BibleTech Presentation Preview

BibleTech logoSeems like that for the past two BibleTech Conferences, we’ve gone the route of giving a sneak preview of the presentation. Might as well continue the tradition. Here’s a snippet from one of the presentation slides:

Definition of Mobile Ministry

The skillful use and application of computer technology classified as mobile for the context of fulfilling the religious practices which forward the proclamation of the key ideals and history of the faith, following form to and innovating on top of cultural and faith traditions within applied contexts.

The defintion that we are using here for mobile ministry is curated from several sources/leanings. First, the idea of skillful use being made clear in Proverbs 4:7 – wisdom in using mobile isn’t the providence though of Christians, it should be the hallmark of all people using this technology or engaging in its benefits.

Secondly, in calling it an application of computer technology, we are divorcing the behavior of mobile from other mobile-like behaviors such as listening to music via a walkman, or even limiting the tool to that of a mobile phone. As stated in our formal article on this defintiion, mobile inlcudes any kind of computing technology which is not bound to a specific space, and has usage models which fit within these 8 recorded unique characteristics.

Because we use the appended term ministry we are also filtering the use and application of mobile to faith practices. Certainly, there is mobile beyond faith, however this definition is deliberate to describe mobile technology in this context only.

We use the phrase forward the proclamation of the key ideals and history of the faith as any use of mobile in/for minsitry has to contain the scent/fingerprint of profitably carrying forward the tradition of fatih, while also growing the understand of living within the concepts and ideas that were originally set out when the Christian faith was understood to be codified.

Lastly, we use the phrase applied contexts because we understand that mobile and minsitry are bound and loosed within specific environments – and no two appliations might give the same result because of the characteristics of mobile. That also means that mobile ministry is more than a theoretical exercise, for at some point all faith (theory) must be lived out (proven) and vetted for justification as profitable to the faith, and to all humanity.

Well, this is at least how it looks on (digital) paper. I’m not sure that it will come out this cleanly.

If you are able to make it to BibleTech (and this includes us at the time of writing, its been a rough go of things for a bit), am looking forward to connecting, fellowshipping, and (possibly) being late/missing a few sessions because of great conversations.

If you aren’t able to make it, we’ll still post the presentation here (at the same time I’d been scheduled for just to keep it in tune), and we can converse over Twitter with the implications of what’s in text there.

For more information about BibleTech, check out the conference website.

Sewing Up Gaps in Mobiles Shown During Emergency Situations

I am glad that we are now at the point of understanding that the characteristic of a mobile to be present – cellular service or not – during emergency situations can be the difference between life or death in all too many cases. Once those situations are over, and even sometimes in the midst of them, we can find ways that mobile and connected services can and should be used to help the efforts to address health and aid.

What has been noted though is that there are gaps in the knowledge of what has been and can be done. Yes, some of that is because in an emergency situation, there’s no time to document what it is that was done – its was done and lives were addressed. However, there are opportunities to learn from situations that we’d be remiss to not learn from and be better prepared for future emergencies. For example, there are many mobiles in Japan which aren’t just stylish, but also waterproof. The industry and government understood that for some of the people who use mobile services, it could very well be a possibility that the device/service would be the contact point. Making sure it worked after being submerged meant they worked that into devices that were easy to understand and use.

Over at 3G Doctor, there’s a list of things that can be done on or around mobile devices/services that will help to manage (future) emergency situations. In summary, these are the items:

  1. Educate every member of society about the use of mobile
  2. Provide Aid (i.e., donations)
  3. Identity (i.e., blood donors, live register, etc.)
  4. SMS (i.e., warnings, knowledge sharing, etc.)
  5. Location-Based Services (i.e., resource deployment and monitoring)
  6. Video Content
  7. Utilities (i.e., Backup/Alternate Power)
  8. Hardware (i.e., waterproof devices, biosensors)

Read the entire article at 3G Doctor to see how these are explored.

If you are involved or have been involved with organizing or addressing emergency situations (such as Japan, Haiti, etc.), where has the availability of mobile helped? And what could have been better done?

From those lessons comes where churches and other ministries can and should step up to fill the gaps.

Using the iPad 2 in Ministry by Painfully Hopeful

Wes Allen has recently purchased an iPad 2 – significant because he purchased the original iPad for his son and has some watching it in a specific use, while also playing a role of occasional software tester and support person. Here’s a snippet of what he plans to do in ministry with his iPad 2:

…Second, I’m going to use this during worship as my complete information repository. As a pastor, the sheer amount of paper I have to carry into worship is staggering. I have a bulletin, all the inserts, my Bible, my lyrics or hymnal, and whatever last-minute added things people want to make sure I don’t miss. It’s insane. With my iPad, I’m down to one device (actually two, my iPod touch. Is my remote clicker) – it’s my Bible, my lyric sheet, my worship bulletin, my announcement sheet, my notebook for last minute information, and my prayer concern recorder. This is so much easier for me, with the added benefit that the information I take in when I’m with the community doesn’t end up in the recycle bin (after which I find I need to access it agin)…

Read the rest at Painfully Hopeful.

Now what about you? You might have watched others with the first generation iPad, and have taken a jump into iPad 2. How are you looking to use it in ministry? And what have been some unexpected surprises so far if you have purchased one?

Are You Where They Are?

In a few recent conversations, it was talked about how there was a need to get up new websites, create billboards, and fill other media channels with content so that people can find avenues to Christ. Unfortunately, these were conversations within the Christian household. So when I asked these people tasked with filling these channels if they were addressing mobile, they not only didn’t have an answer, but pointed it to being a technical issue above all else.

Caarlo Longorio (@caaarlo)from the Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP) made an interesting and important observation via Twitter during this year’s SXSW Interactive gathering:

…the walls btw internet/web/mobile/video/whatever are imagined. the tech doesn’t matter, the users do…

You see all of these channels, all of these moments and opportunities, but are you where people are? To a few generations and economic classes, there’s a definite difference towards addressing TV/radio/web/mobile, and in others, that line doesn’t exist at all – its all content. Yes, the method, channels, devices, and everything else except the effect of the communication are seen as the same thing – the end result defines whether the method was successful, not whether the channel was populated with something.

So what happens when a report like the State of the Media 2011 from Pew Internet (@pew_internet) comes forward showing that more people are getting their news from online pipes (“sources”) than newspapers? And if that’s not all, of those using the Internet as their pipe most of them are doing news consumption via mobile devices. If you are in/near some conversations that I’ve been around, you hear things like, “how can we get there,” “what’s are social media strategy,” and “we don’t have the ability to care about those people, we’ll stick with our traditional customers.”

I recall the stories recorded in the Gospel narratives and beyond about Jesus and how his fame spread further than he travelled. And by at least once account, it wasn’t just aware of his fame traveling, but that people wanted him to come along with it. But, that wasn’t his place, he served a specific geographic area and embedded within the lives of others the ability to go to those areas where Jesus’ fame was (and where it would eventually be), and be the proof of redemption that Jesus was sent to be.

That Pew Internet report will be read and instead of asking “how can we teach people in our community how to share the Gospel message,” many ministries and people will go about trying to become or fill yet another channel. They will create mobile sites, language specific websites, close some offices and open others as funding and marketing resources will need to be shifted. And they will be surprised at the results – few people will come to Christ and stay, and others will reject Him because the message was devoid of a person being attached to it. 

Are you where people are? Or, are you just filling a pipe to where you’d hope they’d be?

Does Digital Lend to Maturity

This week’s topics have been about both the technological aspects of and the social responsibilities towards digital faith. In a very real sense, we are asking if believers (pastor-teachers, lay persons, ministries, developers, and everyone else) are thinking through their use of digital tools as it relates to their faith. And if so, what’s being produced?

What is being produced when you come into a fellowship, and their only means of wanting to connect with you is “on Facebook?”

What is being matured when the pastor-teacher opens the Scriptures, but you are left with dull ears because of constant quotes of modern social ills, Greek/Hebrew terms, or a literal disregard of the text that you just read for another point?

What’s being produced in your visiting of local watering-holes (whether they be coffeeshops, libraries, or your den) to get quiet time to read on your Kindle, Nook, iPad?

Are the digital tools that you have subscribed to contributing to your and your community’s pursuit of maturity? Or, are these just artifacts of our times, pushing us away from the life with Christ and one another we vowed and subscribed to?

Do Lay Persons Need Bible Apps in the Same Way Pastors Do

LJ and I were recently talking about his potential move to tablets, and how the hold up was for certain Bible applications to appear. In the back of my head, I also had a recent conversation about a person asking me about the NIV Bible for the Rapier open source Bible reader. It hit that while these folks were essentially asking about the same thing (a Bible), they were coming at it from different ends – and both not getting the answers they were looking for.

Both pastor and (I’m assuming) lay person were looking for a Bible. LJ is a pastor-in-training, and so his needs around a Bible application factor not just being able to read the text devotionally, but to also have a library of content that connects to the text, opening up languages and commentaries and the wealth of the tradition of the text to his understanding. The other person’s needs the text as a means of following alongside what’s being discussed in sermons and Bible studies (and mine are somewhere in the middle). Its not that he doesn’t need the other content, but in terms of where he is and how the Scripture is taught, having just the text and access (possibly) to notes makes more sense.

Now LJ was open enough to lend his perspective to this question:

Pastors aren’t special & don’t have special knowledge that the general population shouldn’t be privy to. So, in that regard, it’s my personal belief that all Christians (ALL) should be equipped to adequately study the Scriptures if not at the same level as their pastor, near it or at least know “how”

I share in this belief also. In my early years as a believer, the pastors that discipled me instilled in me this fact and behavior. Therefore, with those that I walk alongside, we always look to study as pastors do, with similar materials. The same methods that the pastor-teacher uses to get to the point, should also be taught alongside the application or theology that the pastor-teacher is giving. This (should) help the mature believer not just mature, but also learn the skills to become apt teachers of the Scriptures themselves.

Yet, it is the case, and not a bad thing, that some people just can’t do with the entire Logos library in/around their mobile device. They need something similar that lowers the barrier to just reading the text (like YouVersion). This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t probably look to mature in our use of Bible apps, but maybe, the key to growth is not so much having a Bible app that you prefer, but one that can grow with you (Olive Tree is a great example here).

There is a different need. And as we talked about earlier with Camp Logos, there’s a need also to be trained to use some of the deeper software packages out there. If you are a pastor-teacher who uses any of this software, are you using it alongside your community? Or, are their uses so different, that you can only keep to the traditional sharing of verses, so that they learn the software of their choice, while you refine yourself spiritually in yours?

Camp Logos, Logos Bible Software, and the Difference Training Makes

Over at Bill’s Bytes, Bill spoke about his experience with Camp Logos, and how its influenced how he now uses Bible software. Here’s a snippet:

…Morris Procter, official trainer (former pastor) of Logos, truly knows how to teach in a way that’s interesting and practical. He knows how to engage his students. I got more out of the first hour than I thought I would’ve gotten from the whole camp! The camp turns the slow clunky Logos software into a indispensible lightening fast Bible Software! I found myself completely blown away by the software and how EASY it is to use once you learn a few things. CAMP LOGOS vastly exceeded my expectations…

Read the rest of Bill’s experience at Camp Logos.

This is a story that we can get around since we are  usually on the side of training people how to use their devices or software. It really does make a difference when someone takes some time with you to go through things, whether that is an hour or a few days.

That difference of training  (could we even refer to it as a form of digital discipleship) has always had the ability to make or break how people use computer software. Bible software is even more influential here. What Logos is doing with Camp Logos fits well into stewarding not only their product, but also helping to alleviate fears about how a product can be used.

We’ve had some similar responses from people once they’ve had some time to learn software or a gadget. There’s something to be said for someone taking a tool, and explaining it to you in a way that’s relevant to how you learn and how you want to use it.

How many of you are doing similar training/discipleship engagements with others? Or, are you in need of a particular kind of training? Let’s hear what might be missing in your or other’s experiences and like Logos, get folks looking at these tools in a better light.

Openness (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1
Starbucks Danville Attempt - Share on OviMy concentration towards continuing the drawing was broken. I tried starting a new canvas in Adobe Ideas, but that was of no good use. I decided to try and pay attention some more to the high school students and the increasing noise they created. Maybe I was becoming that old man in the corner that I used to laugh at when I was their age.

She looked through the window near where I was sitting. It looked empty enough and so she came in. However the only seat was near me. I was technically taking up four seats, and so she asked if she could have a seat and a table – I didn’t mind. She was there to read and wouldn’t bother me much.

Some time later I went back to that first scene of the cup, mobile, and tablet. There was more work that I could do on that I was sure of, I just needed to get back and concentrate. I was there for that – and ‘C’ gave me the confidence to just go ahead and paint my canvas. She looked aside of her book and asked, “are you an illustrator too? I do graphic design.”

Backstory: before I was in any way considered a techie, I was considered an artist. I drew on everything I could get my hands on, and computers were just becoming my new canvas when I abruptly stopped. I had a very bad experience in a beginning design class in my first semseter in college and that just stripped my love of drawing away for years. Sure, I could design a website, but drawing, playing with form, contour lines, colors, etc., that stuff was pushed way into the back. With the iPad I’d begun experimenting with drawing again. Using the finger was fun, and usually I had the best time drawing when on a plane. This moment in Starbucks was a bit different.

She and I struck up a conversation and then some other persons came in. The woman looked like an older sister (it was her mother who just purchased a Cintiq). She and and her mother run a print graphic company and are doing pretty well. The younger woman explained how she was not long back into the area after a few months out west – she left for there after graduating. She was back home to save and work on her portfolio. She likes art and illustration. So we chatted.

As we talked, it moved from comparing notes (she’s better than me by a country mile), to giving her some tips about how to take her experiences forward. She’d been looking for some steps to take that would help her get into better positions later on. We talked about what web tech to know and how that fits into her print knowledge. We even talked some about programs and what she should expect from self-learning, branding, and portfolios.

It was me doing that mentoring thing again. I’d not figured that such another moment would happen so soon after ‘C’ and the art. But there I was being given a chance to pour into someone else.

We talked some about illustration and how digital can enhance some things that were a bit more of a pain to draw before, but how you had to learn the basics first. She mentioned some of the projects that she’d been working on and how she’s building towards something but not sure of every direction yet. There was a confidence in her voice though, she was going to work each step out as she figured it out. That caused me to open up a bit.

As we talked there was another opening happening. Yes, I was freeing up from the stresses of earlier. But it also hit me why I needed to come out to this place in an off time (to me). I needed to open up a bit more to the world outside of some of my more structured moments, hear and see other people interact with things that I’m probably overly passionate about.

There was this nice and relaxing peace that I felt as she and I closed our conversation. I could see that I was right about certain pieces of this area, and that other aspects that I would have to open up a bit more towards. Not so much even because I’ll be here much longer, but because there are things that I can plant here that would help others see a world that they don’t have to compete for, they don’t have to strive for.

I was here to be open for these moments.

Collecting Money via iPhone at Concerts

I’ve got this personal pet peeve about carrying cash, that is, I don’t. It creates change, change creates lumpy pockets. So, I prefer to go the debit card route. This isn’t a problem till I come to a show. Not just the small ones either, the big ones where a few artists (indie and signed) have tables but don’t do debit/credit transactions. Sucks, cause I want to purchase then, not in many minutes/hours when browsing iTunes, Amazon, etc.

I know that i am not the only one with this issue. So why aren’t more artists/labels using products like Square to make it easier to do purchases on the fly using your iPhone as the “register?” Less cash counting to worry about, and the rates actually just went down.

Makes sense to me, just wondering, would you (artists) do this? Instead of (or in addition to) having a table, you’d have a street team of folks who’d be able to do this throughout the crowd at certain points. Reduce the friction to purchase and maybe sell a bit more?

*This could also work in other arenas, but had posted this originally at Holy Culture Radio because of the connection to smaller artists and their pains with having a suitable concert solution.

The Strain and Pain of Sharing

Have had a few conversations recently where me and a few close friends were talking about topics in Scripture. In one case, there was a sermon of a friend that we were taking a look at. In the other case, a bro and I were talking about a passage in a book (print) that he owned and I didn’t. In both cases, sharing our perspectives was exciting and infuritating.

First Sermon Feedback

In the first instance, a friend asked me to take a look and give feedback to her first written sermon. It was short and didn’t need much but to be placed in an email right? Well you see, this was also something being submitted to a professor for a class she was teaching. And at least because I received it inline via email, I understood that the system that she was using to submit the paper wasn’t able to facilitate people outside of that network/school looking at the same digital copy that the professor saw.

So, I got a copy via email, and therefore replied via email. No highlighting, no hyperlinks to other resources, just a plain text reply. Another friend came into the feedback loop and his replies were of course in other emails, some private to her and another shared with us all. But again, the conversation was all out of wack with anyone involved needing to mentally manage different threads of the conversation.

Chafer and Systematic Theology

Another brother and I were on Google Talk talking and he mentioned about a portion of Chafer’s Systematic Theology that he was investigating. The passage was familiar to me from my youth and I asked if there was a snippet available for me to take a look at that would be able to help me see things as he read them – thereby keeping my experiences from being primary in how I’m viewing his points. I asked for him to send me the snippet – surly the Bible software that he was using was able to do that much.

For one, it wasn’t. He sent me the snippet in a Google Doc. This takes the text out of the publisher’s environment, and now we are discussing the text in a manner that neither the publisher, developer of the Bible software company, or even my bro, could easily refer to that later when we resume the discussion. He’ll have to have two apps open (browser and the Bible app) and I’ll be in the browser looking only at the snippet of text.

Exciting and Infuriating

This is a problem. There’s way too much of a strain on people to have to share anything. And the pain we ignore because “this is the only way we know how to do it.”

Don’t get me wrong, it was great to be chatting with two people in two different time zones, and across multiple devices, on the depth of life to be uncovered in Scripture. If anything, this reaffirms that digital and connected spaces are great areas with which to do these kinds of conversations and studies.

But man, to have to slice-and-dice content, to have closed systems or processes that don’t allow authors to be able to re-resource their works to other audiences, that’s painful. Books like Chafer’s Systematic Theology should be operating in an open and easily source-findable environment so that people can access a snippet but not deprive publishers, developers, and authors of their compensation. I think of Amazon’s Kindle or Google Books, where you can send someone directly to a page, or a snippet of text, but they will not get the whole book without paying for it. There is no excuse that some of the larger tomes of knowledge aren’t done this way.

It was also great to be on IM and Google Docs with a brother on this. This makes sense for too many reasons, and why my friend’s school might not have allowed for something like this. We were in the same document, and I could highlight and link to reasons for my comment. They could see the changes, make adjustments, and then just leave it there for other eyes to see, or even for the professor to see how they came to their conculsions after not just sourcing textual references, but real persons that can be “googled.” What about that kind of discussion and learning isn’t where we should be?

But that’s not the case. We deal with attachments, document formats, publisher’s rights on viewing versus sharing, and reader applications which might not be compatible with the book that I’m using. Aren’t we done with striving in a direction that doesn’t take advantage of the tools that are before us? Or, are we not motivated enough to change the behaviors that have somehow ensnared us?