Mobile Ministry Magazine

Upgrades and Palms for Pastors
Palms for Pastors,www.palmsforpastors.com , announces upgrades for three of its applications for registered users. Hospital Calls and Rest Home Visits now support name lookup from the Palm Addressbook, which will save you time and effort in entering visitation records. Hospital Calls, Rest Home Visits, and Funeral Service Planner now support text export from your Palm to your desktop computer so that you can easily copy and paste records into word processing documents and spreadsheets.

Visit the Palms for Pastors website for purchasing and downloading information.
- sent via Treo

From PocketPC Thoughts:

Laridian has released two new books for Daily Reader. The first is One Year Book of Hymns - "365 classic hymn texts, along with stories of how they came to be written." The second is One Year Walk with God - "Daily readings designed to move you further along the path toward a renewed mind and transformed life.

Click here and here to visit the Laridian website and download these new books for the new year.

Additional note: PocketPC Thoughts has a deal going with Laridian; you have to visit this posting to get that info though.

A recent article at MobileRead asked the question of whether epaper could be the next big thing for mobile computers. Now, as bible readers and lovers of 120dpi fonts, Christians are a good resource to ask this question.

Would an increase in resolution (dots per inch) and effectiveness of handwriting recognition improve the ability of mobile devices to be suitable alternatives to paper as described in the Mobile Read article?

Reported by CNN:
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Even the faithful miss church occasionally, but these days they do not have to miss the sermon -- they can download it to their play lists. Cyber sermons are catching on with a religious audience who are on the run, torn between worship and work. Evangelical Christian and software designer Craig Patchett, from San Diego, California, started "Godcasting" for digital disciples about a year ago when he set up The GodCast Network (TGN)."There's a call out there to spread that information -- podcasting is one of the easiest ways to do it," he told CNN.

Click here to read more.

Now the question of the hour: MMM will be looking into doing PodCasts; would you be interested in downloading them, and what would you like to hear in an MMM podcast?

I was in email-communicae with Kevin Agot last night and while the conversation was not even centered around devotionals at MMM, he and I both stated that it would be a worthwhile addition to MMM's offerings. As something not so technical, and much more food to the soul, devotionals have the ability to give us insight into those little things that we don't always pick up. And so it was the devotional/pastor's message that Kevin sent me that basically tweaked me and gadgets a bit more than normal.

I don't want to say much more, but I will say that MMM now has a devotional section. This section will not see the same amount of updating that the front page recieves, but there will be some good meat there for sure. Be sure to check in on it from time to time, as there will also be a posting on the front page whenever there is a new devotional to read and ponder on.

Kevin, thanks. I appreciated all of your words last night. I hope you all appreciate what he has put together for his ministry, and shared with MMM.

Click here to enter the devotionals section, or click on the menu at right to go to it as well.

This is the first article as a contributing writer to MMM. I hope that this proves to be beneficial to someone out there and that the information that I am able to pass along is able to make a difference in the communication of users of this blog and magazine.

Starting with some background, my name is Jay Noggle. I am a video producer in a small town on the Oregon Coast. I have been a Christian for over twenty years. While
I don't claim to have any sort of corner on the answers to the questions of life, the more I experience the day to day of life, the more I know that God is faithful and I am not. The other thing is this; life is a journey and not a weekend getaway to a tropical resort! This said, one of the most impactful aspects of life for anyone is communication with other human beings.

Communication today, as you all well know, is a completely different issue than when I was a kid growing up in the early 70's. I remember getting an occasional letter in the mail or a long distance phone call. There were two issues then that are not a factor today; time delay and money.

Today, communications are relatively cheap and they are instantaneous. This completely changes the scope of communication; or long distance communication anyway!
So, what does all this have to do with you and I?

It is simple in a sense! We do not know each other, but because of this tool called the Internet and more specifically MMM we have the opportunity to communicate and share our experiences. This in my opinion, is a piece of what God's economy is all about.

It is in this, we are able to make a difference in the life of another human being.
God uses us to communicate who he is. We now have virtually nothing stopping us from this communication whether we speak directly, email, blog, IM, create music or video or whatever!

If you are a creative individual, it is an exciting time to be alive! I say this because our access to today's technology affords us two ideal functions. The first is the ability to pick our medium of choice to create our message. The second is, using the Internet, we have access to the world to share that message.
My intent is to share with you, the ways I have found that make this possible with the wireless web specifically!

God Bless, Jay Noggle

Now that the holidays are over, I thought that I would share with many of you something that I wrote right before the "give to me what I want day" came. I hope that its a source of blessing, as well as introspection for you.

One of the hallmarks of the holiday season is the idea that this is the best time to give to those who are not as well off or who have had some type of hardship this time of year. Well, I want to let you know, that this is something that you (the technologically enabled reader) should be doing more of with all of the devices and software that we no longer use, but may be of use to someone else.

For example, one thing many times read on PDA forums is the high turnover of some users to a new device when it is released. Instead of holding onto the older devices (I do understand the idea of a backup device but more than two devices is quite a bit stretching it), train someone else to use that older device and help close that digital gap.

And in the same way, instead of purchasing a new device or accessory for yourself this year, you can invest in the development of someone else's quest of self-improvement with mobile technology. You might have a family member that just purchased a Palm TX at your recommendation, but they want to do more. So give them a memory card and show them how their TX can also be a music player. In this you are being an enabler, as well as a teacher. "Each one teach one" is a motto that I used to hear as a peer mentor; and in technology that statement can apply even more.

Finally, a way to give back, and not just in this season but all year around, is to volunteer at a local teen/senior center and help out as an IT person. Not only will you be improving your skill-set, but you will be also sharing your wealth of knowledge with people who may not know that technology has even advanced as far as Smartphones and PDAs.

So this season, take some time out from being a gadget addict, and take some time to share the fruits of your knowledge. It makes for a rewarding holiday for one and all.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Originally posted at BargainPDA

Merry Christmas
Just a note to say merry Christmas from the team at MMM. Now all yall0get from in front of the computer and back with your family ;-)
- sent via Treo

In another posting at Palm Addict, this one written by Jennifer Chappell sees the review of the eReader ebook, A Treasury of Christmas Miracles: True Stories of God's Presence Today:

A wonderful book for the holidays: a collection of true stories about ordinary people whose lives are touched in the most extraordinary ways... A Treasury of Christmas Miracles: True Stories of God's Presence Today.

A chance encounter that changes everything... help that appears from nowhere... kindness when we least expect it -- we've all experienced miracles in our lives. Especially during the Christmas season, when we all search for truth and joy, events happen that we can't explain, perhaps allowing us to see the hand of God working in the world.

Now inspirational author Karen Kingsbury has collected more than a dozen real-life stories about people whose lives were changed by something mysterious and undeniably wonderful during this special time of the year. Among them are:

That Silent Night...
When his airplane looks certain to crash, a young man believes he'll never spend Christmas with his new bride... until a voice comes over the plane's radio.
A Helping Hand...
At a highway truck stop, a mother and two children in desperate trouble ask God for a sign that He still cares.
Christmas Angels...
When a tiny boy gets lost in the frigid Oregon winter, two unusual strangers may be his only chance.
Heavenly Hindrances...
In Beatrice, Nebraska, the pastor, the organist, and the entire choir of the West Side Baptist Church are inexplicably prevented from getting to church one December night. Now find out why...

In each of these moving stories, Karen Kingsbury brings us undeniable proof of God's presence in our lives. And with an uplifting voice, she gives us a joyous reminder about the true meaning of Christmas: The greatest miracle of all is opening up our hearts to love.
ereader

This sounds like a wonderful ebook to read during the holidays! Christmas is all about miracles; the most important one being God's miraculous love for us that is so infinite that He sent His Son to be our Savior! And of course Christ's birth from the Virgin Mary!

A Treasury of Christmas Miracles is available now at eReader's ebook store.

From Palm Addict:
This week OliveTree released "Ilumina Mobile software" for Palm OS and Pocket PC! The software contains :

- NLTse, NIV and KJV Bibles
- Life Application Notes and Two Commentaries, Cross references, Dictionary
- Photos, Maps, Timelines
- Animations and Video Tours using a TCPMP player plugin
- Exciting NEW BibleReader Features!

I dont know about you all, but this seems like a really great way to combine multiple types of media with PDAs. I will be downloading this soon enough (got an upgrade I am performing now) and then will get back to you. But don't wait for MMM's opinion, check out Ilumina Bible Software by Olive Tree for yourself and let us know how it is.

The other day, while presiding over our youth meeting, I whipped out my Palm Tungsten T5. We were practicing a musical skit, so I cued up the song on my T5.

One of my teens looked at quizzically and asked, "Hey, it that an iPod?

This underscores a serious and snowballing issue in our inner cities. As we learn how to funnel technological resources as a viable means of sharing the Word, we may also be creating (or at the very least increasing) gaps in accessability.

Take a situation in a nameless school in the midwest. At one school, situated in the inner city, a teen from that school that attends our group said it would be foolish to bring an mp3 player to school; even more foolish to leave it hanging around. You wouldn't own it too long.

Compare this to a school close by, but in the "burbs". When I talked to teen from that school, who just got a new iPod, about keeping it safe, she laughed. "No one would steal it. Everyone has one. Some people have two."

Believe it or not, many families in our United States that lack some...well, you know... "amenities" that some of us consider crucial to life. The internet is not as common as we may think, and when it is available, dial-up is the norm. How do we expect these kids (and their parents) to understand how Bible+ has revolutionized my life? How do I meet them on their terms, and not force them to be served on mine?

As ambassadors of technology, we may have to be just that: ambassadors of technology. We need to teach people, even those who may not have the means, to take note of the shifting sands. To be more stereotypical, while "Shaniqua" may be able to create a Podcast and apply to Moody online by her 14th birthday, "Bob" may be languishing on the other side of town, at a school that has no money for the latest desktops, and whose parents consider keeping the lights on a wee bit more important than knowing the specs on the latest PDA.

It doesn't stop at ministry-related issues. How about life skills? Are we helping prepare people for a world where jobs are applied for online? Where e-commerce and Paypal are considered normal? Where banking can be done remotely (mine is 600 miles away)?

I can renew my registration and get a replacement license online. A lot of utility companies actually charge customers for opting for paper bills. Uncle Sam gets your tax returns quicker if you e-file and do a direct deposit. The list goes on and on...

So, back in the present, I face a simple dilemma. I can get all huffy, wondering how anybody could confuse my beautiful T5 with another gadget. Had he not seen me read biblical verses from it? Had he not seen me share pictures, write plays and such? How in the heck could anyone think it was an iPod?

Or, I could take the time to show him, and all my young people, how I used it to try to be a better minister. I could show them how my T5 helped me propagate His message. I could use it as an example of how God could be glorified, even when on the
move. And how Gow would always move, regardless of how much or how little we do.

The ministry might be mobile, and ever changing; yet, His faithfulness is the same forever.

This article was submitted by Tre/Stryker. If you have an article or idea for an article that you want to contribute, shoot us an email and we will post it (pending review of course)

Saw this post at Palm Addict a few minutes ago:
USA Today has a nice article about Americans being dependent on high tech gadgets:
There is more interest in these products," said Stephen Baker, an analyst of the high-tech market. "Pricing is more reasonable. They're getting smaller, more mobile."
Click here to read the USA Today news article.

Now, while my ladi will be the first to tell you that it MIGHT be hard for me to go without a computer; the fact of the matter is that for many, life is becoming like that. Unfortunately, the bad side of that dependence is lessened interaction with others or a missing foundation towards the essentials. While I too love tech, heck I even like that many devices are converging making personal technology more personal; I do realize that too much dependence is not a good thing.

On the positive side of things, acceptance also means opportunity for ministry. So people wanna move from paper to LCD, then let's take ministry there. But not to be like the world, to be different. Giving the tools necessary to show Christ on this electronic ground, while not losing the foundations in paper-based technology that makes the interactivity of computers appealing.

I think there is room for both paper and computers in the right applications, but if we miss the boat and leave paper completly behind, we also leave a 2000+ year old part of the human experience.

From BargainPDA:
Check out these special Christmas offers on best-selling Bibles:
GMPSoft Christmas Offers
PDA Bible With You reader included in each product.

I was reading at the website Autoblog a few minutes ago and one of the articles pointed to another website who reported that Audi sent an email to owners letting them know that some problems weren't problems, but features. While the article made a great point about sometimes designing something innovative as a good thing only when it is easily learned. And in a moment of reading that, I wondered how often we walk into a setting where we assume that someone knows that something is doable because they use a particular tool. I say this in reference to the Bible and maybe no knowing passages, but also in technology and not knowing abilities.

I can remember when people first saw me with my old Palm Zire71 PDA. It had a great hidden camera feature, but to those that knew nothing about hidden cameras, cameras in PDAs, or even PDAs, they thought that it was broken but that the "break" was some new fangled feature. After explaining it to them, they realized the value of the hidden camera and some even looked to purchase that model. But the point is clear, we might have a new way of looking at the world thru the lens of Scripture with our technology, but it means nothing if we cannot speak simply.

In terms of that website, I continued reading the rest of the items on the front page and a reoccuring theme was apparent, if something doesnt work as advertised or is easy to grasp quickly, why would someone engage it. With many people, the stress of a problem means they need a solution quick. And if the technology fails, or the index fails to reference something very needed, then the value is lost.

So as you take this holiday to show some new gadgets and even some old ones, remmber to share a bit of understanding. You will turn the light on without even realizing it.

Just wanting to make a long overdue mention of a website that I have been able to visit recently and has some very good and poinent net-ministryi-driven content. The website is called Strategic Digital Outreach and run by Frank Johnson.

Besides addressing the digital side of ministry in the blog, Strategic Digital Outreach also offers consulting services and they also seem to have a crew of really good website designers over there who are not only good with design, but also account for accessiblity with internet resources.

I really like these folks and their mission. Make a a note to get over to their site and say hello, and know that the digital ground is being very much tilled.

Don't Forget Him
I rerceived an email today making a note not to forget Christ as being the reason that we do anything in our lives. I have made it quite clear to myself and in many posts here that it is the purpose of MMM to equip Christians with the tech tools that will make it easier to share the Gospel, but I will also do a better job of stating that Christ is the reason why MMM exists, and what we hope is that not only by reflection of technology, but by our use of technology, that we are able to share with you who do not know, the knowledge and love of our Lord whom we celebrate this holiday season.

So no, don't think that we are going to start pushing Christ on you in every article, like I said before, that is not the point of MMM. It is our point to show Him to you as our relationship with Him relates to ouor use and teaching of technology related items. We don't need this stuff to have Christ, but we will use this stuff to preach Christ to the ends of the earth.
--- written on a Treo

Thee Mobile Accessory
Probably more than anything that I have used with my PDA, the most important items have been the biblical resources that I have ammassed on my PDAs. For me, it all started when I realized that a Bible could fit on a Palm IIIxe. From there, I upgraded to a model that could hold a memory card so that I would be able to carry more bibles and resources.

It was around that time that I came across BDicty by Beiks Software. BDicty is a dictionary reader and it was with that program that I was able to get a dictionary, thesarus, and a full Strong's concordance. Over the years they have also released Vines, Thompsons, and KJV dictionary and other resouorces that have made my PDA an indespensible tool for bible study, or even just listening to sermons in passing.

A recent book that I ordered though haas made me realize that there might be one more resource that would be great to have on my PDA. The book is Moody's Bible Manners and Customs. And while there may be PDA versions of manners and customs out there, the level of pictures and information that are in my print version make me quite jealous that I don't have it in my PDA. If there are any of you that have the one of these with full color maps and pictures and it is set up in a really neat way, please add a comment on this message so that we all can gather one more mobile accessory that would make a PDA a good reference too, and occasional study budddy when disecting the Word.
--- written on a Treo

Bonsai from Kevin
There's a great application that I use to write my personal lessons I'm
preparing or lessons that I'm recording from the pulpit. It is one of the best outliner programs available particularly for messages, but, it can be used for a variety of uses as well. It's a great, sophisticated outliner with an intuitive interface. It also boasts full desktop-Palm synchronization that is seamless and easy to implement. You can check out Natara's Bonsai here.
--- written on a Treo

Contiuning the series about Paul and if he had a blog, I want to take a look at an important question that would bother any mobile missionary; what device should be carried?

In Paul's time it was simple, carry some ink in a goatskin sack (or something sturdier) and then use the natural environment for paper and pe. In more evolved areas, Paul would have had his choice of the kinds of paper, and maybe even some messengers (if funds were good in tentmaking) in getting the Word out before he would arrive. Simple times and simple tools.

If he had a blog, we would find a situation similar to that of PalmSolo's where there are many devices that do the same thing. Forgetting for a minute all of the wireless PDA options, there are also different levels of connectivity with laptops. This isnt as bad as PalmSolo's dilema, but one to look at.

So what would Paul use to write and update churches besides pen and paper. In my bias, I would probably think that he would use a Treo 650 with keyboard or an HTC Universal. The goal for him would be needing something that would be connected everywhere, and at the same time portable enough not to be broken when getting stoned.

But now even thinking of that last part, if he were to get stoned in places, or even jailed, Paul would need a means of hiding the device, or at least storing a backup somewhere so that his extended warranty would replace the broken/stolen/shipwrecked/confiscated mobile device.

But even past having that happen, any of those models would offer the connectivity options, plus the ability to shoot a message to Timothy or Annais about issues quickly. Making speaking in other tougues a bit less technical with the use of BableFish Mobile; yet at the same time he would be of another tougue with his technical knowledge and spiritual acuteness.

Previous Paul Entries:
Part 4
Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

From Kevin Agot via Palm Addict:

Earthcomber can be used to find churches or places to frequent after church or to meet at a restaurant for a counseling appointment.

The review is here:

Be sure to also visit Kevin's Splash Page for this and other articles.
--- written on a Treo
--- edited on my work computer ;)

From BargainPDA:
GMPSoft has announced the release of the Life Application Bible Notes for Palm and for Pocket PC - part of today's #1 selling study Bible, the Life Application Study Bible.

The Life Application Bible Notes are used in combination with PDA Bible With You for any Bible translation and provide valuable insight to the Bible. Features include instant access from the Bible, one-tap view of cross-references to other Bible verses in the notes.

God urges us to apply his Word (Isaiah 42:23; 1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:4), but too often we stop at accumulating Bible knowledge. This is why the Life Application Study Bible was developed - to show how to put into practice what we have learned.

Click here to download the Life Application Bible as well as other GMPSoft titles.

Ok, now that Issue 3 is out, and (most) of the domain issues are settled; I would like to know from you in what ways can MMM be of better service? But not just on the web; the next step for MMM is to take things on the road and do workshops and user group meetings where one can learn how best to use mobile technology right where they are. It has always been my heart that MMM would grow past the magazine and go to the ends of the earth, and now it is time for some input from you (our dedicated readers and visitors) as to how we can do this.

So, place your suggestions in the comments area; looking for a lotta good ideas from you :)

Here is some software for you if you are out on the mission field and find that you might have to play the role of doctor as well. Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 28th ed. is basically one of the best mediacal dictionaries out there (and I am not a doctor and I know that so you know it has a good name for itself). Its availiable for purchse from Skyscape via this link.

In an email that I received today, the person mentioned that they were looking for information on the new Treo 700 (which runs Windows Mobile) that is coming on in the US on the Verizon Wireless network in January. While, normally, I would have said that we do not have much info, care of our friends at Treonauts, there is some introductory information from their hands-on playing/using of the Treo 700w. Stay tuned to both MMM and Treonauts as news of this landmark model from Palm starts hitting the streets in louder fashion.

one of these day's I will learn how that trackback feature works so that MMM can be seen on more of these pages where we are referencing the news from other websites

Hey all;
I have to apologize for something. I made a mistake in Issue 3 for the attribution of the article "Are PDAs for the Middle Class?" In Issue 3 I have htat attributed to Peter Agot, the correct person for that article is KEVIN Agot. The correction has been made and now appears in Issue 3.

Kevin, thanks for alerting me on that. Apologies. Now you can download Issue 3 and show it off :)

Kevin also runs the website Splash Page! by Kevin, so check that site out if you liked that piece on PDAs for the middle class.

This is an excellent article at Think Christian and links to other relevant discussions that the mobile and connected chruch needs to address quickly. Read this snippet and then the full article here.

Christianity and evangelism is all about relationships and effective communication. While tech gurus discuss Web 2.0’s potential for relevant advertising and revolutionary marketing possibilities, there’s an opportunity here for Christians to talk about something much more important: how Web 2.0 can be used to relate to real, live human beings.

Sent in by LJ

care of MobileRead:
This Plug and Play USB device has a retracting USB plug and includes all sixty-six books of the King James Bible in text format. Powerful search tools make it easy to quickly find any topic of interest. Features a highly detailed leather cover with gold lettering and a sturdy key ring. The ultra-compact size makes it easy to study the good book anywhere you go. Compatible with Windows based PCs only - not compatible with Mac or Windows 98. English text only.

Read more and purchase from here for $30.

While not a story of teh religious nature, it is one to take notice of as taking advantage of the technology of today can only better equip the generations of tomorrow in handling their world. Here is a snippet of that I am talking about.

Banfield's [Oklahoma, USA] district is quickly breaking stereotypes about rural schools and limited access to technology. Dubbed "Oklahoma's most progressive dependent school," Stidham aims to "provide a progressive learning environment that challenges and encourages students to recognize and maximize their unique learning potential in the 21st century," Banfield said.

Click here to read the complete article.

MMM is proud to announce that Issue 3: Catoring to Pastors and Missionary Roles is now available for free download on the right side menu. In this issue there are articles by Pat Horne, Peter Agot, as well as some new members to the MMM family. So please take a look, and give your comments to this issue.

This issue was created as an Acrobat 6 PDF. This allowed for some tagging elements that will help with accessiblty and flowing for converting into other document formats. If the staffing comes availiable, we will make this a subsite so that HTML readers can read it. If you are interested in that area, please send us an email, and we can get you on the team and webbing.

If you are interested in writing for MMM, send us an email with the subject that you would be interested in reading about or writing about. Happy reading to all.

This is an excellent posting at Think Christian about the Christian infulence in role playing video games. Now folks, if people can take Christ to the worlds of video games, best believe that we can get this Gospel ANYWHERE.

Here is a snippet of the article:
I’m intrigued. This might seem like a trivial topic at first glance, but consider the enormous number of people from all over the world playing online games today—that’s one gigantic potential mission field. While trying to overtly convert other players during the game isn’t in very good form (and will probably get you kicked out of the game), I like these guilds’ vision of friendly, identifiably Christian teams that let their actions and attitude speak for them.

Click here to the rest of this article.
Thanks to LJ for the info.

In some respects, this is a new welcome to MMM. I would like to say to all who have visited before, welcome back and I hope that ya stay even longer. And if you never visited before, well, let me extend my hand and your eyes and welcome you to Mobile Ministry Magazine.

Mobile Ministry Magazine (MMM as we call it around these parts) is both a website and magazine designed around the ideal that in order for Christians to take up the goal of taking the Gospel to the nations, they must be equipped with the hardware, software, and skills-set that would enable this. MMM therefore seeks to be a resource for hardware knowledge (mostly towards mobile phones, PDAs, smartphones, and laptops); software knowledge (music, bible software, money management, etc.); and skills-set (speaking with a PDA, teaching others how to use computer technology, etc.). The hope is that this enablement will give Christians around the world a responisble view of technology. And also a fueled one - a view that motivates them to spread the Gospel, defend the Gospel, and most of all learn from the Gospel; all by mobile technology.

So grab a chair, take a read of Issues 1 and 2 and let us bless you with something different, something mobile, something Jesus would do ;)

MMM has been blessed of late lately with new writers coming on board and a move to a new host. And so I want to announce Palm Focus as a new ministry partner. As I am really having a tough go of things right now, I dont really have the words to express the on-timeness of Lance and Palm Focus. Look forward to more things from up both in the future, as well as some shared content between the sites.

There is also a Ministry Forum at Palm Focus that is really geared towards helping you get started and maintaing a network of PDAs and mobile devices. Check it out and fellowship with us.

New writers coming soon. If you are interested, check this posting and let MMM know.

Apologies for all of the downtime and lack of updates. I have been battling server issues as well as personal ones and so my time is stretched. I do hope to be back on a normal posting schedule soon, as some things behind the scenes are going on. But until then, please keep myself and MMM in your prayers. It is much appreciated.

I would like to formally welcome Rodney Solomon to the team at MMM. This is the first of what I hope would be many articles of insight towards getting established in technology.

It becomes apparent with all of this technology that the human race has at its fingertips, there are many that still have a problem utilizing their computers to do everyday tasks. As a part of this race of sapiens, I feel like I take advantage of “simple” assignments and have not truly appreciated my upbringing in the Digital Age. In fact, it is known that some of the elders in the church are computer illiterate, let alone know how to get “DVD-thingy” to play a movie. “What’s scene selection?” At any rate, I was moved to write about this topic because some years ago, I was actually faced with the challenge of teaching the functionalities of a computer to a community leader, who just happened to be 50+. You say, “Wait a minute, I’m 50+ and I bet I can run circles around you in any technical application or product on the market.” My response is this: you probably can, however this isn’t about those who are, but those who aren’t. Apollos may have not been Peter and Paul, but that didn’t stop him from preaching the gospel. So, let’s take up our mice and spread the (Microsoft) Word.

SO, MY PASTOR SAYS, “WHERE’S THE POINTER THINGY?”

Imagine, if you will, you’re having a chat with your pastor after service, thanking them for that edifying, convicting sermon, and you’re presented with the question of how to type up notes on the road when the Spirit speaks to them in regards to a specific topic. Now, you’re thinking like me that either you’re crazy and they meant some higher form of technology or they are just utterly clueless to the workings of a notebook. But this is your pastor, your spiritual leader, your shepherd. Surely, they know how to use a notebook? The conversation continues and you find out that they do not. This is a sticky situation: teaching the use of a notebook to your earthly counselor. Say the wrong thing and you could find yourself excommunicated from the congregation at Mount Zion Baptist. Never fear; the techie is here. Just calmly extend an offer to meet and formally introduce the foreign (at least to them, it is) material. I am currently using a Toshiba Tecra with Intel Centrino (M), running 1.6 GHz of processor speed, 512 MB of memory, and about 40 GB of hard drive space. Now, one must be aware that this person is completely new to the laptop, therefore, start with the basics.

For the sake of boring the know-it-alls, I’ll skip the preliminaries. However, it is critical that they know how to turn the notebook on [slight giggle]. See that squarish box in the middle of the screen? Yes sir that is the directional pad for the mouse. So, let’s place our finger in the middle of that box. Oh, wow! The pointer moved! (We’ll not mention the blue button in the center of the keyboard. That’s a little advanced) Next, take the pointer and move it over the “start” button in the left-hand corner of the screen. Once hovering over the button, tap the left pad* button to “click” on it. Let them know that this pad button will be used often. With the start menu opened, tell them to slide the pointer to the word “program” and to “left click” on it. This opens up the portal to exploration. Lo and behold, tens of program applications to utilize.

In closing, it is most important that one exercises the use of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) when dealing with those ignorant of electronics. These verses read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Make emphasis on the words “love”, “patience”, and “gentleness”. After the twentieth time your pastor says “Where’s the Start Menu”? (a small moment of reflection, please) you are definitely going to need some patience and gentleness. Encourage them to not get frustrated when they click the wrong button or, God forbid, accidentally erase the entire project that you and them have been working on for the past thirty minutes. Now, lastly, the Bible says that “[Christ] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”. If you know you do not have the gift of being able to teach, don’t even try. Call James – your brother with the computer – and let him assist your pastor. You’ll be smarter to do so, trust me.

Posted this at Everything Treo, but thought that it would be great here as well:

Honestly speaking, I am still getting to know my Treo and all that it does. I am always impressed at the ability to use the Treo and stay off my laptop unless I am doing website development, playing a game, or downloading email. Its really let me be more mobile and less computer guy

So you can imagine how I felt when I was at a Treo User's group meeting last night (found out at the last minute nonetheless) and was beamed Directory Assistant. I absoutely love this program, and have to find the developer's website to give him a blessing via PayPal. Its really a great program and just makes not having to call 411 again quite fun.

The only thing missing from Directory Assistant is the integration into Keysuite and Facer. I'd love it to be able to be searched from the today page in Facer. That would be great for the quick lookups. But the integration with KeySuite would be icing on the cake as I can (finally) get directions to people's places and have a reason to keep updated addresses.

So yea, to me, this is my most valuable app. So much so I dont have a download link for those of you who dont have it. I'll get one soon. But until then, if you get this program, just revel in how much info really is out there. It might scare ya some, but its also kinda kool.

Download Directory Assistant here; its a free program.

Upon my normal daily running thru many of the PDA forums, a good deal of them deal with the use and abilties of the Palm Treo series of wireless devices. Palm Treos are basically phones and PDAs grafted into one device. And while many people have no problem using one of these, as it solves a good deal of problems. There are many who are given Treos/Blackberries and other devices that need to get with other people so that they can get a better understanding of their device (and maybe a chance for some social networking).

So last night at an impromptu (for me as I only found out about it yesterday afternoon) Treo users meeting, I was greeted with something in my Palm usage that has come up a good deal recently, and even brought me back to my roots as a PDA user. The something was the idea of true mobility being the ideal of being able to control my environment with the device that I have and not the device controling how I am living in the environment. And though I have to admit that I have some ways to get to that point again, after years of trying a ton of software, not all which was productive; I do know that for a minister to be effective best with any technology, it has to meet a need as well as be a solution to their environment.

I'll expand on this one in future postings; but its safe to say that I have a better perspective of using my Treo in the settings that I have applied it for.