  Meet Greg, Tony Steward and myself - all contributors to the upcoming Church 2.0 book.

Brad Abare, Church Media Conference, Collide Magazine, Donald Miller, Echo Conference, Igniter Media, Mark Batterson, mark steele, matthew paul turner, Phil Cooke, todd wagner Greg Atkinson Tony Steward

Recently there have been more examples popping up of church websites that display some of the emerging trends in interactive web presence.  Static web pages, those that provide service times, location & an uninteractive front page, are being transformed in response to the new values presented by the new media.  As has been talked about so often here, a couple of these values include interactivity and fresh content.  

The web site of Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, Michigan is a good example because with out being overly flashy or polished it provides evidence that their church is responding to the changes in our culture, the way we communicate and the values we place on such communication. 

You can click into their landing page to see that it has:

1) streaming video

2) blogs

3) podcasts

4) fresh content 

These four simple (and free!) elements convey to visitors an important message: our church is active and engaging. 

Obviously, it isn't our goal to conform to cultural standards.  Our goal is to penetrate culture so we can transform people.  One of the best ways to do that is to speak in a language they will understand and engage them.

Yes, you'll also find many in the church micro-blogging on twitter - course that goes a long way in my book.

http://twitter.com/cynthiaware

blogging, blogs, church websites, microblogging, podcasts, streaming video content twitter

Chris Brogan provides a great list of 50 online Applications & Sites to Consider, well-organized and concise, to use for handy reference. 

I'd add Tweetdeck and TwitPic to the Miscellaneous category and put in a category for good aggregators (i.e. - Alltop).  What would you add?

Blogging

Blogger - free blogging and hosting.

Movable Type - paid software, needs host.

TypePad - paid blogging and hosting.

WordPress.com - free blogging and hosting.

WordPress.org - free blog software, needs host.

Tumblr - free blogging and hosting.

Microblogging

BrightKite - microblogging, mobile, location.

FriendFeed - microblogging/ aggregator.

Identi.ca - open source microblogging.

Jaiku - microblogging, mobile too.

Posterous - microblogging, and/or sends to other sites.

Pownce - microblogging and file sharing.

Plurk - microblogging and threaded conversations.

Seesmic - video microblogging.

Twitter - microblogging and mobile.

Utterz - microblogging, mobile, video.

Social Bookmarking

Delicious - bookmarking.

Ma.gnolia - enhanced bookmarking.

Sphinn - bookmarking/voting.

StumbleUpon - bookmarking and browsing.

Social News Sites

Digg - social news.

Mixx - social news.

Reddit - social news.

Social Networks

Facebook - general networking.

Flickr - photo and video sharing.

Last.fm - music sharing.

LibraryThing - book lovers.

LinkedIn - professional social networking.

MySpace - general networking.

Ning - white label social network.

Pandora - music sharing.

Yelp - rating restaurants and businesses.

Miscellaneous and Useful

Twitter Search (formerly Summize) - search for what matters to YOU.

Picnik - free online photo editing. Good for avatar pic touchups.

Evernote - online and desktop note syncing/storage.

Upcoming.org - event sharing site (great for finding cool conferences).

Netvibes - web start page (has Ginger social features now, too).

Twingly - blog search.

Compete - web ranking analysis.

AideRSS - rates your blog posts.

Skitch - screen capture tool (mac).

Video Platforms

Blip.tv - video hosting, sharing.

Google Video - video hosting, sharing.

Viddler - video hosting, sharing.

Vimeo - video hosting, sharing.

YouTube - video hosting, sharing.

Mogulus - live video platform.

uStream.tv - live video platform.

BlogTV - live video platform.

ooVoo - live video chat.

blogging, Chris Brogan, microblogging, social bookmarking, social networking, social networks, social news video platforms

"I won the top spot! I won the top spot!"  I never get to say that. 

The Digital Sanctuary is listed in an 'above the fold' position on the Alltop.com church page.  And that's not even the best part.  All my friends & colleagues are there, too.  You've gotta check out this great new idea for searching fresh content about any subject.

Alltop.com, the brainchild of Guy Kawasaki and his team, is a service that aggregates content from across the web categorically into one location.  It sounds so simple you might not realize how powerful it is. 

Let's say you are looking for information on a particular topic - like photography.   Alltop has a page for that. Or fashion, gaming, sports, politics, and a huge variety of other topics.   Every Alltop page displays topical search links aggregated in an elegant and efficient manner all in one place. 

Each Alltop site, displays the headlines of the latest stories from dozens of sites and blogs.  Think of an Alltop page as a “digital magazine rack” on the Internet.

Readers, here's the most important part…   Alltop church page is chocked full of content from all those of us who write about church relevant topics.  By hitting just one page, you can access fresh content links solely related to church innovation, information and news.

Want web aggregation without aggravation?  Bookmark the Alltop church page here.

Did I mention The Digital Sanctuary is above the fold?   Oh, ok.

aggregated content, aggregaters, Alltop, Alltop Church, Alltop.com, church news, church search, Guy Kawasaki, topical search, topically aggregated content web search

Slingshot began with a simple vision: To come alongside churches and faith-based organizations and use a combination of God-given savvy, instincts, creativity and experience to help them be relevant amidst ever-evolving changes in culture and society.

General areas of focus include: Worship, Programming, Arts, Media, Communications and Leadership.

They also bridge the gap between churches and their staffs by facilitating the search process for Worship leaders and related Worship Arts personnel.   In the search area, they collaborate with churches to strategize how best to transition the church’s worship experience to new levels, and help identify Worship leader candidates and other key personnel candidates.  

Slingshot knows from experience how critical it is to hire the right people, people whose experience, calling and style align with the church and its vision for the future.

Church resources, Slingshot, Slingshot Group worship leader search committees