Technology and the Minister: Email

When you think of the Internet the image that normally comes to mind is that of the graphics and flash of the World Wide Web. The WWW, though, is only one piece of a larger whole which we call the Internet. One of the very first elements of the Internet is Email. Broadly defined “E-mail (electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication” (source: http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci212051,00.html) . At it’s most basic an email message is a text letter sent from one person to another.

Am email message has several advantages over its hard-copy ancestor. First, it is faster. The typical ‘snail mail’ message takes between one and three days to be delivered, while an email message is typically delivered within minutes if not seconds. Second, it is available anywhere you can get to an internet connection. If you are using a web-based email system (even AOL has a web interface) then you can access your messages or send a message from virtually anywhere in the world you can access the web. Snail mail can be sent from anywhere, but you can only receive it at designated locations. In other words, you can send someone a birthday card from any mailbox, but you can only get your incoming mail at your mailbox. Third, email is paperless and most systems will allow you to ‘attach’ documents of various kinds. You can send someone a multi-page spreadsheet or document by the push of a button. Fourth, email is (or can be) free, while snail mail requires paper, envelopes and stamps. With a significant amount of mail going out even the paid services become economically feasible.

Another feature of email that enhances it usefulness is the Distribution List. This is a way of designating a group of people who will receive a single email. For a mailing sent to every member of the church, for instance, in snail mail you would have to print a letter to each, fold them, stick them in envelopes and stamp them. To do the same thing with email you would write a single email message, enter the name of the distribution list (‘All Church Members’ or some other easily remembered name) and hit the ‘send’ button.

One last advantage of the email address. Since the world has moved inexorably into the “Age of Communication” more and more people have come to expect to be able to contact others in this way. Placing your email address on your corporate literature tells the world that you are not stuck in the past and that you are opening the doors. Psychologically it is a wise move, and it shows marketing savvy as well.

Technology and the Minister: Technology Overload

The term ‘Technology Overload’ is a strange one to western ears. Technology is always supposed to be 'good', isn't it? How can you have too many gadgets? That seems to run contrary to our culture. But this is a matter which ministers must pay close attention to in order to actually perform ministry.

The key question here is, “What does this technology do for me and is it worth the effort?” Each gadget or technology which we decide to use should have a specific task or set of tasks which it handles. The end result must save enough time, money and effort for ministry purposes to make the effort productive. If it does not, then the technology actually hinders ministry.

A simple example would be as follows. A minister decides to use a calendar software package on his laptop to keep track of events because it has a nice graphical interface. However, the package does not support imports from his current software on his PDA. Each event is going to have to be entered by hand into the new package. After entering, the new package requires the user to perform a series of steps when trying to print a comprehensive list, and a further set of steps if the user wants to break events into categories (Birthdays, Church events, Personal events…). In this case the nice interface is costing the pastor much time and effort. This translates into more time spent in front of a computer monitor than in ministry and therefore is not worth the effort.

Another example of a positive experience might go like this: The pastor needs to send birthday and anniversary cards out to a number of people. He knows that these people are technologically savvy and check their email frequently. He goes onto the Internet to a favorite site and selects an Electronic Greeting card for each of them, spending about 3 minutes each. Not only does he do this in the same time it would take to write the cards by hand, he saves the cost of the card, the cost of the postage and the card is delivered nearly instantaneously. As long as the recipients regard an e-card in the same way they regard a physical card, he has found a way to leverage technology to his advantage.

When considering new technology, ask yourself these questions:

• Is it going to save me more money than it costs (including labor time)?
• Is it going to save me time over what I am doing now?
• Is it going to open new possibilities for me?
• Is it going to save me effort?
• Is it going to be more accurate, and does that matter to me?

If you can answer at least three of these questions positively, then it probably is a good thing. If you can answer four positively, then it definitely is a good decision to incorporate the technology. Anything less than three, don’t bother.

Remember, technology is supposed to help you do a job. If it doesn’t do that, then it is failing to give you what you need.

Technology and the Minister: The PDA

Society is becoming increasingly mobile and hectic. Demographics prove this out, but all we really have to do is look at our schedules. The typical pastor may spend his or her day between several different locations, the church office, the hospital, a meeting at McDonalds and a conference at the District office. In between all of that the pastor is expected to find time to study to pray, to prepare a sermon, to put together a program for Sunday morning, do a Sunday School lesson and a devotional for the Wednesday night Study. How do you keep it all straight, never mind accomplish it all?

One of the best tools you can use to accomplish these tasks and make life easier is the humble PDA, or “Personal Digital Assistant”. Typical models range anywhere from US$100 to US$500 in 2008. The most useful for the money tend to be in the range of US$200-US$300, with my personal favorite the Palm Tungsten E2 being US$200.

Those unfamiliar with PDA’s assume they are fancy electronic calendars and not much more. If that were so I would still recommend them, because of the many features the calendars employ. The typical PDA calendar application, such as Palm Desktop, will allow you to keep track of events and set reminders for them. But it will also allow you to sort and categorize entries, displaying only what you need. It will also allow you to synchronize with the Palm Desktop calendar application on your office PC, or with MS Outlook should you prefer. But their usefulness only begins with the calendar.

Scenario – you have taken a group of teens on Saturday to a District Bible Quizzing meet. It is over an hour away from home. It has begun snowing quite heavily and you know that it is not worth going home and coming back, even though you have a Sunday program and a sermon to complete. Solution - You are not worried, because you had the foresight to upload your sermon and the bulletin outline to your PDA. You go upstairs and grab a Hymnal, find a quiet corner to set up your Infrared Keyboard and within three hours it is all done. When the quizzers are finished you drive them home, go to your office and upload the documents to your PC to print them.

Just exactly this happened to me about three years ago. If it had not been for my PDA, I would have had a very hard time finishing everything without putting in a very long night. I attended a seminar with the well-known churchplanter Rev. Ralph Moore of Hope Chapel in Kaneohe, Hawaii about 8 years ago. The seminar was conducted in Nashua, New Hampshire. While having lunch he told us that normally he was traveling for several days out of the week. He would compose his sermons and notes on his PDA, then on Friday he would connect to the Internet to send the documents to his office where his secretary would print them. By the time he got home his sermon and other materials were on his desk waiting for him.

What did I use to edit my documents? Believe it or not I used Microsoft Word, through an application called DocumentsToGo. My PDA writes to native Word format, and I can even keep track of church statistics on-the-fly with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. These applications come bundled with the PDA. Keeping track of expenses is just as easy with the PalmSource “Expense” application. Simply set up your categories and start entering information.

Another very useful application is the “Contact” database, also included with the PDA. This interfaces with your Calendar application and displays items like birthdays on the calendar. Email is easy to compose and you can send it when you next connect to the Internet, either through your desktop PC or by WiFi (if so equipped).

Need inspiration or relaxation while out and about? Use your PDA along with a set of earbuds and listen to the MP3’s you have stored on your PDA or memory card. For an even better experience when traveling you can use your PDA hooked up to your car stereo using a CD-to-Tape converter (US$10-US$20).

One of the blessings you will find right away is the speed and stability of the operating system. The Palm OS is extremely stable, and is nearly instant when turning on. Setup is easy and quick, and is very intuitive. Writing with a stylus should you choose to do so can be quick but takes a little getting used to.

There are many different ways to use your PDA effectively for ministry, and many different add-ons, but it can be life-transforming right out of the box. All of this from a small device that will slip easily into a suit jacket pocket.

Practical uses for a Family History?

Back when I was attending college, oh so long ago, I worked in a library. One of my friends was about 20 years older than I and he was in charge of what we called "Special Collections". This was the room that contained all the local history, newspaper microfilms and genealogy resources. My father and I began an adventure, courtesy of my friend Walter, which has lasted a lifetime...well, a lifetime and a half since my father has now passed away and I have not as of the time of this writing! We started tracing the history of our family.

As any person interested in family history will tell you, you'll always have those family members who will ask, "Are you done with that family history yet?". That question will make the genealogist's eyes roll because there is no such thing as a 'complete' family history! The other question the genealogist may encounter is from those who wonder, "Why do you want to know all this stuff? It is all past and not of any use." I propose to suggest some uses for your 'useless' family history.

A genealogist thrives on obscure documents. One of the most useful of those documents is the 'Death Certificate'. Usually the certificate will have on it a listed cause of death and an age at death. Combining your family history chart with a cause of death for each of your ancestors can show you interesting patterns. Some of these patterns can be life-saving. For instance, noticing that your lineage includes a history of certain kinds of cancer or other diseases may indicate to you that routine exams should be targeting these for early detection. Even a chart going back for a very few generations can be helpful.

Along with knowing the causes of death for a few generations it may be possible for you to compile known non-fatal diseases and illnesses for at least two generations in either direction from your own. For instance, if your grandfather had asthma, two of his children had asthma, four of their children as well, you now have a traceable connection. The same can be applied to illnesses like diabetes, arthritis and heart problems. Many genealogy programs have screens especially for keeping track of this kind of information. Be aware that sometimes such issues are sensitive, so don't publish data like this indiscriminately.

Another use for family history can bring you financial rewards. For instance, connecting your family tree to certain events such as the American Revolution may help in finding money for college. The Daughters of the American Revolution site states, "Any woman is eligible for membership who is no less than eighteen years of age and can prove lineal, blood line descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence", and there are scholarships available only to members of the DAR. (source: http://www.dar.org/natsociety/edout_scholar.cfm, 1/17/2008) Likewise, connection to specific ethnic groups may help in the same way if the connection is close enough.

A third use for family history may be a little more intangible, but still valuable. Having an interest in family history promotes an interest in history in general. It may give your children topics and stories to build upon for school assignments. It may build your general knowledge of subjects such as writing, history, math and technology.

In terms of ego-building, it is always nice to be thought of as the 'go-to' person for something. Rarely are there more than a few people in a family really interested in such topics, so you will likely be the instant expert. If you want to carry it far enough you can even write a book on your family! Just be sure to keep the juicy but controversial bits from the last generation or so properly private or you'll be the 'go-to' person in other respects.

There are many uses, very practical uses, for family history. If you haven't started yet, now is the time to do so. People die, and with it their first-hand knowledge. Pictures and letters are destroyed by accident and on purpose. Homes are sold, people's memories fade. You can't recover these things later, but if you start preserving them now you will not regret it.

Happy hunting!

I Kilt myself!

It’s interesting the reaction that you get doing some things. My family has always celebrated its heritage in one way or another. In general we are old-family Yankee.When growing up my mother’s relatives always called the porch a ‘piazza’ and we always took our pasta seriously in deference to my Mom’s Italian roots. My grandmother spoke fluent French-Canadian. And my father gave special attention to his experiences among the Native American friends on his father’s side as well as his Scottish roots.


A couple years ago I put together a kilt (not my own Clan Gunn tartan, but Black Watch tartan) and have worn it around the house and in the yard. Once or twice I’ve worn it out on an errand, but it’s not that great a sewing job, so I don’t do it very much. Generally I’ve gotten some good comments on it. I find that there is somewhat of a controversy about kilts though, especially where Christians are concerned. There is this verse in the Bible (actually in more than one place) that talks about men not wearing women’s clothes, and vice-versa. Deuteronomy 22:5 says, "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this".



The question becomes, especially in today’s society, what is appropriate clothing for men and what is inappropriate? The first thing I point out is that Kilts are first and foremost men’s clothing. The specific style and construction have always been worn by men in Scottish culture…in all Celtic cultures, really. If a woman was to wear a Kilt, she would be wearing a male style of clothing. The cut and construction are tailored to men; that has never stopped women, but they are generally given more leeway than men in such things.


Secondly, there are very few real ‘unisex’ garments. Most are cut to accommodate a woman’s anatomy OR a man’s anatomy. Therefore a man would be very uncomfortable in a woman’s pantsuit, while a woman would have extra material and an uncomfortable fit in a man’s pair of pants…either would not be flattered by the fit. This is also why it becomes very hard to pin down a particular garment class as being either male or female…are pants in general male or female? Is a shirt in general male or female? Garments this gender specific in our culture might be limited to such things as underwear, intimate garments or panty hose. In another culture it might be a little more clear cut.



Thirdly, scripturally I think the injunction is pretty clear. Don’t wear things that culturally indicate that you are gender-bending.


It has helped my case to note that in the past few years there has been a resurgence in prominent kilt-wearers such as Sir Sean Connery, TV shows like 'The Highlander' and films such as Braveheart starring Mel Gibson, as historically inaccurate as that film is. Anyone care to tell Sean Connery that he's a sissy? I'd like to be a fly on the wall when you do!



When all is said and done, if the Kilt is worn in context there is nothing wrong with it from a scriptural standpoint. But, in the words of Peter, "be prepared to give a ready defense..." and in keeping with scripture, avoid knowingly offending our weaker brothers (and sisters).

Who needs Theology?

Mention the word ‘theology’ and you’ll probably get a chorus of yawns and rolled eyes. In Western society we are taught very little about theology, just that it is boring, that polite people don’t discuss religion or politics because it is controversial and a matter of private opinion, and that it has nothing to do with real life anyway. So who need theology? Everyone, actually. And everyone deals in theological matters each and every day whether they realize it or not.

Theology is, first and foremost, the basis for our worldview. A worldview is the lens through which we view everything around us and perhaps more important it is the underlying basis for each and every decision we make. A worldview is comprised of those things we consider important and even ‘transcendent’. If this is so, then how could we let such an important thing go unexamined? Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living”, which has a large element of truth in it.

Someone out there might say, “I’m an atheist, so since I don’t believe in God I don’t care about theology”. Even so, that person still has a worldview (based on atheism) and atheism is by definition an opinion on the existence and nature of God, and therefore is a theological viewpoint.

An example of how theology can be applied daily by anyone might be taken from my own tradition of evangelical Christianity. Since I believe that Jesus Christ is the earthly representation of God, and that my goal is to become as Christ-like as possible, and knowing that Jesus said that we should be concerned with the poor and outcast of society, I will find ways to help people in whatever way I can. It may be through contributing to a good cause like the Salvation Army or it might be to give a ride to a Senior Citizen when they need to get to the doctor’s office. It might be simply talking to and listening to a hurting soul. The point is that my theology dictates my actions.

The challenge is obvious. Examine your theology. Is your life in line with what you say you believe? If not, you are living a lie. A person who says they love humanity, but doesn’t love individual people is a hypocrite. Whether your theology holds water (reflects reality, is truthful…) is the subject for another post.

Where exactly IS Vermont?

My daughter related a conversation to me that took place at her school in Illinois. Apparently the question was the standard icebreaker, “Tell us something about yourself and where you come from”. After relating some details of her life one of her classmates asked her, “So, what state is Vermont in?” The question absolutely flabbergasted her, and even more so when she realized that there was more than one person who didn’t know that Vermont IS a state! Now, this was in a University with a wonderful liberal arts program, but I have to wonder about our High Schools who send kids on to college who don’t know at least that small detail. It makes me wonder what else they don’t know.


If you are reading this and feeling a little embarrassed because YOU don’t know where Vermont is, let me tell you. Vermont is located in New England, north of Massachusetts, and sandwiched between New Hampshire and New York. The northern border is the Canadian province of Quebec; the largest city Burlington is only a 2-hour drive from Montreal.



The name 'Vermont' comes from the French and means “Green Mountain”. Appropriately enough Vermont is known as the “Green Mountain State” and is home to the “Green Mountain National Forest”. The state capital is Montpelier. It is still the only state capital without a McDonalds, and at least until recently was about the only place where anyone could walk directly into the Capital building without going through a metal detector and a search. This despite the fact that Vermont has no (zero, nada, zip, zilch…) state gun laws. Concealed carry without a permit is a right of every adult citizen within the limits of federal law. You don’t often hear about firearms being used to commit crimes, at least not nearly at the levels of neighboring states. After all, try to mug that little old lady and you might find she’s carrying a .357 Magnum !

Vermont is an independently-minded state. We are one of only two states in the continental US which were previously fully sovereign countries prior to statehood, the other one being Texas. That said, it is a conflicted state…extremely liberal on the one hand (first state to legalize same-sex civil-unions and the only state to have a Socialist elected to Washington) and extremely conservative on the other hand (Second Amendment rights are taken very seriously). A destination in the 1970’s for back-to-nature hippies, it is now a destination for techies and yuppies trying to escape the rat race of the city. Vermont has a large agricultural tradition which the aforementioned back-to-nature people enhanced. One of the legacies handed down is a law against billboards on Highway right-of-ways (one of only four states in the nation to do so), which makes a drive through Vermont a scenic delight.


Vermont still has only about 600,000 people…compared to the city I lived in down in Massachusetts which had 125,000 all by itself! The largest city in Vermont is Burlington, which has a population in the city proper of only some 38,000. Demographics indicate that the state is 98% Caucasian making it the second whitest state in the US (behind Wyoming).

So yes, Virginia, Vermont IS a state! And I maintain that it is a state with not only some unique attributes, but is one of the most beautiful states you are likely to see. Come visit and bring your camera. You won’t be disappointed!