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Jane Seely (left) and Cathy Reich load gifts for delivery to our family.
For the third year, the staff of Healthy Ministry Resources (the national office) collected gifts for a needy family. Administrative assistant Cathy Reich and Bookstore manager Jane Seely delivered the gifts to a family in Bippus, Ind., on Wednesday, December 21.
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
One simple joy of vacations is attending other churches. Pam and I have visited some good ones over the years. Last year, in Texas, we visited Chuck Swindoll’s church, upon discovering that his church stood just a mile from our hotel.
When you pop in for a Sunday service, all you get is a snapshot. There is so much you never see–small group ministries, needy ministries, youth outreach, pastoral care, missions, evangelism and discipleship, etc. In no way can you judge a church (if that’s what you’re inclined to do) on the basis of a one-time, or two-time, visit. Though I’ve heard many people try.
However, I do take close note of how churches treat guests. And whether it’s a large church or small church, we usually get the same treatment: we are ignored. You’ve experienced the same thing, haven’t you? I say this not with some kind of indignation, but with high amusement, because it’s so common. It’s as if church people are afraid of visitors. As people walk by, avoiding eye contact, it tickles me. I want to reach out my hand and say, “Hey, I won’t bite.”
(more…)
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
Churches frequently contact me for advice on technology needs, particularly in regard to the internet. Just yesterday, a church contacted me about their website. They need a new website, but also want some kind of online contact management system which several people could access (they are currently just keeping records in a Word document). Did I have any advice?
Those are basic needs for churches of any size–a website, and tracking people.
Our churches are using a lot of different things in both areas, from do-it-yourself tools to purchasing full-blown systems.
I told that church I would find out what some other UB churches are doing, especially in contact management, and get back with them. That’s what I’m doing now.
How is your website done? And what do you use to track people? Whether or not you’re happy with what you use, I’d like to know.
I created a form so you can respond.
I’ll compile results and post them on UBCentral.org. I’m sure it’ll be helpful to lots of churches that are asking the same questions this church asked of me.
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
Today, everyone’s focused on the death of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. He’s a religious figure in that he started the Apple Cult. It started with Mac users, who (like me) could be extremely obnoxious in their evangelistic zeal. It has since spread to include iPod, iPhone, and iPad users. I am all of the above (though the iPad is actually my wife’s).
The Healthy Ministry Resources office has been entirely Macintosh since 1988. Prior to that, I produced the monthly United Brethren magazine on an AT&T PC with two 5.25″ floppy drives (no hard drive). I composed the articles in Wordstar, then sent the disc to a printshop, which printed out the typeset articles in long strips of heavy paper. I then spent up to two weeks doing layout, bent over a light table laboriously pasting everything down, with regular trips to the chiropractor.
When Denny Miller came to the office in 1987 as Associate Director of Church Services, he was already an Apple user. In mid-1988, he dragged me along to a computer store. I believe we went to look at Apple II computers. But instead, we were blown away by the insanely great Mac. I soon had a Mac II on my desk (2MB RAM, 40MB hard drive, monochrome monitor) and a LaserWriter Plus nearby. Within a month, with no training whatsoever, I learned this new computer, along with Pagemaker, and cranked out the October 1988 United Brethren magazine entirely on-screen.
The Mac, truly, changed my life. Or Denny did.
Today, every employee in the office uses a Mac. Gary Gates works here one day a week, and I believe he brings a PC laptop, for which he’s been given a special dispensation. We have a PC in shipping, because UPS requires PC software, and Finance Director Marci Hammel, in addition to her iMac, keeps a PC laptop open for banking purposes. But everyone else uses Macs entirely.
We basically do no training. And since problems are few, I provide support out of my back pocket. So, as a small office, the Mac serves us well. Bishop Whipple came to the office in 2009 as a veteran Mac user. Jeff Bleijerveld came from a PC office, but is now a devoted (but not yet obnoxious) convert. And now we’re working on newcomer Frank Y. It’s just a matter of time.
One more thing: we’ve not had a computer virus since 1991.
Todd Agnew began Fandana
Around 3000 people attended Fandana on Friday.
Superchick was a big hit.
The crowd included people of all ages in a family-friendly atmosphere.
There was face-painting for children.
Attaboy’s roots are with Huntington University
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
The Fandana Festival proved to be a huge success for Huntington University. The three-day festival, August 11-13, began on Thursday afternoon (August 11), led up to a big concert on Friday night, and concluded with a small worship service (for anyone still there) on Saturday morning.
The university estimates that up to 1500 people attended on Thursday, and over 3000 attended on Friday. Over 30 bands participated. The weather, both days, was gorgeous.
Where’d the name “Fandana” come from? It’s just a made-up, catchy word. But unofficially, I’m told, it means “good times, good fun, and good music at Huntington University.” That’s the image they want in people’s minds when they hear the word Fandana.
I previously wrote about my experience attending on Thursday. I returned on Friday for the evening concert at the outdoor “Red Stage,” set up on the soccer practice field, right along Route 24.
I enjoyed the music, but I was most taken by the family-friendly atmosphere. It wasn’t just teens and young adults. There were people of all ages–lots of older baby boomers, lots of young children (including a number of strollers), and everywhere in between. Remember: today’s 60-year-olds came of age during the 1960s; they grew up on rock music.
People brought their own chairs, or lay on blankets on the grass. The young-adult set thronged around the stage, standing up throughout the concert (that’s what young people do–that, and a lot of jumping). Children scampered around being children. People on the fringes threw frisbee rings. I didn’t see anyone smoking.
A bunch of rented inflatables were set up for kids. Just behind the sound booth, women in clown suits were face-painting children and drawing caricatures. Norm the Forester (the HU mascot) and the Star 88.3 mascot (a star, of course) wandered through the crowd. A few older folks sat their chairs clear back in the pine trees along the highway, far from the stage. But the sound level, in my opinion, was pretty tame compared to most rock concerts.
When I arrived around 6 pm, Todd Agnew was performing. He mostly did worship music (his forte), and then gave a 20-minute talk before concluding with a few more songs, including his “Grace Like Rain” take on “Amazing Grace.”
Then the evening kicked into Christian rock mode, with Huntington University’s own Attaboy sandwiched between headliners Superchick and Switchfoot. All were good, and similar. As the sun set, hundreds of colorful glow rings were distributed. People wore them around necks and wrists and ankles, and as darkness descended, it made for quite a colorful sight as you looked over the crowd.
Switchfoot, as planned, took the stage around 9:30. An After Party was held in the Merillat Centre for the Arts at 11 pm, but I was long gone by then.
I appreciated Fandana’s emphasis on two causes: human trafficking, and child soldiers. Two Christian organizations which focus on these causes, TrafficJam.org and Project AK-47, were promoted throughout the event. The organization names were prominently displayed above the stage, the whole stage backdrop illustrated these causes, and an offering was taken on Friday night.
This was the inaugural Fandana Festival. For a first-time thing, it seemed (to me) to go amazingly well. HU plans to make it an annual event, and will announce next year’s dates soon. This is a great event to bring not just your youth group, but other adults who enjoy contemporary Christian music. The atmosphere is wholesome and fun, making Fandana a nice place to just hang out.
Stellar Kart performing on the Red Stage
People of all ages…and a hot air balloon!
Headliner BarlowGirl
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
Huntington University kicked off its first Fandana Music Festival on Thursday, August 11. They gave me a press pass, so around 5 pm I headed over to the campus to catch some good music.
Fandana is a big deal. At least a thousand people would be attending. I heard thoughts of maybe 3000 people coming before it was all over. Hard to tell with a first-time thing like this. But the college seemed ready, with volunteers everywhere, places roped off, plentiful signs, and all kinds of little extras. This took a healthy dose of planning to put together. And there’s still time to come for the big Friday night finale with Todd Agnew, Superchick, Attaboy, and Switchfoot!
After getting my pass in the Merillat Physical Education Complex, I traipsed over to the Fine Arts building, where bands had been performing in the main auditorium–the Orange stage–since 4 pm.
Reilly
I heard Reilly, a five-member band from Philadelphia, that I just loved. The show opened with two members–husband and wife–coming onto the stage playing “All the Lonely People” on violins. The girl played violin during most of the songs, and a little keyboard. The guy mostly played lead guitar, but occasionally would sling it onto his back and go play some mean violin with his wife. I tell you, it was a beautiful sound! I’ve never heard a rock band combine violins so effectively. Plus, they gave a solid, but brief, presentation of the gospel. (I should mention their incredible version of “For What It’s Worth,” the “there’s something happening here” classic from Buffalo Springfield.)
Throughout Reilly’s performance, more and more people trickled in, until the lower section was decently populated, with others in the upper section. Probably a dozen kids stood in front of the stage. I must say, I didn’t care for the dark, foggy atmosphere on stage. I couldn’t see the performers well–way too much shadow, and no spotlights hitting them from the front (that I could see). I don’t know if that mood atmosphere was intentional, or the result of a fog machine gone rogue. But I didn’t care for it (though I realize I’m not the target demographic).
After Reilly came two guys from Nashville who called themselves 33 Miles. I’m sure there’s a story behind the name, but I didn’t hear it. They sat on stools, with one guy singing lead vocals and the other playing acoustic guitar and harmonizing. The crowd loved them. A lot of energy between them, and they connected with the crowd. The guitarist reminded me of Kristian Bush from Sugarland. Their second-to-last song was a nicely-done version of David Crowder’s “How He Loves.”
They finished just before 8 pm. Another group, 77 Times, was scheduled to play next. But at the same time, Stellar Kart was playing out on the Red Stage outside. Nearly everyone cleared out of the auditorium. I decided to hear a few songs from 77 Times before leaving. But after 1 song, I realized they weren’t quite my cup of tea, so I headed out.
Ashley Smith, who works in the university media relations, gave me a ride in an electric cart out to the Red Stage, which was set up on a field along Route 24, a field sometimes used for soccer practice. It made a nice, mini-Woodstock venue. As Stellar Kart jammed (they were my kind of band!), people sat on blankets or in chairs they had brought, while others threw frisbee rings. There was a hot air balloon, and a long line of people at a cart selling coffee products–coffee, tea, mocha, latte, and smoothies. There were a lot of younger kids with parents. A good-sized crowd stood in front of the stage listening to the band. A big screen to the side showed the performers in large.
Stellar Kart did two Disney songs in kind of a rock/grunge style (I’m not good at differentiating contemporary music styles). One was “Kiss the Girl,” from The Little Mermaid, followed by “A Whole New World.” I could imagine Foo Fighters doing those songs, though I could understand all of the words. (Thanks for enunciating!)
After Stellar Kart finished, there was a ten-minute lull during which headliner BarlowGirl got set up. The big screen was filled with scenes from Huntington University–students, profs, athletics, classes, etc. Good marketing opp.
I’d never heard BarlowGirl before, though I know they’ve come through Fort Wayne. I was quite impressed. They rocked the place, that’s for sure. Three girls, and a guy on drums, for the first couple songs. Then the lead singer switched to drums, the bass guitarist moved over to lead vocals along with some keyboard, and the drummer took bass. I liked them a lot.
BarlowGirl started playing at 9 sharp, right on time. I stayed for about a half hour before deciding I needed to leave. But I left excited about what Huntington University was pulling off. And with anticipation to coming back the next day, when the REALLY big crowds were expected. Bands would play on the Orange Stage all day, beginning at 9 am. Then at night would come the headliners. Yes, this 54-year-old with one bad ear is looking forward to it.
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
Since the start of the US National Conference a little over a week ago, the United Brethren Facebook page has gained 75 followers–or more technically, “likes.”
The number of “likes,” as of July 15, stands at 573. So we pretty much obliterated the 500 barrier. A 15% increase in one week.
I posted several hundred photos from National Conference last week. Posting photos, I’ve found, always draws new people to your Facebook page. I’ve seen that with the Facebook page for my own church, Anchor Community Church. I frequently post photos that I’ve taken at Anchor events. When you “tag” someone in a photo–that is, when you identify a Facebook member in a photo–then that photo appears on their own Facebook wall. That makes it visible to all of their friends.
In Anchor’s case, the people who “like” Anchor’s page average 300 Facebook friends of their own. Most of those friends have probably never been to the Anchor page. But when they see a photo of their friend or relative, they click on on it, and suddenly there they are, on Anchor’s page. Some of them, then, tag people in photos who may be on their own Facebook friend list, but who may not be on Anchor’s “like” list…yet. Then those photos appear on other people’s walls, visible to a whole new set of friends–a second degree of separation, if you will.
One or two degrees of separation quickly adds up. If Anchor’s page has 300 friends, and each of those persons have 300 friends (and that’s the actual average–I checked a while back), you’re talking 90,000 people…each of whom have 300 friends. Sure, lots and lots of duplication. But still.
That no doubt explains the surge in “likes” for the UB page. I’ve tagged United Brethren people in many of the photos. So, for instance, when UB persons see a photo of their pastor at the conference, they click on the photo to see what it’s about, and find themselves on the United Brethren page. And they think, “I didn’t realize there was a United Brethren Facebook page.” They click the “like” button…and there you have it, 75 new people added just because I posted some photos.
Ah, the power of Facebook!
Steve Dennie, Communications Director
Facebook has reached critical mass–over 600 million users worldwide. Lots of people in your church probably use Facebook–far more than you realize. Which begs the question: so what?
Email long ago reached critical mass. If someone was connected to the internet, they probably had an email address. So it made sense to create church email lists as a way to contact people.
Now you should consider adding Facebook to the mix. Your people are already using Facebook–young and old alike. It’s just a matter of going where they already go.
My own church, Anchor Community Church, has been using Facebook for nearly four years. We’ve had our own Facebook Page for two years (a growing number of UB churches have their own Page). Anchor has an attendance of about 130, but have 312 people who “like” our page. We don’t actively promote it. We don’t encourage people to create a Facebook account and come “like” our page. It has just blossomed naturally.
But for me, the benefits of Facebook have little to do with the church page itself. Rather, it’s about people interacting outside of church. Facebook helps promote community, even if it’s only in superficial ways (and on Facebook, there is an abundance of superficial). People who may seldom talk to each other at church may connect regularly on Facebook.
As a layperson at Anchor, I learn a great deal about my fellow Anchorites from Facebook. By reading people’s status messages–things they write which tell something about what’s happening in their life or what they’re thinking about at the moment–I catch numerous glimpses into their life. And that gives me opportunity to interact with them on Facebook and at church.
I learn when people are sick or in the hospital, and how they’re doing as the days pass. I learn about financial hardships, relationship problems, new births, jobs lost and jobs found, myriad concerns, car problems…you name it. I can then respond directly on Facebook, giving encouragement or congratulations or whatever is appropriate.
I learn about hobbies, extended family, favorite sports teams, books they’re reading, TV shows and movies they’re watching, vacation plans, and much more. I can then use this information to strike up a conversation at church, perhaps with someone I don’t know well. Or I can simply comment right on Facebook.
When someone misses church, I send them a note on Facebook saying that I missed them. I compliment people for this and that. Other Anchor people do the same. It’s neat.
When we have special events, I take lots of photos. I post them on the Anchor Facebook page. This draws not only people from the church, but their friends and relatives and distant acquaintances.
And I’m only touching the surface of what you can do with Facebook. Like plugging upcoming events.
It’s not something we officially promote or encourage. It just happens. You don’t see this kind of thing happening with email, Twitter, a church website, or most anything else (young people avoid email, and older people, me included, don’t care to learn all the insider terminology and techniques of Twitter).
With Facebook, you don’t need to goad people into signing up for something new. They’re already signed up. Just go join the conversation.
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team, meeting on March 15, 2011. Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Phil Whipple, is seated at the computer in the foreground taking notes. To her left, and continuing around the table, are PMLT members Dennis Sites, Terry Smith, Robert Bruce, Chris Little, Chuck Wheatley, Craig Burkholder, Gary Gates, Lee Rhodes (chairman), and Bishop Phil Whipple.
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team met yesterday and today (March 14-15) in Huntington, Ind. They had the privilege of being the first denominational group to use the new conference room in the national office.
The PMLT deals with a range of issues related to ministers–licensing, education, accountability, restoration, the Pastoral Ministry Handbook, and much more. Lee Rhodes, pastor of Countryside UB in Breckenridge, Mich., is the chairman. All of the members are ministers.
We’ve been having email problems at the national office, the result of some mischief from a Nigerian spammer. To counter that, we are migrating all of our email offsite to Google Apps. If you have sent email to someone with an @ub.org extension, your email may have bounced back to you. Hopefully, this will all be resolved over the weekend.
We are receiving most email. A bigger problem has been sending email from the national office, and having it get rejected (thanks, Mr. Nigerian, for getting us blacklisted as a spammer). If you have questions about whether or not an email got through, feel free to contact the appropriate person at Healthy Ministry Resources. Call toll-free 888-622-3019.
