Mobile Ministry Magazine

Sounds simple enough right? There are aspects of what you do as either a minister or within a ministry that occasinally (or more often than that even) need to become mobile. Whether that is being able to access information from wherever you are, to being able to reach out and touch someone no matter where they are; there just might be a mobile component that you would like to jump into, or know more about.

At MMM, we'd like to help you understand what more you can do by opening the floor to questions about being mobile that you might have, and then address those in articles so that the entire MMM readership can receive from that. Either respond in a comment to this thread or by the contact form, and let's go about the business of helping you to realize the correct applications of mobility and mobile technology within in your sphere.

GMPSoft has some Easter deals on their on Bibles and Dictionaries for Windows Mobile and Palm OS PDAs. Check out their website for the specific deals, and then signup for the GMPSoft newsletter to catch other news and offers.

via Palm Addict.

I was just talking with Larosa of TM about some Bible software that hasn't worked out for his T-Mobile Dash and I made the mention that it would be really nice if there was a browser-based Bible (or any other) program instead. One that would work completly within the web browser as if it were its own seperate application. But then also have a component where you could read and do things offline, but connect online for other items (like an online/offline web application).

And if you think about it, an application like this would work on EVERY computing platform (with some issues concerning browsers working right, but with the mobile browser wars heating up, I don't this will be an issue except on some of the lower-end devices).

What are your thoughts? And who should we bug (I'm joking, sorta) to make this happen?

We live in the kind of culture now where its customary, and sometimes demanded, that our needs be met when it comes to those things tech. Whether that is a software update for our device or importing a product that is not even in your country, we really do seem to have these expectations that somehow, we are owed something because we use this technology. We do pay for it, and should expect a reasonable amount of quality and service with what we have purchased. But, ever consider that those expectations are effecting your expectations of how you approach your relationship with God?

In a section of John where Jesus has just finished performing a miracle of fish and loves, and had discretly made his way to the other side fo the sea, people came to him inquiring how he made it to that side as they did not see him depart the night before. Jesus' response was,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.".

BobR over at MobileRead has just published an excellent commentary asking the question "What is mobile anyway?" Here is a snippet:

...at one time a small notebook computer was the perfect example of wonderful mobility in computing. I used an older Dell notebook at work, and I can tell you that it's not my idea of easily portable. It didn't have an integrated optical drive. The battery life was appalling. It didn't have built-in WiFi. And if I carried it around, it really needed to be in a protective case. So what appeared to be a wonderfully portable and mobile solution was miserable.

The tiny, sleek notebook computer by itself was wonderful. But I had to add an optical drive, shell for the drive, AC power cord, network wire, WiFi card, heavy and bulky laptop case, etc. Now my portable computer was not so portable after all...

Read the rest.

Between my use of a smartphone, and my recent play with a neat TabletPC, I have found that a lot of the software that I want to use for reading and studying the Bible just does not always work easily. Granted, there was a post last week about what doesn't work with Bible software, but I want to propose something a bit different that could work for some of us.

The first would be a change in how one can navigate from book to book/verse to verse. After looking at a new program from a Microsoft spinoff company ZenZui, I am looking at their means of navigating web widget content, and thinking that it could work really well for getting from book to book in a Bible. Not too sure how it would work for verses, but can you imagine something that had some sliding navigation and the ability to work equally well with or without a touchscreen in order to navigate and maneuver thru content.

The idea is that of being able to sync bookmarks with either an online profile or with a desktop version of the same (or partnered) Bible software. Stated simply, I just got a verse, and it was really good to go and read it at eBible. However, after placing my bookmark there, instead of having to reproduce the process of seeking and adding the bookmark, it would just be neat to just have the bookmark that I made to be able to be sent to my device and be a bookmark in my Bible reader.

Nothing great in these ideas except improving some ways to interact wtih the content, especially when someone asks you a question and a knowledgable and quick reply would work. What ways could your software (whether on a PDA, TabletPC, or laptop) be improved to make it easier to interact with the content (for reading or learning) and better serve the Word to those around you?

I cannot speak for most of you, but I tend to run into this issue about once or twice a week when I am faced with something to do and I have two or more ways to do it, but then because I have those options, I don't do anything. Its like the amount of choices that I have at that given moment is just too much to even get to the task at hand, let alone do it.

It's really easy to feel that way when trying to decide what kind of computing device would be best for work, play, or both. There are so many models of laptops, desktops, tabletPCs, smartphones, PDAs, and all sorts of things in between, that one can really feel overwhelmed with what is out there. So how do you get thru that kludge of choice to actually making a good decision as to what works? Here are some things to keep in mind.

More features do not necessarily mean that you will get more done - purchase only according to the current needs and the foreseeable future needs.

Budget to purchase for a certain amount, and then factor in depreciating costs if you are not in a hurry to make a purchase. If you are not looking to purchase a device in the next 6 months, sticking to what fits your budget not will not help you. Keep your budget in mind, however pan the landscape for what will be in your budget in the future and compare it to what is in your budget now.

Do not purchase a mobile device for a work/ministry-related occupation until you know for certain the costs of ownership, service and support costs, and any managerial or security policies that are in place - tis better to purchase thine device and the IT guys can work with it, rather than you purchase something for work that you cannot even take onto the premises.

Lastly, do not be afraid to take a chance and use your device in a way you've seen on a science fiction movie or show - believe it or not, the technology is here to do almost anything. Do not limit the tool with your imagination, allow the tool to let your imagination come to life.

I hope that helps some of you who are about to make a purchase or looking to find new life in an old tool.

To any who more than a moment to read this post. Please take a moment to read this post at Creating Passionate Users and keep Ms. Kathy Sierra in your prayers. If you are involved in some way with creating policy for those things media and digital, please comment here or there as to what can be done to introduce legislation that will protect bloggers and other journalist types from fearing their life on matters such as these. Thank you.

Bible Software and Study
Thinking on the topic a bit earlier this week about electronic Bibles and how they can be better used, I started to take a critical look at the playing field in terms fo Bible software and what it is trying to do versus what it is actually doing.

For the most part I saw software that looked to fill a gap of being able to study using an electronic device, whether that was a laptop, desktop, or PDA, and give you an experience akin to what you would find if you were using a library and its tomes of books and resources. In this respect, there is not too much of a failure on the side of Bible software companies. There is certainely plenty of software out there, and an expansive library of resources for most of them.

Where some programs are stronger is in this area. Programs such as Laridian's MyBible and Logos have some excellent resources. But there always seems to be a hole in either how to use that information in other programs, or even how to annotate for your best needs within the respective program that you are using.

That leads me to the thought where Bible programs do not do well much at all (unless you have the time and disciple to create a workflow and stick with it): namely being great readers for study. Sure, you can open a Word document or memo pad item along side it, but collecting versus under a user-defined subject area, or making the results of a search available outside of the Bible program is something that is not seen.

A common issue that I tend to also have is in that nice highlighting feature. In an idea world, I'd open to a verse, and devide that I'd want to highlight it. I get a menu that highlights it and allows me to choose additonal verses to highlight. I would then be asked if I want to categorize/tag that highlight under a new or exisiting category. And then I'd add my notes. If there are already notes to that verse, I can add to them, or create a new note (multiple notes per verse). Then when talking in a Bible study or for a sermon, I'd share that list of highlighted Scriptures and notes that would be shareable across various Bible readers and devices. Hence, I am not only utilizing the resource nature of the electronic Bible, but also making available in small snippets enough of the commentary to encourage someone else for the long haul.

If I am a student the tagging feature is even better as I could then define doctrinal and theological issues in lieu of the verses and then export those in some sort of XML/text doc to share with others or for a study aide.

As you can see, I am thinking of the set that its not so much that paper isn't useful, but that the electronic Bible needs to be more than just a rehash of what we do with paper. It has to follow our mind's way of putting together concepts, and be versatile enough to share that - same as we would in voice or via a note across the assembly.

Its possible, the question is when will it happen (IMO).
posted via Mo:Blog

A Different Work Environment
A post at Holy Culture Radio and an email from Brighthand has got me thinking about making a drastic change in my work approach so that there is a better balance towrads these items, as well as a better balance to obligations that have nothing to do with work, but concern ministry. I have grasped the ability for technology to make that space to make working from anywhere possible, but the truth of the matter is that it is not possible to work from anywhere unless the environment around you creates space to make that happen.

For example, I live in the DC Metro arera, and while it is great for networking and meeting people from all over the world, the pace of life and the cost ($$$) of living makes it extremely hard to do ministry unless you really are doing this full time and have a consistent funded stream of income. I've played a lot with the idea of working part-time while devoting nearly one or two complete work days a week to MMM and Brighthand, however that has not happened for various reasons. This area (and life situations) have not made that possible.

But what if you can make that time, what does your work environment then work like? Does your day start off with attending to family and prayer and then rolling into the work of the day? Do you find it difficult to communicate the boundaries of work and personal life to others who might see your "flex time" as "flexible for them time?"

I'd really like to know from sdome of you what you think on this. If it is possible (with God everything is), I'd move and then start a new job part-time with MMM and Brighthand in tow allowing me to both live, and keep a good balance between being mobile in part, and mobile in full.
posted via Mo:Blog

Really, but not in the usual "spiritual" talking point of view. Where on a map can you find places in the Bible? And if you can identify those places, where is can the effects of the Gospel be most felt in those areas?

Ok, so the second part might be harder to answer than the first, but there is a point or two to start from. According to the ESV Blog, the folks at OpenBible.info have added geocodes to the places mentioned in the Bible.

What is a geocode? According to Wikipedia a geocode is a "code that represents a geospatial coordinate measurement of an exact geographic location and time at, below, or above the surface of the earth."

But some of you are like "cool" and others are like "so what."
Here's the answer to the "so what" part: you can tell someone how far your church is from where Solomon built the temple; you can tell your kids to walk on water and actually give them a distance of how far that was; or, various other things you can point out being that now you can give a real world place to the places that in some respects no longer exist, or exist in the same way they did when parts of the Bible was written.

Or you can be really bold and go to those places and then add to our Frapper map where you are :)

More About Bibles in Church
Was just sent note of of a post at the ESV Blog where they mentioned the increasing ability to either access online Bibles or stored Bibles on one's PDA or other mobile device.

One of the problems though, something that myself and the person that sent this note agree on is that while the software is there for us to have Bibles on our mobile devices, the software is not yet at the point of being able to completly replace the paper experience. Whether that is because of seeing more on a page, or the ability to annotate verses the way that mimics how we think (rather than how programs think we think), software still has a way to go.

That being said, in some recent conversation with the folks at eBible, they did mention that some updates are coming down the pipe for their mobile version, and so I wonder if thoughts such as these will be taken into consideration by them or other Bible software makers.
posted via Mo:Blog

One of the questions that I get a lot is how some of the newer Windows Mobile phones far in terms of being great devices for mobile use. Bust because of my schedule, I only get to review a few here and there (such as the Treo 750 review I did for Brighthand a bit back).

Here is an excellent review at WMExperts talking about the top Windows Mobile smartphones (not named Dash and Q).

...My intent is to compare most facets of these devices against each other. Each one of these 3G WM5 devices has its own strengths and weaknesses, and people will find that they want certain features that others don’t and vice-versa. I will state up front that all three of these smartphones are phenomenal devices and you really can’t go wrong with any of them...

Read the rest of the review.

News hot from the press release:

ChristianMobile a South African company and the creators of VirtualBible, the first ever Bible delivered to a mobile phone by way of a premium sms-text message, facilitated the implementation of the American Bible Societies' direct-to-consumer mobile internet site http://absbibles.com.

The service enables mobile phone users in more than 150 countries across all networks to purchase and download the Bible on their mobile phones by simply logging on to http://absbibles.com with a mobile phone.

Mobile users access the mobile site by entering http://absbibles.com into their phone browser or by clicking through from specific promotions.

Something that I find a hard thing NOT to do in this day and age is to find some technology, whether it is RSS, email, Treos, or that really really nice N95 (ok, getting back on track) is to measure my want to have a device that is cool with something that allows me to function as a productive and God-sharing member of community. There is this war, usually internal, sometimes not, that says that I want to have the latest and greatest, but I only want to use that which will work best.

So where do we draw the line? Really. Where do we get to that device or set of services where we stop looking over the fence in covetousness and only when it drives past in admiration?

I think that to get to that point that we have to first be honest about where we are and where we want to go with tech. Why did you want that device that yo have in the first place? Was it to meet a need within your family or ministry life? If so, what got better after you got it? Now, what has gone worse?

Then we are to be honest about what the devices/services that we do have cannot do. IF we got those things in that knowledge and accepted those failings, were we being impatient or prideful thinking that we could mold the tech in the way we wanted? There is a lot of self checking that we have to do at this question and its critical if we are to engage community and not technology with the Spirit of God.

Lastly, we have to ask about the effect of that device on fulfilling the mission God has called us towards. Is that new device going to make it any easier for God to reach people? Is that new service going to show God something thru people that He never saw before? How about people; are they going to fall in love with Jesus because of that new device or technology? Are they going to be able to discern God's heart for them and be motivated to share it with others because of the device or service?

If we are going to move from just knowing about technology to engaging communities with it, we have to be proactive about making sure that it is not the technology that we are ministering, but communities that we are minitering to because of it.

There was a post at eBible's blog some time ago asking this question, but since there were not very many replies, I thought to bring it over here and ask the same.

What does it mean to study the Bible online together?

eBible framed this question in the vein of its Bible offerings, bookmarking, and notes features. But beyond just that, what would studying and reading the Bible mean if the boundaries of the page were eliminated? Meaning, what if some people were able to read in a web browser, others on paper and then compose notes online, others text and video blog about it, etc. What would that look like for creating communities that observe the Word?

And an even better question, could any of you whom are pastors pull something like this off with small groups in your churches as a means to keep them 'in the community' and not necessarily in the pew?

This was an item just sent in (thanks DB). For those of you looking to use technology for sermon preparation, this is an excellent read. Here is a snippet:

...I mentioned earlier that I had preached a sermon today. Let me tell you a bit about the different forms of technology I used to help me in this talk, and how I use them generally. Firstly, I am an avid believer in the power of this new form of communication known as the Internet. Historians are unequivocal that the Reformation was only possible because of the invention of the printing press. This enabled Luther to communicate with large numbers of people at once through printed tracts. Luther was able to transform Europe theologically, unlike men like the martyr Huss, who had prophesied 100 years previously that the Reformers were coming. Today we are living through a revolution in communication that is at least as significant. Christians need to grab the opportunities this presents. Technology is a gift to be received - and seized...

Read the rest.

I was just taking a look at a concept video from Microsoft and had the thought that in 2020 (give or take a few more decades of management hurdles), one could concevably give a sermon and collaborate between ministries using a similar system of hardware and software.



If you cannot view the embedded player click here.

Note: there is sound with this item, so please make sure that you have your speakers adjusted accordingly.

Thanks to PocketPCThoughts, IStartedSomething, and AeroXperence for the link.

Carnival of the mobilists #64
The latest Carnival of the Mobilists is now being featured at M-Trends. There is a lot fo really good content in this edition of the carnival so do set aside some time as many of these pieces are great ones to sit and think on.

An additional note of something else featured at M-Trends is the advent of a newspaper trialing the use of embedded digital content within pictures (to unlock other content and interactivity).

I personally think that this is the one aspect of mobile technology that will boom quite fast in the next 1 to 2 years as mobile phones, mobile phone cameras, and the print industry all have a lot to gain by this type of convergance.

Can you imagine reading your print Bible and then seeing a picture of Isreal and taking a picture of that with your phone and automatically getting current news and events about that place. Or taking the picture of a word (for example, temple) and then getting a short Wikipedia entry on religious temples found in Judeao-Christian and other religions? That is a neat intersection of technology with the socal aspects of life.

Links in this post were pulled from my RSS reader, but will open in the original website page.
posted via Mo:Blog

There is nothing really new about online Bibles for most of us. We are accustomed to going to places such as eBible and Bible Gateway to quickly look up a verse or a collection of verses on a particular subject. But what about when out and about and those sites, while great for what they can give, are a bit to much for a smartphone's or normal phone's screen? There is only so much that can go on a page, and well, eBible and Bible Gateway are just a bit too much.

Enter ZBible, the online Bible from Zondervan that is as useful as it is simple. What makes ZBible most useful? It is designed to be used on mobile devices. The landing page for ZBible (http://zbible.mobi) is just a simple logo graphic, search box and a drop down menu for choosing the version in which you want to search the Bible in.

Its about as easy as going to Yahoo or Google to find a verse. And the better part is that you can bookmark into your mobile device's favorites a search that you have found for later viewing. In this respect, it is not only easy to use, but convenient. Links at the bottom of the page give you some navigation options for going to next/previous verses and chapters, and then a search box just in case you want to find another term.

So what are any downsides to using ZBible?
If you are searching for complex terms, such as "Jesus+faith+mountain+sea," you might not get what you are looking for (despite that reference pointing to Mark 11:23).

How does ZBible work in a church/meeting setting?
This is one area where I don't think that it is a bad idea to get some use out of ZBible. I used ZBible the past few Sundays at my church and found that it was easy to get to a verse, though annotating a verse was out of the question. Going back and forth was not a problem, unless several verses in different books were given in a row, and therefore I would have to make use of the forward and back buttons. That being said, you can search for multiple verses at the same time and get those easily (example).

What could be improved?
Nothing really. ZBible is about as straight and to the point as one needs on a mobile device. It could have some better phone integration in terms of being able to use a numeral keypad for the common navigation elements (assigning the key '1' for previous page, '3' for next page, etc.). But right now it is really quick and simple and I recommend it not only to those of you who are on mobile devices, but even when you are on your desktop and need just a verse, and nothing else.

My Wish list for ZBible
- I would love to see ZBible evolve some kind of profile system, similar to eBible, where you can log in and view past bookmarks. This would keep people from having a list of bookmarks that can get quite long, and also make availability of such a list on any computing device that can connect to the Internet.
- If it were possible to integrate ZBible with a handheld Bible reader that would be probably even better. A subscription-based service where the Bibles are stored online (for modern copyrighted versions) and then a downloadable application (or integration with a current application) that would give advanced note taking and bookmarking abilities would be excellent for nearly any device. In my ideal world, I'd see ZBible as an add on plug-in for a program like Bible+ where you can read the modern versions online, have the non-modern versions saved on your device, and then make notes between them that you can share with others who have access to ZBible or email.

Overall, I recommend ZBible to any of you need a Bible on the go, and downloadable offerings do not work, and you do not mind a near simple "Google-like" experience on your mobile device.

As most of you all know, I've been documenting my journey for a new church home over at my blog (UrbanWordz.com). I just couldn't sit in my church home anymore and take the teaching that was being given; I had a desire for more of the Word and less of the charisma (and some unbiblical things) that was being displayed in my church. Since that time, I haven't stepped foot in a church since the end of last year. With all that was going on in my life (a possible move), I wanted to sit and wait to see what was going to happen before starting my search for a new home. In the meantime, I kept fed with podcasts and sermons by some very biblical teachers such as: John MacArthur, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, and Alistair Begg. Well, I ended up moving (Austin, TX) and now I'm more than ready to find a church home. In this article, I will show you how I was able to use the Internet to my benefit in helping me in finding churches to visit (and maybe ultimately have one become my church home).

It all started off with the vast number of recommendations from local friends and new co-workers (seeing how I work for a Christian software company). I immediately turned down my friend because I already knew upfront that his church was very Word of Faith oriented and I wasn't even trying to have that, not at all. Then co-workers told me about their churches and offered to give me the web address so that I could check it out. I added them all to my list of churches to investigate. That was more or less the preface of my search. From that point, I really got in-depth and started to use the Internet to get my engine running.

1) Google Search: The first step in my search was to get on Google and search for churches in the area. I used search phrases like "'Austin TX' + church" and "Churches in Hutto" and ended up with a lot of various search results. With those searches, I found both church websites (many of which I checked out) and directories that had listings of churches in the area. I also used a site that my friend gave me (www.abovegroundsaustin.com) that also happened to have a directory that allowed you to search by denomination or area of the city. It was from these searches that I compiled a list of churches that at least interested me to the point of me wanting to do further investigation by actually visiting their websites. Needless to say, Google was my best friend and my greatest tool in finding churches.

2) Visit Church Websites: The next step in the process was to start perusing through these church websites and see if they had what I was looking for, and to see if they could make the cut. First and foremost, with this step, I knew what I was looking for in a church and I also knew what I didn't want to tolerate, so that made my investigation of the sites very targeted in what I was trying to find. With every site, the first place I stopped at (after glancing through the home page's information) was the statement of faith. If that didn't line up with what I was looking for or if it had "word of faith-isms" then I just closed out the window, crossed them off the list, and went to the next website. Some of the things I looked for specifically were a firm understanding of the Bible's inerrant status, the Godhead, salvation (and how to receive it), among other things.

If they passed the initial test of the statement of faith, then I would go through the site some more and see what their "plan of salvation" was, if they even had one on the site, as well as look at the different types of ministries that they had. By doing this, I was able to see where their focus was and what they were doing church for (the believer or the seeker). It was during this process that I was able to weed out a good majority of the churches I had on my list. They either had questionable statements of faith or a wrong understanding of how someone gets saved, which is how they quickly got the boot from my list. It was after this stage that I narrowed my list down to just a handful of churches that I still had interest in. I even kept a few on the list that were questionable in a few areas, just so I could do a little more homework on them. This takes us to the next step.

3) Download Sermons/Podcasts: Quite ironically, many of the church websites that were left in my list had very nice looking sites, and had full length sermons available on their website for free download. So, with the remaining "contenders," I used this as one of the final tests to see how many more I could weed out before actually trying to visit these churches. With each church, I went and downloaded 2 or 3 sermons, put them on my Zune (mp3 player) and gave them a listen.

As I listened to the sermons, I quickly got a grasp on the type and style of teaching ministry that they have, as well as a firmer understanding of the focus of their ministry. I tried my best not to judge too much after listening to the first sermon, and to then make a judgment call after the 2nd or 3rd. It was from listening to these MP3's that I was able to more quickly weed out the churches and the ones that would keep my attention. The vast majority that I listened to were very topical in nature; furthermore, I found quite a few that were very loose in their use of the Bible in the actual teaching, some that were emergent and others that tried way too hard to be culturally relevant. By the end of this process, I was pretty discouraged, as there wasn't a single church that really kept my interest or that I thought I would even desire to visit.

4) Visiting a Church: It wasn't until I decided to do this entire process again that I was able to find another church that made it past the initial stages and got to the point of me listening to the MP3's. This one church in particular seemed to have everything that I was looking for; the biblical information on their website was on point and they seemed to have the proper viewpoint that a church was supposed to have. One thing that grabbed my attention from their website was a strong emphasis on expository teaching over that of topical, and their stance on spiritual gifts & tithing. What's more, they had MP3's on their website (dating all the way back to 2003) that I was able to download and check them out. So, I did like before and downloaded a few sermons, but these grabbed my attention from the first few moments. The teaching was straight from the Bible, nothing more, and the way he taught was very captivating. After finishing those sermons, I was so hooked that I ended up downloading more (9 in all) and listening to them.

After sharing with my wife, we decided that we would visit this church this coming Sunday (tomorrow) and see what the actual experience would be like. It has everything that we are looking for, and it's just a matter of seeing if we are welcomed with open arms and if the service itself is fruitful, aside from just the teaching ministry. If so, then this will likely become our church home; if not, then it'll be back to the drawing board and doing this process all over again to find more churches. I'll give an update, when I know for sure. I will say that just right now, I'm hooked and to the point to where I don't even want to miss a single church service because of what is being taught there, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a church, one that keeps my attention.

So that's what I did in finding a new church home, and how the Internet greatly aided in my search. Through the usefulness of the Internet, I was first able to find a great deal of churches to look at, then I was able to read through their sites and weed them out, before listening to sermons to make a final decision on who I wanted to physically visit. For me, I think the Lord used this to guide me to the church that is right for me, and I'll be sitting there Sunday. I've been out of church for what seems like forever, so I am more than anxious to get involved with a ministry that I know is teaching the Bible minus the extra stuff. If you're in a similar boat, either because you need a new church home or you just moved, then this is a great way to use technology to find new churches worth visiting, without wasting time on Sundays visiting churches that don't even have what you're looking for. Just remember, like for myself, this isn't the end all, as you still need to physically visit the churches to see if they're the right fit for you.

And just as an fyi, the name of the church I'm visiting is Austin Bible Church (www.austinbiblechurch.com). I really recommend checking out their study on 1 Corinthians that they're doing, it's very on point! Just to show how great of detail they're going into, it has taken them four (4) years to just do the first 12 chapters of this book. God bless!

Originally posted @ Trailblazin' Ministries

Ryrie Study Notes Released by Olive Tree
From Olive Tree via a post at Brighthand:

Olive Tree Bible Software has recently released the Ryrie Study Bible Notes from Moody Publishers, another very useful Bible study tool that can be installed with the BibleReader™ software on Palm OS or Pocket PC Handheld devices.

The Ryrie Study Bible Notes are an accumulation of Charles C. Ryrie's years of Bible study, teaching and writing. Anyone who is seeking help in understanding the scriptures will find these study notes a very useful tool. Along with extensive verse-by-verse notes on the scriptures (10,000 explanatory notes in all), users will also find: a synopsis of Bible doctrine which provides a concise and easy-to-understand outline of the major doctrines found in Scripture, comprehensive outlines of each book, and an index to the principle subjects covered in the notes.

Visit Olive Tree's website for more details and to download for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices.
posted via Mo:Blog

If there is one thing that I have learned since starting MMM, it is to get a handle on the other literature out there that may be of a great help to understanding and working better within the blogsphere. No, that is not saying that everything can be said or done in a few books, but there is always some wisdom to be gained when one takes a look at what others have done.

When I took a look at the book The Blogging Church, I expected a book that would show the power of blogs to shape and transform the church culture, not a how-to-blog book. I expected a book that would highlight a few notable blogs, and a few not so notable ones; but not really stay with the "large church" example that has only a few implications across the Body. I realized 3 pages in that I should not have expectations with any book, and so continued to read looking for something that would excite, surprise, or show me something that I had not seen before.

I admit, the first half of The Blogging Church was a disappointment because I had these expectations. Then I realized that "I" was not necessarily the target audience (of the first half of the book. While filled with plenty of commentary of the successful attributes of what a blog can do, I came out of the first half of The Blogging Church feeling like someone was trying to sell me a car and had no clue what "I" really needed.

Fortunately, the second half of The Blogging Church was much better than the first. Filled with useful tips from both a technical and spiritual point of view, the second half of The Blogging Church did a lot of restore my confidence in at least referring to it as a starting point for some who would want to look into blogging. However, I came away after reading the entire book what that nagging "so what" question that (in my opinion) should never be had after reading a book of this type.

You see, most of The Blogging Church spoke of blogs as that great line of communication that a church can have and open with their communities, and help to foster and shape aspects of communication that should be there, but for one reason or another are not. The Blogging Church speaks of blogs as this great solution, and less like an aspect of the solution, a tool that builds upon character and the Holy Spirit to reach people effectively. In doing so, you get the big picture of communicating and connecting, but not the scope of where blogging fits in with other church/org communication tools.

I agree with the premise of this book, you can tell the story of your church quite effectively with a blog if you build around it the right foundation. However, I do not see blogs as the main communication station that The Blogging Church seems to make blogging out to be. Its a good part of reaching people, but not so great that we do not piggy back it on top of better communication skills all around.

It's with this summary that I give a three out of four star review to The Blogging Church. Not because chapters 1-8 do not match the quality and effectiveness of chapter 9-16, but because as a whole, the book speaks too much of a tool as the movement, and too little towards how a blog can be a catalyst towards the already established and working vision within any size ministry to share Christ with as many people as would read them.

The Blogging Church can be purchased online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other book retailers.
Read The Blogging Church Blog to find out what else is going on with The Blogging Church and its author.

Some Mild Reflections
The past three days I have been pretty much sick with the flu and the beginning of allergies and so I have had a lot of time to think about MMM. Think about where MMM was, where it is, and where I'd like it to go. And per usual my thoughts, they never seem to have an ending, but they do have a purpose in bringing clarity for you (the reader) and direction (for the team and ministry partners) as to where MMM fits in this big ole pot of Internet.

What happened to the magazine?
The magazine was never meant to be pushed aside. It has happened though that with the several changes in my own life (computing, job, and otherwise), that the time and energy needed to create a quarterly magazine has just not been there. For me, this has been the more depressing aspect of MMM as I believe that without the magazine, MMM loses what makes it different than other blogs and technology websites that are out there. Sure, others have newsletters and the like, but none had a magazine that really wanted you to take part in learning why and where mobile technology fits into the ministry sphere. Its something that I hope that can be rectified in a few weeks time, but is clearly one area where I need the most help in keeping up and keeping towards.

Is MMM about evangelism, technology, equipping, or just a rant on why everyone should use a smartphone?
I should mention first; it is not at all the intention for MMM that everyone should use a smarpthone. While a great deal of the posts here deal with PDAs, smartphones, and mobile technology; the scope of what mobile technology is is far above and beyond just a smartphone. Its the community aspect of tablet PC devices, its Logos and other Bible software used by pastors on their laptops, and its the bringing of the understanding of technology's place in ministry to all of those areas.

The one thing that MMM is not is a place where we want to evangelize you. That is not the place of this application of ministry. There are way too many other ministries that do that, and much morer effectively I might had. Where MMM fits and has relevance is helping you (the reader) to see that place where faith and technology meet, and then find that balance to both use it for the communicative tool that it is, and see the opportunities to share in community, evangelize, and improve the state of life for those near and far from you.

Now, if you can do all of that from your mobile phone, then we've sold you on just what is really possible ;-)

You don't cover news or do reviews like other tech sites. Why?
Mainly because there are other sites that do so. What we want to do at MMM is to offer you a different slant on current trends and news that you might not otherwise see. This does not mean that we will not occasionally have something of recent relevance here to read, but only that it will be framed in the context of "the intersection of faith and technology." From there, news just happens.

Where do you see MMM eventually going?
To be honest, since I started MMM I have had this question in mind. At one point I nearly just stopped posting and wanting to do anything with MMM, I was that tired of trying to find and create unique content. I've many times wondered if MMM would go the way of Engadget and others be be bought out by a larger company who's finances and administration backend would allow for the MMM team to truly get out and teach mobile ministry. I've even thought of this as the Pauline side of my life's work - where I have my day job, but this ministry is what drives me to work and to live.

I really do not know what God has in store for MMM. I do know that the friendships that I have made because of starting MMM have blessed me in so many ways. There are people that even now email and ask to partner and how to be blessed by MMM, and most times I am just overwhelmed by those kinds of responses. I'm not a pastor, I've never planted a church, and I've only done ok in the organizations and positions that I've been handed in times past. But, I feel that MMM is a combination of all of that and more. Personally, God is developing me to see how His Spirit ultimately connects all of us to His grand love scheme. Technologically, I can see how mobile technology has evened out the opportunity field for so many people around the world, and that is growing expoentially.

Overall, I have a heart to see that the Body knows how to take this gift of technology, and use it to build people up to understand the love of God in simple communicative ways. No, I do not always feel that MMM (nor I) am always successful in getting that across, but it is my hope that as you watch me/us/MMM grow, that you too become bitten by the bug to share Christ to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8 style).
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PDAPhoneHome adds MoBible to Its Mobile Portal
In a recent discussion at PDAPhoneHome announced that they have added a online Bible to their listings on their main religion page.

The online Bible is a link to the very versatile MoBible which is an online Bible that not only works on smartphones, but also works extremely well on other mobile phones (think the lower end phones that many get for low-cost to free).

In addition to the online Bible, PDAPhoneHome also has a page that has plenty of common categories for finding a group of Scriptures at a glance. There are over 100 categories to choose from, with this list growing steadily. View the PDAPhoneHome Bible Category Listing.

PDAPhoneHome is a landing page portal for your mobile device that presents links to other mobile websites that would otherwise be hard to find. You can set it as your device's home page and then browse the web on your mobile from there.
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ArcoDesign Technologies Mobile Bibles and more
Last night, before my current sickness sapped the energy out of me, I was at a friend's place and they asked me if I knew of any Bible game software for the Palm. That was a genre that I had not ever thought of before and so I went to Windows Live Search to see if there was any software out there.

On the very first link there was ArcoDesign Technologies and their mobile software offering. And besides having some interestingly designed software (it seems geared to the person looking to do personal studies on their PDA), they also had versions of their software for Palm, Windows Mobile/PocketPC, and Linux mobile devices.

Now, being that I am not feeling very well, I cannot offer a review of everything now. But ArcoDesign did have Bible Wordsearch and Crossword Puzzle games which are sure to be enough to get some of you started who want to play game and get in the Word as well.

For more information and to download for your mobile device, visit the ArcoDesign Technologies website.

Side note, if you do download one of ArcoDesgn's products for your mobile device, please write in and let us know what you think about it.

posted via Mo:Blog

ESV for Bible+
Kyle from Christian Mobile Tech wrote in to let me know that the Bible+ versions of the ESV (English Standard Version) of the Bible have moved to a slightly new file location.

If you are looking to download, click on the below links to do so:
- ESV Red-letter
- ESV Standard

Now, if you are wondering why the links are not (yet) updated on the Bible+ site, it is because I also maintain the Bible+ site but cannot update the page from the Treo just yet. Until then, just go to GospelShare directly for the link.
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Carnival of the Mobilists 63.01
Version 63.01 of The Carnival of the Mobilists is now posted.

Of items to note in this carnival release, pay attention to the lines that the mobile communitty is drawing when it comes to defining the place for mobile technology in our lives. The many discussions are good to stew over until the next Carnival.
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My Utmost For His Highest At PalmGear
From Palm Addict:

My Utmost For His Highest 4.17 is new from Palmgear. "My Utmost For His Highest is a collection of Biblical teachings by the Scottish minister and teacher Oswald Chambers (1874-1917). It covers a variety topics in a daily devotional format such as the life of faith and abandonment to God have endured to this day.

My Utmost For His Highest has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. Goes with the DEPReader dictionary program
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