I am one of Seth's kickstarter supporters. I met him at his NYC event in May. I've read his books just like you David, so I'm a Seth fan too. But the one thing I want to flag here is that Amanda and Seth are two quite different kickstarter participants. Amanda is taking advantage of the kickstarter platform's discovery and momentum building aspects. Seth on the other hand is taking advantage of kickstarter's coordination aspect as he calls it. Kickstarter for Seth was simply used as a tool to outsource the admin aspect of organizing his tribe. These are quite different uses of the platform. While I'm a fan of his work, the more interesting story would be to dissect why and how Amanda's kickstarter gig got the traction that it did vs. the tons of other stories that never make it close to their goal. It did something that allowed strangers to buy into it. And more importantly from a marketing communications / pr perspective, that kickstarter had certain elements that make it share-worthy, spread-worthy. Do you agree? Disagree? Kenny http://www.twitter.com/@godvertiser

I'll add one more thought regarding choosing companies. I think in any review of software that has impact enterprise-wide like a ChMS platform benefits from reaching out to current customers of the company. And sometimes it is beneficial to talk not only to those marquee clients that the prospective software solution company provides you, but also to do some research/networking and find other customers that you've found on your own. Candid feedback sometimes comes in varying degrees of transparency! Kenny Jahng Big Click Syndicate LLC

Terry, you might also want to look at open source ChMS solutions out there where custom dev projects for feature/functionality that isn't immediately available can be built and then contributed back to the pool of churches embracing the platform. The question I have found interesting to discern upfront in the review process of ChMS options is whether or not they solution is requiring your church to step in line with their vision for how ministry workflow and operations are carried out or if their ChMS solution is the one that is flexible enough to adapt to how your local church goes about doing various things. The answer to that question right there tends to determine a LOT of other things regarding fit. Kenny Jahng Big Click Syndicate LLC

I've personally approached in the past as "up, down, in and out" Up as in to high in the sky - being too proud Down as in head burrowed down like an ostrich -- coldness to others around me In as in retreated - scared Out as in too overextended and vulnerable to the fleshly pitfalls - Keller's hooked I like his Proud, Cold, Scared, Hooked. Fresh way to think about my daily walk. Kenny