Mobile Ministry Magazine

Was reading this over at TechnoGeekGuy and found it kinda neat and probably foretelling for many of you:

..We have just moved into a new house, which means means new utility providers. I decided to try something new. No phone lines and no TV/DishTV. The only thing I have is Internet. (Yes, I do also have a Blockbuster subscription).

And so, we are using Skype with unlimited calling to the US and Skype-In and Skype voice mail. All for about $5/mn. That’s a savings of $65/mn.

And so, we are using Hulu.com and other Internet video sites to provide our "entertainment". So far so good. One _bad_ thing is I had to install iTunes so I could purchase eposides of Stargate Atlantis. Shocking I know! The next I'll be doing is buying a Mac — I hope NOT! All for about $0/mn. That's a savings of $60/mn (DishTV)...

There's more to the post, but the one thing that I'd like to throw out there that its more possible now, than when MMM started (yikes), to go mobile and essentially live in the clouds.

Is this an option for you for home, work, or both? Why, or why not?

Labels: browser, mobile, networking, ownership, resources, wireless application

While its great to talk about recently announced products, its always better to get some impressions of actual use. And since I don't have an iPhone, hearing about how others are using Olive Tree's Bible Reader for iPhone will definitely have to do. Here is a snippet from a review at This Lamp

...Regardless of these early snags, Olive Tree’s venture into the iPhone platform looks very promising. I am hopeful I can eventually reproduce the same functionality with Bible texts on my iPhone that I had previously experienced on my Treo. Since useful iPhone Bible functionality is something I am genuinely seeking, expect to see more on This Lamp about the subject as new developments arise.

Read the rest of this very through review at This Lamp.

Thanks for the headsup on this one DB, The Foolish Galatian.

Labels: Apple, Bible, community, iPhone, iPod Touch, Olivetree, reading, resources, software

Cool post over at Palm Addict about how a person preached a sermon using the mobile device. Here's a snippet:

...After the service, we were discussing what kind of plant it was, so I pulled out my Treo, launched PalmBible+ and started a quick word search. I finally got the English name for the weed that was most likely the one Christ was talking about (the bearded darnell), and looked up pictures of it with Blazer on Google Images.I also was able to look up the Polish name using the Lingvosoft English-Polish dictionary, and everybody was able to see exactly what plant Christ meant, and everybody was amazed at how similar it looked to wheat on first glance, yet, at the same time, was quite different. ..

Read the rest at Palm Addcit.

Labels: Bible+, dictionary, Palm Addict, PDA, resources, software

One of the things that I've tried to do, even before starting Mobile Ministry Magazine, has been to reduce my computing needs to the bare essentials as much as possible. A big reason for doing so is because I've been one to travel a good bit and besides taking long trips, I tend to have taken many trips. Ironically, this weekend, I hit 100,000 miles in my 3yr old Civic.

Knowing what I can do with as few physical materials as possible is something that is a bit of an aim of being mobile. To skillfully and effective utilize the environment and services offered so that one can get a job done and connect. Andy Abramson, CEO of Comunicano, Inc. (an advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Del Mar, CA), tends to do writes a blog called Working Anywhere and in a recent post talks about some of the tools that he uses as a global nomad.

...Basically, I've built the company (and am now rebuilding my house) by being the executive who works anywhere but the traditional office, allowing for a business lifestyle that is highly productive, and mostly more effortless than many people would ever imagine. For example right now I'm in Europe, floating between Lisbon, Portugal, Barcelona, Paris and London over a two-week period. After that I’ll be on the East Coast, the West Coast, back to the East Coast, into the Midwest, all before August 9, when I finally move back into my house. Along the way I’m staying in very business executive work-friendly and amazingly artistic, modern and well run hotels, all of which offer very high-quality Internet and many of the comforts and services a business traveler needs...

That's a good deal of traveling and the really good thing about this post is that while many of us might not have his resources, we can utilize some of the behaviors and services in our own capacities to make traveling less of an issue, or in the case of missions work, less a chore of logistics and more of just going and serving.

Check out the rest of the post The Tools of The Global Nomad at Working Everywhere and let's chat about some of the tools or behaviors that you have found sufficient in those times when you've been more nomad than settler.

Disclosure: Comunicano has worked with MMM in the past through the Nokia Blogger Relations program to provide devices and notification of services that may or may not be relevant to our community.

Labels: communication, community, computer, data, devices, environment, flexibility, mobile, mobile accessories, mobility, Nokia, resources, stewardship, sustainability, tools, usability

I've spent the better part of the last few weeks thinking about the idea of a Bible Notes application and have been drafting some ideas about how such an application can work out. However, I want to throw some questions out there as I am pretty sure that I am not considering everything when it comes to something like this. If you could be so kind as to respond to these quetsions in the comments to this post, it would be greatly appreciated - and possibly help any developers who are looking at doing something like this.

• Do you use a browser that has the ability to view/save/edit content when you are offline?
• Is tagging and searching of notes more important, as important, or less important than the notes content itself?
• How do you feel about being able to link to content from other websites easily (verses, commentaries, Wikipedia terms, etc.)? Would you prefer the application came with preset resources, or was a user-added feature?
• If you are a pastor, could you see an application like this assisting both in sermon preparation and study follow-up?
• How would you feel about using this kind of an application on a laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc. during services, studies? Would you encourage the use of mobile tech if such a program is used?

These are some of my thoughts, do you have any others?

Labels: Bible, browser, commentary, community, developer, notes, resources, software, tech, web application