So I posted this question on Twitter this morning
I got a number of responses (click them to see their suggestions) @cmdtv @srmorris2 @BrianAyers @shawnhubbard & @katanna
So there seems to be more than one way to skin this cat. Check out this video to see what I did.
Looping Slides in ProPresenter 3 from Graham Brenna on Vimeo.
So here’s the deal… church websites are notoriously… uh, how do I say this???
BAD!
They’re kind of known for waving the armpit stained flag. It’s like one of those jokes people say that poke fun at themselves and yet they’re somehow okay with that because they know it’s true. Something that goes like; how many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb?… CHANGE?!?!
So what can we do about ridding the local church of this bad website phenomenon? We can promote the lucky charms out of Clover Sites!
To steal a line or two I heard from Tony Morgan on more than one occasion, and I’m paraphrasing here, the church is supposed to bring simplicity to our lives… not clutter. (That’s biblical by the way). So why are our websites cluttered with information that nobody reads?
It’s a one-sided relationship. The church views the web as a place to promote their agenda. No interaction with the audience. No stories of life change. No solutions to help people experience community or discipleship online. At best, you may be able to watch a video of a service, but you certainly won’t have the opportunity to engage a conversation with others about what you’re watching.
Essentially we’ve taken the Sunday service bulletin and we’ve put it on our website. That’s the web strategy for the Church today. “Here’s who we are and what we’re doing. Join us!”
So here’s what we need to do. It’s pretty simple, the lines are not blurred here on what is right or wrong, it’s clean cut… it’s short, sweet and to the point. (unlike that last sentence)
Check out this video
Clover 60 Second Video from Clover on Vimeo.
If you attend my church… please help me get a clover site. 
I’ll take donations towards our web overhaul. Seriously. Do I look like I’m joking?
This is Part 4 of a 4 Part series titled: “There’s an App for That”. (Part 1:Part 2:Part 3)
Part 4 – God’s Response Time… “There is no iGod”
So yes… I’m a huge proponent for using technology and social media to further God’s ministry. But I don’t think that we should get too caught up in our world of instant gratification that we forget to include God in on the conversation. We have iPhones, Blackberries, email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and carrier pigeons to communicate with each other… but how do we get in contact with God? Is there an app for that?
The answer, I believe, is twofold… both yes and no.
YES: It’s called “Prayer”. We are blessed with the ability to be in constant contact with God via prayer. While there may not be an iPhone application titled “iGod” where he responds back to us in a text message… he is always listening to us, and the beautiful thing is that we don’t need a good cell phone signal or a strong battery to reach him. All we have to do is say something like “Dear God…” and we’ve got a secure, un-traceable connection direct to the big man!
NO: So we have the ability to talk directly “to” God whenever we want… but God won’t be sending us an email response with clear cut instructions on what to do next. The point is that God answers our prayers in his own time… and in his own way. The cool thing about God is that he’s always got a plan for us. He may be doing something in your life right now that you won’t recognize as an answer to a prayer for another year or so! Have you ever had an “Ah Ha” moment? A time in your life when everything you’ve been struggling with seems to all fall into place? A time when everything just makes sense? That’s God answering a prayer you might not have even prayed! He loves us that much! That sometimes good things happen to us even without us asking for them. But when we have those “Ah Ha” moments… remember to take a second and say thanks to God. He’s lookin’ out for us.
Please pray with me…
Hey God it’s us… thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for continuing to love us and care for us even when we’re too distracted to talk to you. We know that in today’s society we’re being pulled in 15 different directions at once. Sometimes we start searching the app store for the answers to our dilemmas instead of taking the time to pray to you about them. Please help us to remember that you are always here for us and ready to listen to us no matter how low our batteries might be.
Amen.
[Image by: medialoog]
