GIEN Forum 2007

June 28 - July 1 , 2007
Newbold College
Binfield, Bracknell, Berkshire UK

Theme: Beyond Borders: Radical Method, Radical Message, and Radical Christ

Invitation Letter from Mark Finley

Passport Information Needed for Issuing Letter for UK Visa

July 2 - Podcast Training at nearby AWR Offices

PDF Program Including Presenters and Workshop Details

Thursday, 28 June

Radical Method
Raafat Kamal
The Internet is the only mass medium whose audience share has grown during the past decade. The proportion of the population using the Internet for faith purposes has increased by two-thirds since 1998. It took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million users, 13 years for TV, and only 5 years for the Internet.  There was no shortage of skeptics when the Internet concept was devised in the early 90s.  Today, it is estimated that we have over 1.2 billion Internet users connecting with over 120 million websites.  The reason?  People will change their habits quickly when they have an innate urge to connect with other people.  The Internet has become a "radical method" for human beings to bond and belong. God has provided us with this vast field of mission where we could reach millions for literally pennies on the dollar. PDF

Listen Watch

Raafat Kamal, Field Secretary, Global Mission & Stewardship Director, Trans-European Division, Born in Lebanon, Raafat holds university degrees in Systematic Theology, Educational Administration, Islamic Philosophy and Business Administration, and has 17 years experience as administrator within the development sector on country and regional levels, as well as teacher and school administrator.

Devotional: "Beyond Borders"
Karel Novak

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Karel Novak is Communication Director of Euro-Africa Division, Berne Switzerland.

Cyber Ethics: Reality Beyond Reality
Zdravko Plantak

Zdravko Plantak earned a Ph.D. from King's College, University of London while serving as a senior pastor in Wimbledon, England. His book, The Silent Church: Human Rights and Adventist Social Ethics, was published both in the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. Energy and innovation in academics as well as discipleship and engagement in contemporary culture mark his leadership as Chair of the Department of Religion at Columbia Union College and Professor of Christian Ethics and Theology.

Internet: A Postmodern Medium
Miroslav Pujic

Internet has become the most important medium of the postmodern age. It's built on the concept that a computer can imitate the human brain, "thinking" by associations and linking text and graphics throughout a vast network of connections. So does the Internet expose the contexts of a real world? People spend hours every day surfing the web instead of talking to others. Can the Internet replace human community? The Internet makes every belief available at a keystroke. Can a spiritual seeker find satisfaction in this spiritual mall? Can the unchurched become cyberchurched? [Salisbury Hall]

Listen Watch

Miroslav Pujic, Director, Center for Secular & Postmodern Studies, Office of Adventist Mission, General Conference; Media Ministries Director, Trans-European Division, St. Albans, England. Dr. Pujic is graduate of Newbold College and Fuller Theological Seminary, and Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, specializing in the impact of postmodernism on society and its effect on evangelism. Author of LIFEdevelopment, a discipleship pathway concept and resources, and book, The Missionary: 3rd Millennium AD.

Cultural Globalization, Secularization and Battle for the Soul
James Coffin
More than any other communication medium, the Internet has transcended the economic, social and geographic barriers that once separated us. It has perhaps forever changed the traditional definition of "neighbor." I may be more involved in the life of someone half way around the world than in the life of the person living next door. Granted this new reality, the opportunities for sharing Christ have never been greater--or fraught with more challenge. The questions we've traditionally answered as Adventists aren't necessarily the questions people are asking today. So, to what degree are we willing to concede to Marshall McLuhan's contention that the medium is the message? Or should we as Adventists seek to creatively use the medium of the internet to communicate a message--"an everlasting gospel"--that actually stands in stark contrast to the medium's culture? [Salisbury Hall]

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James Coffin, Senior Pastor of the Markham Woods Church of Seventh-day Adventists in Longwood, Florida, USA, has for more than 30 years served the denomination as a youth pastor, editor and senior pastor. A graduate of Newbold College, he has worked for extended periods in both Australia and the United States. He has written two books: One Thing I Know--and Other Stuff I Strongly Suspect (2003) and A Different Church for a Different World (2006).

Usability: Building websites from a User Experience Standpoint
Martin Lee

Martin Lee, is the web coordinator for Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A. Before coming to Andrews, Martin was a creative director at an interactive design firm. A recognized expert in the field of web design, Lee's work has received awards from respected organizations such as the American Advertising Federation and the University and College Designers Association.

24/7 webradio technology
Introduction into 24/7 webradio technology and practical tips for setting it up.
Wolfgang Schick: web radio editor; sound engineer

Radicalizing Adventist Community
Blogs, new media, and evangelizing for peace and social justice
Alexander Carpenter: handles media projects for Spectrum magazine. He is also the Online Communications Manager for Interfaith Power and Light and blogs for The Beatitudes Society and Faith in Public Life.

Preview netAdventist 3.0
Explore the upcoming release of this highly-anticipated software product developed specifically for our denomination.
Jesse Johnson: President, TAGnet; Danny Houghton: Executive Vice-President, TAGnet; John Ash: technical lead for netAdventist 3.0, TAGnet

Media Asset Management
Google got the point: it's not so much the quantity of information, but finding what you need, when you need it. This workshop will focus on concepts like media ingest, workflow, re-purposing, storage, front-end interfaces, and megadata.
Marvin King: Adventist World Radio Web Manager; Daryl Gungadoo: AWR Global Distribution Engineer

The Norwegian Challenge:
Pooling assets of the church­-communication, Bible correspondence and local churches, utilizing TV, Internet and personal contact- to provide top notch, effective, interactive multimedia evangelism for children and youth.
Gunnar Jorgensen: communication director; Roger Robertsen; Norwegian Bible Institute (NBI) director; Per Naesheim: NBI Office manager; Mai-Britt Kendel: communication dept. program developer

Hope Channel--Europe
Training for an effective management of the HC website in order to make the most out of this useful tool in terms of outreach via internet
Tobias Klepp: web developer and programmer. Bachelor of Arts (Media Management) and Diploma (Digital Media Design/Translation), Klaus Popa internet evangelist & pastor. Masters of Graphic & Communication Design/Masters of Theology

Internet. An Effective Ministry Tool?
How to make Internet relevant to the seeker. How can we connect the user with a loving faith community?
Nancy Lamoreaux: Director, Information Technology Services, North American Division

Writing for the Web
Is there a difference writing for the Internet versus print publications? What should your web news stories and other writing look like? What principles of writing and journalism play a primary role? Should we care about 'church lingo'? PDF

Victor Hulbert: Communication Director of the British Union and editor of the BUC News, a weekly online news service of the church in the U.K.

One Laptop Per Child & Internet in Developing Countries
This workshop will stimulate your mind on how our church and "your ministry" in particular, can maximize the deployment of initiatives such as global mesh networks, WiMAX, and other. You will also learn how to re-purpose contents for the "bandwidth-challenged" and use such platforms for evangelism.
Marvin King: Adventist World Radio Web manager; Daryl Gungadoo : AWR Global Distribution Engineer

Developing Adventism In and Through Social Networks
Social networks seem to be sprouting everywhere you look! Are we, as a church, ready to join the party?
Bryan Collick: Administrative assistant and production manager for Elder's Digest magazine. He is also an editor for eHub, a resource of web applications, services or sites with a focus on next generation web (web 2.0), social software, blogging, Ajax, Ruby on Rails, location mapping, open source, folksonomy, design and digital media sharing.

Multilingual Web Site Issues
What does it take to run a multilingual site? How do you handle the technical and contextulaziation issues?
Andrew DePaula: It Is Written Technical Research and Development

In Need of a Beauty Farm
Postmodern society, Design and Internet. Design principles and strategies appropriate for a postmodern audience.
Klaus Popa: internet evangelist & pastor. Masters of Graphic & Communication Design/Masters of Theology

Photography for the Internet
Low Light Still Photography Techniques:
how to shoot indoor news photos. Composition, camera angle, and background staging. Legal issues. Issues of integrity and credibility.
Gerry Chudleigh: Communication Director, Pacific Union

Gerry has written about photography on the Pacific Union web site:

• News Photo Ethics
• Cameras and Lenses
• Event News Photography
• Permissions and Privacy

Where Are They?
Youth Culture and the internet. Understanding how youth and young adults use the internet.
Wolfgang Schick: web radio editor, sound engineer

Round-table on netAdventist 3.0 Implementation
Deployment, translation, and techniques for implementation of netAdventist 3.0 for your organization.
Jesse Johnson: President, TAGnet; Danny Houghton: Executive Vice-President, TAGnet; John Ash: technical lead for netAdventist 3.0, TAGnet

Radical Message of Jesus
Rolf Pohler
The people who heard Jesus preach were usually amazed, shocked, or even furious. What caused such strong reactions? What's so radical about the "new wine" He is serving that will not let us continue in our old ways? [Church Centre]

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Rolf Pohler, Professor of Systematic Theology at Friedensau Adventist University in Germany. He has served his church as pastor, departmental director, union president, and theological advisor. He holds a Th.D. from Andrews University. He has written several books and numerous articles.

Radical Christ
Mark Finley
[Church Centre]

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Mark A. Finley, Vice President, General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Evangelist, and prolific author, he was Speaker-Director of "It is Written" media ministry (1993-2005), and currently also serves as Director of the Center of Global Evangelism of the world church. He is also the chairman of the church's Coordinating Committee for Internet Ministries.

Panel Discussion "Beyond Borders: Ideas, Experiences, Initiatives" Moderator: Dan Houghton [Salisbury Hall] Panel Discussion Ideas

Listen: Part 1 Part 2
Watch: Part 1 Part 2

Devotional Don McFarlane [Salisbury Hall]

Listen Watch (partial)

Don McFarlane is President, British Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Watford, England.

The Internet and the Stranger Within Your Gates
Bruce C. Moyer
How can Adventist churches harness the global power of the Internet to impact the current reality of mass-migration? What in the world is God doing and how can we cooperate with Him? [Salisbury Hall] PDF

Listen: Part 1 Part 2
Watch: Part 1 Part 2

Bruce C. Moyer, Associate Director, Institute of World Mission (Retired), Professor, World Mission, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University. Most recently he was involved with development of curriculum for and training of cross-cultural workers. Dr. Moyer was the founder/Director of the Seventh-day Adventist Center for Global Urban Mission, a research and training center for urban training programs, urban strategic planning and urban mission models.

Group Reports & Recommendations [Salisbury Hall]
Moderators: Andrew DePaula & Dan Houghton
Closing remarks:: Rajmund Dabrowski

Listen: Part 1 Part 2
Watch: Part 1 Part 2

Forum Administration

Rajmund Dabrowski is Communication Director at the world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

Williams Costa Jr. is Associate Director, Communication Department, world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

John Beckett is Web Master of www.adventist.org and Assistant Director, Communication Department, world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

Lynn Friday, our close friend and 10-year veteran of the GC Communication Department, passed away May 27. She was instrumental in organizing the GIEN since it began. She will be missed much and always remembered.

Forum Advisory
Mark A Finley, Rajmund Dabrowski, Williams Costa Jr., (Coordinator), John Beckett, Dan Houghton, Jonathan Brauer, Jeanelle Isaacks, Rick Johnson, Delwin Finch, Ron Vhymeister

2007 Forum Program Advisory
Rajmund Dabrowski, John Beckett, Williams Costa Jr., Miroslav Pujic, Karel Nowak, Andrew DePaula, Marvin King, Jose Romero, Jonathan Brauer, Williams Costa Jr.