CTMI Meeting

I’ve been attending the Christian Technology Ministries International annual developer’s meeting in Dayton, Ohio this weekend. There’s been lots of excitement between the developers, the new president Rubin Perry, and the rest of us who have gathered at Ginghamsburg UMC. It’s been interesting to watch the way Rubin listens to the high-energy chatter and asks clarifying questions to get the big picture. In conversation, he keeps things pretty close to his vest, but it’s clear he has an agenda that should take this startup to a solid place.

What I get out of all this is a reminder of just how quickly technology is changing and how the church is lagging so far behind. Many churches are just now getting into digital projection systems, though most use it about as effectively as if it was an overhead projector with all static slides (words to the music, outline of the sermon, etc.). And though every church ought to have a Web 2.0 website, the fact is there are many, many churches that have no sites at all … and many more who use web technology no more usefully than a Yellow Pages ad.

The goal of CTMI is to be a source of technology for ministry. My goal, as a church consultant, is often to help churches discover their need for using current technology. What do think – is this a match made by heaven or what?