This and that...
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 04:50 AM [GMT-6]

In this edition: Random observations (it's what we do)...

It hit 101° yesterday. That's a full month earlier than our first 100 degree day last year (I'm an accountant, and anal retentive, at that...I keep track of these things. Someone has to do it!). In the past, I'd be tempted to say something like "sure is shaping up to be a long, hot summer," but I've come to realize that weather is like mutual funds, in that past performance is not a reliable predictor of the future. Still, that's just too dang hot for mid-May. And it doesn't help that our year-to-date rainfall is around 1.5".

On second thought, maybe it is shaping up to be a long, hot summer.

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I've been asked to participate in a program on Thursday entitled "The Message and the Media." It's a look at how churches can better utilize print, broadcast and internet media in getting the word out about their ministries. All the members of the local Ministerial Alliance and the Midland Association of Churches have been invited. My part of the program is related to "new media": websites and email. It begs the question of when, exactly, will these things cease to be referred to as "new media"? The concept of a church website is no longer novel; my church has had one since 1996. Granted, there are a lot of smaller congregations who haven't yet found the resources or expertise to take full advantage of the medium, and others who still have some sort of notion that the internet is the tool of the devil, but for the most part, websites and email should be moving into the "taken for granted" category.

Nevertheless, I have 30 minutes in which to share some tips on using websites and email as part of an overall communication strategy. Given that the audience will consist entirely of pastors and church staff, I've decided to title my presentation "The 10 Commandments of Websites and the 7 Deadly Sins of Email." Catchy, huh? If it goes well, I'll share my observations from the discussion; if it doesn't, we'll just pretend it never happened. And, if you are interested in the presentation itself, I'll have it uploaded in PowerPoint format and I'll be happy to provide you with an URI for the download. Feel free to email me.

The fun aspect of my part of the program is that it occurs just before lunch. It's a dream come true, really. After all those years of sitting in a pew on a Sunday morning, listening to the preacher drone on into the lunch hour...and now I have a roomful of preachers in the same position. You know what they say about payback...?!

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I watched "American Idol" last night for the first time ever. I was impressed by the talent of the three semi-finalists, but what really made an impression is the fact that none of the nine songs they performed were newer than about 1985, and some went waaaaay back ("Mack the Knife," for example). Is this a commentary on the current state of songwriting? Are there no new songs — written, say, within the past 3-5 years — that can be considered "modern classics"? Apparently not.