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Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #4 More Connected – Less Geographically Dependent When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will be more connected and less geographically dependent. The increased abilities of technology along with increased utilization within the church will facilitate many changes, including: Most congregations will move from being identified primarily by a physical presence (e.g., church campus that includes one or more buildings) to Read More …
I have spent a considerable amount of time studying the landscape of American Christianity since the 1950s. Any time I make a presentation on the topic, people always ask about the future. In order to more fully answer those questions I devised a list of changes I believe to be most likely. The original list was created in 2006, before I entered the blogosphere. When I revised the list and turned it into a "top ten" in 2009, I published it on my blog. In light of significant changes Read More …
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently released its first systematic look at associate pastors in an 88 page report "Associate Pastors in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." The comprehensive report is based on a 2011 survey of associate pastors and a 2008 & 2009 survey of key leaders. The survey found associate pastors spent an average of 11 hours a week "emailing, text messaging, or using the Internet" in their personal lives. Professionally, these pastors used differing Read More …
Tech entrepreneur Daniel Gulati suggests "technology skills will be crucial for future employment prospects" in his recent post on the Harvard Business Review's Blog Network. Over the last fifteen years internet users have grown from 70 million to 2.2 billion, and the ability to use technology has become a necessary skill at all levels of employment. To help everyone attain and retain proficiency as a technologist, Gulati provides five recommendations: Be an end user Know the Read More …
Based on the number of unique hits, the following are my top 11 posts in 2011 Best Church Logos Contemporvant Worship: Too Close To Reality? Review of Not a Fan Preferred Frequency for Communion / Lord's Supper / Eucharist Managing the Social Network Map The Influence of Technology The Presbyterian (PCUSA) Church is Deathly Ill Review of The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything The UCC, General Synod, and the Trinity The Acceptable Year of the Lord - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Read More …
Yesterday I received an e-mail request to complete an Alumni Survey. The survey, sent by the university from which I received my doctoral degree, is a standard instrument provided by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). The survey included a significant number of questions related to the usefulness of coursework for my current position and my overall experience. Since I now work full-time in higher education, I found many of the questions intriguing, especially those about Read More …
Kelly Walsh, Chief Information Officer at the College of Westchester and seasoned IT professional, recently updated his list of ten internet technologies about which educators should be informed. Walsh's current list has changed dramatically, including only five items from his original list. The new list, in order, follows: video and podcasting resources, digital presentation tools, collaboration and brainstorming tools, blogs and blogging, social networking tools, lecture capture, Read More …
Educause, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, recently released their 2011 report on undergraduate students and technology. The associated infographic provides a visual overview of the findings divided into the following categories: institutions, instructors, software and hardware. Since yesterday was Black Friday and Cyber Monday is coming soon, I was drawn to the section on Read More …
Vince Marotte is the internet pastor at Gateway Church in Austin, Texas and author of Context & Voice. Recently he wrote an article for Church Marketing Sucks about his observations of a communication gap in church life. More specifically, Marotte is particularly concerned with two issues: Too many pastors lack the basic abilities to use modern communication tools and in turn have to rely on other people, which is inefficient at best and irresponsible at worst. Too many tech Read More …
"The Family and Technology Report" is one of the Barna Group's latest publications. The report is based on research conducted in partnership with Orange, which is part of the reThink Group. "The innovative study included nationwide interviews among parents and 11- to 17-year-olds from the same households, allowing comparisons between the parents and the tweens and teenagers who reside in the same home." Recently, Church Juice's Jerod Clark discussed the study's five findings and provided a Read More …
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