Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Why should the devil have all the good . . . web sites?
Martin Luther is quoted as having said "Why should the devil have all the good music?" While this is debatable, it has spawned a song and a movie and has been used as a rallying cry for those who believe that Christians should use their God-given artistic talents to their fullest in the creation of music. While it is questionable that the results (Contemporary Christian Music) are actually good art, the point is still valid: God has given Christians unique talents and gifts that should be used to their fullest, which should culminate in art that is of the highest class and beauty created. As Christians, we should never be satisfied with "good enough".
In fact, this should be true in every area of the life of the Christian. In Colossians 3, it speaks of "doing your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men" (NASB). I can attest: this is very difficult to do. With five kids, two jobs, and serving in several areas, it is always tempting to do "just enough" to get by and not be excellent. It is a constant struggle.
So why the title "Why should the devil have all the good web sites?". As I stated in an earlier post, I believe that I was not killed in my accident because He has more for me to do here first. Besides the things mentioned in a previous post, I believe God has uniquely positioned me for another task: developing a research base on how Christian ministries can effectively accomplish their mission via technology. God has laid on my heart a desire to see technology used to reach the world for Him. We have all seen church web sites that have fallen by the wayside and are no longer maintained. It is embarrassing to me as a Christian to see this happen - if you are going to do it, do it well.
How am I uniquely positioned? I have a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Technology. My research interests are in the effective design of social systems. I work at a job that will encourage and reward me for research. I have worked in the IT industry for 15 years and continue to do consulting there, keeping my eye on the "pulse" of the latest technology. I have a deep desire to see churches and other Christian ministries use technology to accomplish the mission God has laid out for them.
When I talk about this research, I do not simply mean "I will show them how to make good web sites". There are already many people out there doing that, most notably the Heal Your Church web site run by Dean Peters. What I am talking about is an academic look into what makes some uses of technology by churches and other ministries effective, and why some fail. It is not the selection of particular technologies I am concerned with, it is the processes used by these organizations that should be analyzed. It is quite simple to put up a web site these days - it is much more difficult to create an Internet presence which leverages the church or ministry and increases its reach manyfold.
What will be the result of all this research? I don't know. A book, a web site, seminars, training classes, consulting - maybe a mix of all of these. My first step is just to understand more fully the issues facing churches and other ministries when using technologies and looking for common patters. This will be followed by a more explicit research proposal and possible grants. The process may easily take more than a year, but along the way I hope to impact the world in the way God has gifted me to.
I will use this blog to communicate my progress as I go along - I hope you'll check in once in a while to see how it's going. ¶ 6:44 AM 1 comments
Martin Luther is quoted as having said "Why should the devil have all the good music?" While this is debatable, it has spawned a song and a movie and has been used as a rallying cry for those who believe that Christians should use their God-given artistic talents to their fullest in the creation of music. While it is questionable that the results (Contemporary Christian Music) are actually good art, the point is still valid: God has given Christians unique talents and gifts that should be used to their fullest, which should culminate in art that is of the highest class and beauty created. As Christians, we should never be satisfied with "good enough".
In fact, this should be true in every area of the life of the Christian. In Colossians 3, it speaks of "doing your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men" (NASB). I can attest: this is very difficult to do. With five kids, two jobs, and serving in several areas, it is always tempting to do "just enough" to get by and not be excellent. It is a constant struggle.
So why the title "Why should the devil have all the good web sites?". As I stated in an earlier post, I believe that I was not killed in my accident because He has more for me to do here first. Besides the things mentioned in a previous post, I believe God has uniquely positioned me for another task: developing a research base on how Christian ministries can effectively accomplish their mission via technology. God has laid on my heart a desire to see technology used to reach the world for Him. We have all seen church web sites that have fallen by the wayside and are no longer maintained. It is embarrassing to me as a Christian to see this happen - if you are going to do it, do it well.
How am I uniquely positioned? I have a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Technology. My research interests are in the effective design of social systems. I work at a job that will encourage and reward me for research. I have worked in the IT industry for 15 years and continue to do consulting there, keeping my eye on the "pulse" of the latest technology. I have a deep desire to see churches and other Christian ministries use technology to accomplish the mission God has laid out for them.
When I talk about this research, I do not simply mean "I will show them how to make good web sites". There are already many people out there doing that, most notably the Heal Your Church web site run by Dean Peters. What I am talking about is an academic look into what makes some uses of technology by churches and other ministries effective, and why some fail. It is not the selection of particular technologies I am concerned with, it is the processes used by these organizations that should be analyzed. It is quite simple to put up a web site these days - it is much more difficult to create an Internet presence which leverages the church or ministry and increases its reach manyfold.
What will be the result of all this research? I don't know. A book, a web site, seminars, training classes, consulting - maybe a mix of all of these. My first step is just to understand more fully the issues facing churches and other ministries when using technologies and looking for common patters. This will be followed by a more explicit research proposal and possible grants. The process may easily take more than a year, but along the way I hope to impact the world in the way God has gifted me to.
I will use this blog to communicate my progress as I go along - I hope you'll check in once in a while to see how it's going. ¶ 6:44 AM 1 comments
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http://godbit.com/featured/jacobs-well-church
This is the church of Scott Raymond, one of the guys who spoke at RailsConf. You'd probably be interested in the site in general if you haven't already seen it.
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This is the church of Scott Raymond, one of the guys who spoke at RailsConf. You'd probably be interested in the site in general if you haven't already seen it.
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