We’re back folks!

Our team‘s had a blast creating these podcasts so far, and we’ve really enjoyed being able to answer your questions in person.   …Er….in…media?  Either way. It’s been a lot of fun.

It seems that we have found favor from the Apple gods and our sarcasm and strange jokes were not too bad!  If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to the 8BIT Podcast via iTunes here!

Listen after the jump!

Continue reading »

It’s no secret.  Our team loves technology, and we’re constantly trying out new things (or not-so-new things, like Podcasting…) to see if we can provide more value to the community.

And today, we’re super excited about opening up a new channel of tech communication with everyone:

The 8BIT Network Podcast! You can subscribe directly here!

Read more and listen to it after the jump!

Continue reading »

This is a Guest Post by Andrew Mason.

This probably isn’t a new concept. You may have heard people throw around the term “holographic church” (Usually in a sarcastic tone as the next logical step for satellite & web campuses). Call me crazy, but I believe it’s just a matter of time before we see our first 3D church venue. And honestly? I can’t wait.

Streaming web video quality is getting better. Technology is getting cheaper. Is it really so hard to imagine a day where two HD cameras capture a live event in three dimensions? Anyone with the right equipment could replicate an entire 3-Dimensional stage, worship band, and speaker without losing anything in the shared experience. What would that be like? Would it even be useful? I love the possibilities that this concept brings.

All of this is just my opinion, so please feel free to call me “crazy” and move on with life. But I think the success of any venue outside of a live environment (ie. Web, podcast, satellite, etc.) depends on the quality of the technology being used to replicate it, and the suspension of disbelief that occurs when the tech is being used effectively. The reason most folks slam the concept of satellite campuses is that they “want a flesh-and-blood person on the stage”. That argument insinuates that either “I can’t learn from someone who isn’t actually in the room”, or “I can’t get over the fact that I’m watching a screen.” But most of these same people will watch an emotionally engaging movie in a theater, laugh & cry with it, and forget that they’re one of 300 people in a room staring at a wall.

That being said, imagine the possibilities! The majority of satellite campuses I’ve seen only replicate their speaker via video, with all other elements occuring live. However, with a 3-Dimensional venue, the worship band could also be replicated effectively. In three dimensions, it’s easier for people forget that they’re watching a screen. Forgetting the tech involved is one less barrier to people believing Christ. Just as watching television is more demonstrative than reading, I believe that the third dimension will add yet another layer to the immersion.

Over the past year, after seeing U23D at the IMAX theater, Monsters vs. Aliens & UP in 3D, and Johny Lee’s amazing 3D LCD demonstration using only a Nintendo Wii, I’m fully convinced that this concept will not only work, it’s coming…as soon as the tech catches up.

Again, technology is only a tool. Just like any tool, it can be leveraged, abused, mishandled, or neglected. And tools are meant to support meaningful work. They aren’t the tasks themselves. A web campus, church building, podcast, or 3D Venue isn’t a church any more than a drill is a dentist. They’re all tools to support the main task at hand: Connecting people with their Creator through Jesus, and sharing the message of His love with each other.

This is a Guest Post by Andrew Mason.

I was recently reading Craig Croschel’s book entitled It, and came across a passage I could absolutely identify with. In the book, Craig argues that the very technology that has empowered us to lead easier lives has also disconnected us in certain ways.  Before the air conditioner was invented, people used to sit & talk away the hot afternoon hours, amidst a cool breeze on their neighbor’s porch.  But when the AC came along, people moved indoors & no longer connected the way they used to.

Fast forward to today:  The same tools that allow us to see each other from across the planet have created a wide freeway for unthinkable amounts of (largely impertinent) information to flow.  The same tech that allows one persons’ message to be heard anywhere has also allowed everyone’s message to be broadcast everywhere.

For example, right now I’m staring at an email inbox riddled with more spam than I could program a stick to shake at.  One out of every forty-seven messages actually contains some sort of relevant information.  The same tech that was meant to relationally connect me with friends has now made it more difficult to hear the voices I deem the most important. These gains in information & efficiency come at the cost of our time & sometimes our focus & effectiveness.

Instead of merely looking nostalgically at Craig’s illustration of a pre-air conditioned world, we have to be actively careful not to trade quality relationships with people, with the efficiency of clicking a “send button.”

It costs our time.

When have we last paid the price of “our time” by physically visiting with someone we care about? It’s just so easy to turn the whole thing into a transaction by texting or twittering them instead. We have to make sure that we use this gained efficiency to support meaningful relationships, and not vica versa.

Have you counted the “cost” lately? What are your thoughts?

Guest Post by Andrew Mason.

In tandem with North Point’s Online Experience launch, I’ve been recently mulling over what the online church could & should look like in the near future. More specifically, I’m extremely interested in how quickly web technology has developed. It’s eye-opening to realize that the internet has only publicly existed for less than 20 years.

Specifically, how will future tools foster relationships, accountability, and personal growth during these online services? Because of social networking & real-time media, I’m absolutely convinced that we are in the beginning stages of a revolution of exponential proportions. At what time has such a large amorphous mass of people been able to communicate simultaneously in such an organized manner? Our organizing and “hashtagging” of subjects & life elements allow people to communicate with an ease that hasn’t been possible until now.

Already, we’ve seen Mars Hill utilize twitter’s hashtag feature to receive a live moderated Q&A feed from attendees.

Carlos Whittaker from Buckhead Church is in the beginning stages of forming one-on-one online coaching relationships all over the country, utilizing free video chat tools such as tokbox. These tools are allowing for groups to meet “face-to-face” and form ongoing accountable relationships in ways previously unattainable.  Small Groups of people can meet without leaving their homes.

Even LifeChurch.tv’s recently-launched Babelwith.me all but removes the language barrier in real-time.  Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re from South Dakota or the South Pacific; anyone can talk, listen, and grow in relationship with anyone else…no matter what language they speak.

….And all of these tools are less than four years old.

Where do you think this explosive growth in technology is headed? What do you think this technology will enable us to do in another four years?

John Saddington’s post on authenticity a few days ago triggered me to think about why I love social networking & platforms like twitter so much. It’s appealing to be in complete control of the conversational flow I come in contact with.

To me, the main advantage in social networking is that we control what parts of ourselves we allow others to see.  Even the term “social networking” lends itself to the idea that we’re on a perpetual first date with the entire planet, and if we only want them to see the best of ourselves all the time, that’s our prerogative.

Facebook, MySpace, and similar platforms are excellent tools for creating & maintaining relationships that would never exist otherwise.  However, when we feel the need to randomly impress an entire contact list full of people we haven’t seen since junior high, something goes very wrong inside. We tend to speak from who we want people to see us as, as opposed to who we really are.

I suspect that the unhealthy habit of holding hoards of people “at arms length” through crafted communication is what keeps us from ever cultivating any meaningful relationships in the first place.  If we aren’t careful, we can sacrifice the few deep relationships for the many surface ones.

No wonder the entire world is calling for someone, anyone, to display true authenticity.

When we’re branding ourselves through social networking, does anyone get the message that we actually care about them?  When online,  before clicking “Submit” on anything, we must continually ask ourselves:  “What’s my motive for saying this?…To impress someone?…To be entertaining or witty?…To geniunely connect?…….….Am I being authentic?”

What needs to be done to make sure that the “right” message is conveyed and communicated? What should be done?

This is a Guest Post by Andrew Mason.

The “Mobile Church,” is that where we’re headed?

There are a lot of posts weighing in on this subject, and it’s absolutely fascinating.  Some individuals seem to be celebrating the growth of their local church through multi-campus & online strategies, while others seem absolutely outraged at the concept.  Some love the idea of a portable church environment that can basically be replicated in any venue, while others see it as another step in the “Walmartization of America” in which the mega-churches move in and muscle out the little guys.

Why would we be so worried about the spreading of the gospel?   If technology is a tool to be used in communicating the message of God’s love, should we feel threatened when churches use it effectively to reach more people?

One day, we’ll probably be able to access talented communicators streaming live to our iphones & experience a life-changing message. There’s no doubt that the “church experience” is growing more portable.  Regardless of the tools we use, shouldn’t there always be a flesh-and-blood relationship to support these experiences?

If we do feel threatened, were we trying to build our church, or the church?

Whatever the answer, this trend reminds us that the church isn’t a building, a cool website, a new technology, or any other tool we use.

Isn’t a church made up of people, regardless of who they are & where they meet?

This is a Guest Post by Andrew Mason. You can follow him on Twitter: @Bayshorts.

I’ll admit it. I’m guilty.

I copy ideas all the time. Website designs, css styles, original content….I even tweepeat without due credit. And this question plagues my mental backburner:

At what point does modeling & tweaking original material become copying?

Sure, you can add your own color scheme or snag a font here or there, but when are your “creations” just carbons of someone’s good substance? When is blog fodder just an aggregate of other people’s writing & research ability?

If other “successful” churches are web-campusing their services, should your church follow suite? Is it alright to “open-source” and tweak? And at what point does an original idea belong “to the public?”

Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit” hits on the tension between creating something original & copying those that have gone before you, and this idea easily translates online. She argues that in order to become great, you copy anything talented people have already created. Learn by doing, but add your own flair to the creation. When do the lines blur enough that you can claim a technology, blog subject, or even entire website design as your own?

The concept of “social media” would never have existed in it’s current form without twitter, facebook, myspace, email, and bulletin boards preceding it. So, is copy/tweaking an okay thing?

In the so-called “Church-World,” how much of it is really up for grabs?

Does it matter who gets credit as long as God gets credit?