Theory | Innovating Tomorrow

Gimmicks are a often used in marketing to help products stand out. Think of the different colors on a tooth brush. They aren't designed to be a functional part of the toothbrush. They are there to help the tooth brush stand out among the competition. Tooth brushes with cartoon characters are meant to reach out to kids. It's a gimmick that hooks people into a product that has nothing to do with the product. Just like marketers, the church uses gimmicks in an effort to bring more people through the door. But, are gimmicks really effective? Continue Reading »

Do you know many passionate Christians? I'm not talking about the Christians who are obsessed Christian stuff. I'm talking about those who are obsessed with the mission of the church and helping others. Personally, I can't say I know nearly enough. But, this isn't the worst part. Do you know many churches or church leaders who are building passionate Christians? I don't. Before you want to baste me and cook me over an open flame let me try to explain. Continue Reading »

This is a question that can and has gone a lot of different ways. It's not a matter of what we should measure but a matter of should we try to measure the effectiveness of the church at all. For some it's all about numbers. They want to measure their churches growth rates so they can compare it to other churches. The alternative to this view says we can't compare one church to another because God calls different groups in different ways. In an effort to skirt comparisons churches may try not to have what they do measured.

But, we all measure the world around us. A pastor tries to keep his finger on the pulse of the church. This is a measurement. Leaders over a bible study many try to see where to take the group next. This is a measurement. Let's look at a few reasons measuring the effectiveness of the church is a good thing. Continue Reading »

Our society has become a meat and potatoes culture in many ways. In our entertainment we may like fluff but, in our religions, spirituality, thinking, and social action we like the deep stuff. The meat and potatoes rather than the garnish. When it comes to your church or ministry, do people see your meat and potatoes? Let's look at the different it can make.

Are There Any Meat And Potatoes?

This is the first question we have to ask and it's a good one that can lead us to evaluate ourselves. All to often there isn't enough meat and potatoes. There isn't something worth sharing with others. For example, much of the youth ministry in America is based on having fun. It's about dessert rather than the meat and potatoes. Continue Reading »

After sharing 3 ways not to advertise or promote a ministry I wanted to talk about some ways to share ministries with others. After all, who am I to just go out and say what not to do without giving any suggestions what to do. Leaving it there would do little good. Let's dig into a couple different practical things we can do to share. To start we dive into what, quite possibly, will make the biggest difference in the way we present ourselves to the world. Continue Reading »

Everyone in ministry is looking for ways to spread the word about their ministry. Most of these churches and ministries have something great about them that brings something good to the world. But, when it comes to sharing what they have with the world around them what they share often looks and feels ugly. That great thing is somehow being presented in a way that makes people turn away in disgust. Let's take a look at a few ways this happens. Continue Reading »

Have you noticed how many people want and expect something for free. To some extent I can understand this in the church. If you can get one thing for free you can use that few extra dollars you saved to do something else great for the kingdom. But, is anything really free? If so, where should we have that expectation? Continue Reading »

Some of the greatest destruction of our God given natural surroundings has been an expense in an effort to better our technology. With more electronics we've had a greater demand for electricity and part of that electricity generation is bad for the environment. With new gadgets comes with disposing of the old ones and dealing with how we dispose with the new ones. Many of our gadgets aren't recyclable or don't get recycled; filling large landfills with our waste. So, what is your church doing about it? Continue Reading »

There seems to be a gaping hole in the church technology realm. I found doing a little googling to find ways to use the 27 hour service to benefit house churches. Where is the house church technology?

When I googled "house church technology" the results returned sites like www.shepherdsstaff.org and www.volunteerministers.org. Neither of these sites has to do with technology in house churches. I guessed that a house churches technology needs would center around communication over the Internet and media. After doing some searching with these key words I came up empty.

I'm a little surprised at the lack of house church media. The large criticism of house churches is the lack of expert teaching. It just doesn't work logistically to have a pastor trained in theology, the original languages, and who has the time to prep to teach in each house church. Expert teaching via video is something I assumed I would find, but I didn't.

Am I missing something or is there a gaping hole in technology for house churches?

MVC is the hot name in software architecture when it comes to GUIs. It is fantastic when it comes to simple GUI interfaces and for many developers it's the trusted architecture they turn to whenever they have a new project. But, if you want to get into a more complex interfaces the best architecture to use is often not MVC. If you want to tighten a bolt the right tool is a wrench and not a hammer. There is no right tool for every job. The same goes for GUI software architectures. MVC is not the right tool for every job. Another software architecture that deals with more complex interfaces is the Presentation-Abstraction-Control architecture. Continue Reading »