As I mentioned in my review earlier today, Douglas Estes’s book SimChurch takes the conversation about online church to the next level. I would like to build on what that by organizing a more in-depth discussion about various aspects of online church. Here’s a tentative schedule of the topics we’re going to cover here over the next several weeks.
Browsing: technology
“Is a virtual church a real, authentic and valid expression of the church of Jesus Christ?”
This is the question Pastor/Dr. Douglas Estes explores in his book SimChurch.
Some people believe that in the next 10-20 years the entire web will go from the 2D space it is now to 3D and eventually everything online will be experienced as a 3D space. That seem at least plausible. After all 20 years ago nobody was on the web, and now just about every organization views a website as essential. But in order for the web to transition from 2D to 3D, I think at least 4 things will need to happen.
Who remembers the movie Jerry Maguire? Jerry, a Sports Agent, has an encounter with his conscience which results in a life altering mission statement. He arrives at the conclusion that more personal attention is required – that it is more about the people they represent than the money that that can get from them. On the web it may be a bit more difficult to maintain a personal touch because you can’t always look each other in the eye and watch for non verbal cues. Yet, more than ever before, the Web is far more ‘humanized’ – we are able to express ourselves better and engage better and it is only going to improve.
In order to be an affective ‘Agent Zero’ we must follow 5 simple, yet very important steps. Many Agent Zeros will naturally do these steps without realizing it. That’s what makes them so good at what they do. As you read through my explanations of these steps think about your own position within your church and make a list of how you apply each step to your specific area of ministry.
“No matter where they go, trust agents have a desire to connect good people together. We refer to this as being Agent Zero; being in the center of a network and being able to spread ideas.”
This post is long over due, but last month after a 3 ½ year run Matt Farina and Bob Christianson…
Accomplishing a goal requires following some type of procedures, but to Make it Your Own Game, you need to find the “Gatejumper” key. Gatejumping is…”what happens when you find a better way to do things while everyone else is too busy to notice.”
In my previous articles about usability testing, I wrote about ways for businesses and organizations to perform their own usability testing with minimal cost, time, and difficulty. One of the great online features that make this possible is LiveStream.com with Procaster. No, this is not a paid endorsement. We were just so thrilled with LiveStream’s service when we did our last usability test that I had to share.
This is a guest post by Daniel Burk, 4th grade teacher at Grace Lutheran School in Lancaster, CA. I am…