For years churches, schools and their called workers have struggled to make sense of the official WELS salary matrix. At this year’s synod convention that all changed. The delegates approved the use of a new tool called the Called Worker Compensation Calculator. It’s really rather simple…which is the whole point. Someone can visit the calculator […]
Back in the 80’s the crime drama Hill Street Blues popularized the phrase “Let’s Be Safe Out There.” As is common in most police departments, the officers of Hill Street attended a squad meeting prior to starting the next shift. The show regularly began at this briefing where their gruff, no-nonsense Sergeant, Phil Esterhaus, would […]
Knowledge workers like our pastors, teachers, and staff ministers deal with “documents” pretty much everyday. They write sermons and Bible studies. They prepare reports and craft lesson plans. They write, collaborate and share. It’s just part of what they do. What they also do is try to keep all those documents organized, available and findable. […]
There are many computing tools at our disposal these days. There are many types of desktop and laptop computers that most of us use. They come in all shapes, sizes and price points. Some are large and powerful. Some are lightweight and minimal. Chromebooks, MacBooks, Surfaces, and the list goes on. Then there are, of […]
This past week I was honored to lead a workshop at the Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School Support Staff Conference. I spoke on the topic of Volunteers, basing my talk on chapter 6 of the WELSTech book called “With All Your Heart: Project Management for Churches, Christian Schools and Faith-Based Organizations.” In preparing for the talk […]
Technology has provided many opportunities to improve visitor follow up in churches everywhere. From prospect/visitor databases to easy-to-download new resident lists to wonderful tools like Mailchimp, the Evangelism team at your church has a lot of options and tools available to them. Today I wanted to highlight one pastor’s approach to using one of the […]
Recently the WELS Locator application was rewritten and enveloped into the existing WELS Online Yearbook. The yearbook has slowly been updated with functions and data to make it a viable replacement for it’s paper sibling. You can search for a called workers name or city and receive a listing of those that match. Clicking on […]
As a person trying to figure out the best suited technology for a specific ministry application, wouldn’t it be great if you had an on-demand resource to help you? Great news! You do…the WELSTech Google Group. This group represents some of the smartest technologists our synod has to offer, and even better, they are very interested […]
Every so often I come across a blog post that is just worth a read and re-read on a regular basis. One of those for me is one called 17 Tips for Staying Productive in Ministry by Pastor Rick Warren. There is nothing genius about any of the tips. It’s not super in depth on […]
Perhaps one of the unsung heros of all the WELS internet properties is www.whataboutjesus.com. It’s primary purpose is to answer that very question that many people ask…what about Jesus? Who is he? Was he real? Why should I believe in him? How will he change my life? If you are not familiar with the site, I’ve put […]