Are you going to Chareston???

Just 26 days left until the Fall Church IT RoundTable hosted by Seacoast Church in Charleston, SC.  Registration is just $50 and there is plenty of space for you AND your team!  Don’t miss this opportunity for peer learning and great community! 

If you haven’t attended a RoundTable before, you have missed some awesome events and networking with some great people… (who knows they could have even been your next staff member).   
If you have attended a RoundTable and you haven’t registered, shame on you… you KNOW what you will be missing and there aren’t many reasons to miss our Fall 2008 event.

Top ten reasons to attend the Fall RoundTable:
10. The legendary Jason ‘the King’ Powell
9. Knowing that number 10 is a joke experiencing some great community and having fun with your peers.
8. Hear about some of the latest technology from key vendors and manufactures.
7. Bring an entire hotel’s WiFi to its knees in under 10 minutes.
6. Testing the limits of beta technology for crazy ideas at 1 am.
5. Cornering your favorite CHMS vendor and making them cry.
4. Hear the best and worst network war stories of 2008.
3. Be thrilled that the your worst story of 2008 wasn’t the worst in number 4.
2. Win a trip to the Spring 2009 CITRT– just kidding..
1. Wondering if 2 isn’t a joke and never knowing for sure.

Definition of a Roundtable

http://jpowell.blogs.com/jason_powell_church_it/2007/05/wow_theres_been.html

Past Roundtable topics
http://jpowell.blogs.com/jason_powell_church_it/2007/11/it-roundtable-t.html

Fall 07 Roundtable links
http://appianway.blogspot.com/2007/10/roundtable-posts.html

Job Opening in OKC

Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City is expanding their MIS Team.  Michael Foster would be a great guy to work with and from the Spring CITRT,rossings appears to be a thriving place to serve.

Network Administrator

Scope of Position: Assist in supporting the stable operation of the in-house computers, servers and IP network infrastructure as well as other information systems applicable to Crossings Community Church.

Organizational Relationships: While this position will interact with most, if not all, of the departments of the church, the Network Administrator shall report to the Director of Management Information Systems (MIS).

Responsibilities: The Network Administrator’s role is to enable the ministry of the church with information technology hardware and software. This includes planning, developing, installing, configuring, maintaining, supporting, and optimizing all network hardware, software, and communication links. The person will also analyze and resolve end user hardware and software computer problems in a timely and accurate fashion, and provide end user training where required. This person will also work closely with the MIS Director to optimize all areas of the church’s information systems.

Skills Required for Position: Working knowledge of a Microsoft Windows domain and networking. Proficiency with Microsoft Office, desktop operating systems, and a strong willingness and ability to learn.

Education and Experience: The Network Administrator should hold a vo-tech or college diploma, at a minimum, and should have a minimum of 1 to 2 years experience in working with computers and various information systems components. A+ Certification or equivalent knowledge is required and any Microsoft or Cisco certifications will be beneficial.

If you are interested email a resume to Michael Foster (mfoster at crossingsokc dot org)

Church IT RoundTable on UStream

Check out the Central Illinois Church IT RoundTable on Ustream

IT RoundTable Agenda Taking Shape

I asked those who are planning to attend the Central Illinois Church IT RoundTable on June 12th to begin thinking about some some possible topics, Here are the current suggestions: (in no particular order)

- Security

- Non-Profit pricing

- Computer management

- How do you involve youth in the it ministry?

- How do you keep a grip on technology changes – especially when you have other job responsibilities.

- What local vendors are you using for training / support in IT.

- What about strategy. How did you build it, or is it done on the fly?

- IT Best Practices

- Process documentation

- Policies and Standardization

This list is looking very familiar to the topics popular at the at National RoundTable, and It just further reminds me of the value of this community on every level… across the country or across the street.

I think the thing that I am anticipating the most about this roundtable is the connections with my peers in our local community, but then…some things never change.

Central Illinois RoundTable Special Guest

As you know the Central Illinois Church IT RoundTable will be at Northwoods on June 12 and we are really excited about this event.

I just received confirmation that we will be having a Special Guest.  The Patriarch of the Church IT Roundtable will be visiting the Land of Lincoln and is planning to attend the RoundTable!  If you’re in central Illinois, meeting Tony is just one more reason to attend the RoundTable!

Shame on me…

Matthew Irving noted in his recent post that his and my only connection is via CITRT blogs… I agree with him that there is huge value in the CITRT community, but it makes me think shame on me for not making a ‘traditional’ connection with Matthew.  For several months Matthew and I have said we should connect… but haven’t, so Matthew lets find a date and time next week after the holiday to connect.  No more excuses I agree we have to partner in our ACS Partnership persistence…

Now a challenge to other all "RoundTablers"… We all have come to love the CITRT because of the relationships we have gained…and relationships take effort (both traditional and digital). 

So who have you recently connected with?  Maybe a post Spring ‘08 RoundTable discussion, a phone call or video chat, participating in the IRC channel, posting on your blog… 

The CITRT will only continue to have great success with active participation from the "RoundTablers"…

CITRT 2008 Site is Live

The Church IT RoundTable 2008 Site is now live. 

Check out the Site for RoundTable Updates and subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Central Illinois RoundTable Information

Registration for the June 12th RoundTable is now Open

Directions to Northwoods Community Church

Meet our CITRT Special Guest, Tony Dye

The Agenda is Shaping UP

Central Illinois Church IT RoundTable

For all you in central Illinois this may be the moment you have been waiting for, this is the official announcement of the first ever (to my knowledge) Central Illinois Church IT Round Table.

Here are the details of the event:

Central Illinois Church “Computer Guy” RoundTable

(Computer gals welcome, too!)

June 12

Dinner at 5:30pm

Roundtable Discussion at 6:30pm

(until the Mountain Dew runs out)

Hosted at

Northwoods Community Church

10700 N. Allen Rd., Peoria

Cost

$5 includes dinner

RSVP, Online Payment

Register Online

Questions, etc., to

Jason Lee (j.lee at nwoods dot org)

What’s a Roundtable Discussion?

A roundtable is a peer-learning event where the participants are both teachers and learners. A roundtable is small enough to emphasize interactive learning, led by a facilitator and peer, includes participants who have an affinity with each other, and does not include a strong agenda beyond sharing knowledge. The participants set the agenda, and interaction among participants takes precedent over presentation by “experts.” In fact, in one-way or another, most of the roundtable participants are already experts. In this group, we intend to learn from each other about how to better resource, equip, and train ministries in the areas of computer hardware, networking, server support, web services/sites, telecom services, etc. It will be geeky and fun. 

Still Learning to Blog

I guess its my learning to blog, I don’t always think to blog about everything I write.  I continue to learn there is more of an audience for my content than I think.

I recently have been attempting to connect with Central Illinois Church IT Professionals to plan a CI RoundTable on June 12th.  After sending out several emails to area churches, Tony Dye mentioned to me that Bobby Stewart is also trying to make those connections in the Brentwood, Tennessee area.  Tony  asked if Bobby could see the content of my email.  Of course I said anyone could use the content… and then its became blog post on Tony’s Blog… I just don’t think about anyone using this type of content but Tony is the wiser Patriarch of CITRT he thinks of these things… I think its cool that someone can reuse my content…

If you too are trying to connect with your peers in your area and you would like to share how you have done so, please post your thoughts in the comments.

How do you filter what is blog worthy and what isn’t?