Mobile Ministry Magazine

As one who is always looking for ways to have mobile devices be a more effective aspect to the communication process, a recent demonstration by Nokia of a service/feature called Point and Find got me thinking of that ole bulleting board, and how something as simple as a mobile phone camera can make your church/organization's website more like a portal of information.

Let's start with the bulletin board. Almost every church has one. And most times, that information is pretty static. Things such as fund raisers, prayer lists, and upcoming events are pretty much the norm. Using Point and Find and a mobile phone, the idea of posters that connect to the church/org website can now be explored.

Much like the You Tube demonstration shows for movie posters, one could use this same idea to not only allow one to snap information of an upcoming item, but also get more information to that item, directions, social network profiles, or even subscribe to events that are happening.

For Nokia, this was a demonstration of a possiblity of the way we live next. I think that for the Body (and organizations in general), this kind of thinking - merging online and print worlds - could lead to some interesting connections between people and events that technology sometimes allows us too easily to forget.

What are your thoughts? Is this something that could work for a ministry/org that you are involved with? Why or why not?

Labels: camera, communication, community, mobility

The Nokia Conversations blog has highlighted an article and its source post speaking about internet etiquette education in [South] Korea. Being that mobile and internet use is very high in terms of use and lifestyle in [South] Korea, its almost appropriate that they would be one of the first to take a whole sale approach to addressing use and ethics for parents, youth, and culture.

This quote speaks to why this matters and why as a Body we need to jump in and learn/apply these same lessons:

This is a subject that begs discussion on so many levels, not the least of which is because the technology moves so fast that education can sometimes be seen as a chore and something that holds it back. I disagree with this notion, and therefore discussions and policies like these are needed so that we don't end up with a culture that has a jaded sense of what is real versus what is virtual - or in other words find their identity in more than just the social programs they are engaged in.

Check out the posts at Nokia Conversations and Nokia Design Researcher Younghee Jung, and then the original Korean article (its in Korean) speaking about these policies for more insight and backstory on this.

As leaders and parents, how do you teach ethics, while allowing the technology to be a place where imaginations can form maturely?

Labels: children, church, communication, community, computer, education, parenting, teaching, tech, teens

One of the comments and observations that I get around these days is that people do not look at discipliship (apprenticeship) as they used to. Part of that is indeed due to the speed of life and the technology that has gone along with it. However, I'm the last person to say ditch the tech because we cannot do things the way we used to; there's a response to being more successful in the context of discipliship given these days and times. It's up to us to figure that out, and then make sure that people don't miss Christ, no matter how fast they are able to SMS.

Identifying the issue means only that we know what the problem is - how do we effectively disciple one another in a culture where instant information and communication leaves little room for patient wisdom to take root? Thankfully, there are some examples of things we can do, and the tech that we have is a good tool to facilitate it.

The personal approach (John 4:1-42):

We are indeed familiar with the story of the Samaritian woman at the well. But unlike those times, we are apt to catch people in all manners of uncomfortable times. Here we take a slow yet open approach to discipliship: confront with the truth, speak slowly, and then before the person leaves your presence give contact information (phone, email, IM, blog, etc.) that will enable them to keep that point of contact with what you have given them. No, there's not much you can do until they reach back out to you, but in this kind of in-and-out engagement, the approach is to keep it personal and not push the person towards anything but the truth of the Gospel. Use the tech in order for them to have a teather towards affirming your works as on Jesus' team.

The Community Approach (Exodus 18)

This story also remarks of being familiar, however one of those questions do tend to remain to those who might not have studied this text throughly - how did Moses keep up with the smaller group of folks that he assigned as managers? In this case the tools of phone, email, and SMS would come in handy. However, it would also be smart to be like a cartographer and get a map mashup of those areas that are in play so that in terms of a physical understanding of the scope of ministry that one doesn't lose heart with the boundaries and the aims.

The other aspect of that map mashup comes in play for those being led, they can see the scope and followup from the inside with issues that might not be as aparent from your top-down view.

These are just a few applications of where modern tech doesn't mitigate the responsiblity of disciplship, it makes it more granular. We can utilize mobile and internet services and devices in order to facilitate communications in the way that they were designed to do. And at the same time, understand that we don't have to know everything. The models of discipliship that we used to use still stand, we just have more avenues towards making sure we don't miss something.

Labels: communication, community, culture, discipliship, people, tech

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a few of the live concerts put on by MixxMaster's Studio Lounge. On Thursday night I went to see JR (who is on the Cross Movement label) and on Saturday there was Edward Long II and a group named M2B (Made to Believe). One of the things I noticed though was that there were a lot of teens and young adults, but not as much focus after the show towards keeping them enaged beyond giving them a MySpace page link.

So, par the course of my normal way of thinking, I started wondering how an event like that, plus the churches that were involved, can utilize mobile devices and services to not just enhance participation, but also make a way to connect with the youth in ways that lead to discipliship.

One idea that came to mind was to simply make available ringtones of those who were performing. To work with MediaComm (the parent company to Steelroots and MixxMaster's) to secure that licensed content where youth can type a text message to a shortcode and then get the ringtone. But instead of stopping there, reply with the ringtone that someone is on the other end to pray for them if they have a prayer request. That other end would be made up of leaders and volunteers from local churches who would pray for those youth.

I also had the idea of sitting down with the youth before the show in small groups asking them about what they listen to and how they respond to what they hear. Give them a place to be open whether they get music legally or not, and then at the end of the talk give them music, electronic bibles, etc. that would enable them to have a healthy view of using mobile devices for those things they enjoy.

These are just ideas though; Saturday night I took advantage to diffuse a situation by speaking to one of the youth leaders. We exchanged informatoin via mobile and I showed up at his church this Sunday. Nothing special, but making connections so that folks in the Body know that whether via mobile tech, or just footwork, we are connected and tilling this ground together.

Labels: communication, community, mobiles, music, outreach, teens

One of the things that I've tried to do, even before starting Mobile Ministry Magazine, has been to reduce my computing needs to the bare essentials as much as possible. A big reason for doing so is because I've been one to travel a good bit and besides taking long trips, I tend to have taken many trips. Ironically, this weekend, I hit 100,000 miles in my 3yr old Civic.

Knowing what I can do with as few physical materials as possible is something that is a bit of an aim of being mobile. To skillfully and effective utilize the environment and services offered so that one can get a job done and connect. Andy Abramson, CEO of Comunicano, Inc. (an advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Del Mar, CA), tends to do writes a blog called Working Anywhere and in a recent post talks about some of the tools that he uses as a global nomad.

That's a good deal of traveling and the really good thing about this post is that while many of us might not have his resources, we can utilize some of the behaviors and services in our own capacities to make traveling less of an issue, or in the case of missions work, less a chore of logistics and more of just going and serving.

Check out the rest of the post The Tools of The Global Nomad at Working Everywhere and let's chat about some of the tools or behaviors that you have found sufficient in those times when you've been more nomad than settler.

Disclosure: Comunicano has worked with MMM in the past through the Nokia Blogger Relations program to provide devices and notification of services that may or may not be relevant to our community.

Labels: communication, community, computer, data, devices, environment, flexibility, mobile, mobile accessories, mobility, Nokia, resources, stewardship, sustainability, tools, usability

I had an editorial/article posted at Brighthand that also has some merit here in terms of getting a bit of an understanding as to where computing is going. The subject is called "cloud computing" and is usually characterized by applications, data, or some combination of both being stored on a network and accessible through the Internet (wired or wireless connection). While many in corporate settings might be familiar with this, other than email, most people are not aware of some of the positives and negatives, nor of the types of cloud computing options.

This article is more of an overview than something very technical. But especially for parents, teachers, and those in IT settings, you will want to understand this so that you can use and point those under your influence in a direction that speaks towards their needs, moreso than towards the market's desires.

Here is a snippet:

Read the rest of The Three States of Cloud Computing at Brighthand.

Labels: communication, community, information technology, Internet, software, tech

I am nearing 30, but I do not have kids of my own. I do tend to play with them a lot, and mobile technology is very much a part of our time. Especially with teens, mobile tech (phones usually) are seen as independence and personal items. They go as far to color them, add screens/ringtones, and do other things that make the mobile theirs, even when they are not even paying the bill for it.

However, parents have an issue with this. And I totally understand. For many of them, the technology has moved as fast as their kids in terms of growth and its harder to know what they are doing versus just shutting it down completly. Some parents have a handle of being able to use mobile tech in a rewards system, being able to emphasize that mobile tech is a priveledge, not a need.

So I want to open up some discussion, and maybe this can give me (personally) some insight into parenting, and you (parents, pastors, and teachers) some insight as to how to better understand what it is your teens are doing with mobile tech. Becuase we don't want statistics like these becoming more common; we'd rather Godliness speak louder than debauchery ya know.

Labels: communication, community, mobile, parenting, teens, usability

Ok, I am probably the last person to want to say that we want to elevate the Christian experience over the truth of the word - as this is a recent marketing thing that pretty much bugs me (and a few others) - but I do want to highlight that that if done in concert with discipliship and accountability, speaking and relating our Christian experience can have some value.

Getting back to that experience thing in a more content-neutral fashion (I hope), I like to see how others are making connections with the Body and enabling the testimonies of God to go further and further than ever before.

There is one post over at digital.leadnet that speaks about a holographic pastor as a means of relating the Word. As much as that's very much affluent and something in the future, it does speak to where tech can go in terms of making the sharing of the Gosple something where boundaries don't have to be an issue.

Then again, we can keep things in a more relevant light and look at the recent Mojo experiement that Nokia is doing in South Africa. Similar to the Reuter's experiment, this is exploring the use of mobile technology to create content and do so in a means that works with the environment instead of above it. I really like that Nokia is doing this and like them, I think that being careful crafters of content in this day and age is something that is also worth teaching.

What I like about the Mojo project is that it gets students involved and teaches them how to tell stories. A lot of time, we want to relate to others about what it means to be a Christian, or even talk about some important social speaking points, but have gain little in the way of training. I see a solution like this as being beneficial towards helping people to see their identity in Christ as something that can empower their communities. Pretty neat, and not so far into the future at all right?

Labels: communication, community, N95, Nokia, virtual