John Dyer has long been a favorite to read and listen to in respect to faith and technology. He’s one of the few who seems to have as solid a handle on IT issues as he does Scripture. We’ve seen one aspect of his work as with the Bib.ly feature which turns Scripture references into a service-neutral, verse pop-up screen on this blog (this only works on the site, those viewing via mobile or RSS won’t see the effect).

John’s on the verge of publishing something new, and a good bit further reaching. His upcoming book, From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology seeks to catalyze what’s been heard/seen on his blog (Don’t Eat the Fruit) as well as when you get to chat with him in person or virtually. That is, there are both positive and negative implications to technology that influence and are influenced by our association with faith. His exploration of this topic is something I’m itching to be ready to read once it comes out (August). Here’s the text from the back cover:

Technology—from the first stone tool to the latest smartphone—has changed our daily routine, the way we communicate, and even how we encounter God. We often laud the benefits of technology (increased quality of life, faster ways to spread the gospel) or bemoan the detriments of technology (decreased attention spans, reduced interpersonal contact), but fail to properly address its transformative power. Where does technology fit into the larger Biblical story?

From the Garden to the City deconstructs the concept of technology and examines it through the lens of Scripture. Studying Bible passages and insights from the best thinkers on technology, theology, and culture, John Dyer shows how technology left unexamined can enslave us rather than honor God and fulfill his plan for us. With helpful observations and practical application, Dyer issues an urgent challenge to live faithfully in this technology-saturated world.

Before From the Garden to the City is released, there are a few things John is doing to keep the interest. One of them is that he’s got a survey-of-sorts on the book’s website where based on what services are used to promote his upcoming book, a specific chapter of the book would be unlocked for all to read freely. He’s using the social networking technologies as a viral-like means to promote the book, and the strength of networks and promotion will be what unlocks the book. Nifty.

To track the eventual book release, check out From the Garden to the City’s website. To check out some of the kinds of thinking that John has going into this book, I’d recommend following his blog Don’t Eat the Fruit – lots of nuggets just happen to fall off that tree.

And if you can’t wait until August, check out this listing of reads that John’s posted about. Time to knock off some items from my Amazon Wishlist 😉

Today I took the plunge and wrote my sermon on my iPad. It’s a “doable” experience, but not one I’d want to repeat over and over again just yet. Let me share my two biggest reasons why I don’t think it’s quite “there” yet.

• There aren’t any windows. I know, on the iPad that’s a feature rather than a bug – but the nice thing about windows is the ability to look at information, and enter in data in another window without have to completely switch screens (or do so seamlessly). Also, I keep IM open while I’m working and I miss seeing my IM client there while I’m typing away. Most of my problems will be handled in iOS 5 this fall, switching apps seamlessly will be a simple swipe-gesture, and the new alerts set-up for iOS 5 will solve my IM dilemma. Right now, however, working collaboratively between processes is rather disruptive.
• The writing apps aren’t quite up to snuff. I use Documents-to-Go as my word processor. It’s not awesome, but it does outlines, is synced to my Google Docs account (though it really should sync the doc automatically when it’s saved, rather than syncing only after the document is closed), and has a good set of features. It’s not as stunning to look at as Pages, but it actually has the features I need. The problem is, the keyboard support is pretty awful – the typical formatting shortcuts don’t work, and neither does the “save” command (which is needed, I lost whole paragraphs because the app didn’t suspend properly when I went to go search something in my Bible app). Also, would it kill Documents-to-Go to have a setting to enable typographic quotes? It just looks nicer. This writing experience needs to improve significantly before I move over to writing sermons on my iPad full-time.

So, that’s where I am. I could keep my MacBook shut down all week and just write on my iPad – but the disruptive way of collaboratively working between processes, coupled with weak apps for document generation, make it an undesirable option. I actually had considered using Google Docs directly on my iPad, but the desktop version is suddenly not working properly on my iPad anymore! I’ll keep looking for tools that make sermon-writing on my iPad a more enjoyable experience, and will revisit the process when iOS 5 comes out in the fall.

Previously posted at Painfully Hopeful.

One – and probably the most popular – method of utilizing mobile a a channel for ministry is that of the mobile app. I’m working on a future piece that talks some about the return on investment question in regards to mobile ministry. But until that posts, I’d like to point to an excellent perspective on mobile apps from the marketing side of the mobile conversation from the folks at MobiThinking. Here’s a snippet:

…“When I saw the mobile winners at Cannes Lions, I immediately tweeted how the majority of the advertising festivals tend to think of mobile marketing only in terms of iPhone apps,” comments Leo Xavier, CEO, Pontomobi, the Brazilian mobile agency that built the official Cannes Lions mobile apps. “Obviously, it is a disappointing to see that four Gold mobile winners are nothing but an iPhone app. I really like the Heineken Starplayer app, though, because it is based on the new concept of co-viewing. And, yes, the best option to deliver that experience is an app. The problem here is that it is only for iPhone.” (Apple devices were about 3.5 percent of handset sales in 2010, so focusing on iPhone-only will exclude the vast majority of the client’s customers)…

Read the rest of Why Ad Agencies Like Mobile Apps at MobiThinking.

We do have some understanding of what works for mobile apps, but not necessarily what always works with those apps when “ministry” is envoked as part of the platter. Effective mobile ministry apps are few and far in between – at least if we have some common measure for what makes an effective mobile ministry app. So that approach is quite important. Probably mores than the app itself.

And now for a question to consider, if you are thinking of a mobile application as the/one of the methods that you will use for mobile ministry, what aspects of investing in that approach are you most unprepared for?

A few weeks back, we saw a listing of Bibles for Kindle devices over at Biblical Studies and Technological Tools and we’ve since added these to our larger page of Bible Apps for Mobile/Web Devices.

In contrast to some of the other items listed on that page, the Bibles for Kindle devices usually have some cost attached to them. Please be wary of the costs and terms of use before downloading these to your mobile device. Note also, Kindle Bibles can only be used within the Kindle application – so if you move to a platform that doesn’t have the Kindle application available for it, you will need to purchase that Bible again through another service/store.

Though lists like the one we’ve collected are less helpful since some platforms have only the ability to download Bibles and Biblical applications from a single application store, this listing is maintained to give you – and those publishing these works – a clearer view of the amount of options that people have at their fingertips towards getting these materials on electronic devices.

If anyone has a listing of Bibles for Nook, Kobo, and other devices, do point that to us and we’ll just add those lists to this page as well.

Over at Mobile Advance a new interview series called 10 Questions has started. Here, Mobile Advance will be interviewing several people involved in and around mobile ministry activities.

The first of these interviews is with James Thomas of Global Recording Networks (GRN). Here’s a snippet of that interview:

2. How and why did you become involved with mobile ministry?

Global Recordings Network sees mobile devices as being an important distribution medium for their audio and video content. Mobile phones (cell phones) are prolific in the developing world. Phones with media player capability provide a personal means for unreached oral communicators to hear the story about Jesus in their heart language. It is for these reasons and the fact that I recently joined GRN coming from a mobile engineering background that I became involved with mobile ministry.

Read the rest of this interview at Mobile Advance.

This past Monday, I got a chance to present at the 7Ms meeting in VA Beach. Its always a pleasure to connect with and hear the stories of what is happening around the world from missionaries who are in and out of the states, and this meeting was no different – even with us having the space to present about MMM.

Of Missionaries on the Field

In the times I’ve attended 7Ms, there have been several stories by those who’ve been serving in places such as India, Libya, Egypt, Central America, Ecuador, and SE Asia. Suing this meeting, we got to hear about what has been happening in Thailand with those who speak (and are now learning to write) in the Diao language. Two videos were presented, the first showing the changes that have been happening as a result of missionaries giving Thai an ability to write and learn about the world in their own language. And the the second showing how it really has been more a matter of prayer than anything else that has been the best supporting and enabling action (not to say that people and finances aren’t needed, only that even with those, it was the increase in prayer that merited the most direct change).

OMF International was the organization that this presenter worked with. Though we are in knowledge of several groups working alongside them in that region and many others as the Gospel’s ability to not just save souls, but to improve the quality of life, for so many is being felt (and in some cases, encouraged on national levels).

Of the Presentation Itself

As usual, I present from a mobile phone where possible. And, to what has seemed like it’s been happening more often than not lately, there’s been some issue with that happening. So instead of the presentation getting the benefit of a few slides, I had to walk from memory and interaction.

A few of the points that we raised which might resonate with some:

– There are three reasons why we see mobile’s prominence in areas where missions activities happen: communication, safety, and opportunity. Any use of mobile, whether evangelism, health, learning, etc. has to become relevant to people personally on that wise. It is a very true statement that “technology is only relevant when it is personal.” On the mission field, this is increasingly the case.

– While there is a generation gap, and economic/affluence gap, when it comes to the types of devices and activities, base usage remains the same: high usage of text messaging, need for great battery life, and use of low-cost mobiles and pre-paid accounts.

– There are several examples of activities happening utilizing mobile in ministry, a few we highlighted on the deck include the mLearning Project, Door 43, and Kiosk Evangelism. There’s a need to catalog more stories though, and to do so while keeping the integrity of the mission and the safety of missionaries in mind.

That’s a good summary of things. You can see the presentation, and others, in our Issues and Presentations section of the site.

Always a pleasure to connect with 7Ms, and looking forward to giving them an update as to our doings in future meetings. To connect with 7Ms, you are probably best to either catch a member on Facebook or just show up on a Monday morning.

An area where I’ve been more lax than I should be has been in the area of securing my mobile device. Yes, I use the text-to-reset feature on my Symbian devices (built-in feature), but rarely do I do much of anything as a regular practice until me or someone near me has a major issue.

Thankfully, I’ve started to remedy that – beginning with some of the strategies talked about during the Risk Assessment session at ICCM. Here’s something else that made me think of my device on this angle and then take proactive security steps.

The SaferMobile Lockdown Guides for Mobile Devices is basically a collection of simple tips for how to secure your mobile device. The SaferMobile Wiki lists the guides available so far. Even if there’s not a guide for your specific device, your platform might be represented.

This is a service offered by the good folks over at MobileActive.org. If you’ve got any recommendations on how they can improve these guides, contact them.

A person recently asked me “how do I keep up with the latest technology and its pace of change?” The answer that I gave them was simple, “I don’t.” I have specific goals that I look towards in regards to how I use and understand technology, and do my best to not overwhelm myself with knowing or having the latest this or that. 

Now, that’s something that I’ve learned over time. And certainly, this is something that anyone who is involved within IT in ministry will run into. That’s while I like this recent article by Tre Lawrence at Church Mag. Here’s a snippet of the wisdom towards tech on a minimal budget:



…First, I try to satisfy the congregation’s love of media. Pictures, videos and music. I have albums worth of music on my Android EVO all the time, and a few more on Dropbox. With a good sound guy (and ours, Jay, is the best in the world), we could run service from my phone if needed. The Android OS “Share” functionality allows me to instantly upload videos to Youtube, and I have started using the cloud capabilities of Google+ to store Church pictures. I can get pictures on the Church’s Facebook page and further disseminate via Twitter. Even the two free navigation apps are useful, as anyone who has traveled half a dozen hours with a van full of spirited teenagers can tell you…



Read the rest at Church Mag.



Note that he’s not simply using products becasue of a minimal budget, there’s a strategy there that makes the best use of the time, resources, and people available. The products and behaviors mentioned in that article I would say are great to keep in mind, and even make sure that you are emphasizing if you are in the realm of being the IT-person of your ministry/organization.



An easy way to get started here is to simply make a spreadsheet of those devices you have, the abilities they have, and the abilities you need. This means more than mobile, social networks, email systems, etc. Look at it all in one place, and be honest with the needs of your department or organization. The next step would simply be setting a priority towards those organizational needs. After that, you can easily make the decision towards devices, services, support, and even upcoming strategeic engagements. The last step there is once you have your top items, get a plan to get them accomplished with what you have in your hands. Nice and simple.



I think the quote goes something like, “those who fail to plan are those who plan to fail.” Being efficient and effective is simply planning with what you have, and using it to God’s glory and to your best ability. This article proposes several products and wise behavior. What have you put forth in your ministry or organization?

Even with the amount of people and opportunities happening with mobile, there are still some who will hold out until they have to move that direction. In talking with a mentor in the past weeks, he asked a question that I think is also important to consider:

What are the top 3 reasons why your church is not ready to engage this technology?

These answers could be assumed on our part, but we’d like to hear from you. What are your fears, apprehensions, conflicts with mobile in any form?

After that, let’s later talk about addressing those.

Recently had a lunch with a few folks in Columbia, SC and the topic of the conversation turned to what I do. One of the descriptions given is that MMM asks the questions of how do we respond to life at the intersection of faith and mobile technology. For the first time that I can remember, I used the analogy of “different routes at that intersection.” And then went on to explain them.

There is this stoplight when our life/faith intersects with something that we are most passionate about. At that light, we make a decision.

• We take the road towards our faith/passion, and end up becoming overzealous towards that subject at the expense of growing in skills or application the technology.
• We take the road towards technology, becoming skilled and even efficient, but losing ourselves to it. In a sense, ascribing it to be a deity by which the rest of life will revolve.
• Or, we carve a new road. One where the prospects of our faith/passions follow the abilities of the technology to be a tool or enabler to ourselves and the lives of others. It’s not a straight path, and usually we are cutting a crooked road as we navigate the balance between the strong pulls of faith and technology.
• Bonus fourth realization: we choose that neither the paths we see or the one that we can create are good enough, so we turn around and go back to where we came from.

This was the analogy given towards that conversation. The response was in part, “I never thought of faith in that manner.” Then the conversation moved towards other topics of faith and life as we collectively realized that there is always some response – and in some manner, we are being called to be a witness to what we respond to (Acts 1:8).

I’d like to encourage you to think a bit about how faith and technology intersect, and how you are walking out or carving a path because of that intersection. Check your heart, are you getting what you truly desire (Psalm 37:4-5).