Congratulations! You Won!

Congratulations! You are the Time magazine “Person of the Year.”

The annual honor for 2006 went to each and every one of us, as Time cited the shift from institutions to individuals — citizens of the new digital democracy, as the magazine put it. (LINK to read more).

My first reaction was that this was a cop-out pick. Afterall, the list of potential individuals who could win this award is a long one. But after some reflection, I actually think the choice is pretty profound and indicative of a fundamental shift in thinking, communicating, processing information, etc.

Anyway, I wanted to be the first to extend my congratulations to you!

At the close of 2006, I do think this raises some interesting issues/questions/evaluations for churches and pastors. Using the web — not simply post on-line brochures but to create interaction and synergy and interconnectedness — is now mainstream.

As churches, how are we using the technology available to best steward and communicate the message God has given us? I don’t have all (or very many) answers, but I do know that this question has become a standard part of our ministry evaluations and strategy development at St. Paul’s Collegiate Church.

These days, we do very little that does not involve technology. We are looking at using our website to re-enforce our values and organizational alignment, we are looking to expand our use of web-based applications in our assimiliation strategy, and continually look for better ways to communicate both to people inside and outside our church.

Sometimes, I think, pastors assume you can’t do these things unless you have a big church. We are a small church and have found that used well and integrated as part of a comprehensive strategy and approach, these tools are amazingly effective.

I would love to hear some “best practices” from other churches and pastors. In the area of web and technology, what are you doing that is working? What are some of your “best practices”? What’s not working?

Afterall, we all just won a big recognition from TIME. The least we could do is share some insights with each other…