The Church, Open Source and Kids

I would like to deviate from Church Management Systems and Church Membership Software in this post.

As y'all know I like Linux. And I really like Ubuntu. But I love FireFox!!!!

I recently built a computer for my kids (Using Ubuntu of course). As I was setting up the machine I came to the point most parents do: How do I let my kids safely surf the Internet. I have young children so not only was I trying to protect my children but provide a means of navigating the Internet that an eight year old can do.

So I started Googling and found Glubble.

Glubble is an add on to the FireFox browser that basically takes over the browser and prevents access to non-approved sites. The cool thing is a child can attempt to go to a site, be prevented from accessing the site and put in a request to Mom and Dad to gain access to the site. Mom and Dad can log on to their computer and grant access to the site. Once a site is approved it is known as a Glubble.

Glubble comes with a bunch of loaded Glubbles that most parents would grant access to. Discovery Channel Glubble, Disney Glubble and so forth.

The one critique I have is that Google search results are also filtered. They are filtered to the point that almost nothing comes back. This is the one feature I wish Glubble could allow a parent to turn on or off. I'm not too worried about what my child might search. I just do not want them getting to non-approved stuff. But I would like them to be able to search and find potential new Glubbles that they would like to request access too.

If any one reads this post and finds a Christian Child oriented site please email or post a comment here. I would like to add Christian oriented sites to my family's Glubble.

Church Management and Website Content Software - Open Source has Arrived - Hallelujah!!!

I've been reading a few blogs the last few days about Church Management Software. I'm rather amazed that there is still an apprehension towards open source Church Management Software in the faith based community. I've sort of gleaned this "feeling" from both Tony Dye and Appian Way and Brian Bailey.

I would like to make a statement. "Open Source Church Management Software is here, it's mature and it's supported and it's global."

I'd like to challenge all three of these bloggers to take another look and respond to my post.

There I said it. Now here's the rest of the argument.

I am the open source project lead and owner of ChurchLedger.com. ChurchLedger has been in operation since 1999 and is available in multiple languages today. Also, ChurchDB is a rather mature project and is also available in multiple languages and has a wide assortment of features.

I'm not as versed in Web Empowered Church, but I read a lot of blogs about it. I would say it is also mature and supported.

So why is there so much apprehension about Open Source Church Management Software and Church Website Content Management?

My personal belief is that the current vendors that provide proprietary software to support Church Management and Church Website Content Management have a lot invested in their current product. If you are a proprietary vendor it is very difficult to let go of a ten year plus investment. An investment you have paid blood, sweat, tears, prayers and money into. Then along comes Open Source.

Microsoft has the same issues with Open Source that proprietary church software providers have. Microsoft's only weapon against Open Source has been Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD). Most of the proprietary church software providers are not as aggressive as Microsoft in spreading FUD. But, they definitely do not have an interest in seeing FUD undone.

So what can you do to undo "FUD" in the Church Management and Church Website Content Management ministry? Open Source, like the early church is involved in collaboration. The power of Open Source; like the early church is collaboration.

I'm going to speak here for ChurchDB and ChurchLedger.com. Our products are only as good as the input the community can provide. Even if you are considering a proprietary package/and or purchased a proprietary package. Please give feedback to our projects and let us know where the features came up short in delivering a solution for your Church Management or Church Website Content Management solution.

Let's stop the FUD!! After all, it's just code and code can change.

Last but not least. This site is a good resource for a wide variety of Open Source software for faith based organizations: http://www.christianfreeware.org/

Open Source for a Faith Based Organization

I have been involved with an Interfaith organization in the area I live; Quad Cities Interfaith. As a computer person people generally come to me for computer advise. So I've been filling the shoes of IT Director for this organization.

I worked with the organization to move them over to an Open Source Content Management System. They now have multiple content authors and constantly update the site with events, news and even their own Wiki; all using the Open Source Project I administrate ChurchLedger.com.

But the most significant was to replace their existing "borrowed" Windows computer with a new Linux system. I worked with the leadership of the organization and demo'd Freespire which I had running on my laptop.

I then laid out a cost comparison of a Linux Desktop versus a Windows Desktop. To note, this desktop would primarily be used for email, surfing the web, updating the website, developing print article and post cards.

So I laid out the following price comparison:

	Freespire Custom Build	Windows Dell -xxx
Hardware CPU/Memory/Video Card/Hard Drive...	$835.62	$999
Operating System	Free	Included
Office Software	Free Open Office	$75 Microsoft Office Non-Profit Price
Desktop Publishing	Free Scribus	Included in MS Office
Grand Total	$835.62	$1,074

As you can see. A significant cost difference. In this example I made the hardware like. At this cost difference you could throw more hardware or a nicer monitor with the cost savings. I also left out the cost of virus software you would need with Microsoft Windows.

I'll make another post to update everyone on how the implementation went and what success and pitfalls were encountered.

What this Blog is about - FUD

The purpose of this blog is to post thoughts, musings and observations on Open Source and the use of it by faith based organizations.

There is a lot of FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) out there on this topic. I hope through the next several posts to begin to help clear this up and allow Faith based organizations to save money and have more effective ministries with the tools and technology that are available to them.

I operate the Open Source project OSC (Open Source Church) on Sourceforge. I also operate the Commercial offering of OSC ChurchLedger.com. This has been a significant undertaking but it is a personal ministry of mine to provide Church Website hosting and Church Management Software at an affordable cost for all sizes of churches.

I have been developing OSC and involved in Open Source since 1999 and have come across quite a bit and I've also started several endeavors locally to push open source. I hope to post my findings here to help alleviate the unfounded fear that goes along with Open Source.