One of the conversations that I had this past Thanksgiving holiday with a few friends studying in seminary was the idea of the pastor’s library going away – or being greatly diminished – in its current form. A traditional pastor’s office is filled floor to ceiling with commentaries, narratives, resources, and Bibles of countless translations. In some circles, this is probably seen as some metric of validation towards the ability of that pastor to teach (or teach effectively).

With my friend and I standing in front of the Christian resources section of Barnes & Noble this past weekend, I openly stated that this view might be a thing of the past. We might be seeing the last stand of many of the shelves that are noted here. My friend, totally building an impressive library of his own, not only disagreed, but maintained that he’d be the last person purchasing books in order to keep things from going all digital. He admitted that he’s had issues with screens and workflows, and this centers on his perception (as it does my own).

Yet, as I stood/sat there, I wondered. Yes, we have iPads, Nooks, etc. and there’s almost no need to purchase a book at retail given the amount of tools at our disposal to price compare at places such as Amazon – yet, there’s something to be said for that library. That collection of books that commands reflection, contemplation, and usually the kinds of questions that can only be answered when sitting in the midst of just the covers of the mosaic of thought around The Faith.

That being said, the conversation he and I had evolved into not getting rid of all books, but looking for the appropriate context for digital versus print. I wrestle with this often having now an iPad at my use. There are some books (I’ll change term and say collections) that are better in a digital format not because they are contemplative, but because their value is best met when connected to other sources of information. Logos’s library stands out here as an example of what resource material that has a common index and considers that each component is a part of the whole can look like.

Other types of readings might be better left in print. I think about one of the books that I’ve read in the past (The Alchemist). While an excellent book, I don’t read that in the same way that I read The Next Christendom that I’m very comfortable in reading on my iPad. The reflection-like characteristics of The Alchemist in a print mode lends itself better to that type of reading.

Nevertheless, I think some pastors might be better served in investigating and considering ebook readers or tablets*. I’m not sure that keeping the method of how one comes to a reflection or the sources used in making a specific point should sit on a shelf. These links can and should be shared with the community so that discussion around “how” to study also meets the current common question of “what” to study.

In respect to the library, it needs to stay as a place of reflection. But, maybe it needs some better windows (with shades) so that reflection and revelation isn’t anymore held behind a curtain as something mysterious.

*Church Tech Today recently published an article on the current slate of ebook readers and their value to pastors.

Update: Today, Google announced and opened Google Books, a browser-based eBook reading service.

It is always great to see experiments like this from TechSMO. Especially when they can garner additional readers to offline media.

This was a recent project that I did with Southern Seminary. It’s a “tech edition” of one of their major publications The Towers. We used a QR code as the cover graphic and the articles are all themed around the importance of technology. Once scanned, the QR code opens a related video that is optimized for mobile phones. Turns out this was one of the most popular editions they’ve done.

Some of you have talked about using QR codes for bulletins or other print media in your communities, have you taken the jump? And if so, what has been the response?

The Harvard Business Review Blog recently posted a thought-provoking piece on the current Wikileaks situation(s). The thinking within this piece is that this kind of a break in traditionally secure or even private information is the most open challenge yet to the behaviors and thoughts that secrets will remain secrets.

Or, from the other side of the news delivery stream, what if newspapers were invented today? This isn’t as dissimilar a question as Google asked when inntroducing Wave (“what if email were invented today), but also asks us to think about media not just as a construct, but something that effects the context of life around us. There’s an implication to life that technologies always bring forth – and sometimes the questions and answers are easy to see, other times, they require the challenging or opening up of perceptions we’d not ordinarily consider.

Looking mobile in media [ministry], these kinds of situations not only offer a chance for reflection, but also ask of us to consider not just the consumption of media, but its effects in governed and non-governed contexts.

As we look at the ways mobile is pushing out various changes in our lives,* how do you expect the Body to adapt or resist changes which expose or break down barriers that once were (seemed) quite secure? If you will, disruption happens, but what also happens to secrets that are disrupted?

Or, are we making a mountain out of several molehills of compromised behaviors and information? Despite the changes happening in web, mobile, and the industries they touch, will there really be a change at all towards how we manage/secure data or how authorities govern the viewing of the decisions between that data?

*This article requires registration to be read in full.

I’ve always been a technology geek, but I can’t necessarily say the same for my wife. While she’s proficient with a computer, she’s nowhere near as techie as I am, although she’s grown since marrying me.

When we switched to T-Mobile back in 2007, I started off with the T-Mobile Dash (Windows Mobile phone with QWERTY keyboard), but my wife opted for a simple flip phone. After upgrading to the Google G1 in 2009, my wife inherited my Dash (without a data plan). Why did she get the Dash? Well, she was starting to do a lot more texting and saw the benefits and speed of having a full keyboard, so she gladly took my old phone. That was the beginning of upgrading my wife.

Fast forward to earlier this year (2010), and the Dash finally started to show its age by dropping calls & no longer keeping a charge for a good part of the day. With that, my wife started asking me to get her a new phone. The only requirement that she gave me was that it had to have a QWERTY keyboard because she had become accustomed to it & really liked it, although she said she might consider a device with an on-screen keyboard (ala the iPhone & the like). Seeing that we were still on T-Mobile & her wanting a QWERTY, that guaranteed that it was a smartphone, but didn’t leave very much wiggle room outside of a Blackberry or Nokia device, or maybe an Android. I personally liked the idea of a Nokia because I couldn’t bear the thought of my wife having a “better” phone than me (LOL).

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we both got our wish. Having followed the Windows Phone 7 since it was announced, I’d received many emails concerning their phones, including an email that I’d received earlier in the week that I could get the HTC HD7 in a buy 1 get 1 free offer. I also knew they had the Samsung Vibrant (Android) for the same deal (and price), so that was an option too. The only downside to both of these phones is that neither had the physical QWERTY that my wife wanted. Either way, I promised her a new phone and thought the HD7 would fit the bill, so we headed out to the local T-Mobile store in Detroit, where we were for the holiday. To our surprise, they had about 6 or 7 smartphones that they were selling with the buy 1 get 1 free offer, including the Google G2, which I had personally been coveting since I first heard about it.

Even though I wasn’t up for a new phone until next month per our contract (December 26), the representative was nice enough to call customer service, who gave the okay to give me the discount/upgrade a month early; which we needed to do the buy 1 get 1 free deal without adding a new line. So, now my wife & I are both happy. She has her new phone, and I have a new phone too, and the one I really wanted all along.

The nice thing now is that it’s giving me an opportunity to teach my wife a new operating system (Android), and how to use her phone to the best of its abilities. I’ve already shown her how to setup her Facebook account, and all the basics of the phone, including giving her a custom made ringtone. Over the next few weeks I plan on showing her the in’s & out’s so that she’s a proficient Android user.

With the holiday season here and in full swing, there have been many deals out there for mobile devices of all kinds. I’ve seen everything from high-end smart phones being sold for almost nothing (with a contract) to netbooks and iPads going for almost $100 USD less than their normal prices.

In that respect, I’m sure that there are many people who are now owners of new or updated devices. Which then brings with life the next question – what do you do with that new mobile after you’ve now made this purchase?

There’s always the practice of setting some time aside to learn about the device some. Some people are even stalwarts and read the entire manual throughly with the device in hand.

There are those folks whom already know their device and get to the point of download applications and setting up their device(s) to access various services. Just be sure to get your Bible on there as well.

There are a few people that I know of personally whom are going the route of skipping all of the learning, adding applications, etc. and going straight to communicating. They have been firing off SMS/emails since they received their device – and will only learn things like “how to take a call” when they come to those situations.

Its really interesting, and in some respects speaks to our reasons behind purchasing a mobile device. Many times it is just about efficiency in communication, and we just want to get there. Other times it is about “that new shiny toy.” But for whatever reason, there’s a goal you have in mind when you purchased (or will purchase) a new device this season. What might be the next steps for you? Or, what are you most looking forward to with that new device if you’ve not yet purchased it?

Always worth a read for his opinions and analyses of the mobile industry, Tomi Ahonen (Communities Dominate Brands, Mobile as 7th of the Mass Media, etc.) has given a preview of an upcoming publication of mobile statistics for 2010. Here’s a preview of some of the information contained in that post:

• 5.2 Billion mobile phone subscriptions (across just under 7 billion of the total world population)
• 3.75 unique mobile phone subscriptions
• 1.3 Billion new phones sold
• 12% of phones owned are second-hand; 17% of phones are smartphones
• 4.1 Billion active users of SMS; 1.35 billion active users of MMS; 1.5 billion active users of the mobile internet

Tomi’s data is one of the few places one can get an entire picture of what’s happening globally and his next almanac will be chock full of these and other very notable stats about mobile, mobile use, and upcoming trends.

Take a gander at the noted stats in detail at his preview post. And contemplate just how much more attention to mobile you’ll need to pay in the year to come as mobile is more than even something global and personal at the same time.

Was reading the other day something that said that people who are thankful live longer. A person whom I interact with frequently these days is losing her memory (due to age), what she’s not a loss for is saying how thankful she is to be seeing 95 years on this earth. Can’t say much for the rest of her memory, but that part of it seems to resonate very well with what I had read.

Be thankful. Then be full of life. After that, give your life to someone else this Thanksgiving holiday.

~ Picture via The Reluctant Blogger

Mobility is not just about a grabbing a phone, maybe a laptop and leaving the house. Working from home used to be complicated with heavy brief cases, files and if one was lucky a portable hard drive to bring the files from the work computer home. That is no longer the case in 2010. I work from home with the ability to carry my netbook and at most my iPhone. I use the application Dropbox for keeping my files synced with all my computers and my phone. I am in the middle of writing a book and this application has proved to be immeasurably helpful to me. I can write, complete edits and upload to Dropbox ensuring I have everything in one spot.

I have been asked about this process by no less than twenty people this week.  I have shared ebooks, music and basically evangelized Dropbox like no other advertising company could to the Midwest in hopes of unburdening people’s briefcases. Sure there may be other services out there, but  Dropbox fits my needs perfectly and it is social. The more people you share it with, the more space you get to store your own files. What a great system.

My productivity on writing this book has gone out the roof, because as creative types know, thoughts don’t come at the most convenient time. I  type up drafts in the 20 minutes I am waiting in line to pick up my son, edit while waiting in line at the grocery store and come home and have my files waiting for me.  No more lost papers flying out the window, which has happened to me and caused tears. Ahem.

How is mobility defined in your life? Are you taking your files with you or are you burdened with wondering were that flash drive is? Lighten up and give Dropbox a try.

When we talked about a definition of mobile ministry last week, one of the three observable instances of mobile ministry was described as mobile as moment. Or basically, those experiences of mobile technology which start as personally beneficial to one’s salvation/faith experience, but have the potential to connect to others through direct interactions.

We get an excellent view of this via the folks at YouVersion who have recently posted a story about a woman who was able to use YouVersion to help youth engage with the Bible.

Here, we see some of the fruits of a solid platform: there’s access, accountability, goal-setting, and then the technology comes in to thread the entire experience. It makes for a solid example of what can be done with connected spaces and technologies.

How are you using technology to engage with others’ experiences of living or reading the Bible? Do you see any areas where things can be better for your given audiences?

It is a very common topic these days to talk about mobile applications and whether they are good, bad, and the myths around them. And around some company, they really are the best thing since sliced bread.

Even with the reality of mobile application use, I wonder about the push the “get a mobile app” button. There are a few too many questions that aren’t asked, and when they are, the conversations gets a bit interesting. In some cases, the conversations revolve around a specific platform or application/service delivery method, and this always gets away from the primary focus of engaging people with the Gospel, using the technology as a relevant tool not just for the Gospel, but other parts of their lives.

Over at Youth Ministry, there was a discussion stating 21 reasons why a church or ministry needs a mobile application. It has a many good points for mobile engagement and mobile apps. Here’s a reposting of my comment made for that piece:

I agree that ministries need to use mobile tech in ways to engage and communicate, I don’t agree that you [always] need an app to do it.

(1) Application development (as has been talked about in the comments here) is expensive unless you are using a turn-key solution such as Nokia’s Ovi App Wizard

(2) At that point, its free, but you are merely just repeating what’s on your website [by using RSS feeds] – and now you’d be doing this for every mobile platform represented in your congregation [103 app stores, 6-7 major mobile platforms].

(3) Most people *do not* own a smartphone – there are 6 major smartphone platforms they could be using [and over 100 app stores] – and unless their parent’s are really nice with getting into app stores without supervision, you’ll have to figure out the best means to promote your application which costs you time and more money.

(4) Going the route of taking your existing website, and making it mobile-friendly (use a service like mobify.me, or if you already are using a blog/CMS like WordPress, Typepad, etc., there are plugins for those platforms). If you haven’t made your church’s site mobile-friendly, or at least made it appear nice in a Google Local search,  then you don’t need an app as much as you just need to make your content findable.

(5) Mobile interactions aren’t the same as PC; therefore you need to decide what you are going after with mobile. If it is just communications, do you need a mobile app/website, or just SMS and MMS. SMS/MMS isn’t just less expensive, but its already understood, costs less for the user/receiver, and offers faster and better response rates than other forms of communication

(6) Maybe you are under the assumption that they will sit on a mobile and wait for a downloaded song or sermon; nope. These items are usually downloaded while at a PC and then sideloaded to the mobile device. [In cases where connectivity isn’t as easy, people swap memory cards to exchange content rather than doing it wirelessly.]

(7) Social networks are already mobile-friendly, and your youth are already there; why not just engage them there, and use the mobile as another window for you and them to communicate and connect. Create wallpapers and ringtones specific to your ministry and post them a Facebook/MySpace and encourage them to download and share them with others. Heck, go really ahead of the game and use QR codes and multimedia as an alternative to handing out tracts. This is mobile too.

Don’t get me wrong, apps are good. But, when looking to engage folks with mobile, you’ve got to look at not just what seems popular, but what is actually going to work. I ask and experiment in this space often, and can tell you that there’s no silver bullet. As with anything engaging in media, you’ve got to use several methods, not just the loudest ones.

Definitely check out the rest of the comments at Youth Ministry; they are insightful from several perspectives and prescriptive of some of the matters that a church/ministry should consider if going the application route.

Also, take with you the understanding that a mobile application (or website, or social network) is not a strategy. It is a tool that is part of your strategy for engaging and communicating with communities. Take to heart our definition of mobile ministry – the behavior of ministry is bolstered by the tools for the cause of the Gospel.