Mobile Ministry Magazine

In the earlier years of MMM, we had this series called "If Paul Had A Blog." What was really interesting about this series was looking at the effect of the technology that we use now on the missionary journeys that Paul experienced.

Since its been a while, I wanted to take another look at this. And given the attention that smartphones and mobility have taken with a more mainstream audience, we can get a glimpse of just how indepth technology is today, and some of the challenges that could be had.

First thing to note, Paul would have had a mobile phone. Probably not the N95 that I get to carry around, but something along the lines of the Nokia 6210 Navigator. This device has a few things that would have been beneficial - at least until a shipwreck or three - GPS with a built-in compass for Nokia Maps, ability to access the web, and a camera that had the ability to not just send text of what he was experiencing and whom he was thankful for, but images as well.

Now, he would have had to do all of this on a prepay system because there would be no way that a person could move that much across various countries and have a contract, it would just be a hassle in dealing with the billing.

He'd have the ability to use something like Nokia nviNe in order to allow others to keep up with his journeys. The really interesting part about this would be that we could see where he would be shipwrecked, and then when he gets a new mobile and starts up the service again, we can see that break in action and begin to keep him in prayer or launch a search.

Now, it would also be of his benefit to create sermons that could be uploaded and shared to places like YouTube, Flickr, Ovi, Facebook, or MySpace. He'd also have the benefit of being able to keep tabs with the latest policy changes happening from Rome with SMS alerts (if he was willing to sign up for an SMS service from Rome that is).

I would be interesting to see also how Paul would teach the use of this tech. He speaks on his ability to speak many languages to the Corinithians, but always emphasized the need to make sure that the Body was best served with whatever was brought to the table.

The more I think about it, the mobile tech tools of today present an easier means for us who are missions minded to be like Paul. Sure, we might not travel the world, nor need everyone to know what we are doing. But we can create lines that intersect with the lives of others, and then allow the technology to better accent or even encourage the lives of those who might not get a chance to see us in person.

I wonder if the Body is looking to go back towards doing this in various applications? It would be pretty interesting don't you think?

Labels: blog, camera, maps, mission, mobility, multimedia, Nokia, Nokia Maps, SMS, tech

As one who is always looking for ways to have mobile devices be a more effective aspect to the communication process, a recent demonstration by Nokia of a service/feature called Point and Find got me thinking of that ole bulleting board, and how something as simple as a mobile phone camera can make your church/organization's website more like a portal of information.

Let's start with the bulletin board. Almost every church has one. And most times, that information is pretty static. Things such as fund raisers, prayer lists, and upcoming events are pretty much the norm. Using Point and Find and a mobile phone, the idea of posters that connect to the church/org website can now be explored.

Much like the You Tube demonstration shows for movie posters, one could use this same idea to not only allow one to snap information of an upcoming item, but also get more information to that item, directions, social network profiles, or even subscribe to events that are happening.

For Nokia, this was a demonstration of a possiblity of the way we live next. I think that for the Body (and organizations in general), this kind of thinking - merging online and print worlds - could lead to some interesting connections between people and events that technology sometimes allows us too easily to forget.

What are your thoughts? Is this something that could work for a ministry/org that you are involved with? Why or why not?

Labels: camera, communication, community, mobility

One of the difficulties that people have with mobile devices is that idea of managing the resources. Speaking just of books right now, its pretty easy to manage a print library. You see colors and text and then organize how you feel. On an electronic device, its a bit harder because they all are in the same place and the organization is usually the department of the developer towards what ways would work best.

But I'm mobile and like to give books away, so that presents yet another issue. Some ways I am thinking about better managing my print and digital assets actually include using bar codes (or QR codes) and a bit of fun with the digital camera.

First I would take a picture of all of my books as they sit on their shelf. Ideally, taking a picture of the binding in this way would also give me a view of the bar code or QR code that is on the book. My camera would then read that information and ask if I want to save it into my digital library (think bookmarks in the browser). Depending on the license, that digital library would indicate if there is an electronic version of that book for download (free or reduced purchase).

For those books that are completely digital, these also appear in that digital library, incdicated with an icon that it is digital only. Like the print books, there would be a link to the physical version, purchasable at a reduced price as well.

After that I would manage thing via that digital picture that I took. Physical assets would sit on that bookshelf, and the digital ones would be shown overlayed on an additional "shelf." By moving the device up/down/in/out I would be able to view books zoomed in on a level that makes it easy to see what I want to read next, or what was lent out. Finally, I would be given a prompt every time a new book is added digitally to update my bookcase picture.

Given the breadth of books that many have, and most will not go completely digital for a while, this would seem an idea means to not only keep track of books, but also integrate our mobile devices for a more organic book experience. For all of you who are teachers and pastors, with shelves and shelves of books (some of which not seeing an eye in years), how does a solution for managing your collections in a manner like this work for you? And to others, how could you see solutions like Logos, Laridian, Olive Tree, etc. working in something like this to make it easier to read more and share what you've read?

Labels: Bible, camera, Laridian, Logos, mobiles, Olivetree, print, reading, tech