The rate of change in the America culture is often far more rapid than within the American church. The church, however, must proactively and strategically consider and act to enable it to live into its purpose now and in the future. I created a Top 10 List of the changes I believe will be most helpful over the next several years. I revisit and revise the list often. The latest revision follows: Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 10. Read More …
Trends
Review of The Social Media Bible (#0018)
Safko, Lon and Brake, David K. The Social Media Bible. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009. ISBN: 978-0-470-41155-1. Meet the Authors Lon Safko is an innovator and professional speaker with more than twenty years experience in entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, strategic partnering, and e-commerce. He is the founder of eight sucessful companies, including Paper Models, Inc. and LonSafko.com. David K. Brake is the CEO and founder of Content Connections, a company that uses Read More …
Review of Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day (#0017)
Evans, Dave. Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008. ISBN: 978-0-470-34402-6. Meet the Author Dave Evans is a social media expert whose passion is tapping the power of the social web and applying it to business. In 1994, Dave cofounded Digital Voodoo, which provides strategic marketing services for clients wanting to tap the power of the social web. In 2005, he cofounded HearThis.com, a podcasting service firm focused on social media Read More …
Review of The New Influencers (#0016)
Gillin, Paul. The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media. Quill Driver Books, 2009. ISBN: 9781884956942. Meet the Author Paul Gillin has been reporting on the impact of technology and media for the past twenty-five years. He is the author of Secrets of Social Media Marketing (2008). Currently, Gillin advises marketing executives and CEOs on how to turn the new social media to their advantage. For more information visit his blog or business. Book Read More …
Review of The New Rules of Marketing & PR (#0015)
Scott, David Meerman. The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009. ISBN: 978-0-470-37928-8. Meet the Author David Scott Meerman is an award-winning marketing strategist, best-selling author, conference speaker and seminar leader who is best known for writing this book: The New Rules of Marketing & PR (published first in 2007, then updated in Read More …
Review of Flickering Pixels (#0014)
Hipps, Shane. Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith. Zondervan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-310-29321-7. Meet the Author Shane Hipps is a pastor with a unique perspective on technology and media. In his first career he was a strategic planner in advertising. Shane walked away from that profession and entered seminary when he realized he was spending his life perpetuating the consumer culture that was inconsistent with his beliefs. Since 2005, he has served as Read More …
Ministry and Modern Technology (#0013)
In the July/August edition of Collide, Stephen Presley writes a thought provoking article: A Biblical Definition of Ministry in a Technological Age. Presley defines ministry as "a personal commission from God that labors toward the reconciliation of others to Christ through the gospel." He suggests it includes both personal and interpersonal elements, but that while it involves people its purpose is communicating the gospel. As technology continues to change and is utilized Read More …
Review of Who Stole my Church? (#0011)
MacDonald, Gordon. Who Stole my Church? What to do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century. Thomas Nelson, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-8499-2153-7. Meet the Author Gordon MacDonald is a well respected pastor, teacher, and author. In thirty-five years of pastoral ministry, MacDonald's served five congregations. He has been an adjunct professor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary for many years and is also a sought after speaker. Read More …
Review of Quitting Church (#0006)
Duin, Julia. Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do about it. Baker Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8010-6823-2. Meet the Author Julia Duin is the religion editor for the Washington Times. She has a master's degree in religion from Trinity School for Ministry (an Episcopal seminary) and has covered the beat for three decades. Duin has won numerous awards and been nominated twice for a Pulitzer. Book Basics "It's no secret that the percentage Read More …
The Church on Facebook (#0003)
Lenora Rand's article in the June 30, 2009 Christian Century is titled The Church on Facebook: Why we Need Virtual Community. This article helps one consider the role of the online world in creating Christian community. More specifically, what how can facebook be utilized as a resource toward that end. Facebook is a popular social networking site. According to statistics from the site's press room. facebook has: Over 200 million users Over 100 million users who log in at Read More …