Church IT - Supporting ministry with IT

There’s probably enough in that title for a whole book. Which is sort of why I
bring it up having just read this review about a book on the subject over at bnet.com

5. “Jesus CEO” by Laurie Beth Jones (Hyperion, 1995)

Publisher’s blurb: “By harnessing three categories of strength behind Jesus’ leadership techniques (the strength of self-mastery, the strength of action, and the strength of relationships), each of us can become the empowered leaders that the next millennium will require.”

Excerpt: “I believe that Jesus had to go into the wilderness to find out who he was — that a wilderness experience was as much a part of his shaping and destiny as it is yours and mine.”

Why it’s overrated: While many managers think they’re God and manage accordingly, the historical Jesus espoused a communal lifestyle in direct opposition to (Roman) capitalism.

Read this instead: “The Book of Proverbs” (in the Bible)

Why: A collection of wisdom that completely transcends religion.

Excerpt: “Better a dry crust and with it peace than a house where feast and dispute go together.”

On the subject of proverbs I would also recommend ‘Making Life Work’ by Bill Hybels . Based on Proverbs there is lots of helpful advice. Hard reading but rewarding to put into practice

How to Promote a Sermon Series Like Fellowship Church | churchrelevance.com

Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) is starting a new sermon series this weekend called ineedtochange.com that will challenge people to consider how they need to change for the better. Here 7 ways they are promoting it:
Sermon website, Online Guerilla Marketing, Short films, Promotional Packets, billboards, direct mail, e-invites

Some great ideas here, especially creating a mini site with a relevant domain name. I’d love to try some of these out but I have a feeling they are a bit much for some smaller churches. Still, Aim high and all that…

Church Marketing Sucks: Simply Strategic Growth

Simply Strategic Growth: Attracting a Crowd to Your Church is comprised of 99 short chapters (2-3 pages) each focused on one simple idea. That means it’s a breeze to read through, is packed with ideas, and is very approachable for the ADD crowd (and with the proliferation of blogs and short content I think we’re all joining that club).

The book covers everything from backend administrative tasks (how to conduct a post-service what worked/what didn’t meeting and who to include) to wrangling volunteers (don’t schedule anything other than worship services and corresponding childcare on Sundays so you maximize your volunteer pool) to rationale for adding multiple services (people are more likely to invite friends when a church is not totally full and once your service has several hundred people there’s no way everybody can know everybody).

The writers of the book, Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan, even have their own podcast. And I was thinking I was running low of things to listen to on the train!