Asus Memo 370T Tablet for only $250 – This 7″ tablet from Asus will run the newest version of Android and has a quad-core Tegra 3 processor.  For $250.  There has never yet been a tablet with this much power and capability for this low of a price.  Mobile devices are becoming even more accessible!  We like!

BlueStacks Android Software for Windows 8 – BlueStacks is a software program that will allow ANY Android app to be run on a Windows PC.  This is already a pretty exciting concept, but it’s not new – they first introduced it at CES last year.  What IS new, is they announced that it will come preloaded on every Windows 8 machine when Windows 8 is released.  Um, that’s a big deal.

QNX CAR 2 Mobile Application Platform – This is like a built-in tablet in the dashboard of your car, which is pretty awesome.  It’s connected to the cloud, so it can access all of the apps, movies, music, and anything else you have stored there, but I also really like that it has hands-free capability.  This demo car has it connected to additional tablets in the backseat, which those of us with kids know would totally rock out a long car trip.  I’m sure this is way too expensive for the average family now, but maybe not too far in the future we can all have a “vehicle infotainment system” like this one.

D-Link DIR-857 Router with USB & SD Card Slot – This wireless router makes sharing so amazingly easy!  It includes a USB 3.0 port that can make sharing a printer or external hard drive a complete breeze, and then the SD card slot means that sharing media or data would be very simple as well.  I also like that the antennas are internal, giving this a slim profile and streamlined look.

So that’s just a few of the neat mobile-related ideas that we saw in this year’s CES coverage, and we think they’re cool and promising!  We love the way mobile tech is becoming simpler and more affordable!  Did you see any other awesome things come out of CES?  Share in the comments!

“Truly great communicators don’t start out by focusing on their message.  They start with their audience.  They research, observe, and monitor every knowable detail – from background facts beforehand to micro-reactions during the conversation – and adjust their content and delivery precisely, so it will make an impact.  But it’s not like this is a secret formula.  Even toddlers do it, carefully measuring parents’ reactions and perpetually tuning in to the behavior patterns that get them the attention they want.  That tuning is carefully optimized to achieve maximum effect from each individualized recipient.”

“Putting it simply: media’s great opportunity is to bring the right content to the right person at the right place and time.”

“Media is at a critical transition point today, because we are about to completely redefine our sense of the audience. Starting now, the audience is no longer one massive opaque agglomeration. It’s not a ‘them’ or an ‘us’; it’s a lot of individual ‘me’s.’”

Now, the general content of this article is directed toward advertising and marketing in the business world, so on one hand that doesn’t exactly apply to the church, which is doing much more than just selling a product.  However, the principles can most definitely apply in the context of getting out a very powerful, and very personal, message to your community and world.

I think it’s tempting to believe that online communications are impersonal, since it doesn’t involve face-to-face interactions.  However, the church really needs to avoid that way of thinking, and to focus on the fact that your audience isn’t a large, faceless mass, but as the article says, “It’s a lot of individual ‘me’s.’”  Be intentional to think about who your audience is, and make it personal for where they are.  Using the exceptionally convenient tool of online social media, you can “bring the right content to the right person at the right place and time,” not just to sell a product, but to change a life.

From November 29th – December 31, 2011, we are completely waiving the $750 per app setup fee for the first 1,000 churches, ministries, or 501c3 non-profits to sign up. You will still need to pay the monthly hosting fee, but we’ve even reduced that for this limited-time offer! You can choose one of three options: iPhone/iPad only, Android only, or both. You get a better value if you choose both, and for this limited time, we’ve also slashed the price if you go ahead and pay for a full year of hosting up front! Seriously, if your church is considering an app, you will not find a better deal than this.

To get your church app built for free, you just need to pay for your first month’s hosting, or get the better value by paying for a full year. Sign up here, http://roarapp.com before it is to late.

We are so thankful for the way God has blessed our company to allow us to offer this great deal for non-profits who may not be able to have an app otherwise. We pray this Christmas season is one of blessings and joy for you, your family, and your organization. Merry Christmas!!

They do make shirts – awesome shirts.  But their mission is so much more than that.  They want to influence the young men who wear their clothes to be men of character, men of virtue, men of strength.  (Click here to read their introduction.)  They’re just getting off the ground, so the bulk of their initiatives haven’t been introduced publicly yet, but we’re excited about what we see so far, and we want to help them as much as we can.  Because of this, ROAR has agreed to help them with their social media accounts in order to spread their message further.  We’ve launched Twitter and Facebook accounts, and we can’t wait to see where they go!

The Twitter account will have a daily inspirational quote or Bible verse regarding godly character, and the Facebook page will be a community where parents of Warrior Poets (or the boys themselves) can post pictures, stories, ideas, and questions about godly life in the modern age.  Several of our ROAR staff are parents of boys, and we can’t wait to be a part of this!

So if you’re interested in joining the conversation about how to raise godly men in today’s world, follow Warrior Poet on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mywarriorpoet and subscribe to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MyWarriorPoet.  We believe this is something God will really use to impact the coming generation of godly men!

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As a lifelong extrovert, I had a severe case of culture shock when I first became a stay-at-home mom 3.5 years ago.� I used to love being with people socially, but I also was very active in the life of the church and serving others.� However, I suddenly found myself at home with a newborn, and my world had shrunk to the size of our home; my sphere of influence now consisted of only two people: my husband and infant son.� I really struggled with this for a long time because I felt insignificant and helpless.� I used to be able to go out and serve people regularly, and I was free to go out to answer any need that arose.� With an infant, I just didn’t have that freedom.

I ended up turning to social media – blogging and Facebook – just as a way to connect with people.� I couldn’t meet face-to-face with friends near as much, but I discovered that I could keep strong relationships with people through regular interaction online.� Honestly, at first I just did it to keep my own sanity.� But as the years have passed and as more of the world is online and using social media, it has actually turned into a very real personal ministry, especially when I am intentional about it.� Now there is no geographical or time boundaries to how far my relationships can reach, and I can really make a difference in people’s lives if I just put an effort into it.� So I thought I’d share a little bit of my own experience in what works with online ministry, so others can be encouraged that anyone can make a difference no matter your physical or time limitations.

1. Be real and transparent.
One of the main ways that the enemy discourages Christians is through isolation.� As a new mother, I was home alone with an infant a lot of the time, and I just felt alone.� I really struggled through the transition of becoming a mother – it’s definitely harder than you think it’s going to be! – and I felt guilty about not loving every minute of it, and I felt afraid that there was something wrong with me because of it.� But when I began to open up on my blog about how I was feeling, I learned that pretty much EVERY new mother feels that way, and often it’s a huge relief to be able to talk about it with people who understand.� Countless times, another mama would comment with something like “I’m so glad it’s not just me who feels this way!”� More experienced mothers can relate and share how they got through it.� And it is such a blessing to have someone say “I understand.� It’s ok for you to feel that way.� This is just a season that will pass.� I will pray for you and help you through it.”

I joined a blogging community for Christian women called Muddy Mamas, where I can share a lot of my experience living and working at home.

New motherhood is just the particular circumstance where this concept became most real to me, but the concept applies to all of life’s struggles.� Anytime a person is struggling in any area, isolation will absolutely destroy them with fear, self-doubt, and guilt.� This is where a person can be the mouth of Christ to them by saying “It’s ok to struggle with this.� God cares and wants to help you through this.� You’re not alone.”� Although there is a great blessedness to living a Christian life, sometimes things are hard.� Marriage is hard.� Work is hard.� Finances are hard.� Relationships are hard.� Circumstances are hard.� And it helps to know that’s ok and there are other people out there who experience the same thing you do.

2. Put some effort into it.
When I was pouring my heart into blogging, I would sometimes get discouraged when nobody commented on my post.� Is anybody out there?� Does anybody care?� The truth is that people WERE reading what I wrote, and they DID care, but they didn’t always take the time to write a comment.� So knowing how it feels to have nobody respond when I’ve shared my heart, I try to be very conscious of responding right away on a friend’s blog, Facebook, or Twitter post, especially when it’s something that I know took courage or heart to share.� Even if it’s just a quick “Like” on Facebook, it lets them know there’s somebody who read it and who cares.

3. Follow up.
I’ve found that it often means a lot to someone when I check back with them about how their doctor’s appointment or work review went.� Or if I just post a note on their Facebook wall that says “I’m praying for you today!”� How encouraging to know that somebody out there cares about your life enough to pray for you and ask how it went!� Only a few seconds of my time to really encourage someone.� Another way to follow up is to mention something you saw on a blog or Facebook status the next time you see that person in real life.� Church friends are often surprised when I ask about something they posted on Facebook – I love the pleased look on their faces when they learn that I not only read it but cared enough to remember it and ask about it later.

The longer I am intentional about loving people through online relationships, the more I become convinced that it is a real ministry that really affects people for good.� I hear back from more and more people about how they were encouraged or helped by something I wrote.� It does take vulnerability sometimes, but honestly, what do I have to lose?� I may sacrifice a little privacy in order for someone to be encouraged in their faith, for their marriage to be strengthened, for an unbeliever to be influenced for Christ.� I no longer feel like my world has shrunk because of my work-at-home status.� Thanks to our mobile and connected world, my encouragement can reach somebody’s smartphone in their pocket on the other side of the world!� I definitely don’t want online ministry to replace face-to-face relationships, but I do think that there ARE valid ministry options for those of us whose circumstances don’t allow us to always be out and doing!� Just be willing to take the time to show people they are loved, and God will use it for good.

“Great things in business are never done by one person.  They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs, 2003 interview with 60 Minutes

This is one of the most powerful lessons we’ve learned from Jobs and Apple in the past couple years.  As his health failed, Mr. Jobs stepped back from his responsibilities at Apple and trained others to take his place.  Honestly, the jury is still out whether Apple will retain its full glory without him or begin to decline.  However, the church definitely needs to understand that no ministry can have a long-term impact if it’s based only on one person.  Leadership and responsibility need to be shared, and a good leader will always be training others to take his/her place.  A leader who believes in his ministry will always want the ministry to thrive long after his time behind the wheel.

“That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity.  Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.  But it’s worth it in the end, because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs, 1998 interview with BusinessWeek

I think it’s very possible for a church to have its interests and ministries so widely spread that it can’t be really effective or powerful at any of them.  Instead, it should focus its resources on a couple really valuable ones and strive to do those with excellence instead of just being mediocre at a lot of things.

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”  – Steve Jobs, 1995 interview with the Smithsonian Institute

Perseverance is a great message for each individual believer as well as for the church as a whole.  If you are doing what you believe is inspired by God, don’t give up.  Ever.  He’ll work out what He wants to happen through your ministry in His own time.

And this is quite possibly the most popular quote from Mr. Jobs that is circulating on the internet today, but I feel it speaks so strongly to the church that I want to include it here:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

It is so very easy for the church to be distracted by tradition or by modern culture that we lose focus on the mission we have from God and how to walk it out in our own circumstances.  It is so important to always be looking at what you do and why: Do we do this just because it’s what the church has always done, or do I see specific instructions or examples of this in Scripture?  Am I not moving forward on this idea because I feel the Holy Spirit telling me it’s not right at this time, or just because I’m afraid of what others will think?  Sometimes it takes courage to go against the flow.  But Jesus is the most perfect example of someone who lived His life on purpose without fear of the judgment or opinions of others.  Follow in His footsteps, and you might find yourself respected as a passionate visionary too.

So this has many people worried about the power of social media and wondering if it is a bad thing.  Church leadership might be wondering whether the use of social media is something they should encourage or discourage.  Are ethical people in danger of bad association by using something that is used for so much evil?  My answer to that goes back to the Facebook debate of last year when a pastor forbade the use of Facebook by his church leadership because it led too many people into marital infidelity.  Just like I felt that Facebook cannot be blamed for marital indiscretions, I feel the same about all social media now.

Social media is just a tool.  It’s amoral in itself.  The morality lies in the users and the actions they choose to perform with it.  To give an easier picture to imagine, a knife has no morality within itself.  In the hands of a criminal, a knife can do great harm.  But in the hands of a surgeon, it can do great good.  And many of the uses of a knife are inconsequential – slicing bread for a sandwich or opening a package.  If someone uses it for evil, it’s not the knife’s fault – responsibility lies with the wielder.  So in my opinion, Twitter, Facebook, texting, and all other forms of social media are just tools to be used.  Some will use them responsibly, and some won’t.

We have seen this summer, though, that social media is a very powerful tool that shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Although the majority of uses for social media are inconsequential, the power of social media goes offline and jumps out into the real world with very real consequences.  Let’s look at a specific example:

The London riots earlier this month began over a London man being beat to death by police.  Shortly after his death, mourners started a Facebook page, on which people began to vow revenge.  Then, key players in the riots began sending out mass BlackBerry messages instructing people with what kind of violence and looting opportunities to look for and where.  (Source)  The riots grew and continued over several days as more people posted Twitter and Facebook messages about where and when to meet. (Source)

We can see from this example that the key players in the riots used social media for three things:

1. Casting Vision – The Facebook page mourning the death of the man had people calling for revenge and seeking ways to exact it.
2. Giving Instruction – The BlackBerry messages were specific in telling people to loot stores and attack police.
3. Gathering – The Twitter and Facebook posts gave people specific information about where and when to gather.

This is a heavy and heartbreaking story, but let’s not lose hope.  Remember, social media is not to blame for the crimes people use it to organize.  In fact, many people in London are using Twitter to organize and encourage their communities as they recover from the riots.

As much as people can use social media for evil, its power is also in our hands to use for good!  We can also claim the three purposes above to encourage people’s faith, share about hope in Christ, instruct in the truth of God’s Word, and inform people of opportunities to gather for things like worship and charitable events.  I encourage you to think about how you can wield the power of social media to bring it out of the darkness and into the light.

“We’ve worked with hundreds churches across the nation on their mobile websites, mobile web app, custom church apps, and social media strategy,” comments Matt McKee, owner of ROAR. “We are excited that LifeWay has chosen to recommend our firm as their primary church app developer.”

In a recent report on smartphone adoption by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, the research firm finds that two in five cell owners own a smartphone. As smartphone adoption rates continue to increase, churches can’t deny that communicating via a church app provides many possibilities for connecting with people on-the-go.

“LifeWay carefully and deliberately recommends select solutions to the thousands of churches we serve, and are proud to now include ROAR on our list of providers for Digital Church solutions,” says Matt Morris, project manager for LifeWays Digital Church. “ROAR will help us expand into the church market even further by allowing churches the opportunity to have their own uniquely branded app that their congregations can utilize.”

LifeWay already has significant market share in the church app market and currently offers over 30 different apps.

About ROAR

Launched in January 2010, ROAR (http://roar.pro) has quickly become one of the top app development firms for churches, schools, and ministries. ROAR supports app development for every type of mobile device and offers customers custom branding, audio streaming, event calendars, blog/news readers, streaming video and social media integration, at realistic prices. ROAR is the official mobile app developer for Group Publishing, Simple Youth Ministry, and ORANGE, and recently purchased MobileSalt to increase its market share in the church app development market.

About LifeWay Digital Church

LifeWay’s Digital Church (http://www.LifeWay.com/DigitalChurch) is a collection of web-based resources and services that assists churches in efficiently and effectively managing growth within their church, congregation and community. By conducting the due-diligence for the church, Digital Church endorses select, top-tier solutions in the cloud that help both churches and ministries reach people for Christ. Services offered by Digital Church include church management software, eGiving, mobile app development, worship planning, website development, background checks, and more.

This is a fantastic example of the flexibility we talked about in our blog on making sure your organization stands the test of time.  However, it’s also a stellar example of recognizing the power of mobile tech and harnessing it to achieve your goals.  A few notable quotes from the article:

“I don’t think very many social change organizations, even the well-funded, sophisticated ones, are paying nearly enough attention to the technology available for engaging support and enhancing their missions,” said Alberto Ibargüen, chief executive of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which made a $1.5 million grant to Do Something to support its mobile strategy.

…

“What piqued my interest is that she’s not replacing what the organization was already doing but instead using technology to take it far beyond where it has been,” said Todor Tashev, an investment partner at the network.

The article also tells the story of how the organization recently sent a motivational text message to 500 members they hadn’t heard from in a long time, and within 9 minutes, 20% of them had responded.

Right then and there, she decided Do Something… had to go mobile. No longer could it rely on its Web site to motivate young people to take part in social activism. Instead, it would rely on mobile technology in the hopes of substantially increasing its reach and impact.

So I think this is an awesome story, and also an incredible challenge for us.

• Do we, as churches and charitable organizations, recognize the value of what we have to offer people?
• If so, are we using every tool available to us to impact and inspire as many people as possible?
• How can we use mobile tech – apps, texting, mobile websites, social media, push notifications, etc. – to reach people that are falling through the cracks?

We’d love to hear your answers to these questions and how your church is harnessing the power of mobile tech for good!