Making posting blog entries easier....
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
New blog about our work...
Pat McIntosh, Assistant Director of our Extension Program here at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, has started a new blog about the Extension work. You can find it at mcintoshmissionreport.blogspot.com Check it out and learn more about what we are doing all over the world.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Everyone needs a hobby...
Everyone needs a hobby and mine happens to be photography. With a background as a Graphic Designer, photography keeps me into something creative. Living in Colorado certainly gives me plenty of subject matter. Just for fun I post some photos from time to time just because...I hope you enjoy them.
Elephant shot at Lake Manyara, Tanzania. He is actually standing on two feet! Looks like he is dancing.
Class website and video access
As many of you may know I teach a class at the Bear Valley Bible Institute entitled Ministry Technologies. This year I have posted the class syllabus and assignments on a website for the students to access (http://web.mac.com/ministrytech). Why is that important to you you may be asking? There is a link on the site to view streaming video of this class! Now you can watch over 20 hours of Logos software training on your computer and learn hands-on. Just follow the link and enjoy the class. Be sure to let me know what you think.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
I know, I know...it has been a long time.
One of my students just pointed out that it has been awhile since I posted anything here. There is no doubt that he was right, but is has not been for lack of desire. Things have gotten a bit busy this year and it seems that the projects just keep piling up. It is my hope to start posting on a more regular basis.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Wow...It's amazing how fast time gets away
I cannot believe that I have not posted anything since January. I am going to commit to getting back in the groove right away. Preparing for my mission trip to Africa at the end of March kept me pretty busy as well as teaching classes...I hope to do better as there are so many things to talk about.
The Africa trip was awesome and was a quick reminder that technology is not everywhere yet. I visited an Internet Cafe (shown here) in Arusha, Tanzania only to find that their computers were running Windows 98 on dial-up connections. Not quite what we expect here in the States. Regardless of the technology hassles - the trip was a great blessing and I cannot wait to go back again.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Significant percentage of online teens use social networks....
More than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites, according to a new national survey of teenagers conducted by the Pew Internet American Life Project.
The report goes on to say:
...older teens, particularly girls, are more
likely to use these sites. For girls, social networking sites are
primarily places to reinforce pre-existing friendships; for boys, the
networks also provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends.
Tens of millions of these teenagers are using these sites and a significant number of parents don't even know what these sites are or why they have such an attraction to our nation's young people. As parents we need to educate ourselves to what is going on on the Internet.
You can read more of this report here.
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Thursday, November 23, 2006
Podcast users on the rise...number of podcasts available increases too
A recent Pew Internet Life survey reports that the number of people who have downloaded podcasts for later listening has risen to 12%. That figure is up from 7% earlier this year. While the report also shows that only 1% download podcasts on a daily basis that shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Many podcasts don't even produce episodes daily. While 12% may not seem like much, with 600 million current U.S. Internet users, that amounts to approximately 72 million users. That is certainly nothing to sneeze at!
The report also states that the number of podcasts available to Internet users has exploded in the last two years. In 2004, Podcast Alley, a popular podcast directory website listed fewer than 1000 podcasts available for download. That same directory now lists over 26,000 different podcasts, representing over 1 million episodes in November of 2006.
Churches need to consider how they can use this tool to tap into a wider audience for delivering audio files online. The Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver currently podcasts chapel sermons and presentations through the BVBID Chapelcast. You can subscribe free to this podcast through Apple's iTunes (also free) or get more information from the Institute's website. The Bear Valley church of Christ Sermoncast is just beginning to podcasts their sermons and some Bible classes and the Parker church of Christ in Parker, CO. has a good selection of episodes available as well. You can find others through the iTunes Store within the iTunes software. Remember that subscribing to these podcasts is absolutely FREE!
Monday, November 20, 2006
Some interesting stats to ponder...
I found some interesting statistics recently in an article by Walt Wilson in Christian Computer Magazine. The article is entitled, "Web 2.0 - The Second Generation Revolution is Underway" and talks mostly about the new revival of web start-ups and technologies. The interesting part to me, is the stats at the end of the article. The stats were acquired from Facts and Faith Newsletter.
- 27% of ALL U.S. churches make no use of the Internet
- 12% of Protestant pastors never use the Internet
- 94% of church websites are inwardly focused
- Only 46% of churches provide staff e-mail
- Only 23% of churches make use of e-mail prayer chains
- Only 18% have an e-mail newsletter
- Only 2% of U.S. churches offer a way to donate online
- 0% report using social networking software
While some of these numbers shouldn't completely surprise anyone - they should open our eyes to the opportunity to make use of these tools. We need to understand the generation that is coming behind us and reach out with the technology available.
I thought the most interesting stat was that "94% of church websites are inward focused" - that needs to change. The church is about reaching out - we need to be thinking about getting the gospel to others as must as posting a notice on when the next potluck is.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Area preachers exposed to new tools...
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of Denver area preachers about technologies that can be used in ministry. They wanted to know about what we are doing at the Bear Valley Bible Institute with our Chapelcast podcast. That gave me the opportunity to talk about a number of things. I introduced them to the idea of setting up blogs and how blogging could be used by minisers and preachers. We discussed RSS feed readers (like bloglines and newsgator) and how these can be used to subscribe to content and more efficiently gather information from websites and blogs.
While a number of these concepts and technologies were very new to them, I was very excited about their reaction. A number of people asked if I was going to podcast the presentation and as much as I hate to admit it....we didn't tape it!! I know, dumb move. I may try to go back and screencast it to make it available later though. I had a number of preachers ask if I could come talk to their elderships or members about this stuff. I definitely saw a spark. Please pray that this word can be spread and that more and more preachers will see the value of using these technologies to help their congregations spread God word and grow themselves.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Logos Tip: Finding Frequently Used Words in the Text
As part of a new class I am going to be teaching, I am experimenting with screencasting. The enclosed movie is a screencast tutorial of how to use the Vocabulary List feature within Logos Bible Software 3.0 to find frequently used words within a book. Let me know what you think. I would like to do alot more of these in the future.
You may need to hit F11 in your browser to view the full screen.
Finding frequently used words... (Flash video)
Have fun.
Monday, November 06, 2006
New class offers new skills...
New class offers new skills
I am very excited about a new class that I am going to be teaching at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver starting in mid-November. We are going to begin a class that we are calling “Ministry Technologies” to our seniors this year. This class will deal with various digital tools and technologies to deepen Bible Study, preaching and teaching, and improve outreach and communication.
Students will be taught to go deeper in their Bible study and research using the Libronix Digital Library System. This software has amazing new tools for examining the text and digging into the original languages in ways never before possible. These new electronic libraries contain hundreds of books, are completely portable (actually they are stored right in the student’s laptop computers) and can be searched in seconds. Research and textual studies that used to take hours or even days with paper books can now be done in minutes. This time savings can be put into making sermons and Bible classes more applicable and powerful.
In addition to Bible study and research skills, the students will be learning how to preach and teach using PowerPoint. This tool has been gaining ground over the last few years, with more and more preachers using it. But making the change from verbal communication skills to visual communication skills can be a challenge. We will help the students use imagery and presentations to reinforce the message rather than distract from the message. This skill can help members connect with the lessons by involving more senses and promotes active rather than passive listening.
New technologies to improve outreach will be examined in detail as students are exposed to website strategies as well as potential ministry uses for blogging and podcasting. These new tools are easier than ever to use and we are excited to be able to provide the students with hands-on experience with these powerful technologies.
I will be posting more about this class and these technologies in the near future. Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Technology in Ministry
Technology in Ministry
Technology touches our lives in more and more impacting ways everyday. Our lives are filled with gizmos and gadgets that were only figments of our imaginations 20 years ago. It seems as if everything has a computer in it these days. Our cars, our refrigerators and even our toasters have all become “smart” with the use of microchips and circuit boards. Dick Tracy’s futuristic two way video wrist radio seems almost like a child’s toy compared to today’s cell phones that do everything but brush your teeth for you. (If you don’t know who Dick Tracy is just ask the nearest person over 50, they can fill you in!) Just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, we seem to have awakened in a whole new landscape. For some, this new world is frightening and intimidating, to others it is challenging and exciting, to still others (especially those under 30) it just seems perfectly normal. One thing is certain however, things have changed forever. Technology is here and it is not going away. Simply look around and it is easy to see that just like Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore.
And yet while this flood of technology sweeps through our lives there is one segment in which technology seems noticeably absent – the church. I mean let’s face it; the terms “technology” and the “church” are not exactly synonymous. We are not what you would call “early adopters” when it comes to integrating technology into the Lord’s work. Oh sure, more and more preachers are starting to use PowerPoint to assist with sermon delivery, but even that has been adopted slowly in most places. Now, before I get email about this let me state, very emphatically, that just because we have technology does not require us to use technology in the church. There is no command from the Lord to use PowerPoint or websites or any other technology for that matter. But while there is no requirement to use technology, we should ask ourselves if there is a way to leverage these tools to the glory of God. It seems to me that there is a stewardship issue involved here. Jesus said to whom much is given, much is required (Matthew 13:12). Clearly we have been given much…what are we going to do with it?
Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us “And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.” While it is true that the church no longer has apostles and prophets in living form, we do have evangelists, pastors (shepherds), and teachers (and preachers). Throughout this series of articles I would like to present ways in which each of these groups can and should use technology in their ministry for the Lord. We will explore ways in which technology can assist us in “equipping the saints for the work of service” as well as for the “building up of the body of Christ.” We will discuss tools and techniques that can help us evangelize, shepherd, teach and preach in ways that were not possible just a few years ago.
While technology certainly has its benefits in some areas, there are certain myths that need to be “busted” before we can proceed effectively:
Myth #1 – There are not enough people using technology to make it worth the effort and expense.
Admittedly, I hear this argument most often from people that are over 65 that don’t have email (or even a computer) themselves. While it is true that not every person on the planet has Internet access and e-mail, the number of people that do is staggering. Recent surveys show that by the end of 2004 the world-wide Internet community reached over 938 million users and is projected to reach 1.21 billion users by the end of 2006 (Population Explosion). A Neilson/NetRatings report in 2004 reported that 75% of US households now have Internet access. An April 2006 study showed Internet use increasing in all age groups; 32% of 65 and older, 71% of 50-64 year-olds, 84% of 30-49 year-olds, and 88% of 18-29 year-olds now go online. But one of the most interesting items in this report showed that 87% of 12-17 year-olds go online regularly.
Surprisingly, access for women (81.7%) and men (80.2%) in the 35 to 54 age group is almost a dead heat and this age group tops all other age brackets. The Web has become the “new normal” in the American way of life; those who don’t go online constitute an ever-shrinking minority. Even in under developed countries, Internet cafes and public Internet access is becoming more and more available.
Not only do millions of people have access to the Internet, they are using it to seek God. A Pew Internet report, from April of 2004, showed that 64% of Americans with Internet access have used it for spiritual or religious purposes. According to a June 2003 report from the same organization, 3.8 million people search the Internet for information on God and religion EVERY DAY! People are using technology to look for answers about God and we, as the Lord’s church, should be there to help them. The fields are indeed white for the harvest – we need to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send reapers out into the fields.
Myth #2 - Technology is too expensive for a small church like ours
While this myth was somewhat true a number of years ago, times have changed dramatically. Most congregations can build and maintain a website on the Internet for less than $300 a year and reach tens of thousands. David Sargent, preacher at the Creekwood church of Christ in Mobile, Alabama (www.creekwoodcc.org) has developed an evangelistic email tool called Living Water. This email relates a common story with the importance of the gospel message and ALWAYS includes the plan of salvation in the conclusion. This program was started about 4 years ago and Living Water is now being emailed to over 30,000 people each week in 115 countries. With traditional paper mailing, the postage alone for this project would cost over $5000 every week (not to mention printing costs), but by delivering this through email the cost is almost nothing - literally. Think about this – Living Water reaches 1,560,000 people each year with the plan of salvation with a total annual cost of less than $300. Technology makes outreach like this affordable.
Myth #3 – A website is a great way to let people know where we are and what time we worship – it is good advertising.
When you really consider the reach and scope of the Internet audience, this type of thinking can kill you before you even get started. Clearly, people in your local community will look to your website for this type of information, but they will no doubt make up the minority of people that actually visit your site. Think about it. Does a person from New York City, or London, or Shanghai really care where your building is located or what time services start? Your website needs to give them something more. Jesus gave us the charge to “go and teach.” That is our commission. You have an opportunity to share the gospel through teaching the truth. Make sure that your website contains the information people need to come to knowledge of the truth! Where you are and when you worship will become secondary. In future articles I will discuss at length how to address both the local and the global audience effectively, but in the mean time ask yourself why anyone would make a second trip to your website. If the answer is that they probably wouldn’t then you have some changes to make.
Myth #4 – Technology will revitalize our struggling congregation
While it is true that new projects can create new activity within a congregation, we must be realistic. Even those of us that advocate using technology in the church must realize that technology is not some magic bullet to turn around a lagging church. Technology will not save a struggling or dying church. Strong, spiritual leaders with committed, growing Christians is what is needed for the church to thrive. Technology can be a wonderful tool and a powerful ally in the effort to build the kingdom, but it cannot make people with little spirituality, spiritual.
Technology certainly isn’t the end all and be all of doing ministry work, but we have these tools available to us – we should look at how best to use them. Certainly, the all knowing God of heaven foresaw this age that we live in. We have tools today to truly fulfill the great commission and go into all the world. Even small churches can have a tremendous influence by using these tools effectively. But as with anything else, new skills need to be developed and new thinking needs to be encouraged. Stay tuned as we discuss some of these new and exciting opportunities to expand and strengthen the kingdom of our Lord.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Summer is finally here...
Well, we have finally finished our school year at the Bear Valley Bible Institute. Things have been very hectic over the last few weeks working up to graduation, but we made. I realize that I have posted much lately, but I hope to catch up over the summer. Here are some tidbits to get started:
Permission Evangelism Seminar
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of conducting a seminar on "Permission Evangelism" at the Lakeside church of Christ in Colorado Springs, CO. This is a topic that I will talking much more about in the coming weeks. I am very excited about this concept and look forward to discussing it more. This concept helps churches develop relationships with people over time - rather than simply trying a "one shot" attempt to get people into the Bible. This process can even make door knocking more productive! Look for more posts on this topic very soon.
The New Logos Bible Software
I have been using the new version of the Logos Bible Software (I guess it would be more correct to call it Libronix) and I must say that I am stunned! Often times new software versions are a disappointment, but let be tell you this is one that will blow you away. There are so many new features and reports that getting deeper into the text is a breeze. The new Reverse Interlinears (ESV and NRSV only at this point) are very helpful and the new Bible Word Study report is astounding in the depth it provides. I wish I had time to talk about all the cool new features, but I don't. I will say however that if you are currently not using software to help you study the Bible, now is the time to consider it. If you are a preacher or Bible teacher, Logos can save you dozens of hours in sermon prep time and digging into research for classes. I really cannot say enough good things about this software...check it out.
New podcasting planned for the fall
I am in the process of planning new podcasting for the Bear Valley Bible Insitute by the fall. It is my hope that we will be able to make more content available from an archive of old tapes we have stored. In addition to the current podcasts we offer, we will be doing some "blast from the past" podcasts that may include sermons from past instructors and staff (i.e., Roy Lanier, Sr., Roy Lanier, Jr., Roy Baker, Monroe Tharp, etc...). If you are not currently listening to our podcasts you can find them through Apple's iTunes (it is free and avaiable for both Macs and PCs) or visit our blog. For instructions on how to get our podcasts click here.
I am also planning to begin podcasting sermons and selected classes from the Bear Valley church of Christ once our new preacher arrives. We are very excited that Neal Pollard has accepted the position as our new preacher. He and his wife Kathy and their children should be joining us soon. Neal has served as the pulpit preacher for the Cold Harbor Road church of Christ, in Mechanicsville, VA for the past 12 years. We look forward to providing these podcasts very soon.
Check back soon for more...
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Using PowerPoint Effectively - Part One
PowerPoint continues to become a more important tool in preaching. The Barna Group reports that 6 out of 10 Protestant congregations today use projection. While it still may not be quite that prevelent in the Lord's church, it is an up and coming tool no doubt. The greatest problem facing preachers in using this new tool is that they have never been trained in visual presentation. They may be great speakers and know God's word hands down, but when they step into the area of presenting those ideas visually they falter. Let's admit it....there is some really BAD PowerPoint going on out there! Bad presentations disctract the audience and sometimes even the preacher.
Last year, at the Bear Valley Bible Institute Homecoming Lectures I presented a 3-part series on "Using PowerPoint Effectively." These files are available through podcast from the Bear Valley site, but I am re-podcasting them here for convenience.
I would appreciate any feedback that you would like to give on this subject. While this can be a powerful tool for presenting the Gospel, we need to learn new skills to do it well. I hope that you find these presentations helpful.
Using PowerPoint Effectively - Part 1 (originally podcast in Sept 2005)
Using PowerPoint Effectively - Part 2
Using PowerPoint Effectively - Part 3
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Logos Bible software tip: Creating hyperlinks to Logos in MS Word
Imagine being able to link any word in your MS Word document to any resource in your electronic library. You can! For example, you are writing notes or a research paper of the Greek word for love (agape) and you find the article in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT) particularly useful in your study. You could just copy and paste parts of the article into your notes but why not include access to the entire article using a hyperlink? This functionality is available through an often overlooked addin for Logos called Power Tools.
The Power Tools addin is freely available to Logos users. This addin adds some very cool functionality and features such as; Fuzzy Search, Quick Navigation (Now a standard part of version 3), Stacked Tabbed Windows (very useful ), Copy Location to Clipboard and others.
How to Get the Addin
Power Tools Addin is available free for download at any time. To install it, connect to the Internet, open Libronix and click Tools Libronix Update. When Libronix Update opens, click the arrow next to Optional and select Power Tools Addin and Power Tools Addin Help. Click Update.
Creating the Hyperlinks in Word
To create hyperlinks in MS Word documents you need to focus on the Copy Location to Clipboard feature of the Power Tools addin. Based on our example, navigate your resource to the TDNT article on "agape" and select Copy Location to Clipboard from the Bookmarks menu (it appears in the Favorites menu in version 3). Now select the text in the MS Word document for the hyperlink. Select Insert Hyperlink from the Insert menu and paste (Ctl-V) into the Address box. This places the location in the hyperlink. Don’t be alarmed at the strange looking entry. You text will now appear with the blue underline to show the hyperlink. Now when you click on the hyperlink in your Word document, Logos will start and open TDNT to the exact page you want. Try it.
Logos Bible software tip: Smart Tags for MS Word
If you are a Logos Bible software user and you use MS Word there is a tool that you should know about. MS Word 2002 or higher utilizes “Smart Tags” as a way of identifying types of text such as phone numbers, zip codes, dates, etc… and then allows a user to perform various actions on it. Logos has an add-in that makes use of these tags to link your Word documents with your electronic Bibles. Logos Smart Tags identify Bible verses when they are typed and allow you to perform various actions on the verse entered. For example, if you type: Gen 1:1 you can then choose to open your Logos Bible to that reference or even replace the text you typed with the actual verse text from your Logos software. This can be a very powerful combination of tools while doing any writing that includes Bible texts and references. You can download the Logos Smart Tags from the Logos site at http://www.logos.com/support/article/530. This tool has saved me hours of time and is worth the download – by the way….did I mention it was FREE! Check it out.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Studying God's Word in the Beauty of His Creation...
I just came back from 3 days in Durango, CO where I attended the annual Workshop in the Word. This workshop is put on by Guy Orbison, Jr. and Denny Petrillo and is held in the mountains about 30 miles north of Durango. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to study God’s word! Brother Orbison is the preacher at the Durango church of Christ and runs an Intern Program there that focuses on exegesis. Denny Petrillo is the President of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. Both of these men are outstanding exegetes and preachers. This year’s study was 1 Timothy and it was outstanding! This year ninety-seven men from eleven states attended the workshop (a new record). If you want to dig deeper into the text, this is a workshop that you really need to consider attending.
