I first came across Mobile Ministry Magazine somewhere between 2006 and 2008. I was working for MAF.org and we were exploring ways in which mobile devices could be used to share Gospel resources and digital Bibles to isolated people. Then in 2010 I met Antoine Wright the primary voice behind MMM, at the BibleTech conference in San Francisco. Here was a guy who was passionate about Christ, the good news and using mobile technologies. Passionate and super smart! A combination which makes Antoine a valued leader and contributor to discussions on technology use to enhance life!

Read the rest of Techmissionary: Mobile Ministry Magazine Interview at Missional Tech

Followed a few shows later by:

View other episodes at TheoTek.com

Being this was a subject of mine, I went a bit further with an editorial published afterwards:

…The week’s topic sparked when a few of us were speaking well before the show about the Bloomberg Tech article where Mark Gurman reports on the dissent happening with Mac loyalists. Being a suite of macOS and iOS users between us on the podcast/Hangout, we started down the line of discussion towards why it does or doesn’t matter that Apple pushes a larger share of resources towards a platform that doesn’t pay the bills versus the one that is (now, the macOS product line is making Apple much money; it’s just that the iPhone product line is also doing so, a matter of exponents greater). As we conversed, we eventually got to the point where we opined on the emphasis Bible/faith-based software and services companies put towards serving existing users, casual users, and (hopefully positioning towards) new users.

Read the set of Is Apple Ruining Bible Software at Medium

This year, I found myself back moving back to an area of the United States where I previously had strong ties of a large, local church. One of the reasons those ties were so strong was the intentionality that ministry had on making sure that all members (and guests) could connect to the community through small groups. While small groups are not new, what I have found is that making the connection point relatable to the individual goes a long way to ensure that they develop socially, mentally, and spiritually.

Read the rest of Developing and Maintaining Small Groups with Mobile and Social Tools at Church Tech Today

I thought it good to take a look at four areas of tech currently in the news and relate them to how the church community might engage or respond to them: messaging, Virtual Reality/Artificial Reality, wearables, and AI. Some of what I consider cutting edge might actually happen. Other thoughts might just be ramblings that come from thinking too early about these and other topics. Nevertheless, when we engage the potential for the church to transform culture, it’s never too early to consider what might be with the tools coming up in front of us now.

Read the rest of 4 Areas of Focus to Visualize Church Tech’s Next Decade at Church Tech Today

A little after the New Year celebrations ended, I attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This was my third time attending this annual trade show and exhibition, this time as an exhibitor with the Dutch company IamProgrez. Even though I was acting in a different role, I still came away with refreshing insights into the future several areas of consumer electronics. While there were no churches represented in any of the products or services I saw at the show, I did come away with some takeaways for those in the church tech space who deal with church and community technologies.

Read the rest of 3 Tech Takeaways from the Consumer Electronics Show at Church Tech Today

Bonus:

• Flickr Gallery of CES 2017 Photos
• Post-Mobile Computing: Reflections of CES 2017 (posted at Medium, long-piece)

No new items to be posted here; just a few items to be republished which were shared at other venues. Suffice to say, it’s been fun. But there’s more to the intersection of faith and mobile to be explored… much more beyond mobile.

Many years ago, I recall when people would ask me how it was that I could easily remember specific scriptures. For many people, reading the Bible is enjoyable, but trying to get to that point where you can remember specific verses which talk about specific subjects is not something that happens quickly. Because it was a little easier for me, it took a long time before I realized that there were certain learning methods, or just ways that I was reading and studying the scripture that made it possible for me to have such an active recall. Now that we are firmly into the mobile wage, scripture recall has become another subject where people are looking for ways of improving on old methods.

Read the rest of Mobile Apps for Memorization and Growth at Church Tech Today