Many Christian leaders are avid readers of Christian news media from the four quarters of the Earth, in which they get new ideas for potential Christian ministry from a wide range of sources - there is not a week that passes without this occurring somewhere.
The constant problem they face is researching what someone has said (or written) and where to find it.
Preachers, Seminarians, Bible College students, Professors, Bible study leaders, youth leaders and a host of others face this same problem every time they come to prepare their messages or talks or for private / personal study
Dr Mark Tronson has been an Australian Baptist preacher of 37 years and the Austral;ian cricket chaplain, and something like C.A.R.D. - Christian Article Registry Depository - was an idea he imagined in his heart. He sought out someone who could convert that idea into reality, and that person is Josh Hinds (Australian Gold Coast) with his IT company "Spiders Touch".
Josh and his team of five have released this important website this week.
Dr Tronson says that his team of more than 70 young columnists who write comment articles for Christian Today (CT) will be able to make full use of this resource, being able to find evidence to back up their ideas and giving more weight to their opinions.
Editors' delight
Moreover C.A.R.D. is ideal for editors who are looking for someone to write on a particular subject. Now they have a wide selection of Christian writers to choose from at their fingertips.
Up to now, editors have found that internet search engines can only help so much. The person wanting information (on the one hand) or the editor chasing a writer with a particular pedigree (on the other) has to jump from one link to another (it seems to go on forever) tracking it down - and it can be painful, to put it mildly.
Dr Tronson explained, that surely, there is some better way to handle this, to at least put them one step ahead of the pack. C.A.R.D. is the result, to the delight of editors and writers - thanks to Josh and his team.
How it works
This website invites Christian authors and writers to enter their specific details onto C.A.R.D. with their name, profile and article details.
Once this is done, then anyone wanting to access work by that author, or on that topic, only needs to make one click and they have access to the plethora of information on that person and their professional works. This applies to all those who have submitted their details to C.A.R.D.
Josh Hinds launched the concept of this database at the Press Service International (PSI) young writers conference on the Gold Coast in September and these last few weeks have been spent getting it spic and span for today's release.
Josh explained in some detail the features to the young writers (CT columnists). The site is interactive, and it provides easy access by both "surname" and "genre" (or "topic"). The instructions are extremely easy to follow, even for an old codger like me.
Dr Mark Tronson said that he has found that it makes the process of researching one giant step easier and that is no small feat. It's a bit of a triumph! He suggests you take a look!
Can you use it too? Yes you can!
Christian writers, experienced authors and/or editors – you can get your data onto C.A.R.D. – Email or phone Josh Hinds and his team (details below).
Dan Wooding of Assist News Service http://www.assistnews.net/ whose Christian media distribution reaches around the globe, and who has interviewed me on cable television and Christian radio, said of C.A.R.D. - "What a terrific idea" and so it is! He, himself, has registered and entered his details.
C.A.R.D. is new and fresh, hot off the press (as it were) and long overdue.
For information, Josh Hinds and his team can be contacted at: 61 (0)404627299 or at info@spiderstouch.com.au
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html