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2May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
Founder & Editor-in-ChiefSteve Hewitt - [email protected]
Managing EditorKevin Cross - [email protected]
Contributing EditorsYvon Prehn Nick Nicholaou Kevin A. Purcell Russ McGuireMichael L White
Copy EditorsGina HewittMagen Cross
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Christian Computing® is a registered trademark of Christian Computing, Inc. Written materials submitted to Christian Computing® Magazine become the property of Christian Computing®, Inc. upon receipt and may not necessarily be re-turned. Christian Computing® Magazine reserves the right to make any changes to materials sub-mitted for publication that are deemed necessary for editorial purposes. The content of this publi-cation may not be copied in any way, shape or form without the express permission of Christian Computing®, Inc. Views expressed in the articles and reviews printed within are not necessarily the views of the editor, publisher, or employees of Christian Computing® Magazine, or Christian Computing, Inc.
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Applying Tomorrow’s Technology to Today’s MinistryVolume 26 May 2014 No. 5
4 cover storyBlueFire Donation servicessimpliFieD GivinG For christianorGanizations By steve hewitt
3 eDitorial How “Smart” Do You Really Want the Devices in your Life and Home? Steve Hewitt - [email protected]
8 protecteD with purpose There is strength in length: The importance of passwords By Steven Sundermeier12 church winDows soFtware Church Computer Networking Basics - Small Area Networks for a Typical Church By John Faught 13 special Feature Which CMS is Right for Your Church? By Cynthia Terpstra
17 hiGher power with Kevin Building a Digital Bible Study Library Kevin A. Purcell – [email protected] the power anD the DanGer Voice over WiFi By: Russ McGuire - [email protected] 26 DiGital evanGelism Digital Evangelism through Digital Book Publishing By: Michael White29 ministry communication How to Communicate Financial Information to Your Church Yvon Prehn - [email protected] nicK at church Common Church IT Mistakes (Part 1) Nick Nicholaou - [email protected]
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 3
Steve Hewitt - [email protected]
from new “holes” hackers find and exploit. While I expect Microsoft, Adobe, Java and Apple to in-form me of security issues and provide updates, can I expect the same from the company that sold me my “smart” front door lock? Does the age of my “smart” devices make me more vulnerable to some-one freely opening my front or garage door whenev-er they wish? What damage could be done, or what advantage might be gained from hackers accessing my smart refrigerator, thermostat, TV or stereo?
When people refer to the future as “a brave new world”, they might not be kidding about the need to be brave. I love technology and how it provides comfort, convenience and keeps me connected, but I think there needs to be a growing concern about how all of this will impact our privacy and security down the road. Am I ready to give up my “smart” front door lock or my FitBit? Not at this time. But keep-ing up with the latest devices and discarding those that become a potential hazard may become a new part of our lives as we seek to protect ourselves and our loved ones from growing security issues!
Together We Serve Him,
Steve [email protected]
editorial
How “Smart” Do You Really Want the Devices in your Life and Home?
It seems that everything is going “smart”, and is connected and networked to everything else. I can now open or close the deadbolt lock on my front door at my home using an app on my smart phone. People can now do the same with their garage doors, adjust the temperature using a “smart” thermostat, or track where their daughter has taken the family car the previous night using apps. New wearable “smart” devices are able to count the steps you take each day, and track and map where you have walked. And, using social media apps, we can share with the world where we had lunch and with whom we ate. And more and more new “smart” devices are coming on the market every day. Sounds like a good thing. Right?
Personally I have to admit I use and love many of the devices, apps and examples I just shared. However, there is a growing concern. It seems that for every new “smart” device that comes on the market, your privacy is in greater danger as is your security. After all, if Netflix can hack into a FitBit, does this mean that hackers can do the same? (Netf-lix announced they hacked into a FitBit to determine if they could offer a new service. Since the FitBit could determine inactivity, Netflix explored the idea of stopping a movie for their customers IF it was determined that the customer had fallen asleep.) Do I want a hacker to tell where I am and/or if I am inactive or asleep?
Who might benefit from knowing where I go, where I eat, watch, read, purchase, etc. And, all technology seems to require updates to protect us
4May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
IIf your church or ministry isn’t set up for online giving, you are making a mistake. I know that some are concerned when they hear stories about commercial security breaches such as happened to
Target, but large corporations like Target are, well, a target. Every day, millions if not billions of financial transactions take place and are secure, and frankly, electronic finances is how we do things today. I discovered another donation service that is seeking to provide quality secure online donation services to the faith based community and thought you would enjoy learning more about them. I interviewed Eric Bigoness with BlueFire! Enjoy
BlueFire Donation Services
By Steve Hewitt
to augment their own services or even use BlueFire as their own.
How often do you work with non-profit and faith-based organizations who aren’t taking donations at all? Are they usually switching, or just starting out?
We get a healthy mix of both. I’m going to take this opportunity to say to organizations not currently taking donations that you are losing money every day you don’t have online donations in place. Whether
cover story
Can you explain what BlueFire does and who you work with?
BlueFire is a donation service that helps organi-zations accept electronic donations both online and in-person. We work with non-profit and for-profit organizations of all types. I’d say that most Christian organizations sign up with us because we provide an end-to-end online giving solution. All you need to provide is a donor and a simple website… we do absolutely everything else. We also work with com-panies, developers and entrepreneurs who are looking
Simple Generosity for Christian Organizations
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 5
it’s with BlueFire or someone else, get online giving up and running! I’m only kidding about it being with someone else, though. But the truth is that our culture is changing and more and more people go online to perform financial transactions.
What makes BlueFire the right choice, or why should an organization switch to using BlueFire?
Three reasons. First off, organizations love our low price – if you’re spending more than 3% at the end of the year on credit and debit card donations, all fees included, we’ll cost less. And we’re always 1% on e-checks/ACH. I know that must be hard to believe, but it’s true: we agree on a flat rate with each customer for credit and debit cards, and it’s never more than 3% and we will never charge a single fee – no annual fee, monthly fee, transaction fee… none.
Secondly, we’ve taken away all the roadblocks our industry is known for.
We make it really, really easy for donors to give – even recurring donations don’t need any type of registration – and we offer continuity of branding for the organization, plus fantastic reports, support, and helpful features, like asking the donor if they want to cover the 3% transaction cost if they use a card. It’s such a tiny feature, but it can really make a differ-ence!
A lot of payment gateways take the donor away from the branded site, then back. We keep brand-ing continuous. The experience of a sudden shift in branding can actually stop a donor from giving — it can be confusing — so we let you personalize the
experience.Speed is extremely important to us, too. We’re fo-
cused on making the donation process as simple and fast as possible, so after an organization is approved for an account with us (which is usually same-day), they can create an online giving form and get it set up
on their site in just a few minutes. And a donor can complete a donation in less time than that.
The third reason we’re the right choice is that we’re a complete end-to-end solution, cutting out two middlemen who usually take out a chunk of your donations. BlueFire’s sister company, HaloPays, is a payment service provider, a PSP. Because HaloPays has gone through all the work to actually be a PSP, not just serve as a sales office to a credit card proces-sor like most of our competitors, HaloPays is in total control of pricing. That’s how we have been able to get rid of that laundry list of fees most payment gate-ways slap on every month or once a year.
I know you’ve got a lot of great features, but this zero-extra-fee offer is pretty exciting.
Yes, it’s a whole new pricing system for the industry. Pricing is so tricky – people think they’re getting a nice rate, but at the end of the year, all fees taken into consideration, it’s two or three times that rate, really – so this puts pressure on other providers to change or lose business. We’re happy to do free statement evaluations to figure out how much you’re really paying by the end of the year.
What makes you appealing to software providers, affiliates or even resellers?
We have some great relationships with service providers who are looking to add a donation system to their own products. I’d say that our strongest sell-ing points are our simple pricing and the fact that we’re a bundled, customizable solution.
6May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
Since they know we’re always 3% or less on cards and 1% on e-checks/ACH, with absolutely no extra fees ever, they can set really clear pricing to their customers.
Bundling is really key, too, because we’re a com-plete giving solution that can be white labeled. We work with plenty of website designers and developers who throw their name on it, integrate with our API, charge a little more for their own value-added ser-vices, and get a referral fee from BlueFire and Halo-Pays. If we’ve white-labeled our system, we make sure that our reseller’s clients never know we’re running the system behind the scenes.
How did you end up in the faith industry? Are you more into the tech side of things, or the faith aspect?
I’d say both. I was a youth pastor for a couple years in Los Angeles, at First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, which I helped take online donations, by the way. I went to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasa-dena for my Masters in Divinity.
I also have an electrical engi-neering degree, and I was a hard-ware designer for an aerospace company, plus I did web develop-ment for many years when I was in seminary. BlueFire is a perfect mix of all my background experience, and both the technical detail and the greater cause are important to me. I have a passion in ministry and I see that my gifts in web development and engineering have given me a great opportunity to use technology for the church.
At BlueFire, we talk a lot about
how there’s no reason churches should lag behind in technology. You know, giving doesn’t have to be hard. And to be honest, technology is at its best when you don’t even notice it — when it fades to the
background and what’s really import comes into focus. That’s why we continuously strive to make electronic giving simple. From online giving, to mobile giving, and even to kiosk giv-ing, I think we should remove the fric-tion and let people give in they way they’d like to — let’s not make people use checks to give if they use their debit cards for everything else.
What are some of BlueFire’s high-er-tech features you’re proud of?
I guess this is the right publica-tion to get into it! This isn’t the most exciting thing to talk about, but we take security to a paranoid level, so our customers don’t have to worry. We’re com-pletely obsessed with fraud preven-tion, and we’ve never had a breach in our entire five years in business. Although now I’m knocking on some wood.
We have our own iPhone and iPad apps with an optional card swiper, and those are really popular. We have swipe solutions for on-premise giving with a laptop. We even offer the ability to integrate your own organization’s app or text giving. Donors can get to our giving forms through a QR code, too; that’s a
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 7
nice, relatively new feature.Recurring donors can manage their cards through
email links, or our clients can update donors’ recur-ring billing information for expiring cards from their
admin area. Someone from the church or ministry can just get the new expiration date for the card without taking the full number, too, and that’s a big bonus. I love that we were able to add all of those features.
We’re a reliable, small team, and we care. It’s nice to have a team that actually cares about your
online giving, and we do. We always listen, and we work hard to get in features that our customers ask for. It feels good to let someone know that we heard them and we made their request happen. We don’t
need to do those things – we know we offer more at a lower price, so we don’t really lose customers – but we want to make to our customer’s experience a good one. That’s incredibly important to us.
Honestly, I’m so proud of BlueFire. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished already, and I’m excited to help more organizations keep as much of their donations as possible. And the fact that I can combine all of my passions into this one service — I feel truly blessed because of that.
To contact BlueFire, email Eric at [email protected] or call (877) 712-BLUE.
8May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
There is Strength in Length: The Importance of Passwords
By: Steven Sundermeier
protected with purpose
If you live anywhere in the midwest and grew weary of the bitter cold weather we experienced at length this Winter, you’re probably like me and are soaking up the warmer temperatures,
the appearance of beautiful flowers and the smell of freshly cut green grass. Dare I say it: Winter may finally be behind us. No longer trapped inside, my wife and I decided that our first spring project would be to clean our garage out (thoroughly). This would mark the first time in ten years. (yikes!). Anyone who has done a serious garage clean out or a closet clean out or a basement clean out understands how hard it is to fight the urge to hold on to everything. I suppose there is a level of comfort in holding on to things “just-in-case” or “just because.”
Like our garage cleanout, Spring and early Summer are often the times when outdoor projects get accomplished. The projects may seem daunt-ing at first but when completed, they are also very rewarding. As I marveled at our clean garage (“It’s brand new!” said our 3-year old), I began to think about the digital world. Like me, so many people are lining up their Spring and Summer outdoor projects, and we should also consider investing
time this Spring to do an ‘online cleanout’ of sorts. The cleanout I am suggesting relates specifi-
cally to cleaningout (deleting) all of our current computer passwords and changing them to new and stronger ones. With all of the eye opening news surrounding the Heartbleed security flaw last month, there is no better time than (right!) now to start this online project. And while it may be easier and provide a level of routine for you to simply
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 9
hold on to your existing passwords, I strongly urge you to fight that urge (complacency!) because there is great reward and security in accomplishing this task.
Regardless of the scope of the project, it is also best if you know where to begin and hopefully the information below will assist you in getting started creating and maintaining new passwords.
Avoid common passwords. Commonly used 1. passwords include, “123456”, “password”, “111111”, “qwerty”, “abc123”, “iloveyou”, “admin”, “123123”, “monkey” and “sun-shine”. According to a recent study, it is reported that the 100 most commonly pass-words make up over 60% of all passwords. Don’t kid yourself; cybercriminals are fully aware of our lazy practices.Steer clear of personal passwords. When 2. creating passwords avoid passwords that are based solely on personal information about yourself or your family and that can be seen readily online on your blog, social network-ing site (ie. Facebook), etc. For example, if you post a picture on Facebook of your new puppy “bernie”, I suggest that you do not change your password(s) to “bernie”.Take the extra time to create a strong pass-3. word. strength of a password is measured by a combination of its length and complex-ity (mixing in numbers, letters, capitals, symbols, etc.). And believe it or not, length plays a bigger role in password strength than complexity. Passwords should be at least 8 characters in length but 12 characters or more should be the norm (I’m serious!). Also, don’t use one word passwords. Be-lieve it or not, 90% of passwords used by all of us today are considered weak.Get creative when arriving at passwords. I 4. feel that individuality can make creating strong and easy-to-remember passwords enjoyable, especially when sharing the importance of strong passwords with small children and even young adults. For ex-ample, my oldest son really enjoys playing Mario Kart on his DS. If he used a pass-word like “mariokart”, it wouldn’t pass any of the tips I listed above. But, what if we got creative and established a password like “Mari0K&rtS3v3n4DS”. Something he
10May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
could be trained to remember (do not under-estimate a child’s capacity to retain informa-tion!) based on something he enjoys and yet we have also established a strong password.
Given the tips and suggestions above for creat-
ing passwords, below are some tips on how to keep your passwords secure. Most of them may be seen as “common sense” but research proves that they are not being practiced.
Don’t share your passwords with others. A 1. good rule of thumb may be to treat your password like your house key. It’s prob-ably best not to share your house key with all your neighbors and friends at school and work.Never text, email or post your passwords 2. online. Any time you share your passwords in this fashion you are essentially allowing full public access to your account informa-tion. Using the example above, it would be similar to leaving your front door wide open when you leave home or go on vacation.Change your passwords regularly. The hard 3. truth is that no password is truly secure. Simply consider the discovered Heartbleed flaw. You also have the human element (socially-engineered schemes, phishing at-tack victims, etc.).Use different passwords for different sites 4. and activities. As the saying goes, don’t to put all your eggs in one basket. The same can be said in relation to passwords—do not use the same one for everything. It’s easy (lazy) but can cost your dearly. If you hap-pen to get tricked into sharing or entering a password or an e-commerce site falls prey
to hacking, you will not have all of your various accounts exploited if you have various passwords.
While I referenced this as a Spring project, changing your online passwords must happen more than once a Year. A better suggestion may be to change them as often as we do our bed sheets. This may have varying time spans, depending on if you are in college, living alone, or running a home,
but all the same—you get my point. I know that there is an amount of work in
keeping up with new passwords, but it’s worth it! Getting hacked stinks! (To put in mildly.) When night falls, most of us lock our car doors, deadbolt our front door and shut the garage. Why wouldn’t we take the time to complete a few routine steps in order to keep our online affairs private and secure as well? Make it fun and use capitals, symbols and numbers. Set an alarm on your phone for once a week, month, or season. Any increase in switching them up and making them stronger is a bonus to your personal online safety.
The funny thing about this practice (changing your passwords) is that you already know the rules and how it can benefit you. Just to be sure, let’s take a small quiz in honor of the school year wrap-ping up soon:
When I create my next password, I will (a) Seek a group consensus from my closet friends (b) Use my new baby daughter’s name, which I have just introduced to the Facebook world (c) Make it easy on myself and go with my usual go to “password” password or (d) Establish a creative combination of numbers, letters, and symbols that would be at least 12 characters long, and would be most likely known only to me.
If you said “D”, you are correct. I know most of you are correct in understanding this principle, and it is time now to begin our Spring Cleaning of passwords. Like any Spring project, you will feel great when it’s finished, and this project may just save your bank account, credit card or social media outlet from being compromised. Happy Cleaning!
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 11
Church Computer Networking BasicsSmall Area Networks for a Typical Church
Internal NetworkingTo provide connectivity between all the com-
puters in your church or small office, the comput-ers of the internal network must be connected to each other. To connect home or small office com-puters together, each computer must have a net-work adapter or device that connects the computer to the network; this device is commonly installed by default today.
Networking TechnologiesYou also have two types of networking tech-
nology, sometimes referred to as the LAN (Local
Area Network) media, which enables your com-puters to send information to each other. The most common networking technologies used for home networking include: Ethernet or Wireless. Many networks can use a combination of wired and wireless.
Ethernet is the most common and most reli-able. Being hardwired you get a constant speed and solid connection.
Wireless is more often found in your local internet coffee shop or homes or places where hav-ing lots of cables everywhere makes little sense. Wireless is an radio signal that can go up or down
church windows softwareCHU
RCH W
IND
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To effectively use your computers as tools in your ministry, collaboration and sharing information such as documents or databases is essential. By networking your computers, you
reduce workflow time and you increase efficiency. Having a local network is very common today and is not as daunting, once you are familiar with a few terms.
By John Faught
12May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
CHURCH WINDOWS DESKTOP & WEB contain integrated:
The Church is people!
You’ve been calledto minister tothe people ofyour church.
Let Church Windowsmanage theinformation
so you canminister
to your people.
or even drop from time to time since it is a remote signal. Also the speed can increase and decrease based on that signal strength.
Host/Server and Residential Gateways
Most small networks will have a single computer act as a Host or Server connected to a Residential Gateway. Residential gateways are also known as Internet gateways or broadband routers. Switches connect systems together but generally have no internet ac-cess, they just make the con-nections. Routers/switches create an overlay network that allows more than one computer to share information or connect to the internet, collect emails or share IM (instant messaging) or video online.
Network SecurityMost systems and routers
come with Firewall protection that protect against incoming attempts to access or do harm from the outside world but it’s always important to also install Antivirus or Malware protec-tion software when connected to a network. Also having user passwords and the changing of passwords from time to time can be advantageous to protect a network.
The Wrap-UpLocal networks can help
us all be more effective as we pursue the mission of our ministries. Knowing these few basics can help to put the pieces together.
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 13
Which CMS is Right for Your Church?
By Cynthia Terpstra
Churches have several choices today when it comes to content management systems (CMS). They can choose a low cost CMS for putting together a basic website with a few simple pages. They can
use a CMS with add-on features such as event management. Or they can use a robust CMS integrated with church management software, check-in solutions and mobile apps. Which CMS is right for your church?
Choosing the right CMS for your church web-site depends on several factors.
Define Your Website’s Purpose Your website is your most valuable online
asset. It speaks volumes about your church. It might say, “We’re growing, we’re relevant, and we care about the impression we make.” Or it can say, “We’re small but we still take the time to look professional.” Hopefully it doesn’t say, “We didn’t give our website much thought, it is managed by volunteers with no experience, and it shows.” Sadly, an astonishing number of church-
es fall into the last category.Before you decide which CMS is right for
your church, clearly define the purpose of your website. There are four basic purposes:
1. Be found 2. Provide information3. Generate interest 4. Create a virtual church experience
You need to have a clear purpose in mind for your website to understand which CMS is best suited to your needs.
special feature
14May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
Decide Who Will Manage Your Website
This is one of the most impor-tant decisions you can make. Your website is a marketing tool. It should be managed by an experi-enced digital marketing profession-al. Just because nearly anyone can put together a basic website using free templates available from host-ing companies doesn’t mean they will put together a good website.
What experience does the person have with websites? They might be excellent at writing content but have no real website administration ex-perience. Conversely, they might be good with the technical aspects of putting together a website but have no experience with creating content that engages visitors and gets found by search engines. Again, just be-cause someone is capable of putting together a basic website, doesn’t mean it is a good website.
Choose a Content Management System
Let’s look at the two most popu-lar choices for churches: church website CMS and WordPress
A church website CMS is de-signed specifically to address the unique requirements of churches. A good church website CMS should be fairly simple to use, include stan-dard templates or allow for custom design, integrate with your church database, and include features such as a media center and an event man-agement tool.
WordPress is an open source blogging and website CMS. It is based on themes and a plug-in software architecture. Numerous designers sell templates for Word-Press sites; these templates vary greatly in terms of functionality and ease of use.
There are a lot of factors to consider when comparing a church
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 15
website CMS to WordPress:
1. HostingWhereas most church website CMS providers
host the website on their servers, organizations using the WordPress CMS need to select a host-ing company for their website. Important hosting features to compare include routine site backup, security, data storage, number of emails, number of domains and subdomains included, and support. Prices vary from provider to provider so it is im-portant to compare apples-to-apples and research the reputation of the hosting company.
2. SecurityWebsites are constantly under attack from
groups that want to inject the site with malware, steal personal information, or both. Sadly, too many people fail to take security seriously. Be-sides the basics of having secure passwords, website administrators need to understand security vulnerabilities of their site and how to safeguard against them. You need to protect your data AND your members’ data. One of the reasons websites based on open source CMS such as WordPress are under constant attack is because users fail to implement proper security measures. Of course, even experienced site administrators can become victims of aggressive hackers, but you need to think very carefully about who will set up your website and manage it.
3. Software UpdatesWho is responsible for software updates? Se-
curity threats often necessitate software updates. New features or changes to existing ones also require software updates. A church website CMS provider is responsible for updates. If you use an open source CMS, you have to track updates and decide whether or not to implement them. Be-cause many of the templates and plugins used for open source sites are free or low cost, you are de-pending on the programmer to update the template or plugin each time the CMS updates. You have no way of knowing how a software update will affect the template or other plugins you are using. This is where reputation and experience really matter. Sometimes an update is seamless. Some-times your site stops working until you figure out which software update caused the issue. How ex-perienced are you at managing software updates?
16May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
4. Content and FeaturesWhat do you want your website to include?
You need to look at this from two perspectives: what your site visitors will see and what you will have access to in the CMS (in other words, what’s under the hood?).
Typical church website features for site visi-tors include an events calendar, media library, online giving, staff blogs, links to the church’s social media sites, and the ability for visitors to share content from the church’s website to their personal social networks.
The ease of setting all this up on the backend depends on the CMS, the template and plugins used if open-source CMS, and the experience of the website administrator. A good church website CMS also allows for integration with church man-agement software, mass communications, check-in solutions and mobile apps.
5. Training and SupportTraining for setting up your church website
comes in several forms: personal training, docu-mentation, and video libraries. What type of
initial and ongoing training do you and your staff require? If personal training with Q&A sessions are required for your church, than make sure that option is available when purchasing a church web-site CMS. An open source CMS such as Word-Press does not include personal training.
What type of support is available for resolving issues? How quickly can you expect an answer? Who is providing the support – the CMS provider, the hosting company, the template provider, or the plugin provider? Who has ownership for resolv-ing the issue?
Need help deciding which church website CMS is right for your church? Get a free trial.
Originally published on Elexio’s blog.
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 17
Kevin A. Purcell - [email protected]
Building a Digital Bible Study Library
higher power with kevin
My son attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC for a few semesters and the school’s president, Danny Aiken, always told his students that when
he visits a pastor, he always asks to see the pastor’s library. If he doesn’t have at least four sets of commentaries he considers the pas-tor’s library inadequate. I went to the same school and graduated 16 years earlier and at the time then President Paige Patterson said a stu-dent should graduate with at least 2,000 theological volumes. Any-thing less means the person’s not serious about their studies.
Here’s the rub. Judging a person’s physical book library is unfair in this age. My physical book library is grossly inadequate by either standard mentioned above. However, I’d put my digital library up against most total libraries since I own multiple copies of five or six modern commentary sets and a slew of public domain commentaries in various Bible soft-ware programs. In one program I’ve got almost a dozen sets.
I’m not bragging, but proving a point. Today, a digital library is more important than a physical library, cheaper in some cases and easier to manage and use in all cases.
Most of our readers can’t build a library as large as I’ve got since a third of it was given to me as part of a reviewer’s package. However, over my twenty-five years of ministry I’ve invested thousands of dollars in both physical and digital books. I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned about how to build a good digital theological library without spending more money than you should.
Focus on One Software Program That’s Cross-platform
While some of us own many software programs, for those getting started, pick a cross-platform pack-
18May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
age that includes the ability to grow a large library. That leaves us with a small list of programs.
Cross-platform means it runs on more than one operating system. Ideally, a good modern software package will run on at least four operating systems. This includes…
Microsoft Windows1. Apple Mac OS X2. Google’s Android mobile operating system3. Apple’s iOS mobile operating system found 4. on iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
These four Operating Systems will let Digital Bible Student use their library on the vast major-ity of computers, tablets and smartphones available today. Windows and OS X run on computers. Gone are the days of one platform working better than the other. Apple fans used to brag that their platform ran with more stability while Windows users bragged that people can find more software available for Windows than Mac. Today, people can buy awesome and feature-complete Bible software for both Mac or Windows PC and each operating system runs with few problems. I’ve used both extensively and they’re equal in quality and stability. There are more Win-dows Bible programs, but the programs that let users build a large library all run on both operating sys-tems, either natively or through stable virtualization software that makes the Windows programs seem like Mac programs.
More Digital Bible Students opt for a tablet as their primary computer and pull out a smartphone running iOS or Android to do some quick reading while waiting for a meeting, sitting in the car as they wait to pick up a family member, or at lunch.
Search the word “Bible” in the Google Play Store for Android and the Apple App Store for iOS and us-
ers will discover dozens of great Bible apps that run on phones and tablets. The vast majority of these only let users read the Bible, share them on social networks and occa-sionally add the ability to look up words in an English or sometimes Greek/Hebrew dictionary. How-ever, a handful will help Digital Bible Students do some serious exegesis while on the go.
The most popular devices that let users do mobile Bible study include the iPhone, iPad Air and
iPad mini with Retina Display. These cost anywhere from $99 (with a two-year contract from AT&T, Ve-rizon or Sprint to name a few carriers) for the iPhone 5C up to almost a $1,000 for the largest capacity iPad Air with wireless LTE capability. On the Android side most people carry a phone from Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola or Google. The most popular phones cost as little as free (with a two-year contract from AT&T, Verizon or Sprint to name a few carriers) or as much as $800. Samsung makes the Samung Galaxy S5 and earlier versions and the Samsung Galaxy Note which includes a very accurate stylus. On the tablet side they make tablets that run as small as 7-inches on up to 12-inches and almost every one-inch increment between. The Galaxy Tab series and the Galaxy Not are like the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note phones only they’re tablets. The other most popular tablet comes from Google in the form of the Google Nexus 7. They maker a bigger Nexus 10 as well, but it didn’t sell as well. Google also sells the Google Nexus 5 phone. My favorite phone is the HTC One M8, a great almost all metal phone with an beautiful screen, excellent speakers, fast processor and decent camera. Finally, there’s the Motorola Moto X, Moto G and now a budget Moto E. These phones don’t add too much extra cruft on top of Android making them pure and simple.
Some people ask which mobile OS works better. iOS may seems simpler at first so new users might want to start out with an iPhone or iPad. However, as someone gets more advanced in their understanding of smartphones and tablets, the ability to customize the Android experience more aggressively will sat-isfy the tinkerer’s hunger to tweak. That’s something iOS doesn’t give us.
Some users might complain that I don’t include Microsoft’s Windows Phone or Google’s ChromeOS.
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 19
The Windows Phone market grows bigger, but don’t expect great Bible apps on the platform till it gains at least 10-20 percent market share, which may never occur.
ChromeOS runs the Chrome browser as it’s OS and works great with online Bible study sites like MyStudybBible.com (http://mystudybible.com), Faithlife online library from Logos (http://bible.faith-life.com), Bible Gateway (http://biblegateway.com) or other cool online sites. However, none of these do as much as a full-fledged Bible program running on a computer. Even the best mobile apps will offer more advanced study functions that these online sites. That’s why I can’t recommend ChromeOS for Bible study use yet. They’re great second computers, but for serious Digital Bible Study, they’re not yet ready for primetime.
The apps and programs that I know of that meet the above requirements of running on cross-platforms, offering advanced study tools and a large library include the following:
Logos Bible Software• (http://www.logos.com)WORDsearch Bible• (http://www.wordsearch-bible.com)Olive Tree Bible• (http://www.olivetree.com)Laridian PocketBible• (http://www.laridian.com)
The last one is currently developing a version for Mac OS X. We expect to see it some time later this year. Two more that run on all but Android include:
Accordance• (http://www.accordancebible.com)e-Sword• (http://www.e-sword.com)
Before you say you need an app that runs on Windows since you use a Mac or on Mac because you will always use Windows,
remember that I used to be a Windows fan-boy. I told people that I’d never use a Mac because of how expensive they are and because Apple was so arro-gant. I’m typing this on a MacBook Pro. Never say, “Never!” Take out some insurance against the future and start investing in a cross-platform program.
People who make Bible software need to con-sider the trends and start hiring programmers that can port their package to the other platforms or get left behind. Even better make a great online version that a user can run on any platform without need of one specific operating system.
20May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
Buy a Base PackageStart with a base package. This will cost more
at the beginning, but in the long run gives the user more books at a cheaper price per book. Also, con-sider upgrading to a higher-level base package. It will include books or commentaries that you will want in your library. You will pay more up front but save by buying a base package.
Here’s an example of how this can save you some money. Let’s say I own the Best Bible Software Alpha Package (made up name) which I bought for $99.99 on sale down from $129.99. It includes $500
worth of books if I bought them separately. Then I look at their available commentaries and I see the Purcell Trustworthy Commentary (also made up, but should be published) for $149.99. It’s known as the best set of commentaries on the market and I really want to buy it. However, I also see that the Best Bible Software Delta package includes the set and I can upgrade from the Alpha set for $299.95. Along with that I also get a bunch of other books, atlases and few other amazing features like the One-button Sermon Writer Tool which exports a complete and incred-ibly insightful sermon in 30 seconds that’s worthy of
preaching at my denomination’s annual meeting and is guaranteed to produce 30 baptismal candidate every time I preach it (also made up but should be invented). I can either get just the commentary set for $150 or get the complete col-lection plus the cool new wizbang features for $300. For those who can afford the extra expense and when you see that the extra ex-pense adds some great books and tools, this is a no-brainer.
While my silly examples don’t exist, the concept does. Look at the books in the upgrade packages and make the leap in jumps, not steps, to save some money in the long run.
Wait for Sales or Give AwaysThis seems obvious, but pick
a platform and then repeatedly look to their website or follow the company’s Twitter, Facebook or Google+ accounts for sales. Some of the popular programs give away a book each month or every Friday. They announce these through so-cial media, blogs and on their front page. Some of them even include small ads in the software, which may seem annoying but can help us get some good books for a steep discount or sometimes free.
I’ve added dozens of books to my various programs and apps us-ing the each company’s discounts.
Also, look at Amazon, which
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gives away many public domain books for free and offers sales on book that users can buy often for a buck or two. They won’t work in your Bible program, but you can still use them digitally in the Amazon Kindle reader apps for mobile devices or computers or even the Cloud Reader available in a browser.
Don’t Buy More than You NeedAfter all of this advice on how to add books,
lets take a step back and consider good stewardship. I’ve purchased books just because the company that makes my favorite tool offers steep discounts. Now that I own them, I seldom use them.
Getting back to Dr. Danny Aken’s advice about four good commentary sets, remember that most students of the Bible will only use that many at the most. The best practices for inductive Bible study leads us to discover the Bible on our own. Use the search capabilities in the program. Use the original language tools that help us understand the Greek and Hebrew, often without knowing Greek or Hebrew. Read the passage in multiple translations. Make good observations about what you already know and ask good investigative questions (who, what, where,
when, why, how) and look up answers in references like Bible dictionaries, atlases and Bible handbooks. Only then do you consult commentaries and mainly just to check your own interpretation against the church in general’s theological understanding of the Word.
Doing good inductive Bible study means that we don’t really need to invest in too many digital books. Dr. Danny Aiken at Southeastern collected a great list of the best resources in a little book he gives away to all of his students. Building a Theological Library (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary – http://www.sebts.edu, 2011) will help you figure out what’s the best book to buy in each category. Download the PDF at http://www.danielakin.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Building-a-Theological-Library-Revised-2011-Final.pdf.
In the above work, Aiken categorizes the works in the following categories:
General Reference to the Bible• Categories for both OT & NT•
Introduction and Surveys• History and Background• Archaeology•
22May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
OT or NT Theology• Word Studies• Special Studies• Break down of best books on each book • of the Bible
Biblical Languages• Various categories in Theology, Philosophy • and HermeneuticsEcclesiology• Eschatology• Church History• Ethics• Missions• Evangelism and Church • GrowthPreaching• Counseling• Book on the various duties • of the pastor (counseling, marriage/family, Christian education and leadership)Worship•
Check out the PDF mentioned above and also take a look at http://www.bestcommentaries.com to get recommendations for books to add to your library.
Look for Public Domain Works or Free Books
Some of us think that if it’s not published in the last 50 years, it’s not worth reading. That’s a terrible idea. Most of the great works of the church were published by the great minds in past centuries. Find these online for free at Amazon, on e-Sword or many of the Bible software packages available.
Some of the software programs I’ve listed above will charge for their version of these public domain works because they add value by tagging them and making them easier to search or by adding verse links so that we can hover over a reference in the book and see the verse pop up on screen. Save mon-ey by avoiding these unless such features will be important to you.
Don’t Forget MobileLet me end by saying, “Don’t forget mobile!”
In other words, don’t forget that many of the apps that don’t run on a computer will include free or low priced books that a user can pull up with just a few taps. Search your device’s app store for Bible and you’ll find a ton of apps. Some of them include libraries of public domain books presented in an at-tractive, easy-to-use format.
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May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 23
Comcast has announced plans to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. Following the announcement, rumors began to cir-culate that the combined company may offer voice over WiFi
(VoWiFi) service to compete with mobile operators like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Already, some mobile resellers are offering com-pelling prices for mobile voice and data by leveraging WiFi for most of their customer needs. Even T-Mobile and Sprint are promoting voice over WiFi to improve their customers’ experience deep inside buildings where their cellular networks may not reach.
Voice Over WiFi
By Russ McGuire - [email protected]
Does voice over WiFi represent a significant op-portunity for churches and ministries, or are there hid-den dangers?
What is Voice over WiFi?I’m guessing that all readers of Christian Com-
puting are familiar with Voice over IP (VoIP). At its core, VoIP allows voice calls to be made across In-ternet Protocol networks, including the global public Internet. Consumers, businesses, and ministries have many VoIP providers to choose from, including often your local cable provider, Vonage, and Skype. These
providers have benefited from lower cost networks and more favorable regulatory treatment to be able to pass on meaningful cost savings to customers, espe-cially for international calls.
In simple terms, VoWiFi is VoIP, but with a WiFi connection. While VoIP traditionally uses a com-puter or a home gateway to connect to a broadband network, VoWiFi is primarily accessed using mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. The major VoIP providers have all developed smartphone and tablet apps for VoWiFi calling as an extension of their primary broadband VoIP service, but mobile-specific
the power and the danger
24May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
calling apps have also emerged, including Apple’s FaceTime and Facebook’s Messenger.
The great thing about VoWiFi is that it’s cheap and sometimes even free. The challenge with VoWiFi is that it really only works when you have a strong WiFi signal, without a lot of congestion from other users, and a good broadband connection behind the WiFi network. That may be the case in your home or office. It’s less likely the case in a coffeeshop or restaurant. And it’s rarely the case when you’re walk-ing down the street. Unlike cellular networks, WiFi doesn’t handle transitions between hotspots instantly or smoothly. For data applications, we generally don’t notice the delays and hiccups, but during a VoWiFi call, a handoff can be quite disruptive. There are other issues as well, including how 911 calls are handled. Bottom line, you may not want to rely on VoWiFi as your only mobile voice service.
The new hybrid cellular/VoWiFi services are beginning to address these issues. Republic Wireless is the leader in the field, with a low cost service that uses VoWiFi whenever possible, but switches to cel-lular when WiFi isn’t available. While not free, with calling plans that start at $10 a month, leveraging VoWiFi apparently enables Republic to offer plans
much less expensive than traditional wireless carriers. Apparently folks like the value, as Republic Wire-less was #2 and ahead of the big 4 in PC Magazine’s Reader’s Choice awards earlier this year.
How can Voice over WiFi help churches and min-istries?
All that is fine and dandy, but can VoWiFi actu-ally do anything to help your church or ministry?
Well, as we all know, ministries are often budget constrained. Anything that can help reduce expenses should get our attention, and VoWiFi often does that. Because some foms of VoWiFi are even free, these solutions can also increase the connectivity within our ministries. Especially for folks who are in remote locations domestically or around the world, VoWiFi can be a real blessing. Communications costs are often highest in these locations, meaning that we tend to talk less frequently and in shorter calls. This, of course, can increase the sense of isolation and lack of connection to the rest of the ministry. If VoWiFi can reduce communications expenses AND increase com-munications and connectivity, then it would be a huge win for the ministry.
VoWiFi can also help our smartphones work bet-ter in locations with poor cellular coverage. At the beginning of the cellular age, the U.S. government gave AT&T and Verizon (via their predecessor Bell companies) low frequency spectrum that reaches well into buildings. To get into the business, Sprint and T-Mobile had to buy higher frequency spectrum that less effectively penetrates walls. To overcome this challenge, both companies are leveraging VoWiFi to improve in-building coverage. If your phone doesn’t work well in your home, church, or office, and you have a WiFi network available, VoWiFi might be the solution you need.
What is dangerous about Voice over WiFi?
The greatest danger associated with VoWiFi is that it simply may not work. We assume that our cell-phones will work everywhere, and sometimes assumptions can get us
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May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 25
into trouble. VoWiFi needs a steady and consistent WiFi signal with good throughput to work. If no WiFi, you can’t do VoWiFi. If the WiFi signal comes and goes, then you won’t be able to carry on a conversation with anyone. If the network is congested, or otherwise isn’t providing reason-able connection speeds and latency, then the call quality may be bad enough to be unusable.
Of course, WiFi networks are generally more prone to secu-rity issues than wireline or cellular networks. Most phone calls aren’t worth the trouble of hackers crack-ing into them, but you might con-sider whether the information you are sharing represents a financial or personal risk and then consider the security of your connection. Are you on a public WiFi network, or a secured private network? Does your VoWiFi client encrypt the voice packets before transmitting across the network (most do)?
It is my hope and prayer that these articles on the power and danger of technology will encourage you in your daily walk with Christ. Whether it is the printing press, radio, television, personal computers, the Internet, the Cloud, smartphones, or voice over WiFi, new technologies continue to advance our ability to know God and to serve Him, wher-ever we go. As 1 Peter 4:10 teaches us “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stew-ards of God’s varied grace.”
Russ McGuire is an executive for a Fortune 100 company and the founder/co-founder of three technol-ogy start-ups. His latest entrepre-neurial venture is CXfriends (https://cxfriends.com), a social network for Christian families.
26May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
Whether you’ve ever dreamed of being a published author or not, you should consider this as an avenue for evangelism nonetheless because of its potential to have a far-reaching
impact on souls. Becoming a published author is much more easily done nowadays than at practically any time in the last few hundred years. How so? Well, that’s the subject of this month’s article on digital evangelism.
Michael L White - [email protected]
Digital Evangelism through Digital Book Publishing
digital evangelism
With the dawn of digital printing more than a decade ago has come the wonderful innovations of print on demand (or POD) and electronic books, better known as eBooks. From the physically printed book perspective, POD levels the playing field like never before. No longer is an independent author or publisher required to front thousands of dollars to print hundreds or thousands of copies of a book in order to lower the per copy manufactur-ing cost, because with POD an author or publisher
can print one copy at a time as it sells, thus negat-ing the necessity of storing numerous cases of books in your garage, and the cost remains constant whether you print only one copy or one hundred copies at once. Furthermore, if you don’t want to spend extra money on setup, distribution, printing, and shipping fees, you can forego the POD printed version of your book and publish only an eBook version, although for maximum impact it really is better to produce both versions if feasible. While
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 27
you should still hire a professional editor, interior layout designer, and cover designer to make your book as appealing as you can, producing an eBook doesn’t require some of the other costs that are associated with print books. If you’d like to write a book (even a very short one) to tell your personal story of faith or to instruct others on how to become a Christian and/or live out the Christian faith, then here’s your opportunity to do just that and make it all available to whoever is interested.
Although it can get costly to hire the services of an editor, cover designer, and interior con-tent layout professional to properly prepare your book for public distri-bution and consumption, the bare minimum you should try to get by with is the services of a good edi-tor, since this is the heart of your presentation. Poor grammar, mis-spellings, and other errors tend to be more than just a distraction from the reading experience; they make the author look uneducated and unprofessional, and they greatly detract from the writer’s position as an authority on the subject that he or she is writing about. Still, if you’re going to distribute your book in print, you really can’t scrimp on the cover design and interior layout professionals either, because how your book looks on both the inside and outside matters a great deal to your potential read-ers. While much of our evaluations of these aspects of a book tend to be mostly subconscious, they truly can be the difference between drawing someone in to becoming a reader and putting them off so that they never pick it up again. Thus, a good cover design can attract a po-tential reader to at least look inside your book, but then a good interior layout to your book will prompt the
28May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
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reader to read a paragraph or two from its contents. A well-written and edited narrative will strike the final chord in the reader’s heart and mind that this is a book worth obtaining and reading and maybe even adding to one’s permanent library.
Because I have a passion for helping aspiring Christian authors publish their literary works, I’ve recently written and published a short primer on how to prepare a new manuscript for publication and distribution in both print and eBook formats. My book, A Publishing Panacea: How to Be Your Own Publisher in the Digital Age (released in Janu-ary 2014 by Parson Place Press in both print and eBook editions), goes into a fair amount of detail on how to set up your own publishing company (even if you intend to publish no one’s writings but your own) and prepare your finished manuscript for commercial printing and world-wide distribu-tion in the marketplace. Of course, the hardest part of writing and publishing any book is actually the promotional aspect after the book is released to the public. As hard as it is to write a book and find a publisher for it (or even prepare your book for independent publication – which is not exactly
the same as self-publishing), promoting a book to the public is definitely the greatest challenge any author faces, even if published by a so-called tradi-tional publisher. What most authors don’t realize is that even if they succeed in persuading a traditional publisher to publish their book, the lion’s share of promotional work for their book will still rest upon them even more so than the publisher. This was true even before the POD alternative arrived on the scene, since publishers have always focused the majority of their promotional efforts on their most popular and widely-known authors. It is even truer today than ever.
Digital publishing, whether in print or eBook format, can be a tremendous evangelistic outreach for both individual authors and organizations alike, such as local churches and even parachurch min-istries. The best part about independent publishing for non-profit ministries is that they can keep 100% of the profit to use for more digital publishing and other ministries they sponsor. It truly is a publish-ing panacea.
What a time to be alive! It seems to me like God has saved the greatest inventions for mankind
for the last days when He knew we would need to produce our evangelistic efforts as quickly and economically as possible in order to make the very most of the limited time left until Jesus’ return to rule the earth. So, dust off that manuscript you tried to publish via other publishers and become your own publisher now. Lost and hungry souls are wait-ing, so there’s no time to waste!
Michael L. White is the found-er and Managing Editor of Par-son Place Press, an independent Christian publishing house in Mobile, Alabama. His book Digi-tal Evangelism: You Can Do It, Too! (Parson Place Press, 2011) is available wherever books are sold. Visit his Website at books.parsonplace.com for a list of his other books and articles.
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 29
How to Communicate Financial Information to Your Church
Yvon Prehn - [email protected]
Like any family, the church needs money to take care of its members and to do its job. Most church staffs agree with that, but beyond that, there is often disagreement about how and when to share fi-
nancial information with the rest of the church to get those jobs done. My ministry, Effective Church Communications, recently received an email where the pastor asked if, when, and how it was appropriate to put finan-cial information in the bulletin. I know he wasn’t the only one with this question and following are some thoughts that might be useful.
First let’s define the church bulletinThe exact form of the bulletin isn’t what’s impor-
tant. Bulletins today come in a variety of print formats and many are online or in digital format. Many aren’t even called “bulletins” but something that fits in with the particular culture of a particular church. Though we’ll call this communication “the bulletin” for the sake of this article, what matters is whatever you call the communi-cation piece that you use to regularly communicate with your church, that it does contain financial information.
Why put financial information in the bulletinThere are some churches that don’t do this for a vari-
ety of reasons, but this is a mistake. Here are some of the reasons why it’s important:
Churches need money to function; this is not •something to be ashamed of, but to be treated honestly.The church is a family and every family needs to •know its financial status.If you don’t share, the finances can be seen as a •staff secret and not a shared responsibility. The staff does not have time to individually discuss the financial situation with each person in the congregation.People need to know where the church is finan-•cially so they can give and pray.
What to include in the bulletin, in print, online or both, about finances
ministry communication
30May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
On a weekly basis include:What was given for the past few weeks AND •what was budgeted. It’s also nice to include the sum over and under (saves people trying to figure it out).The reason both numbers are important is that if •you only give what comes in people have no idea if that meets the budget or if it falls short. Num-bers without context don’t mean anything and don’t provide either cause for praise or concern.If you conducted a special offering, also include •the results of that.If you have a special offering coming up, let •people know and what your goals are for it.Have a link to your website where you have year-•to-date totals and other information that might be useful, which I’ll explain more below.
Periodically communicate this financial information:Additional information on Biblical giving overall and
the specifics of how it is practiced in your church can be shared in shortened form in the bulletin, in longer formats on your website, and in the church newsletter. This will help grow your people in biblical giving practices and wise money management. Here are some suggested top-ics:
Provide church giving information, for example, •if you use envelopes, how people can get them. For unchurched visitors this can seem very con-fusing.Church budgeting process—how the church de-•cides how much money is needed each year.Designated fund giving rules—many churches •have rules about what goes into the general fund and what qualifies as designated funds. If this isn’t clear to the congregation, it can cause confu-sion as happened when a church I was working with published in their newsletter a lengthy plea for people to give more to the church because of a serious budget shortfall. In the same newslet-ter there was an article about a huge memorial donation given to the music department for organ repair. Needless to say, the church office got a number of very confused and a few angry inquires the following week. The church contacted me and asked if they should put out an article explaining the difference between the general fund (which was seriously low) and designated giving (which was the source of the memorial donation). My answer: “YES! Do it immediately and explain
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who visits our homes.As with many things in the church, ask for the Lord’s
wisdom and share your financial information “decently and in order” so that He will be pleased and your church will be a good witness to the world of financial integrity.
For more information and training in church commu-nications from Yvon Prehn and Effective Church Commu-nications, go to: http://www.effectivechurchcom.com
the difference in detail!”Biblical teaching on the commands and benefits •of generous giving.Sound financial family resources.•
Design of your communicationThe key characteristics of church financial communi-
cation are that it should be:
Clear•Understated•Tasteful•Consistent•
A simple chart in the same place every week works well. A simple, clear headline, something like “Church Financial Report” is all that is needed. I’ve seen many well-done ones in the bottom corner of a page of the bulletin. However, don’t make it the last page—you don’t want financial needs to be the last thing people see when they are read-ing information about your church.
One more thingThe church bulletin is not the
place to share lengthy pleas for money or to post dramatic appeals.
I will never forget a church bul-letin that said in huge letters across the front:
“Bridge to the future is taking place!
X amount given so far; X to go….
Have you made a pledge yet?”I doubt if anyone visiting the
church for the first time that Sunday would be highly motivated to return. A message like this confirms a fear many people have about churches that all they want is your money.
Critical giving needs and similar information is better communicated in a letter or emails to commit-ted members of the congregation. Again, remember the church is family and we don’t share our entire financial situation with everyone
32May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine
I’ve had the privilege of serving The Church as an IT consultant and strategist for many years. In that role I’ve seen a wide spectrum of how churches approach IT and, as you’d imagine, I’ve seen
patterns of good and of not-so-good approaches. In this series I will cover some of the most common mistakes churches make in this vital area that impacts church ministry.
Nick Nicholaou - [email protected]
Common Church IT Mistakes (Part 1)
nick at church
One of the most common mistakes churches make is grouping together all of the technology disciplines into one “IT Department” and placing someone who is strong in any one of the technology disciplines over all technology for the church. While that can work, there are some typical deficiencies we see in the area of infrastructure if led by someone other than an in-frastructure person.
The Three Disciplines of Church TechnologyReally, there are three different technology knowl-
edge and skill disciplines in most churches, and they are often all thought of as IT (Information Technol-ogy). That’s probably because they all rely heavily on computer technology to do what they each do, and so the assumption is that those involved in each
discipline are equally capable of serving in any of the three areas. But each uses different skills and tools. Those three disciplines are web and graphics design, audio/ video, and data infrastructure.
Web and Graphics Design.• The good folks at Wikipedia describe this discipline as “the art of communication, stylizing, and problem-solving through the use of type, space and image.” People who excel in this area are usually articulate communicators, and are very artistic. They use applications to draw, design, and do layout. They are often good project managers because of the timelines and project complexities involved in their work, but are usually not highly skilled in AV or
May 2014Christian Computing® Magazine 33
data infrastructure (the design and connect-ing of systems to ensure appropriate data flow at all levels). In a recent conversation, Jona-than Smith (Faith Ministries, Lafayette) said social media is often combined with web and graphics design or data infrastructure because people in those disciplines use social medial tools, but observes that it is often a poor fit and is best treated as its own department.Audio/ Video.• AV people are also creative communicators. They specialize in cameras, projector systems, soundboards and systems, and storyboarding. Also good project manag-ers, they can plan the AV elements of a pro-duction from start to finish and make certain all is ready at showtime. The computers used to render videos require a lot of resources, and are often more powerful than some servers! But, like web and graphics, they are usually not highly skilled in the other IT disciplines (web and graphics or data infrastructure).Data Infrastructure.• Infrastructure people are more like engineers than creative types, and are often not great communicators. Their per-sonality tends to drive them towards analysis
and engineering of systems, and their focus is to ensure appropriate throughput of data, whether that data is graphics, video, or data files (like spreadsheets). They tend to focus more on system designs, specs, and configura-tions, and are often not highly skilled in web and graphics or AV.
Which is Best to Oversee IT?I’m an infrastructure guy, so my perspective may
be a bit biased. But here’s what I see at many churches.
When non-infrastructure people oversee IT• , often the strategy doesn’t support the needs of the entire church staff very well. The two reasons are usually because of non-enterprise hardware specs (meaning that the hardware chosen is usually not what corporations would consider appropriate) and an inadequate un-derstanding of infrastructure engineering and strategy.Because the infrastructure discipline is the •basis for all data transfer needs, it is usu-ally the best selection to lead the technology needs of the church. But two areas that are
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usually lacking are relationship and trust of leadership (due to communication styles) and an over-restrictive approach to policies. The result of over-restrictive policies is often that church staff will find ways to work around any restrictions in place.
How Do We Overcome?In large churches these could each be separate
departments. If the church’s technology department is managed as one department, though, there are some things that can be done to improve it regardless of who is leading it.
If the department is led by a non-infrastruc-•ture person, I recommend having a good and trusted infrastructure person in the depart-ment, or having a relationship with a good and trusted infrastructure consultancy. The infra-structure perspective is essential to having a system that works well for all staff.If the department is led by an infrastructure •person, that person needs to spend time get-ting to know the needs of the other two dis-ciplines and making certain their needs are
considered in the system design. They should also spend time with other church staff mem-bers and get to know their needs, and they need a champion at the leadership level.
Communication is KeyMany in data infrastructure struggle with commu-
nication. Jason Powell (Granger Community Church, South Bend), though himself a skilled communicator, says it is helpful to have a great communication skills mentor. In Granger’s case, their IT Department is part of the Communications Department.
David Brown (Capital Christian Center, Sacra-mento) agrees that communication is the key. “The chasm between vision and reality can be filled with jagged rocks. There has to be a bridge-builder who can communicate effectively in both worlds. The tech world can be too black-and-white or binary to communicate effectively to leadership. Being able to navigate necessary IT restrictions, while meeting the goals of leadership, will produce an outcome in which both sides are pleased.”
Who Is The Customer?A closely related topic is identifying who the
department’s customer is. The department must get to know the needs of their customers, which includes all of the users of the system. Designing the system as though making a profit based on the experience of those customers is essential for survival will help en-sure the system is reliable, capable, full-featured, and devoid of unnecessary roadblocks that would cause dissatisfaction.
For-profit business departments don’t usually con-sider this to the extent church technology departments do. Corporate IT is able to dictate to its user com-munity what is and what is not an acceptable use of the system; violators are terminated, plain and simple. Churches don’t operate that way, so building a good customer-driven strategy is the best approach.
Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, an IT con-sulting firm specializing in church and ministry computer networks, VoIP, and private cloud hosted services. You can reach Nick at [email protected], and may want to check out his firm’s website (www.mbsinc.com) and his blog at http://ministry-it.blog-spot.com.
