How iPods Are Changing the Church
Rob Cizek
Look around. How many people do you see go by with earbuds listening to an MP3 player? Sometimes it can feel like we accidentally walked into an Apple iPod commercial…a strange iWorld where people walk around with white strings coming out of their ears.
These white strings are the most visible sign of a quiet revolution rocking the communications world. Portable MP3 players (generally referred to as iPods, regardless of brand) are changing our expectations of how we get everything—from radio talk shows to sitcom reruns to Sunday sermons.
iPods are game changing because they are personal. iPods move us from the old school world of broadcast (literally meaning to spread seed widely) information to that of personalized, narrowcast information. Not long ago, a handful of communications companies used broadcast television, radio and newspapers to reach huge numbers of people with mass appeal information. Now, in the age of MySpace, YouTube and iPods, anyone can reach the world. The information we consume is personalized and “narrowcast” to our specific interests. It is this narrowcasting that is changing the rules for churches.
iChange
Just how are iPods changing church? This issue was discussed recently at the Xpastor.org conference. It made me curious. Exactly why are MP3 players so popular? How could we as a church better reach people in the new narrowcast environment? So after the conference I bought an Apple iPod. I started my journey down the rabbit hole into iWorld.
After buying the iPod, I set up iTunes on my computer. I was pleased to find that most Christian teachings were free of charge through the podcast section of the iTunes store. You can subscribe to sermon podcasts by simply searching for a church’s name. Once subscribed, you get the latest sermon downloaded automatically to your iPod each time the iPod is connected to your computer. It just couldn’t be simpler.
The iPod’s styling and intuitive controls have a certain charm. It didn’t take long to get won over by its design, ease of use and narrowcast content that I could tailor to my personal tastes. I was now beginning to understand the iWorld and the affinity people have for their MP3 players.
iSpirituality
With this wonderful new capability I began to investigate ways to use an iPod to grow spiritually. I checked with the iPod fans at my church (they weren’t hard to find…they had white strings coming from their ears). I was surprised to find so many people already using iPods for spiritual things. Here is a sampling:
Study: Receptionist Jennifer Avenell uses her computer to download sermons for study purposes. She puts her kids to bed and has quiet time that includes listening to a sermon on her kitchen computer. She frequently pauses the sermon to reference scripture, which she finds on Blue Letter Bible (www.blueletterbible.org). She keeps both the online Bible open and her media player open in separate windows.
Business Travel: Media Director RJ Whitlow maintains our church podcasts. He frequently hears from the business community. “Our traveling aerospace congregation members love it as they can take it on the road with them” says Whitlow.
Road Trips: Teacher Ryan Johnson likes to load up his iPod with sermons from Mark Driscoll at Seattle’s Mars Hill Church (www.media.marshillchurch.org). He then listens to several during long car trips. Says Johnson, “I like to listen to a preaching series kind of like reading a book series. I hate to wait for the next episode.”
Sharing: Johnson shares teachings by offering his earbuds. “I have been able to share some things I have been listening to with friends who otherwise would not have heard, or even attempted to listen to that kind of material, simply because it was at my fingertips.”
Reaching Youth: High School Pastor Jacy Armbruster records his teachings and posts them on our high school website (www.ilikeyouthgroup.com).
Small Groups: Our church receives great feedback from small groups. Some of our leaders download weekend messages and listen again before their weeknight small group discussions. One member e-mailed this message, “Love that you have this on your website. The wife and I listen every week. We run our weekly small group in our home using the sermons.”
Worship: Worship Pastor Chuck Hickman initially bought his MP3 player to hold his 800 CD music collection. It was only after purchasing it that he discovered sermons and audio books. Our worship pastor now uses his MP3 player more for the spoken word than for music! He listens to sermons for about 30 minutes at a sitting and enjoys hearing a message several times to “really get the point.” Hickman enjoys his player so much that he has purchased them for his wife, three daughters and son-in-law.
Holy Matrimony: Here is another iPod use from teacher Ryan Johnson. He used an iPod to propose to his fiancé. “I popped an ear bud in her ear and danced on New Year’s to some special songs before getting down on my knee.” After proposing, Ryan accidentally ran his iPod through the wash. He dried it out, recharged the battery and it still works perfectly. What do you think, Ryan…a good simile for marriage?
iShopping For Pastors?
If people can listen to church podcasts from all over the world, will it change what they expect from their home church? Do podcasts put additional pressure on teaching pastors to perform?
Matt Nystrom, guitarist for the band Threefold, regularly listens to sermons on his iPod. He believes “…outside teachings will change our expectations of our home church. I see podcasts as way to hold our local church leaders accountable while gaining a valuable outside perspective as to what God is doing around the world.”
Elder Board Chairman Glen Cowan believes podcasts can be a two-edged sword. “There is certainly a danger that people would begin to rely on the podcasts and forego local church participation, but that has always been the danger with television and radio. Programs that are truly grounded in the Word are aware of this danger and strongly encourage remote listeners to attend and participate in a local church body.”
Cowan adds, “(Podcasts) can change people’s expectations of what should be happening in the pulpits in their home churches. This is healthy if this expectation focuses on the content of what is being preached and doesn’t put unreasonable expectations on small town pastors to compete and communicate like the few, very select speakers on the national stage.”
Podcasts change attitudes according to Worship Pastor Chuck Hickman, “…it definitely raises my expectation for my home church. I think all forms of modern media raise our expectations.”
Podcasts: Not Just for Sermons Anymore
Your church website can offer a great variety of podcasts based on the teaching and programming that you are already doing. Any church activity, testimony, class, Sunday school, bible study, special speaker, meeting, prayer session, night of praise, leadership training, youth meeting, forum or conference can easily be recorded (audio and/or video) and offered as a podcast. It may be especially helpful to podcast your church’s standard membership and spiritual development courses. Audio recording of events is as simple as hooking a microphone to a laptop and recording an MP3 file. Even old material can find a new life. Old recordings of teachings can become a treasury simply by offering them online as podcasts.
How to Podcast, Get on iTunes
It is surprisingly easy to begin podcasting. Here’s how to get started.
Record your message in MP3 format. Connect a microphone or mixing board to a computer with standard 1/8” audio inputs. Use any program that records audio. There are two good free software programs available (Audacity at www.audacity.sourceforge.net and MP3myMP3 at www.mp3mymp3.com). When your message is over, simply save the recording as an MP3 file. With the growing number of video iPods, many churches are considering offering video podcasts. Our church recently began to offer both video and audio versions. The availability of video is especially exciting to our congregation.
Post the MP3 file on your website. This is how your message is actually distributed to the world. Your message resides on a web server and can be downloaded by listeners. If you don’t want to use your church website, you can use free or paid podcast hosting services.
Create a RSS feed. This is the feed to which your listeners subscribe so they can automatically download new editions of your podcast. Together an MP3 audio file (your message) and a RSS feed (subscription and “where to find” information) form a podcast. To create an RSS feed for your podcast, check out a program called FeedForAll (www.feedforall.com) It is inexpensive and easy to use.
Publicize your podcast. Let people know about your podcast using tools you already have available. Pulpit/bulletin announcements and a link from your home page work well. Externally you can list on podcast directories such as IndiePodder (www.indiepodder.org) or PodcastAlley (www.podcastalley.com).
Get on iTunes for free! To better give your podcast a national platform make it available at Apple’s iTunes store. Your podcast can be listed at no cost to you or your listeners. Simply go to the podcast section of iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html) and follow the instructions for submitting a podcast. Our church podcast was available on iTunes within 12 hours of making our submission.
iOpportunity
Remember when websites were novel? If your church had one you were cutting edge. Then one day you discovered your congregation expected a website. The same is happening with podcasting. Podcasting was invented about 3 years ago. Its use has spread quickly. While still somewhat novel today, it’s a safe bet that three years from now podcasts will be an expectation.
It’s been a fun journey into iWorld. I encourage you to take your own journey down the rabbit hole. It turns out that iWorld isn’t as strange as I first thought. People with white strings coming from their ears are simply folks who enjoy the benefits of narrowcast information. They’ve adapted earlier than most to a new way of thinking that’s changing the communications world…including your church.
More Information
Podcasting FAQ: www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcasting_FAQ.html
Podcast Directory List: www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Directory.html
Podcasting Legal Guide: wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide
Church Podcasts: www.churchpodcasts.com
How To Podcast Tutorial: www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com
Rob Cizek is Executive Pastor at Northshore Christian Church, a non-denominational church of 1,500 and Christian academy of 700 in the greater Seattle area (www.northshorechristian.org). He oversees daily operation of the organization and its ministries. Before serving full time in ministry, Rob worked in media management as a broadcast television station news director. During his time at Northshore, he has encouraged development of audio and video podcasting as well as live video streaming of weekend services. Rob, his wife Janice and two children live in Everett, Washington. He can be reached via e-mail at robcizek@gmail.com.
