Where is your church or organization’s perception of the shift? You know, that shift that companies such as The Financial Times are experiencing right now. That shift where the digital product is as profitable and as compelling as the print product?

Not possible? Or, not in our lifetime? Well, think about it a bit. Then ask yourself, when you needed the latest news, did you wait until the evening paper was delievered, or did you tune into your favorite news portal? Why should engaging into religious texts be any different.

One of the questions heard from time to time as MMM gets around various groups is “what kind of applications make sense for minsitry/religions?” Applications and services which share one’s faith, engage the reading of texts/codexes, and maybe the entertainment section where there are variations on the previously mentioned types are the norm. But, I think its not that difficult to see where the opportunity lies for other types of applications and services. You just need to look at what else religion does that makes sense in the context of an app or service.

For example, while reading some news from TechCrunch, I noticed that they highlighted an applcation called Wedding Party. Wedding Party is an online service tied to an application that attendees to a wedding can all use to take pictures, and then upload them to a single online album. Given that many weddings happen at a church, or are at least facilitated by one, this would seem to have been an easy grab for some of the larger churches that have those really beautiful sanctuaries, and are frequently asked “do you know anyone who can take photos/video of our special day?”

Tomi Ahonen talked some weeks ago about the mBillionth awards and highlighted several applications that not just make sense for those who developed and voted for them there, but also for churches who might be looking for innovative ways to leave an imprint on their missional efforts that works a bit different than the norm. One of the apps Ahonen highlighted was an SMS dictionary… that’s something that should so easily be purposed for teaching languages and reading in oral-centric cultures. Don’t leave the oral tradition, just accent it with the tech in one’s hand and teach generations to be bi-modal in a different sense.

A few weeks ago, I was in an area of Virgina with a auto that had some mechanical issues. As I waited for the diagnosis of things in the car dealership, I started to wonder a bit about the town that I was in. So I did what I normally do, go get something to eat and ask the locals (if they are friendly). Now, the locals were able to tell me a little, but not really much in terms about what they liked or was something to visit while (unintentionally) in town. What would have been really good is if the deonminations that were present in that town had something of an AR (augmented reality) or web pointer on their signs that would provoke me to pull out my mobile and start to investigate the ways that faith has been exercised in that town. Just something as simple as pointing me to a website, or having a website on the sign with the church name would have been helpful, and at least gave me something of a scavenger hunt towards engaging the city. I’m sure business leaders in small towns would love an idea like that, especially if it could be easily monetized and tracked with something like Layar Creator Pro.

All I’m saying is that you don’t need to stop your mobile thinking at the apps and services that are logical. There’s plenty of room out there to do more. Its not really that hard even. Just think about what happens in and around your church, and if having an app or service along with it would make sense, how about making some plans to do something just a little bit different than the norm?

I know that the content lately has been leaning heavily on ICCM, as we were recently there. But, what can I say, ICCM seems to have caught the attention of several people from various perspectives of life, faith, and tech.

BBC Outriders Interview

One of those who connected with us because of this was Jamillah Knowles who is the UK editor for The Next Web, but also still contributes to the BBC Outriders podcast that takes a look at the long-tail of the things happening with web and tech. Jamillah asked if I could answer a few questions about the recent ICCM event, as well as get caught up a bit towards what’s happening in faith and technology since the last time MMM appeared on Outriders. Here’s a snippet of what was talked about:

Over the weekend there was a big conference in the US for those who work with technology for the Christian faith. The International Conference on Computing and Mission or ICCM is a way for people to get together and talk about advances and uses for their technical work. And to geek out a little bit. Our friend Antoine Wright was there, he runs the website Mobile Ministry Magazine. We had a chat about technology, religion and the cool things he saw at ICCM.

Check out the entire podcast (BBC Outriders | MMM) and check out the other subjects Outriders covers in other podcast episodes. MMM’s segment appears beginning at the 13:45 mark.

Quoted in Charlotte Viewpoint

In addition, MMM’s founder (Antoine RJ Wright) was quoted in an article at Charlotte Viewpoint which talked about this past Spring’s Ignite Charlotte talks. I was a presenter at the TED-like event and talked on the notion of using one’s digital devices for more than just the passive activity of reading and consuming.

Wright, who enjoys capturing life’s moments by drawing them on his iPad, talked about using technology as more than just a social networking tool. More specifically, he suggested using computers or internet applications like Instagram as a “catalyst to see our world differently.”

“If we can use the technology to see those things we may become a better participant in the world around us…It’s easy to see the black and white, right and wrong, death, life, somebody [is] born and somebody died. It’s really easy to see those black and white events. It’s another thing when you filter it through color,” Wright said.

Read the rest of Ignite Charlotte Inspires Individuals, Communities at Charlotte Viewpoint

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