MinistryTECH/RoundTable Day 4

Quick notes:

1. Tony's session this afternoon raised the bar.  He was funny and engaging.  My mind was too cluttered to live blog it, so I just listened.  Good talk.  IT does present a lot of paradoxes.  Tony thinks success involves holding a lot of things together that seem to be opposite or contradictory.  Sounds a bit like Seeing Gray.

2. Paul Braoudakis: God chose a craftsman.  Ex. 31:1-5.  We're the craftspeople of our era.

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."  - Apple "Think Different" ad

MinistryTECH: Users or Customers?

I presented a break out session at MinistryTECH this afternoon.  Jim blogged it.  So did Jason.

Ian started playing around with his webcam and realized he could live stream my talk through Ustream.  Cool!  Brian back at the office got in on the act.

Why do we need advance planning and real-world testing when we can just make this crap up on the fly?  Actually, if you watch the video below you'll notice a problem with this attitude.  The mic in the webcam went wonky, resulting in continuous, loud white noise for a bit.  Ian realized it was happening and switched to the laptop's internal mic, but there's a definite disruption in the viewer experience around the 7:30 mark.  You'll need to skip ahead to where the counter reads approximately 22:00.

If you haven't seen any of the Nick Burns sketches, here's one on CNet.

I'll put up the PPT slides when I get home.

Let The Debating Begin (And the Communion Cups Fly)

The Legislation Tracking System just went live on the www.umc.org website. This online database tracks all of the legislation submitted to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church through committee, to final resolution on the floor. Find the ones you love or hate and watch the streaming video during the second week as the fists fly (Not literally - though I did witness a communion cup flung across the room and shattered in protest last time around).

You Can Not Stop Nerds

Ok, I had to do it. Our fearless leader Clif is at MinistryTECH in Oklahoma City as I type this blog post. My cohort in this was Ian, who is there with Clif. Ian was able to set up a webcam in short order and stream Clif to U-Stream:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ministrytech

To the upper right is a shot from my camera phone. This is a projected image on a wall in our training room back in Leawood, KS. Clif is larger than life!






So to sum up - yeah I posted on Clif's presentation in Oklahoma City before he was even finished, watching from Leawood, KS. :)

Given even simple technology - you can't stop nerds from getting creative and participating, even if we don't get to be there in person.

MinistryTECH: Be an Idiot

Presenter: Terry Storch, Digerati Pastor at LifeChurch.tv here in Oklahoma City.

Are we idiots for making the transition from secular work to low-paying church work?  He was labeled an idiot in 1991 when he became the preschool pastor at Fellowship Church (at that time Fellowship of Las Colinas).  Jesus was (and is) looking for idiots.

Jeff Hook is an idiot.

Idiots are comfortably uncomfortable.  Processes sometimes drive toward designs intended to make us more comfortable, stable, etc. rather than more effective.  Make my life easier.  Don't worship the process.

Now Discover Your Strengths.  Your strength is your weakness.

Life balance - seems like a myth.  Has failed over and over.  Gives Jesus, family, work all 100%.  What are your boundaries?

Accountability.  Lived the lie of accountability.  The last 10% of our stuff is the hardest to share because it's the stuff that will seriously jack you up.

Idiots are changing the world.

We are at a unique time in history.  Technology is influencing our culture.  Over 1 billion people connected to the net out of 6 billion in the world.

What faith risk are you avoiding because you're scared?

MinistryTECH/RoundTable Day 3

Quick notes:

1. This is the first time I've ever connected to an access point at N speed.  I've had this laptop for two months and supposedly have N access points at home and the office, but I've never actually connected at N speed.  Too many other things on my plate to try to troubleshoot why.  Intel PROSet reports a data rate of 144 Mb/s.  I just now got 4868 kb/s down and 3629 kb/s up.  Cool!  I'm stylin'.

2. Matt says I wasn't merely to use the word "hullabaloo" but I was to find some way to use it creatively.  Just linking to the dictionary.com entry hardly qualifies.  The problem with this assignment is that it assumes I am gifted in such creativity.  Turns out I'm not.  ;-)  I can only appeal to Tony's theological understanding of mercy and grace.

3. Met Barry Thomason, VP of Business Development for Daxko at lunch.  He's exploring the ChMS marketplace.  I hope I didn't scare him too much!

4. Jeff Hook: "Brand" is your promise to deliver.  IT should avoid brand confusion - don't promise one experience and deliver another.  He said lots of other interesting stuff too.  Check out his full presentation here.

MinistryTECH: The I in IT

Presenter: Jon Edmiston, Director of IT and Communications at Christ's Church of the Valley.

• More time on solutions, less on infrastructure.
• Unlike corporate IT, we can focus just on the customer (congregants).  Few mission-critical applications.
• Membership system is the core application.
• Member data must drive the website.
• Single platforms trump disparate but integrated solutions (best in class)
• Your membership system is only as good as the data quality
• Skills you should have: reporting, scripting, statistics, graphical design
• Key technologies: geographical information systems, data analysis tools, data visualization tools, unified messaging, social networking, mobile technologies
• Strategic prioritization: plan ahead, start with solutions not infrastructure
• Don't seek staff approval - it limits our impact to the ministry.  Staff service is critical but not at the expense of impacting the congregation through technology.
• Infrastructure should be simple.  Don't overkill the reliability.  Stay away from the bleeding edge of infrastructure unless it directly provides the solution (e.g. Asterisk).  New technologies that save $ rarely do.
• Be aware of opportunity cost.
• Let big ideas stew.  (This is Jon's variation of my "discernment stew" idea.  Can't believe I've never posted on that.)
• MapPoint is incredible. 

Books mentioned:

• The Non-designer's Design Book
• The Visual Display of Quantitative Data

My counterpoint:

• Integrating multiple, best-in-class systems vs. a single, integrated solution is a classic IT tradeoff that's been around for at least 15 years.  I didn't see any special insight in Jon's view on that.
• Of course, our default answer is "yes".  Enough said.

MinistryTECH: 10 reasons techies scare me

EVDO is 704 kb/s down, 197 kb/s up.  Ian says the WiFi is 8 Mb/s down and 4 Mb/s up.  That actually might be enough for all these laptop-bearing nerds!  CORRECTION: Ian says it's starting to suck wind.  We know about that from the Fall 2007 RoundTable!

Presenter is Tony Morgan, Chief Strategic Officer from New Spring Church, and formerly Jason Powell's boss at Granger.  The secret code word for bloggers and tweeters is "hullabaloo."  Tony said to check dictionary.com for the spelling.  Heh.

• Assume everyone thinks like a techie.
• Don't bend on standardization.
• Hire the best geek rather than the best leader.
• Always want more staff.
• Always want more stuff.
• Don't document processes.
• Implement technology without considering strategy.
• Don't communicate their solutions with the team.
• Focus on implementation without creating systems for training and support.
• Let technology drive the ministry rather than vice versa.

Tony says we need to get three things right: technology, people, and strategy.  True, but he got it in the wrong order.  If you have the right people, they will determine the right strategy, buy the right technology, communicate with all the stakeholders, and get everything else right in the above list.

Aside: Jason Lee said we should give an award to the first person here who jumps up to go handle a tech support emergency.  Great idea.  I seriously wonder how many of the people here have already this morning faced a technical issue they need to resolve back home.  Even sitting here listening to Tony, some of us are getting e-mails, pages, or other alarms.  Ian just now got alarmed on a wireless access point going down.  Of course it's the one serving our senior pastor's office. 

MinistryTECH/RoundTable Day 2

Quick notes:

1. Jason Lee posted a bunch of pictures from the church tours today.  I'm featured prominently in a few.  ;-)

2. Jim Walton put up a Picasa set.  This image features Ian gesturing expansively.

3. Driving from Henderson Hills to lunch we were in the van for around 15 minutes.  During that time Jeremie, Matt, and Ian were on the WiFi from their laptops.  Jason Lee was on his cell phone.  They were answering tech support issues, getting e-mail, etc.  These guys are so nerdy, they make me seem almost normal by comparison.  The RoundTable is a serious geek-in.  Also, it begs the question: Are we too connected? 

4. Great to reconnect with Terry Storch today.

5. Equally great to meet Brad Coats, IT Director of LifeChurch.tv, Michael Foster, IT Director of Crossings Community Church, and Heather DeShazo of Church of the Servant.

6. There is something very special about the CITRT.  I've been involved in secular trade organizations where people come together to network with their peers.  Of course the CITRT is similar to countless trade associations, yet it is much more.  We aren't ignorant of the differences in our histories, traditions, styles, and even theologies, yet we choose to overlook those differences to see the essential unity of the Body of Christ and the commonality of our mission.  I believe God is bringing us together.  We truly are on the same team.  This group lives that out in a way that is unique in my experience.

7. Ian and Matt agreed with me that the trip down here would have been worth it just for what we experienced today.  It's awesome that we have four more days ahead.  Bring it on!

MinistryTECH/RoundTable Day 1

Quick notes:

1. Good drive down.  Great weather in Oklahoma - clear skies, temps in the low 60s.

2. Ian's cell phone as a mobile WiFi hotspot was a fun, nerdy experiment.  Turns out, when doing EVDO and WiFi, the phone consumes more power than can be supplied by Ian's car charger.  After two hours of more-or-less continuous connectivity, the battery died despite being plugged in to the charger the entire time.

3. The WiFi in the Crown Plaza is bad.  B-mode only.  I got 184 kb/s down and 122 kb/s up.  Jason Lee had the same experience.  EVDO is 1229 down and 274 up.  How sick is it when EVDO is WAY faster than WiFi?

4. Although we are 15 miles from Henderson Hills in Edmond, this hotel will be a mini conference-central.  A bunch of us are staying here.

5. I'm rebuilding my Vista laptop.  Long story, but when the hard drive failed (yes, it was less than a month old when it started acting up) and there was no good way to recover and move to the new hard drive, I had no choice but to rebuild.  It's an XP laptop now.  Heavy sigh.

6. I still need to put the finishing touches on my presentation.

Losers in my future

I'm expecting to see a bunch of losers in Oklahoma City this week at MinistryTECH and the RoundTable!  (Click the link if you don't get the reference.)  Ian, Matt, and I are getting in the van and making the short, five-hour drive this afternoon.  We're picking up Jason Lee's crew at the OKC airport, whereupon some as yet unplanned mischief will ensue.  It should hardly be surprising that Ian has rigged a rolling hotspot for the drive.  If anyone needs us, you can catch him on the CITRT IRC channel or call my cell, 913-642-1875.  I'm SOOOO jazzed!

Check In system integration

Ian posted today about the work he has done over the last few months to select and integrate hardware and software for Arena check in, preserving a lot of the hardware we bought for Shelby V5 check in.  It's partly shiny and cool, and partly ghetto-tastic!

If you would like to get an overview of the technology that needs to come together in a working check in system, or if you are interested in real-world applications of thin clients, Ian's post is a good read. 

Jealous

I'm pretty sure jealousy is a sin.  God, forgive me, but I want to have what Andrew has.

Testing candidates before hiring

In our conversation last week, Jim Edwards mentioned that KCBT had recently changed their hiring process for all staff going forward.  They now require candidates to take a test to verify their computer skills prior to the final hiring decision.  Computer proficiency isn't the only consideration and IT doesn't have a veto in the hiring process.  The test results are just one factor that the hiring manager weighs in the decision. 

I thought this was a very interesting idea to add to the ongoing conversation, frequently revisited by Tony Dye, regarding computer skills and training.  I suggested to Jim the he should blog it.  Read his post here.  He's already drawn a comment from someone with a different perspective.

What do you think?  Is this an idea other church IT departments should consider?

Adam Hamilton is blogging

Resurrection's senior pastor, Adam Hamilton, started blogging in December in connection with his sermon series on faith and politics.  I'm excited to say that although the series ended several weeks ago, Adam has continued blogging. 

He brings a unique theological perspective to his ministry and now to his blogging.  He is as concerned about the kids at one of the poorest performing schools in Missouri as he is about leading people to Christ.  (Which is saying a lot since he has led thousands of people into a deeper relationship with Christ.)  He is as passionate about sharing the gospel as he is about building a new Methodist church in Honduras.  I think you'll find what he has to say to be both challenging and inspiring.  He's an amazing man that I'm proud to work for and with.  You can add him to your feed reader here.

Chuck in Israel

Chuck Russell, our fellow Resurrection staff member and Appian Way blogger, is in the Holy Land right now with a tour group lead by a couple of our pastors.  He created a separate blog for his daily travel posts.  Check it out here.

Microsoft is in trouble on the client

I'm coming to the conclusion that Vista sucks.  I've played with it on a second computer since the release candidate days, but haven't relied it as my main machine, so I withheld judgment.  Until now.

Some of you IT professionals are like me.  Your laptop is so integral to your work and life that you have it with you nearly all the time.  You use it for normal office stuff, specialized network management functions, line-of-business software like Shelby or ACS, web browsing, instant messaging, VOIP, hobbies, worship graphics, editing audio, photos, and video, syncing with your PDA ... the list is nearly endless.

Five weeks ago today I took delivery of a shiny, new Dell D830 laptop with Vista Ultimate pre-installed.  I applied SP1 as soon as Ian could get his hands on it.  When I get a new laptop, I don't just grab it, log on, and start using it.  I move on to it.  It's practically like moving to a new home.  In the past five weeks I've installed and configured more than 30 software packages and moved many gigabytes of data.  I've explored and decided on dozens of operating system preferences.  I've installed drivers for a digital still camera, digital video camera, outboard sound device, Windows Mobile cell phone, and various printers.  Let me tell you, I've put this thing through its paces.

I'm shocked at some of the decisions made by the product managers.  Example: why would they downgrade the defrag and backup programs?  Seriously,  how could I have Vista Ultimate and have less capability than I had in XP Pro in any area?

How could they break compatibility with so many routine applications from PDF generators to downloaders to photo editing software, forcing you to run in compatibility mode, set up an XP virtual machine, or upgrade the software?  (I cut them slack on low-level things like anti-virus, but not routine applications.)

How could they think it makes sense that can't in certain circumstances delete a file I created on my desktop without running the delete operation in an escalated privilege mode?  (To an unsophisticated user it appears that the OS won't let you delete a file you just created.)  Or, for another example, how can it be possible that I could create a file on the laptop under Vista, move it across the network to a Vista desktop, and yet not be able to pull it back to the laptop due to some kind of obtuse security issue?  It's me on the laptop, it's me on the desktop, but I can't routinely move files back and forth?  Come on, Microsoft.  That's ridiculous.

I'm also shocked after five years between desktop OS releases, and now more than a year later with the debut of SP1, that I'm having annoying instability with certain features.  By now you'd think they would have dock/undock, sleep/wake, and hibernate/unhibernate working correctly.  You'd think that they would have Sync Center/Active Sync perfected. You'd think that they would have switching between wired and wireless networking down pat.  You would be wrong.

Having been through all of this, I can officially say Vista sucks.  Am I going back to XP?  No.  That would be WAY to painful at this point.  So I go forward.  Since I'm not going back to XP, why the rant?  Unlike most end users, I look at software not only for myself but on behalf of the user community I serve.  The bottom line is I have decided we will be a late adopter of Vista for our end users.

There are things I definitely like.  Some things are slicker and/or more stable.  Since this is a rant, I'll save those compliments for later.

And then there's Office 2007.  Why did they think it made sense to have a document close button in Excel but not in Word?  Why did they think it made sense for me to have to customize my button bar just to get the quick print button back?  And how could Outlook 2007's UI not match the rest of the suite?  Amazingly bad stuff.  I mean, did Bill G ever personally use Office 2007 on Vista?  I can't imagine he would let this happen if he did.  But I digress.

What happened to Microsoft?  Where did they lose their way???

Discussing this with Ian, he reminded me that at the same time they have lost their way on the client side, Microsoft has been doing some incredibly good stuff on the server side.  I have to say he's right on that.

And then, before I could even press Publish on this post, word comes from Mix that Microsoft is on the verge of some major advances in the web area.  Maybe Microsoft as a whole hasn't lost its way.  Even so, why can't Vista and Office 2007 just make sense and work?  Is that too much to ask in the year 2008 with brand new, high-end hardware?

End rant.  Feel free to comment and disagree.

Lunch with Jim Edwards

Brian, Travis, and I had lunch with Jim Edwards today.  We wanted to heard about his experiences with Arena over the last year.  He was a very early adopter of Arena at Kansas City Baptist Temple.  Their implementation strategy was quite different from ours.  They continued to run Shelby V5 for months as they systematically converted ministry teams to Arena one-by-one.  This is possible with Arena by taking advantage of the available two-way database triggers that keep Arena in sync with V5 and vice-versa.  By contrast, we're planning a more traditional "big bang" cut over where we will be running on V5 one day and Arena the next.  It was very interesting to learn how Jim made his approach work.  I'm sure there are lessons in there for us and other churches implementing Arena.

Jim filled us in on a few specific Arena "gotchas" that we need to manage.  That alone made the lunch worthwhile.  Jim was also quite complimentary of the Arena tech support team.  Very good to hear.

Finally, Jim told us about a new strategy they have to improve the quality of new hires at KCBT.  I encouraged him to blog it.  I'll link to his post when he does.

Thanks, Jim for a very helpful conversation today.  We're already rethinking some important things.

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot

Remember 1994 before widespread cell phone use?  Remember when you used dial-up services such as Compuserve, Prodigy, and AOL?  Remember what happened if someone in the house picked up a phone while you were online?  Remember a time before digital cameras?  If so, you'll love this fun parody of what 24 would have been like if it had been created in 1994.

MinistryTECH and RoundTable

If you're like me, you're planning to go to MinistryTECH and the Spring Church IT RoundTable in Oklahoma City the first week of April.  Again if you're like me, you haven't registered yet.  :-(  You probably have to figure out all of the travel and event costs, get the expenditure approved, make travel reservations, and actually register for the events.  Despite your best intentions to do all of that, you haven't made time for it in your busy schedule.  You have a good reason.  I, on the other hand, have the incredibly capable assistance of Amy Facemire for such matters.  The only reason all of the above isn't done is that I didn't ask her to do it until a couple of days ago.  Doh!  (I just need Jason Lee to help Amy figure out Priceline!) 

So, whatever your situation or excuse might be, this is your reminder that you need to go here to register for MinistryTECH and here to register for the RoundTable.  See you in April!