Mobile Ministry Magazine

In the last post we talked about being engaged or enslaved to tech, here's an example of taking control of your tech, using it wisely, and being quite productive with it:

...When you look at it from this perspective, it’s pretty easy to understand how always-connected handsets that provide a full-web experience are struggling to take off in emerging markets, and why Opera Mini has 46.3 Million users worldwide. Honestly, what good is a full-web experience when I can only open 10 full websites a month without going over my monthly allowance, and when I have to stare at my screen for 15 minutes before one page completely loads on my snail-speed connection?...

I can't say enough about what Rita has done except to say that even here in the USA, we need to look harder at the solutions and opportunities we propose, and really meet where its appropriate use given the conditions, instead of reaching for something that isn't a good - nor wallet-filling - experience. Read the rest of Rita's post at Symbian Guru and let us know some ways you've taken the bite out of the costs of your mobile use, while staying or increasing in productivity/ministry.

Labels: mobiles, mobility, stewardship, tech

Wish that I could take credit for the title, but this belonged to someone else. And their post on the subject is of the kind of thinking and assessment that we must do often. Here's a snippet:

The reason is quite simple and something I did not quite realize until my friend pointed it out to me. People are increasingly using technology not out of choice but out of pressure. And there are a lot of people who are simply addicted to it, they need to check their Twitter feed, Facebook profile and mailboxes every few minutes and see what is happening, because it's the "in thing" and also because of the constant pressure of being available 'online'.

Read the rest of Enabled or Enslaved by Technology at Aditya Singhvi's Phones blog.

I'd also like to call attention to my comment as it directs this post towards this blog a bit more appropriately:

...my faith is the filter that I use. Its the discipline towards being a Christian that I use as the main filter for determining the value of the technology, its connective need/want, and the implication. Can’t say that I’m always perfect in my application, but like living the rest of life through a faith-based filter, there’s a lot of walking forward, backward, repenting, and relearning.

Assess, but also use your filter.

Labels: accountability, addiction, integrity, misuse, stewardship, tech

In light of all that I read and get thrown my way in terms of software/process opportunities, it was a nice heart-check, ego-stomp, and reevaluation of priorities this article that put be back in front of the Father appropriately.

Labels: development, stewardship, worship

This is so beyond just a website that its cool. mGive is a very cool serivce that allows non-profits and charities to receive donations via contributors mobile devices. And this is mostly an SMS-based service. From their website:

mGive allows your organization to raise money through text message donations. Supporters of your cause send a text message to your keyword & short code and their $5 or $10 donation is applied to their cell phone bill. Once you create a campaign, you can drive awareness via print, radio, television, online and social network adverts.

mGive provides a campaign-specific keyword, a shared shortcode (for use across several mobile carriers), online reporting and marketing tools, widgets for many blogs and social networks, a volunteer management tool, SMS scheduler, and donor collection reports.

The serivce is limited to US mobile carriers at this time (seems as if carrier billing is enabled). But for the most part can allow many organizations to get started with mobile giving pretty quickly. Check out the mGive website, Facebook, or Twitter for more information.

Labels: giving, SMS, stewardship

I'm probably a lot less of an authority on the subject of choosing Bible software these days moreso than in times past because of the increasing (good) quality of offerings, and the very different paradigms of use that I've had. Where I'm very mobile, others might not be as much when it comes to choosing Bible software for.

I can only imagine what kind of difficulty that biblical schools can have here. On one side, you want to minimize support issues by using one or very few variations in software. But, much like choosing which Bible versions to read, you really want to teach people how to evaluate all so they can come to an educated opinion. There aren't courses for choosing the right bible software though, so what are schools to do?

After reading Karyn's views on the subject (at Boulders 2 Bits), I'm more convinced that there needs to be better data models with Bible software so that content and features can be easily shared between Bible softawre platforms. And I mean more than just the same Bible formats for the Bibles themselves, but similar usage flows for things like creating search filters, parsing languages, etc. If the companies can come together in this, then the idea of choosing the right Bible software moves more towards the effectiveness of the brand to give the best experience, not necessarly proprietory features. Because we don't think about how to click links and save bookmarks when we use different web browsers, why should things be so different with Bible software that we have to choose (and get stuck after so long in one system or another).

When you choose your Bible software platform, think not just about what you can do now with it, but what things look like if you were to decide later that the platform no longer suits your needs.

~via Bible Software Review

Labels: Bible, software, stewardship, study

In my opinion, this is a great companion piece to the burnt toast piece from a little while back. The pressure is on publishers and bible software developers to respond though - consumers will vote with their attention and wallets. Check out this snippet from K. Purcell's piece:

...But the better Bible software engines do more to the book than they do to a dead tree edition. So it takes extra effort to make a Bible software copy of a book and it has added functionality. So why not make it cost more? Digits do not cost any money to reproduce after the original file has been produced. With a book, there is a cost witch every copy of that book that is sold. The cost is tied up in the actual paper and ink, the storage while the book is waiting to be sent to the customer or the store, and the cost of the sending. With an ebook you simple copy it to a new location...

Read the rest at KevinPurcell.com and watch those pennies.

Labels: Bible, cost, software, stewardship

A topic that has come up with the discussion about Katana for Maemo 5 has been the issue of enabling an open source (and free) Bible reader to read paid (DRM-ed) formats. Its been a sticky issue within the electronic Bible realm for sometime, and I don't know that the discussion will go away anytime soon, but there are some aspects to this discussion that need to be stated so that all parties have the same starting point to move forward.

What is Copyright?

The first thing is copyright. Copyright is the defined as a:

...form of intellectual property that gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright applies to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete and fixed in a medium. Some jurisdictions also recognize "moral rights" of the creator of a work, such as the right to be credited for the work. Copyright is described under the umbrella term intellectual property along with patents and trademarks.

In most respects, this makes simple sense to all. Law designed to allow artists to profit from their work without fear of infringement by someone else. When it comes to mobile Bible software, there are several areas where copyright tends to rear its head:

• The coding used to transcode and format the Biblical text
• The Biblical text (per its translators or publishers)
• The code and user interface of the application that reads the Biblical text
• The systems used to develop or support the application or publishers' copyright

In respect to copyright, its a law. And laws are different for different regions. Some regions will limit a copyright for a certain amount of time to the original creator, whereas other areas might not limit it at all except in certain applications.

And while most of this is pretty simple, the idea of ownership throws all of this into several grayer-than-most areas.

Copyright and Licensing

The problem comes in enforcing copyright in a realm like the Internet where the concept of "regions" tends to get lost very quickly. Because something is attainable, the regional law needs to have a non-regional aspect to it if copyright is going to be skillfully applied. This is where the idea of licensing comes into play. Licensing allows the copyright holder to be compensated for their work, but also for the purveyor of the said work to use that item in a way that best fits them.

We see this in respect to music. When you purchase music (in the US), you are purchasing a license for its fair use. And in many cases, this fair use includes you being able to listen to that purchased music on any personal devices that you own.

Electronic Bibles

The same isn't exactly the case when it comes to electronic Bibles. Because of publishing rights and regional issues relating to literary works, licensing Biblical content for use across several devices or reader applications isn't something that's done from company to company.

This is why there are several Bible reader companies, and many of them do Bible readers for several types of software. Their licence to create and dissemenate only covers the material within their applications, not across it.

Where Ethics Comes In

Therein lies the issue of ethics for the mobile/electronic Bible user. Sure, you can purchase a Bible from "Company X," but you'd only be able to use it within their application. Because of the limited license (to you), to use that material on another device would mean that Company X would need to develop a container for you to read it.

Even if you are enterprising enough to take Company X's Bible and use it on Company Y's application, you still have the problem of licensing. Technologically, its not an issue to do that. Ethically it is. You are circumventing the license in order to gain accessibility. That's breaking the copyright, and therefore putting the law maker in position to execute justice for the copyright holder.

Solutions???

It would seem though that there are no solutions for issues like this. There are too many devices requiring too much custom code, and then so many versions of the Bible with so many owners of those copyrights. Its not an easy thing to make something available to all and then secure it for those who created it and deserve their compensation for time/resources.

But then again that just may be the problem worth fixing. Right now, companies license Bibles from creators/publishers, not individiual users. If users could also - inexpensively - license content, then maybe that license would have provisions for them to select which devices fall under that licensed use.

Bible software companies would then move into doing things to make their reader applications the selling point, promising compatibility with that licensing scheme, and value-adding whatever else would draw people to them.

I don't really know what a total solution would look like. But, in light of the many, many, people using mobile and other devices for a Bible, its clear that something different needs to be done so that copyright holders are rightfully compensated, but users don't have so many hoops to go through just to make sure they can use the materials they've created.

In the meantime, don't break a license just because you can. Follow the laws of your land, and work with those groups who are trying to enable change in a legal and God-affirming means. We all win when things are done in good order.

Labels: Bible, law, software, stewardship

Read this as I was finishing a work-week. And while my mind thinks often on the subject of mobile, sometimes, it takes really real stories of what's being done to help me gather perspective. This was one of those. Here's a snippet:

...She watched as I showed her how the application could download images, and how doctors could make annotations, and add dictations, and I explained how another doctor could open the application across the globe “While on vacation in France, perhaps.” and listen to the dictations and read the annotations. She stared at me in utter disbelief as I went through the images, and turned the application to landscape mode and zoomed in and out. I retold the story of how a retina problem could lead to blindness if not immediately treated, as her young assistant, who had now moved in for a closer look, stared at the iPhone screen...

Read the rest of The Closing Argument at the iPhone BioTech Blog.

Really, there's not much more that I can say from this except to quote what an MMM partner once told me: technology is only relevant when it is personal. Let's make sure that in all our use of mobile, that we are truly keeping God and our hearts in the right place.

Labels: development, gifts, iPhone, medical, mobile, stewardship

Not long after penning the last post, I came across this link to a rant from another perspective of idoltry and how our affluence just sometimes looks really bad. I don't want to dig into the entire post, but there was a part of the rant that stuck out just from what I've dealt with personally on this issue:

...Yesterday I had students begging me for a copy of the Portuguese NIV Study Bible. If they only knew that people in America are spending the equivalent of several months salary on yet one more Bible when their shelves are already sagging from the weight of an endless collection of devotional Bibles and study Bibles in colors to match your every Sunday outfit and target each and every consumer niche...

The entire post with several comments is here, but the explaination of it in better detail and context is over at Think Christian (by the same author).

In light of our gifts, we are also responsible to those who have not.

Labels: affluence, Bible, community, stewardship

A very simple commandment simply states: ...have no other gods before Me (Deut 5:7-10). And given the Person that said it, one would think that we'd at least have that part down when it comes to mobile and web technology. But we don't.

Hence this simple reminder to make sure that you are taking active - not passive - steps towards making sure that you are not putting technology and its uses over your/your family's/your church's spiritual development. Some of these active steps include:

• Having at least one section of your day where technology is put out of your physical presence to talk to God and your family face-to-face if possible;
• Placing and enforcing boundaries on tech use (for example: no laptops or smartphones in bed after dinner time);
• Teaching about accountability in tech with your children, mentees, and disciples and what that looks like in a healthly, spirit-filled lifestyle;
• and, putting away those pieces of technology that you continue to grapple with long-standing sins/vices with, then seeking godly council towards healing your heard, heart, body, and spirit.

I'm accuetly aware of the challenges that many of us have in this area. But I don't want you to get into a position where you feel that you have no other choice but the tech in front of you. Take God at his word and ask for (then walk out on) wisdom and understanding in this arena.

If you are a parent and looking for a way to talk to your kids about this, check out our Parents and Mobile Kids series which dives into this a bit more. Yes, technology moves fast, and its sometimes harder to see the idols when you are dealing with your own, but this series is designed to help you engage that conversation with your families.

Above all don't allow anything to take away your eyes and heart from the God who redeemed you. Of all the things you can do in thanks, being mature in your use of tech is one big one.

Labels: family, maturity, stewardship

Remember that post (a long time ago) where we warned you about the ethical aspects of jailbreaking your iPhone devices as a Christian? Well, Apple has (another) official statement on it:

...Apple strongly cautions against installing any software that hacks the iPhone OS. It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of the iPhone OS is a violation of the iPhone end-user license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software.

Read the rest of the support article, and remember that agreeing to your terms of service is a vow you make between you, the carrier, and Apple. Breaking a vow tends to not look so well in the eyes of God and man.

If you don't like the restriction, get to know what an unlocked phone is, and change the way you do mobile.

Labels: Apple, iPhone, mobile, stewardship, tech

One of many great reads from the past weeks comes from the Vodaphone Receiver. In this piece titled The Lamp Posts on Brick Lane, author Carl Honore (In Praise of Slow) talks about some of the implications of mobile technology (some of which were covered in the MMM BibleTech Presentation) and what we can do about it. Here's a snippet:

...Overdosing on mobile communication can also mess up the relationship we have with ourselves. Human beings need moments of silence and solitude: to rest and recharge, to think deeply and creatively, to look inside and confront the big questions, ΄Who am I? How do I fit into the world? What is the meaning of life?΄.

That isn't likely to happen when your mind is constantly wondering if you have new email or if it's time for a fresh tweet.

So where do we go from here? Are we doomed to a future of falling IQs, superficial relationships and walking into lamp posts? I hope not. Whenever a new technology comes along, it takes time to work out the cultural rules and protocols to get the most from it. Mobile communication is no exception: it is neither good nor bad, what matters is how we use it...

Read the rest of this piece at the Vodaphone Receiver. Then, find yourself a place of quiet reflection.

Labels: contentment, Mental health, mobility, stewardship

During section of posts called the MMM Smartphone Guide, we touched on evaluating the cost of a mobile device and the types of plans that might be beneficial towards using. Pre-Pay is something that has a negative light here in the US, but can really go a long ways towards being a cost saver. Check out the post on the subject at GigaOM and think about this in respect to that stewardship word we many times talk about.

Labels: mobility, stewardship

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

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

With the iPhone 3G now out and eyes even more wide open than ever towards mobile solutions, its a good time to take another look at the subject of technology strategy and how to execute a solid strategy in the mist of the shinky, new, needed, and useful technology out there.

How to Model Your Tech Use

In the last time we talked about technology strategy, we had this as a first point:

Are you modeling your technology use/adoption after Jesus, or is Jesus modeling your technology use/adoption?

The assumption here is that in deciding that something is worth attaining that it must have some purpose beyond simply just having it. For many who are savvy with information technology, this is a blurry line, yet one that we need to constantly look at and make sure that we are judging with the right mindset towards what is good and perfect towards mobile tech and our example to the Body.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them." (1 Samuel 8:4-9)

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17)

I will admit that I am probably the worst at this, and I try and justify more often than not. But those things that I see other people with in terms of technology I often want. And many times, I want them for the reasons of doing what others do, or even trying to do better than others do with them.

Before I can even assume that I will attain any new technology, I have to ask the most import HOW question: how is me getting this new thing not lusting after what someone else has that may not be God's intention for me to have right now? (James 4:3)

Ok, after I have gotten past the point that it is not my own wants that I am trying to fulfill by going to a new device, I have to take the mental jump of discerning what this tool will help me to grow/harvest (Proverbs 31:16). No one buys a hammer just to hang it as decoration, you purchase it to use it. In the same way, mobile tech has to take the place of having a purpose, and this purpose should come as a part of you walking out on renewed mindset that you have towards proving God's effective justice and salvation to the world around you (Romans 12:2).

At this point, we now get to all the fun stuff like making sure that there are no hidden costs - the opposite of Matthew 13:44 if you will. For example, many have detailed already that the new iPhone 3G will acutally cost users MORE than the previous version. Be sure to crunch those numbers, there is no reason to not be wise with your resources even though this is something that will grow the King's view in the minds/hearts of others.

After that its even simpler - its not about you. The tech, the service, and even everything from the homework you do to reading the manual after the purchase are not about you. Part of that making disciples action (Matthew 28:18-20) has to occur in this process.

Its not just about attaining a new skill and or getting a new device. Its about expaning the Gospel by small actions as well as the large ones. Understanding how a device works because you read the manual might be something to put you before kings to help them in the area that God has them. Yes, small picture tech, but the bigger picture has to be God's glory throughout.

As time permits, we'll hit on some other areas of technology strategy and where the picture of this as a Christian is very different than that of one who is not.

Labels: community, gifts, minister, mission, people, stewardship, study, tech

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, usability

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 was just at the car wash thinking about my slate for the rest of today and had the reflection that mobile technology has done an interesting job in teaching me about evangelism - from a mobile tech standpoint, but just as much if not more so from a spiritual one.

Mobile Lessons

When sitting in a coffeeshop with an Internet Tablet, Bluetooth keyboard, and mobile phone out, one should expect people to ask questions. What I didn't expect was that people would ask questions and just have comments about so many things. Some people wanted to know about iPhones and phone plans, others wanted to know how my setup worked and if it could work for them. And still others just took my "open platform" as a means to just have a conversation.

In terms of what mobile is, things are still new and people are still looking for a definition that fits how they are mobile, connected and productive. Being a person who is using tools and services so out in the open, I am getting a chance to see exactly how people respond, and if need be, point them to a solution that would work best for them.

Spiritual Lessons

The greater lessons for me have come on the spiritual side of things. Where some people can separate their tech from their spirit, I happen to have a very tight relationship between the two. It was the idea of having multiple Bibles on my PDA that allowed me to minister to various friends and students on my college campus without carrying the intimidation of a large book bag around. I've had to learn what affluence is, gluttony from the tech side of things if you will and how that can and does rub people the wrong way. I've had to learn how to be a teacher of those things Godly with this tech, sometimes at the cost of cutting off myself from the things others do. Frankly speaking, I've learned that there is a holiness to using technology that we really do miss because we are not usually taught that this exists in this medium.

And From Here?

I've been working with Brighthand for years, with Nokia and the S60 Ambassadors/Nokia Blogger Relations, worked as a web designer and developer for more than 9 years, and basically played the roll of techie to a lot of people in my life. There's more to this than devices and my own wares though. Without educating others on how to use this tech correctly, they miss the point of the benefits. Misuse almost always turns into someone speaking against proper use because of that misunderstanding.

The same thing has happened to Christianity on several levels since Jesus (one can even argue since Adam). There's a responsibility to wield this faith in a manner that represents the breadth of God's love. Whether that is speaking against inappropriate use, or just teaching someone how to study the Bible, the responsibility is clear...

...go to the ends of the earth and teach people about Jesus. Not just with a Bible and a few nice words, but with the power of the Holy Spirit.

When you think about it like that, mobile tech could really be on to something, couldn't it ;)

Labels: accessiblity, Bible, community, devotion, education, gospel, mission, mobility, stewardship, tech

I unintentionally tend to sit on some news stories. Hoping to speak about some things when there is an open slot or the chatter on the interwebs isn't so loud about it that it would get lost in the shuffle; some things just get pushed to the back a bit. Here's some of those items that aren't too flaccid in terms of timing, but definitely useful for various applications.

• Logos post address Spanish-oriented resources.
• The latest GMPSoft newsletter has several deals on various electronic resources for your PDA or smartphone including a Bible Bundle which includes the Greek UBS4 module.
• Something to make you think on how to approach little ones with the subject of hearing God and prayer even when its something that the Bible may/may not talk about ;)
• Palm Addict has a random giveaway of a 15 inch Mac PowerBook going on right now. The rules are to send in a post relevant to how you are using mobile tech. If not something that you need, definitely enter for someone in your circle who could use a computer but may not have the means to attain one.
• Swerve, a ministry of Lifechurch.tv, has two post titled 10 Things.... The first deals with Introspection and the second Ministry. Hands down, a very solid read and meditation piece for the weekend.
• And finally, the Carnival of the Mobilists at Mobilestance has plenty of readings from the past week in mobile tech.
• Forgot this one: YouVersion has done some updates that have improved performance and added a few new versions to the fray. Unless you are on an Internet Tablet like me, it really should work very well in connected settings as both a journaling and group Bible study tool.

Don't forget that we published MMM Issue 5 earlier this week. Several articles and insights there as well for your own mental scratchpad.

Labels: accessiblity, Apple, Bible, Carnival of the Mobilists, community, devotion, family, issue 5, mobile accessories, mobility, Spanish, stewardship, study, tech, worship

Image from Wikipedia

For many of you, its not an issue of "if" to extend your offices, by using web and mobile technology, its a matter of "how."

To answer the "how" we are going to look at a few areas: engaging people to use the tools and selecting what works best with your budget.

Engaging the Team

A major hurdle to using anything new is getting people sold on the idea that it would work best for them. Unfortunately, we are creatures of habit. Doing something different, especially when it comes to utilizing mobile devices, services, or applications can be a bear.

One thing you want to have in place before you roll out a solution is some type of easy to access help system. This should be in two layers (simple): knowledge base and people (in that order). The first questions people ask are the "how do I do this" ones, so making sure that this is populated, and constantly maintained, is of great importance. This resources should be emphasized during any training, and a part of a weekly routine of checking on the progress of implementing a solution.

What this looks like to the minister's on-the-go-office could be a wiki that is saved on the mobile device with common topics. It could be a contact entry that is constantly synced with a note detailing how to do immediate problem solving.

The people resource should be the second and final one. This is where one asks for assistance in doing a feature, or needs a refresher in what was taught originally. Everyone needs a point of contact, and assuring them that there is a person that can be contacted makes it easier for people to accept that there's a change in the workflow in the mist.

Actually getting the team to use those new tools might be less difficult if it could be implemented into the normal routine. For example, in one SharePoint installation I was a part of, instead of making the entire enterprise use it all at once, we made the departments use it only for announcements. We left it open for individuals to play with, but made them know that the only way to know about what was going on was to visit the SharePoint website. Over time, we rolled out more and more SharePoint-only features, backed up with training key users on more features so they would talk about it, getting others involved into using it on a more consistent basis. Basically speaking, giving it to them in small bits is better than force-feeding.

Budget Concerns

One of the questions that is always asked when talking about extending one's office using mobile tech is the cost. Cost doesn't just include the money, its also inclusive of the time, the administration, and any thing else that is not actively using the tech. Balancing cost versus use is hard, but here are some things to think about when evaluating cost:

• Are those providing support or those building the system a volunteer who may leave at any given time?
• Does using a mobile device require additional learning outside of just using office tools, such as user interface and system maintenance issues?
• What is the backup plan? Will implementing a backup plan cost as much as implementing the primary plan? Can using the backup be easier for users than using the primary?
• What are the cost savings/expenses of an entire ministry team being online? Are subsidies or grants available to offset the costs of running/not running a physical office?
• In extending the office, what are the costs to family, friends, and ministry endeavors? Can appropriate boundaries be kept?

Addressing Smaller Offices

Some of you reading this might see these as all well and good, but you are part of a 5-man or smaller team. Things just aren't that deep (in scope or budget). So what can you do?

Take advantage of web suites like Google Apps or Zoho Office. While providing a centralized interface for work, it will also keep things manageable in one area. Using smartphones, Internet Tablets, and UMPC devices are a good means to take light work on the go. Remember though that more devices are more things to manage. Choose the device carefully, basing the costs and engagement on what you already do and what you need to do better.

Labels: browser, community, device, email, family, Google, mission, mobile accessories, mobility, networking, SharePoint, stewardship, study, tech

This was quite interesting to see in my inbox yesterday considering the recent post on being a good steward. Splash Money for Windows Mobile has been released. It was previously available for Palm OS handhelds, but now can be used for those with Windows Mobile devices.

Here are some of the features:

• use stand-alone or sync with desktop edition
• ability to categorize individual or batch items
• 256bit Blowfish encryption
• support for several account types (checking, savings, money market, etc.)
• And more.

I really like Spash Money (and am waiting for the Symbian S60 version). Using this along with doing the Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course with my church really helped me to better mind my manners when it came to spending. The integration with the desktop, along with the wireless syncing on one (unfortunately not all) of my back accounts made keeping track of things pretty much a breeze. Also, being able to create and print out a report of what I've been doing has been helpful as well.

Splash Money for Windows Mobile is available now as a trial version or can be purchased for $29.95. For more information and to download, visit the Splash Money website.

Labels: devotion, software, stewardship, tech, Windows Moible