Throwbacks

Knight Rider?!
American Gladiators!?

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like tv has gone back to the 80's. Don't get me wrong I am not saying anything bad about either show but doesn't it seem a little strange. I fully expect Buck Rogers to be remade to.

Email Server

In my post "New Email Server" I revealed a dilemma that I face every time I upgrade software that we have had for awhile. I want to go and look out at other solutions that would be better/cheaper before I do my upgrade. Well I have finally made a decision on the Email Server and we are sticking with MS Exchange.
Reasons:

1. We already have Software licensing for exchange
2. We desperately need to replace hardware and enterprise is enterprise as far as I'm concerned.
3. People do not like change and training is costly
4. We are currently an all-production MS shop and everything fits very well together now
5. There is the possibility of implementing Share Point and I would really like it to fit in with our mail solution.

I like to talk a big game but I really have to see an extreme value difference to actually move.

Computer Training

Lately we have had some people that have been interested in serving in the IT ministry. Unfortunately we don't have very much in place to facilitate volunteers currently. I think that is about to change with the addition of a community center. Recently our church purchased a building in an area convenient to people that typically don't attend our services. Its intent is to be an epicenter for the community around to come and be encouraged. There have been many ideas for uses for the space. One of the things that I would love to see is a room full of computers where people could come and use them to check out the internet or have volunteer led class in educating people on useful skills in the workplace.

It is just an idea that I would love to come to fruition the one hang up is the need for the computer. We don't exactly have the hardware to fill a room with so we are looking into grants so we can have new computers in there. Usually the leftovers from our offices are really worn out and wouldn't be useful for learning.

Prayer Management Technology

Lately I have been burdened by they ways that we track the prayer requests submitted by the congregation. As of now it is a completely manual process.

1. Most prayer requests are submitted during a service on the back of a contact card
2. The cards are gathered and PRs are compiled on a list.
3. The lists are distributed amongst the staff members and the prayer team.

This isn't a bad process but there is some room for improvement.

Each Monday I notice that about half of the list is made up of reoccurring PRs. Secondly there is no way for the church to get any type of feedback on what is going on with said PR.

I have been dreaming of some type of technology that would track prayer requests for our church...

• allow for someone to login and submit and track their prayer requests for the church.
  
• The ability for granular access to confidential PRs for specified users (ministry staff members).
• Logged in members to see a list of prayer requests and to pray for them.
• When someone prays for a request a log of who prayed and when it was will be saved and shown on the prayer. (kind of like a prayer poke)
• for people that enter their PR they can update information and show how their prayers are being answered.
• The ability to set PRs active/inactive, public/confidential, and anonymous/named.
  

I am still formulating some of the things that I would like to see in this "Prayer Management Software" and I'll be looking around to see what is already out there of if it should be developed.

If they Love Somthing you must take it away

As of late we have been doing some consolidation and standardization around the offices around here. From the perspective of maintenance and cost it is a no brainer. I however did not calculate some of the emotional attachment that various people have to this or that.
I've felt like the Grinch who stole your printer and am now forcing you to walk to get your print jobs.
Change is hard especially when you are removing instead of replacing.

Spring 2008 Church IT RoundTable

The Spring Church IT RoundTable will be April 5th hosted at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City. This RoundTable will be a great follow up to your attending the MinistryTech Conference on April 3rd-4th. Michael Foster and his team are preparing a great location and we will be able to accommodate a large group for a great discussion. If you have attended a RoundTable in the past, then you shouldn't even have to think about registering for this RoundTable, and if you haven't attended in the Past you are missing out if you don't register for this one! The RoundTable will be Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm, but make plans now to arrive early for check-in at 8:30am so the discussion can begin promptly at 9 am.

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2008
Time: 9-5, check-in 8:30 am.
Location:
Crossings Community Church
14600 North Portland
Oklahoma City, OK 73134

Registration: Registration is $15 and includes Lunch and Snacks.

Register Here!

Host: Michael Foster
Moderator: Jason Powell
Room setting: Retrying some variation of the "at the table" vs. "in the room" concept we used last year in Houston, but we'll attempt to step it up a bit to give more opportunities to get to the table. How? We don't know yet! Expect power, WiFi, and audio in the room, somehow or another.

What about vendors? *IT* people from vendors are welcomed, just like any other IT person. Vendor marketing teams will have their chance during MinistryTECH.

There's a good chance some of some goodies or door prizes from the non-ChMS vendors.