Establishing a Website and Choosing a Webmaster

            The network metaphor is easily consistent with both Baptist polity and practice.  That’s actual practice from the perspective of the churches, not necessarily the intended practice of anyone else.  (One reason that Southern Baptists grew so significantly from around 1920 until the early 1960’s was that “The Baptist Way” was totally consistent with the dominant world-view metaphor of the time.  It was “perfected” as a follow-up of the 75 Million Campaign (1919-1924) and in the strategy adopted in 1936 to take the best [cf. “one best way”] the denomination had to every church through the association.

            But the metaphor that manifests itself in world views and social organizations has changed.  Increasingly the Internet dominates.  People & churches “log-on” or “log-off” for whatever reasons seem good and sufficient to them.  Information and time are the primary driving forces.  Folks want what they want when they want it.  This is a 180 degree shift from happily accepting what was provided on the schedule of the provider!  The story could go on….  However, this is the line of thought that prompts me to think that the Internet is the best current metaphor for the association, and its website is a virtual office or resource center.

            I envision an association’s website as a Virtual Mission Support Center.  our churches are already in need of a new level of assistance.  A first rate website offers the quickest, most cost effective route to providing that assistance.

            Choosing a webmaster is a critical step.  Certain criteria are especially important.  You need someone who understands how Southern Baptist churches and other parts of the denomination work.  You need to maintain an attractive, informative, up to date website that will be used by ordinary people (not computer whizzes).  You need someone who will work with you to develop and refine the website as needed to enhance its usefulness for our particular association.  Further, it has to be at reasonable cost.

            Jack Robinson provides webmaster services to Southern Baptist Associations.  Jack knows Southern Baptist churches across the range of sizes and circumstances and he knows how the denomination works in providing materials and services for the churches.  He has learned this through years of service as a minister of education, an associational church development director, and an association missionary.  In addition, Jack has been working with computers since before the “PC Era” – and he has kept up with subsequent developments.  Jack has sought to assist churches in his own association in very practical ways because he both knows their needs and has the technological capabilities of delivering appropriate responses to those needs.