071 – Electronic Church Doors
This week the WELSTech podcast examines the platforms and methods available to spread the Word in the 21st century.
Podcast: Download (26.0MB)
The discussion:
Answering the question – Pastor Mike Hintz, Administrator for WELS Commission on Evangelism, joins in on Martin and Sallie’s discussion of chapter’s 6 and 7 of Clay Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody. In terms of evangelism today, the question isn’t “Where or what is the church?” but “Who is God?”, and we can use the power of the Internet to share our confessional response to that question.
- Defining Religion Glossary
- What About Jesus Glossary
- WhatAboutJesus.com
- WELS Topical Q&A
- Evangelism Toolbox DVD
New Technology Showcase:
Picks of the week:
- (33:30) Free Animoto for Educators – Create animated videos of your photos
- Thanks to Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE for this link!
- Check out their FAQ for a great Gmail method of creating “dummy” student e-mail accounts
- FoxitPDF
Of interest:
- (41:29) This week features live streaming of MLC Graduation and Call Service as well as Vicar Call Service
- Check the schedule and watch the events at streams.wels.net/site/live
Community feedback:
- (43:53) Welcome WELSTech listeners, Prof. Bob Anderson and Missionary Mike Hartman
- Are you a WELSTech listener with a ministry technology idea to share? We’d love to interview you! Contact us to get the ball rolling!
- Pastor Dan Witte from Risen Savior in Lakewood Ranch, FL shared several great links:
- OneLicense.net announces licensing to cover podcasts
- Enroll in the upcoming Google Teacher Academy – August 5 in Boulder, CO
- Handle comments on your blog with IntenseDebate
- Need a desert island Bible software pick? Pastor Witte wouldn’t want to live without BibleWorks
- The New York Times is talking Twitter, just like WELSTech
Coming up on WELSTech:
(50:29) Episode 072 – We’ll talk with Dan Lohrmann, author of Virtual Integrity and discuss accountability software options.
The featured artist:
(52:15) This week we close with piano music of Dawn Gehlhar – Beautiful Savior from her CD titled “Inspiration”
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Reaching out to billions (24:34) – Spanning the globe to bring you the latest news on technology in ministry, Martin and Sallie talk with Dr. John Lawrenz about the work being done in Hong Kong through 
Contest – Top 5 Desert Island Software Picks
Reaching out with WhatAboutJesus.com (23:08) – Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Ken Fisher from Risen Savior in Milwaukee, WI about the development behind the WhatAboutJesus.com evangelism web site. Pastor Fisher also shares info on some of the key site features, feedback they have received and future plans for the site.
Classroom Podcasting – Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator for Emanuel Lutheran Growth and Learning Center in New London, WI, joins the WELSTech conversation to discuss a fun podcasting project the students at Emanuel are producing – Devotions for Kids, by Kids. We are excited to announce that Gail will be joining us each month as a guest host on the WELSTech Podcast to share her ideas about technology as it applies particularly to the classroom ministry.
Internet Outreach – Martin and Sallie are joined by Gonzalo Delgadillo, Director of Spanish Publications for WELS Multi-Language Publications, to learn about the exciting multi-continent Internet-based outreach opportunities that Gonzalo is spearheading.