Two articles the past week have got me asking the question of “what’s next after we’ve poked the mobile?” After we’ve built the app, created the service, or even built the curriculum, what then?

The initial spark to this thought came via an article at Church Mag. Eric Dies posted about an excellent take on utilizing the entire capabilities of the iPad (hardware and software) and combining it with a multi-layered and interactive story to create something that just can’t exist in another medium. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore was created by an ex-Pixar artist, but really points to what’s possible.

I left that article going “wow, amazing take on storytelling. What’s the kid/adult going to do when the story is over?” You can’t just read a story that engaging and then be done – what next? I feel like that after some passages of Scripture. I’m not so much looking to go back and read it again as much as I’m inspired to live differently.

The second spark came via a Wired article (How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education). I don’t have kids, but I did have parents that would have jumped all kinds of hoops to put that kind of material in front of me. I constantly needed to be challenged in school, and it reflected in both the positive and negative. A resource, no matter how crude, that can or does constantly adapt itself to the reader/student would be excellent – and (as pointed out in the article) make some skill-sets more developed faster than others.

It also leaves the question though of “what next?” What happens when a child/student gets past all the levels, unlocks all the achievements, and (for all intents and purposes) can game the system to just look busy? The Khan Academy surely does show one possibility of filling in a gap – but what it cannot answer is how do you take this person who’s now prepared earlier than normal and make what they’ve learned culturally or socially relevant while not reinforcing the gaming methodologies they learned?

So, back to the initial point – I’m looking at the bible apps, tracts, social networks, and such, and going “this is good, its here. Now, what do people do next?” If you will, if the presentation on a mobile was so engaging (which was good if we were using mobile as a channel to rebroadcast materials), to whom are they empowered to teach/disciple? Or, if they finished the “Rosetta Stone of Scripture lessons,” are they now equipped to lead a small group, integrate into a local church or para-church organization to take those lessons to a wider audience?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that every mobile ministry activity has to think beyond their purpose or niche. But, there is a responsibility that if we are enabling, teaching, filling a channel, or even distracting from another media element, that there’s something next that we’ve got to be ready for. Are our pastors and teachers ready for the life that mobile causes? If not, should some of us be putting our energies there, not simply into the bucket of “go mobile because its the thing to do?”

What are your thoughts? Should mobile activities in ministry have some perspective of “what’s next?”

The Wireless Industry Partnership has released their July App(lication) Report. Here’s a snippet of its summary:

Looking through many of the major app(lication) stores reveals a few things that haven’t changed all that much since the days when carrier WAP portals dominated the mobile content business. In particular, the dominance of larger app makers in the top-download charts and in the “featured app” slots harkens back to the days when the biggest winners in the mobile content space were the companies with the best biz dev teams, not the best apps and content.

Some app(lication) stores, such as the iTunes App Store, do a decent job of highlighting content from lesser-known developers alongside the big names, but the reality in most stores is that it’s truly a long tail game. Like in so many things, the 80/20 rule provides a good rough estimate: in this case, 80 percent of the apps are sold by 20 percent of the providers — leaving the other 80 percent of developers fighting over the rest of the market.

Read the report (PDF) at WIP Connector.

Over at Mobile Advance a new interview series called 10 Questions. Here, Mobile Advance interviews people involved in and around mobile ministry activities.

The latest of these interviews is with Alex Kerr from the UK. Here’s a snippet of that interview:

5. What are some of the biggest obstacles to implementing effective mobile ministry? For you/your ministry? For the Christian world in general?

A couple of things I think need to be overcome in mobile ministry in general to see it being as effective as it can be. Firstly, a raising of awareness amongst churches globally that the mobile phone is a channel to reach people in general, and especially youth (though most certainly not limited to them). I know big, globally known churches, that don’t even have mobile on their radar. It does depend who your audience is for a particular outreach – maybe mobile really isn’t appropriate for something – but generally I think awareness needs to increase considerably, just so it’s at least on the table in people’s minds as an option (along with other routes to reach people)…

Read the rest of this interview at Mobile Advance.

John Dyer has long been a favorite to read and listen to in respect to faith and technology. He’s one of the few who seems to have as solid a handle on IT issues as he does Scripture. We’ve seen one aspect of his work as with the Bib.ly feature which turns Scripture references into a service-neutral, verse pop-up screen on this blog (this only works on the site, those viewing via mobile or RSS won’t see the effect).

John’s on the verge of publishing something new, and a good bit further reaching. His upcoming book, From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology seeks to catalyze what’s been heard/seen on his blog (Don’t Eat the Fruit) as well as when you get to chat with him in person or virtually. That is, there are both positive and negative implications to technology that influence and are influenced by our association with faith. His exploration of this topic is something I’m itching to be ready to read once it comes out (August). Here’s the text from the back cover:

Technology—from the first stone tool to the latest smartphone—has changed our daily routine, the way we communicate, and even how we encounter God. We often laud the benefits of technology (increased quality of life, faster ways to spread the gospel) or bemoan the detriments of technology (decreased attention spans, reduced interpersonal contact), but fail to properly address its transformative power. Where does technology fit into the larger Biblical story?

From the Garden to the City deconstructs the concept of technology and examines it through the lens of Scripture. Studying Bible passages and insights from the best thinkers on technology, theology, and culture, John Dyer shows how technology left unexamined can enslave us rather than honor God and fulfill his plan for us. With helpful observations and practical application, Dyer issues an urgent challenge to live faithfully in this technology-saturated world.

Before From the Garden to the City is released, there are a few things John is doing to keep the interest. One of them is that he’s got a survey-of-sorts on the book’s website where based on what services are used to promote his upcoming book, a specific chapter of the book would be unlocked for all to read freely. He’s using the social networking technologies as a viral-like means to promote the book, and the strength of networks and promotion will be what unlocks the book. Nifty.

To track the eventual book release, check out From the Garden to the City’s website. To check out some of the kinds of thinking that John has going into this book, I’d recommend following his blog Don’t Eat the Fruit – lots of nuggets just happen to fall off that tree.

And if you can’t wait until August, check out this listing of reads that John’s posted about. Time to knock off some items from my Amazon Wishlist 😉

Today I took the plunge and wrote my sermon on my iPad. It’s a “doable” experience, but not one I’d want to repeat over and over again just yet. Let me share my two biggest reasons why I don’t think it’s quite “there” yet.

• There aren’t any windows. I know, on the iPad that’s a feature rather than a bug – but the nice thing about windows is the ability to look at information, and enter in data in another window without have to completely switch screens (or do so seamlessly). Also, I keep IM open while I’m working and I miss seeing my IM client there while I’m typing away. Most of my problems will be handled in iOS 5 this fall, switching apps seamlessly will be a simple swipe-gesture, and the new alerts set-up for iOS 5 will solve my IM dilemma. Right now, however, working collaboratively between processes is rather disruptive.
• The writing apps aren’t quite up to snuff. I use Documents-to-Go as my word processor. It’s not awesome, but it does outlines, is synced to my Google Docs account (though it really should sync the doc automatically when it’s saved, rather than syncing only after the document is closed), and has a good set of features. It’s not as stunning to look at as Pages, but it actually has the features I need. The problem is, the keyboard support is pretty awful – the typical formatting shortcuts don’t work, and neither does the “save” command (which is needed, I lost whole paragraphs because the app didn’t suspend properly when I went to go search something in my Bible app). Also, would it kill Documents-to-Go to have a setting to enable typographic quotes? It just looks nicer. This writing experience needs to improve significantly before I move over to writing sermons on my iPad full-time.

So, that’s where I am. I could keep my MacBook shut down all week and just write on my iPad – but the disruptive way of collaboratively working between processes, coupled with weak apps for document generation, make it an undesirable option. I actually had considered using Google Docs directly on my iPad, but the desktop version is suddenly not working properly on my iPad anymore! I’ll keep looking for tools that make sermon-writing on my iPad a more enjoyable experience, and will revisit the process when iOS 5 comes out in the fall.

Previously posted at Painfully Hopeful.

One – and probably the most popular – method of utilizing mobile a a channel for ministry is that of the mobile app. I’m working on a future piece that talks some about the return on investment question in regards to mobile ministry. But until that posts, I’d like to point to an excellent perspective on mobile apps from the marketing side of the mobile conversation from the folks at MobiThinking. Here’s a snippet:

…“When I saw the mobile winners at Cannes Lions, I immediately tweeted how the majority of the advertising festivals tend to think of mobile marketing only in terms of iPhone apps,” comments Leo Xavier, CEO, Pontomobi, the Brazilian mobile agency that built the official Cannes Lions mobile apps. “Obviously, it is a disappointing to see that four Gold mobile winners are nothing but an iPhone app. I really like the Heineken Starplayer app, though, because it is based on the new concept of co-viewing. And, yes, the best option to deliver that experience is an app. The problem here is that it is only for iPhone.” (Apple devices were about 3.5 percent of handset sales in 2010, so focusing on iPhone-only will exclude the vast majority of the client’s customers)…

Read the rest of Why Ad Agencies Like Mobile Apps at MobiThinking.

We do have some understanding of what works for mobile apps, but not necessarily what always works with those apps when “ministry” is envoked as part of the platter. Effective mobile ministry apps are few and far in between – at least if we have some common measure for what makes an effective mobile ministry app. So that approach is quite important. Probably mores than the app itself.

And now for a question to consider, if you are thinking of a mobile application as the/one of the methods that you will use for mobile ministry, what aspects of investing in that approach are you most unprepared for?

A few weeks back, we saw a listing of Bibles for Kindle devices over at Biblical Studies and Technological Tools and we’ve since added these to our larger page of Bible Apps for Mobile/Web Devices.

In contrast to some of the other items listed on that page, the Bibles for Kindle devices usually have some cost attached to them. Please be wary of the costs and terms of use before downloading these to your mobile device. Note also, Kindle Bibles can only be used within the Kindle application – so if you move to a platform that doesn’t have the Kindle application available for it, you will need to purchase that Bible again through another service/store.

Though lists like the one we’ve collected are less helpful since some platforms have only the ability to download Bibles and Biblical applications from a single application store, this listing is maintained to give you – and those publishing these works – a clearer view of the amount of options that people have at their fingertips towards getting these materials on electronic devices.

If anyone has a listing of Bibles for Nook, Kobo, and other devices, do point that to us and we’ll just add those lists to this page as well.

Over at Mobile Advance a new interview series called 10 Questions has started. Here, Mobile Advance will be interviewing several people involved in and around mobile ministry activities.

The first of these interviews is with James Thomas of Global Recording Networks (GRN). Here’s a snippet of that interview:

2. How and why did you become involved with mobile ministry?

Global Recordings Network sees mobile devices as being an important distribution medium for their audio and video content. Mobile phones (cell phones) are prolific in the developing world. Phones with media player capability provide a personal means for unreached oral communicators to hear the story about Jesus in their heart language. It is for these reasons and the fact that I recently joined GRN coming from a mobile engineering background that I became involved with mobile ministry.

Read the rest of this interview at Mobile Advance.

This past Monday, I got a chance to present at the 7Ms meeting in VA Beach. Its always a pleasure to connect with and hear the stories of what is happening around the world from missionaries who are in and out of the states, and this meeting was no different – even with us having the space to present about MMM.

Of Missionaries on the Field

In the times I’ve attended 7Ms, there have been several stories by those who’ve been serving in places such as India, Libya, Egypt, Central America, Ecuador, and SE Asia. Suing this meeting, we got to hear about what has been happening in Thailand with those who speak (and are now learning to write) in the Diao language. Two videos were presented, the first showing the changes that have been happening as a result of missionaries giving Thai an ability to write and learn about the world in their own language. And the the second showing how it really has been more a matter of prayer than anything else that has been the best supporting and enabling action (not to say that people and finances aren’t needed, only that even with those, it was the increase in prayer that merited the most direct change).

OMF International was the organization that this presenter worked with. Though we are in knowledge of several groups working alongside them in that region and many others as the Gospel’s ability to not just save souls, but to improve the quality of life, for so many is being felt (and in some cases, encouraged on national levels).

Of the Presentation Itself

As usual, I present from a mobile phone where possible. And, to what has seemed like it’s been happening more often than not lately, there’s been some issue with that happening. So instead of the presentation getting the benefit of a few slides, I had to walk from memory and interaction.

A few of the points that we raised which might resonate with some:

– There are three reasons why we see mobile’s prominence in areas where missions activities happen: communication, safety, and opportunity. Any use of mobile, whether evangelism, health, learning, etc. has to become relevant to people personally on that wise. It is a very true statement that “technology is only relevant when it is personal.” On the mission field, this is increasingly the case.

– While there is a generation gap, and economic/affluence gap, when it comes to the types of devices and activities, base usage remains the same: high usage of text messaging, need for great battery life, and use of low-cost mobiles and pre-paid accounts.

– There are several examples of activities happening utilizing mobile in ministry, a few we highlighted on the deck include the mLearning Project, Door 43, and Kiosk Evangelism. There’s a need to catalog more stories though, and to do so while keeping the integrity of the mission and the safety of missionaries in mind.

That’s a good summary of things. You can see the presentation, and others, in our Issues and Presentations section of the site.

Always a pleasure to connect with 7Ms, and looking forward to giving them an update as to our doings in future meetings. To connect with 7Ms, you are probably best to either catch a member on Facebook or just show up on a Monday morning.

An area where I’ve been more lax than I should be has been in the area of securing my mobile device. Yes, I use the text-to-reset feature on my Symbian devices (built-in feature), but rarely do I do much of anything as a regular practice until me or someone near me has a major issue.

Thankfully, I’ve started to remedy that – beginning with some of the strategies talked about during the Risk Assessment session at ICCM. Here’s something else that made me think of my device on this angle and then take proactive security steps.

The SaferMobile Lockdown Guides for Mobile Devices is basically a collection of simple tips for how to secure your mobile device. The SaferMobile Wiki lists the guides available so far. Even if there’s not a guide for your specific device, your platform might be represented.

This is a service offered by the good folks over at MobileActive.org. If you’ve got any recommendations on how they can improve these guides, contact them.