How Successful Can Pointing to Mobile Tech Be
I started this on 8/1/06 but wanted to sit on it and revisit it so some of the initial content is dated, but it comes back together at the end - ARJW
While I am here, I thought it good to leave some thoughts about how well/bad using mobile technology as a veichle for the Gospel/community empowerment can be.
Some articles of reference before I chat:
- Microsoft demos phone-based PC for developing world (via Pikesoft - some strong language quoted)
- One Something Per Child (via Mike Rowe's This is Mobility - some strong language)
- MMS for the Technocally Challenged (via MobHappy)
In some respects, I tend to agree with the above articles when they talk about there not being a compelling reason for users to adpot mobile technology. It's new. It's fairly untested. And until a big push happens in major markets (not speaking of domestic markets, but a world changing push such as what the iPod has done) across cultural lines, mobile technology will have a heck of a hurdle. That's ok though. There should be some obstacles, it makes the walk a bit more fun.
But when it comes to the church Body, I think that some of those conversations are moot. The idea of using mobile technology within the Body to teach, empower, and equip should not come at the cost of having a carrier, using an open operating system versus a closed one, or even physical or mental disabilities. The challenge in the Body is placing the technology where it can be of best support to the already successful portions of the Body, and even more looking at where mobile tech can support those things are not so successful. While in some respects that would mean retraining people on what to do after you have evangelized and discipled a group (for example, set up a Yahoo Group and use the occasional distance as a means to teach others how to teach); mobile technology does re-emphasize the need to no longer let the four walls of a building (or a cultural setting) determine how effective Christ can/will be if given room to move.
Does it mean that everything will work? Nope. I think that Microsoft will have some success with their phone as a main computer program (hey, Palm has done it to me somewhat successfully). But both non-technical and technical people have to come together and work the ground together. Each part of the Body is built to pull up the other and while mobile tech is really a small part of the bigger picture, it is a part that will for many places be the window by which they will reach out and touch Jesus.
And now the new content
Carrying this idea a bit further. I don't see mobile devices as adjuncts to our lifestyles. Yes, they are luxuries and should be looked at as such. But to have the vision that mobile technology can be used as a tool within ministry does take the idea that computing is less about making adjustments to the technology, but making adjustments to a larger environment of people that you are now able to share community with because of the given technology.
A article that I recently looked at touched on the subject of ubiquitous computing. Basically, computing is something that is integrated into our lives and environment and is not some seperate thing that is used as we draw it in. If computing is evolving to be like this, doesn't it make sense that it should be used within the Body as a veichle to share the Gospel (the Word and the acts that result from hearing the Word). If in a country, the primary means of communication happens via mobile phones, text messaging and mobile web services, why then should a ministry be based to those people amongst other types of technology that they no longer, or never have used.
No, I am not saying that we throw away the old stuff, but that we seek to be relevant to every culture that we engage. Sometimes that is with a smartphone and digital bibles. Other times that is with a pen and journal pad. There is no reason though why the smartphone and digital bible would not be as successful as the pen and journal if the same Spirit is working within us right. And if that is the case, shouldn't mobile ministry then be successful?
While I am here, I thought it good to leave some thoughts about how well/bad using mobile technology as a veichle for the Gospel/community empowerment can be.
Some articles of reference before I chat:
- Microsoft demos phone-based PC for developing world (via Pikesoft - some strong language quoted)
- One Something Per Child (via Mike Rowe's This is Mobility - some strong language)
- MMS for the Technocally Challenged (via MobHappy)
In some respects, I tend to agree with the above articles when they talk about there not being a compelling reason for users to adpot mobile technology. It's new. It's fairly untested. And until a big push happens in major markets (not speaking of domestic markets, but a world changing push such as what the iPod has done) across cultural lines, mobile technology will have a heck of a hurdle. That's ok though. There should be some obstacles, it makes the walk a bit more fun.
But when it comes to the church Body, I think that some of those conversations are moot. The idea of using mobile technology within the Body to teach, empower, and equip should not come at the cost of having a carrier, using an open operating system versus a closed one, or even physical or mental disabilities. The challenge in the Body is placing the technology where it can be of best support to the already successful portions of the Body, and even more looking at where mobile tech can support those things are not so successful. While in some respects that would mean retraining people on what to do after you have evangelized and discipled a group (for example, set up a Yahoo Group and use the occasional distance as a means to teach others how to teach); mobile technology does re-emphasize the need to no longer let the four walls of a building (or a cultural setting) determine how effective Christ can/will be if given room to move.
Does it mean that everything will work? Nope. I think that Microsoft will have some success with their phone as a main computer program (hey, Palm has done it to me somewhat successfully). But both non-technical and technical people have to come together and work the ground together. Each part of the Body is built to pull up the other and while mobile tech is really a small part of the bigger picture, it is a part that will for many places be the window by which they will reach out and touch Jesus.
And now the new content
Carrying this idea a bit further. I don't see mobile devices as adjuncts to our lifestyles. Yes, they are luxuries and should be looked at as such. But to have the vision that mobile technology can be used as a tool within ministry does take the idea that computing is less about making adjustments to the technology, but making adjustments to a larger environment of people that you are now able to share community with because of the given technology.
A article that I recently looked at touched on the subject of ubiquitous computing. Basically, computing is something that is integrated into our lives and environment and is not some seperate thing that is used as we draw it in. If computing is evolving to be like this, doesn't it make sense that it should be used within the Body as a veichle to share the Gospel (the Word and the acts that result from hearing the Word). If in a country, the primary means of communication happens via mobile phones, text messaging and mobile web services, why then should a ministry be based to those people amongst other types of technology that they no longer, or never have used.
No, I am not saying that we throw away the old stuff, but that we seek to be relevant to every culture that we engage. Sometimes that is with a smartphone and digital bibles. Other times that is with a pen and journal pad. There is no reason though why the smartphone and digital bible would not be as successful as the pen and journal if the same Spirit is working within us right. And if that is the case, shouldn't mobile ministry then be successful?
posted by Antoine @ 8/05/2006 07:55:00 PM
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