I was sitting with a young friend of mine and his frequent companion was the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP). It was a bit of an attention diversion in some respects, but given some of what I learned about him in that time, it proved to be one of the few pieces of technology that was able to hold his attention and have him cultivate some knowledge.

I one of the conversations with him, I asked if he was able to get online with the PSP. It had been years since even touching a GameBoy, let alone anything newer, and so I wasn’t sure of it’s abilities. After a small web search, I found that not only was there a browser for it, but also a bible application.

If you saw the tweet, you would have seen my small glee that there was a bible app for this gaming platform. However, my glee was quite short-lived. You see, as much as I know that this teen, and many others, would have no problem with a bible app on a PSP, I wondered about other types of engagements on these gaming devices, and if they could be done well.

Bible Navigator X is one gaming-based Bible app that I’ve seen in the flesh that convinces me that something solid could be done, and done well, for mobile devices. Definitely, there are licensing and UI challenges. You can’t just slap the Bible on something and expect people to change. There’s got to be something that drives them to a decision point. And so I wonder, have there ever been narrative explorations of the Bible and it’s topics on gaming devices that actually put the player into the story in some measure?

Or, what about add-ons to current games like the SIMS or Farmville which can take those constructs, and influence those worlds with Christ added into it? If you will, is it possible that we’ve missed the mobile ministry opportunity in these portable gaming devices because we’ve not been as willing to jump out of our narrative and revitalize the Scriptures? I look at that teen, and the challenges he will face. Right now, that PSP is sugar to help him get by, what if it could be the medicine or nutrients instead?