Media & Technology

Technology is interesting in that the more integrated into your life a particular aspect of it becomes the more likely you are to take it for granted. And perhaps the less likely you are to consider its impact on your life—for good or for bad.

I get questions fairly regularly. “Where do you get photos and artwork?” “What software do you use?” etc.

At the age of sixty-two, I am irritated by perpetual updates to the functions on my phone which make me continually learn new methods and techniques. I recognize, however, that to be a “technophobe” would diminish my effectiveness in the work of God. It would also alienate me from a significant segment of society.

Selfie—it was the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2013. And it says a lot about the influence of social media on American society. But perhaps it says more about the narcissism of American society in general. Because in the end, our social media doesn’t make us who we are; it reveals who we are.

Do a word search in Scripture for “twitter,” and you’ll find nothing. Make it even broader to include “social media,” and you’ll get the same results. Yet every mature Christian understands that God’s Word has much to say regarding social media. It is our responsibility to examine God’s Word and apply its timeless truths to the present reality of our daily lives.

As a pastor who too often counsels people affected by the dark side of the Internet, I am very aware of the dangers posed online. Wandering hearts, inconsistent identities, even child predators—all of these find themselves very much at home online. (Of course, they find themselves at home offline too, but the internet does provide easy access for amplification of these sins.)

Common Craft is a company that has created hundreds of instructional videos on a variety of topics that are easy to understand for people without a technical background. As a part of Dr. Paul Chappell’s sermon series through the gospel of Luke, our web team has developed an interactive site to support the new preaching series, Journey with Jesus.

First, you should understand what a podcast is and why it is useful. A podcast is a series of media (usually audio or video) files that people can subscribe to. If someone subscribes to your church podcast, every time there is a new recording, they will get it automatically.

An illustration database is a good tool to help gather all source material in one place. Whether you are a Sunday school teacher, a helper in a class, a ministry leader or a senior pastor, having one location for your source material is very beneficial.

We live in a world that expects us to have beautiful presentations, elegant business cards, and impressive websites. It is as critical as eating, and it has never been easier to learn. With today’s innovative software it requires less talent than it did in the past.

I am often asked about equipment we use, so I have developed a list of sound and projection equipment we have found helpful here at Lancaster Baptist Church.

Nothing can be more powerful or distracting than a presentation. One author estimates that over thirty million PowerPoint presentations are made every day. I’m sure you have attended your fair share of them. But I wonder how many were truly captivating, motivating, or convincing? Probably very few.

We are excited about the Christmas resources we have available this year!

Ministries come in all shapes, sizes, and budgets. Computer systems and software are becoming necessary tools for a ministry to reach others with the Gospel of Christ.

With the growth of computer processing power, and the falling prices of hardware and software, the good news is that the ability to do video production is available to the masses.

Whether you are launching a new site or updating an old one there are four parts to every web development project that you should be aware of and make sure you have thought through.

The internet is an incredible place where a world of information is just a Google search away. I’ve put together a list of five tools that are the first things I do anytime I get a new computer or setup a new network. Some are

The sound ministry is unique in many ways, but one of the distinguishing characteristics of a good sound man (no offense sound ladies, that’s just the term we use) is this - a good sound man strives to be invisible.

I am often asked about software we use, and books we have found helpful so I wanted to share some resources that we have found useful in our ministry.