There are a few ways that we can look at mobile in respect to this intersection with faith or faith-based endeavors. Usually speaking, we look at mobile from two perspectives: either it is a lifestyle choice, or it is something very much embedded into the fabric of our respective cultures.

One of the challenges that keeps me on the brink of sanity (seriously) is successfully conveying either if these perspectives to audiences that may or may not see mobile in this wise. Mobile as a lifestyle choice doesn’t look at it’s intersection to faith but more like what mobile looks like appended to faith. In this perspective, mobile looks like bible applications, reading plans, communication strategies, and technical pursuits. On the other hand, when mobile is a part of your culture, you less think about these layered interactions but more about enhanced features such as mobile health, mobile finance, etc.

Notice the difference? Hence the struggle and the fun of this endeavor.

Here are some thoughts on approaches from Mobile Marketing Magazine to get you started on thinking and chatting:

• Do you look at mobile similar to the desktop?
• Where are your best practices and specific focuses in mobile?
• Are your users/clients ready?

There are six approach ideas listed there. So, what perspective do you take when you are a ministry or organization leader? How do you identify what is the right approach, and then what steps are next?

Just got the confirmation the other day that my (Antoine) speaking proposal for the 2011 BibleTech Conference was accepted and all signs point to there being a third iteration of MMM presenting at this exciting and engaging conference.

BibleTech is an opportunity to hear from analysts, educators, developers, and missionaries who are in and around web and mobile issues that relate to the study and understanding of God’s Word. In between the sessions are several discussions and engagements unlike what happens at other conferences. And if last year was any indication, there’s going to be a ton of people interested in not just what’s possible with the tech, but where the leaders in this space are going next.

The title of MMM’s topic is “Mobile Ministry: Definition, Contextual Applications, and State of the Body.” As with previous presentations, expect a ton of information, and some neat interactive surprises. This presentation builds on our previous presentations at this event (2009, 2010) and will take what was started here as a definition of mobile ministry and add some context around it.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Going back to some recent conversations, there are always two streams: the technology that is and the technology that is right around the corner. In trying to wrap the the concept of mobile ministry into terms that are both accessible and visionary, I’m often drawn to visions of interactions that look as if we are in a mobile-friendly city of God.

I see worship spaces augmented with virtual components. I see the call to salvation not stopping at a call, but becoming a thread of continuous communication that develops from discipliship relationships to friendships. I don’t see mobile terminals as they are now, but embedded and transformed by context (a screen when needed, voice when needed, etc.). I see the challenge of access and censorship driving private business and policy creation – and the conversations open around causing believers to mature (not just increase in knowledge). The attention to detail in respecting one another’s cultural narrative causing faith to not have a slant (Western, American, Global South, etc.) but respecting the entry point, and cultivating a common faith – not necessarily common practices.

Such thoughts are indeed quite utopian, and can be considered both profitable and unrealistic. But, I think that there is the need for such visionary explorations from time to time. We shouldn’t get stuck in our thoughts (the paralysis of innovation), but engage in utopian thinking when it is best used as a lens for examining our ideas about how we would like to live. Not so much that it is going to happen, but that it is a possibility to happen and should spark imaginations and actions.

One of the statements that describes some of the imaginations that drive MMM sounds a lot like the statement made here. Ours appends things a bit, but carries much of the same reach:

What happens when the experience of faith lived out happens without the differentiation (borders, boundaries) between physical and digital spaces?

In that new space, how are the children of God living? What are they doing? What are we cultivating at the feet of the King? What aren’t we cultivating, and why doesn’t that make sense anymore?

When Jesus had this conversation/encounter with the Samaritan woman (woman at the well) in John, he pulled apart her perception of the current state of things and gave her a vision of His spirit as it existed in a space that was not like the accepted or rejected paradigms of their time. He gave her not just the potential, but the utter reality that His Spirit would endear citizens to live wholly different holy lives.

I believe that many of us dream of these interactions, these spaces. And these are indeed healthy and should be encouraged. When we stop dreaming – or take a break from dreaming to live – what are we taking from that dream’s pronouncement into the lives of people around us? And if it is the King of Kings we are taking, what tools won’t we use to build out the better temples?

In some recent conversations around mobile ministry, one of the more pressing concerns was how to measure the impact of mobile. Frankly speaking, metrics/analytics for mobile aren’t as mature and usually content providers need to be more creative in collecting and more descriptive in interpreting mobile data. Monday Note goes into some great detail towards the challenges here:

…One example of the measurement challenge: a news related application. The first measure of an app’s success is its downloads count. In theory, pretty simple. Each time an app is downloaded, the store (Apple’s or any other) records the transaction. Then, things gets fuzzier as the application lives on and gets regular updates. Sometimes, updates are upgrades, with new features. At which point should the app be considered new — especially when it’s free, like most of the news-related ones? Second difficulty: a growing number of apps will be preloaded into smartphones and tablets. Rightly or wrongly, Apple nixes such meddling with its devices. But, outside of the iOS world, cellphone carriers do strike deals with content providers and preload apps on Android devices. That’s another hard to get number…

Read the rest of Measuing the Nomads at Monday Note.

In those conversations about mobile data and analytics, it has been made very clear to me that this is a major hurdle for some of the larger groups which use these measurements in order to determine how to better support – or even adjust how they are supporting mobile ministry activities. What have been some of the methods that you are finding successful?

Or, if you’ve got a case study towards a mobile ministry initiative and have described some of these measures of success, would you consider submitting that to be posted on our Mobile Case Studies/Research page? There’s still much to be learned from one another and grounds to be plowed in this space. And until we can start seeing consistency in actions/successes/failures, the challenge to collecting and understanding mobile data in the ministry context will go unanswered.

I am known for not charging my batteries. My phone dies, my iPod dies, I forget to put gas in my car regularly. I have in my purse at all times a spare charger for my phone and have used it in the most unusual places. People who know me well just roll with the punches, because this is one of my personality quirks.

My relationship with Christ depends on my being plugged into the Bible.  I have plunged in deep, I have pulled back hard depending on where my emotions lay. I have memorized verses,  listened to audio versions before bed and  gone to weekly Bible studies all in an effort to  recharge the relationship. My many devices have battery meters on them with a warning telling me when to recharge. My relationship with Christ does not have this convenient feature.

I have attended churches and made fast friends and shallow acquaintanceship. I have stayed in attendance in the church till I unplugged my battery. It didn’t happen all at once. One Sunday here, missed Bible study there. But I am not like the mobile units I carry. I need recharging far more often than my many pocket devices. I realize I am very much unplugged from a very real source of power. I did this on my own. I did not watch my battery meter, I ignored my beeping of the alarm till finally one day I realized all I heard was silence.

God is faithful. We are not. We can not promise to ever be faithful because that is a promise we will break the very next minute. God is faithful and when we plug ourselves back into the outlet? Angels rejoice.

“Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Palm Addicts with a user talking about how they are using their iPod Touch and using applications to memorize and track Scripture reading. Here’s a snippet:

On my Tapwave Zodiac and my Palm TX, I used a free app called Memorize! to, you guessed it, memorize verses from the Bible. Memorize! was quick and offered easy flexibility for using various translations and languages (as long as the appropriate language was loaded on the Palm). I could also add whole sections of Scripture and not just single verses. It could also import verses from Laridian’s MyBible program. On the iPod Touch, I have found two alternatives to Memorize…

Read the rest over at Palm Addicts.

A new mobile application has jumped up on the radar called GM2:8 and it is an audio and video reader that displays Gospel tracts.

MMM was also graced to have a few questions answered by GM2:8. The following was answered by Ray from the GM2:8 effort.

MMM: Can you describe GM28 in two sentences? GM2:8: This is a down-loadable iPod application that can be used to share the gospel with someone who doesn’t speak your language. Anyone can share the gospel with the GM28–it takes no skill at all.

MMM: Is there a cost to using GM28 beyond getting online to download the application or the language files?
GM2:8: The application is completely free.

MMM: Are there plans to release GM28 in other languages or for other mobile platforms?
GM2:8: I would love to release it in other languages, as finances permit us to do so.

MMM: There are only Gospel Tracks available; was licensing a reason for not being able to do Biblical texts as well?
GM2:8: I didn’t consider doing biblical texts, but that is a great idea.

MMM: Can you tell a bit of the history behind the project?
GM2:8: I wanted to witness to the Hispanic driver as I got into a taxi to go the Los Angeles airport, so I said, “Do you speak English?” He answered, “No. Do you speak Spanish?” I only know two words in Spanish–“bueno” and “pronto,” so I replied, “All I know is bueno and pronto.” At hearing those tow words he slammed his foot on the gas and drove at break-neck speed all the way to the airport. I had replied “Good. Fast!” Needless to say, I didn’t get to witness to him, a continual frustration I have had many times over the years with those who don’t speak English. So I began to seriously consider how modern technology could help me overcome the language barrier. After months of experimentation, I came up with the GM28. It solved the problem. It really works.

So there you have it. Another mobile application that assists the proactive believer in Evangelical efforts by answering the problems of language, access, and interactivity that we many times see in these contexts.

To learn more, visit the GM2:8 and 100 Languages websites.

For a list of some other Bible applications, including some which handle audio and content in various languages, check out our Mobile Bibles pages.

Talking about data formats used in mobile/digital bibles is one thing, finding out what publishing houses are on board with moving their translations into digital domains is another. Over at Charisma Magazine, an interesting article has recently been published, and while short in length, the simple fact several Bible societies are coming together to make digital happen:

The businessman whose family’s $70 million gift lifted Oral Roberts University (ORU) out of debt is backing a cooperative effort to digitize Bible content and speed the pace at which translations are completed.

Every Tribe Every Nation plans to initially put 160 existing texts into digital format, although Mart Green said the process for converting several thousand will likely take 20 to 25 years.

“This is driven by the sense of urgency in several areas,” said Green, who became chairman of ORU’s board of trustees three years ago after helping the school pay off $54 million in debt. “What’s front and center for me right now would be mobile. Every hour 1,000 people are downloading the Bible onto their iPhone.”

What is most interesting about this story is that here we have publishers not just being pursued by their customer audiences, but now donors are also getting into the fray making sure that no effort is spared using financial and collaborative tools that would make sure the Bible makes it to every corner of the reading, listening, and communicating world.

In our Future Bibles series, we looked at publishing being effected by digital trends. This report by Charisma Magazine further emphasizes this point. For publishers, the challenge will not just be technical, but also aiding teachers and communities to also digitize their teaching tools and methods to account for this huge digital push.

With the New Year coming around the corner, many people make resolutions and promises for a better year. I don’t make these sort of promises to myself because I will not  keep  them. What I do use this time of year  is to look at where my time is being spent and what kind of connections I have. My very purpose of keeping a Social Media presence is to connect to with people I otherwise would not and to keep the connections I have fresh and alive.

To take this on a personal Christian level, I use Matthew 7:6 as a guide for my time “Caste not your pearl before the swine”. What does this mean?  I cull my connection lists to what  I find to be more meaningful. I know many people take on Twitter as a popularity contest and then use such services as Tweetdeck to tone down the noise of people they do not  want hear. I do not  have time for that. I take this time of year to evaluate what it is I want to hear.  I also need to know that people are listening to what I have to say and that not taking it for granted or advantage of it. This is a great time to  evaluate who is and who should not be my personal space. While I don’t pretend to think the internet is private, I do treat it like I would my home. I don’t have to invite people who I don’t want there.

I also go  through my memberships of forums I belong to. Am I getting out of them what I am putting into them? I had to learn the hard way that my time is limited just like everyone else and I can not give more than I receive. We are all looking for a connection, that is why we  have cultivated these tiny machines. We have social networks at our very finger tips, I feel that this is a  good  time to evaluate if we are connected to something  meaningful to our purpose in life.  I need those connections that challenge and push me further than I went last year, further than I want to go and further than I thought I ever could go.  I need to eliminate the connections that suck up my time and leave me drained. I am better able to give encouragement to the people who need it when I am not watching my pearls being trampled by swine.

I love New Years. No resolutions, just reconnecting with the possibilities that brought me to mobile in the first place.

Being called to be both a pastor and a geek is often difficult. The calling of a pastor frequently places me in the structure of the institutional Church which, despite whatever theological claims an individual congregation makes, is an inherently conservative institution. Churches embrace change and innovation slowly (if at all).

The calling of geek, however, places me in the world of the ever-changing. In the digital world technologies rise and fall at a rapid pace, and the ways people communicate with one another is constantly morphing into new forms. From my dual-calling perspective, I have come to appreciate these two opposing experiences of the world. The institutional church’s slowness to adapt often stems from a concern about the dehumanizing tendencies which comes with technological innovation.

The world of the digital revolution, the realm of the geeks, strives to make human communication the social currency of the 21^st Century. It is not a matter of one being “right” and the other “wrong.”  Rather, it is in the tension between the two callings that I am afforded an opportunity to be a distinctly Christian presence in the world. I call this presence, “technological contemplation.”

Natives, Immigrants, and Aliens – Oh My

Since Marc Prensky first coined the terminology in 2001, language about internet usage has been discussed between the poles of Digital Native and Digital Immigrant.  Natives, are those who have grown up with the presence of computers in their midst, which has changed the way their brains actually process information. Immigrants, on the other hand, are those who remember a time in which computers were not the ever-pervasive tool they are now. As such, their minds don’t process information in the digital world as readily as natives. They have what Prensky calls an “accent.”  The example he uses is the use of e-mail to see if someone got a voicemail message (I actually consider the use of any voicemail at all a digital accent).

Since Prensky first wrote in 2001, the shift has happened again. It’s no longer simply a matter of being a digital native or immigrant. We now have to wrestle with the reality of mobile natives and immigrants. These are people whose primary means of communication is their cell phone or, increasingly, their smart phone.

In this mix of natives and immigrants, I want to posit a third identity – there are aliens among us. Digital, and mobile, aliens do not have accents – they don’t even know the language!  These are people, or organizations, which have rejected the digital and mobile aspects of the communications revolution. Tools like e-mail frustrate them. Cell phones and text-messages tend to frighten them out of their minds. Church institutions make up one of the most populous groups of digital and mobile aliens in our culture. Older churches, in particular, lag behind the curve in the use of technology for communication. Many older (in terms of “years incorporated”) congregations do not even have access to the Internet in their buildings.

As such, tools like e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, texting, and instant messaging are not utilized to keep people connected. These digital aliens continue to use a tool from the 1800’s to communicate (the land-line telephone) and use this tool in a way that hasn’t been popular since the 1990’s (leaving voicemail at home). To digital, and mobile, natives (and immigrants) the efforts of these aliens are often met with a sense of hostility – as though a foreign world were invading their lives.

Crossing the Bridge

This sense of hostility between “native” and “alien” is a serious problem for churches. How can a congregation, which is called to communicate the message of the Gospel, spread the message of Jesus if the tools they use are met with a hostile response (often times from members of their own neighborhoods)? To begin, churches must recognize that that is a divide between the way they are designed to communicate and the way the rest of the culture communicates. Without this spark of recognition, congregations will continue to mark themselves as “aliens.”  This awareness must then lead to actions which enable the message of the Gospel to cross into the world of the mobile native.

Transitioning into action, however, is more than simply taking the tools of mobile natives (and immigrants) in hand and assuming that communication will happen naturally. To communicate effectively in the mobile world three interacting realities must be wrestled with.

First, it must be understood that “natives” of any culture have any number of rules and practices which attend their actions – most of which are not verbally transmitted but are rather learned intuitively. The intuitive nature of these rules makes it difficult for non-natives to discover what they are, as natives have never been forced to describe them!  They are simply, “what you do.”

When churches try to take up the same communication tools which mobile natives use, then, they will inevitably violate some of the rules which guide behavior. At first, natives (and assimilated immigrants) will view these violations as humorous or mild annoyances because they realize that the aliens simply don’t know better. If the church is not sensitive to the lines they are crossing and refuses to learn from past violations, however, mild annoyance can shift to hostility.

Second, churches must understand that taking up new tools of communication is not simply changing the means of communication. We must understand, and embrace, that what communicates well in one cultural setting will not communicate equally well into another!  When a church migrates into the world of mobile connectedness great care must be done to compensate for the drift in meaning from one culture/medium to another. If this care is not taken, a church may very well end up communicating the opposite of what they believe they are communicating. Taking the Gospel into a new communications medium needs a care which is similar to that of translating it into a new language. Time must be spent learning to idioms and grammar which is unique to the mobile world.

Third, churches must learn how to appropriately critique the culture of the mobile world without condemning. As the unspoken rules, idioms, and grammar of new communications tools are discovered Christians must ask, “How are we able to take up these tools within bounds of the culture, while honoring Christ?” It is as we wrestle with these questions, churches can take on a prophetic role, pointing out some of the unforeseen consequences of the mobile culture as a fellow traveler rather than as a voice from “on high.”  In fact, it may be that churches and individual Christians which have wrestled with the mobile world and it’s realities may choose to limit the presence of the technology in their own communities (for example, Twitter fasing).

Calling all Contemplatives

Churches must come to the understanding that, because of the digital and mobile revolutions, they are now missionaries to a foreign culture. The means by which they typically pass information is now as alien to the culture as a foreign language, and must change. This is where technological contemplation is vitally important. The call to cross the chasm between mobile native and alien is not simply a call to immigrate into this new era and pass ourselves off as natives. Rather, it’s call to re-engage the message of the Gospel while simultaneously reflecting on this rapidly changing culture in which we now live.

Churches need contemplatives who are filled with a missionary passion to identify the best of this mobile world in which we live – for that’s where the Gospel is ready to break through.

Wes Allen is the geek-pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Riverton-Palmyra and the Associate Regional Pastor for Ministry and Technology with the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey. He can be reached via Twitter, Facebook, or his blog Painfully Hopeful. He loves Jesus, technology, and the Phillies. He has never been subjected to Vogon poetry.