FaithEngineer

It’s been quiet here on the blog for the last few days. During my normal blogging hours I have been working on the site design. I’ve been using the same graphics for a while now and since I can’t leave anything alone for long, I decided to update the theme the blog is based on. I wanted to switch to one that is sleek, clean, and easy to customize. The Standard Theme is a newer Wordpress theme that I chose for the updated look. It is a great premium blog theme and I plan on using this as a framework for the blog for the foreseeable future.  I still have some customization to do, but I think this is a great start. Here are some of the features of the new theme.

• it’s coded to be fast and meet current web standards
• it’s SEO Friendly (Search Engine Optimization)
• it has multiple advertising options built in
• it is easy to customize and style using custom CSS
• and it has a great community forum where you can find support

So far, I’m impressed. I was able to eliminate several plugins because of built-in functionality, and it just looks sleek and modern. Let me know if you have any problems viewing the site. Especially if you are on older browsers in windows. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

This past weekend, we hosted a youth conference at our church. Right before the conference started, we clicked on a message to update to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player on our main computer.  Did I mention this was right before the conference started  Since it was a windows computer, you can guess what happened. Constant crashing and serious stress. For the first fifteen minutes of the conference, Tyler and I were frantically doing a system restore to get the computer back up and running. Luckily our worship band was able to keep playing and we got everything running smoothly by the time the teaching started. Since one purpose of this blog is to share lessons learned, so I want to share some new policies that we will be implementing for our windows computers.

Scheduled Updates:

From now on, automatic updates are officially turned off on our main computers. All software updates will be performed on Mondays or Tuesdays so that we have time to troubleshoot and keep things running smoothly for Sunday mornings. Even updates that seem unrelated to the programs you use may render the computer unusable. Just last week, a family member had a windows update cause their Windows XP computer to Blue Screen during reboot. For your health and sanity, don’t do an update right before a service, wait until you have plenty of time to fix things when they go wrong. And it will happen eventually. Remember we are talking about Windows.

Restricted Access

I’m locking down the computer to prevent people from installing any programs or updates. I hate to do this, but with any computer that is used by multiple people, you have to protect it. I already use OpenDNS to filter the internet and Microsoft Security Essentials for Antivirus protection, but it is still too easy to install malware and viruses. And you need to check the computer regularly to ensure that the software and media installed are legally owned by the church.

Backup

Take advantage of the System Restore tool in Windows. It has saved me numerous times. I also backup the computer weekly, but System Restore works for most problems. Just choose a date and time when the computer was working smoothly and Windows will roll back your files to that date.

And Finally, Get a Mac

Make plans for switching over to a mac. Seriously, if we could afford it, I would put in a mac pro this week and make the switch. I use a MacBook Pro and have been spoiled by the ease of keeping things running smoothly. Macs are not without problems, but they have greatly simplified the user experience.

What else do you recommend? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

A great use of a church website is for sharing prayer requests. PrayerEngine is a new web service that looks promising. It allows you to embed a prayer wall directly into your existing website. Anyone can submit a prayer request, which is then posted to your website as soon as it is approved. You can share those prayer requests through email, twitter, facebook, and RSS. People visiting your website can click on a counter that shows how many time each request is prayed for. This is such a great use of social media for the church. If you are interested, check out the demo on youtube. I think you will see more services like this in the future that embed directly into your existing website.

The service costs a one-time fee of $99. Since there is no monthly fee, it’s a great bargain. As an added bonus, you can head over to MediaSalt and pickup an additional 15% discount for today only!

The Prayer Engine – The Best Way to Share Prayer Requests Online

Have you ever wished that you could access your home computer from work? Have you forgotten a much needed file? Do your parents need help with their computer, but you’re miles away and can’t work on it? Need to print something at church?  I’ve experienced all of these situations many times and I have tried several different solutions. But I have finally found a free software solution that lets you login and work on a computer from anywhere in the world via the internet.  I’ve been using it for a few months and it works great.

LogMeIn Free is a software application that you can install on any PC or Mac computer.  Once installed, you can access that computer from any computer with an internet connection and web browser. I can even use my Window mobile phone or iPod to access and control the computers.  I have installed this on my home computer, the church computer, and my parent’s computer. Now if I need to login and check something or email a file, I can do that quickly and easily. Everything is password protected, so choose a strong password and you’ll be safe. This is much simpler to use than VNC or remote desktop connection, and it’s a lot cheaper than MobileMe’s back to my mac.

Here’s more info from their site.

LogMeIn Free gives you remote control of your PC or Mac from any other computer with an Internet connection.

Simply install LogMeIn on the computer you want to access (it takes about 2 minutes), log into your account from another computer and click the computer you want to control. You’ll see its desktop and be able to use all the applications on your remote computer as if you were sitting in front of it -- even if you’re across town, across the country, or across the world.

• Works with Windows PCs and Mac OS X
• Two-minute set-up

They do offer a paid version that adds the ability to share files and print, but I can get around needing that by using the free Dropbox utility to move and sync files between computers.

For many parents, facebook is like a foreign country full of surprises. If you can’t speak the language and you don’t know where things are, it can be a frustrating experience. With the recent surge in both parents and youth jumping into facebook, I wanted to share some ideas about how we can prepare and protect our children. I’ll tackle several issues that have come up in conversation with parents I know.

How Old Should My Child Be Before They Get a Facebook Account?

Based on the terms of service for facebook, children must be at least 13 years old. I see no reason not to honor this. In fact, here are some reasons why I think it is a great idea.

• As a social network, the power of facebook is connecting with your friends who are already on the network. Most children under 13 don’t have accounts.
• What are we teaching are children about truthfulness if they have to lie about their birthdate to create an account?
• Most younger children are still innocent enough that they don’t see the danger in sharing personal information. Their pictures and status updates are available to everyone if you haven’t changed the default facebook settings.
• One word: Drama
• Children under 13 would have a tough time differentiating between legitimate people wanting to be your friend and those who are selling something. I even have a tough time. Just today, I accepted a friend request from someone who looked like a normal user and then clicked on their profile to find out that they were linking to porn. There are dangers online, and we must be willing to protect our children.

How Do I Prepare My Child For a Facebook Account

If your older child or teen already has a facebook account (and they probably do), then how can you talk with them and help prepare them and teach them proper online safety and accountability? I would suggest the following:

• Change the default privacy settings: Go to the facebook help section on privacy and learn how to set the privacy options. I would suggest changing the default settings on status updates, photos, and photo albums to make them viewable only to their friends. Also go into the privacy settings for their profile and change each option as you deem appropriate.
• Check their profile information: It is never a good idea for a child to share their address on facebook, so make sure personal information that could compromise their safety is deleted from their profile.
• Learn about Limited Profiles: You can create a friend list for those people you don’t know quite as well and assign them to a limited profile.  You can further restrict what certain people see about you by setting this up. Check the help section for more information on how to set this up.
• Discuss with your child who to accept/invite as friends: Are you just going to add people who you know in person, or will you expand it out to friends of friends? What about people who you don’t know at all? As a cautious parent, I would suggest not adding someone if you don’t know them.
• Discuss the importance of accountability: As I mentioned earlier, there are dangers with inappropriate sites on the internet. I feel that the benefits of reaching the online generation far outweigh the dangers, but let’s help our children to see the importance of accountability. Encourage them to talk with their friends about the language they use online, about the pictures they post, and about the sites they visit. As a parent, take the steps needed to protect your child. It may mean that you look through the browsing history daily, it may mean that you install filtering software or accountability software, it may mean that you only let them on facebook in the family room with others present.  Take the time to discuss and talk with your child, and come up with a plan that will protect them and teach them the proper use of the internet.
• Remind them that you can’t delete what you post: Yes you can delete a post or status update, but someone somewhere will have a copy of it. Think before you post! If you join a group with an nasty name, guess what, everyone knows. If you attend a party and pictures are posted, guess what, everyone knows. Encourage them to live a life of purity of Holiness. 1 Timothy 4:12 tells them that they should be an example to others. Teach your children that facebook is a mission field, with the entire world watching.  What kind of example will you set?

What are some other questions you have? Leave a comment and we’ll keep the conversation going.

I finally got around to setting up a good backup strategy for our church computers. Over the Christmas holiday I found a great deal on the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo file server.  I got one for the church for only $239, and it has worked flawlessly. This is a dual drive 1TB network storage device and works great for homes or small businesses. You simply plug it into your network and access it from any computer on the network. I’m using it with Apple time machine to backup my mac, and I’m also backing up our windows computers to it.  It also functions as a great media server and file server.

Let me urge you to think through your backup plan. Eventually you will have a hard drive crash, so what will happen to your data?  By having a regular plan in place, you can save yourself from all the despair of losing important files. I recommend having a network storage drive or an external hard drive as your primary backup, and also using an online backup service to protect your most important files. If something happens to your building or home, it is great to have a backup that is not at the same location.

At home, I’m using MozyPro, which is an online backup solution.  My computer uploads any changes to their offsite servers during the night. It has worked great and is only $4.95 per month.  Other good online solutions are BackBlaze and Carbonite.

Dropbox is also another great way to backup important files. It synchronizes files between different computers. It has been a great way to backup some important files and transfer files from my home computer and my laptop to the church computer.

Whatever you do, DO SOMETHING. Don’t wait until a failure, develop a plan and start backing up. You’ll thank me later.

If you’re interested in the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo, here is some more info.

Google announced their new phone today and it looks sweet. I’ve been waiting for a iPhone to come out on a different network, but this has definitely got my interest now. Especially since it will be available on Verizon in a few months. Check out the video below

One of the most used apps on my iPod is the YouVersion Bible app by Lifechurch.tv. I have blogged about YouVersion numerous times in the past (see the posts here), and I am excited about the continual updates that the digerati team at Lifechurch keep pushing out. Last week they announced a new milestone. YouVersion users have spent one billion minutes reading the Bible on mobile devices! But they didn’t stop long to celebrate and now they have added the ability to track a personalized Bible reading plan on your mobile device. The feature came out today for the Blackberry application and is coming out soon on the iPod/iPhone. It is also available on their website.

I have kept a little printout in my Bible for a long time that I use to track my reading progress. It works great until you lose the sheet, which I have done several times in the past year.  I’m planning on switching over and using this to track and guide my reading starting January 1st. There are multiple reading plans to choose from, so what’s holding you back? Will you join me in reading through your Bible in the upcoming year?

If you want to find out more about how this works, check out the video below.

ChurchCrunch had the news about this yesterday.  If you want to utilize technology for ministry, then definitely check this website out. It is a great blog with an active forum of church tech users. Definitely one of my favorite ministry websites. Check it out at www.churchcrunch.com.

In case you haven’t heard, the FTC is cracking down on blogs.  As of December 1st, bloggers must now reveal when they receive compensation or free products for review purposes.  I am part of several blogger review programs which provide free books, so I wanted to let you know where I stand.  Although I may receive and review free books from time to time, I am in no way required to provide a positive review.  I have the freedom to post my true thoughts, and I will always do just that.

I also am part of several affiliate link programs.  When you click on a product link or a site advertisement and then make a purchase, I receive a small commission.  So far, this has not really provided any income.  My expenses to run the site still far outweigh any income I have received from the affiliate programs.  If the site traffic increases, I hope to use this income to simply cover my costs.

I have a little trouble believing that this is such a huge problem for the government.  They are threatening fines up to $11,000 for bloggers who do not disclose these free products or marketing relationships.  As a follower of Christ, I want to be above reproach in everything I do, online and in the real world.  I want you to know that I will always be straight with you.  You will only receive honest and truthful opinions when I talk about a book or product. I have also created a page here on the blog with my full disclosure policy.  So thanks for hanging around and reading this post. It’s not my most interesting one, so thanks for being a loyal reader!

For a long time, I have had a passion for helping smaller churches utilize technology. From assisting them with their websites, to setting up podcasts, to helping plan audio and video systems, I have gained much experience over the last 15 years.  So today, I’m making it official, I am offering my services to other churches as a consultant and web designer.

My goal is to help churches develop an overall technology and web strategy.  If we’re not careful, technology can consume huge amounts of money and distract us from our main mission of making disciples. I want to help churches realize how it can create connections between the people inside your church and the community. Technology is an incredible tool to advance the Kingdom when used properly.  Since I am a pastor, I will only have limited time available for consulting and web design.  My focus will be on smaller churches with smaller budgets.  Click on the Design and Consulting Link from my website to find out more about how we can partner together.

I’ve been playing a little with Google Wave.  It could really become a useful tool for ministry in the future.  But it is not there yet.  Google is trying to invent a better way to communicate with groups of people.  If you have ever been in a long email conversation between multiple people, you can understand the potential benefit that Google Wave will provide. I think this will be a great tool for leadership teams to collaborate and share info throughout the day, even if you are in different locations.  The main drawback is that there are not many people currently using it. If your friends and colleagues aren’t on it, then it doesn’t provide much benefit.  It is also complicated to use in it’s present form.

Since the service is still in Beta, you have to be invited to use it.  I have several invites that I can share, so leave me a comment if you are interested in trying this service out.

Here’s a simple description of how Google Wave works

If you want a more detailed understanding of Google Wave, check this video out.

I have been asked several times recently about incorporating text messaging and twitter comments into church events.  Audience participation can be fun and it can provide a way to get feedback during an event or service. Here are several services that I am familiar with that use text messaging and twitter.

YouVersion Live:

This is a new free service that lets you share notes, Bible passages, prayer requests and polls for anyone using a web-enabled mobile device.  I’ll share a little about this service in a future post, but this is an awesome way to interact with your congregation.  The only drawback is that it does require a web-enabled phone or ipod to use.

Poll Everywhere:

This is a text messaging service that lets you take real time polls of your audience.  You can embed the results in a powerpoint file or just view the website in full screen mode to see the results as they come in.  We have used this several times with good results for youth and for some of our special services.  Your audience can send in their answers through SMS text messaging, through the web, or through twitter.

Jarbyco:

This is another text messaging service that many churches have used.  It is powerful and easy to configure.  They also do custom work for clients

Paratweet:

This has been used at the Catalyst Conference and is a great way to create interaction with the audience using twitter.  Paratweet offers powerful moderation features as well to keep unwanted comments from showing up.

Wiffiti:

Wiffiti is like a whiteboard that shows incoming messages.  It can be embedded in a website and you can customize the background images.  This is a very graphical solution that would be great to share prayer requests for a large group.  I think it works best for a younger audience, but I really like the potential.   There are several moderation options and the best part is that it’s free!   (thanks to studentministry.org for introducing this service to me)

Now for the disclaimer, just because the tools are available to interact with audience doesn’t mean that you should use them.  Technology is a tool that can help connect us or it can become a distraction that divides us.  You will need to think through the appropriate use of these services. Some of the free versions lack the ability to moderate the comments, so you can very easily end up with something inappropriate on the screen. You also have to take into account how much time you will have to devote to explaining the use of these services.  Unless you are dealing with teens or a tech-savvy crowd, you will have to walk people through how to use each service.

I’ve been experimenting with the Google Voice service for a while now. They have added a great new feature, but I probably need to stop and explain the basics of Google Voice first.  It is a free service that gives you advanced control of a new phone number.  You can setup rules for calls received on the new number.  It allows you to customize greetings for different people, to route calls to different phones, and to have all voicemails transcribed by google and emailed to you. Here is how Google describes it

• Google Voice gives you one number for all your phones — a phone number that is tied to you, not to a device or a location. Use Google Voice to simplify the way you use phones, make using voicemail as easy as email, customize your callers’ experience, and more.
• Google Voice isn’t a phone service, but it lets you manage all of your phones. Google Voice works with mobile phones, desk phones, work phones, and VoIP lines. There’s nothing to download, upload, or install, and you don’t have to make or take calls using a computer.
• Google Voice will let you define which phones ring, based on who’s calling, and even let you ListenIn^TM on voicemail before answering the call. We use smart technology to route your calls. So, if you’re already on a Google Voice call, we’ll recognize it and use call waiting to reach you on the phone you’re on.

This is a great way for smaller churches to handle phone calls.  You can get a single google voice number for the church and then have it routed to different people at different times. You can have customized greetings and you even receive emails and text messages when you get a message.  It is still in beta, so you will need to request an invite from Google. You should be able to sign up within a few days.  The best way to understand it is to watch this short video on youtube.

But here is the big news. Now you can use Google Voice with your existing phone number

Google announced on their blog that they have opened up the customized greetings and voicemail services to anybody using your existing cell numbers.  I was surprised to see that they supported US Cellular who I have cell service with, so I quickly switched my voicemail service from the cell company to google.  After using it a few weeks, I really like it.  It does a decent job of transcribing my voicemails into emails, and I have haven’t lost any functionality.  I can still call and check messages from anywhere.  But now I can also listen to my messages on my computer, and I can setup customized greetings for different people.  This is a great way to handle calls that you are expecting but you may not be able to get to.  Check out the video below for more info.

Last year, I shared about a new Kodak Zi6 pocketcam that I was using as my main camcorder.  I have been extremely pleased with the camcorder and we have used it a lot over the past year.   But with the cheap price and small size, pocketcams all have some drawbacks. Typically the battery life and recording times are short.  Because of the small size, it is almost impossible to keep the video stabilized while filming.  So expect some shaky footage.   But the biggest drawback for filming footage for youth and church is the audio quality.  The first generation pocketcams did not have the capability to hook in an external mic.

Fast forward to today.  All the major makers have updated their camcorders.  Flip, Creative, and Kodak all have new models out, and all the other camcorder makers are quickly jumping in this growing market. I wanted to spotlight the newest model from Kodak, the Zi8.  Here are the new features

• Record High Definition video (1080p at 30 fps with 16:9 aspect ratio)  The old Zi6 that I have only goes up to 720p resolution
• Expandable SD/SDHC card slot up to 32 GB. The new SDHC cards are getting cheaper all the time
• Rechargeable batteries and charger included.  It uses a battery pack now, but they have also added a DC port to power the unit continously.
• Vibrant 2.5-inch viewfinder; Watch footage on HDTV with included HDMI cable
• Get sharper videos and less blur thanks to built-in digital image stabilization.
• But the biggest new feature is the external mic port.  This is HUGE!  You can hook up an external mono or stereo mic to record audio from a distance.  I have not been able to use my Zi6 for many of the church videos because of the poor sound quality. With this camcorder, you can use a lapel mic or boom mic to get the sound directly from the source.

And the price … currently it is $179 on Amazon.  I have been able to simply drop the footage into iMovie from my Zi6.  If you are looking for a cheap high quality camcorder, then you may want to check this one out.   You can find out more info about using this camera over at worshipideas.com.

If you have multiple computers running Microsoft Windows to keep secure and virus-free at home or at church, you know how much of a pain it can be. Churches can get in a tough spot, because some of the “free” programs like AVG anti-virus are not free for non-profits and churches. The cost of keeping multiple computers current on virus subscriptions can be high with both Norton and McAfee. Both have good products, but they can also slow your computer down significantly. I wanted to let you know about a new free option that seems to work well.

Microsoft has released the free Security Essentials program to provide both spyware and virus protection. It is a small program that doesn’t take a lot of your system resources. It is not fancy, but it seems to work well.  And did I mention it’s free

You can download it at Microsoft’s Security website. Here is some info about it from CNet’s review

Microsoft Security Essentials is a lightweight security app that people might turn to for a number of key reasons. It’s easy on the system resources, it’s easy to figure out how to use, and it comes pre-configured. It only works on legally licensed Microsoft computers, which is understandable but potentially leaves a large segment of the unprotected population still unprotected. You can’t opt out of contributing to SpyNet, which isn’t understandable at all. Overall, it’s recommended for those who want something to set and ignore, but users who want more robust configuration choices or don’t want to contribute to the cloud should look elsewhere.

As with any virus program, you still have to be careful installing programs. Don’t trust pop-ups on your screen while you’re browsing the internet. Most are links to malware programs that will only cause problems. If you are on a mac, you don’t have to worry about all of this at the present.  But there will come a day when more viruses and spyware writers will start attacking Apple as well, so don’t get careless. It is also a good idea to run some type of filtering on your internet access as an added layer of protection. I’ve written before about the free OpenDNS service here on the blog, and I continue to use it at home and at church with great results.