It’s day two of Q Conference in Austin, TX and I just want to apologize to readers for my lack of live blogging.  Whenever I am not speaking at a conference I always live blog, microblogging at the very least, and have grown accustomed to participating in the conversations surrounding the speaker talks.  The ‘back channel’ is like a home to me and the chatter that goes on, albeit not profoundly life-changing, is usually stimulating and helpful.

In respect of the wishes of Gabe Lyons, I virtually shut down my technology for the day yesterday.  Since I was sitting on the third row, taking notes on my iPhone before the shutdown, it would have been very disrespectful to continue or twitter.  I both enjoyed it & at the same time was challenged by it.

Here are some of the pro’s:

• more concentration
• more quiet/down time during breaks
• more reflection
• heightened presence

Unfortunately, the con list for me is longer:

• no pad & paper handy for notes
• no communication with my family (which was important)
• no connecting w/ those friends just a few rows away who couldn’t see me
• no dialog w/others present about the event
• no ability to give information to my readers
• no way to check links for all the great speakers or bookmark things online
• no way to make plans with others whom I promised to meet here
• no way to take or upload photos
• no way to participate in the back channel, view feedback, create conversation, participate, converse

Now, all that said, these are just my first impressions.  Obviously, I highly respect Gabe and even appreciate his “check your cell phone at the door” experimental challenge to us.  I can say it was worth it and it did enhance my experience at one level.

Unfortunately, though, you won’t get to hear all the magnificent sweep of information, challenge, stimulation, and inspiration because I will never go back and transcribe all the notes I took by hand.  Very unfortunate for readers because the first speaker alone, Alan Hirsch, would have been worth the entire trip.

Today, I’m gonna ask Gabe if I can sit on the back row instead of at the front and take some electronic notes.

By the way there is “officially” sanctioned guest blogging going on at: Qideas

I’ve just landed in Austin and am excited attend the Q Conference starting this morning.

Q is a gathering where innovators, church leaders, social entrepreneurs, and cultural pioneers come together to explore the church’s role in positively contributing to culture.   Q was created as a place for Christian leaders in many different channels of society to become informed and exposed to cultural ideas and to one another.  No other gathering exists that attracts the most influential leaders of the church and today’s most innovative thinkers into one space for conversation, learning, invention, and collaboration.  Over the course of three days, Q introduces participants to myriad topics presented by over thirty experts. Their ideas have been selected to heighten our awareness and challenge our creativity as we consider our roles, individually and corporately, in shaping culture.

We’re in Austin, Monday – Wednesday, April 27-29.  Follow my tweets to hear how hundreds of remarkable leaders will collaborate around the biggest questions facing the church today. Q is not for content consumers, but for those who will contribute to the bigger conversation.

It’s definitely invitation only.  Thank you Brad Abare for my invite & thank you Faith Highway for facilitating my travel.

I’ll keep you informed as hundreds of remarkable leaders collaborate around the biggest questions facing the church today.  Q is not for content consumers, but for those who will contribute to the bigger conversation.  Here are some of the topics & speakers:

Post-Christendom Mission
Alan Hirsch | Author, The Forgotten Ways

Power, Privilege, and Risk
Andy Crouch | Author, Culture-Making

Brown America
George P. Bush | Attorney and Political Leader

The Future Of The Suburbs
Joel Kotkin | Author and Presidential Fellow, Chapman University

Uncovering our Hidden Misogyny
Mike Foster | Founder, Ethur
Kirsten Powers | Political Analyst, Fox News
Shari Thomas | Founder and Director, Parakaleo

The Future of Worship
David Crowder | Lead Singer, David Crowder Band

Justice in the Suburbs
Heather Larson | Willow Creek Church, Chicago

The Post-Atomic World
Tyler Wigg-Stevenson | Founder, Two Futures Project

The Irony of Church Marketing
Chris Seay | Pastor, Ecclesia

Ensuring Social Entrepreneur Success
Dr. Stephen Graves | Author & Business Coach

Not On Our Watch
Shannon Sedgwick Davis | Bridgeway Foundation

The Spirituality of the Cell Phone
Shane Hipps | Author, Flickering Pixels

Pluralistic Evangelism
John Burke | Pastor, Gateway Church

The Gospel Revisited
Tim Keel | Pastor, Jacob’s Well

Culture of Consumers
Micah M. White | Writer and Contributing Editor, Adbusters Magazine

Culture Shaping in Portland
Rick McKinley | Founding Pastor of Imago Dei Community

Iconoclast Thinking
Gregory Berns | Distinguished Chair of Neuroeconomics, Emory University

What Every Christian Could Learn From A Scientist
Catherine Crouch | Physics, Swarthmore College

Suburban Addictions
Dave Goetz | Author and President, CZ Marketing

Power Of The Ought
Ambassador Max Kampelman | Lawyer, Diplomat, Educator

What Healthy and Unhealthy Trends Exist In The American Church?
Gideon Tsang | Pastor, Vox Veniae
Jonathan Dodson | Pastor, Austin City Life
Shane Hipps | Author, Flickering Pixels
Heather Larson | Willow Creek, Chicago
Alan Hirsch | Author, The Forgotten Ways
Charles Lee | Pastor, New Hope South Bay
Kris McDaniel | Pastor, Trinity Vineyard
Jon Tyson | Pastor, Trinity Grace
Shari Thomas | Founder and Director, Parakaleo

Economic Opportunity
Bill Townsend | BlueSource
Bill Hampton | Executive VP, Dave Ramsey Organization

Being Countercultural
Gabe Lyons | Founder, Q

The Idea Camp – Eric Bryant Interview from The Idea Camp on Vimeo.

Usually I blog news about innovative ministry practices that are dependent on technology.  But recently, at The Idea Camp, I had the chance to interview so many Christian leaders (over a dozen) that I’ve been posting the interviews here.   Thanks for your patience.

This interview is with Eric Bryant of Mosaic.  Both he and Erwin McManus are taking an alternate route away from the popular “multi-site” road.  Rather than use video feed for the many Mosaic campuses like most muti-site congregations who use a central pastor on video, Mosaic has opted for using speakers from individual sites.  This allows many people to receive training in both sermon preparation & presentation.

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on Unifyer & Montrose Church, I’m adding this video into my archives.  Although I’ve had access to this particular for a couple of weeks, I didn’t know I would be at liberty to share it until now.

One of the keys to exponential growth, decentralizing communication, happens organically when you create online small group communities.  You can see for yourself what Montrose Church (400% growth for the last 5 years) is doing by checking out the site: Life Changing Community.

Montrose Church, located in Montrose CA, has become masterful at innovation.  Workarounds are second nature to this well-established, yet dynamic congregation and when it comes to innovation, they lead.

For example, what do you do when your church parking lot has a whopping total of 25 parking spaces and you serve hundreds of people at your weekend services?  You heard me right, hundreds.  You have multiple services, of course.  And you put 60 lifegroups in place so people get their personal needs met.

Likewise, how do you attract the non-religious?  Equally simple, don’t overdo the gospel.  Check out their web page and you’ll notice that instead of using an overtly religious vernacular, they convert the message into engaging language that those without years of “christianese” can understand.  Wise.

And lastly, how do you connect the folks who all attend different services into an authentic community with cellular connections that facilitate organic depth and growth?   Use a product designed to do just that. 

Unifyer to be specific.  Here are just some of the things Unifyer can do for a church congregation:

• connect individuals in real communities like home groups, special needs groups & small groups
• enhance the relationships people have with a safe & simple, instant communication tool
• get people excited about volunteering with need specific connections
• provide an instant set of hubs for communicating and sharing needs
• decentralize communication

Did I also mention Montrose has attached their flickr stream to their landing page just under their RSS feed?  Just another couple of my personal measurements of currently innovative ministries.

What tools inspire innovation in ministry for you?

Just a reminder that there are three more Church 2.0 Local Forums happening across the United States this fall in October and November.  Check out the details below.

In each city, we have discovered that far more people attend than register (so it’s not mandatory), but you can register if you wish through some of the available links.

Church 2.0 Local Forums happening over the next two months include:

Boston, MA  (10/17), Grace Chapel

• Register for Boston on Facebook HERE.
• Not on Facebook?  Register HERE.
• Sponsors for Boston are: LifeWay Threads, National Cine Media, SermonSpice, CircleBuilder, Planning Center Online, EasyWorship, 360Hubs, ReelWorship, FreeFoto.com, COLLIDE Magazine and Unifyer.

Tulsa. OK  (10/24), The Church at BattleCreek

• Register for Tulsa on Facebook HERE.
• Not on Facebook?  Register HERE.
• Sponsors for Tulsa are: Fellowship Technologies,  EasyWorship, CircleBuilder, National Cine Media, Planning Center Online, Unifyer and SermonSpice.

Portland, OR  (11/7), Portland Foursquare Church

• Register for Portland on Facebook HERE.
• Not on Facebook?  Register HERE.
• Sponsors for Portland are: Planning Center Online, National Cine Media, SermonSpice, CircleBuilder, 360Hubs, LifeWay Threads, Unifyer and EasyWorship.

For more details on the Church 2.0 Local Forums you can check out the website or Greg Atkinson’s Church Video Ideas.

Greg has been busy during the past year or so in hosting Local Forums all over the United States.  There are more Local Forums in 2009 and there are plans for the same process on an international level for a Global Church 2.0 edition.

At these meetups, Greg’s connected church leaders with one another and uncovered stories of creativity and innovation among innovative Christians.  From social ministries to internet technologies, the Church is innovating and many of these stories will be captured in the forthcoming book designed to spotlight ministry innovations and creative endeavor within the Church at large.

Church 2.0 Local Forums are where church pastors, staff and layleaders gather together to meet, network, discuss innovation, leadership, technology and share stories of what God is doing in ministries across the U.S.  The meetups are interdenominational, inspiring and informative.

I realize this is an entirely personal opinion, but if you had to reference the single most innovative ministy event, endeavor, or process that you’ve heard of in recent months, what would you say?

Here’s a couple of different screen shots of the Unifyer tool a bunch of us are adopting.  We’re using it specifically to connect the community of Church innovators who will be part of the upcoming book, Church 2.0, authored by Greg Atkinson (plus a couple of technology chapters thrown in by me and Tony Steward, Online Community Pastor at LifeChurch.tv).

You can see that Greg Atkinson and I are the visual tutorial guides in the far right side of the margin but to make us live you’ll have to click into the site to actually view our presentation in bottom right help icon under video introduction.  We shot our footage at the amazing Unifyer offices in Dallas during the ECHO Conference.  Not every office has a green screen for filming, much less employees riding scooters through the office.  Did I mention they also have unbelievably cool furniture that they acquired from Yahoo!’s offices.  But don’t be fooled by all the trendy, hip atmosphere.  These guys are only serious about one thing – creating opportunities for more effective ministry by building trust, intimacy and affinity through online connections.

Using technology to foster richer communication and using it all to serve the Kingdom of God is the business plan. Unifyer is the ideal tool for a church seeking to foster a dynamic and vibrant community where every member feels valued, connected, and motivated to serve.

The Unifyer utility is the latest innovation from Pursuant, a Dallas-based company that serves non-profits, educational institutions, and ministries.  It allows individuals within larger groups to feel individually connected and to cluster themselves in ways that serve their interests, passions and affiliations.

For example, any member of a church can form a group for those who have similar needs, interests, etc.  Of course, the overseeing organization maintains the ability to flag or delete content that isn’t in the interest of the whole but talk about facilitating decentralized ministry output.  Got chronic pain, start a group.  Like to find other collegians, start a college group.  Hoping to connect with others at your church who want join a biker’s club.  The list is endless.  People value grouping together based on shared interests.

Check out Unifyer; it may likely change the way you communicate with, mobilize, and empower your community, because it’s not just about growing a friend list, it’s about building affinity.

]]> http://thedigitalsanctuary.org/2008/10/08/unifyer-church-20-site-up-and-growing/feed/ 3 http://thedigitalsanctuary.org/2008/07/12/the-future-of-christian-visual-media-barton-damer-part-4/ http://thedigitalsanctuary.org/2008/07/12/the-future-of-christian-visual-media-barton-damer-part-4/#comments Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:04:21 +0000 Cynthia http://thedigitalsanctuary.org/?p=848

This is the final post in the Barton Damer Interviews, a brief series designed to spotlight the visual media of an artist serving the Church in an innovative way.  Barton's work, an artistic feast for those hungry for new and creative ways to express faith, is easy to access through the links found below and throughout this series.

In concluding the interview, I asked Barton what he sees as the future of faith-inspired media. 

The future of Christian media is going to happen outside of the church walls if things don't change.

Media is hot right now and a lot of churches are buying into it because that's what makes them "innovative."  I have to wonder if media will become the bus ministry of this era.  Everyone used to have a bus ministry, right?  We weren't reaching people if we didn't have a fleet of buses and a full-time staff person to service the buses.  And it's the same way these days.  It's common to have HD projectors and and a motion graphics guy on staff. 

If media is going to remain a valuable part of the way churches serve and share the gospel, we need to start seeing media as a ministry…  not as an accessory or simply a marketing tool for better announcements in church.

Part One: Motion Reel, Digital Art & Motion Graphics and Motion Graphics Reel

Part Two: The Creative Media of Barton Damer / Bio & Current Status

Part Three: BartonDamer,  In His Own Words

Part Four: The Future of Christian Visual Media

How important do you think visual media will be for the Church?

ECHO Live VJ clips from barton Damer on Vimeo.

Background and Training Yes, I know you've been waiting for it, in his own words…..

I began truly seeking the Lord around 16 years old…  but a very large movement in my life from the Lord was when I was 18.  I was taking Public Relations as a major and blew out my knee skateboarding. 

For over 2 months, I limped around on crutches while I waited to receive surgery over Christmas break back home.  While laid up, I was taking an entry level art class that was required as part of the major I was studying.  So, I poured all my free time into my art projects, having no idea I could draw anything other than skulls & bones off of skateboarding graphics from the 80s!  That injury really allowed me to pause and reflect on what God wanted for me rather than what I wanted for myself.  The rest… is History.  I changed my major to Commercial Art.

Even though I went to school, i would consider myself "self taught" when it comes to the computer. I had good training with traditional techniques but back then photoshop was on like version 2 or something like that and our teachers didn't even know much about it.

Today, I use illustrator, photoshop, after effects, cinema 4d, and final cut pro. I used to build websites using flash and dreamweaver about 6 years ago, but realized I hated it pretty quickly. I like developing the graphics for web, but making it function properly is not my gig.

I had done frame by frame animation for the speaker intros so I basically copied and pasted all the frames (8 frames/second) and put them onto a shirt. the video is here:

http://gallery.mac.com/bartondamer#100074/Tim-20stevens-20WEB&bgcolor=black

or here: The Whiteboard Session Speakers

Part One: Motion Reel, Digital Art & Motion Graphics and Motion Graphics Reel

Part Two: The Creative Media of Barton Damer / Bio & Current Status

Part Three: BartonDamer,  In His Own Words

Part Four: The Future of Christian Visual Media

Barton Damer Interview, Part 2

In this ongoing series of posts, I explore the creative genius of Barton Damer, a leader in innovative graphic arts, design and media.

Barton began his career at a secular design firm in the Washington, D.C. area.  (The story of his conversion to Christianity will be in the next post.)  After a couple years he felt called to use his gifts within the church setting.  Over the course of more than 7 years, Barton honed his artistic skills for print, web, video and motion graphics.

The latter part of those years, he spent working within a local Washington, D.C. congregation, Mclean Bible Church, where he was involved in creating media content as well as live production.   Mclean, located just outside D.C., is a church that serves about 12,000 weekend attenders.  You know it's near and dear to my heart since some of my closest friends are members there and when visiting them I've blogged my trips.   I now have the explanation for why some of Barton's artistic style has seemed vaguely familiar.

While at Mclean, Damer was able to create content for main services, youth events, and the young adult services, better known as Frontline.  He was also part of a team that launched the very first offsite McLean location. 

Today, Barton Damer is a Creative Director at RT Media Group.  RT Media maintains four points-of-presence on the web: Igniter Media, Collide Magazine, Worship House Media, and Echo Conference.

Additionally, Barton works with various agencies and freelance clients.  He is also a creative contributor for tutorials written at Gomediazine.com – real world advice from working artists and designers. 

Remember, you can view more of Barton's work at Barton Damer.  And here's a handful of his video clips (Truveo Clips tag: Barton Damer).  But of course, enough of the facts; let's get on with the interview…..  next post.

Part One: Motion Reel, Digital Art & Motion Graphics and Motion Graphics Reel

Part Two: The Creative Media of Barton Damer / Bio & Current Status

Part Three: BartonDamer,  In His Own Words

Part Four: The Future of Christian Visual Media