WEB EVANGELISM BULLETIN
. . . learning from each other
W-E-B Issue 156 ~ January 08
Monthly ISSN 471-0323
News this time...
INTERNET EVANGELISM DAY: 27 APRIL
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND THE CHURCH
TIPS
USING THE WEB TO REACH THE NON-WESTERN WORLD
THE POWER OF MOVIES AND CLIPS
COMMUNICATING WELL
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
IF ONLY
TAILEND
"Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling" - Margaret Lee Runbeck
"Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do the listening" - Larry King
INTERNET EVANGELISM DAY: 27 APRIL
Please can you help? Internet Evangelism Day has no promotion budget. Can you send our
news release to Christian magazine editors, religion correspondents of secular newspapers,
online newsletters, bloggers, Christian leaders - anyone who could possibly be
interested:
http://ied.gospelcom.net/latestnews (Word file)
IE Day is starting to be covered. See, for instance, this article at Crosswalk - please
vote for it, and also add it to social bookmarking sites such as Del.icio.us:
http://www.crosswalk.com/pastors/11564883/
There is a range of free articles you can also use:
http://ied.gospelcom.net/free-articles.php
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND THE CHURCH
Leadership Network has launched this team blog to answer the question, "I am a senior
leader of my church but not a techie. What do I need to know in the tech world now and for
the future? What do I need to keep my eye on?" Contributors are some of the keenest
analysists and thinkers around:
http://digital.leadnet.org/
COLLIDE MAGAZINE: a great new publication on using the media for church. Ask for your
free sample issue on the site:
http://www.collidemagazine.com/
TIPS
- non-techies look away now
CD RIPPER: free download:
http://www.download.com/Free-CD-Ripper/3000-2140_4-10212165.html?tag=lst-1
EMBED A GOOGLE MAP in your church site:
http://www.gearthhacks.com/yourmap/
DESKTOP calendar download:
http://www.rainlendar.net/cms/index.php
TECHREPUBLIC: experienced techies will value the 'How Do I...? Best of 2007' tips and
'Top Papers of 2007':
http://nl.com.com/view_online_newsletter.jsp?list_id=e138
http://nl.com.com/view_online_newsletter.jsp?list_id=e112
STICKY FOOTER: if you need a footer that will always be at the bottom of the screen,
even on a very short page, here's the CSS:
http://ryanfait.com/sticky-footer/
PHP SECURE EMAIL FORMS: they can be spam/hijack free:
http://www.securephpwiki.com/index.php/Email_Injection
BEAUTIFUL CODE: does your HTML look as good as your page?
http://css-tricks.com/what-beautiful-html-code-looks-like/
FIREFOX EXTENSIONS: if you use Firefox and have not checked out the incredible range of
add-on extensions, you are missing some great stuff. Here's one that backs up your Firefox
bookmarks and other settings:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2109
10 WAYS TO INCREASE SEARCH ENGINE PAGE INDEXING: Some things are definite, if not
automatic, and some things seem like pretty good guesses:
http://archive.webpronews.com/2008a/0122.html
PRAYER TOOLBAR™ is a simple web browser add-on that displays messages that you publish
through a secure, password protected website. It also displays your logo, which is a
customizable link to any web site you determine. It's like handing out the highlights from
your bulletin and site whenever someone is online. Not cheap, but something a bigger
church could use.
http://www.prayertoolbar.com/
USING THE WEB TO REACH THE NON-WESTERN WORLD
The latest web usage stats make interesting reading. Almost as many web users in China
as US: 162 million (with 50 million of them being broadband).
Vietnam, for instance has 18 million, Philippines 14 million.
These are the countries where the 'second billion' web users will be living in a very
few years - almost all in the 10/40 Window of unreached nations. What will be their needs,
in terms of outreach?
- pages in the national heart language of readers
- easy-English pages with restricted vocabulary, accessible to the second-language
speaker
- contextualized pages that relate to the culture
- an understanding that most are living in an oral communication cultures
Who is going to do this? National Christians, certainly. But often, they are few, and
they may need help and training. It is a challenge to the cross-cultural mission world to
start using the Web for direct evangelism. For the first 10 years, surprisingly few
missions used the Internet for anything other than relating to their Christian public.
Things must surely change.
http://pacrimmedia.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/internet-statistics-update
Please watch John Edmiston's presentation on this subject (where you will also find
some other valuable web-evangelism topics):
http://ied.gospelcom.net/internetministryconference.php
J S BACH AND JAPAN: Why has J S Bach's music been drawing Japanese to Christ?
http://trinitypastor.blogspot.com/2008/01/bach-evangelist.html
THE POWER OF MOVIES AND CLIPS
MOVIE CLIPS HELP WORSHIPPERS FIND GOD: Shelby Stollery isn't usually in the habit of
gripping her seat when she attends church. But the 18-year-old University of Alberta
student was sitting at the edge of her church seat last Sunday as she watched film clips
from the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller Blood Diamond. For the pastor, what's "cool" about
using the movie series in church is that folks who haven't been raised in church and
aren't up on Bible talk don't feel at any disadvantage. They're on the same footing with
everyone who enjoys movies.
http://guide.gospelcom.net/offsitelink?b08jan-canada.com
VIRAL CLIPS: With the vast number of new video clips posted each day, viral
transmission does not just happen automatically:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos/
NARNIA FILM: A Narnia expert's wishlist for Prince Caspian:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/mycaspianwishlist.html
"THE MORE YOU PREACH, THE FEWER YOU REACH." So it goes for Christians in the movie
industry, says VeggieTales creator and founder Phil Vischer, whose new film, The Pirates
Who Don't Do Anything, has just opened:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/philvischer.html
MAJORITY USE VIDEO SITES WEEKLY: Six out of ten high speed Internet users
watch/download online video content at least once a week:
http://guide.gospelcom.net/offsitelink?b08jan-videouse
INSTANT VIDEO: "Being able to record video of something and then share it with lots of
people - isn't a new idea. What is new is that anyone can instantly record video of
anything, anywhere and at any time - not necessarily tied to a computer - and then use
that video as a starting point for 'video conversations.'"
http://www.webpronews.co.uk/2008a/0121.html
DAMARIS TV has just published the first edition of Pollard on Film. This short video
explores the ideas of change and power that are expressed in the film Charlie Wilson's
War. As well as clips from the film, the video includes interview footage with the real
Charlie Wilson, and Aaron Sorkin (the film's screenwriter). This programme invites
discussion of the question, 'What would you want to see changed in today's world?', and it
enables discussions about change and power. You can view it and find out how to republish
it on your website or blog, or download it to show at a live event:
http://www.pollardonfilm.com/
COMMUNICATING WELL
IS THE TIPPING POINT TOAST? Marketers spend a billion dollars a year targeting
influentials. Duncan Watts says they're wasting their money. He suggests, in this long
paper, that the Web is so bottom up, rather than top down, that ordinary people have huge
influence in starting trends:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html
MARKETING: Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007:
http://www.techipedia.com/2007/internet-marketing-best-blog-posts/
A wealth of information on social networking sites, social bookmarking resources,
blogging, website publicity, search engine optimization, and much more:
http://www.techipedia.com/2007/internet-marketing-best-blog-posts/
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
CHINA WEB USERS' TOTAL REACHING THAT OF USA: The state-owned China Internet Network
Information Center said that China's total number of Internet users rose 53% to 210
million at the end of 2007 up from 137 million at the end of 2006 and 162 million in June
2007. China is now just five million users shy of surpassing the United States as the
world's largest Internet market:
http://guide.gospelcom.net/offsitelink?b08jan-china
THE WORD ON THE STREET AVAILABLE FOR MOBILE: Rob Lacey's award-winning retelling of the
Bible,is now available for the first time in a downloadable mobile format:
http://www.ucbmobile.co.uk/
P*RN CONVENTION: The guys at XXXChurch minister where others fear to tread:
http://guide.gospelcom.net/offsitelink?b08jan-xxxchurch
ARABIC CHRISTIAN CHANNEL FOR KIDS: One hundred million children under the age of 15
live in the Arab world, and at least half have access to satellite television. This huge
population of young people represent the future of the region, one currently torn by
conflict, hatred and a lack of hope. SAT-7's David Harder says they're countering the
region's violence by providing a safe place for kids. Arabic-speaking children all over
the Middle East and North Africa now finally have a Christian television channel just for
them:
http://mnnonline.org/article/10670
FIRST US ELECTION INFLUENCED BY YOUTUBE: The 2008 US presidential election process will
be the first one influenced by YouTube video clips and social networking sites. Many
campaign offices have not yet understood that the Web is a bottom-up medium, not a
top-down system that they can control (an issue that the Chinese Government also wrestles
with):
http://guide.gospelcom.net/offsitelink?b08jan-election
IF ONLY
- a Christian had used this appreach in a 'bridge strategy site:
I can remember, a year or three back, when Weetabix breakfast cereal gave
make-it-yourself cutout models on the sides of their boxes. Here's a site to make such
cut-out toys, models, trains, planes, gifts and much more. Just print onto thick
paper/thin card, cut out, color and glue:
http://www.papertoys.com/
SAND PICTURES: When something is as enticingly different, and as expertly done, as
Ilana Yahav's sand pictures, her video clips are passed around the world virally. Note how
she tells a sequential story here. What an opportunity there would be to learn sand
painting, and communicate truths in the form of a short parable-like story:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/980013/love_2008/
TAILEND ô¿ô
Is the barbeque season on the way? It is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking as it's the only type of cooking a real man will do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine...
1. The woman buys the food.
2. The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
3. The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary
cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill,
drink in hand.
Here comes the important part:
4. THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine....
5. The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
6. The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if
she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.
Important again:
7. THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine.....
8. The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings
them to the table.
9. After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
10. Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
11. The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off". And, upon seeing her annoyed
reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.