New Ministry IT Yahoo Group Announced!

At one of today's Ministry IT Summit sessions (a three-day conference for church and ministry IT people held in conjunction with the National CLA Conference we announced a new Ministry IT Yahoo Group where members (membership is free!) can pose questions and solutions to help our ministries accomplish their goal of building The Kingdom. Please join! The more; the better!

A New Breed: The Church IT Director

Just as technology is always changing, the way churches are managing their data networks is also changing. While many church networks are still being ultimately overseen by the business administrator or CFO, more and more churches are hiring IT Directors from industry, and it’s impacting churches nationwide!

Some Perspective
The discussion topics on computers in churches has changed over the years. In the mid 1980s it was, “Why would a church want a computer?” In the early 1990s it was, “What’s the internet?” Now it’s, “Can server virtualization really save us money and work for us?”

Church networks are growing in complexity as ministerial staffs are realizing the value of a solid system that empowers ministry. Along with the growth in computer system complexity has come the position in larger churches of IT Director. Though many churches and ministries still utilize part-time positions and volunteers to help maintain their systems, the IT Director usually oversees the network administration team and often many other technology areas too.

Some Surprises!
As I spend time with many Church IT Directors, I've observed a few things, some of which caught me by surprise!

• Budgets. Though there never seems to be enough to do what needs to be done in the local church, those that have grown to see the importance of well-deployed and supported technology are willing to appropriately resource their IT teams. They are hiring vendors and buying hardware more in line with what is done in secular organizations, and their ministerial teams are often able to accomplish more as a result.
• Independence. Many Church IT Directors, having come from industry, are not aware of some of the resources available to them. For instance, at a recent gathering of Church IT Directors we asked and were surprised to learn:
• Many were not aware of some of the journals tailored to help them in their ministry.
• Hardly any had ever been to a user group sponsored by their church management system (CMS) provider.
• Many were unaware of companies like Consistent Computer Bargains, who sell shrink-wrap software at a significant discount to churches (not just Microsoft software, but most software!)
• Negotiated discounts by companies like mine (www.mbsinc.com) for Dell Computers.
  

We found that many were researching solutions on the internet; finding some, and missing others. Some began blogging and are building a neat grassroots network to share information on what they’re learning with others similarly tasked.

Two Challenges
I see two challenges regarding this new breed. One is for providers of services, and one is for Church IT Directors.

• Providers of Services. Those of us who serve churches and ministries in the technology field need to find ways to communicate with this new breed.
• Many don’t prefer reading magazines, which means we need to blog more about solutions we offer and use RSS and similar technologies to reach them.
• We also need to reach out to them in meaningful ways to bring them into our user group meetings and other gatherings. Once there, we need to facilitate their needs and we need to ask for their input. They have funding and a mandate to meet staff’s needs, and they will change solution providers if they don’t perceive that their ministry’s needs are being met.
• Church IT Directors. There are a bunch of resources you haven’t tapped into yet, and many are driven by their sense of call to help you empower your teams.
• Recognize that a lot of information is available in journals, like this one, that’s worth reading! Magazines need to generate revenue just like everyone else in our society, and most do it primarily through advertisements. Don’t shun the valuable information these ministry-specific journals have just to avoid ads... read them!
• Over the last twenty years I've seen many churches and ministries change solutions for the wrong reasons. Whether it’s hardware, software, or a vendor, many changes take place that were unnecessary and cost the churches and ministries a lot in funding and momentum. Get to know your solution providers! Go to CMS user groups and meet with their executive, programming, and support teams. You may be surprised at their vision for The Kingdom and desire to meet your growing needs. You may even find they already have ways to meet your needs you didn't know about!
  

Yes, church and ministry technology has grown more complex as we've embraced technology’s power and harnessed it. That process, which will only increase in speed, has brought us the Church IT Director, and we’re glad to have him or her aboard! Keeping our eye on the mission, lets work together to go beyond our comfort zone and serve our ministries better. At the end of the race, let’s both endeavor to hear God’s “Well done!”

April IT Roundtable Notice!

If you're in ministry, and responsible for IT, there's a roundtable gathering in a few weeks worth attending! It's in Dallas on April 21st, and is part of the Christian Management Association Annual Conference! Email me for details on how you can go to the CMA Conference and attend this roundtable at a steep discount!

Faith in Action!

Props to Dean Lisenby who shared the following YouTube... it's worth watching!

Spring CITRT Roundtable & ministryTECH Success!

It was great to gather with 160 or so IT guys and gals who care about the effective use of technology in churches last week! Kudos to Terrell Sanders and his team for putting together a great two-day conference and to Jason Powell and his team for another great Roundtable!

Some of my highlights were--

• Visiting with friends and colleagues from around the country
• Great bumper music and fun videos
• Great keynotes and workshops
• Awesome facilities
• Lots of food!
• Buffalo wings hot enough to melt the polar ice caps

If you're not already considering it, plan on attending the Fall Roundtable in October!

Easter in SecondLife

I'm not usually a big Easter service fan. There are lots of folks who only come on Easter and Christmas (I call them two-timers), and so it's hard to find a parking spot, and it's hard to find a seat. I'm glad they're there, and pray they choose to commit to letting Jesus be the Lord of their life... but I'd rather avoid the hassle.

Well, I went to Easter service at our home church, and it was great! I'm glad I went (which I almost always do because it's important to my wife). But this year that service was my second of the day!

Virtual Worship is Real Worship!
Second Life is an online virtual world, and I've been researching it for the last couple of months. It's an interesting concept that isn't entirely new. Though I've found there's a very dark side to Second Life, I've also found opportunities to be salt and light, and to share the truth about God.

Easter morning I logged in to Second Life before getting ready for church. I knew there were some churches there, and I wanted to see what kind of Easter events were going on. Here's what I found:

• I searched for churches, 129 locations were found.
• Of those 129, twelve were real churches that were Christian (there were many satanic, new age, and cultic churches, as well as some wedding chapels).
• Of the twelve Christian churches, seven were Catholic and five were Protestant.
• Of the five Protestant, four were evangelistic.

LifeChurch.TV
Since I know some involved in LifeChurch.TV, I decided to attend their service. I was in a virtual worship center with about thirty others and enjoyed a streamed video service presented nicely on three screens. It was good worship time, and the message was good! It was inviting to the unsaved in every aspect.

I think many in the room were Christians, but many were not. It's great that some were there who may have been touched for the gospel for the first time, or were encouraged to come closer in their faith journey. I'm sure there were also many who have fallen away from the faith, and were encouraged to come close again.

When I went to our church's Easter service, I was surprised that I was already in a worshipful mindset-- more than usual, and certainly more than I usually am fighting the Easter crowds! I attributed it to the worship time I enjoyed at LifeChurch.TV.

Proceed with Caution
Like most media-oriented technology, Second Life has been latched onto by the enemy to tear people further away from God. It can be a bad place for people. The same has been true for videos, DVDs, etc. But there is definitely ministry happening there, and hopefully some real life people are being reached for Jesus.

Irving Sylvia, A Saint with Clay Feet

My wife's dad, Irving Sylvia, is nearing the end of his life. He's the last of our parents to cross the finish line, and he has finished well. Irving, as he has allowed me to call him, is a far-from-perfect man through whom untold numbers of people's lives have been changed for the good. Like any man, he has had his rough times, but he has always returned to the One who calls us each to be the absolute best we can possibly be.

The Early Years
Irving met and married Mary Anne in his college days at Seattle Pacific University. While walking in a cemetery, he asked her to be his wife. How fitting that he asked her there, since their lives would affect the eternity of so many!

They married and headed off to the Middle East where they felt God had called them to reach a little-known people group in Baluchistan. These people lived in an area that spanned across Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan-- not a very welcoming region for Christian missionaries! So they went as tentmaker missionaries; not sponsored by any large missionary organization, and fully self-supporting.

Family Life
While serving in the region they had six kids: Paul, Ruth, Sarah, Dave, Jim, and Grace. Paul died when only six months old from spinal meningitis. When Grace, my wife, was only six months old, they returned to the U.S.A. After returning to the U.S., God gave them a seventh child, Jon.

They purchased a home in Great Neck, New York-- on the west end of Long Island-- and lived there until their kids were all adults. Ruth and Sarah settled in Colorado, Dave in Florida, and Jim, Grace, and Jon in California (Jon eventually moved to New Hampshire). So, as the TV song goes, 'they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverley'… well, actually to Alta Dena, and then to Fountain Valley. But they knew where God had called them, and so they also spent a lot of time back in their beloved Baluchistan.

Clay Feet
While in New York, Irving's struggles with his humanity overcame him. Though he never told me so, I think his struggle may have had to do with the frustration of feeling called to a high purpose-- reaching an unchurched people group with the Good News that Jesus made a way for each to have a relationship with the loving God who created them-- yet not being able to live in a way that is equal to the calling. In his frustration, he turned to what became his thorn in the flesh: drinking.

The family went through some very hard times as Irving struggled with his demons. But, as I said earlier, he eventually found peace and victory and returned to his life's work.

First Impressions
If God allows, Irving will be 82 next month. I first met him 23 years ago, when he was just a little older than I am. I was impressed with how articulate he was in his speech, and gracious in his manner. As I grew to know him over the years, I saw his clay feet as he struggled at times. But I saw something in him that I appreciated so much. I saw in him what might be a kindred spirit with that of the Apostle Paul. In fact, knowing Irving helped me get a sense of what it might have been like to have known Paul.

Irving was driven by a single-minded purpose: that of reaching the Baloch people. As I got to know his wife and kids, I had the sense that at times they felt they were second in line in his love to these people. I'll bet that's the way many who knew Paul felt, since he was so focused on reaching the lost and establishing churches.

Where Irving and Mary Anne ministered, there was no Christian church presence… until they came. They worked with the people they were trying to reach, and were willing to sacrifice whatever cost was necessary to accomplish that which God had set before them. And they truly loved those they met and partnered with while serving there.

Family, Phase II
The Lord took Mary Anne home nearly seven years ago. She went as she had always hoped-- suddenly and painlessly-- when a blood clot took her life. Six months later Irving married a friend from their Baluchistan days who was a dear friend to both he and Mary Anne. Betty had lost her husband, Christy, to cancer a couple of years earlier. Grace remarked after visiting her home, "It was like walking in to Mom and Dad's home! She has the same rugs and knick knacks. It's kind of weird!"

Betty and Christy served God in the same region of the world as Irving and Mary Anne for many years. The four of them were close friends.

Irving and Betty have been sweet to watch these past six years. They shared the same vision for what God wanted to do through their lives, and continued to reach out and minister to the Baloch. Watching Irving being taken from her by cancer has been tough. She told Grace, "I wasn't ready to lose him yet."

St. Irving
Irving qualifies in my book as a great man. He's not a perfect man (but then there was only one of those!). He's not been a perfect father either. But he's done his best, asked forgiveness when he failed, and corrected his path when needed. He deeply loves his kids and their kids-- and even their kids' kids! I'm glad I've known him, beyond the obvious reason that without him my wife wouldn't have been born. I'm glad I've known him because he's modeled what it means to be an imperfect man who wants to do all he can to serve the Lord. And, in so doing, he has impacted the lives of many, many people. Including mine. I will miss you, Irving.

Update
Irving passed away on March 4, 2008, and memorial services were held on March 8th & 9th. Many family members and friends attended the services to honor Irving. I was honored that the family insisted in reprinting this blog in the memorial service program! I was also privileged to serve the family by putting together a slide show of pictures of Irving's life. If you'd like to see it (10-1/2 minutes long), it's available on YouTube. Unfortunately, due to copyright issues the YouTube version is without music.