Mobile Ministry Magazine

So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. (Genesis 1:27-28 AMP)

One of the reasons that I have gone mobile is because I better understand that while the ability to be connected is good for the Body, the ability to use devices and services that better utilize the limited resources of this planet means that other generations will also be able to enjoy such inventiveness.

Something that many do not think about when they use computers, build offices, or even get in their cars to travel to this and that event is that there is a considerable impact on the earth around us that can be minimized when we start looking at the excess and start working to trim things.

It could be as simple as instead of having a church office that the church starts to use a mobile office where the office is actually a data center that is exercising environmentally mindful policies and then the staff members are working from home where they can be a more integral part of their local communities. Trading paper bulletins for SMS alerts might seem like a struggle for some members, but the saving of paper means that the administration staff can spend less time at FedEx and the church can spend those funds on enabling more members to stay connect whether they can make it to a service or the service come to them.

Now, we might not get immediately to the place where we are using phones made from biodegradable materials, but looking at the simple command at the beginning of creation to steward this earth, we can definitely do more than we do.

Has your church or organization started any policies to minimize the environmental impact of doing the work of ministry?

Related Articles:

• Review of the Nokia 3110 Eco-Friendly mobile (Smart Planet)
• Designing for Sustainability (Nokia Conversations)
• What if we all changed our chargers? (Nokia Conversations)
• Solio Solar Charging Solutions
• Working flexibly is paving the way for a more sustainable future (MOOF.mobi)
• Creating a Manifesto for Sustainable Life... (Tim Samoff)

Disclosure: Inner-Linked provides consulting services for those individuals and ministries who are looking to trim their environmental footprint while adding innovation and accessibility to their ministry endeavors.

Labels: 3110 Evolve, community, environment, Inner-Linked, Nokia, stewardship, sustainability, tech, usablity

As briefly touched on yesterday, and basically alluded to since MMM came into being, Inner-Linked has been launched. A consulting and training service, Inner-Linked seeks to take lessons gained from Mobile Ministry Magazine, and apply those lessons directly to pastors, missionaries, and your leaders in non-profit arenas.

The best analogy to what Inner-Linked offers is technology enablement over technology support. Inner-Linked doesn't aim to fix usability issues, create applications, or even fix someone's device. Its simple a teaching pot. A place where those interested in mobile technology can gain the knowledge and understanding of how it will be used in their capacity.

The initial service offerings by Inner-Linked are Purchase Assistance and Mobile Device Training. Purchase Assistance walks through purchasing a mobile device, from comparison shopping to addressing the direct user needs. Inner-Linked wants to make sure that you purchase a device or service that fits you, not something you have to fit into. Mobile Device Training is a three course one-on-one (or one-on-many) option where you gain basic, advanced, and specific knowledge about your mobile device or service. From backups and insurance, to using social networks, to strategically implementing a mobile component to one's workplace, Mobile Device Training aims to make sure that whatever mobile technology you are linked to, its something that remains effective past the time when the newness runs off.

Initially, Inner-Linked will be operating as a one-man show. I've got to get a number of things together before adding staff (and trust me, that's really needed already). Inner-Linked is based on making interpersonal relationships, so for now things stay local (Charlotte, NC) and East Coast USA (within reasonable traveling distance).

Chances are that if you are reading this, you might not need something like Inner-Linked. But you do know someone who does. Pass them Inner-Linked's website address (http://inner-linked.com) as well as MMM's and let them see that there's more to mobile ministry than what we can see now; a whole generation of folks around the world use and understand this technology, and using it effectively to them and the generations to come speaks well towards becoming enablers of those who share Christ's passion to the ends of the earth.

Related Links:

• Inner-Linked
• Mobile Ministry Magazine Issue 5: Keep Moving Forward

Labels: community, Inner-Linked, issue 5, mission, tech

The theme of things this week seems to be on part with reflecting on the past, and moving towards the next. Contrary to the internal battle that I have towards integrity, finances, and just life as I age, I really am enjoying things as I have had a lot of places where I am able to discover new parts of myself and put away some older parts.

I went back in the MMM archives today as I was looking towards some records of a few things and saw one of the post popular posts that we ever published, The Paperless Pulpit (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). It was amazing to not just have such a suitable contribution, but for it also to garner some national attention. That, and a phone call that I received last week, just encouraged me that MMM is in the right place, even if it is a bit different and on another stream than what other tech ministries do.

That being said, I am glad that MMM is continuing to move forward. Besides having MMM as the web magazine resource, we also have Inner-Linked as the offline training resource. Inner-Linked is that part of MMM we have talked about from the beginning. A place of training and instruction for pastors, missionaries, and organizations wishing to better apply mobile technology resources to their abilities to inreach and outreach. Its exciting for me because I have to continue to trust God with everything, including the direction and administration of MMM and Inner-Linked. But also because its that moving forward we talked about earlier and doing so in a way that speaks towards glorifying God as best as our humanity allows.

I won't short you all by not speaking a bit more about Inner-Linked later. I've not had the time to write much of anything up for it. But there will be signage on the site soon, and your prayers (and business) will be definitely appreciated.

Labels: Inner-Linked, tech