At the EPA

I drove to Nashville Wednesday to attend the Evangelical Press Association conference Wednesday evening through Friday evening. The conference gave me a great opportunity to 

1) get out of the office a few days, 

2) meet and swap insights with several professionals doing similar work to mine, 

3) get some tips and insights for my work--I mostly attended workshops in the track marked "digital," 4) meet a couple of new acquaintances for possible future work or partnerships, and 

5) practice using my new camera. 

I did take a lot of pictures, so I think I'll let this review come in the form of picture captions.

Meanwhile, the conference ended with tonight's banquet, featuring the Annie Moses Band and Beth Guckenberger. More pictures soon.

Amy Dolan, a children's minister and curriculum strategist, encouraged us to "develop a digital perspective," that is, to define how and why and where we will use digital technologies. She advised us to pick and choose  which digital formats and applications we will use, not to use tech for tech's sake. "How can digital help me make my life less busy, help me do more and more easily?" Her goal is always to consider digital first and paper second. "If I can do this digitally, and it will make me more effective, that's the route I'll choose."

I was blessed to get acquainted with Brent Adams, editor of the Southeast Outlook.

Jars of Clay brought the musical entertainment at Wednesday's lunch. 

What a great sound and thoughtful lyrics they have. It was a treat to hear them.

Doug Trouten concluded his service
as EPA executive director with this
conference.

"Clean Comedian" Marty Simpson
entertained us a lunchtime Thursday.

Sean Fowlds, a widely published freelance writer and editor, gave a
treasure trove of tips for writers and publishers. Among them, "Five Trends
Affecting the Publishing Industry": 1) Ebooks, 2) Self-publishing, 3) Social
media, 4) Searchability, and 5) Microchunking.

Ed Stetzer, oft-quoted, widely traveled head of research for LifeWay Christian Resources,
entertained and challenged us at the opening session Thursday morning. His central theme: "How do we move Christians from spectators to participants?" Churches are struggling, he said, and if we must reverse this trend if the church is to survive.

In his workshop, "The Digital Future: Thoughts from a contrarian practitioner," he observed
that the digital future seems uncertain. "Many publishers rushed in, but now they're pulling back." He believes the digital future will have "a huge print component. . . . Print sales will continue to decline, while e-books will increase, but slower and lower than many originally thought."