In the Arena

Arena Featured in Shelby's Latest Podcast

mtwhite — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:38:00 GMT

I had the pleasure of being interviewed for this month's Shelby Podcast. Take a few minutes and listen for a little insight into our future plans and as always, we'd love your feedback.

International Shelby Conference 2009

BeccaG — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:57:00 GMT

Shelby Systems' event team just published a press release about the recent Shelby Systems user conference held in Dallas.

"In the opening session Anthony Coppedge, church media consultant and passionate "Technology Evangelist,” set the tone of Building Community with his presentation on “The Reason Your Church Must Twitter.” The presentation was based on his recently released book of the same name..."

Read the full press release in the Shelby Systems press room.

Small Group Networking App

mtwhite — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:37:00 GMT

In the Real Estate world the mantra is 'location, location, location", in the world of small groups it's "communication, communication, communication". With that goal in mind Arena is launching a Small Group Networking tool to foster relationships and community within your church's small groups. Given the amount of interaction within social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, it's only natural that a church would wish to integrate those same fundamental aspects into their ChMS.

With a 'High Touch High Tech" philosophy our new tool will enable each member of a small group to stay in touch with fellow group members. After much research and many conversations, our developers have created an application with a simple interface along with an intuitive user experience.

ArenaChMS will release the Small Group Networking portal with the next version of Arena.

Check back for more details and features.

Building a Web Site in Arena

BeccaG — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:53:00 GMT

Our friends at WebMedley are sharing a blog series on how to build a template in Arena:

“When beginning your first template, there are a few requirements that we'll need to get out of the way. If you're a developer level Arena client, then the first thing you'll need is the Arena SDK from the Arena Community site. While this is not a requirement in the sense that you "can't build a template without it", you should use the SDK as it allows you to make mistakes without the whole world seeing it on your production server. I doubt your tech folks are going to let you go "commando" on a live server anyway, but I'll save you an awkward conversation. Use the SDK.

If you're not a developer level client, you can still modify the .ascx and .ascx.cs files..." Read the rest.

And this year's "Man In The Arena" award goes to...

BeccaG — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:24:00 GMT

Our congratulations goes out to David Turner!

David's many contributions have been a wonderful asset to The Community. He was awarded today during the Arena Developer Roundtable, held in Dallas, TX. This roundtable was held in conjunction with the annual International Shelby Conference.

The Man In The Arena award goes to one person each year who has made an indelible contribution to the Arena project. The community of users, developers and partners are changed in a positive way due to the contributions of this recipient.

Did you know...?
One of the key inspirations for the name given to Arena (and thus the award) was the following speech:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt (excerpt from a speech delivered in Paris, 1910)

Shelby Systems First Church Software Provider Approved for CEU Credits

mikejarrell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:55:00 GMT

MAY 29 2009, CORDOVA, TN – Shelby Systems, Inc. has become the first church software provider to be approved for the National Association of Church Business Administration’s (NACBA) National Registered Continuing Education Provider (NRCEP) Program. “The program is a premier, comprehensive, continuing education program related to administration in the local church. It is designed to enhance the ongoing professional development of NACBA members and other ministry professionals, through the offering of quality learning experiences,” said Phill Martin, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at NACBA.

As the first Registered Continuing Education Provider, all Shelby Systems’ workshops and the majority of classes at the International Shelby Conference have been approved by NACBA for Continuing Education Units (CEU). CEUs are required certification or renewal of certification as a Fellow in Church Business Administration (FCBA).

The addition of CEU credits is an enhancement to Shelby Systems’ continuing education program, a program offering Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for those renewing their CPA.

Shelby Systems, located in Cordova, Tennessee, provides management software designed for faith-based organizations such as churches, denominational headquarters, and other non-profit groups. The company currently serves over 9,000 customers in more than 40 countries.

Marketing Contact:
Rebecca H. Greer, MarCom Manager
800.877.0222

Training and Education Contact:
Bill Ballou, Training Manager
800.654.1605

Computable Knowledge

BeccaG — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:41:00 GMT

Recently, I shared in a management meeting my theory of the "age" we're beginning to experience. It will have more to do with beauty and meaning, less to do with "information."

We've been in the information age, a period where information is more and more accessible (not so much quantifiable, but that's another topic for another day...) The amazing increase of information accessibility has resulted in an information overload, of sorts. Without the ability to more easily and accurately sort, quantify, and most importantly, DERIVE MEANING from the information at-hand, we're likely to see a quick backlash of resistance against the technology.

One project that may prevent this backlash is Wolfram Alpha. This knowledge engine project has caught quite a few channels lately. I would consider this project to be experimenting with the "sort" issue I mentioned before. How do you see this kind of project fitting into your ministry needs?

Shelby Systems Product Demos in Dallas

hspell — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 GMT

You are invited to attend these
Shelby Systems Product Demonstrations

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
InterContinental Dallas Hotel
15201 Dallas Parkway
Addison, TX 75001

Attend any of the following events:
TIME	WHAT	PRESENTER
8:30 - 9:30 am	ShelbyTELLER	Mary Brown
9:45 - 10:45 am	e-Solutions	Alfred Johnson
11:00 - Noon	Check-In	Jerry Foster
1:30 - 4:30 pm	ARENA	Mark White

There is no cost for this event. International Shelby Users Conference
attendance is not required. Refreshments will be provided.

Click Here to RSVP

Questions?
800-877-0222 ext. 1011.
sales@shelbyinc.com

Arena Product Team

benlane — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:39:00 GMT

Shelby Systems strives to provide churches with excellent tools to help them serve the people in their congregation and reach their ministry goals. The Arena division is always working to find ways to improve the software and to incorporate community involvement in the development and direction of the software.

The Arena Product Team (APT) is the group that has the responsibility of determining the Arena Roadmap and the direction of the software. This is a very exciting thing for Arena users because you as a user have direct input in what items are added to the software through your votes on an issue on the Arena Community.

The APT evaluates each new feature request. The number of votes for and priority placed on the issue are taken into special consideration. The APT then determines if the new feature request should be added to Arena. If so, then we determine the priority by placing a future version number on it. That request will then be searchable on the issue tracker. If not, then a reason is assigned to the request and will be displayed on the issue tracker as well. The person who requested the new feature would receive a call to let that person know of the decision.

The APT is working to evaluate the processes in our departments and to streamline and document those processes. Some of the ones we are working on are QA process, New Feature request, and data conversions.

Please continue to request new features for Arena as you are now doing AND go to the Issue Tracker and vote on the items that you think will make Arena great for you and the other clients that use Arena.

The APT is here to serve you. We can be contacted at APT@ArenaCHMS.com.

The members of the APT are:

Carroll Burns, Support

Rebecca Greer, Marketing

Ben Lane, Training

Jeff Maddox, Development

Mark White, Sales

Escalating Times, Did You Know?

BeccaG — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:22:00 GMT

The following video is from two educators you may know: Fisch and McLeod.

Their presentations on learning, globalization, and technology are always mind-blowing. How does the reality presented in this video shape the way you develop technology, ministry goals and communication plans? Do you think this is relevant to you and your ministry?

Remix was done by the YouTube author (so turn down your speakers if you don't like techno music.)
Did You Know?

This information is shared using the guidelines of Creative Commons.

Invitation to Arena Spring Roundtable in Dallas

hspell — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:57:00 GMT


What:	You're invited to the Spring 2009 Arena Developer Roundtable
When:	June 1-2, 2009
Where:	InterContinental Dallas Hotel - Dallas, TX
Info:	www.ArenaChMS.com/Roundtable (R.S.V.P., map and hotel info)
E-mail:	nancy.crane@shelbyinc.com
Phone:	888-77-ARENA (ext. 1408)


A Division of Shelby Systems, Inc. \| 7345 Goodlett Farms Parkway \| Cordova, TN 38016

Another Great Reason For Hosting Your Own Data

mtwhite — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:54:00 GMT

Joel Lingenfelter's latest blog post regarding hosting your own data should be required reading for anyone remote hosting their data. In detailing a frightening story of server confiscation the Wired magazine article takes an inside look at what could go wrong.

Tell us what you think in the comments area.

Have a blessed Easter everyone.

CCCev's Dallon in April issue of Church Executive Magazine

BeccaG — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:47:00 GMT

"I have been privileged with the task of developing custom modules since our church started using Arena, and I enjoy the challenge of building useful applications with the abilities God has given me." - Dallon Feldner

Read the article online.

Tip: RSS Feeds

hspell — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:06:00 GMT

Want to subscribe to a feed of newly released community modules? Just click the "RSS Available" link on the bottom of the Modules folder underneath the Arena Shared Files page of the Downloads section of the Community site:

You can then subscribe to that feed in your favorite reader and never miss a newly released module!
Thanks to Nick for suggesting this tip!

Reporting Services Seminar, Dallas - New Date!

BeccaG — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:12:00 GMT