Mobile Ministry Magazine

Here's something that I caught over at All About Symbian:

Olive Tree have updated their free Bible reading software for S60 3rd Edition to v3.67. New features include extra search options, two smaller font sizes, a new menu structure, a 5-way verse chooser and combined storage card and main memory locations into one library.

Visit Olive Tree's website to download their Bible reader and plenty of free and pay Bibles for your Palm OS, Symbian, Windows Mobile/PocketPC, or BlackBerry device.

Labels: Bible, mobile, Olivetree

The 84th Carnival of the Mobilists is posted at Mobile Messaging 2.0. Topics from RSS, to mobile applications, to the mobile web are talked about in this edition.

One of the things that I like best about the Carnival of the Mobilists is that you get to see and read some of what is happening at the very tip of those things mobile. Many things will not pan out, but taking a look at trends and common themes, you can get an idea of where to apply your skills or energies into using mobile tech in a suitable means in life and ministry.

Labels: Carnival of the Mobilists

Hello MMM readers;
I hope that the pause since the last post has not been too jarring. I am still in a good bit of transistion in terms of moving into Charlotte, and have really tried to cut down my after-work computer time. I'll be pretty loose with postings for the next few weeks still as I wil be settling down into an apt later this week. But hey, that doesn't mean that there aren't still things that come up from time to time.

I had the thought of doing some kind of writeup that talks about various subjects we come across in ministry where technology is under-utilized, or not correctly used and just some ways of working through that. It will take a good bit of work on my part and those will be longer (sometimes) pieces that dig in and ask for comments, so its something that at this point is just a thought. I would like to know what you would think of that, so please do lend some ideas on howa serries like that would be beneficial to you.

Did you know that less than 10% of internet use is actualyl producing something. The rest of it is simply reading and collecting. I ran across that stat and it gave a bit of peace about sites like MMM, CNN, etc which are largly knowledge-bases and from there they (should) empower you to be more responsive towards a particular issue. I hope that MMM has been doing that for you, but I know that sometimes we fall short there. So don't be afraid to let me know either via a comment or the contact form that we could be doing betterr.

One of the team members mentioned that doing more partnerships would be beneficial. I heartly agree. If you or you know of a ministry that would be willing to partner with MMM, and (Lord willing) do some events together, please let me know so that we can get the ball rolling. There is a whole city of folks here in Charlotte that could use some pointers on how to address the spiritual and community needs of this area and beyond, and lending our knowledge in the technical side of things is one way we can encourage one another.

Of course, nothing replaces prayer. So if all you want to do is pray together, let me know that too and we can do that either over email or voice calling, or if time and location wills, we can meet up. Connect via the MMM Jaiku channel if you just want to leave a note to just be prayed for/pray with. And let's go from there.

So as you can tell, I am full of thoughts. And if you read my personal site, you will also see that I haven't been writng there for about a week either. Lots fo transisiton going on, and something (and some people) gives me the feeling that God isn't quite done with getting me set up here. Which is good, nothing like God making us mobile enough to be used for His purposes and glorify His name :)

One of the things that I've liked about the N95 is that its let me get back into just browsing the Net, not just reading info. Granted, browsing is fun when there is nothing to do of dire importance and there is just loose time. So what did my rabbit hole bring tonite...

- I started at Jaiku. I wanted to see what some of my contacts were up to. I still think that an Opera widget and a mobile client for every other phone would make this an awesome application for a lot of folks.

- I peeked in on Darla Mack's blog via her Jaiku channel when I saw a post about Nokia's mobile web server. Now this got me thinking that I should move to a Symbian device, and then host MMM on the device. Besides accessible as all get out, it would really kick the mobile notch up a good bit.

- Continued on Jaiku and saw that there is a TUAW channel (for the Apple fans, they should know that site).

- Clicked there and read Robert Scoble talk about giving up the N95 and appreciating the iPhone.

- had another tab open stil to TUAW's Jaiku and got the idea via ijustine and The Remix of Children's Ministry (found via Robert Scoble's site) that its not the tech nor the availabilty that is the issue, just how we want to imagine using it to reach an audience and just going there.

- I managed to come out of the hole though to reinitate the full posts in RSS feeds, and at take a bit more of a thought to moving MMM completly mobile. If the right Nokia device were to come along (the N95's battery and memory issues are the only real hold up for this one), I'd probably do it; which would make that whole planning for MMM to be reinvented in MT4 go to waste a bit...sorry LJ.

- There's not much else that I can say other that since moving to Charlotte God's been heavy. God's been just moving a whole lot, from temporary residency to a job to a possible apartment. God's been extremely gracious and hence my heart being heavy for doing well with MMM. There's a whole lot out there, and God's saw fit to lead me this far - lead YOU this far. It's not like we deserve this, but He's so, so gracious. A few friends can testify to the fact that today I've never been more in awe, thankful, gracious of God's hands in my life. He says, "I know the plans I have for you." I've been walking towards Charlotte and more for 8+ years... there's just a whole lot that just browsing doesn't capture....things that God hands and flow just happen to roll with. I am so not ready for this IMO, but God has saw fit to just dump some grace notes on me. Heavy stuff.

Labels: accessiblity, children, devotion, iPhone, Jaiku, mobiles, N95, usablity

There are a lot of Laridian MyBible users looking for this on their iPhone. And it's coming soon.

Here are two links of the preview mentioned at the Laridian Blog:
- Windows Media Video preview
- QuickTime preview

Looks pretty neat if I do say so myself.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, Laridian, mobile

In a comment in a previous posting, this was asked about a content direction for MMM:

What I would like to see is more how technology can replace paper and how to get people to accept the technology as a tool for everyday life.

If I had to sit and first ask that I would ask how does technology have a place in your everyday life. Whether this is a laptop to catch up on mail when you get home, or managing finances, or connecting with friends and family located in various areas, where are some of your everyday uses of tech?

The other side of that is the hard part, the sell if you will:

...how to get people to accept the technology as a tool for everyday life.

The only way to really do this is to idenitfy the tool and the use that is both painless and totally beneficial to the user. So if that is replacing a checkbook with a PDA because the bank messes up, or using a laptop because you need better organization to Bible study notes, the technology has to be a means to an end. If not, we get into that idol-factory of getting it just because it is cool.

Another way that tech has everyday use is found simply in checking out the manual as to what your device can do. For example, did you know that if you have a laptop and a printer, that you don't have to pay for a newspaper subscription. Most of the major articles are posted online (cost of paper, ease of use) and those that are not there are community blogs that discuss much of the rest of the paper. Or, instead of carrying a PDA, carry a USB key with portable versions of Firefox, Open Office, and other applications and just plug in your USB key at a public computer and have your mobile tech right on your keychain (size, privacy, ease of use, cost).

There are a few ways that tech can be used everyday. How do you use yours?

Labels: accessiblity, Bible, community, mobile, usablity

One of the things that I am really beginning to enjoy about the Charlotte area is that there is time to think in the mist of doing. Meaning, for all of the looking for an apartment, people to fellowship with, and learning my ways at a new job, I am getting a hold of the aspect of this walk that says "take it easy and let the Lord direct." If you will, there is not nearly as much pushing on my end as there was before.

Tonite, I attended Bible study with my church (wellspring-community.org if you are interested in visiting) at a local coffeehouse and had a chance to look at the use of tech in Bible study areas, open areas again. Granted, I was the only one there using a mobile device of any kind to crack open the Scriptures, but I saw some room there for sharing digitally were in a "church room" setting there might not be as much the room.

For example, we were talking about Romans 11:11-24 (see zbible.mobi if you want to look that up) and there are a lot of intersecting ways in which we looked at that section of Paul's writings. One part that I tend to enjoy is the historical end, so I was in Bible+ (http://palmbibleplus.sourceforge.net) cross referencing and looking at the commentaries to where the Jewish and Gentile cultures had these "perceived divisions." What I liked about that is that the digital Bible and resources enabled to quickly spot a connection and then use it to ask further questions about the points our pastor was teaching.

Another aspect that would have been fun, and is something we actually migght explore, is making a digital copy of the outline for the night's study available to text (SMS) or beam (IR or Bluetooth) or email (since there was free wi-fi). We could use the tech to put everyone on the same inital level of looking at the Word, and then use the outline to foster dicussion that would go into its own "rabbit holes" if you will. I think that this is really doable with SMS as serrvices such as 4Info (4info.mobi) allow you to get an SMS of a verse right to your device. It's a pretty neat wayt o just jump off things with a techie twist.

So yea, I'm thinking. I get a whole day of coding in front of me to think of how mobile tech is or is not as effective in respective situations. More often than not though, I am finding that it is more effective to start with the mobile base, and then go from there into the other uses. Things like blogging from your mobile (laptop, PDA, or smartphone) an idea or verse that just came to you allows one to share those random "God-moments." And then still having a mobile that plugs into your way of life allows for other social dynamics to happen. Not that it is at all needed, but the devices and services we use do foster some relational aspects of this walk that we can encourage if for a short time, while we all press towards Him together.

I started to post this on my personal blog, but considering that I am 30-some odd minutes late for going to bed, I wanted to get this idea out of my head before the bed got the best of me :)

So today I decided to contine the slow down of my life from DC Metro speed to NC/SC speed. Suffice to say, it really is a refreshing and jarring change. But I am adjusting and am finding all types of things that I used to worry about doing immediately, that there really doesn't need to be a pressing for.

I decided to use the N95 (thanks Nokia Blogger Relations) instead of the Treo 680 after church today for webbing and what have you and ran into a really good idea: Instead of sitting at my dekstop and just doing the computer thing there, I would use the multimedia computer (the N95) and play with it as a computer and media accessory via the TV-out interface.

So after plugging in the A/V cables and turning on the TV -- boom, the N95's display was right on the screen in front of me. Now, at this point I was doing my requisite wows and oohs, but then I got serious and said that I wanted to get into some level of browsing and see just how long I could take this "multimedia computer" before running back to the Treo or my dekstop.

As I began to surf the web at EDGE speeds (note: the N95, while a 3G phone, does not support US bands of 3G speed, hence EDGE is as fast as I could go), I noticed that there was less of a need than ever to have a computer, or even cable for that matter. I started by going to sites that I had already saved RSS feeds for, and from there started going to various links. It was pretty cool.

Then I got a few out of memory messages. This kinda miffed me. Here I was with possibly the best feature that a phone could do and the browser was giving me an out of memory error with two browser windows and music playing in the background. Oh well.

I continued my run and it was really fun. I played System Rush (one of the games that came with the N95), and even read a few emails. I did not like that the screen would always orient itself to which ever way I was holding the device. Sometimes, I wanted to keep the wide screen on the TV, but use the keypad to type a few things for example. But overall, I started to realyl dig this kind of computing and began plotting of how such a computing setup could be usable for me in the near future.

Before I settled down for the night, I grabbed a bowl of leftover Chinese food and began to watch some videos that I took from the Cross Movement concert in Woodbridge, VA. This concert was a part of their HIStory Tour and I was really blessed to get to it before I left the DC Metro area. Besides rocking out to a group of fellas who magnify the Lord and produce great music, it hit me how such a setup would be a fast and easy way to attend to teen ministries when resources are low.

You see, the N95 has the ability to not only take video and pictures (5mpx at that!). But can also edit video clips right on the device. Right there one would have the ability to create programs where clips of teens, things that they like, and music could be used as an outreach/inreach mechanism. From there, I had the thought of recoding sermons or talks (I had about 1.5hrs of recording on a 2GB micro SD card) and replaying them at a later time for fellowships and other gatherings. If you will, the N95 made me think of ways where I could take the recording of when ministry happens, and turn it into an avenue for teaching others how to walk like Christ.

Ok, so I am now on my desktop with the N95 playing modem. I don't have a BT keyboard that would work with all of my devices, and so I needed this much in order to type this. But in looking at the N95 and playing with it as I have today, I not only think that it is possible for me to get by without a full computer for everything, but to use my mobile as a door into getting others to see Christ moving in anyone.

Labels: community, mobile, N95, Nokia, Treo 680

One of the things that I've noticed in a good deal of the chruches that I've visited is that there is very little in terms of tracking that is done in the child-care areas. Either there is a rotating set of people looking at a paper clipboard, or there is nothing at all except parents bringing kids in and out without anything more than facial recognition to know who goes and does what. Many places would do well to have an electornic sign-in component that is a part of the registration process for child-care. Besides providing accountability to the organization, there is also a chance to use that data to better make use of volunteers and other support workers.

Of course, using a sign-in based component to navigating child-care in ministry settings is not the only way, but can be a very effective one -- especially in larger churches with multiple age groups. Expanding this idea to using the handheld component to also facilitate this growing population group in churches can make a more interactive process out of this, and facilitate the already existing human connections that we make when child-care ministry is used.

What This Could Look Like
The idea would be a set of shared handhelds (for the sake of demonstration I'll just use the Palm Tungsten E2) which are synced to a central server by the child-care admin. A database application would be created for use on the handhelds that mirrors the already existing paper forms. However, the database would be the just the adminstrator's means of checking what child was where, who dropped off/picked up, and when. The administrators would carry these single purpose handhelds with them at all times, making sure to check with child-care workers as to who is where. In larger groups this could be expanded to a person(s) assigned over a particular age group but who also floats room to room during the child-care time.

Other Possiblities
A system like this could also be adapted to taking pictures of the children and saving them into that same database so that there is some sort of recognition accountablity that is able to be kept.

Advancing this further would be specific check-in handhelds where parents would sign their children in on the handheld, and then signature capture, along with photo capture, would be used to idenitfy what children are where and when they were there.

Just An Idea, But Could It Also Be A Need?
This is just an idea to show other areas where mobile tech can be integrated into ministry settings, Church Tech Matters had done a whole series on check-in software -- which is where this thought comes from -- and its really good to know what is available out there that hasn't been thought of or used just yet.

Seeing that budgets to do more elaborate systems are not there, I've proposed something that would take less in terms of setting up, but would be scalable to something more robust -- unless something like this already exists. How would your church or organization respond to a system like this? And is such a system even necessary in such intimate settings?

Labels: children, community, mobile

Last week, we posted about God's iPhone. A Bible reader website designed for iPhone/Nokia tablet users. There has been a major update recently:

Update for Monday, July 16, 2007. OK, with the exception of Revelation, the NT is complete. Ok, I couldn't go to sleep without doing Revelation as well. So now the entire NT is online. Please give me feedback!!

This is moving along quite quickly. Do check out God's iPhone whether you are on an iPhone or not and offer feedback. This is an exellent work.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, mobile, Nokia

Got this a few minutes ago from LJ:

The Problem
E-mail takes too long to respond to, resulting in continuous inbox overflow for those who receive a lot of it.

The Solution
Treat all email responses like SMS text messages, using a set number of letters per response. Since it's too hard to count letters, we count sentences instead.

Amen to this. Too often simple emails are treated like novels (hey, I'm guilty there) and those that need to be detailed end up being too short. Five sentences, we can do this (its done in this post not counting the quote).

I find it surprising that some ads for various devices (except the iPhone) don't take advantage of really showing you what all a smartphone can do. Its pretty impressive, and as I have experienced, some do get a bit jealous of the mobility and accessiblity from time to time.

But did you ever consider what would happen if laptops started revolting against devices such as the N95 -- which Nokia bills as multimedia computers and not smartphones?

I am guessing that the result would be pretty scary (see pic). And as All About Symbian found out, there just might be some(thing) lying in the weeds.

I only post this as a warning to all of you smartphone users out there. Beware the laptop :D

Labels: humor, mobile, N95, Nokia

Well, I am setting into Charlotte, and this week started my new job. I am working on getting a schedule of life where I can not be on the computer when I get home much, if any at all. This will be good for posting in some respects, but I don't even want to be in RSS feeds, so I am not sure how to handle posting at MMM just yet. For now, things will come at the end of my day if I am not totally overdone by 10hrs of being in front of a computer.

To that end, I do extend the offer to submitting news or articles to be posted at MMM. Use the contact form to submit your idea or the entire story you have written, and then I'll post it with attribution.

I really do wish that I could do a bit more with MMM in terms of technology evangelism (meaning: teaching Christ in tech, effectivness of tech in ministry, and administration the site and magazine more so than writing); but I really don't see that as being able to happen. To some degree, I think that MMM is a bit ahead of where some want to think about how to use mobile tech, and a bit not-techie enough for those who are in it and want more realtime solutions. I know how to address both, but as one man that is really hard.

I'm wanting to get back into reading the Word on my Treo again yet, I am finding that Bible readers offer nothing in terms of a great reading experience. Either I am bogged down with lackluster user interfaces and user processes in getting from the "what" I want to read to the "how" I want to read it. Or, I find that there is very little in terms of content that is navigable on all my devices so that I don't have to read, annotate, and consume the same things twice. I know that a Bible reader based on the connected-browser model is not ideal. And I am tired of making the suggestion for a hybrid Bible reader as nothing has changed in Bible readers to make me think anyone is listening.

I guess that is the bigger thing. I don't really know that anyone is really listening to MMM. Sure, there are comments here and there about various pieces. But I see the admin console and there MIGHT be one comment every few weeks. Outside of the giving away stuff just to get people to get here, I'd like to think that much of this content is worth more than that. But, I don't know. What I've regarded as valuable I've put out here and hope that it would spark, encourage, or outright change the way we look at how we use tech and walk with Christ in it. In looking at responses/comments, I just don't know that MMM has been successful at all.

Yea, its one of those crossroads kinds of thoughts. If I really can come to the conclusion that MMM has no more of a need, then I'll put it down. But if there is a need, I'd like to know where I could steer this ship to serve. Because anything else would be a waste of time, and add to the already loud noise of useless information on the Internet.

I saw this at Mobile Daily Devotions and thought it a good idea to post it here too.
Here are all the July 2007 mobile devotions for your cell phone in one list. Enjoy!

Our Daily Bread
Daily in Christ
Global Prayer Digest
Streams in the Desert
Prayer, Praise and Promises
Santapan Rohani – Our Daily Bread – Bahasa Indonesia
GEMA – Bahasa Indonesia
Nuestro Pan Diario – Our Daily Bread – Spanish

All of these are Java downloads, so you will at least need Java on your set-top or mobile device to read them.

Labels: Bible, devotion, Devotions, mobile, Our Daily Bread

Not everyone has a smartphone, some have feature phones and other mobiles that are suitable for the occasional game or reading, but nothing really consuming. That's still not an excuse for not having at least a devotional with you.

Darla Mack chimed in with her thoughts on Our Daily Bread for Mobile that she found via the website Mobile Daily Devotions. Here's more of what she had to say:

For a few months I've been a reader of Our Daily Bread. I have the booklets mailed to me and I try my best from time to time to give them a read. Of course, being me, I went on my search for something pointing towards a mobile version. I did come across a link to bookmark on my mobile but I wanted something a little better than that.

I came across a site called Mobile Daily Devotions and amongst their list of other spiritual downloads was Our Daily Bread.

This version of ODB is a java app that can be installed on your device. Since ODB is a monthly periodical you will have to download the newest version every month.

Ok, now no one has any excuse. Go get in some time with God.

Labels: Bible, Devotions, mobile, Our Daily Bread

Just a reminder, you can view MMM on your wireless mobile device by going to the following websites:

- MMM via Mowser
- MMM via Kayawa's Feed2Mobile

Both are great ways to keep up with MMM on the go. Thanks to Kayawa and Mowser for providing these mobile-friendly services.

UPDATE: The subdomian did not work as expected, so I have just added the direct links above. Bookmark either for quick and easy mobile access. Also, the Mowser version of MMM does not have the same issue that MMM seems to have on IE Mobile and Blazer, it reads the CSS correctly.

Labels: Kayawa, mobile, Mowser

Olive Tree Bible Software announces the publication of five new eBook biographies for your PDA or Smartphone written by F.B. Meyer, an outstanding author and dear man of God. Meyer has penned biographies of many of the most famous Biblical figures, including those below. Writing with his mighty prose, he quickly and easily brings these figures to life while presenting meaningful lessons to the reader's own heart. Now you can download and install these classic biographies to take with you on your Palm OS, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile Smartphone, or Symbian device.

This seems like something perfectly suited for mobile devices -- short literature about something simply taken from the Word that can edify and be a point of conversation to Christians and non-Christians alike.

You need Olive Tree's Bible Reader to read these biographies. Download and purchase from the Olive Tree website.

Labels: Bible, mobile, Olivetree

Found another iPhone Bible, this one by Apathy Online. Point your browser to http://iphone.clearsight.org/ and get to reading.

And here is another iPhone Bible (w/LDS): http://tall.mountainmighty.com/

ok, at this point, I am pretty impressed with the number of folks building Bible widgets/sites for the iPhone. The only thing I don;t like is that they are all looking the same. It would be nice to see a few skins, but I think that is something that n iPhone SDK will have to address.

And yes, this is part of that rabbit hole thingy.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, mobile

Confession: I do this thing online where i begin reading on sites that I usually read, and then start clicking on links that look interesting and begin reading more and more. And clicking more and more. I end up with this long history view of my browsing that spans hours and several pages (and I am usually reading multiple pages at once on tabbed browsers) and it becomes this rabbit hole. At some point in my reading, I always come back to MMM and find something that I posted that I want to see what else was posted about. This time it was that recent posting on God's iPhone. I wanted to know what else has been written about the Word on the iPhone and this is what happened...

...a Google search on iPhone and saw in one of the listings that a comany called 3onesix has made a Bible notes program called Elohiem Notes that should work on other Internet Tablet and PDA devices with a nice sized screen. Check out their website (very well done) and the other ministry products they offer.

Of couse, my usual web finds don't come that way. In that rabbit trail, I ran across a podcasting site called Geeks & God that talks about tech in Chrisitan ministries. When I get some time at my new job (praise God) I'll be listening in on the podcasts and getting some extra input from the other parts of the blogsphere of those things that meet at the intersection of faith an tech.

Ooh, I just noticed that the Geeks & God site has a forum about the Drupal content management system (CMS). Neat.

jumping out of the rabbit hole to continue this discussion some

For me, seeing what God is doing online is about me getting out there and just seeing through all of the holes and plains of content what has been planted out there, or what is about to come up. Too often, this web can seem like a place so big and so mainstream. But in every link there is the potential to find a gem that you would have not seen before. I look for those, in the hopes that meeting with others in the ministry that we make the web more than a slew of pictures, videos and links, but a tie that helps create avenues for a bit more than normal community interactions.

Plus, in all the hoopla about the iPhone catching the name of 'Jesus phone,' its good to know that some of the good content will come out on top that will really edify Him and not the tech that tries to be everything like Him.

Labels: community, iPhone, mobile, podcast

Israel Anderson wrote in on the previous article about the Bible on the iPhone to let us know that he has created the website/web applicaiton God's iPhone (the Bible for iPhone).

According to the website/web app:

This is a minimalist site for iPhone users, like me, who are looking for a Bible application for the iPhone. I will be developing this site LIVE so that you can use it right away and send me feedback. That also means things may break or not work right. Let me know if something isn't working for you or if you think there's a better way. This site will look plain weird on anything but an iPhone. I am a missionary with YWAM. If you would like to support my efforts through your prayer or financial support, I will be very blessed.

I'll be trying this really soon on the N800, but it looks pretty solid and a neat resource for using the Word online.

Ok, enough from me, go to http://www.godsiphone.com and get in the Word via whatever browser you have :)

Perosnally, I would love to see a company like Laridian, Olive Tree, eBible, Logo, or another get behind Israel and help with the support, content, and development of this web app. It's really got potential to bless folks on more than just iPhones.

Labels: Bible, eBible, GMPSoft, iPhone, Laridian, Logos, mobile, N800, Olivetree, usablity

Ericsson and Stanford University collaborate to advance e-learning and bridge digital divide in Africa
http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7752551526230266618/posts/default/2701543283304496318

This is a really neat story of making regionally relevant technology available in such a way that elevates communities. I wonder how many missions groups are taking lessons from this and applying towards tech and other fields.

Carnival of the Mobilists 81 - Pharaohs´ Style!
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mtrends/~3/132967363/carnival-of-the-mobilists-81-pharaohs-style.html

The Carnival is back and there is some really neat content in this one.

iPhone syncs with Microsoft Exchange via Synchronica's Mobile Gateway 3.0
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/IntoMobile/~3/132900320/iphone-syncs-with-microsoft-exchange-via-synchronicas-mobile-gateway-30.html

For the iPhone users in you who have IT departments who do not want to 'cooporate' hehehe. Sorry IT admins.

Borders Books in to Mobile
http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2007/07/016564.htm

Could a church sponsored version of this work for the many church library collections where some content is more readily available digitally than in print?

5 More Reasons I Love Doing Businesss, No, Ministry, Online
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChurchCommunicationsPro/~3/130977539/

Amen, and amen..

AIM-IT to launch first PDA Navigation Guide for Lebanon
http://www.geekcorps.org/2007/07/aim-it-to-launch-first-pda-nav/

Another really neat use for mobile tech in an area and region where being mobile and accessible is a way of life for many. Much like those that use GPS and Earthcomber for referencing points in the states, I wonder how a GPS plot is capable of helping missions workers identify areas of service and get there quickly.

Christianity, Communications & Digital Culture
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/textdriven/SMmG/~3/130241377/

Another great article for thought and movement.

Scientific outreach: providing clergy a resource
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/arstechnica/journals/~3/132379785/scientific-outreach-providing-clergy-a-resource

Any clergy that can provide some perspective on this and whether this is a great resource avenue or not?

That's all from the RSS feeds on mobile for now.

A few things today had me thinking of the verse that says:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Where my thoughts ran though were not so much the going, but of the aspect of making disciples. I read a good deal of news talking about the emergent church, raising the next generations, etc. and yet, I am always wondering of the "how" that people are going about in terms of making disciples to the current and upcoming "connected" Body of believers.

Two conferences coming up will be addressing this. The Internet Ministry Conference and the Catalyst Conference (the latter of which I just found out today by a faith-building post at Church Tech Matters). I see in both of these events that there is some room given to teach new and seasoned disciples of Christ the relevancy of knowing the tools and culture in order to be more effective in ministry. I only wonder what is happening on smaller levels?

When the conferences are over and there is only one or two really passionate people around wanting to reach people in the name of Christ thru various means; where are these people looking to make disciples, or to make an impact in their respective areas using those new fangled tools they have?

Being in a new fellowhsip in a new area of the US (for me), these are some of the questions that really challenge me in terms of making MMM more than just a blog/magazine. I want to build a reputation that says that one can come to me for learning about mobile tech and how it can be used to reach people for Christ. And at the same time, its not the tech that is the hit, but rather that people see the tech and instead of going "he's got that." They can say, "I wonder what God's doing with Him. Let me ask."

In addition, I'd like to be able to influence a generation of developers to think outside the usual paradigms of building applications that just do, but that enable Christ to be more effectively lived and preached. For that, I know that I need training and discipilship, but considering my heart, I wonder how many others do too?

Labels: church, community, mission

As some of you know, I have a pretty intiamte relationship with Bible+ as it is one of the first Bible readers that I used on a PDA and that I am also the person who's responsible for the current site's design and upkeep. One of the things that I had just kinda fell into today was redesigning the Bible+ front page (it's not done yet) but upon checking the links to one of the reviews that we had listed for Bible+, I saw that one had been recently updated (well, recent as in December of last year).

Bible Software Review (BSR) took a look at Bible+ and updated its findings on the program after version 3.2 was released late last year. If you are looking for a solid review of this free software, its worth taking a read.

In addition, there was a recently published review of Logos 3 (June of this year) at BSR. I wanted to quote from the article, but its really a deep and impressive piece to read. I encourage you to read the Logos 3 review, and other software reviews, feature articles, and blog at BSR.

Labels: Bible+, Logos, review

A few nights ago, Demetri and I tried to use our N800's to do a voice call. Unfortunately, we were not successful and pretty much blamed it on the Google Talk VoIP software that is a part of the N800.

Well, wouldn't you know it that now there is an update to the N800 that includes the popular and versatile Skype VoIP client. And though this release of Skype for the N800 doesn't include voice calling, it does present an interesting solution for thoes of you who might be looking at the N800 and do not have great cellular service in your homes or businesses.

In addition to the Skype addition, the N800's latest update features Adobe Flash Player 9 (the plug-in), support for using SDHC memory cards (meaning memory cards larger than 2GB will work just fine), performance enchancements to netowrking and battery life, and a slew of bug fixes.

I downloaded the update eariler via a link from Matt's post at the Mobile Gadgetteer. But you can easily perform the update by connecting your device to your computer and running the N800 Internet Tablet Software Updater application (if you are really bold, check out the posting at Maemo.org and try some other builds). It will see the latest version and then update your device. It should take about 10-15 minutes to do the download and then install.

There are a few new aspects to the N800 that I am exploring as I wanted to make this update a completly clean one, and so I did no backup. So far so good and performance is really snappy.

Jump in yourself and check out the N800 if you haven't already. As an Internet applicance, it really does rank way up there. And considering that you don't need a contract to have one, it makes also for an interesting iPhone alternative (at a lower cost too).

Labels: mobile, N800, Nokia

Was just reading over at phone different (yes, they spell it with lowercase letters) one of the many online overviews/reviews of the iPhone and in the comments was a link to a Bible that would be usable on the iPhone, N800, and other Internet-enabled mobile devices -- as well as right there at your desktop :)

ReadScriptures.com presents a really simple and straight forward interface for having the Bible on your mobile as a web application. Books are segmented by OT, NT, Books of Mormon (?), Doctrine and Covenants, and and PGP (?). There is also a search feature so that you can find specifc scriptures.

Note: From the looks of things, this seems to be a Bible reference geared to the Morman audience. While I myself am not a Morman, I do respect the resource that was presented and hence why I've made an effort to post about it.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, N800

Ok, so I barely went a day before going back to the desktop and posting an aritcle. But that wass because I was already there creating and editing for other sites and it was just easier since I was there. In the meantime, I came across some postings that provoked differrent types of thoughts, but most relevant to the mobile and connected lifestyle that we tend to live.

Church, or Experiencing God? - [church]
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=7380

This is probably something that I hear of more and more today. Besides the really base level of "what is church" that this article brings, we can and should also look at the concept of who we are representing whether online or offline, or in the mist of that mix.

More Than Simply Listening - James 1:22
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/trailblazin_devotions/~3/128311056/06-27-2007.php

Just take a read. LJ really hit on some really important points here.

Important Mobile Tool #6: Knowing How to Maximize Bluetooth
http://www.thesmartpda.com/50226711/important_mobile_tool_6_knowing_how_to_maximize_bluetooth.php

A good article with some getting started info on Bluetooth and what (besides ear pieces) is possible. Worth a read of the entire series if you have time.

Slick: "Oops, I'm Late!" GPS Auto-Alert App
http://feeds.smartphonethoughts.com/~r/smartphonethoughts/~3/130673730/index.php

Not that anyone that I know suffers from the occasional being late for appointments with friends or colleuges. But this application on a GPS-enabled mobile device could reeally be a reputation saver.

Will the iPhone destroy society?
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ThinkChristian/~3/130231656/

I always tend to shy away from articles like this because they take a small subset of human culture and put that out as if the entirity of humanity will fall to the side. I read this initally yesterday, but had to include it for obvious reasons. As Christians, we have a responsiblity to understand what and how technology is moving. We do not and should not be governed by it. Several points in this article are worth noting, and if you are a parent of a connected teen, you will want to pay attention to where and how they are connecting in light of the communicational culture shift. You cannot stop it, but you can teach appropriate use within it.

The looming of a digital dark age
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SmartMobs/~3/130666107/the_looming_of_....html

This is something that was pretty much inevitible. In past systems, making data formats that would grow and evolve easily was not as much a conceern because there was not a thought of a computing boom. But with that boom of hardware, software, and culture, older information flies out of the way prettty quickly if not checked. This article should serve as a note to admins to make sure that you are using file formats that grow, and storage solutions that can and will stand the test of time -- or at least until something else comes that it can be moved to.

Ironically, this is one of the reasons why I hesitate moving to a new mobile device. I have several Bibles in Bible+ format, and only the S60 Bible reader on Symbian devices can read it. I would hate to loose this library becasue I need to move to a new device that cannot read it. Hence, using open formats is much preferred (developers)..

WiFi in a North American city
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SmartMobs/~3/130589749/wifi_in_a_north....html

This is a good look at the state of the not-so-mobile wi-fi metro boom. For those of you in these areas with city-wide wi-fi, how much use are you really getting out of it? Or is it priced out of the range of really being useful on any level?

Digital Life vs Life Digital: Our Inevitable Digital Future
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/130762039/digital_life_vs_life_digital.php

I had not heard this analogy untl today and I think that it is a good one. Whereas we can sometimes get caught up into a digital life, it is probably better to seek a life that has digital components and then from there make the inate connections that make for fruitful and positive God-breathing relationships.

Help test my Nokia mobile web server
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SmsTextNews/~3/130065526/help_test_my_nokia_mobile_web_server.html

Now, if I did go with a Symbian device (I am thinking a N95 with at least 8GB internally, with space for an microSD card still, hehehe), I would totally think of and push MMM into being used on a mobile server. Besides being extremely accessible and able to admin (all on the device), I would be able to take this with me wherever and make MMM much more the mobile place to work.

From the perspective of some missionaries and church planters that I know, I would probably go with a mobile server solution like this just so that it is easier to keep on tasks with all that is on their plate without worrying about the overhead of an IT staff person or other aspects of running a site that would largely stay out of one's hands.

That's all for now. Have a good day/night all and thanks for visiting Mobile Ministry Magazine.

I keep going forth and forth about why I don't need a desktop/laptop as much and it really centers around the fact that I live in email and a browser (usually Opera). Other than that, I haven't much of a need to have a full computer. And considering all the talk about what is wasteful, you might want to think about your own usages as well.

You see. The Foleo really has captured my attention in part because for me it solves big issue that I have had with computing. I need my 'big' computer to be potable, usable, and ubquitious. I need to be able to move from room to room, or have it fit in a corner where I can forgetabout it while I travel, etc. At teh same time, I don't want it taking a lot of packing space, living space, or space at all. I'd rather that it make its presence felt in its usability, rather than its ability to just 'be there.'

Even the Dell laptop that I had required too much of that being plugged into the wall [feature] for it to be considered useful. I had to set up a desk for it because it got hot. I needed to get a new mouse for it because the touchpad wasn't ergonomic enough. And yet it was used and used until the motherboard crapped out. But there was nothing else, and until that time, I knew what I wanted, but it was not there. So I used my Treo and a keyboard, and from there ran until the need got too great for needing a better browser than the one on my phone.

I sit on this desktop that took three trips to the car to bring up two flights of steps. Its not at all my idea of efficient as by itself it warms a small room. I've only been in Opera (with a few tabs), Word (2 docs), and Outlook (because my aunt sent me a 2MB attachment to an email, ew) becaues I don't use more unless I am developing (and even then the addition is Notepad only). Simply speaking, the Foleo does that, and nothing much more. Simple and to the point computing. And I don't even need to worry about networking unless it is that I really need to get online.

One of the issues that the Foleo has though is browser tabs. I use at least 3-7 tabs in a browser when I am rolling along. The fact that this review states that you cannot have multiple windows or tabs does knock things. But in the forum discussion at TreoCentral of this, Wii Tabs was talked about and this seems a good enough solution if the Foleo can handle it.

Yes, I am convincing myself that I need another computing device (I do this often). But this time, unlike a few years ago when I had a Tungsten E and knew that the T5 was a better call for me; I know that I only need an attachment to my already existing soluiton, not a solution. That much says to me that I don't need much more, but like it was when I packed only a carload to move down South, I needed less in order to be more effective. In keeping with my mantra of tech being effective and usable, I see the Foleo elimating the fluff of my computing, and emphasizing the mobility that I so desire.

Labels: mobile

In a reecent discussion that I passed thru at Laridian (http://blog.laridian.com/?p=73), a woman who posted asked a question of what devices would work best with their software. As many of us find out when we move to handhelds, smartphones, and event UMPCs and TabletPCs, the used to be simple aspect of just choosing software and using it is made a lot harder. Because these devices are used more intimately, and are therefore more personal, we take a certain amount of chance and care when we select a platform that we are going to use to improve connectivity, communication, and personal productivity.

One of the things that you shohuld then always keep in mind is your reason for adopting the said hardware or software. There is not only the aspect of using something that could meet your needs, but also some level of administration and understanding of it that you will also want in order to determine that you have gotten your best value out of it. For example, if the woman in the above linked article purchased the iPhone expecting Laridian's software to work with it, should wouldbe disppointed. One, because Laridian has not announced iPhone BIbles, but two because her idea of the value of mobile tech goes beyond what it looks like, but rather, what it enables her to do to carry out the vision God has given her.

The other part of this is understanding what is out there so that you are more capable with what you already have. For example, I review Windows Mobile and Symbian smarttphones, and have a Palm OS one as my normal phone. Each offers different strengths and weaknesses depending on the application. But, in order for me to use my Treo better, I need to also know what other platforms have or will do. This gets me into thinking outside of the box and recommending to myself and others alternate methods of doing mobile, but also refreshes what I already know so that I am able to give an answer as to why his device or software works for me.

So, if you really wanted to know why I use Bible+, or why I carry a Treo and an N800, then just ask. You might be surprised that the answer isn't because they are the best, but rather, in juding the scope of what else is out there, these help me best persue God's heart for me, and display God's heart thru mobile tech.

Greetings all, this is probably going to be the last post that I do to MMM via a desktop for a good while. I am settling into my new Southern living and will be trying to get hooked into some income while furthering my settling down. Please do keep me in prayer as there are a ton of loose ends yet to be handled.

To that end, I shall be posting mostly via the Treo or N95. I'll be doing what I can to leverage mobile devices as I just don't have the time or patience to deal with this antiquated desktop of mine. Hopefully, I can get a job soon and I shall parlay this desktop into a 8GB (or 16GB if it is low enough) SD card and a Palm Foleo. I'm pretty much done with all out computing via Windows XP, and MacOS while great is not something I want to take the time to learn more of. The interesting thing is that most of what I have done since my laptop died last March has been saved first on a smartphone, and then backed up to my desktop, so I am pretty much ready to roll in that respect. Given that some online storage products might be able to work, I may end up using those for my needs in that move of computing.

I'll also be trying to leverage MMM @ Jaiku a bit more for interactivity and content. I'd also like to know if it is possible to use social networking as a "first introdcuction" kind of technology, not just something we do after we have connected and known each other. If you have not jumped into the MMM on Jaiku channel, roll on over and get signed up. And if you are in driving distance (or don't mind paying for a flight) let's use that as a means to do lunch :)

Labels: community, Jaiku, mobile

As it is, I am now in the Charlotte area and have little access to a full computer to knock out or at least have a sembliance of clean posts. Nevertheless, the email a post function of Bloggerr comes in handy for this and makes it a bit easy to get a collection of links up that are worth talking about on various levels.

The reason I like these links are because of the hoopla of the release of the iPhone this past Friday. Whether you are in the US or not, there is some feeling that the iPhone is changing the game for mobile devices on several levels. This links (read in my RSS queue) speak towards some ways that I think mobiility (not necessarly handhelds and smartphones) have an effect on how we approach the ideas of productivity and community in an increasingly connected world.

Chasing The Next Big Thing In Web 2.0

I totally am with CMT on this; though I do prefer the perespective of using one service that meeets a need and then bridging the gaps in communication as best as possible with that.

Would you rather use LinkedIn or Facebook?

Again, an excellent article for the networking side of things. I am just getting settled into the Charlotte area and am going to be using LinkedIn as an important connecting element to grow my connections in this area. So if you are in Charlotte, and I am not in your list, let's connect, and then let's encourage one anotheer beyond simiple contact sharing.

iPhone Web Development Frenzy

This article might appeal to some of you with iPhones, and others of you who dabble a bit or a lot with weeb development. Here's something for you to think about in reference to this article: let's say you have a signifiant vocal majority who has an iPhone (or other wireless mobile device); how do you leverage your resources and their devices to create never-before explored areas of ministry?

Just a few links for now. Me, I'm back to resting and reading and will be settling in to a different pace of life.

Seems like a new Bible reader has joined the fray on the Palm OS side of things. According to Palm Addict, PearBible is now available.

From the looks of the screenshot, it seems to have a pretty solid UI, however there is only the KJV available for it.

Read the Palm Addict post and download from PalmGear:
http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2007/07/pearbible-kjv-1.html