I am not a techie person. Not at all.
When I conduct workshops or speak with boards, I’m intimidated by the idea of hooking up my computer to the projector. I can do it, but have to make sure I’ve taken my blood pressure pill.
Want more proof? The phone in my home office (a remote phone I use for Heartbeat International) got unplugged from a few things during a re-arranging of my office as I added a fish tank. It took me longer than you can imagine to watch the “how to” video and get it back up and running. Now the phone tells me I’m still in the month of February and I have no idea how to fix it. If you call me on that phone I can talk with you, but I don’t know what time it is.
I finally gave in to Twitter, but still can’t use the bells and whistles. I’m not sure how to make hashtags my friend. I have maybe 500 followers. Someone might be able to teach me how to get more, but that person needs to be extremely patient.
It took me months to trust the fact that when I fly (every week this time of year), a boarding pass on my cell phone will actually work.
Name the techie “party.” I’m a late arrival every time, if I even get there at all. My wife and kids were asking me to join Snapchat the other night. So far, no movement from me.
The fact is, I’m intimidated by the technical and the unfamiliar. There. I said it.
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The resulting consequence of this self-created fear is that it takes me longer to get comfortable with new things. The good news is that once someone shows me the way and takes the time to explain the how and why, I’m generally okay.
Though I laugh about my technical incompetence, I can create a PowerPoint presentation, use most (simple) software programs, tweet when necessary and at least update a web page. I’m not a total loser in the tech realm because I am at least open to new ideas and want to learn.
I’ve found that if I just take the time necessary to sit down and study a subject, sooner or later it will come to me.
So it is in pregnancy help ministry. We are all learning. If you can find the person who has it all figured out, let me know, because our work changes almost daily.
Twenty-five years ago when I first walked into a center as an Executive Director, we had one computer and it took two floppy disks to get the thing started. There were no cell phones, a store-bought pregnancy test was hard to find and hardly reliable, and most potential clients were ashamed to go purchase one.
Tweet This: In the #pregnancyhelp community, we are all learning. #prolife #prolifegen @KirkWalden
When I first began assisting pregnancy help centers in 2000, ultrasound was still “new” to our work, fatherhood initiatives were nearly non-existent and STI testing was not yet on the radar for most of us.
Ten years ago, how many of us knew what “search engine optimization” meant? How about Google Ads?
The point? We are changing, rapidly. Sometimes change is not comfortable, but with technology and the shifting needs of our potential clients, we can’t get afford to get stuck in “the way we’ve always done things.”
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Yet, as the Pregnancy Help Community, we must always keep in mind best practices as we push forward. For us, “Change with Integrity” is the standard.
As a non-tech person in a high-tech world, I’m always asking myself, “What is one thing I must do in order to keep up and stay connected in this world?” If I will embrace just one change at a time, I’m better for it.
So it is with the Pregnancy Help Community. Every center, every maternity home, every adoption agency needs to ask a similar question: “What is the one change we must make today, which will make us more effective in reaching those who need us, or more effective in serving those we see?”
Just one. I’m convinced that if every Pregnancy Help Organization made one change in order to press forward, our effectiveness quotient would increase enormously.
Change. I’m not sure I enjoy it. But when I see the results, it’s always worth the effort.
Now what are the steps to sending a Snapchat picture to my Jennifer again?
Kirk Walden is a senior writer with Pregnancy Help News, an Advancement Specialist with Heartbeat International and author of The Wall. For banquet speaking engagements,
