Ever since Al Gore invented the Internet (LOL) the flow of information changed. Once the method of flow changed, the amount of information available grew exponentially. I’ll give you a great example!
I graduated high school in 1973! (aren’t you proud of me) In 2003 for our 30 year reunion I was finding people via the Internet. I was not only able to locate people easily but was able to find all their personal information like when they were married, if they were divorced, their birth date, address and map, phones, and other data that led me to finding them.
The point is: our personal information is out there for a lot of people to easily see. If I wanted to join a pay site I could get even more details about a person. Most the information I obtained was from free public service sites. Each county has different levels of what was free and what you had to pay for to see.
Here it is 2010: you have social media that connects people all over the world in an instant! Most the times you can just type a persons name in the Google search box and there you have it….everything about that person. Try it out! Type your name and see what is out there!
Our society: has adapted fairly well to all this change in the flow of information. There are new technologies coming out all the time giving us new ways to get information and faster than the time before.
I-Phones advanced us even more and even faster! Now you can call up a persons name, see their contact info, and click on maps and there you see directions to their house! Want it any easier?
Whats more is that churches are challenged with keeping up with technology and staying on the cutting edge. Ministers can become more effective with information at their fingertips. When a death occurs or a birth or a prayer need, with the information on the web and in cell phones, ministry is just a moment away!
So, here is the big question out there now.
- What is ok and what is not ok in the way your personal information is being used?
- What about churches that store membership information!
- What is the difference between having your name, address, and phone in the printed church directory verses having it listed on-line in the web version of the church directory?
- What is the difference between having church member information printed out in a directory verses having it on someones I-phone?
Q. How should churches manage personal information?
I would love some comments to that last question. What are your thoughts? Leave a reply below!
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook