There’s a powerful metaphor here, and it’s especially powerful because they are using sheep to do this.
But, it honestly begs the question: “Who’s really in control? Are you or is the technology that you’re using?”
If you’re not, then perhaps you should change your strategy (or maybe you should simply get one).
[VIDEO IS BROKEN]
Phil Cooke’s brainfood the other day about “iconoclasts” has gotten me thinking:
The definition of “Iconoclast” is someone who does things other people say can’t be done. He or she is an independent thinker – even when that means going against the crowd. That sounds easy to say, but research shows that with enough social pressure, it’s almost impossible for most people to stand alone in their beliefs, views, and opinions.
Fear is chief dilemma here.
What’s so fascinating is that at The Orange Conference this year I’ve been able to connect, discuss, and hear from what appears to be numerous “iconoclasts.” Unfortunately, none of them are digital ones.
And that vexes me, because the new front to conquer is the web and the ministries and leaders who grasp it, engage it, and aren’t stopped by the fear that so entangles are going to be the ones that take ministry (and the Church) to the next level.
Perhaps most “brick and mortar” iconoclasts aren’t made to be “digital” ones, but I’m not sure that holds true for the vast majority. A healthy does of courage could probably do the trick.
Are you a “digital” iconoclast? Is there a reason that’s stopping you from being the one that you really are?
ChurchRevelance’s Kent Shaffer is moving to LifeChurch.tv where he’ll be volunteering at their central offices.
Here’s the congratulatory post on your move Kent! Wish you the very best and perhaps you can help them with some *ahem* marketing (it’s not like you do that or anything…).
Give Kent some well wishes at his blog announce.
This is a Guest Post by Rodlie Ortiz.
I recently came back from a trip to Europe where I had the opportunity to visit several cities including Rome, one of the great epicenters of church history. As I toured the beauties of the Vatican and surrounding areas, I was struck with a thought: the greatest minds in the world were focused on making church an awesome place to be.
I mean there I was in the Sistine Chapel, beholding the work of the greatest artistic mind of his time (Michelangelo), who painted what some consider to be the greatest work of art ever.
Awesome.
There I was at the Pantheon. The building originally dedicated to all gods by the Romans and later used as a church. It holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome. It exactly as high as it is wide, seemingly no simple feat at that time. Awesome.
I could go on and on, but here’s the point: in antiquity it was the church that was the “backbone of technological innovation,” to apply the words of Klaas Verbeken to a different subject. New technologies and systems were developed so that they could be used to glorify God.
And here we are all those years later. And who is one of the greatest users and innovators of all things techie? The porn industry. Tink betamax vs. vhs, blueray vs. hd-dvd, etc.
Continue Reading…
The new OrangeLeaders.com site launched during the Orange Conference yesterday and it’s slick. @Alliswell provided the design and it’s built on WordPress and powered by BBPress for the boards.
Come check it out. It’s the hawtness.
Advertising works.
Now, to clarify, you could probably argue what “works” means, but the point is that it does, and when done well, especially in the online space, the results can be phenomenal.
But it takes research and a tad bit of strategy. Thankfully, Google is here to help.
Google recently launched their new Google Advertisers Page to help assist businesses make the most of their campaigns. You can develop plans, a strategy, measure, and optimize through the site in an easy to navigate fashion.
If you’re interested in using Google as a channel for your ministry marketing then reading this resource is a big fat “duh.”
Are you using Google for your advertising right now? How’s that working out for you?
Ok. I’ll come clean.
One of the first mistakes when I started my new gig in ministry was I assumed a number of cultural elements that I shouldn’t have.
One of them is the level of “acceptability” with not only the amount of tweets but also the content.
So, as a result, I tweeted “too much” and I tweeted a few things that I was asked to take down.
And it’s not that they were harmful or necessarily negative, but it just wasn’t “what” you did. But, I learned that lesson real quick.
Every ministry has a threshold of “acceptable” in terms of Social Networking use, and even if they aren’t explicit, they exist. It’s a tension that we must come to terms with and express.
Chris Sullivan passed me this great link about how the market place is continually stepping on itself as it attempts to manage the number of social networks and the people who are deeply engaging with them.
And in some circumstances, even when it is for the good of the business, reeling in the tweeters is sometimes necessary. The same thing is happening in ministry and churches as they begin to collide with the information stream of uncontrollable chaos.
Do you know what the “threshold” of acceptable is at your ministry and/or church? Have you “crossed” it?
This is a Guest Post by Conrad Walton.
The biggest hurdle to getting a web site up and running is people. That’s true in the corporate world and in the church world. Technology is easy and fun. Design is easy and fun. Getting people to understand and agree is the hard part.
One of two things usually happens: They either people don’t care at all or they care too much. And sometimes you get really lucky and it’s a combination of both at the same time.
After understanding the much larger hurdle (people) it’s time to tackle the smaller and more practical ones: The first hurdle is to get the site up. Period. Valuable questions at this stage could be “Do we need one?” or “What should it look like?” Answers like the following typically don’t help much: “My daughter’s boyfriend is a web designer and he could do it.” or “We need to have a meeting to review the proposal for the possible implementation of the feasibility study of the budget plan for the design work.”
My personal interpretation is that they simply don’t really care, or they don’t know how to care properly.
My advice: Just do it.
Continue Reading…
This is a Guest Post by Ron Tuffin.
This is a question that all serious bloggers need to think about at some point. Most of the time when we blog, we want to touch people in some way. Career blogs are about teaching people the skills of their profession. Mom blogs connect parents together because of shared experience. Church or Faith-based blogs either promote the faith to non-believers or comfort and encourage believers.
There are many motivations for either consuming or creating content but the point is that you have one (or a few).
Recently I took a hiatus from reading blogs (I managed to squeeze in the time to write for my own). This hiatus was not something I chose to do, it was just that I did not have the time to go through my reader on a daily basis, and even when I did get some time, I could in no way read everything that came to my attention.
So when I had 10 minuets to read something I went to the blogs that where most engaging, right? The blogs that demanded my attention and my action were the ones that I went too first, right? The silly frivolous posts about a night with friends in a jacuzzi were skipped in favor of the more serious posts, right?
Nope.
Think Orange, a new book by the founder of The reThink Group, Reggie Joiner, is not even out and yet we’ve got an autographed copy to giveaway to one lucky commenter.
Sweet!
If you’re headed to The Orange Conference (and you win) I can give it to you right there on the spot.
If not, we’ll just mail it to you!
All you’ve gotta do is comment below and tell me why you’re “thinking orange” these days.
Ready? Go.
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