QR Church

One of the things I love about Westwinds is our early adopter mentality and our willingness to try new things. This proves true in the areas of technology, media, programming, and other methodologies.

One of our latest adoptions is the use of QR Code. A QR Code is a matrix barcode. These codes are readable by scanners, mobile phones with cameras, and smart phones. If you don’t have the QR Reader app for your iPhone, go download it now

QR is showing up everywhere. Last year I used a QR coded ticket to board a plane as they scanned my iPhone. QR is shown on commercials between shows, all new products at Best Buy, magazines, posters, you name it.

A few months ago, my wife and I scanned a QR Code during a commercial break and were directed to a site promoting the new show, “Lonestar.” My wife said, you should take advantage of QR at Westwinds for the bulletin and other things.

Brilliant.

Westwinds is starting to use QR in our bulletin (The Draft), our weekend pre-service slides, posters, fliers, newsletters, magazines, albums, teaching atlases, on the doors of our church, on our business cards, and many other areas are being explored.

You can generate QR code very easy with sites like delivr

I encourage all churches to use QR and challenge them to come up with new ways to communicate and get information out through the use of QR.

I See TED People

My buddy Spence tweeted this vid today. I love this stuff.

Newspaper Revitalization Act: A Nice Term for Bailout?

Today, I read an article and saw the above video about Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin’s new bill called the Newspaper Revitalization Act. The bill proposes allowing newspapers to restructure as non-profits. They would be held to a new standard, however, and would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Apparently, according to the article, “advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible . . .

Cardin's office said his bill was aimed at preserving local and community newspapers, not conglomerates which may also own radio and TV stations. His bill would also let a non-profit buy newspapers owned by a conglomerate.

‘We are losing our newspaper industry,’ Cardin said. ‘The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.’”

The article caught my eye because my friend recently lost his job at the local newspaper. He has a few weeks to figure out what to do but, he knew it was inevitable.

Is this really a good idea? I have a few questions, concerns, and comments:

• Many local newspapers don’t have much to offer outside of coupons and pictures of our kids at the local sporting events. When our kids end up in the paper, we get a call from organizations preying on our parental pride trying to sell us framed pages of the article for 60 bucks. If that’s what the bill protects, I couldn’t care less.
• Does anyone really read the paper anymore for good news? I mean, sure, it feels good in your hands with a cup of coffee but does it really cause us to think?
• Might this be the opportunity for the free enterprise system to do it’s thing and allow everyone to overcome, adapt, and survive?
• Journalism has been weak in the local newspaper business for years. No one wants to rock the boat because sales suck. The best news is found faster and easier on the internet. Won’t this further perpetuate the problem of sucky journalism?
• Many local newspapers print news I read on a blog two weeks prior. Enough. Gutenberg would be Google’s CEO today.
• In the “old days” the thing that made a newspaper great was the good ol’ free speech element. What will the non-profit status do to that constitutional right?
• One really scary part of the bill would allow private contributions to the papers to be tax-deductible and/or advertising to be tax-deductible. What? Are you kidding me? Would this not give incentive for every wealthy activist to invest in their local news to promote their propaganda AND receive tax benefits?
• Many complain that the Main Stream Media is controlled by the far left. Without agreeing or disagreeing, if that is true, wouldn’t a move like this limit the free speech of the right even further?
• It seems to me that good product raises awareness and surfaces its own need. Outside of technology adaptation awareness, shouldn’t failing newspapers take a hint and start creating good product? Doesn’t this perpetuate lazy journalism?

What do you think?

Westwinds.org and Twitter

We just got our webpage all set up at Westwinds.org to update our church Twitter feeds via a feed aggregator. SO, if you visit this link on the church webpage you will get our most recent updates. It refreshes for new updates every few minutes.

This is such a great way to get updates to the folks who aren’t using Twitter regularly.

It is also a great way for us to disseminate information and get a quick view of all the latest Westwinds updates at once.

Also, the front page of our website now includes this message:

“These days we have been fond of Twitter—the social networking site. We have used and continue to experiment with Twitter live in our weekend Fusion experience as well as keeping a conversation going throughout the week. If you are interested in joining the weekend series' conversations and/or following the updates and conversations our staff is having throughout the week, please go to Twitter and sign up for an account.

It is free! Once you are hooked up with Twitter you can "follow" "WestwindsSeries" or any of our staff. You can search for staff members on Twitter simply by typing their names in the search box. Once you follow a staff member, you may want to see who they are following, and meet some new friends.

Join the conversation today. Once you are signed up and signed in to Twitter, you can follow anyone listed below by clicking on the link. You may also visit the link on this page to see the ongoing conversation if you don't use Twitter. “

• To sign up for Twitter, click here
• For news and information on Westwinds' message series, updates, and live Fusion conversation, click here
• For occasional updates on general Westwinds stuff, click here
• For John Voelz, our Coriolis:Experience, click here
• For David McDonald, our Coriolis:Narrative, click here
• For occasional Coriolis updates, click here
• For Bed Redmond, our Student Journey designer, click here
• For Lori Tate, our Kids' Journey designer, click here
• For Frank Meely, assistant to John Voelz, click here
• For Noma Racey, assistant to David McDonald, click here
• For Becky Veydt, our Causemology/Satellite link, click here
• For Juan Cordova, our Tech Media Guru, click here
• For Andra Campo, our Coffee Aficionado, click here
• For Brad Kimpell and the Image Team, click here
• For David Buchanan and Co-efficient Media (our website dude/jack of all trades), click here

Twitter Church Hurdles?

I have received a couple of comments lately from people who are itchy to hear about the negatives of us using Twitter in church.

I am very much a technological early adopter and optimist so that’s partly why my posts about Twitter Church have been so void of negatives. It’s not that we didn’t encounter negatives—they were just few and it is early in the game.

I like to expect great things to happen.

I don’t mind a little ready-shoot-aim every once in awhile. We learn through the process of taking risks and if we try to figure it all out cautiously and have too many meetings with the devil’s advocate, we never get anything done. No guts, no story.

But, I know not everyone is like me and some of you are working with church staffs that need to “weigh” everything before proceeding. Okay. Fair enough.

Here is a list of hoops we jumped through, negative responses, and hiccups in the process. Hopefully this will help mobilize you rather than paralyze you as you try something fresh for your church.

1. There is a semi-steep learning curve for some in your church when it comes to tech. I had to host a Twitter how-to clinic the week before and still got questions through email.

2. Some won’t/can’t participate. There is a possibility they will feel “left out.” A lot of the burden is on you for this one as a leader. Point out the benefits of observing if you are not Twittering.

3. Twitter went over capacity a couple of times while live. Not a big deal, but a little annoying. It refreshed quickly in all situations.

4. You may have to do some IT work beforehand to boost your WiFi signal strength and increase your bandwidth. We did. We've got it screaming fast in the auditorium but it took a bit of time and a very small amount of money.

5. We did not censor our feed—Twitter it is happening in real time and we were up for the risk. Some things that came across were “silly” and/or “dumb.” But, I still thought they were fun and added to the community feel. It is possible someone will say something you don’t like. You just have to count the cost. We got in front of this by planting a handful of people to steer the conversation.

6. Many said it was “distracting.” Some said it was distracting “at first” and then wasn’t. Some said they watched the screen the entire time. This didn’t bother us a whole bunch because with any change and new idea there is going to be this kind of feedback. Part of the burden is on you as a leader to talk through change and method and mission, etc. Part of the burden is on the people. Some will just hate it. But, some people hate lots of things. If you find something useful and meaningful, educate and communicate. 15 years ago, half my church in California hated screens and projection . . .

7. It takes some time to promote. I started four weeks out. I still felt like I could have done a better job and I talked it up QUITE a bit.

8. You need to do some resolution adjustments to your screen so that it projects big enough. This takes some time and could be a pain if you don’t have multiple computer feeds and switchers to go between during the service.

9. Twitter takes a while before you start understanding all the wonderful benefits. When a person first starts out and does not have a lot of people in their network, Twitter doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Some people told me they tried it and didn’t get it or like it. Those people gave up before they came to church. So, it was a bummer at first but, once they saw it in action, all those people went back home and started updating their Twitter.

10. The last negative I can think of is I made a “service flow” error and wrecked a mood once. It wasn’t a Twitter negative; it was my error of judgment. Specifically, I programmed communion at the top of Fusion and it was self-guided. Instructions and reflections about communion were on the screens side by side with Twitter. While there was some good communion reflection banter through Twitter, it didn’t “feel” right to me. I don’t think it was bad or wrong, I just earmarked that as a “do not repeat” moment. We want the Twitter to bolster and augment what is going on—not just fill space.

So there you go. Those were the “negatives” and how we dealt with them.

I hesitated to put them out there but did so to help you think it through and plan if you are going to give it a shot. The benefits FAR outweigh the negatives at this point. I have had many many emails and conversations this week about how people dug it.

P.S. Below is a great video of Jack Dorsey--the CEO and founder of Twitter talking about all the wonderful applications Twitter has. Wait till he hears about Twitter Church!


Jack Dorsey Presents Twitter from biz stone on Vimeo.

20 More Ways to Twitter in Church

Like I said earlier, not everyone loved and embraced Twitter in the way we used it this weekend though the response was very positive. My friend Paul asked that I share the other 20 ways we brainstormed how to use Twitter in church. Thanks for the nudge, Paul.

If you have another idea, add it to the list.

1. Breakout discussions during the service—reserve 10 minutes for Twitter banter with some instrumental tunes.

2. Put 20 Twitter Plants in your audience and tell them the things you want them to reiterate on the screen. The new worship leaders.

3. Give permission for Twitter at any time—even when it is not on the screens. Get your people sharing their thoughts with one another.

4. Communicate with your booth, ushers, nursery, or whomever through Twitter. Last week I twittered it was hot in the room. The ushers got right on it.

5. Have your other staff Twitter with the message and guide the conversation and what you want people to remember most.

6. Q and A

7. End of service on-screen surveys.

8. Text your vote. Put up a list of songs at the end and ask people to Twitter what they like and don’t like.

9. Send messages to missionaries and those in cyber-land during the service.

10. Promote the events that are happening throughout the week on the screen at the end of the service.

11. Let your people interact with your elder board.

12. Line up 50 people to give 140 character testimony/faith stories during communion.

13. Script an entire Twitter conversation and gather 50 people to help pull it off.

14. Do a Twitter scripture reading. Split your scripture up between as many people as you like and have them Twitter the scripture in sequence on the screens.

15. Do a ministry fair blitz through Twitter. Get all your ministry heads present on Twitter between or after church services talking about how to get involved with their area of ministry.

16. Schedule a post-service Twitter application group focused around the message for the day.

17. Have your people Twitter links to their favorite inspiring websites.

18. Ask people to Twitter their burning questions about the service.

19. Promote the ministries of the church in 140 characters. i.e. @shameonyoko is waiting at the coffee bar to talk to you about the band. @loritate is dying to share with you about kids journey after Fusion. Come down the hall for snacks! Join @shameonyoko for a beer at Westpoint tonight at 6:00. Etc.

20. Have your people send out their prayers of encouragement to someone who can’t be there. i.e. @shameonyoko says, “I am praying for your peace” @guerillahost. @normzie says, “we are so proud of you guys working in Mexico on ! We are praying for your strength!”

This post is part of the conversation around the Cultural Watercooler over at Ethos Check it out! Every Wednesday!!!

Twitter Church

This past Sunday, Westwinds tried another “why the heck not” idea and hosted our first “Twitter Sunday.”

I blogged in anticipation of the weekend and now that it is past; I’d like to give you all an update on how it went and a peek inside my head.

I’m not gonna lie—I love technology. I love blogging. The computer. My iPhone. If you read this blog you’re saying, “duh.” But, though my love of technology and our penchant for taking risks as early adopters at Westwinds played a role in Twitter Sunday, there was a much deeper inertia.

First of all, I know Twitter isn’t for everybody. I also know that half of the people who say it’s not for them simply don’t understand it or a need hasn’t surfaced for it. There is another large contingent who are simply “afraid” of technology. I get that. And, while we are not trying to push the techie envelope to change those people, there is part of us that feels like it is our duty to make sure our people are speaking the language of the culture and learn new communication platforms.

15 years ago, I had a conversation with a friend about multi-screen auditoriums as we were building our new building in California. It was like pulling teeth to get people to think about the possibilities. Then, once we did it, half the church hated it. “Screens are distracting.” “I can’t pay attention, I keep looking at the art behind the words.” “I don’t know which pastor to look at—the one on the stage or the one on the screen.”

We have come a long way.

And, still, we are having the same “kinds” of conversations about technology today. The conversation will always be there. There will always be something to fear. Something not to trust. Something new to learn. Something that makes us feel like the world will pass us by if we don’t seek to understand.

We don’t have to adopt all new technology and wave the banner of the new kid in town. We don’t have to be fans of every new web app. But, I do believe it is important to be able to connect with the world around us—the people who ARE having the conversations about technology and are being saturated by it and in it.

The world has changed. Mayberry went straight from the VCR to managing your life and your entertainment in the palm of your hand with an iPhone in seconds flat. We need to be able to speak intelligently into the conversation as Christians.

On top of all of that, we now understand that Westwinds reaches more people outside of Westwinds through the web than we do on a weekend. To the tune of thousands more. Our podcasts/vodcasts/teaching atlases, etc. go out to way more people than we ever dreamed possible. We need to create more ways to connect with those people.

Enter Twitter.

I will admit. There are some things I don’t like about Twitter. Surprised? As with any technology or social networking platform it is easy to have a love/hate relationship.

BUT . . .

In my church, I have seen life-altering small groups formed and forged through Twitter. I have seen teams of people mobilized to do volunteer service like nothing else in the past through Twitter. I have seen needs met financially through Twitter. I have made friends through Twitter. I have witnessed theological discussions, seen prayer answered, seen surprise rendezvous’, connected with leaders better, I've seen friends come to the aid of others health . . .

So we started wondering, what would it be like to bring the Twitter kind of participation into Fusion in the same way we would think through any other worship interactive—something that gets people involved in what is happening—so Fusion isn’t happening “to” them but rather “with and because of and through” them.

Sunday morning there was electricity in the air. iPhones and laptops were carried in one hand—coffee in the other. The live stream was going. Over 70 people were following “westwindsseries” on Twitter.

The big screen as well as two other screens were live with the Twitter feed as people came in. Through communion, songs, message, etc. Twitter was live for our inaugural Twitter Fusion. Live and VERY present.

The conversation began light.

• “Nice shirt JVo,”
• “I love this song,”
• “So glad they are doing Lenny Kravitz,”
• “Somebody turn Jimmy’s guitar up,”
• “Westwinds rocks,”
• “Thank God for coffee at church”

One girl Twittered from home she was late and on her way. Ha.

And, while the light conversation was present through all of Fusion—both Fusions—there was also some great interaction with the message, restating what was said, personal struggles shared, opinions, agreement, etc.

• “to be selfless, humble”
• “The more I press in to Him, the more He presses me out to be useful”
• “sometimes healing is painful”
• “I have a hard time recognizing God in the middle of everything.”
• “It is easy to give Him credit after the fact but it is my prayer to see Him now.”
• “God is challenging us to live for Him in a culture that rejects Him—His own peers did that”
• “He has given me so much”
  

Both kinds of interaction were important. The “deeper” thoughts allowed people to process out loud, be affirmed by others’ responses, and have a bit of public confession.

The light talk only added to the sense of community, family, fun, and not taking ourselves too seriously.

It “felt” like a success right off the bat.

Sunday night, our leaders got together at “Loveshack”—our leadership gathering. The feedback was just about split down the middle. Some loved the whole experience and couldn’t stop talking about it. Some hated it and found it distracting. Then, those who hated it found things they liked about it and those who loved it understood why it was distracting for some.

Now ask me if I’m surprised.

I am not surprised at all. As with anything new, some will be early adopters, some will love it, some will hate it, some won’t care . . . and, they are all entitled to their opinion. We are just grateful to be in a place where this kind of thing is expected. We WILL try crazy things. We WILL go out on a limb. We WILL fail. What a kick.

The positive buzzwords for this were

• “I felt like part of what was happening,”
  
• “I felt part of the community,”
  
• “I felt like a leader,”
  
• “I felt like it was more than just about me.”

Bottom line, it is worth it to try these kinds of things. Out of this experience, we came up with a list of 20 other ways to use Twitter in Fusion and outside of Fusion.

And, now that our group is going on Twitter, the conversation hasn’t stopped. The day after, many were Twittering about all the things they loved at Twitter Fusion and how they love being part of our community.

I highly recommend giving it a shot. This weekend, we will use Twitter in a more limited capacity, on different screens, and for a “focused” time. The following week, we will not have Twitter on the screens but rather encourage people to Twitter throughout while monitoring their laptops. The possibilities are endless.

Radiohead is Nude

As if I needed another thing to make me love Radiohead even more!

Radiohead is marketing Nude RE/MIX Radiohead on iTunes at this very moment. Nude is the third song on "In Rainbows."

There is a contest for the remixes as well. Remixes are uploaded on the contest site and the public will be voting on a winner by May 1st.

I am most excited about something else entirely. The separate parts of the song or "stems" as they are called, are available for bass, voice, guitar, strings/fx and drums. You can remix them anyway you like and a really cool part is . . .

If you order them before April 8th, (all five stems) you will be sent an access code via e-mail for a free Garageband project file that is ready to import into Garageband.

Guess what church is going to be using live Radiohead loops and incorporating them into cool junk on the weekend. Mine. Giddee Up.

P.S. Nothing is quite as freaky cool as listening to Thom Yorke's voice without any instrumentation. At least buy that track and be amused.

2.0 be or not 2.0 be. That is the Question.

(actual screenshot of last night's ah-ha moment)

Needed to unwind last night. Everyone asleep. Me—still feeling a bit whacked. So, what better way to unwind than with my laptop?

I got a few Twitters from @spencesmith (his Twitter) as we joked about how old we are getting (although, now that I think about it, I think it was more about how old “I” am getting). Talked about The Tubes, Wings, 8-Tracks, cassettes, the “introduction” of the debit card . . .

It reminded me that earlier on in the same day my daughter asked me if I was alive before DVD’s.

Then it hit me in the face—just how much my world has changed in the last few years. The revelation came to me as I stared at my laptop and looked at the multiple windows and frames that were up and running.

iTunes playing the soundtrack from Once.
Twitteriffic open
Email open
Word open
My blog open
Watching ragamuffinsoul play ping-pong live on Mogulus
Chatting with everyone who was watching ragamuffinsoul vid
iChat open

This is how I unwind. Loving every minute of it.

Some mock me. Some don’t understand.

What’s not to understand?!?!

I can play my iTunes library straight for 950 days straight—that’s 24/7—and not hear the same song twice. I can talk into my cell phone and have it turn my message into text that immediately posts on the web for hundreds of my friends and thousands of others. I can watch my friend in ATL play a game on live streaming video while writing a post for my blog and chatting with my friend in Nash-Vegas. Duh.

Most opponents to this tech-saturated life say things like,

• “That stuff is supposed to make life easier and I just see people spending more time.”

• “Technology is hard to learn and I have done just fine without it!”

• “If you really want to simplify your life throw that computer away!”

You know what? They are right.

My life is not “easier.” My life is not “simplified.” Technology is “hard to learn” sometimes.

We need to stop talking in terms of web technology “simplifying” our lives and stop defending that stance. Sometimes, it just doesn’t. We need to use a new vocabulary when talking about what web technology can do for us and stop apologizing.

1. What technology (2.0, apps, digital, etc.) does for me : : :
2. Puts me in touch with people I rarely have a chance to talk to
3. Introduces me to new ideas
4. Stretches my creativity
5. Helps me learn processes that help me in multiple venues
6. Keeps me sharp and talking the current language of our culture
7. Helps me communicate what I want to say
8. Makes me more accessible
9. Makes my friends more accessible
10. Helps me promote business
11. Invites others into a conversation with me I couldn’t have otherwise
12. Helps me network
13. Helps me meet new friends
14. Helps me share about Jesus and what He has done for me
15. Promotes collaboration
16. Introduces me to new things fast!
17. Helps me learn what people are saying about the church and me
18. I can speak my mind before others spread what they “think” I said
19. Get my news fast!
20. Helps me not lose touch with my kids
21. Share and spark ideas in real time
22. Emergency alerts through a variety of vehicles
23. Conference with people when they are inaccessible
24. Exchange important data stat!
25. Warn people of impending robot domination (this one is just to make sure you are paying attention)
    

This list was off the top of my head at breakneck speed (you should see how fast I typed them!). I’m sure the list isn’t complete.

Bottom line : : : If an easier life is what you want then let life pass you by, clean your VCR and go buy a roll of stamps. Then again, if you are reading this that last sentence probably doesn’t apply to you.

Don’t get into a battle with anyone over things “not getting easier.” It is the wrong battlefield and a losing battle.

Life is not getting any easier.

For those who choose to embrace this new life2.0 however : : : it is exciting, friends are closer than ever, new friends are waiting to be met, new businesses are waiting to be dreamed and promoted, brilliance is a Google search away, and the world is indeed very, very, small.

By the way, I talked with (2-way conversation) over 50 people while writing this post.