Post Catalyst
Posted on October 12, 2008
I am still recovering and processing everything I took in from Catalyst. There were so many good speakers and too much to fully process all at once. I have wanted to write about it for the last couple of days and just haven’t been able to. Plus, I have been exhausted, last night was the first full night of sleep since we arrived.
It was great connecting with some other church leaders that I haven’t seen in awhile and some that I have known online but never met IRL. I had lunch with Ernie Stephenson and that was a lot of fun to compare notes and hear about the things that he is doing.
I also met Steve Harrison, who is involved with LifeChurch.tv Tulsa and we first met about 2 weeks ago in the LifeChurch.tv internet campus chatroom after the Tuesday evening service. We quickly found many common interests and before too long realized we would both be at Catalyst. Through Steve, I met Patrick Moore, the worship leader and founder of LifeChurchFranklin.com, a member of the LifeChurch.tv network. It was interesting and encouraging to talk with Patrick because he has recently done some things that we are interested in doing. I’ll definitely be in touch with him.
I also finally met David Russell, from National Community Church in Washington D.C. I have known David for many years online, through emails, chats and comments and we talked on the phone one night right as he was in the process of moving to D.C., so it was cool to meet him finally.
I also talked again with Van Metschke, the Tech Arts Director of South Hills Church. We met about a month ago when I visited Saddleback Church, so it was great to reconnect with Van for a few minutes.
We had a big group of us staying at Wayne and Elaine’s house. Last year, it was only Mary and I staying there, this year, other church tech types staying with us included Kirk Longhofer and Greg Simmons.
In other news, this has been a good week to ponder what to do now that I have relieved myself of my church responsibilities. Of course, no clear cut answers yet, that will come in God’s timing. I wonder if God is expanding my focus or maybe even changing it a little bit. I’ll share more on that soon.
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Bear Yarbrough - Reaching Mali with the Messiah
Posted on October 11, 2008
Bear Yarbrough is a new friend of mine who has a heart for Africa and specifically, Mali. Check this video out and if you want to support him with either financial support or your prayers, go here and learn more about their efforts. Also check out Bear’s blog here.
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Now What?
Posted on October 6, 2008
As of a couple of days ago, I stepped down from my leadership role of the tech ministry at my church. It was a volunteer role but I was responsible for nearly everything tech related. There are always questions when someone steps down from a leadership position and I thought I would briefly share why I did what I did.
Mary and I had been talking about it and she listened as I shared about what I was feeling. I have prayed a lot lately about this decision and it has slowly become apparent that the time was near.
As I have been preparing for Catalyst next week, many things are put off until after Catalyst, including this decision. I thought. On one hand, it had been a long time coming, but man there was a moment last week when I knew I had to do it and I had to do it now!
What was that moment that pushed this decision into gear? It wasn’t my anger, it wasn’t a conversation I had or anything else like that. It was God. I think He just got tired of my lack of movement on it and my growing restlessness and He gave me a swift kick.
Everything that I have done lately, everything I have thought and everything that has happened around me seems to point to one thing: it’s time to go.
One thing that validated this thought was watching LifeChurch.tv with my family last Tuesday night. The main scripture was Genesis 12 where God commands Abram to leave and go to the place where God would show him. Of course we know that he left and God blessed him tremendously. That sermon that night seemed to fit right into where I am at lately and filled in all the blanks.
I met with my pastor early Saturday morning to share my decision with him and honestly, I’m glad to have that behind me. Good or bad, that’s a tough conversation to have.
Anything that I am leading, whether at work or church or anywhere, my goal is to make things better than they were when I started, and also to finish strong. I think I have succeeded in both of those areas in this case and I hope the church leadership feels the same.
Sometimes we tend to question God and this is a time like that for me. I have been in the process of rejuvinating the network, the new firewall, switch and APs are in and scheduled to be installed in a couple of weeks. That upgrade is going to help in so many ways to make the network more stable and secure. That’s one of those projects that gives a great deal of satisfaction once it’s done and you can see the results. Now, for me, this is going to be like mowing the lawn and finishing after dark, then moving away. There is no satisfaction in looking across the lawn and seeing the results of your effort and knowing that it’s making a difference. This kind of project would be a milestone, marking a turn in the way technology is used. It’s going to allow the church to have an open, secure wifi network which will allow anyone to come in when the church is open and surf the internet. That is one of many benefits.
The irony of last week was after turning in my budget for 2009, the main financial person in the church emailed me, questioning why the budget was so large and a couple of specifics on it. In my mind and heart, I knew I was done there and it would have been easy to blow that off and just agree to let those things be dropped. But at the same time, I hadn’t made my decision known yet, so for all anyone knew, that was my role. So, I responded and explained in detail my thought process going into my submission. We ended up going back and forth via email and I agreed to a slight modification in concept, although inconsequential to the larger picture, and in the end, he said he agreed with all that I have told him and he would move forward with the budget as submitted.
Major victory for the tech ministry and for all the lives that will potentially be touched by the added use of technology over the next year. One of the things in question was a new server. Essentially, all that needs to be said is that it is 8+ years old and that should be sufficient, to a techie at least. We discussed this at great length and I shared how a year in the life of a server is like 12.3 human years, so do the math. Not really, but I shared many details of the risks of relying on a server that old.
So, I pushed to the very end, then abruptly brought my role in all of this to a halt. I agreed to finish out the firewall install in a couple of weeks but that’s probably more selfishness on my part. I want to see the end result of this baby that I worked hard to make the sale to the church leadership and get it approved. So, that’s my last hurrah, then I’m out.
Now what?
No clue. I have been enjoying worshipping in some different places with my family but beyond that, only God knows where this is leading. I have to believe that God has a plan for my life and this is just another step in that direction.
At this point, it’s better for my family and I to worship someplace else and we’ll see where that leads. We haven’t officially left our church but we are enjoying some new scenery.
As things unfold and become less fresh, I’ll share more. I expect to have more time to write because I have less responsibility. I’ll probably share more about where my passions lie and what kind of role I see myself playing in all of that in my future.
I do have an opinion of a tech volunteer role vs. a tech non-volunteer role and I’ll be sharing about that in the near future as well.
For now, I am free of some responsibilities and pumped about getting to Atlanta for Catalyst. Anyone else going to be there? Let me know. Let’s connect somehow while we’re there. Mary and I are meeting up with about 10 other church leaders from around the country and all of us are staying with some very generous friends.
It should be an incredible week. I know I need that right about now. Maybe God’s timing is good after all.
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TechSnob.info
Posted on October 1, 2008
I spend a good amount of time in front of my laptop. I also spend a good amount of time on my cell phone, sometimes even making a phone call. It seems like nowadays, those 2 items are the tools of the trade. Which trade is that? You name it. Most any profession requires one or both of these “tools”.
For me, I rely on these 2 things so much that I want my tools to be the very best that they can be, not just settle for something that might become buggy or not function properly. Therefore, my standards are pretty high in this area. Some have accused me of being a snob in these kinds of things, which I used to deny. At some point along the way, I embraced the label and life is so much better now.
Hi, my name is Jim and I’m a Tech Snob.
There, I said it. This whole fiasco started back when I was wanting to get some sort of MP3 player. Back then there were many choices and today there are even more choices. After quickly glancing away, I came back to the iPod, price was less of a factor, I just wanted iPod because of the name.
Later, I went and bought a decent laptop but it wasn’t the one that I knew I wanted, it was a lesser brand name. Therefore, I wasn’t content with it but used it because it was what I had. When I was able, I went and bought a Dell laptop because that is the brand I wanted.
By the way, that second rate laptop that I bought has been a rock and as stable as can be. Now my daughter uses it for school and it’s a trusty backup when necessary.
Recently, I decided to upgrade my phone to a smartphone and I went in to get a Crackb…errrrr Blackberry but walked out with a Treo. Both devices are at the top of their class and I’m actually very happy.
Unfortunately, I’m not rich enough to be able to buy the best of everything, my Dell laptop is refurbished and smartphone prices have dropped quite a bit and certain carriers can be motivated to keep customers that are at the end of their contract.
The whole point of this is to say that I bought a domain a while back and honestly forgot about it. It is TechSnob. At the moment, I’m not using it for anything and it is parked at JimWalton.org, which is essentially my online resume showing my heart for tech ministry and my church resume.
I probably need to update the site because things have changed a little and they are getting ready to change some more.
What should I use TechSnob for?
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Rest
Posted on September 28, 2008
for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. - Hebrews 4:10
This seems to be what God is telling me, I need to rest. So, today, that’s what I plan to do for a change.
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Blogging Strategy
Posted on September 27, 2008
Back when I used to write all the time, I learned when the best days and times were to post, based on the number of readers who would read my blog. The weekend was clearly the worst time because my readers were not reading. Not that it matters, but I think by Monday or Tuesday, the RSS feeds can get backed up and many posts are not given as much attention. That’s how it has been for me, at least.
But nowadays, things have changed, my life has changed and I am struggling at times to find the time or energy to write. Things are not bad at all, I just need to get better at managing my time and learn to write a little when I can instead of waiting until I have a larger block of time. So, I’m less concerned with some of the blogging strategy and I’m just writing when I can.
At church, things are as busy as ever and I’m in the process of evaluating my role and how God wants me to fit in there. Sometimes God pushes us to do more and to give more to Him, whether it’s money, time or whatever. Sometimes God reminds us to slow down, even though all we are doing is for Him and it’s all good.
There’s not much to share about any of this yet but I think when it’s all said and done, I’ll have plenty to share. For now, I have a busy Saturday ahead and I’m enjoying some peace and quiet before everyone wakes up.
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If You Left Early, Then You’re A Loser
Posted on September 19, 2008
I am just getting back in the habit of writing after taking an unscheduled 2-3 month break. Now I’m getting settled back into a routine and life is good. Feedburner shows that in my downtime, my subscriber base went from over 650 to around 500 and it’s interesting, the drop occured suddenly, in a single day. So, I’m not sure that I really lost anyone or not.
It reminds me of what Andy Stanley said in the last session of Catalyst last year. If you left early and think you can just listen to this session on the CD, then you’re a loser! So, if you left here early, then you’re a loser. Of course, how would you know because you aren’t here. I’ve thought more than once about shutting this blog down and honestly, I can’t do it, so know there may be some down time from time to time. 
Speaking of Catalyst, I’m am pumped about being at Catalyst again this year. There’s a big group of us meeting up there from all over the country and it’s going to be a blast! If you’re going to be there, let me know, I would love to connect with you.
Comment, send me an e-mail or give me a call, my number is here. Catalyst is very much a life changing event and one that should not be missed.
Of course, the CIT roundtable is that same week and I will miss it unfortunately. That is another event that shouldn’t be missed but for me, Catalyst takes precedence. I’ll try to catch up with the CITRT gang next time, for sure. I know of a couple of other CITRT’ers that will be with me at Catalyst, so maybe we’ll have an offsite roundtable.
I’ll be doing some streaming from Catalyst, in between sessions and after hours and I think some others will be doing the same so stay tuned for that. I’ll post my uStream link later.
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The Power of Social Networking
Posted on September 16, 2008
I use Twitter a lot. I have many people I communicate with regularly. Lately, I’ve thought about the impact of social media on my life and on many of our lives. I cannot tell you the way my life has changed due to blogging, twittering, Facebook and various other social networks.
I have gotten work as a result of my blog, I have future pending work as a result of both my blog and Twitter, I have friendships that will last a lifetime as a result, as well.
I had a conversation on Saturday on Twitter with a person who didn’t seem to get it. I made the point that if I called a company to complain and I felt they weren’t listening or accessible, that would turn me off to that company. A successful business needs to be listening to their client base and responding to what the needs are, on multiple levels.
The perpetual question is this: Is there value in all of this noise or is this just a lot of playing around?
My friend Randall boils it down like this:
The case is simple. There are lots of people and lots of opportunity.
He goes on to say:
Doing business on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networks are obvious opportunities for both local and global markets. It is also a necessity in today’s society to be connected to your customers. These networks are that opportunity.
So, tonight, I get a call from a guy from church. He kind of bounces between being a sound guy and a musician and he tells me that the uStream.tv video stream that we recorded Sunday is asking for a password. I checked it myself and it was fine, I got right in. I happened to mention this on Twitter, not to degrade uStream.tv or even to raise an issue. I simply stated I think my friend may have an issue on his end. When I got home, a few minutes ago and happened to check my replies on Twitter, I saw that @uStreamSupport tweeted at me and said that was a known issue and asked for screen shots. Wow, that’s responsive! Way to go, uStream.tv! I emailed my friend and asked for screenshots.
Go to our stream from last Sunday and see if it comes up without issue. If you get a login screen or anything else out of the ordinary, comment and I’ll send you an email and you can send me a screenshot, which I will send on to uStream.
Social networking is powerful, especially if you learn the ins and outs of it and leverage it’s power.
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Now That I Have The Chance, What Will I Say?
Posted on September 13, 2008
I have been writing this blog for nearly 4 years now, which is amazing to me. I didn’t start this with big ideas of having something that lasts. It was just kind of an experiment and I didn’t know of anyone else doing what I was doing in the church. I wanted to learn how to do church IT the right way because I didn’t know much about what I was doing. All I knew was God had given me a heart to equip the church to effectively use technology to reach people for Christ and I really didn’t have a clue beyond that on how to get this done.
Much of what I have done has been behind the scenes and under the radar and at times I have been so under the radar that people didn’t know there were problems and that they were fixed. Really, that’s a sweet place to be, keeping things moving forward and functioning without being noticed. But I have been so unnoticed that the role was not deemed as important or necessary.
Lately, at my current church, Fairview Christian Church, I have been in a much more visible place, overseeing the activities in the sound booth, primarily video, presentation and lighting. That’s fine, but in doing this, I have neglected some other things or just done things well enough to get by. Over the summer, I have wrestled with this and contemplated stepping back from the sound booth to allow me to focus my attention in other areas.
For now, here is what I have concluded, I am continuing my role on Sunday morning but stepping back slightly. I am shifting back to the IT side of things, which is specifically, the server, network and desktops. I need to give some attention to the many computers across the church and become more deliberate in equipping other leaders to use tech effectively. There are still some unanswered questions for me, but I have everything resolved enough to know where I need to be.
In this process of soul searching, I have concluded that the tech ministry does not get represented well or accurately to the church leadership. I decided I would like to present to the elders what the tech ministry is doing and the many ways we are impacting various ministries of the church, probably on a regular basis.
Last Sunday, I happened to be talking with one of the elders and I mentioned that I would love to have a chance to share some things in an elder meeting. He thought that was a great idea. The other day, I got a call from the pastor stating they could give me some time this next Monday evening to talk about the tech ministry, which is awesome.
Now, I’ve got to figure out what I want to say. I defintely want to give the many people involved a mention, some are not noticed or obvious. Beyond that, I need to figure out how to fill about 10-15 minutes. I don’t want to ramble and seem pointless and I want to make it known that it’s not just a few people playing around. I need to leave these men with a point and I want to walk out of there with them feeling like this really is a necessary and valuable ministry.
I feel like the point that I need to conclude with is the idea that I have lived with for over 4 years: Equipping the church to effectively use technology to reach people for Christ. Everything I say needs to point to that and the way I represent this ministry needs to conclude with the fact that the heart that I have and the way that I lead this ministry is to equip the church to effectively use technology.
The question is this: What tangible things can I offer to represent this ministry in the best possible light and end with a point that sticks? I was just listening to Andy Stanley from Catalyst last year, and he asked the question: What do you do when it dawns on you that you are the most important person in the room? That’s where I feel like I will be for those few minutes on Monday night.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas.
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Antivirus XP 2008 - Is It For Real?
Posted on September 6, 2008
Have you seen a pop-up or an e-mail prompting you to download a program call Antivirus XP 2008? It looks legitimate and for the uninformed, it seems like the wise thing to do. However, it is bogus. What it is doing is tricking you into thinking you have a virus and need this software to clean it. The ultimate goal of this type of attack is to get your money, not steal it from you behind your back, but prompt you to give it to them. According to the message you are given, you need to buy their legitimate looking product to clean the virus. CA explains it best here in their security advisor:
The most recent, and unfortunately most prolific, rogue security product to be installed is “Antivirus XP 2008″, but that could change. Past downloads have included rogue security products like Antivirus 2009, WinFixer 2006 and Malware Protector 2008. Most variants hijack the user’s desktop and screensaver. They also use what look like legitimate Windows alerts (balloon windows), but are actually fake alerts, to scare the user into thinking they are infected with spyware. Unfortunately, the actual infection is FakeAlert and related components. The same alerts offer a remedy to the infection, a rogue security product, that will remove the “spyware” for a fee. The entire scheme is meant to get your money. All components need to be removed to neutralize the threat.
I have heard of many instances of this virus popping up and it’s an easy sell, apparently, especially if you know you have let your anti-virus subscription lag or don’t even have AV. My pastor got it and I just finished cleaning his laptop up last night. There are basically 2 fixes:
- Make several registry edits, deleting several values that were added
- Re-image your hard drive (reformat and reinstall Windows)
Doing anything with the registry is somewhat tricky and not for the faint at heart and if you don’t know what a registry is, then don’t go there. (Unless you are wanting to learn and can follow some simple instructions. Just know that you may end up at the second fix above if you are not careful.
Here’s CA’s step by step instruction to clean this bad boy up:
This threat alters the users desktop and registry. To restore the system’s background and screensaver, the user has to manually edit the registry as below after performing a full scan with CA Anti-Spyware:
Warning: CA encourages users to back up their registry before making any changes. To backup the registry, please refer to Microsoft’s page here. The registry is critical to the proper function of the operating system and incorrect changes can result in a variety of problems like the loss data, dysfunctional programs, etc.1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type regedit
4. Click OK.
5. Navigate to the following registry subkey:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Delete the following registry values under this subkey:
• “NoDispBackgroundPage”
• “NoDispScrSavPage”6. Navigate to and delete the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sysinternals\Bluescreen Screen Saver
7. Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors
And set the value data of the following value to null by clicking on it and deleting its contents:
“Background”
8. Exit the Registry Editor.
After performing the above steps, the Desktop and Screen Saver tabs should be visible in Display Properties window (Right click on desktop and then click on Properties from Context Menu). From here, the user can restore any previous wallpaper/screensaver settings.
This threat is not self replicating and it must be manually installed, which occurs when you opt in to use or buy their AV software. It sure is making the rounds though.
Have you had a run in with Antivirus XP 2008 yet?
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