Dynamic Link

Are your processes repeatable? Can you get out the next release without having to rewrite most of the code base? As an industry, we obsess about answering “yes” to these questions because at one point we could only respond with “no”. That “no” carried with it implications of poor stewardship. Reinventing the wheel costs money, writing nonmaintainable code costs money. In reality, it often took version 2.0 of a product to wake people up and follow practices that could lead to a “yes” in the future... if they were lucky enough to produce version 2.0 before going bankrupt. Admittedly, this second release of Dynamic Link followed that pattern. However, one process was repeatable. That was the process of prayer, and prayer was answered with a new set of authors and a complementary conference as well. This iteration starts with two discussions concerning the “fit” of technology and its “creators.” Reverend Jason Wells explains how the evolution of disciplines marks hackers as the new breed of gifted people needed by the Church. Dr. John Hunt explores the symbiotic nature of computing, our world and our faith. Then, two additional articles explore human nature and the cultural impact. Becky Bertram reflects on the time and place for recognition and incentives, and Jon Walz talks about the new dynamics of relationships with Web 2.0 technologies. The last article recognizes a special event that took place this year: The Dynamic Link 2009 conference. This meeting brought together students from Calvin’s Computer Science Department and working professionals, who are professed Christians, to explore the challenges of integrating faith into our craft. This one-day engagement that hosted close to 60 participants was actually four months in the making and was made possible by funds from the Calvin College Lilly Vocation Project, which also provided the seed money for this journal. If after reading it you would like to be part of the next Dynamic Link conference, please let us know by contacting [email protected]. Finally, some of the authors have provided personal contact information. We encourage you to contact them with your feedback and share your thoughts about our craft and our faith.