Having just written two blogs on the reality of God in our world, especially the digital world that so many of us now actually populate to a ridiculously high level:

Follow the moon beam – everyone is special in God’s eyes

God can’t be found in the computer screen, even less in the smart phone - just look skyward!

it came as quite a shock to read the advert on the back of a newspaper’s feature magazine lying next to me.

This magazine featured a world renowned watch with the caption, “Live for Greatness”.

Oh what a clash! The secular world screaming for us to buy a watch so that we can – “live for greatness”!

What could possibly be the greatness to which we are invited through having this watch on our wrists? May be we could look – COOL!!! Whatever this may mean?! May be we could look wealthy?! No doubt wealth is the answer to the meaning of life – not! So could there possibly be any other reason?

Facetiously, maybe we could wear the watch and time the time we spent with what is the most important existence in this world? But time is irrelevant to this reality! OK – let’s lose the watch! It is not important!!!

Nothing can beat the time we spend with God – nothing! God is especially present in our time with our spouse. He is especially present in our time with our family and friends. God is present when we live in the present. He is present in our time with nature, in fun times, in everyday times.

However, God is most especially present in our time with Him!!! Prayer!!! Silence!!! GOD!!!

The '‘Live for Greatness’ – Live for GOD' blog post written by Bryan Foster, author of Church Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (2nd ed), - the paperback and ebook manual for Church communications and marketing personnel - 304 pages of easy to read and implement summarized points, which allow for a considerably large number of quality stategies and examples to be detailed and available for church marketing personnel - with copyright remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com 

As I looked skywards, for the first time in a long time, while sitting on the seashore on a bright full moon evening, it dawned very clearly on me, that God is so much more than can be found on a computer screen, or in a smart phone – as found in the digital world, found locked up in cyberspace.

We cannot lock God up. This is what the digital age actually does, whether deliberately or otherwise.

I came to the realisation, while looking towards the sky this evening, seeing the three levels of cloud, seeing the moon in all its glory on this full moon evening, seeing the awesomeness of nature at her best, that our concentration on that small computer screen, on a blinkered reality, diminishes the reality of the awesomeness of our God.

We become unintentionally closed to this reality of God – closed to God.

The small screen encourages small thinking – a small intellectualisation of the reality of God. Over time, we seem to believe consciously or subconsciously, that the reality of containment, as espoused by, or through, the computer screen, is actually real! It is NOT!

Not only small thinking becomes somewhat the norm, but small imagining, small emotionalising, small acceptance of the inherent, closeness of God, who is yet still way beyond our normal everyday actualities, becomes closed, becomes digitalised.

Imagine an existence where our imagination becomes locked inside a computer, or locked inside our own brain, which believes the digitalised world is real, hence becoming for all intent and purpose, an actually believed existence inside a computer - becomes digitalised i.e. becomes other computer worldly – yet still very real for the viewer of that computer screen.

Even greater disbelief for someone within the real world, would be seeing someone who is locked, by virtue of that person’s cyber-world reality, away from any real human emotion. That person is becoming more computer-emotional.

Becoming more one emotionally with the digital world and less one with the human world!

Wonderful human experiences within the real natural world can inspire anyone, even one within the emotionally and intellectually fraught cyber-world closed in realism, to see the reality of a very special God within our human existence.

More moon beams and sun beams are needed to figuratively shine on to the computer screen – to awaken the reality of the one behind these beams. The softness of the moonbeam and the strength of the sunbeam see our God in true action within this world.

 The 'God can’t be found in the computer screen, even less in the smart phone – just look skywards!' blog post written by Bryan Foster, author of Church Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (2nd ed), - the paperback and ebook manual for Church communications and marketing personnel - 304 pages of easy to read and implement summarized points, which allow for a considerably large number of quality stategies and examples to be detailed and available for church marketing personnel - with copyright remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com 

The main points I gained from the Australian Catholic Media Conference 2012 were:

* we, the Church (and its institutions) need a strong loving presence in the digital world

* get the Catholic / Christian message out there

* be gentle and compassionate in your approach - use Jesus as your model

* tell your story, Jesus story and the Church's story - people love stories

* use blogs and social media, particularly You Tube, Facebook and Twitter - take the risk, yet have 'conditions of use' whereby you may cancel inappropriate responses

* [link one to the other for maximum output]

* develop well constructed websites and include links to good Catholic websites eg Fr Barron

* include on these websites podcasts, videos, texts, etc., of messages / sermons from key people within the parish [or school]

* support and promote quality mainstream media shows and articles relevant to the message eg ABC

* support and promote authentic social justice websites and activists

* use xt3.com website for youth involvement throughout Australia (from Sydney Archdiocese)

For an overview of the key speakers and a summary of their points go to the blog post at: 'Australian Catholic Media Conference 2012 - an Overview with Links'.

The 'Australian Catholic Media Conference 2012 - a summary of key points for the digital age' blog post written by Bryan Foster, author of Church Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (2nd ed), - the paperback and ebook manual for Church communications and marketing personnel - 304 pages of easy to read and implement summarized points, which allow for a considerably large number of quality stategies and examples to be detailed and available for church marketing personnel - with copyright remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com 

e-Books are a great addition for church marketing personnel - to offer the detail often lacking in everyday marketing campaigns. This option is also one of the most difficult forms of marketing your church or parish. Considerable content and time is needed for success. The author also needs time to write the text.

The publication stage may be simple and be just a pdf, which can either be uploaded free or sold though the parish website. Or it may be of a high quality through such companies as Amazon and its subsidiary CreateSpace. Church marketing through Amazon and CreateSpace takes on a whole new dimension.

A high quality e-book would have between 300-400 A4 pages, whereas an average e-book would be a minimum of about 150 A4 pages. Poor e-books would be below 100 pages - unfortunately, too many internet authors fit into this category these days, and hence make it difficult for the good authors to be seen as highly creditable in the marketplace. These books would be written with the purpose being to inform the reader in a detailed way of how to achieve whatever the aims were being offered for each church marketing e-book.

e-Books can be continually updated and uploaded to various websites for placing in the internet market. This is a huge advantage over everyday hard-copy textbooks, which usually take many months before publication! My e-books have been updated between 2 and 3 times each. These were then uploaded abd offered for sale - literally the day each was finally edited and approved!

Each parish should seriously consider whether they have the content regarding their parish, which they would like developed into an actual e-book for publication and sale on the parish website. Content would include all the parish has to offer at all levels, from new born to aged care and subsequent activities.

 My suggestion for the most successful way to succeed with giving thorough detail in the marketing field is to write the e-book in a summarized point format. This allows for a large variety of topics to be covered. It also allows for the reader not to be overawed by copious amounts of words on each specific point being made. Summarized points are often more easily read and often easier to interpret and understand. The page layout is also far more conducive and attractive and therefore should appeal to more people and hence be more successful overall.

 The marketing e-book is becoming very quickly a necessary marketing tool for the contemporary marketing personnel in today's digital world. The detail it gives can be very successful when combined with an appropriate writing format - particularly the summarized point format.

 The 'The e-Book - a Strategy for Church Marketing' blog post is written by Bryan Foster, author of Church Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (2nd ed), - the paperback and ebook manual for Church communications and marketing personnel - 304 pages of easy to read and implement summarized points, which allow for a considerably large number of quality stategies and examples to be detailed and available for church marketing personnel - with copyright remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com