Showing posts with label open religious technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open religious technology. Show all posts

Sunday, January 8, 2012

eMinistry & Open Source Tools

An effective eMinistry is comprised of people who are committed to leveraging the wide range of available information technologies (IT) and tools for meeting practical, daily needs of one's local church. Starting an eMinistry can be a challenge. Obstacles such as lack of understanding, vision, budget, time and technical skills are just some of the challenges that churches encounter will encounter when starting an eMinistry. However, the benefits to the church, its mission, ministries, and congregation can be tremendous.

As Dr. Owens states in his paper on eMinistry Basics, "Your church web site is no more about electronics and technology than your sanctuary is about microphone systems and pews. The microphone and pews are tools that enable worship to take place. The web site is a tool that enables a broad range of traditional ministries to occur."

And its not just the web anymore. Think about email, wikis, social media, televideo, smartphones, and many of the other tools and technologies widely used today. Think of Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, and all the other channels of communication that are revolutionizing how we live our lives in this 21st century 'Information Age'.  

Just as the printing press turned the world upside down 500 years ago, information technology (IT) is having a similar impact, both on the world and the church. Don't fight the tide, instead embrace the use of these new tools and use them to more effectively serve God and carry out the mission we have been assigned.

You may be surprised at how quickly people will offer to be on an eMinistry team once you start looking for volunteers. There are a lot of people who will never volunteer for the nursery but who will be the first to join an eMinistry team.  Church leaders new to the idea of eMinistry and the use of information technologies (IT) need to take the time to read eMinistry Basics and some of the many other helpful studies posted on the non-profit COSI 'Open' Religious Technology & Tools web site.  

If funding an eMinistry is an issue, use the many high quality, free and open source software (FOSS) tools now available, e.g. Online Bibles, Sermons, Training Materials, etc. .  Again, visit the COSI web site to find out more about these resources. 

Have you started an eMinistry in your church? Tell us about it. Share your 'Lessons Learned' and 'Best Practices' with us.


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Proverbs on Wealth


Rather than talk about technology, in this blog I chose to simply use technology to go online and extract selected verses from the Bible on the topic of wealth, showing how technology can be quickly put to use to seek and share wisdom.


Wealth & Wisdom
Proverbs 3: 13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,  those who gain understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
Ecclesiastes 2:  26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.

Wealth & the Rich
Proverbs 14:   20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
Proverbs 18:   23 The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.
Proverbs 21:   17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.
Proverbs 22:   2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Proverbs 22:   7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
Proverbs 23:   4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings
   and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Proverbs 28:   6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.
Proverbs 28:   11 The rich are wise in their own eyes; one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
Proverbs 28:    20 A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
Ecclesiastes 5:  10 Whoever loves money never has enough;  whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.

New Testament
1 Timothy 6:17  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
1 Timothy 6:10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Hebrews 13:5  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
2 Corinthians 8:7  But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
Revelation 3:17  You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Wealth & the Poor
Proverbs 14:   20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
Proverbs 14:    21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the poor and needy.
Proverbs 14:   31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 18:   23 The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.
Proverbs 19:   4 Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.
Proverbs 19:    17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
 Proverbs 21:   13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.
Proverbs 21:   17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.
Proverbs 22:   2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Proverbs 22:   7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
Proverbs 22:  9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
Proverbs 22:  16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Proverbs 22:  22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,  23 for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life.
Proverbs 31:   8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 28:   3 A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
Proverbs 28:   6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.
Proverbs 28:   11 The rich are wise in their own eyes; one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.

Wealth & Righteousness
Proverbs 10:  2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 11:  4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 11:  28 Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
Proverbs 15:  6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.
Proverbs 16:  8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.
Proverbs 21:   21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity[c] and honor.
Matthew 6:1   "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Wealth & Wickedness
Proverbs 15:  6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.
Proverbs 17:   23 The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.

Wealth & Greed
Proverbs 15:  27 The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.
Proverbs 28:   25 The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.
 27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
Proverbs 29:  4 By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for[a] bribes tear it down.

Other Observation & Advice on Wealth
Proverbs 11: 24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
Proverbs 11:  25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 21:   5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Proverbs 21:    6 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.[a]
Proverbs 13:  11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Proverbs 14:   23 All hard work brings a profit,  but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 20:   21 An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.
Proverbs 22:  1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
Proverbs 22:   26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;
Proverbs 22:  27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.
Proverbs 27:  23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; 24 for riches do not endure forever,
Proverbs 28:    19 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
Proverbs 30:  8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;  give me neither poverty nor riches,
   but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you  and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’  Or I may become poor and steal,  and so dishonor the name of my God.



Have you gone online and accessed a free and open source version of the Bible to help in your ministry or religious studies? Give us an example of how you have used technology in your personal ministry or studies.

* See related post on Wealth & Wise Leadership in America

Monday, December 12, 2011

Social Media, Web Sites, & Open Source Tools for Today's Churches


The incorporation of digital technologies and effective use of the Internet into church-based ministry is an new skill set churches need to master. The Internet has become one of the pivotal communications and community-building tools of our lifetime and can be of great use to churches and their congregations in a variety of ways.

Back in 2000, just one-third of Protestant churches (34%) had a church web site. By 2005, more than half the churches (57%) had web sites. Today, well over two-thirds of churches have web sites and the numbers continue to climb. See Church Executive.

About half of the small churches (less than 100 adult members) have a church web site, compared to three-quarters of the mid-sized churches (100 to 250 adults members) and over 90% of  large churches (more than 250 regularly attending adult members).

In addition to web sites, well over 25% of Protestant churches now have some presence on social networking sites, e.g. Facebook, Linkedin.  Again, church size plays a factor, with over half of larger churches having a presence on social networking sites.

To learn more about the use of information technology (IT) by churches and their congregations, go to the COSI Open Religious Technology web site.  Many software tools, mobile apps, digitized educational materials, eGames, and more are 'open source' and are available for free.  

Let us know about any other high quality, free and open source software solutions or products pastors, church leaders, or congregations might find useful.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Reports & Studies on Technology and the Church

The importance of information technology (IT) to support church operations and missions will continue to grow. So, it behooves church leaders at all levels to study the topic in more depth and read about 'best practices' and 'lessons learned' from others. The following are links to selected studies, reports, articles or white papers on innovative 'open' information technology and tools for religious organizations, church leaders, and their congregations.
The non-profit COSI 'Open' Religious Technology web site also has links to selected blogging sites, books, organizations, and many other resources focused on free & open source solutions for both religious organizations and individuals - go to http://religion.cositech.net 

Please share with us any other good books or free resources you would recommend on the use of Information Technology for religious organizations, their ministries, and congregations.   

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Both Old & New Tools to Carry Out Our Mission


As we carry out our mission for God here on Earth, our success will be largely determined by how we equip ourselves. First and foremost, we must be equipped with truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Spirit, and the Word of God. 

Ephesians 3:20-21
 20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 6:14-17
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In today's world, there are now many new variations of tried and true tools we can use to better equip ourselves and carry out our mission.  There are many free and 'open source' tools we can lay our hands on in this Information Age that we can use to be more effective. Please take the time to  explore some of these tools identified on the non-profit COSI 'Open' Religious Technology & Tools web site at http://religion.cositech.net  

Friday, January 7, 2011

'Open' Religious Technology News & Blogging Sites

The following are selected links to online news sites and ezines focused on innovative 'open source' software, technology, and tools for religious organizations and individuals:.

  • Christian Computing Magazine - Keeping readers informed on software, services and other areas of technology relating to the Christian community, the church, and ministry.
  • Christian Century & Technology - News, blogs, book reviews and more from The Christian Century web site.
  • ChristianPost.Com - Link to the RSS feed from the Christian Post web site on news about technology and the church.
  • ChurchMedia.Net - A world-wide community of media ministers sharing ideas, technical knowledge, and news.
  • CrossWire & Sword Project News - Current news by the CrossWire Bible Society on The Sword Project and various related open source software products.
  • Linux Today - Provides news and other information and resources that the Linux and Free & Open Source Software community should know about.
  • Open Source Magazine - An online magazine addressing issues, trends and technologies like JAVA, Eclipse, Linux, Open Source, Open Web 2.0 and more.
  • Open Source Enterprise Magazine (O3) - Focused on the use of Free & Open Source (FOSS) software in Enterprise and Business environments.
  • Technologies For Worship Magazine (TFWM) - An eNewsletter covering a wide range of audio and computer technologies of possible interest to churches.

In addition, the following are links to selected blogging sites on 'open source'  software and computer technology for religious organizations and individuals – in addition to this blog:

  • Bible Software Review Blog - Reviews of free and 'open source' Bible study software products.
  • Church CIO Blog A blog by a church Chief Information Officer (CIO) encouraging ministry leaders and information technology (IT) directors to view technology as a platform for ministry and to think more strategically about it.
  • ChristianOSS Blog - Users, developers, and enthusiasts of Open Source Software discussing how to promote the use of open source software (OSS) in the Church and other Christian contexts.
  • Church Production & Technology Blogs - A list of blogs focused on technology and churches.
  • Digital @ Leadership Network - A blog on innovative digital technologies available to churches.
  • Religion Blogging Sites - A listing of numerous religion blogging sites on the web offered by BlogTopSites.
  • When Religion Meets the New Media - Exploring the intersection between New Media, Religion & Digital Culture

If you know of some other exceptional online news and ezines or blogging sites focused on 'open source' and computer technology for religious organizations or individuals, please share them with us.  We would like to add them to our COSI 'Open' Religious Technology web site.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christians & Technology in the News

Why don't Christian news organizations have a separate section on technology. A quick  two minute search of news about Christians and computer technology brought up the following articles from various Christian news web sites.

Program to Reveal 'Real Face of Jesus' - Christianpost.com  

It's obvious computer technology is influencing all aspects of the church ministry and its people - from health care to mission work, family entertainment, education, church management, Bible study, and more. It's a very important topic that perhaps deserves to be highlighted and better reported on in this day and age.

Tell us what you think? Do you know of any good religious computer news web sites you's like to recommend to others?

Peter Groen

Friday, November 26, 2010

Open Source Religious Software & Tools

Collaborative development efforts to create innovative, 'open source' software, information technology, and tools for religious organizations and individuals are well underway. These information technologies and tools are being released under one or more open source licensing arrangements that allow one to acquire and use these tools at little or no cost. This has tremendous potential consequences for individuals and religious organizations around the world facing funding challenges.

The following are links to selected web sites offering 'open source' software and tools for religious organizations and individuals.

Christian Software
·         Bible Time - A free and open source Bible study program.
·         ChurchBiz Online - Offering a variety of free solutions for churches, e.g. software, eBooks, music, and much more.
·         CrossWire Bible Software - A variety of open source religious software products for use on Laptops, Desktops, and SmartPhones.
·         Freshmeat Shareware - List of Bible related open source software on the Freshmeat web site.
·         SWORD Project - A Bible software development project that has created a range of related cross-platform open source tools.
·         TechMission Christian Software - A collection of freeware and open source software aimed at Christian organizations and individuals that includes church management software, ministry software, Bible study software, and more.
·         Ubuntu: Christian EditionA free, open source operating system geared towards Christians. It is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux.
·         Xiphos - A popular open source Bible study software application.

Other Religious Software
·         Free Religious Software Download Manager - Offering a wide range of free software relative to most religions  that can be easily downloaded.
·         ITL – Open source Islamic software tools, e.g. Hijri calendar, prayer time reminder, etc.
·         Open Siddur Project - A collaborative open source project aimed at crafting and sharing siddur related content, software, and other materials.
·         Sabilly -   Operating system and software you need in your everyday tasks, customized specifically for Muslims.
·         Ubuntu Buddhist RemixBuddhabuntu is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, tailored for Buddhist users. It includes various Buddhist Scriptural study tools.
·         Zekr Open source Qur’an study tool with Arabic and translations.

General Purpose 'Open Source' Software Tools
·         Apache Software - Originally known for being an open-source web server solution, it has now grown into a large collaborative software community with a wide range of complementary projects and products.
·         Drupal - A widely used open source content management system (CMS) for web sites.
·         JBOSS - An open source platform and development tools with everything you need to deploy, and host enterprise Java applications and services.
·         Linux - A widely used open source operating system for small and large scale computer systems originally created by Linus Torvalds
·         Mozilla & Firefox - A wide range of open source software products developed by the growing Mozilla 'open' development community. Products include the FireFox web browser, Thunderbird email system, Sea Monkey, etc.
·         MySQL - An open source database management system (DBMS) that offers the full functionality of similar commercial products such as MS SQL, DB2, Oracle, etc.
·         Open Office - A comprehensive open source software suite of office applications (e.g. word processing, spreadsheet, etc.) that provide very similar capabilities as MS Office.
·         SugarCRM - A commercialized open source customer relationship management (CRM) software suite.
·         Zimbra Collaboration - An open source email and calendar groupware software product.

The following are links to selected religious apps for mobile smartphones, e.g. iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.

Christian Apps
·         eBible PDA - Free Bible software and mobile apps for SmartPhones, PDAs, etc.
·         Olive Tree - Offering free eBooks, Bibles, study guides, mobile software apps for a range of mobile devices.
·         PocketSword - A free Bible study app for the iPhone & iPad that can be downloaded from iTunes.

Other Religious Apps
·         Buddhism Mobile Apps
·         Hinduism Mobile Apps
·         Islamic Mobile Apps

The following are links to web sites of selected development organizations focused on providing religious organizations and individuals with innovative 'open source' technology and tools.

·         CrossWire Bible Society - A resource pool to other Bible societies and Christian organizations that can't afford a programming staff or expensive commercial software tools
·         Global Media Outreach - Online missionaries using the Internet and information technology to reach people around the world.
·         Joshua Project -  A Christian research initiative seeking to gather data about the ethnic groups of people around the world and providing a range of free tools and digital technologies to assist in missionary efforts.
·         LightSys - dedicated to equipping Christian missions and ministries with the computer technology best suited to their needs, including the knowledge and contacts needed to support that technology.
·         Open Source Initiative - a non-profit corporation formed to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source and to build bridges among different constituencies in the open source community.
·         TechMission - Uses innovative approaches to provide digital technology resources and solutions to meet needs in at-risk communities.

For more information about 'Open' Religious Software Tools and Technologies, visit the religion.cositech.net  web site.

Are you using any open source religious software or tools? Let us know about any solutions you would recommend to others.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Understanding 'Open' Solutions & Terminology

Having heard so many people using the terms "open systems", "open computing", and "open source" interchangeably, believing they all mean the same thing, it seemed appropriate to  write a short blog defining some of these terms and soliciting input on other 'open' terminology.

In general, the term "Open" often refers to initiatives whose inner workings are exposed to the public and are capable of being further modified or improved by any qualified individual or organization. "Open" is the opposite of "proprietary" or "closed" environments. In the case of software this would mean that the "source code" is either open for all to access such as the Linux operating system or closed such as Windows XP where only Microsoft programmers are able to change the source code. Other 'open' terminology often loosely bandied about include:

·         Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) - FOSS refers to a software program in which the source code is available to anyone for use. It can be modified by anyone from its original design free of up-front license fees. The source code is available for review, modification, and sharing by the at-large community.
·         Open Standards - Open Standards are the set of specifications developed to define interoperability between diverse systems. The standards are owned and maintained by a vendor-neutral organization rather than by a specific commercial developer.
·         Open Systems - Hardware and/or software systems that use or adhere to open standards and are interoperable to some degree. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_systems
·         Open Architecture - An Information Technology (IT) architecture whose specifications are open and available to the public and that provide a platform for interoperability.
·         Open data – Data that anyone is free to use, reuse and redistribute without restriction. For more detail, see http://opendefinition.org.
·         Open Data Format - A standard way for describing data formats, per the "Open Data Format Initiative (ODFI)", and a program to validate that a data file is "ODFI compliant". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument
·         Open Computing - This is a general term used to describe an "open" philosophy in building information technology (IT) systems. It represents the principle that includes architecture and technology procurement policies and practices that align IT with the goals of an open interoperable computer systems environment.
·         Open Knowledge - An open system of knowledge transfer using the Internet and other information technologies to share best practices, emerging practices, knowledge and innovations within one or more "Community of Practice (CoP)" or across organizational boundaries. Visit http://okfn.org
·         Open Publication License (OPL) - This is a license used for creating free and open publications created by the Open Content Project. Other alternatives include the Creative Commons licenses, the GNU Free Documentation License and the Free Art License. See http://opencontent.org/openpub/

Have you heard some other 'open' terminology being used that you can take a shot at defining and share with us?