Even if you are a total tech geek, it's easy to start losing control of all of the cables, power cords, and remote controls in your midst. This is especially true when you work or serve in a church, because often those various tech-bits are handled by many people. Here are 10 steps to getting those wires and remotes organized.

Supplies needed: Electronic labeler (if available); some sort of attachable cable label (I like to use something similar to these, but if you have any of those old dot matrix labels lying around, they'll work OK); thin-tipped permanent black marker; rolling cart; clipboard with paper/pen; two cardboard boxes; cable ties (or garbage bag twist ties); technically-minded teenager or two. (Even if you are a gadget guru, it's a great way for a teen to share his or her knowledge with the church.)

A digital voice recorder is a small device that allows you to capture and replay audio. Better quality devices add additional features, including file transfer to computer and compatibility with computer transcription software. After my laptop and my cell phone, my digital recorder is the tool I wouldn't want to live without. (Actually, I have two of them. My cell phone, like many cell phones, has a basic voice recorder built in, and I have it set up to be activated with the push of one button.)

The uses of such a device are numerous, once you get in the habit of using it (and then replaying your messages) regularly. Here are 10 ideas to start with...

I remember when my father got his first computer. Today that computer would be rejected for being too slow, having too little memory and not having a color monitor. But at the time, it was a momentous occasion! We’d never had a computer in our house before.

My children will have no such memory. They, like their peers, the children of the electronic age, have grown up with computers – at school, in the grocery check-out lane, and at home. These children are comfortable and familiar with technology. For this generation, computers are an integral part of how they learn and experience the world.

Congregations bring in funds for their operating budgets or for special projects in many ways--offerings, fundraisers, coffee shops, small bookstores, and more. Another way a church can raise funds is through affiliate sales. Ever seen a blog that had a book cover with a link to purchase it at Amazon? That's an example of an affiliate promotion.

An affiliate relationship simply means that you (individually or as an organization) market another company's products to your members or email list.

If someone clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you get a portion of the sale price. Affiliate programs range from about 4% (of the purchase) on the low end to 90% on the high end, though most tend to be in the under 10% range. So, for example, if I provide a link to the book I'm currently reading and you purchase it, Different Voice would receive a small percentage of the sale price.

Some time ago in The Daily Voice, I talked about how and why to start your own listserv. Even though IM and Twitter are becoming more popular for short communications, listservs are still one of the best ways to have two-way discussions among a group of people. What are the secrets to a great listserv and being a good moderator? Here are some tips I have learned over time.

Google is the most popular search engine, followed by Yahoo and MSN, and usually these are just fine for general searching. But sometimes, though, your search needs may be more unique, or you yearn for something other than pages of text to wade through. Here are some of the many other great options which might come in handy from time to time.

Computerizing your church library is easier than you might think, and several software solutions exist for doing so (a review of a few of them is coming soon.) The process basically involves adding books to a database and adding barcodes to the books. The result is a library that has greater search capabilities, can process books more quickly, and feels more "up to date" overall. But is it worth it in your congregation? Take time to consider these questions...

In last Tuesday's edition of The Daily Voice, I talked about various text messaging services you might consider using for reaching your congregation. This week, I'll briefly introduce you to the one which is certainly the most popular: Twitter.

Twitter is a free online service for sending short, 140-character text messages ("Tweets") to "followers." Signing up for a Twitter account is very simple, and then you just encourage your friends, congregation members, family members, and coworkers to subscribe to your Tweets. These messages can be sent or received both from a cell phone and via the Internet, making it possible for huge numbers of people to get your messages. Avid Twitterers post updates about...well, anything and everything, actually—with messages both utterly inane and highly useful.

In a future week, I plan to post some reflections about the Twitter phenomenon, and how the ability to instantly communicate with others is changing the shape of ministry. Lots of guides to Twitter are available online, but one certainly worth considering is the ebook, Twitter for Churches.

In my community, a large billboard for a new church features the church's website (a .tv address!), a tag line ("never church as usual") and an invitation to send a text message to a certain number to receive more information. This new congregation is clearly targeting younger generations, and while little on the church's website made me really believe their core message wasn't "church as usual," their approach for reaching out is instructive. Text messaging is becoming more and more popular every day, and for many youth it has entirely replaced email as the preferred way of communicating. 

So, if you'd like to get the word out to your youth group, teachers, team members, or whole congregation, many group text/SMS services are ready to help you do just that. Whichever one you use, some features you may wish to look for are:

If you are unfamiliar with sexting—sending, receiving, and forwarding cell phone photos of a sexual nature—then I strongly recommend reading this article in Newsweek and/or another version of the same article in Slate. (Even if you are familiar with the concept, the article raises some questions worth considering if you have or work with teens.)

I believe youth leaders should have open conversations with teens about this practice. Many youth may not feel comfortable discussing the issue with a parent, but a youth group can provide a safe setting for opening a conversation about this growing trend. Here are seven key things to discuss—not in a preachy, "thou shalt not" way that will turn off youth, but in the midst of an open dialogue about healthy behavior and the practice of spirituality.