Ccmag2008 02

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Founder & Editor-in-Chief Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com VP of Operations Michael Hewitt - mike@ccmag.com
Applying Tomorrows Technology to Todays Ministry

Volume 20 Februagy 2008 No. 2
Contributing Editors Dr. J.D. Doc Watson, Terry Wilhite, Yvon Prehn, Nick Nicholaou, Walt Wilson, Jim Vanduzer Kevin A. Purcell, Ross Gile, Donald Stratton, Ben Woelk Copy Editor Gina Hewitt Corporate Home Office
Mailing address: Delivery address: PO Box 319 Belton MO 64012 311 Manor Dr. Belton, MO 64012
Cover Story - Page 7

Easy & Affordable Church Websites
ChurchWiz
Phone: (816) 331-8142 FAX: 800-456-1868
Special Feature - Page 16

ICON CMO+ Extends a Great CMS to Manage an Entire Denomination!
Copyright 2008 by Christian Computing, Inc.
All Rights Reserved Christian Computing is a registered trademark of Christian Computing, Inc. Written materials submitted to Christian Computing Magazine become the property of Christian Computing, Inc. upon receipt and may not necessarily be returned. Christian Computing Magazine reserves the right to make any changes to materials submitted for publication that are deemed necessary for editorial purposes. The content of this publication may not be copied in any way, shape or form without the express permission of Christian Computing, Inc. Views expressed in the articles and reviews printed within are not necessarily the views of the editor, publisher, or employees of Christian Computing Magazine, or Christian Computing, Inc.
Editorial
Viral Marketing Video Heading YOUR Way & Our CMS Online Chart
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by Steve Hewitt
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CCMag NewsBreif Press Releases MTI
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by Steve Hewitt by Bob Dasal by Nick Nicholaou by Dr. J.D. (Doc) Watson
Ministry Technology Institute
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Wordsearch Word Nick at Church Tech Talk
Back By Popular Demand - The Discipleship Library for WORDsearch 8

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Can I Get a Mac?
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Using & Optimizing System Restore

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Internet Ministry
Cell Phone Novelists Replacing Traditional Authors In Japan

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by Walt Wilson
Higher Power with Kevin Internet Toolbox
eBay: Seller and Buyer Beware

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by Kevin A Purcell by Ross Gile by Yvon Prehn by Scott Howard
DHTML - Whats In It For Me?
Ministry Communication Scott Howards HotPic

Blog Sites and More
How To Get People To Come Back After Easter Sunday

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Articles that are highlighed are provided by our partners

www.ccmag2.com/2007_03/2007_03editorial.pdf Christian Computing Magazine February 2008
editorial
Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com
Viral Marketing Video Heading YOUR Way and Our CMS Online Feature Chart Is UP
e have created a video based upon a passage in Romans, and we will be sending it to you around the first of March. This is NOT a part of what I wrote about last month in My Vision. This video is designed to be used by churches in worship and Bible study. We created it as a viral marketing piece. What is viral marketing?
Can I ask for your help again? If you would, please put a link to the CMS Online Chart (www. digical.com/ccmag) on your church, denomination, or ministry site? We want the location of this new feature to quickly become known since we think it can really help churches that want to find the right CMS for their needs. In addition, we will continue to update the chart with feature definitions, more companies and additional features, helping it to become THE resource for potential customers of CMS products and services. My Vision Update I want to thank each and everyone that responded to my article last month about My Vision. We are slowly forming a plan and I will keep you posted in the future as to the development of this new exciting ministry. Continue to pray for this, and everything we strive to do here at CCMag, as we seek to apply tomorrows technology to todays ministries. Together We Serve Him,
Viral marketing is when an email is released that contains something of interest or value, causing the receiver to send it on to their friends, relatives and acquaintances, and hopefully these people will do the same. The hope is that many people receive your message because the email that contains the message gets forwarded over and over again. To test this with church leadership, we created a video that we feel is unique, and has value to the church. It is our hope that when you receive it, you will think enough of it to forward it to other church leaders. It is also our hope that these other church leaders will find out about Christian Computing Magazine. We are not seeking to sell anything, since CCMag is offered as a free publication. However, many church leaders do not know we are here! When you subscribe to CCMag, we occasionally send you a CCMag promotion (about one a month). CCMag is paid for by the support of our advertisers/sponsors. When we send you a CCMag Promotion and are highlighting a specific sponsors product or services, this helps us continue to provide our magazine to our readership free of charge. However, this year, we are going to sprinkle a few freebies into the mix, such as this free video. We have plans to provide more videos and other special gifts later this year, so keep watching! And, PLEASE help us out. If you like the video and feel comfortable sharing it with others, please send it to your please put a link to the CMS Online Chart on friends.
your church, denomination, or ministry site
CMS Online Feature Chart is UP We are really excited about this new offering. When you visit the chart, www.digical. com/ccmag you will notice a lot more features listed than when we published such charts in our magazine. In addition, you can click on check marks to remove companies or features from your selection that are not of interest to you, leaving you with a customized chart listing the companies you want to compare with the features you are interested in! If our chart does not contain a feature YOU think should be included, please let us know and we will consider adding it to the list. We will soon be working on an online feature comparison chart for church website services and worship presentation software programs!
Steve Hewitt Editor-in-Chief
Christian Computing Magazine
February 2008
Ministry IT Sum mit

Special Price -
Only $399
(see details below) At CMA were planning something special for you. Heres our special invitation for IT leaders!
Sponsored by
Special program designed for IT professionals April 21-24 2008 Dallas, Texas
To register:
To view a complete conference brochure (PDF), register online, or to print a registration form to mail or fax, visit:
www.CMAonline.org/conference/2008 or Call CMA at 1-800-727-4262

When registering, use Ministry IT Summit as registration type. Then use ITSummit at checkout for discount.
Ministry IT Summit Schedule

Monday, April 21, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:30pm - Ministry IT Roundtable Facilitated by Nick Nicholaou and Alan Weisenberger. Join your Information Technology colleagues for a session of solutions and cutting-edge thinking by our best in the business. In our time together well share challenges and solutions with each other, each of them an in-the-trenches and experienced IT person. Come prepared to help and to be helped! Note: Register early because attendance will be limited, and attendees will be emailed in advance to gather topic choices 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - General Session with Chuck Swindoll 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm - Exhibit Hall Dessert Reception 10:15 - 11:00 pm - After Hours Entertainment, Illusionist, Danny Ray Tuesday, April 22, 2008 7:00 am - 7:45 am - Devotions with Jill Briscoe 8:00 am - 9:30 am -What s Hot & Whats Not in Technology Panel discussion moderated by Nick Nicholaou. Panelists include Steve Hewitt and Clarence White. Our esteemed panel will share their thoughts and respond to questions about good and not-so-good trends in information technology. Come with your best questions and expect to walk away with answers! 10:00 am - 12:00 noon - General Session, Tony Evans and Patsy Clairmont 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm - Applying Tomorrows Technology to Todays Ministry Presented by Steve Hewitt. It is not enough to know how to use yesterdays technology in ministry. We have to know where IT is heading to plan for future applications. 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm - Network Strategies & Virtualization Presented by Nick Nicholaou. Ministry networks are growing in intensity; from email and internet access to servers and data storage. Well discuss strategies that can save ministries LOTS of money while improving reliability. 8:15 pm - 9:00 pm - After Hours Entertainment, Comedian Anita Renfroe, Babbie Mason Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:00 am - 7:45 am - Devotions with Jill Briscoe 8:00 am - 9:30 am - Peer Networking Session Facilitated by Nick Nicholaou and Jeff Hook, President of Fellowship Technologies. Realize the power of your ideas, messages, and ministry through conversations with other like-minded ministry IT leaders. This gathering is the perfect give-and-take forum to make great new connections and build friendships. 10:00 am - 12:00 noon - General Session with Ken Blanchard 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm - IT Legal Update Presented by Scott J. Ward. One of the fastest growing areas of U.S. law is Information Technology. In this session well talk through the virtual nuts and bolts on such IT legal issues as privacy, data archival storage and discovery, websites and online content, and much more. 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm - Working with Ministry Leadership Panel discussion moderated by Nick Nicholaou. Panelists include Steve Hewitt and Alan Weisenberger This panel will address the constant challenge for IT leaders to serve their ministrys leaders well. Doing so helps the ministrys leaders understand the issues, capabilities, and power of their ministrys technology. When done well, this helps propel the entire ministry forward in accomplishing its mission. 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Dinner and General Session, Chip Ingram 9:00 pm - 9:45 pm - After Hours Entertainment, Improv 321 Facilitators include: Nick Nicholaou, President of MBS, Inc. & Co-Founder of Ministry Technology Institute Steve Hewitt, Editor-in-Chief, Christian Computing Magazine & Co-Founder of Ministry Technology Institute Scott J. Ward, Esq., Partner, Gammon & Grange P.C Alan Weisenberger, VP of Information Systems, ECCU Clarence White, CIO & IT Secretary, The Salvation Army Western Territory
CrimeReports.com May Make Everywhere a High-tech Crime Watch Neighborhood A new site offers an inexpensive solution to police departments everywhere to provide technology crime mapping just like the big cities provide. Several cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. use crime mapping to help better identify trends in crimes and in some cases provide that information to the public. Now CrimeReports.com has established a service through Google Maps to allow any city to allow their crime data stats to be directly uploaded. This would provide citizens the ability to see if certain types of crimes are being committed in their neighborhood. This would allow an entire city to be informed of specific things to watch for, and allow citizen participation to help stop and solve crimes in their town. In my own case, last summer my wife and I observed a group of young people running around a few blocks near our home. As we turned onto the street, they all seemed to head for a drain culvert. Something about they way they seemed to avoid us seeing their faces, and the way the quick activity that was taking place immediately stopped, caused us to be suspicious. However, there didnt appear to be any crime taking place. This was just two blocks from our home. It was six months later, after reading a local newspaper article that we discovered there had been a crime wave in our town with young people running down a street of houses looking for unlocked cars. If one was found, everything in the car of value, including items in the trunk, were quickly stolen. If there was a garage opener, they would quickly use it and grab and run with anything of value in the garage. It was reported that if anyone surprised them, they would quickly run to the nearest drain and throw the items down for retrieval at a later time. IF we would have had this information and been informed of what was going on in our neighborhood, we would have paid more attention, tried to remember faces, and definitely called the police. The cost for this new service can be as low as $100 a month for a city. For more information, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22999412/ Ministry Technology Institute Begins First Charter Class On February 15, students and administration met for the first student orientation for the Ministry Technology Institute. Students from across the USA were present, as well as one student from Brazil and one from China. The meeting took place in a virtual class- room where everyone could talk via their phone or Internet using a microphone and headset (as did the international students.) Ministry Technology Institute is a virtual school. There is no building or physical classrooms, yet everyone in the class was able to participate in the discussion, as well as answer questions using a live, online chat feature. Our first group of students are well into their first course unit (24 units are needed to obtain their certification). For more information, visit http://www.ministry-tech.com Employers May Monitor Your Mental Awareness While At Work Microsoft has filed for a patent for a software system that will allow employers the ability to monitor their deskbound employees, determining their attitude, attention span, and ability to stay on track. Software programs have been in development for several years that would use face recognition software to evaluate your mood based upon how you appear to the computer you are using. However, this new software system may go so far as to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and movements, all sent wirelessly to your computer, with reports generated and sent to your employer. Employers might argue that if they could tell that stress levels rose during certain assignments, they would be able to help with additional training or support. Privacy and union representatives feel that employees might be held back from advancement, or even fired, based upon their stress and emotional reports instead of their productivity. For more information, visit http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,323101,00.html
Christian Computing Magazine February 2008
Survey of College Students Stealing Online Movies Was in Error In 2005, the MPAA announced that they completed a study and found that 44% of their losses were due to college students downloading and distributing copyrighted materials. They put pressure on colleges to begin campaigns to expel students who were caught with any copyrighted materials, AND implied that they might begin to bring legal pressure on the schools themselves if they didnt start enforcement programs. Now, three years later, new studies have shown that this figure, and the accusation that went along with it, was in error. It may be that college students only accounted for 15% of all such downloads. The MPAA suggested human error in their accusations. SO, feel good about the youth of America in college, they are not as bad as some would have you believe. For more information, visit http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-01-23-mpaa-college-downloading_N.htm Microsoft Offers $44 Billion for Yahoo Yahoo just laid-off 1,000 employees, and the value of the stock is on the decline. So why is Microsoft offering $44 billion to purchase Yahoo? Because Microsoft needs to have a venue to present online computer solutions to compete with Google. It seems that Google is seeking to put Microsoft out of business, as they continue to offer online office products for free, all of which compete against Microsofts office suite. Google can afford to offer such products as the word doc, spreadsheet, calendar program, etc., because they are generating revenues based upon online advertisements. Microsoft needs to combine with Yahoo in order to gain their experience in presenting online services that can also be supported via online advertisements. There is a shift in technology that is being brought about by the Internet, and Microsoft NEEDS to make this deal. Advertisers are expected to double their spending on the Internet in the next three years, as more people become to trust online SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions instead of desktop software. For more information, visit: http://origin.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_8139058 Comcast Slows Service to Heavy Users Comcast has decided that, in order to provide the best service for all of its customers, to slow the download rate of their heavier users. It was discovered that Comcast began a practice of using a reset package to break connections with customers when it is discovered they are downloading large amounts of data. The practice sends a code to each computer, the customers, and the file sharing source, fooling each computer into believing the other has broken the connection instead of Comcast. Comcast has defended this policy because everyone in a specific area can be affected by their neighbors use of the Internet, and those that are trying to receive large streams of video and movie files, is having a negative impact on other customers. Customers that have discovered Comcasts practice lodged a complaint with the FCC. Once this was done, on Jan 25, Comcast published their practice and defense. So far the FCC has not interfered much with Internet traffic, so this will be a test case. For more information, visit http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gxRiQSVfgK4sLbVRE_X4MOlM9q0AD8UP4VUG3 We Can Rent Movies and Video Games Over the Internet, Now Toys? A new service is opening up on the Internet allowing parents the opportunity to shop for infant toys online. Certainly not a bad idea since if you are the ones taking car of your children, you know how hard it is to have them with you when you are trying to pick toys that you feel will hold their interest and provide some opportunity to help them grow and learn. However, just as adults do not like to watch the same movie over and over again, children seem to become bored quickly with many toys. So, why not simply rent them for a month and then return them for something new? That was the brainchild of Lori Pope who, after searching for a toy rental site on the Internet and couldnt find one, decided to create one herself. She started the site and named it www.babyplays.com . It is similar to Netflix for parents and children. Customers pay $28.99 a month to get four toys a month for three months and $35.99 a month to get six toys a month for three months. Families willing to sign a yearlong contract can get six toys a month for $31.99. The service seeks to provide toys that are easy to clean and simple to repair, and pays attention to research on the value of specific toys based upon research. All toys meet US and European safety standards. For
more information, visit http://apnews.myway.com/ar ticle/20080210/D8UNLLB80.html In Case You Didnt Get It Yet, Blu-Ray IS The Standard Not only have major movie producers and distributors announced that they are going to provide Blu-Ray copies of high-def DVDs instead of HD-DVDs. Netflix has also announced that they are going to offer Blu-Ray only. They had stocked both types, but after Sony and others announced they had selected Blu-Ray as their exclusive, others are quickly following suit. In addition, while Best Buy is still selling both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD boxes, Best Buy has announced that they are telling their employees to openly recommend Blu-Ray. For more information, visit http://www.reuters.com/ article/technologyNews/idUSW NAS040320080212 Cell Phones of the Future? Folding Screens One of the problems of hand-held devices is the size of the screen. A new phone that will hit the market in the middle of this year will have a folding screen that will wrap around a device that is the size of a cell phone. The screens are made by Polymer Vision and the clarity is equal to printed text on paper. Presently the screens are about the size of two business cards, and will only be black-and-white. And, the phone will only receive text and Internet images but will not include the ability to have a keyboard .The device will also serve as a cell phone. The company believes that within a few years, they will have a small cell phone device that will have a foldable screen that will display 8 by 8 inches in color. For more information, visit http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-01-21-folding-phone_N.htm Best Buy Digital Picture Frames Had a Virus As if there werent enough ways to infect your computer, Best Buy has had to admit that some of the digital picture frames they sold last year had a virus installed on the frame. Whenever you connected it to your computer the virus would be passed. The good news is that it wasnt a new virus, and most virus protection software would have stopped it, if the user had virus protection software running. The 10.4 inch digital picture frames were sold under the Best Buy house name Insignia. The frame has now been discontinued. Best Buy will not confirm the type of virus; or, how many framers were sold. They are also not offering to exchange the frames, but instead have posted instructions on their website on how to remove the virus (basically, connect the frame to your USB connection and while it is connected complete a virus scan using a popular virus protection software program.) For more information, visit http://www.nytimes.com/idg/ID G_002570DE00740E18002573D9007CF01E.html?em&ex=1201410000&en=93b9e908ae671a69&ei=50 87%0A
cover story
Easy & Affordable Church Websites

by Steve Hewitt
ChurchWiz
ecently I had the opportunity to speak with Phil Smith with ChurchWiz. Phil and I had the opportunity to share our visions for using technology to help enhance ministry, and Phils story is very similar to mine. Phil was a full time pastor, but began to feel God leading him to start helping ministries in the area of Web development. As a result, two years ago he launched ChurchWiz, and ministries and churches have begun to benefit from his services. Following are some questions from me, and answers from Phil that will better help define what ChurchWiz can do for your church or ministry. I encourage you to take a look at their services!
steady growth ever since.
What is ChurchWiz? ChurchWiz is a young, innovative and experienced web development company with a heart and passion for both ministry and church website design. We specialize in utilizing the Joomla! content management system, along with a variety of open source, commercial, and in-house components to build some of the most beautiful, functional, and easy to use church websites on the internet.
What makes you different from the rest of the Christian website companies out there? What makes us different is that we offer all-inclusive packages that cover every aspect of creating a new website. We dont just build websites and hand over the keys, allowing ministries to become frustrated Tell me a little more about how ChurchWiz began. ChurchWiz is really a part of my own personal testimony: How or lose hope in maintaining their new site. We stick with each client through the being obedient to Gods call can bring you to places in life youd design phase, the software layout, and the never expect. Graduating from Bible College in 2001, I had my on-going maintenance of the website. Most sights set on pastoral ministry as a life-long career. But within one year of graduating, my curiosity (and now looking back) Gods lead- importantly, we give one-on-one training over the phone and include on-going email ing got me started in website development. From 2002 to 2006, I spent a lot of extra time and energy training myself in this new disci- and phone support that is so quick and efficient, we often surprise our clients with pline (and practicing on innocent local church websites!). In Januthe speed of our response times. ary 2006, we officially launched ChurchWiz and have experienced
February 2008
How is your software different from others? Unlike many other Christian website developers who have created their own solutions from scratch, we chose to go with a globally recognized and awarded piece of software that is developed by a community of hundreds and supported by thousands more. Joomla! is a Content Management System (CMS) that helps us by providing the strong foundation for building powerful ministry websites and has more than 2,700 add-ons that we choose from to build our custom websites. This gives us the ability to make every website we create truly unique to the community that the church or ministry might be experiencing. How long does it take to pull together a new website? A premium, full-fledged website can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks to complete. While some of the best ideas can come in only a matter of moments, websites are another story. We create beautiful websites that take contemplation, revision and lots of dialogue with our clients on the overall product. What type of church (Size, Mission, etc.) needs a website? We believe that every church in North America that wants to effectively reach the lost in its community needs a great website. With as many as 80% of people looking for a church home starting their search on the internet, first impressions have taken on an entirely new meaning. What people see on the homepage of your website is often becoming a deciding factor in whether or not a family will attend your church. And its important to state that having a great looking website isnt about being better than your brothers church down the road its all because church websites have become an incredibly important tool in reaching out to and connecting with your unsaved neighbours.
Your Premium Website package is a couple thousand dollars. How do smaller churches afford that? In short, ChurchWiz website pricing is flexible. While we believe that our websites are worth every penny of the stated price, we also realize that church plants and other ministries of various conditions have reasons why they cannot afford to pay a market price for top quality website. And because we truly believe that every church needs to have a great website - not just those that can afford to pay market prices - we encourage any church (even the smallest ones) to contact us for individual pricing information. How does ChurchWiz help a church keep new content on their site? The very nature of the software we use makes it extremely easy to manage content. Your entire website is managed from an online administrator that is accessed through password protected user accounts and allows content changes to be made on the fly, being reflected immediately on the live website. One of our first clients, Woodstock Baptist (www.woodstockbaptist.ca), adds their weekly bulletin to the website every week in a matter of only 3 to 4 minutes. What are some of the best examples of content you have observed churches providing (from your clients)? One of our newest clients is Ariel Ministries, a bi-lingual ministry and church family in Montreal, Canada. They wanted to have a website capable of running their online ministry store, podcast their weekly radio show, and provide a place for their congregation to reach the community around them. By using Joomla!, several third party add-ons, and a custom design, we were able to bring a live site together in just over 2 weeks time. The work in progress can be seen at www.arielcanada.com. How creative can you be in designing custom looks for churches? There are very few limitations in what we can do with the look of a new church website these days, the most common being imagination! The templates we design are extremely flexible and can be adapted to fit all of the content you throw at it, all on a page by page basis. Do you help a church get their site noticed via search engines? If so, how? While we dont offer extensive search engine optimization because of the time involvement required, we do ensure that our websites are search engine friendly. Images get labelled properly, text is presented in the proper format, and page titles, headings, and emphasis are always placed on the prominent keywords of every page. Are you considering a new ministry website in the coming months? Call toll free at 1-888-434-2152 or visit www.churchwiz.com for more information about how ChurchWiz can partner with you in your new online adventure.
ACSTechnologies Acquires Membership Plus Most Widely Used Church Software Company With Over 27,000 Customers ACS Technologies announces the transition of Membership Plus from FindEx.com. ACS Technologies will now serve over 50,000 churches, further strengthening its position as the unequalled leader in providing churches, schools and other faith-based organizations with ministry management software and solutions. The acquisition combines the most used church management software in the world, Membership Plus with over 27,000 customers, with ACS Technologies, the largest provider of church management software and web solutions for medium- to mega-size churches. Membership Pluss financial and membership tools are sold in retail stores nationwide, giving it the widest distribution of any church software line. ACS Technologies continues to grow at remarkable rates based on the guiding principle of matching the right solutions to the right people. One size does not fit all churches because different size and types of churches have different needs says Hal Campbell president and CEO. We have long been a leader in serving the specific needs of medium to large churches and the mega-church. Membership Plus will now allow us to serve smaller churches with greater focus and benefit to their specific needs. Membership Plus fits in perfectly with our core business philosophy, stated Paige Wright, ACS Technologies executive director of Membership Plus. It meets a highly focused, targeted need, bringing great value to those churches everywhere. We plan to keep the product line and brand intact and on track, growing it in its ability to serve smaller churches for many years to come. For more details about how ACS Technologies solutions can benefit your organization, visit http://www.acstechnologies.com/, e-mail solutions@acstechnologies.com or call 1-800-736-7425. MinistryTECH National Church IT and AV Conference April 3-4, 2008 in Oklahoma City, OK. MinistryTECH, a new conference for church IT and AV professionals, provides an opportunity for church information technology, audio/visual, and production staff to network and learn from their peers. The conference will be held on April 3-4, 2008 at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond, OK. Registration is $325.00 per person and group discounts are available. Registration is required. Register online at MinistryTECH.org, or call 888-765-6246. Featured speakers include Tony Morgan, Chief Strategic Officer at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC; Jeff Hook, President of Fellowship Technologies in Dallas, TX; Terry Storch, Digerati Pastor at LifeChurch.tv in Edmond, OK and Paul Braoudakis, Communications Director at Willow Creek Association in Chicago, IL. Two additional events are scheduled with the conference. On Wednesday, April 2nd, MinistryTECH will host an area megachurch tour. Attendees will visit four nearby megachurches and tour their IT and AV facilities. The second event will be a Behind the scenes tour of the LifeChurch.tv satellite uplink facility and studio. This tour is scheduled for Friday April 4th, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Reservations are required for both events. Information is available online at www.MinistryTECH.org, via email at info@MinistryTECH.org, or call 888-765-6246. Bible Software Veteran Don Gillis Joins WORDsearch WORDsearch announced today that Don Gillis, a longtime key account executive at BibleSoft has joined the firm as V.P. of Business Development. Mr. Gillis will be responsible for custom products and relationships with ministries and institutions. Don is a most welcome addition to our WORDsearch team. He has demonstrated creative leadership through building alliances and crafting custom products for leading Bible software producers and ministries, said Randy Beck, President of WORDsearch. We have been blessed to bring together so much experience and skill at WORDsearch to serve those who preach and teach to change lives. Im impressed that WORDsearch offers superior solutions to equip people in ministry and disciple those in the pew, said Gillis. Their future plans and direction clearly mark WORDsearch as the company to watch for techChristian Computing Magazine February 2008
Press Releases
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nological innovation. I can use WORDsearch to meet a wide variety of study needs, from the new Christian, all the way to the Senior Pastor. Gillis career in Christian publishing and education spans over 20 years and a number of roles. He holds degrees in Biblical Studies and Christian Education from Evangel University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served in sales, marketing, and management positions with David C. Cook, ICI University, Epiphany Software, and Biblesoft, plus Resources for Ministry, an educational publishing firm he founded and managed. WORDsearch has been producing software and electronic books for the Christian market since 1987. Beginning in 1989, it operated as NavPress Software, where it began its focus on serving the practical needs of everyday pastors and small group Bible teachers. It was the first electronic publisher to introduce the process of unlocking electronic books from CD-ROM in 1995. In July 2002, the company was renamed for its flagship program product, WORDsearch. In June 2003, WORDsearch merged with Epiphany Software, makers of Bible Explorer, and in April 2004, signed a long-term agreement to be the exclusive supplier of Bible software to LifeWay, the publishing ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention. Products of the company include WORDsearch 8, a powerful professional tool for pastors; Bible Explorer 4, the easiest Bible software available; LESSONmaker 8, a tool for small group Bible study leaders; InstaVerse, a tool that pops up Bible text when you point to a verse reference; WORDsearch To Go, handheld Bible software; and wordsearchmedia.com, an online library of video clips for sermons and teaching. Sunday Software announces the release of Jesus in Space an interactive CD for Christian kids, and families. Join Captain Paul Hammer, Lt. Stu Dent, and Shelbot the overly brainy robot aboard the Starship Tarsus to boldly teach where no Christians have taught before! Jesus in Space CD features three important stories: The Baptism of Jesus, The Last Supper, and the Road to Emmaus. Great Commission Control has sent our explorers to retell these stories in manner that makes sense to the aliens living on the newly discovered worlds of Planet Vet (Baptism), the Planet Whammo (the Whammbots), and Ice Moon Alpha (Snow creatures). Each lesson is full of interactive animations, study notes, games and quizzes. Content is ecumenical and kid-friendly. Suitable for use in Sunday School and home. For Ages 5 to 15. Windows Me/XP/Vista, and Mac OSX compatible. For more information, visit www.sundaysoftware.com/jesus or call 1-800-678-1948. Upload Your Audio Sermons Online With New Start-Up SermonCompanion.com TGL, Inc., an internet solutions corporation, has launched a new product called SermonCompanion.com, a web-based, real-time audio application created to give church organizations the means to offer their audio sermons directly from their churchs website. More importantly, it includes a content management system that is easily operated by non-technical administrators. We are very thrilled about the leading-edge technology that Sermon Companion has to offer, says Bob Cassidy, founder of TGL, Inc. This technology gives churches the ability to integrate SermonCompanion.com with their churchs website without having to purchase, install, or download any software, and this product can also be used as a stand alone application if a church does not have a website already created. Sermon Companion has a simple operating platform, which allows users to easily sort sermons by date, speaker, scripture and series title. Your church members will be able to listen to audio sermons, download and burn them to a cd or even copy them to an mp3 player. SermonCompanion.com will give churches the opportunity to keep their sermons alive beyond the end of the church service and will expand the churchs global outreach as the audio sermon messages may be heard anywhere that a user has internet access. SermonCompanion.com is also able to seamlessly integrate with CalendarCompanion.com, a TGL Inc. product for churches looking for an easy to use calendar to communicate event details to their church body directly from their website. TGL Inc. is a pioneer in the development of innovative web solutions, based in Swartz Creek, Michigan.
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mti
Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com
Is Still Taking Students For Their Charter Class
Ministry Technology Institute
received an email just last week that stated, Is it still practical to think about joining your charter class? The immediate answer is YES! Another asked, When will enrollment be opening for your next class? Ministry Technology Institute (MTI) is STILL taking students for its charter class. It might be a bit confusing so let me help clarify.
MTI is a virtual school/distance learning. A student takes 24 class units to gain their certification. There is no specific time that we start a semester. Presently, students can join at anytime, with the goal of finishing their certification in one year. We will schedule New Student Orientation Sessions about ever 4-6 weeks, so if a person is interested in joining, they can do so at anytime throughout the year. However, we have set a limit for those that will be able to be apart of the charter class, which, among other things, includes a discounted tuition. While this offer is only available for a limited time, (visit www.ministry-tech.com for tuition information and to download the application) people can still join the charter class and take advantage of the discount. When the charter class if full, people will still be able to start at any time throughout the year. We have already learned a lot from our first group of students. They Being able to pace our studies and take the test at our convenience have found that navigating the class through using TrainerStudio is certainly a plus. Besides, the design unit materials to be easy, and taking and layout of the TrainerStudio is easily comprehensible. and recording tests have also gone without a hitch. The one part that seemed to intimidate many of our new students was the required use of TalkShoe since most have never used such an online service. However, once a students application is accepted, we set up a New Student Orientation TalkShoe session and most of our students are up and running in a few minutes. (Our NEXT New Student Orientation TalkShoe is set for March 17, so download an application and plan to join us!)TalkShoe simply allows our students to accomplish an Internet based conference call, including chat. For most, especially those that have brokered a good unlimited long-distance service (AT&T has a deal for $20 a month), calling in using a phone works best. However, TalkShoe does
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have the option to use VoIP or Internet connection, which works great since we have two students that live outside the USA (Singapore and Brazil.) So who is taking the certification program with MTI? One of the things I already love about MTI is the diversity of who God has led to sign up. We have professional IT directors who are already serving churches (they have a lot of insight to add to the class discussions), and we have those who are presently laypersons. Some are serving churches in other positions and want to add the training of MTI to their knowledge, and some believe God is using MTI to prepare them to serve churches and ministries. Let me share some information about some of our present students Curt Meadows- Fort Walton Beach, FL Curt has served as web developer for a company in the secular world. His reason for joining MTI is he believes that the Lord is leading me to make a career change, possibly leading to a ministry within a church. I have also been active in many of the churchs more technical ministries, including visual presentation, lights, sound and website development. David Anthony Cleveland Ohio David has served with many non-ministry related organizations in a variety of technical areas. At the same time, he has stepped up to help his church and feels Gods calling to help churches and ministries use technology to spread the Gospel of Christ and disciple His people. Hartley Wright- Columbia, MO Hartley has served churches in the state of Missouri many years. Hartleys reason for joining MTI is to expand my technology knowledge in order to make my contributions within the church ministry more in touch with the culture we are serving. I want to know how to better utilize technology as ministry needs surface. I have been designing and implementing websites for years but have no training in implementation and internet strategies. And, I desire to expand my ability to serve in ministry. Jeremy Hoff Northridge CA Jeremy presently serves Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch as the Information Services Director. He joined MTI because he wanted to, improve my understanding of the relationship between technology and Gods Kingdom; and to network with my peers. Ken Olson- Cicero IL Ken serves as an Elder and Sunday School teacher at Cicero Bible Church, and is presently serving as Missionary Metro Director for the Chicago Child Our NEXT New Student Orientation TalkShoe is set for March 17, Evangelism Fellowship. Ken wants to so download an application and plan to join us! join MTI because he would like to gain knowledge that could help me in my job as administrator and IT. I would also like to have some marketable skills as I head into retirement. Angela Guerrato- Brazil Angela is a supported BGCT missionary in Brazil through First Baptist Church in San Angelo Texas since 1988. Her reason for enrolling in MTI is, Although I am not a technology expert, I have for years now attempted to help spread information on the software and multimedia/internet resources for ministry, and the importance and advantages of using them. This has been a calling in my life since I came from the US, having graduated from SWBTS, Ft. Worth, TX, MDiv and MA RE. I am also a Psychology major from Angelo State University. I am Brazilian, and have been living here as a missionary since 1988. David Szpunar Network and Systems Manager at Lakewood Church in Indianapolis David
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serves on the MTI advisory board and has been a great help in giving us initial insight into the direction MTI will develop. David has also taken his first class, and his comments and observations were incredibly valuable during the TalkShoe discussion. Kong Lay Kuan- Singapore Kong has a degree from Taylor University and is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer. Presently Kong is a freelance IT trainer and serves as a layperson in her church, as well as serving in organizations such as Youth for Christ. Kong taking the MTI certification program because I have a keen interest in IT and am always interested in learning emerging technology and using my skills as a ministry. Craig Hardee Apex NC Craigs heart is to support missionaries and in helping small churches. He helps missionaries in Central and Eastern Europe. Craig is also a writer and has written a variety of curriculum for LifeWay Christian Resources, magazines and other resources. He states his reason for joining MTI was, to increase my knowledge and skills in these areas so I can more effectively serve the body of Christ. John C. Lewis Greenville SC John presently serves as the parttime Technical Director at Morningside Baptist Church in Greenville, SC. John states that his reason for joining MTI includes, I have been blessed to have great tech jobs in the public sector that have allowed me to learn how to do things that I can use for Gods work. I now have a desire to go full-time into the ministry tech field, and this will be a great asset in that! So, now that some have taken their first class, what do they have to say about the MTI experience? One student wrote, Though it is just the beginning of the course, I have personally benefited very much from the reading materials, the online discussion using TalkShoe as well as listening to the many pioneers in ministry technology in the class. As many in the class played active roles in their churches IT development, I found their comments to be both practical and helpful. They are aware of some of the pitfalls and inherent weaknesses in some CMS systems.
February 2008
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special feature
and Ministries To Take Communications Seriously

By Ray Majoran, CEO, Electricurrent
Electricurrent Challenges Churches
often wonder why Christian organizations dont take branding and marketing seriously. I hear responses that range from, We dont have the time to waste on branding or marketing; to We dont really see a need for it. My response: Really?
ciously provided to us. As Christians, we seem to have the perception that a church building is like the movie, Field of Dreams Build it and they will come.. Unfortunately (in most cases), life doesnt work that way, especially not in todays world. So, if communicating is that important, then why have we fallen dramatically short of the goal? It sure wasnt Jesus who set this poor example. In fact, if you look at the life of Christ, you could easily classify Him as The Greatest Communicator of all Time. Whether it was a single woman at a well, or in front of 5,000 people, His message was always consistent and never contradicted itself. He conveyed His message in ways that His audience could understand; He met people where they were at (spiritually and physically); He had a primary purpose and didnt get sidetracked; and most of all, He was in constant prayer. As Christians, do our brands follow the same principles that Jesus used, or are we simply ignoring His communications example and coming up with our own ways of doing things? At our company, we have the opportunity to work with a number of amazing Christian organizations, but one church that we worked with really changed the landscape for us. Eastpoint, a small church in Delaware gave us the opportunity to come up with a marketing campaign that would draw people back to church. Like much of the North American population, most people in their town had some sort of church perception, either through personal experience
February 2008
Throughout the course of each week, I have the opportunity to visit Christian websites, and occasionally get pleas in the mail to provide financial support to various organizations. Dont get me wrong some ministries are doing a good job, but 9 times out of 10, Im appalled by the level of professionalism that I see in each communications effort. Why is that? In a world where many times you only get one chance to share your message with an individual, why do churches and ministries fail to communicate properly beyond the pulpit? I take a look at secular organizations that do a great job of branding organizations like Nike, Unilever (Dove campaign), Apple, Google, etc., and I think to myself, Why, as Christians, are we so far behind when it comes to communications strategies? Money you say? I disagree. I believe its because we dont take our marketing efforts seriously. Even though our brands and marketing efforts are one of the greatest opportunities we have to tell the world about Christ, we fail to see the need to set a standard of excellence in this area. Generally speaking, churches fail to see this message on a greater level in comparison to other nonprofit organizations. As congregations age in years, churches are often left wondering what they need to do to bring new life to their church. We can all agree that only God himself can rejuvenate a church, but that still doesnt get us off the hook when it comes to using our brains and the tools that He has so graChristian Computing Magazine
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or through a hearsay understanding. Eastpoints goal was to dispel those myths and bad experiences, and to get people to give their church a shot. In response, we developed a single billboard campaign that went on a highway near their church. The billboard had a picture of a person holding a TV remote control and read, Before you turn church off www.eastpoint.org. The billboard led people to the website, which ultimately contained images, sermons and articles that brought people to the church. When they arrived at the church, they would receive a consistently branded postcard that read, To every destination A journey. Did Eastpoint water down their message? Definitely not! What they did do, was set a standard of excellence through a medium that secular organizations have been perfecting for years marketing and communications. Following the campaign, Eastpoint increased the number of new believers and church members by a considerable margin. In the membership classes following the campaign, 67% of their new members reported that they began attending the church in response to the campaign. The overall result was measured at a 277% increase in attendance throughout the first 18 months following the campaign. Im not implying that every church and ministry needs to run out and hire an advertising agency like Electricurrent to deliver a heart-pounding communications campaign. What I am implying is that as Christians, we need to take our communications efforts more seriously; a lot more seriously. There are many talented organizations and individuals out there that can help you with your branding efforts. Does it cost money? Of course it does. But so do church buildings, audio equipment, computers, chairs, pews, tables and projectors. I would simply challenge you to think about where you rank communicating on your list of priorities. Ray Majoran is the CEO of Electricurrent, a design and communications firm serving churches and ministries since 1996. Some of the organizations that they have worked for include Youth Specialties, Teen Challenge, Alpha, Biola Christian University, Pure Life Ministries, The Salvation Army and CAM International. They are also the founders of AdvancedMinistry.com previously featured in Christian Computing Magazine. For more information, visit their website at www.electricurrent.com. Comments or questions pertaining to this article can be forwarded to ray@electricurrent.com.
February 2008
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wordsearch word
Bob Dasal - bdasal@wordsearchbible.com
The Discipleship Library For WORDsearch 8
Back By Popular Demand
eleased in 1996, the Discipleship Library quickly became a popular collection of resources for WORDsearch Bible software users, but when WORDsearch released Version 7 it did not include a Discipleship Library.
Cross Reference Explorer With the Cross Reference Explorer point to a verse in your open Bible, and dozens of books fly off the shelves onto your desktop open to exactly the right pages. Turabian Footnotes If you think a Turabian footnote has something to do with horses or music, then youre obviously not in seminary. Turabian is the style of footnote preferred by professors at most seminaries and Bible colleges, and other colleges, as well. So, if youre writing academic papers or have a friend who is, WORDsearch 8 will save a lot of time and effort. Word Searching Improvements WORDsearch, true to its name, keeps on perfecting the wordsearching feature.
Well, the software users spoke up about how they missed the Discipleship Library and WORDsearch received the message loud and clear. With the release last fall of WORDsearch 8 [WS8] it included the Discipleship Library. The good news is not only is it back, but it is also better than ever. The WS8 Discipleship Library combines handpicked Bible and reference works to help those who Teach to Change Lives! The Library has 18 Bible versions and translations, plus 162 reference resources. As a bonus, you also receive the LESSONmaker Adult program and curriculum. If you purchased each book separately it would cost over $3200. The WORDsearch 8 Discipleship Library is available for the low affordable price of only $299.95. WORDsearch packed Version 8 with new and improved features. Here is a short list of the elements of this outstanding Bible software program. Library Organization Bigger libraries lead to new challenges keeping everything tidy, so WS8 provides key features to help you get the most out of your electronic library. It includes Finds em Fast and a new Favorites Manager, just to name two.
Search Greek or Hebrew with an on-screen keyboard for Greek or Hebrew characters. Re-refine your searches. There is a Narrow Search button to let you add qualifications to refine a search without starting over. Bible-only tab. Since most searches Bible only, Bibles are in a separate tab on the search dialog.
Conclusion WORDsearch 8 continues to be the fastest Bible software availIntegrated Web Access able leaving all major competitors in the dust! Another major benefit WORDsearch 8 combines Bible-centric content and funcis FREE Technical Support, available Monday through Friday from tions with select content from the Web, and ties it all together. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. Your only cost is the call to 512-835-6900. Visit the www.WORDsearchBible.com for information on FREE Topic Explorer Webinar Training. WORDsearch 8 provides some powerful enhancements to There are many more additions, improvements and enhancethe Topical Indexes feature. In prior versions, the search term ments, but space does not allow us to cover them here. To view a had to appear as the first word in a topic heading, but version complete listing of features and for complete information on upgrad8 can find it anywhere in the heading. It also shows a list of matching topics and presents the article in a preview window as ing or purchasing the program go to www.WORDsearch8.com . WORDsearch 8 is fully compatible with Microsoft VISTA you browse the matches. and XP, and with books purchased for WORDsearch 7 and Bible Parallel Bible Window Improvements Explorer. Parallel Bible windows are great for seeing the range of If you become a WORDsearch 8 user you will not be disappossible translations quickly, even if youre not a language pointed. It is an electronic Bible library system packed with enscholar yourself. WORDsearch was the first to introduce parallel hancements in speed, function, and ease of use. The fully integrated translations back in 1994 and they are still seeking ways to do CROSS standard gives you access to hundreds of works and the it better with more versions per window and searching directly ability to grow your Library as new books and resources become from within the parallel Bible window. available.
February 2008
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nick at church
Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com
Can I Get a Mac?
heres a lot of buzz these days about Macs, and many in ministry are asking for them. Historically this decision has been driven by the software / applications in use. PC-centric churches usually say, No. to Mac requests pretty quickly. But Macs can run PC software now, so the question is going to keep coming. We need an updated response.
erating system you want switching means restarting the computer) - SWsofts Parallels - Microsofts Virtual PC for Mac - VMwares Fusion In my initial research I found many complaining about all of these possibilities except for Parallels and Fusion. Many IT professionals are working with VMwares virtual server products, and our firm has had great success with them. So I decided to do my testing using their Fusion product to create a virtual PC on the Mac. The Mac I used for testing was a MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.4.11 (Tiger) with a 2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4gb RAM, 160gb hard drive, and 17-inch monitor. Howd it go? The software installation was surprisingly easy, and setup was too. VMwares Fusion uses the same approach on the Mac as it does in its server software. You create a virtual PC following easy prompts asking how large the
February 2008
Whats the problem? Apple recently began selling Macs that use the same Intel processors PCs use. Before that happened, PC software couldnt run well on a Mac. While there were ways to access PC software from a Mac, the experience was usually a bad one, and few pursued the option strongly. Since the decision for hardware is best made based on the software in use, the PC vs Mac issue had been relatively easy. Now, though, were having to re-examine the PC vs. Mac decision. I am re-examining this issue from two perspectives: What does it take to run PC software on a Mac? What are the limitations? Can one have a total PC running PC software experience? Macs cost more than PCs. Is there intrinsic value in using a Mac to accomplish our tasks that justifies the additional cost? - There are many paths, Grasshopper - There are at least five ways to run PC software on a Mac: - Remote Desktop via Terminal Services - Mac OS Xs Boot Camp (booting up in whichever opChristian Computing Magazine
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hard drive should be, how much RAM it should have, etc. They give you suggestions along with minimum and maximum ranges. I set up a virtual PC having one processor, 1gb of RAM, and a 60gb hard drive. It then asked me to insert my Windows installation disk, and from there on it was like setting up any other Windows PC. PC-on-a-Mac Fusion Observations The first thing I noticed was how fast the PC ran! That makes sense, of course, when you consider that its virtual and all running in the Macs RAM. Then I decided to try Fusions Unity mode. It took my PC applications and allowed them to run as normal floating windows on the Mac desktop! So my PC applications looked very similar to my Mac applications! There are some nice features on the Mac. The monitor is much nicer than my PC monitors (desktop and notebook). And the speakers are terrific! But one thing surprised me: the Macs keyboard illuminates in low light VERY nice! This makes using the Mac in low light enjoyable and easy something Ive always felt was missing from my PC notebooks. Fusion also gave me the option of setting up the ability to share folders between the two desktops! A Couple of Frustrations The Mac keyboard is missing keys! Like the Insert and Print Screen keys! And the Delete key acts like a Backspace key! It took some research, but I found the following keystrokes for PC users working on a Mac: Insert = Fn + m Delete = Fn + Delete (otherwise its a backspace key) Print Screen = Apple + Shift + 3 The Mac uses a one-button mouse. I discovered that right-click functionality is available using the Macs mouse while pressing the Ctrl key. I also found that you can plug a two-button mouse into the Mac and get all of the functionality available in the PC. And that functionality works in Mac programs too! And though theres no Command Prompt function, there is a similar Mac function called Terminal which opens a window you can run Unix commands in.
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I also found that I couldnt extend any PC programs across multiple monitors they all must run in a single monitor. VMware assures me that functionality is coming in an update. Good News! I could run all of the PC programs I normally run on a PC very nicely using VMwares Fusion! That includes MS Office 2007 (including Outlook and Visio), SQL databases, Bible study software (Libronix), and utilities I use to setup Microsoft networks. I also setup virtual Linux and Windows Vista computers and had success in each. This technology works, and is ready to help us as we focus on building The Kingdom. Okay, PC apps run well on a Mac but are they worth it? The Mac Reputation Macs are thought to be systems that run creative software better (music, graphics, and video editing) and that give users a better personal experience. This might be true,depending on the kind of user one is. Basic Mac OS Apps The Mac OS (operating system) comes with bundled software, like Windowsdoes, to help users manage creative files. These are sometimes referred to as applets because theyre simple applications when compared to their commercial counterparts. (An example would be comparing Microsofts Paint with Adobes Illustrator.) If one will only be using the bundled applications, theres no doubt those provided with the Mac OS are better. For a comparison, I took our vacation slides from this summer and made them into a DVD. When I did it on the PC using Windows applets, it took me 26-28 hours. It turned out very nice. When I did it on the Mac using its applets, it took me 4-5 hours, and the end product was much better! Honestly, I was surprised. Editing pictures, video, and sound are all similarly better in Mac applets. Full Applications Full featuredapplications for these tasks can usually be bought to run on either the Mac or PC. In those cases, the software is pretty close to the same in capability, with two exceptions: The underlying OS requires some things to be laid out and approached differently. Once someone gets used to the different approaches on either side, they will prefer doing their work in their familiar OS. Some programs, like Microsoft Office, release OS-specific versions where each is a year or two after the other, so whichever was released last is often better.The PCs current version is 2007, and the Macs is 2008. Office 2008 fixes some issues I had with 2007. Mac Cost Macs cost more than Windows PCs. Mac usersmay argue that, but theres really no argument. My high-end MacBook Pro cost easily double what I would have spent for a similarly equipped PC. It was worth it because supporting Macs is part of our business model, but I would otherwise have a hard time justifying the cost difference. Mac Support Issues I work in both OSs constantly, and I have been disappointed with the Mac OS (Leopard). Ive had to completely rebuild it from the ground up twice in the last month! Honestly, that hasnt happened to me in a Windows OS for many years. Both were caused by weaknesses in the OS that allowed it to corrupt itself: When I first received this new Mac, it said it needed fourteen updates. I told it to install them. Little did I know that doing so with three needing restarts would corrupt the OS! Escalated support told me that whenever there are updates needing a restart, they should be installed separately. I believe the OS should know how to manage that. A function I wanted to run between my virtual PC and my Mac didnt have some file rights it needed. Im used to
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having full rights to the entire drive in Windows, so I told the Mac OS to allow me the same on the Mac harddrive. That corrupted the OS again. It should know that certain filescannothave their rights changed to protect the integrity of the system. The Mac Mystique Macs have an undeniable mystique about them, and its causing many on our teams to request them. We can make them work with PCs on the same network, and even run PC applications on them very well. But few on church and ministry IT staffs can support them, relegating their support to the Mac user. The problems are: Those who will use them are likely called to minister, not to support computers. Giving them support responsibility means theyll be doing so at least some of the time wed rather see them fulfilling their call to minister. When users are responsible for their own support, they rarely backup their files. When something happens (like what happened twice to me!), if their files arent backed up, they will have to spend quite a bit of time recreating them. Whats the Bottom Line? Requests for Macs will keep coming, and they can work in your environment. They definitely cost more, but saying, No. just got harder. If youve got the budget, its okay to say, Yes. Make sure you have a team ready to help with the initial setup and ongoing support of your Macs, and youll be okay.
Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, a consulting firm specializing in ministry computer networks, operational policies, and CPA services. You can reach Nick via email (nick@mbsinc.com) and may want to check out his firms website (www.mbsinc.com) and his unofficial blog at http://ministry-it. blogspot.com.
February 2008
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tech talk
Dr. J.D. (Doc) Watson - docwatson3228@qwest.net
System Restore
Using and Optimizing
n my last two articles, we examined the top ten tips for tuning up your computer. Number nine was Optimize System Restore. We only mentioned it briefly, however, because it demands (and deserves) a closer look. Lets examine this wonderful addition to Windows and also see how to optimize it for better computer performance.
machine). It monitors system changes, and even some application files, and automatically creates easily identified restore points on a daily basis (every 10 hours if your PC is left on continuously, otherwise every 24 by the calendar). You can also create and name your own restore points at any time. In case youre wondering (and I know you are), SR does not touch your personal data. Items such as documents, e-mail messages, browsing history, and even the last specified password are untouched when you revert to an earlier state. Using System Restore Using SR is really easy. To open it, click Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. This displays SRs main screen, which is mostly hidden in Figure 1, and which well come back to in a moment, but still shows the two options. Clicking on Restore my computer to an earlier time displays the Select a Restore Point box (Fig. 2). Notice here the dates that are bold in color. This indicates dates that are restore points. Clicking any of these and then clicking Next will display one more confirmation screen, where you click Next one more time to continue the process. It then takes a few minutes for the system to restore and reboot. Very slick! My system came back perfectly (and I deleted that downloaded utility immeFigure 1 diately). February 2008
What is System Restore? While writing part 2 of my Ten Tips article, I downloaded a little utility from Intel that is supposed to monitor the systems temperatures, power supply voltages, and fan speeds through the sensors installed on the Intel Desktop Board. Cool, huh? Well, I dont know actually, because upon running it, my computer just quit running. I mean, poof nothing. The fan and hard drive were still turning, but the screen went blank and nothing worked. I think the utility thought the CPU was too hot and so shut it off, and believe me, when the CPU shuts off, youre done! My Dell computer has a built in reset circuit, which works by turning off the power, unplugging the computer, and then holding down the power button for ten seconds. After doing that, I turned the machine back on and watched it boot just fine, but the utility had installed so as to load on startup, so poof again. So now what do I do? Enter System Restore (SR), which rolls your system back to a previous state. That way, if a problem occurs, you can specify a restore point prior to the problem and SR will take the system back to that point (sort of like a time Christian Computing Magazine
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If you prefer, you can use the Create a restore point option on the main screen to specify a date to which you might want to restore in case of some problem. If you suspect that an application you were about to install might cause a problem, for example, you could create a restore before you installed it. Just type a description when SR prompts you and click the Create button. Ah, but what if something really bad happens and Windows wont even start properly? That is what happened to me (oh, poor me). In this case, when your computer first starts to boot up, right after it shows the drives installed, press and hold the F8 key. This displays the Boot menu. Use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Network settings and press Enter. This boots Windows without loading any unnecessary drivers or other programs that usually load at startup. Now run SR and choose a restore point. (BTW, you could also select the Last Known Good Configuration option from the Boot menu, but I prefer the former method.) What if you choose a restore point and run it but dont like the result? No biggie. You can undo the restoration or select another restore point. Just go back into SR and select the Undo my last restoration option or select another restore point. All successful restorations are reversible, and all failed restorations are automatically reversed. Optimizing System Restore By default, Windows allocates 12 percent of the size of your hard disk to store restore points, which on my 80-gig hard drive (I know, kind of small nowadays; remember the 20-meg days?) totals almost six and half gigs! Very unacFigure 2 ceptable. Only about 50 megs, in fact, are required for each restore point, so you can do the math. This brings us back to Figure 1. At the left side of the main SR screen is the System Restore Settings option, which displays the System Properties dialog box with the System Restore tab already selected (you can also display this by pressing Windows Key+Pause/Break and clicking the System Restore tab). Note first that monitoring for drive D: in Figure 1 has been turned off; I just selected it, clicked the Settings button, and then checked the Turn off System Restore on this drive option. For drive C:, however, I clicked Settings and then dragged the slider back to 2%, which specifies 827 megs, which is way more than enough. In fact, 500 megs is enough for several restore points. Actually, even when I dragged the slider to 0%, Windows still allocated 200 megs, which is the absolute minimum. So, I hope this article, and my previous two, will help you keep your computer running smoothly. Windows Hot Tips 3 and More Windows Hot Tips 3 covers all the tips and other stuff presented in my column from January 2004 to January 2007 (including graphics). Order yours today (it will be greatly appreciated). Like its predecessors, it makes a great quick reference because its divided into sections, each of which contains related tips. There are two other booklets in this Hot Tips series, Windows Hot Tips 1 and 2. A single copy of each is $6.50 (sorry for the rise in price, but printing costs demanded it). Bulk prices are: $6.00 for 2-9 copies of the same title and $5.50 for 10 or more copies. If youd like to help with costs (not required), add 50 cents for any number of booklets you order. Docs Giant Utility Collection on CD is still postage paid at $14 (2-5 copies $13 each, and 6 or more copies $12 each). Send orders to: MicroManuals; PO Box 235; Meeker, CO; 81641. Many Thanks to all of you who have already supported this project! God bless.
February 2008
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internet ministry
Walt Wilson - waltccm@aol.com
Cell Phone Novelists Replacing Traditional Authors In Japan

New rules redefine authors, publishers, and consumers
ot long ago in Japan a group of young women, many of them teens, with nimble thumbs started composing novels to be carried by cell phone network providers and read by cell phone subscribers. In the world of high technology; if you can imagine it you can create it, since the barriers to entry are close to zero. I have learned not to dismiss anything as impossible. This gives
way to many insane developments that never really get of the ground but are still worth trying since it becomes a learning experience in what does not work. Remember, eBay and YouTube were thought at one time to be unworthy. When I first read of people composing novels for cell phones I cant say that I doubted the possibility but I wanted to see how it played out and see if the idea would mature and grow legs. Even in Japan, the entire idea was dismissed as a sub-cultural fad unworthy of the country that gave the world its first novel The Tale of Genji, almost 100 years ago. Now, the results are in and some will say they are not pretty. Others see beauty. I see yet another change in the rules. Just last month, as the 2007 year end tallies of book sales were coming in, cell phone novels republished in book form not only infiltrated the mainstream but dominated. These novels are converted to book form for the uninitiated who need complete words and cannot read the short form of words used in cell phone text messaging.
Of last years top ten best selling novels, five were cell phone novels, which were mostly love stories written in the short sentences characteristic of text messaging. There are also short cuts in the standard plotting and character development found in a standard novel. This is creating a whole new way to tell the story and may have vast implications on traditional writing. Everything, consistent with Internet culture, moves to the expedient and the essential without background or context. These novels have become so popular in Japan that of the top ten best sellers, the top three were firsttime cell phone authors. Fans praise the novels as a new literary development created and consumed by a generation whose reading habits consisted mostly of comic books. Critics are hasty to point out that cell phone novels with their poor literary quality will accelerate the decline of Japanese literature. Whatever their literary talent, cell phone authors are racking up sales that traditional authors with far more experience and skill can only dream of. This is just another example of how the Internet
February 2008
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creates new models, some of them by surprise and not by design. Cell phone novels first came upon the scene back in 2000. They were born out of a page-making website in which bloggers were creating short stories on their own web pages. Noticing this, the application provider created software to allow bloggers the ability to upload a work in process on a cell phone for others to add comments. The result became a serialized cell phone novel that captured the imagination of young people much like an American soap opera. As the number of users uploading novels exploded, the number of novels listed on the site reached almost 1 million. Rock-star authors were being created outside the old models of the mainstream. It was Internet on the loose. Interestingly and unrelated, DoCoMo, Japans premier cell phone network provider made a business decision to give customers unlimited transmission of packet data, like text messaging, on a flat monthly fee. That fueled the boom, which had no connection to culture, writing style, or novels the final push was pure Capitalism. Make it available, lower the barrier to entry, and in so doing create whole new market paradigms. The driver behind the business decision was that Japanese subscriber phone bills were reaching upwards of US $1,000 per month, so many would simply turn off their phones for a few weeks. Theres no future in that for the network provider. I think this background is important to note so we dont dismiss it as a Japanese cultural thing that does not apply to the US. I think we should be taking notes about all of this for the sake of the gospel. The affordability of cell phones is intersecting with a younger generation across the world that is using phones to communicate and to socialize and has been doing so since junior high school. In Japan they exchanged text messages long before the US. They punched out messages with their thumbs at blinding speed, expressing words and emotions that played like musical notes. They composed symphonies exclusively for their peers. Part of the lure was that these novels could be composed by anyone if for no other reason, just for fun. It is clear that in the course of exchanging information with friends, the cell phone became a ready tool to create and express oneself in some form of literature. To this generation it is not a stretch to read a story or a novel on the phone. I suspect the word phone will one day disappear as it is no longer a telephone but a network computer that will receive radio, television, movies, music, photos and text. It will also receive and make available the Gospel of John, a story worth reading.
Donarius Church Management Software Used by over 900 churches and Starting at $64.97 ministries in Canada and the USA for the base version with 25% off for small churches Easily keep track of members, contributions, pledges and more... Print tax receipts that www.donarius.com comply with the new IRS guidelines. Send 1-888-479-4636 personlized letters and emails. Re-assign Nuverb Systems Inc. envelope numbers automatically.
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February 2008
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According to traditional publishers cell phone novelists had never written fiction before, and many of their readers had never read novels before. In Japan, even adults read short stories in what looks like comic book form while commuting to work. To be sure, if I had to read Japanese, Id rather receive communication in pictures. Cell phone authors are not paid for their work no matter how many millions may download their story. They are typically bloggers. If there is a pay off, it comes when the novels are reproduced and sold as traditional books. Readers can see all the books they want by paying one or two dollars per month. The sites survive by selling advertising. Given the explosive domination of the cell phone novel and the revenues they are generating, critics can no longer dismiss them as irrelevant. Teens express a disinterest in the traditional novel with all the wording to create context, subplots and explanations of characters. They just want the story. They dont read works by traditional writers whose sentences they say are too complex, too wordy and unnecessarily long. They also express their understanding of why older Japanese do not wish to read the brief words, simple sentences and an almost always-predicable outcome. They want a quick, simple, uncomplicated story. I think we can draw certain conclusions, at least observations, from what the Internet experience is doing to this highly sophisticated, educated, industrialized nation, which in many respects resembles the United States. Seven things I believe we need to consider are: The Internet is replacing old models often without warning as the world shifts from atoms to bits These new models can come from unexpected collisions of unrelated events not from carefully planned strategies. Accordingly, we need to watch trends very closely and not cling to the past. Who are the people charged with understanding trends in your organization? Before dismissing an idea as irrelevant give it time to mature. Unexpected surprises in the technology world can be fatal The cell phone is a computer network device no longer a telephone. It will include applications that will continue to revolutionize communication and at a very low price point. Creators and consumers are being redefined and tightly linked by common interest. Social networking and video are headed for a convergence that can be created on the cell phone for the cell phone consumer The Internet generation wants the guts of the story brief, simple and easy-to-understand. Can we present the Gospel in an understandable way under the new rules? Yes, what an opportunity!
February 2008
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higher power with kevin

Kevin A. Purcell - kevin@kevinpurcell.org
Seller and Buyer Beware
eBay:
like eBay! I have both bought and sold dozens of items on eBay. In fact my eBay feedback rating is near 100. That means about 100 other people, after having dealt with me on eBay, have given me a positive rating. I know; thats nothing for real eBay aficionados or full-time eBayers. But for a casual seller and buyer like me, thats not bad. Yeah, I hear ya! Quit bragging right?
my money out of it. The answer: eBay! I took a nice picture of my UMPC with all its components and went to www.eBay.com to list my device. Lesson One: take a good picture of your item turned on if it can be, and do not get tempted to use a generic picture downloaded from the Internet. Back to my nightmare. As I said, I took a nice picture and I wrote a description of the machines current condition including the manufacturers description and spec list. I clearly stated my method of shipment and how much it would cost. In my eBay preferences I have set that I will only ship to US customers. I also state that I will only accept one form of payment. It is obvious to all bidders how to do business with me. It is also obvious that I have a good eBay reputation since I have a 100 percent positive feedback rating with around a 100 unique feedback entries. I listed the machine to run at auction for 7 days. One big mistake I made was that I listed it during the
February 2008
Ive had pretty good experiences using eBay, but I have had a few bad ones. There was the time I bought a laser printer and it arrived lose in a box twice the size of the printer with no packing materials to protect it. You guessed it; the printer was in pieces and the seller was not too happy about my request for a refund. There was also the time I had to wait a week for a buyer to finally pay. And despite clearly stating that I will only accept one kind of payment Ive had inexperienced users request that I accept other forms since they cannot pay in my preferred format. But nothing tops the experience I just had on eBay. I want to share it with you in hopes that you will learn from my experience and avoid being taken. This is especially important if you are buying or even selling on behalf of your church or Christian organization. I had a Samsung Ultra Mobile PC that I reviewed in this column last year. You can find that article here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/2pvk6n. I have not been using it that much, so I decided to get some of
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morning before going to my office. When I do this, I usually pay the extra fee to have my auctions listed so they will end just before midnight. The reason to do this is more people buy from eBay during the evening hours and your final price will usually be higher if you end your auctions just before midnight. It is worth the minimal extra fee or the time to wait to start listing your item late in the evening since eBay will end your auction for you at the same time of day you first list it. Lessons Two: Start your auction late at night and preferably on a weekend night since people have more time to look at auctions on weekends. It is painful to watch your item. I set the price lower than I really wanted to because I know that eBay auctions generate more interest if it looks like you are getting a great deal. Then as people bid the price up there becomes an emotional attachment to the auction. The competitive nature in people keeps them bidding, sometimes after they would normally do so. This is not dishonest as people know they should research the value of items before they bid. Do a Google search for the item and click on the shopping link at the top of the Google list. This will give you the price of the items from many different sites. If you cannot get the item off eBay for a little less than you can get it new on another reputable site, then dont bid. You can also research price by searching for an item on eBay like the one you are bidding on or selling. Then in the results window, at the bottom left, there will be some check boxes. Check the one that says completed listings. You have to be signed in for this to work. If you are not signed in, it will ask you to sign in with your user name and password. So register first if you havent already. But, then the search results will find items that have already ended. The red highlighted prices are for auctions that did not sell either because no one was willing to bid or the lowest price the seller selected was not met by any willing buyers. This is called the reserve price and it is a good way to make sure you get your minimum price. For example, if you want to get your auction going at $.99 to entice bidders but you are not willing to sell it for less than $50, set the reserve at
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$50. But beware since some buyers will ignore items with a reserve. I have found that the market usually gets you what your item is worth. So, just set your listing price about 10% less than you are willing to sell for and you will usually get your price and more. Lesson Three: Start your auction price lower than you want for it and it is worth because it will entice more people to buy. But realize you may lose this risk. And research items before you list them or bid for them. Dont get caught up in the emotion of bidding since it might lead you to pay more than an item is worth. After a few days the item began to reach the point I wanted to get for it. Finally on the last day in the last few hours my item jumped by nearly $200. I was excited! This is an important lesson when bidding on something. Try to snag a deal by not bidding till the last hour. Instead click the link that says, Watch this item instead of bidding. This puts it in your eBay summary page under watched items. Then if you are free when the auction will end, sit there at your computer and watch it for the last hour. Bid, but not too high. You might snag a deal if the other bidders are not watching the item. Ive won some things well below what it would have sold for normally. I knew this was so because I did a search for auctions already ended. Lesson Four: Dont bid too early and dont get worried if no one bids on your item for the first 6 days of a 7 day auction. Good and savvy eBay users wait till the end of the auction bid and usually are rewarded by good prices. The day came when my auction ended and it was right at the minimum price I was willing to let it go. My auctions end and an invoice is sent to the highest bidder explaining how to pay. I clearly state that if they do not pay within 48 hours I will reserve the right to relist the item. Usually legitimate buyers will pay within a day. Sometimes, on rare circumstances Ive had a buyer not pay within the 48 hours only to contact me on the third day apologizing for failing to pay because he or she forgot about the auction or was out of town on an emergency. Just once did I have a buyer not bother to even contact or pay me. Within an hour of the end of my auction I received an email supposedly from PayPal, the service I use to handle payment. PayPal is owned by eBay and links to your bank account. I know, it sounds scary. But it is not. I have never had a problem with them accessing my account without my authorization. They are safe. Some are afraid to give their account numbers to anyone on the Internet. But they will give a credit card to complete stranger in a restaurant and let him or her take it to a room where you cannot see them and trust them not to make unlawful charges that you cannot check up on for hours while you shop. I never understood this logic.
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The fraudulent email claimed to be from PayPal and said that the buyer had authorized that the funds be removed from his account but they would not be credited to my account until I sent him a UPS or US Postal Service tracking number. First, this is not the way PayPal works. They immediately credit your account with the funds and then if there is a problem they later remove them. If I have one complaint with PayPal it is that they tend to side with buyers in disputes more than sellers. Well maybe I have two; their fees for using their service are a little high. But I think it is worth it to have an easy way to receive and send payments. And I have had to make a claim on a bad service once in the past and it was nice that PayPal credited me the funds I had paid out. But they never hold funds until you send the item. And that was my first red flag. If you have any doubts check your PayPal account. If the funds are not listed, then dont send anything. And dont check your account using a link in an email address. Always open a Read CCMags Review of our LogosGiving Service!Visit new browser window and type in www.paypal.com. Otherwww.ccmag2.com/logos/0205coverstory.pdf wise you could be the victim of a Phishing scam where a nefarious do-bad is trying to harvest your user name and password so that he or she can access your funds or bank account. When I saw nothing about this transaction on my PayPal account I was confirmed in my suspicion. Two other red flags were that the person claimed to be paying more than I asked. In fact he said in his email that he was paying me nearly $300 more. If they promise to pay more than you ask, they are probably scamming you. People dont tip their eBay seller. Second, he was asking me to ship not only to a foreign address, which I clearly stated I wont do since this takes the legal options outside of our own court systems, but he was asking me to send it to a different foreign country. It was a gift for his brother. If a buyer wants you to send to an address other than their official eBay address or PayPal address, refuse. Tell them you will ship to them and they will have to then ship to the other address. This is a big red flag for scams. So what do you do if you are being scammed. Dont send anything including your email address. In all correspondence between yourself and the other party eBay offers a check box to hide your email address. Check
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it. They dont need it. Clearly state what you want them to do. In my case it was pay me for my item and give me a confirmed domestic shipping address. He ignored my requests so my next step was to request help from eBay. The only thing they will do is let you relist the item for free, offer a second chance offer to others who bid, or refund your listing fee which for a high priced item could be five or ten dollars or more. I chose the third option and was fortunately taken care of by eBay. They are losing customers and a little more willing to help than they used to. I decided to keep my item. So, the only loss is a little time. After getting help from eBay, make sure to leave negative feedback so as to steer future victims away. On your auction page there will be a link to leave feedback for your buyer or seller. This is your clout on eBay. Your feedback score says to others doing business with you that you are safe and legit. Some sellers will not even deal with you unless you have a score of +1 or better. Lesson Five: Beware and be skeptical. Dont click links in email messages you get even if it looks legitimate. If you receive an email claiming payment has been made open your browser and type the address of your payment site or eBay into the address list. By the time I left feedback for the person who defrauded me he went from a score of 0 to -5. I guess hed been trying to snag a few others that day. By the time eBay responded to my request for a refund he had been removed as an eBay member. Fortunately, he did not have time to leave me negative feedback so I still have a perfect record. When dealing with people always check their score. And if they have negative feedback read why. Sometimes a buyer or seller will have a few negatives. eBay gives you a chance to respond to negative feedback. It might be that the buyer or seller was just dealing with a very unhappy person who was impossible to please. Or they made a mistake. Recently, I listed an item and then forgot to ship one of the things I said was part of it. I gave the buyer a partial refund so he did not leave me negative feedback. It was an honest mistake and I made good on it to the buyers satisfaction. But he easily could have been unhappy and justifiably left a negative score. Lesson Six: Use eBay feedback wisely. Check feedback before buying. Check it before selling. If someone has only negative feedback and theyve bid on your item the cancel the bid. If they have 0 feedback meaning no on has ever left them good or bad, then be wary. They may be a scammer like my buyer was. Dont do anything till they pay you and then ship only to a US address in that case since the laws of an international country might not help you if the person is a fraudulent buyer. If after a bad transaction you dont lose too much money or your eBay reputation, then you can continue and enjoy using eBay. Unfortunately for me, my unscrupulous buyer did not let it rest there. After eBay settled with me and after I rejected the requests to send I received two more emails regarding the auction. One was from the buyer saying he had been unfairly booted off eBay and that I should still trust him. Send the item and then mail tracking number and Ill release the funds, it said. I wanted to respond and say, Im not stupid. Instead I just deleted his email after flagging it as spam in Gmail. The other email was also from him but it claimed to be from PayPal again. It said that if I did not send the item and email the tracking number to the link provided Id be in big trouble. That is my paraphrase. The point of all of this is buyer and seller beware! eBay can be a great way to sell some unused stuff. It is like a 21st century yard sale. But you have to be careful. Lesson Seven: Dont use your personal email address and dont respond to people off eBay using your email address. You will become a spammers heaven. Instead get an alternative email address from a service like Gmail or Yahoo for the purpose of dealing with eBay and other online companies that may sell your address to spammers. I hope this helps. If you have some other important eBay suggestions let me know by sending an email to Kevin@KevinPurcell.org. Maybe I can do a follow up story with your horror or heavenly stories. If you want to learn more about eBay there are plenty of good books. But the best site is the eBay form and help site. Just go to www.ebay.com and click on either Community or Help at the top right.
February 2008
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internet toolbox
Ross Gile - ross@digical.com
DHTML
Whats In It For Me?

hat is DHTML? DHTML stands for Dynamic HyperText Markup Language. Whats in it for me? Let me bring it down to laymans
terms. We all have experienced DHTML on many sites such as, Yahoo, MSN, Fox News, etc. DHTML allows us to navigate web sites more efficiently and quickly without perform
ing page reloads. When surfing a DHTML web page all the data is already on your computer and your browser changes the data when you click through the web page, etc. Heres how it works: When you go to www.yahoo.com, you will see different folder tabs in the different sections. When I went to the site, the top main section has Featured, Entertainment, Sports, & Video tabs. If I click on any of those tabs, the information quickly changes without the page reloading from the Yahoo web server. That is because the data has already been downloaded onto your computer and your browser is switching the data as you click on the tabs. Thats the Dynamic part of the web site. It dynamically changes the content when the user clicks through the pages. To make this happen, you need the following elements: the static HTML content (the same content HTML for a regular web page), a CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) file that holds the presentation language, and the DOM (Document Object Model). Im not going to get into detail of these 3 elements of DHTML in this article, but know that these are important elements in order to make DHTML work.
The best thing about DHTML in my opinion is that when the page changes its content when you click on various links nothing is downloaded from the web server. The data is already in your browser. Using the Yahoo example, when you click on the Sports tab within the site, the browser just switches the data within that window or section without having to download the data again from the web server. This saves the end-user time and makes efficient use of the browser functionality. Last month in CCMag, I talked about AJAX. AJAX is similar technology but when using AJAX, data is downloaded from the server to change the content. If Yahoo used AJAX in those tabs, the good side is that the data is more current. The bad side is that it takes a few more seconds to download. Obviously, Yahoo decided to use DHTML because its quicker than AJAX because you can just click on any tab and the data changes instantly. AJAX would get the latest Sports news from the server every time you clicked on that Sports tab. They probably decided to use DHTML vs. AJAX because they opted for speed. They figured that the Sports News didnt change that often during a Yahoo session to use
February 2008
34
AJAX! AJAX is good technology for certain situations. Last month, I talked about www.kayak.com that allows you to shop for air fares. When you go to this site, it changes the search results as you drill down your search for the best fares. AJAX is the necessary technology of choice for this web site because it has to download the fares as you change your search criteria. DHTML will work but the site would be rendered useless because you would have to download all the fares contained within the databases from all major airlines in order to get your fare comparisons. AJAX allows you to quickly navigate a web page but then only downloads the data you need. I would like to show you a cool trick on knowing which pages are coded in DHTML or in AJAX. If you use Firefox, you can download an add-on called Firebug. You can download it for free at www.getfire bug.com. When you open Firebug, click on the Console Tab in the Firebug panel down below. Then surf various web pages like Yahoo.com and Kayak.com. If you see a URL pop-up in this window when clicking through the web page, that means its AJAX because it just downloaded some content from a URL to put in the web page. You can even see what URL was downloaded. If you click on any of those tabs in Yahoo, you will not see any URL pop-up on this list because the data is already downloaded into your browser and no new downloading is necessary-therefore, you can be pretty certain it was written in DHTML. Hopefully this will give you some idea on DHTML and AJAX. I appreciated all the great comments on my last article on AJAX. Let me know if you use any of these technologies. You can email me at Ross@digical. com.
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ministry communication
Yvon Prehn - yvonprehn@aol.com
People To Come Back After Easter Sunday

n most churches their biggest turnout of the year is for Easter Sunday. This doesnt happen by accident churches pour time, money and resources into their church communications prior to Easter and it pays off with a full-sanctuary for multiple services. However, few churches have a continuing increase in attendance after Easter. By changing the way you do your Easter Sunday communications you can change thatread on for how to accomplish a continuing increase in attendance.
Make Easter a connecting point, not the end result In the church communication production, almost everything is geared solely towards getting people to the Easter service. Thought this is a worthwhile goal, if it is your only goal, youll not accomplish all you could. Instead of seeing Easter attendance as the only goal and end result, change your thinking and strategy and look at Easter as a connection point between your community, Jesus, and your church. You want to bring people into the church, but you dont want them to go away and never come backyou want them to meet Jesus, to begin and grow in a relationship with Him. In addition, you want them to get to know your church and to enter into a continuing relationship with your church community. To accomplish these purposes, you have to be very intentional long before Easter in not only the communications you create to get them there (which you already have in place as you are reading this) but also in what you give people at the service. There are two overall areas in which you need to create communications in this way, communications to introduce them to Jesus and communications to introduce them to your church. Christian Computing Magazine Communications to introduce people to Jesus Some current studies show that because people in our post-Christian world know so little about Jesus and the Christian faith that it often takes seven or more (think multiple, at least) exposures to the gospel message before someone can make an informed decision to follow Jesus. People simply do not have the exposure to the Christian message that they did in years past. Some people (46% of unchurched people, in fact), do not even know that Easter has anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus. They may come to your church for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with spiritual seeking. They may want to spend time with family or hear the music or take their kids to the special programs. They may hear that Jesus rose from the dead for the first timeand like any new message, they will most likely initially reject it. Make that OKgive them communications that give them websites to explore, invite them to studies, do whatever you can to encourage them to continue their explorations. On my website www.effectivechurchcom.com I have some free bulletin inserts you can download that do this. Or you can create our own with this message: February 2008
How To Get
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Still have questions? Many people do. Youve just heard the story of Jesus rising from the dead, but after you leave the church, when brunch is over and youve had your fill of chocolate, you might wonderIs it just a story? Or did it really happen? If it did, what does it mean to me? If youve got those questions, weve got options for you. On the back of this sheet we hope youll check out the websites and events weve got to help you in your research. Take all the time you want. The issues are worth it.
On the back of a handout like this you could then list some upcoming seeker Bible studies or discussions, some websites to explore, some books they might want to read. Be sure also to include emails or phone numbers of folks who would be willing to interact with people who have questions about the Christian faith and who are able to lead a seeker to Jesus. Communications to introduce people to your church and the ministries of your church In most churches Easter Sunday services are held at different times than usual; the programs are unique for Easter; some ministries hold extra-special events, some ministries dont meet at all. Without thinking it through consciously at all, churches will often assume that just because folks really enjoyed bringing their kids to the petting zoo the church held at Easter and that the kids enjoyed the chocolate goodies from the Easter egg hunt that they will bring their kids back to Sunday school the next week. A bit of disappointment often takes place when this doesnt happen. But church folks must realize that if you dont specifically tell people (usually with a piece of PRINTED communications) what you do on a regular basis on Sunday, they may not even know what Sunday School is and that it is something that is available for their kids. Not only for the childrens ministry, but for all the ministries in the church and for your church overall, you must be intentional about telling people what you do on a regular basis and invite them to participate. Ive got lots more samples and ideas on my websiteplease go to www.effectivechurchcom.com for them and have a wonderful Easter rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord! Christian Computing Magazine February 2008
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scott howards hotPics

Scott Howard - scottdhoward@gmail.com
Blog Sites and More

reetings everyone! It has been a very exciting month, has it not? I look daily for what is in store for us as both the presidential candidacy and the economy are of such interest. Of course, as Christians we should always know that we do not need to worry about tomorrow as God is always in control, but there are things that we can do to make a difference today through God
and it is good to be concerned in that way. Matthew 6:34 says, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Notice, I use the term worry for something that we cannot control at this time and I use the term concern for something that we are able to help work out at this time. I believe that God does put concern in our lives for particular reasons but He also tells us not to go so far as to worry. Proverbs 20:24 says, A mans steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way? This should lead us to always be talking to the one who directs us. Philippians 4:6 says Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Our God is an awesome God and the absolute best thing we can do if we are concerned about something is to talk to Him about it. We may not always understand His answers but you can bet that the best thing for us and for Him is to take the issue to Him. I am going to start off this month with a blog that I check daily in order to better understand what is going on throughout the world. may want to check out in his blogroll. He is also coming out with a book that I want to read called Mormonism Explained: What Latter-Day Saints Teach and Practice.
www.macrumors.com is one I thought I would throw in as I just mentioned a little something about Macs in the last paragraph. As both Mac and Linux computers are gaining many new users, we are also seeing a lot more blogs about them. This is definitely one of the most widely read blogs regarding the Mac side. You can find a lot of information about Apple and Macs on this blog. It is run by volunteers as well as the owner Arnold Kim. I asked Doctor Q a few questions about the blog and what they have to offer and here is a quote he shared with www.smartchristian.com founded and operated by Andrew Jackson. me, Our biggest change in the last year was Andrew is a great Christian man that has been involved in numerous the set of improvements we made to our mission projects over the years. I find that the blog covers three main coverage of live Apple events, particularly subjects: religion, technology, and politics. These are of course all Macworld, using beefed upservers and our topics I enjoy. For instance, some of his recent posts have been about self-developed MacRumorLive.com techMormonism, current issues in the country of Turkey, and his new nology, which lets usoffer a live blog during Macbook. Andrew has some other blogs and Facebook groups that you Steve Jobs keynote speeches as well as live
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photos. For these events, we have to be prepared for millions of hits during a short period of time, so our livecoverage page uses AJAX to provide the feed using minimal bandwidth and without making users reloadthe page. The AJAX technology definitely seems to be the buzz right now. www.educause.edu is a great site by an organization that seeks to advance information technology within higher education. Since this is an area that I am really familiar with, it has to be one of my favorite sites. You may want to consider membership but all of the resources do not require membership. You can find numerous things on the site from news and events to jobs and white papers. If you are interested in the relationship between information technology and education and have not been here yet, you may want to check it out. www.thechristianmanifesto.word press.com is a site I ran across a while back that highlights many Christian happenings, resources, and people. There is actually a group of writers that contribute and a big portion of what they cover is media like movies and music. Check it out and if you have anything you want to share with them, I am sure they would love to hear from you as they have posted their gmail account information for you to contact them. www.roadrevelations.org is a blog by Bill Dotson. Bill has expressed his interest in sharing his insights on different Biblical truths. Bill is a retired technology educator from a public school system in Southwest Virginia and still continues to teach technology courses at a local college. One great thing about Bills blog is that you dont have to look at a bunch of ads. He is totally ad free. You cant beat that.
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Applying Tomorrows Technology to Todays Ministry

Cover Story - Page 7

Phone: (816) 331-8142 FAX: 800-456-1868

Special Feature - Page 16

Copyright 2008 by Christian Computing, Inc.

CCMag NewsBreif Press Releases MTI

Ministry Technology Institute

Wordsearch Word Nick at Church Tech Talk

Back By Popular Demand - The Discipleship Library for WORDsearch 8

Can I Get a Mac?

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Using & Optimizing System Restore

Cell Phone Novelists Replacing Traditional Authors In Japan

Higher Power with Kevin Internet Toolbox

eBay: Seller and Buyer Beware

by Kevin A Purcell by Ross Gile by Yvon Prehn by Scott Howard

DHTML - Whats In It For Me?

Ministry Communication Scott Howards HotPic

How To Get People To Come Back After Easter Sunday

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Cell Phone Novelists Replacing Traditional Authors In Japan

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higher power with kevin

Seller and Buyer Beware

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Whats In It For Me?

People To Come Back After Easter Sunday

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