Mobile Ministry Magazine

It the last weekend in January - when a number of churches on the East Cost of the USA have canceled services due to snow and ice that has blanketed the region. What follows are my thoughts on getting around the weather to continue the fellowship in the respect to biblical models and traditions.

Sitting on Twitter, I saw that my former church had canceled service due to the snow/icy conditions that hit Charlotte. This makes a lot of sense, and I'm pretty sure that many churches are doing the same, since the conditions don't make it pleasant to drive safely.

However, I did have a question in respect to the sermon. Many people attend church for the sermon and the fellowship. Missing one of these for a Sunday usually isn't a problem, but both of those present a bit of a challenge for many believers. And so I ended up tweeting the following (two messages):

Given the state of mobile/web, weather shouldn't impact the ability to preach a message (tweet)? But weather can and does impact the ability to fellowship; how does the church create/use virtual ties when impacts happen (tweet)?

Now, Wellspring's pastor did say that he would be recording and posting the sermon - and this is good. But the second question remains, how can we skillfully and appropriately use mobile/web technology in order to keep the ties of fellowship when weather or other conditions dictate otherwise?

I've got a few ideas:

• Skype or other type of video/conference call
• Sharing an iTunes/Pandora/last.fm/Spotfy/last.fm/etc. playlist at a certain time for "praise and worship," - adding the element of an accompanying blog post on the church blog for those who'd like to post their prayers, "amens," etc.
• (Nearly)-Live streaming of the small groups who are able to meet in the home for worship, fellowship, and prayer

Do any of you employ these methods when weather or some other circumstance interrupts the usual flow of fellowship/worship? And if so, what have been some of the positives and negatives of doing this?

Weather is indeed a limitation of fellowship in the traditional face-to-face sense. But, is the traditional means of fellowship strong enough to deny the versatility of the technology that's now at our fingertips?

Note: I'm not specifically asking about a full internet church experience or internet church campus. I am speaking specifically towards using the mobile and web arenas when normal fellowship and worship methods are interrupted. When we speak on an internet church, we can start talking the fun stuff like location-displacement of elements of the fellowship - which is a good bit different when it happens on a continual basis.

Labels: accessiblity, church, communication, community, flexibility, tech

I responded to another of Gabe's insightful posts (Twittering in Church) because its a subject that I think needs all kinds of abilities to understand. Afterwards, I wanted to post the response here - as this is a slightly different audience - and continue some of that discussion because it hits on areas of contention that have been had online and off. At the same time, this is the kind of discussion that we should be having as a gathering (here @ MMM) of tech-enabled, worshipers of God. Here's the comment (please do read the blog posting and comments afterwards for the complete context):

Teaching what is appropriate and not is a cultural and social function [of technology]; this should be something that is done independent of the technology trends [for example in discipleship], and at the same time it [the teaching/discipling] should mind those trends and give wisdom where needed.

Simply saying that "because a pastor is preaching doesn't mean you should be texting and tweeting" is not a remedy for the issue – that is, you are only addressing symptoms of a greater thought that most likely wasn't taught. Namely: ethics (re: Proverbs and Ecc.).

It is only after teaching these ethical issues of social, technology, and culture that one can sit and make the rules that others suppose should be the case of this digitally native and very social generation. I’m sorry folks, but most of you commenting are more like myself where you sit as a late Gen X or early Gen Y-er; you aren’t native to this way of communitating and therefore your "rules" and "perceptions" will cause more problems than they solve.

To those peeved that people can text better than they can recite books and doctrine, do a better job discipling and then maybe you won't have the tech issue to harp on as loudly. And yes, I very much practice what I preach – Gabe can totally vouch for that much.

Lastly, I too am of the opinion that "church" is what happens in-between the Sunday worship gatherings. That the active acts of creating community with people in and outside of the Christian faith should be what defines church. If this action is spilling over into our use of tech, and moreso into those worship gatherings, then we need to (a) redefine and further emphasize what it means to be a gathering of worshippers, and (b) do a much better job of discipling one another towards healthy boundaries and margins, making sure that we don't miss that knowledge and understanding of this specific time and space towards technology, while sharing the implications of this change and what it needs to mean for us and those around us as we engage in this thing called church.

Labels: church, community, mobility, SMS, twitter

I've had this post from Church Relevance sitting in my Google Reader starred items list for a while. About the best part of the post is stated here:

Tech Novelty is: Being blinded by the novelty of an exciting new technology and consequently misusing the technology for novelty's sake. Misuse of technology may be caused by lack of training and/or from the inability to focus on anything except the novelty.

The post goes on to say,

When used correctly, I think modern worship environments can spark wonder and awe in the beauty of God's creation much like the architecture of Gothic and Renaissance cathedrals did. Or when used correctly, worship environments can help, often through simplicity, guide worshipers' attention to what truly matters - God. When used improperly, worship environments distract worshippers from God and even at times focus their "worship" on the worship leader, another church "celebrity," or even technology itself.

We talked some many posts ago about how technology can be a distraction even in the setting where we are using it to grow theologically. This post at Church Relevance just drives home this point all the more, no matter what areas of tech and worship we are addressing with the rest of the Body.

Labels: church, misuse, tech, worship

Some days ago, I was reading this article about 2D bar code scanning and mobile devices over at ReadWriteWeb and it struck me that this might be a neat way to make it easier for people to add information about church locations, events, etc. right to their mobile phone.

As with most things, this would require that the mobile have the ability to read the bar code (Inigma, Kaywa, etc. provide this solution, Sprint is starting to include it as an optional download for their devices too). But then it would be just a matter of making sure that something was printed on the flyer, business card, etc. that would indicate that the information could be scanned with a phone camera.

Something like "scan this code to add this event to your phone's calendar." This could even work in some of those assemblies where people display information via a projector - make the announcement, show the slide/screen of the QR-code, and give a minute for everyone who can to scan it. Sure, it would make for a lot of clicking, but it would make it easier for people to grab and keep attention to needed information.

What are your thoughts? Is this something, in a small or large capacity, that would have a way of working. Especially in light of printing costs not getting any cheaper, and the attention rate for flyers and announcements being low.

To read the QR Code shown, download the Kaywa QR Code reader (or use another) to your mobile, then take the picture using the software.

Labels: church, communication, community, paperless, QR Code

I'm writing this about 4hrs before Nokia's big announcement; which I think at this point will be a lot bigger than the rumors that have abounded this Monday.

To spark some thought, and to get us thinking about a bit more than just 'mobile,' I want to touch on a subject based on the title of this article: Is Mobile Computing the Next Step for Churches?

No. Mobile isn't the next step. Its the current step. The next step is making sure that context will be utilized to the needs of the individual, the community, and the overall the world.

Mobile devices are tools used to enrich actions that used to be more tedious. We are seeing more people pick up on this as devices like the iPhone become popular. But they are not picking up on mobile, they are picking up on a need and running from there.

My pastor's discovery of mobile through his iPod Touch pretty much sets in tune this. Its not about mobile in the sense that a device has to do this or that. It has to do with mobile meaning that devices and services have to be responsive to the needs and goals of pushing the Body forward. Understand these elements, and then presenting Christ becomes easier. Understanding this and living Christ-centered lives becomes more noticeable.

Labels: church, commentary, community, mobility

I'm seeing the global economy do its dip like everyone else. However, I feel optimistic because there are areas that have not been taken advantage of that should be. And of course, many of them have to do with mobile tech. Ironically, some of these areas are places where the Body can and should become leaders in.

Communication is one of those fields that just tends to morph. It doesn't really dim or go away (outside of catastrophic events). So how can we take mobile tech, and apply it here?

Churches can push towards using renewable energy resources (wind, solar, etc.) to fuel their buildings. Besides cutting energy costs, this will allow some larger churches to become 'green' information centers where communities and businesses can gather without incurring a larger resource hit.

Churches can use the idea of satellite campuses to not just be 'church on the Internet' but create points of information, ministry, and interest that work alongside tourism industries. Religion being the hot topic, the Body becoming a hub for 'what's happening in this community' can provide IT direction, ad revenue, and community engagement on various levels.

Educational plants. Yes, with all the intellectual capital in many churches, we should be creating more schools where we are teaching our communities how to live efficiently, and effectively, given the technology in our hands. Whether that is teaching a community how to do mobile banking, or just facilitating lesson planning and dissemination with the school district, there are some solid opportunities here that can be done.

So what thoughts about what we can do as the Body do you have? And if you've put any of these things into practice, what are some of the positives and negatives that have been seen?

Labels: church, economy, education, mobile, mobility

Digital.Leadnet had a post earlier this week that asked if your church/org website is mobile-friendly (meaning, does it have a website viewable by mobile devices). I look at that post for a few hours, chewed for a bit. And said that mobile sites shouldn't be the period. We should go further.

Forget finding your church's mobile website. Can I find it on Google Maps or a Garmin/Navteq GPS as a point-of-interest? What about an ad in the yellow pages/on a bilboard that shows the intersection with a big arrow? Why just limit to a web browser when mobile devices are on our person all the time?

Does your church have self-produced worship songs? Are you on MySpace, last.fm, and other sites where people can stumble into you?

What about applications like Sports Tracker? We talked about how you can upload a workout there. Ever consider uploading tracks and workouts of how people can get to your fellowhsip?

Consider the context: people want to engage God and are willing to listen to you. You've got to go beyond mobile to meet them.

Labels: church, community, Google, Google Maps, GPS, mobility, Sports Tracker

The Nokia Conversations blog has highlighted an article and its source post speaking about internet etiquette education in [South] Korea. Being that mobile and internet use is very high in terms of use and lifestyle in [South] Korea, its almost appropriate that they would be one of the first to take a whole sale approach to addressing use and ethics for parents, youth, and culture.

This quote speaks to why this matters and why as a Body we need to jump in and learn/apply these same lessons:

...many children including myself go through the phase when they relate their identity to imaginary or fictional characters. i am no expert in this area so i do wonder how future children would discover and exploit the fact that they can be the imaginary character to a certain extent if they want to, aided by other ‘people’ in the digital world, not just by their own imagination while they are going through the blossoming age of developing their social perception and individual identity. it is up to whether the child will be able to master the delicate skill set of constructing and maintaining the perception of a world in a non-physical form...

This is a subject that begs discussion on so many levels, not the least of which is because the technology moves so fast that education can sometimes be seen as a chore and something that holds it back. I disagree with this notion, and therefore discussions and policies like these are needed so that we don't end up with a culture that has a jaded sense of what is real versus what is virtual - or in other words find their identity in more than just the social programs they are engaged in.

Check out the posts at Nokia Conversations and Nokia Design Researcher Younghee Jung, and then the original Korean article (its in Korean) speaking about these policies for more insight and backstory on this.

As leaders and parents, how do you teach ethics, while allowing the technology to be a place where imaginations can form maturely?

Labels: children, church, communication, community, computer, education, parenting, teaching, tech, teens

Over at the Digital Sanctuary, a post and conversation has been going on entitled 10 Challenges facing the Church in Cyberspace. Now, I'll not take her points and just reiterate them here. Its better (for our needs) to look at these challenges within the lens of mobile technology and see where challenges and solutions might be a bit more of a behavior change than a technological one.

(1) Accept the Virtual World's significance:
Its not just virtual, its mobile and virtual. Content is not respective of the tool anymore, and therefore the church's response needs to accont for this. Not just a mobile version of a website either, integrating SMS/MMS, and teaching about security and safety online needs to be areas where the church steps into and innovates.

(2) View online expressions of Christianity as valuable extensions of real world faith:
Take this how you want to, but frankly speaking the current and next generations of Internet users are not living two lives (online and offline). The two intermingle and therefore what they do online with faith has just as much importance as what they do offline. In other words, get on their phone and see what they are living out from what you are/aren't teaching.

(3) Embrace the opportunity for Church without borders:
This should go without saying on a mobile site, but think about it. If you are mobile, time and geography are only contexts, they are not content. Learn to get out of the idea of content and context (in terms of location) being the same and see how the Church can and should engage people outside of traditional locations.

(4) Welcome the presentation of God's Word in the vernacular of current culture :
Ok, so we aren't going to be using IM chat in the mist of a service (all the time), but understanding how language is changing within the context of mobile and Internet will help you decode how best to engage people with Christ.

(5) Respond to the globalization of the planet with hope:
Nuff said; its all possible. Let's just show folks how God's folks can bring the hope of the Gospel with it.

(6) Develop and maintain an online presence purposefully populating cyberspace :
How do you do this with mobile? Easy, get out of the house and create a mash up map where you let people know that they can engage you and Christ and utilize healthy boundaries (presence notifications in phones and common sense with people) to emphasize that you are reachable as well as available. Mobile allows this more than any other medium, and its getting better.

(7) Establish virtual outposts for evangelizing, preaching, equipping & training :
Ok, the cynic in me says get a Mobile Web Server and do something fun :) But this is as simple as just making sure that your mobile tools are not just tools for being productive but also an outlet to teach. Our best reference is Inner-Linked; taking what we've learned from using the tech and making a place to teach usability and accountability in the forfront of that use.

(8) Create interactive portals for experiencing Church (streaming media):
This is the same as #6 in terms of mobile. Everything about being mobile is interactive, take advantage of it (as the kids with the PSPs and DS Lites how to do it if you aren't sure).

(9) Practice spiritual disciplines in the global online conversation :
You are not immune from laws, nor can you claim that ignorance is a calling card. From end-user-license agreements, to service agreements, to warranties, to local and international laws, we are responsible for upholding those things that God has allowed rulers to establish. And from there, we find innovative ways to address Christ-less-ness in areas where those laws curtail the freedom to believe on Him. This also includes personal boundaries towards use and being connected; learn how to disconnect and make engaging people the point of mobile tech, not just falling in love with the shiny-shiny.

(10) Encourage strategic investment in the iGeneration:
Donate, set up scholarships for execllence, teach, develop programs, work alongside those that already have programs, or simply just connect with people and families in need to knowing that digital is life-next.

Now, its your turn. Go and teach all, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You've got mail to deliever.

Labels: children, church, community, computer, content, culture, Internet, mobile, mobility, stewardship, sustainability, website

Given the topics already talked about this week, to have this post come across the inbox was enlightening and challenging all the same. For as much as I like what tech can do, to lose the interpersonal interactions of fellowship should be a careful observation of any technologist.

Here's a snippet of a great article for reflection and discussion:

...That goal also means that Christians need to be encouraged to see their individual spiritual lives as essentially and meaningfully connected with the spiritual life of their churches. Most Christians have what one author calls a "devotional theology" that fails to see the relevance of the local church. But the New Testament places greatest emphasis not on our private, personal lives but on our public, corporate lives. God's plan for disciplining His people is the local church...

Read the rest at the New Attitude blog.

Labels: church, community, tech

This year, one of my biggest struggles with just about everything has been to remember that there's a good bit of relevance that must be undertaken with everything. And especially in the field of mobile technology where things just move faster than people want to even write about, its important to remember something I've been told often, technology is only relevant when it is personal. Some recent thinkings have put me in a position though where I realize that I have to do a lot more evangelism than just using this stuff in order to make this point clear.

I can start with the example of my use of Nokia's Mobile Web Server. Frankly speaking, this is probably one of the most far out things that I use and one of those things that people go "ooh" about, but just don't understand. Without repeating the entire post that I wrote up on my personal website, I will say it like this: using a web server on your mobile phone, or even just the idea of having a web server in your home gives YOU control of the information that you put on the net. Not Google, not Nokia, not anyone. You administer it, and you say how it gets anywhere, if it goes out at all.

The mobile device that's that and adds the ability to associate that personal information with the context of your environment. Its not just an IP address, its an IP address that's attached to a photo of a place or a contact person or a a mesh of all of those and more. That's not the web virtual, that's a literal web. And its already something in your hands. Imagine knitting the Body together with that kinda stuff.

Or about about mobile devices in general? Most would say that while they are enabling, that they offer no real benefit over other computing situations. That might be right, until you consider the cost of powering devices. The wastefulness that we display as a computing culture is crazy. Slimming down to the bare essentials should allow us the time to develop more accessible and renewable solutions, while making all of those previously stated connections all the more fruitful.

Connecting: I want to be the kind of parent who has the "key" for allowing his household to be online. If you will, I'd like my mobile device to be the gateway for my family. This way I can see and interact with what my kids are doing, and my wife has an accessible and open means to keep me accountable. Far reaching? Nope. Using something like this soon to come software and a solid smartphone this is not just possible, but probably advisable.

Look. I am not saying that we have to do this. I am saying that the technology is relevant if we look at it as being so. I still think that a partnership between churches and developing nations could do more for increasing technical competencies for both sides than just doing nothing. I still feel that solutions like Earthcomber should be used by more urban missionaries to share and live the Gospel. I still see the need for people to put these devices down and interact with one another being an important part of using these devices. I just have a problem with just letting it sit here. I'm made in God's image. I'd like to believe that somewhere in me beats the ability to be relevant with whatever is in my hands and life.

For me, it just happens to be mobile tech and its various applications, intersecting with my faith, in a way that just happens to push the green light out a bit longer.

Labels: accessiblity, Bible, children, church, community, computer, environment, innovation, Internet, Mobile Web Server, mobility, networking, OLPC, smartphone, software

If there is one thing that I wish that more churches and ministry organizations were able to take advantage of it would be the use of RSS. Not just for things like knowing when the pastor's blog is updated, but for everything (calendars, announcements, contact lists, etc.).

Think about it. Most of the information that you need from an organization is either very static (contact information) or very dynamic (dates to events). What if RSS (and XML in general) was leveraged as a means to get people this information. So, if you will, instead of just going to a website and having to wade through various menus of content. One would go to the page and simply see static information such as the contact information, and the rest would be RSS subscription buttons.

Why strip the data down to the bare essentials you ask? Simply because we can and it would mean that more people could access it the way that is best for them instead of the way that we content producers think is best.

A more indepth, yet similar proposal has been made to the US government (via Ars Technica). If effect, instead of having a ton of websites that are hard to maintain, rarely accessible and standards compliant, just give the information and let the user get to it as they wish. Essentially making portals of information just that. Portals of information - leave the presentation (look and feel) out for the applications that interact with it to take care of.

Given that many of you read MMM though some kind of RSS feed reader, this is something that you are already doing. What kinds of thoughts do you have towards this, and is this something that many churches could really get away with doing in order to streamline their online presence, and allow for more than just the best hardware to engage with them?

Labels: church, community, mobility, RSS

The folks at Church Relevance have develed a bit deeper into a subject that we spoke on recently about the church's response to the increasing gas prices and what that is doing to communities coming together. Here is a snippet:

New Ministry Opportunities
Although rising gas prices create a number of problems, they also create some opportunities. Mosaic Church (Charlotte, NC) gave away $2500 worth of free gas ($15 per car) to bless their community and create awareness for their church. And Fellowship Church (Miami, FL) created a direct mail piece that could be redeemed at the church for a $5 gas card.

Read the rest of the post 10 Theories on High Gas Prices and Chruch at Church Relevance.

I'm with the thinking that we need to think of creative solutions instead of continuing with the status quo.

Some of you have been hit by gas and other resource shortages, what are you (or your communities) doing to adjust and how is mobile technology playing a part (if it is)?

Labels: church, community, mobile, mobility, tech

Hopefully the folks at MinistryTECH won't get on me for getting this up late, but the next MinistryTECH conference has been announced and will be held April 23-24 in Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA).

MinistryTECH is a national conference dedicated to church information technology, audio-visual, and production professionals. Come join some of the leading church IT professionals to learn how they are using technology in their ministries.

In addition to the coming conference, there has also been a call for presentations for the 2009 meeting. Here's the information from the post:

We are accepting workshop proposals from ministry leaders, volunteers, and vendors on all topics relating to ministry IT, AV and production. Workshop submissions will be reviewed by the program committee and selected presenters will be notified by August 31, 2008.

While we would like to accept all proposals, we always have significantly more offers than available slots for speakers.

Workshop presenters typically cover their own travel and lodging expense, but do receive complementary registration to the conference. Breakout session speakers typically do not receive honorariums.

The following items must be included in your workshop proposal:
- Basic contact information (name, organization, mailing address, email, phone)
- Biography of presenter (1 page max)
- Session title Session summary (100 words max)
- Workshop outline (1 page max)
- Description of handouts to be provided
- Equipment needs

Email your proposal to tsanders@ministrytech.org. Deadline for submission is August 15, 2008.

Well folks, you have your assignments. Either make plans to go, or encourage someone to go. Lord willing, I'll have something to send to these folks as well, and maybe I'll get to see you there.

For more information, visit the MinistryTECH website.

Labels: church, Church IT, community, information technology, MinistryTECH, presentations, tech

Ok, so I've already blasted the fact that we don't get out enough and just commune with one another. The fact is though that there is sufficient mobile tech out to help these matters in these times. Applications such as Earthcomber and Google Maps have been around for a long time helping us get from point to point. And how Nokia Maps 2.0 joins the fray as another solid entry that gives you n excuse to be sitting still (lest you are reading MMM).

Nokia Maps 2.0

Nokia Maps 2.0 was previously a beta application in Nokia's Betalabs. It has recently been made an official release and adds several new features for those who are unaccustomed to using GPS, maps, and location-based services in their mobile device. And to those who are familiar, there are a few new wrinkles that can be explained in the terms Drive, Walk, and Discover

Drive, Walk, Discover

Drive is similar to how many use GPS devices when in automobiles. Nokia Maps 2.0 adds an improved Car Navigation component which adds PND-level car navigation experience with faster routing; an updated User Interface featuring a new navigation carousel with pre-defined navigation views such as navigation, arrow, and bird-eye views; and enhanced navigation features such as signposts and multi-stop route planner which are usually found on top-of-the-line GPS devices.

The Walk feature is designed for use when walking instead of moving quickly over terran such as in an automobile. Walk features a pedestrian navigation system which uses visual guidelines, contextual information about the surrounding areas, and in supported devices, the direction being walked. The Walk features public transit information for 17 cities with localized icons. For better performance, Walk uses advanced multi-sensor positioning using A-GPS, and pedestrian orientation using the compass feature (specifically to the Nokia 6210 Navigator device).

Discover takes advantage of the fact that there are areas to be discovered in traveling. This feature offers satellite images with hybrid rendering overlays for selected cities; a "one-box search" for places, addresses, restaurants, nightlife, outdoor, accommodation; and premium multi-media city guides including features photos, video, audio streams.

Use and Availability

Nokia Maps 2.0 uses vector-based maps provided by Navteq and TeleAtlas which cover over 200 countries and over 70 of them navigable. Maps can be downloaded over the air directly to selected devices or by using the Nokia Map Loader on a PC. A new beta version of the Nokia Map Loader is available on the Nokia Betalabs website.

Nokia Maps 2.0 is a free application, however some features may have trial-then-purchase limitations. Nokia Maps also uses data services in order to view and update map data. An unlimited data plan, or Wi-Fi connection is advised for use.

To download Nokia Maps 2.0 and more information, visit http://www.maps.nokia.com.

So, Get Out A Bit

Even if you do not have a Nokia device, that is no excuse to not get out a bit and see the community around you. Besides being able to interact with people, you can also find out about places to eat that you've not see and sow into local businesses. And you never know, you might end up going out and about and catch a crime in progress that you'd be able to report. (LINK HAS QUESTIONABLE AD CONTENT)

Get it? Use that mobile tech and let that faith intersect with someone :)

Labels: church, community, Earthcomber, Google Maps, Internet, maps, people, software

I was reading through RSS feeds when I noticed a post talking about the church's response to the rising gas prices. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't see much wrong with that posting, nor with what some churches are doing to get people to fellowship in the mist of this. I just wonder if there is a solution towards things that we've kind of missed a bit.

After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:1-3 KJV)

There are a few ways to look at a crisis such as this. Either we have to continue in the ways that we are used to, and make every effort to continue what we know. Or, we take the situation as a chance to do something different and effect change differently.

What I have seen (in the USA) has been much more of the former and not enough of the latter. Innovation in these times looks like carpooling, cell groups replacing Sunday services except for once a month, and localized community outreach. There is more than enough ability with the Internet and communication technologies to fill in the gaps until the crisis is no more, or if it is more, we are effectively going out into our communities and becoming an agent of Christ, changing an apparent crisis into an opportunity.

Think about it like this: you have an opportunity to drive less, walk more, and team up with believers in your immediate vicinity for the sake of demonstrating Christ. Do you really need to continue driving 20 miles to church instead of literally being His sheep amongst the wolves that also appear in a time of crisis?

Labels: church, community, Internet, tech

There have been a few items sitting starred in Google Reader that I've been meaning to post. Sharing some of those, and hopig to spark something that will get you and I to think a bit more as the week goes on the place of mobile and tech in faith.

• ESV and NJKV for MS One Note (Bible Studies nad Technological Tools)
• When Should Parents Purchase a Mobile for their Children (Just Another Mobile Phone Blog)
• Research and Note Taking Tools, and the follow-up article Bonus Items for Research and Note Taking (Bible Studies and Technological Tools)
• Mission Field Money Crisis (Chruch Relevance, Charlotte Observer)
• Blogging Ministries (Church Communications Pro)

Got any news that would be of value to the Mobile Ministry Magazine community? Use our Contact page to send it to us.

Labels: annotating, Bible, church, device, education, mission, reading, review, software

I write this a good bit before writing Part Three of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report but this is a great article posted at the Biblical Studies and Technological Tools blog about thinking about what technology and faith will look like given what we have seen happen in other media and lifestyles in the Western church.

Without going too far into things on my end, here is a snippet of this great thought-piece:

I am also wondering, then, if we might actually become more dependent on private resources/devices rather than network resources. I.e., it will be lots easier to secure a personal device not connected to any network, and I will be more confident in working with guaranteed secure resources not based on the network. This does mean that I believe that someone will still be developing and providing technological resources for biblical studies, but I also suspect that the choices will be greatly reduced. We are already seeing the convergence of best features of the various Bible programs, and as this trend continues, the only differentiating factor will be cost. I just hope we aren't all buying Wal-Mart or Google Bible software after they buy up every other current company in this field

Read the rest of the post The Future of Bible Studies and Technological Tools.

Related Articles:

• New King James with Microsoft OneNote (Palmsolo)

Labels: Bible, church, community, education, gospel, mission, mobile, mobility, networking, phone, purchasing, software, stewardship, study, tech, urban, worship

I am one part a member of Nokia's Blogger Relations team, and have recently been invited to be an S60 Ambassador. Essentially, I speak about Nokia's products to people when I see that there's a need for them. In some cases, I'll get devices or services to try out and then report those findings back to Nokia. For them, it's an effort to see how people are using their devices and services. For me, it's a chance to see how mobile technology can enrich and empower lives.

The better part is that there are relationships that happen. Being able to live in Christ around them makes having opportunities like these presented by Nokia and other companies kinda neat. Here are a few of the recent reports that I filed to Nokia's S60 Ambassador's program. For those of you looking at ways to see how mobile tech fits, this is how I go about learning and applying.

Episode 1: The Young Mother

I went to visit a friend of mine on the other side of Charlotte as she has a 1yr old kid who has provided for several great photo opportunities. She and I talked about her e-learning class that she is taking and some directions that she could go with content for her blog. I recommended the idea of the phone as the literal center of the Internet for the school by using the Mobile Web Server.

First, I had to explain to her what the Mobile Web Server is and what kind of functionality that it opens up. Then, I told her that I could show her what it would look like. So I pulled out my N75 and turned on the Mobile Web Server. We navigated through each of the pages on her laptop that was in front of us, and I showed her how such a setup would make for a different take on distance learning ventures.

She was amazed that my phone could do that and asked why it was that her 3555 was not able to do the same things even though it was a Nokia phone as well. I explained to her that while they were from the same company, that they used different operating systems. One of the applications that she'd become a bit intrigued about is Jaiku; especially its ability to link with the address book for presence notification. That was something that she wanted for her phone. I led her to Yahoo, and there she learned about Yahoo's oneConnect service. Unfortunately, she does not have a mobile [data] plan, and does not see getting one; so downloading that was out of the question.

he problem that she posed to me was how to get more out of a phone like mine without being online. Considering that I do so much online via my N75, that really left me without many words. Other than the Bible, voice, and SMS, the rest really is the Internet. Making my phone compelling towards those who don't need that functionality will have to become another search of mine.

Episode 2: The Church Admin

Monday night is usually bible study at It's a Grind Coffeehouse and that is where I was again this Monday. Having had a successful demonstration of the Mobile Web Server running on my N75 earlier Monday, I decided to pique the interest of one of the administrative workers of my church and get her idea on such a solution.

First, I gave her a small demonstration of the software on my device, and then used my N800 Internet Tablet to show what the site actually works like in a web browser. At that she was impressed, but I could see not convinced at its usefulness. I then changed modes to talking about how there is always some information that one wants to keep personal, but other things, like pictures and availability that would come in handy for some people to know.

I then set my Gallery to show the pictures from my memory card and showed her how that page could be set with permissions. I then showed the Contact, Presence, and Calendar screens and showed that these can be controlled with a simple group that is created on the phone.

She looked at the phone and said "that's interesting. Your phone is a powerful little thing." Powerful indeed, but as a device that connects, its hard to beat.

Related Items:

• Nokia's S60 Ambassador Program
• Nokia's Mobile Web Server
• N75 Live-in Review Update
• MMM's N95 (via Nokia Blogger Relations) Review
• Yahoo's oneConnect service

Labels: Bible, church, community, device, family, Jaiku, mission, mobile, mobile accessories, Mobile Web Server, mobility, N75, Nokia, phone, software, tech, urban, usability, Yahoo

The last two posts, we've talked about extending your mobile office to help mangage the tasks of doing ministry easier. But there's nothing like real world examples.

So what do you do to extend your office capabilities? And what hurdles have you encountered either personally or with your team?

(Lord willing, a question like this in the future can be met with some kind of giveaway to help some of you on who are doing this already)

Labels: church, community, mission, mobile accessories, mobility, tech, urban, usability

Cynthia Ware has taken a look look at how Christian missionaries are using new media as parts of their efforts to connect and share news of their connections when away from their "roots." Here's a snippet:

...Today's missionaries are using blogs, facebook, shutterfly and other social media to extend their connectedness, reward their supporters and create archived memories of their unique adventures. Whether missionaries are serving on short term teams or serving in long term posts, they need no longer be disconnected from their points of origin, hometowns, partners, sending churches, extended families, etc. In fact, if they have internet access, there's virtually (no pun intended) no reason they can't be very connected...

Read the rest at Digital.Leadnet and also check out Cynthia's site Digital Sanctuary for more views on ministry, media, and their convergance.

Labels: accessiblity, Bible, church, community, email, gospel, mission, mobile, mobile accessories, mobiles, networking, phone, podcast, software, tech, usability, worship

Just read a really good article where CBS Mobile chief Cyriac Roeding said something really important that not only speaks to the area he was speaking, mobile advertisiting and how to maximize it, but to the Body and how our endavors need to be shaped around the fact that the medium is different. This is a snippet of that piece:

The CBS executive had led off the discussion by saying that advertisers have to understand why they need to be on mobile phones. "If you can't answer that question in 10 seconds, you're out of the game," he said. The answer should be, he went on, that mobile is the only medium that people carry with them 18 hours a day.

Mobile is also starting to provide reach to advertisers as sites gain larger audiences. Roeding noted that during the last quarter, CBS Mobile's sports section drew 75 million mobile page views and 5 million unique visitors during the fourth quarter.

But he warned against trying to promote mobile as a smaller version of the computer or TV screen. "If you are trying to make this the next online page, you will fail...because this is a new medium in its own right. "

I've touched on this in a previous article in saying that mobile is something more than just the sum of previous media endavors; to use it well requires that we not just be innovative, but relevant.

As part of a growing number of believers who understand what roles being mobile plays, its key that we understand what mobile is not. It's not a computer, though accessiblity and usability are there. Its not radio and TV, though video and audio are parts of the experience that should not be overlooked. Its not print either, though the effects are just as long lasting, inside and outside of the box o'bits and bytes. Being mobile is a case of a totally different paradigm, and something that the church is well past the potin were we need to embrace it.

I'd be one to make the argument that being effective in the Body with mobile tech is a matter of getting to the roots of what it means to be effective in the Body - "be distinct and bring fame to God not [ourselves]". I am pretty sure that we are able to do that if we pool our knowledge and gifts together and then step out and do something a bit different. The key is just not trying to be what we used to be in tech, and take things at that intersection of faith and tech, and make a noticable sign to the heart of God for all people.

Labels: church, community, gifts, gospel, mission, mobile, tech

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

Technology is great and all. But amid the buzz of all the news that I come across, I have this (most probably annoying to God) tendency to ignore a boatload of news. As I was looking at the screen on the N800 a few minutes ago, this news item came up.

Before that post of a friend who did a mission trip, I really would have glazed this over. But today I didn't. While there is not much that I know that I can physically do, I do wonder how to pray for people in such circumstances. Ironically, part of the reading that I am doing just now addresses that last part.

Do any of you have contacts in the area reported in the BBC story? I'd like to send an email and encourage those Christians there.

Labels: church, community, N800

A friend of mine recently went on a mission trip to encourage Christians in Israel/Palestine. The letter below is his follow-up letter that he has allowed me to post. I ask that you consider his words, and his call towards unity in the Body.

I'd like to thank you once again for your time, participation and support for our mission trip to Israel and Palestine. The trip came and went without any life threatening or seriously harmful situations and each of the 10 members of our team has both grown and learned a great deal thanks to our experiences in this area. As I promised, I would like to take this opportunity to follow up with you and share the experiences and insights learned during the trip.

After I got back from Israel, people would obviously pose the question, "How was your trip?" I can't help but think that that question is laughably simple. I say that because of the sheer volume of incredible people and experiences that we were exposed to. It's difficult to figure out where to start. But to answer the original question, the trip was great!

I'll start with a quick summary of our group's mission statement. We did not go to evangelize, or build a school, or to administer medical supplies as some might expect. 1 Corinthians 12:25b-26 says regarding the church, "...there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." As a group, we wanted to go into the Palestinian territories and stand with the Palestinian Christians there, to try to experience the sufferings that they are going through, and to do what we can to encourage them in the face of hardship or persecution.

The first day and a half that we were in the country was spent seeing the tourist spots in Jerusalem. Some of our members, including myself, were upset about this. We came to get down to business! We are not here to see the sights! However, in retrospect, those moments were invaluable in teaching us an overview of the culture and people in the land.

Specifically in these moments while we were traveling from church to church, we saw how the "body of Christ" interacted with one another. Most noticeably, we saw the distrust between denominations. Each denomination insists on having a presence at each of the holy spots. Sometimes a church was partitioned into different areas operated by the different denominations. Each time a ritual was performed by one group, it was repeated by the others. This seems to me to bear the assumption that they believe that God doesn't recognize rituals from other denominations. If He did recognize them, then there wouldn't be any need to repeat them. Once we had opportunities to speak with them, we were repeatedly told by them that people from other denominations were wrong, that they were not Christians or that they were condemned to hell.. If they couldn't share the same building-which was often-they would build another church and claim that this church was the true holy spot.

This wholesale judgment bothered me to the point where I began to think about this more. And upon thinking about it more, I realized that this is not as foreign a concept as had originally struck me. These kinds of statements are all over the Western church, not just limited to the Middle East. They can be heard from the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant churches, the Church Of Christ, and others. It took a trip to the Israel for me to be able to look back and recognize this situation in my own culture. Since much of the New Testament, and because of that our trip, was focused on unity among Christians, theses divisions seemed much more visible. It was humbling for me to come to these realizations since I was so quick to see the shortcomings in others what I was ignoring at home.

After we finished our tour and meetings in Jerusalem, we began to move in and out of the West Bank nearly every day. As the trip was approaching, I was personally concerned about these transitions and the time we would spend in the territories. The impression is that the territories are very violent and personal safety is at a premium! We found this to be completely untrue. At no point during the entire trip did I feel threatened. In spite of the Palestinian people officially being in a state of uprising, at no point did I see any people acting in such a way.

Quite the opposite, we were constantly in the company of very friendly, very hospitable people. During our stay in the Bethlehem Bible College, we were asked to break into groups of two and accompany a student home for dinner with his or her family. We had a few very intimate and personal interactions like this and I found them to be the highlights of the entire trip. Another team member and I went with a student named Nader. I am typically known to be a picky eater but I can say honestly that his mother makes really tasty food! They would not let us tell them no! They repeatedly piled on food to our plates, served us two deserts along with coffee and tea. When it came time to leave they tried to make us promise to come back and have dinner with them again over the next few days, which unfortunately we couldn't since our days and nights were already booked. When Nader returned us to the College, I told him how great his family was and how much we enjoyed ourselves. He was so pleased that we had a good time that his face was beaming with a joy! It was an enthusiasm that I don't really see very often.

Another such instance was also when we were in Bethlehem and we met with Pastor Nehad and Jamal from the Immanuel Church. These two men spoke for several hours with only an occasional pause or interruption by our group. Their stories are truly amazing and awe-inspiring! After they were done talking, they took us to the church's book store where we had a chance to buy some gifts. I approached Pastor Nehad, thanked him for taking time out of his schedule to come and talk to us and gave him my thirty second summary of our trip's purpose and I saw his face fill with happiness and relief. He told me how genuinely thankful he was that we came and listened to him speak. But in his eyes there was fatigue and I felt that he wanted rest.

He told us how he and other Palestinian Christians feel alone. As I have already said, the denominations do not find solace in one another. The Israeli government is openly unconcerned or even hostile. The Palestinian government is ineffective. The response from other non-Christians is uncertain. Relations with some are great while others resent them for being nonviolent.

Then when they turn to the Western church for solace, they often get shunned in the name Zionism. Some people tell the Palestinian Christians that they have no right to live there and that their presence in the Holy Land is delaying the second coming of Christ. We heard stories of Western churches holding fund raisers to buy tanks and helicopters for the Israeli military for use against the Palestinian people!

I don't want to make a politically loaded statement and I'm not picking a side about whether Israel should be there or not. However, our group got to see firsthand the effects that our churches are having on the Palestinians by asserting these views. Palestinian Christians have very few people to turn to for support. Numerous times throughout the trip we were told that they feel alone with no one to turn to. Some, like Pastor Nehad, are weary from the daily struggle and yet still working. Others told us that they have given up hope in a better life. I like to think that the Western church has everything all right. Yet as part of a group of people that are supposed to be known by their love and support of each other, I am absolutely humbled by the fact that these things come so unnaturally to us.

I believe that is why people like Pastor Nehad were so encouraged by our presence. To me, it seemed like we were doing nothing. Many times before and during the trip I was concerned with our effectiveness since we didn't have concrete goals. We weren't there to convert X number of people or heal Y number of diseases. Success could not be measured in traditional ways. We were just going to go, humble ourselves and learn from these people. And it really was an encouragement to them! Just the fact that we cared about them and listened to their stories visibly raised their hopes and spirits before our very eyes. It was an encouragement to them and it was a blessing for us to be able to do this service for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each of the groups that we talked to expressed hope that God was working in the land and that was gaining traction. People are experiencing miracles. Non-Christians are coming to Christ. Muslims are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus and are coming to Christians to learn more about him. Opportunities are arising that put the bible and Jesus in the spotlight.

I hope I do not sound like I think that everyone needs to drop everything and run to support the Palestinian people. Neither do I think that people need to abandon their support of Israel. Yet just like every other situation in life, there are two sides to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that many people don't acknowledge. The great majority of the people we met in the West Bank were just regular people. They don't want war. They don't want Islamic extremism to take over the world. They just want justice, peace and to give their children a better life. As one of our hosts told us, "When people think of us, we don't want people to think of terrorism. When people think of Palestinians, we want them to think of Jesus!"

See the photos of this trip.

Labels: Bible, church, community, devotion, family, Israel, mission, Palestine

Just a few notes as we are entering the top of the hump (EST time anyways).

The ESV Blog reported about the podBible, a ESV downloadable reading Bible for your iPod. Very neat.

In using the N800 and Treo 680, I am having similar thoughts to others of whether the laptop needs a revolution. But if you look at another story, it just might be that the revolution has happened already (it's just not priced right everywhere yet).

One thing is for sure, if we do see that revolution continue towards mobile tech, the change to how we approach community and worship cannot be far behind.

Which, if you think about it, would be neat. especially if we can have praise and worship parties regardless of location.

That's all for now, but isn't it neat to have a though of how God can and will influence tech at this point of the week?

Labels: Bible, church, community, ESV, mobile, mobiles, music, Nokia, praise, Treo 680, worship

One, I love the title.
Two, I agree with the posting on so many accounts, not the least of which is "why cannot people understand how to turn off their cell phones (or at least the ringer)?"

Here is a snippet of KP's post:
...We got to church early to get a seat and proceeded to watch all the people trickle in. We watched a caregiver lady assisting an elderly lady into the pew in front of us. “That’s nice,” I thought.

Until the caregiver lady’s cell phone started ringing. And this was like 2 minutes before the service was about to start. The phone rang once before she even realized it was ringing; she picked it up, then watched it ring again… like “who’s calling me?”…. then realized she shouldn’t have the phone ringing in church. Genius...

Read the rest of the post, and please, please, turn off the ringer before going into service or meetings.

Labels: church, mobiles, usability