Then tonight, I was visiting with some friends, and it hit me just how important it has been for MMM to be here for the past 5 years. Yes, I can make the suggestion that it was needed for all of you who have come here over the years and gained insight towards life at teh intersection of mobile and faith. But really, it was for me to see just how much God values the gifts that we have, and how those gifts are to be used in the Body.

In the course of 5 years, there has been a number of PDAs, smartphones, laptops, and a few tablets that have passed through here. This site has gone through 5 major redesigns, and countless tweaks. Its been on Blogger the entire time, but took nearly 8 months or so for it to find a stable server to call home.

There have been guest posts by journalists, students, pastors, and evangelists. MMM has been noted at teh BBC and ABC. Its seen life on Jaiku, Twitter, Mippin, and Mobify.Me.

There has been reviews of devices, devotions, themed series, and the content that started it all – the issues.

This has been one heck of a ride. And I know that there are not many websites out there which can say that they have gone for 5 years on no budget. But man, God has shown me and Mobile Ministry Magazine a whole lot of favor.

I owe Sammy at Palm Addict a big thanks for his encouragement to just start this online, and his countless posts letting people know of MMM. Thanks to the host of folks who are represented in the links section – its amazing what your encouragement has meant over the years. And a huge thanks to LJ over at Trailblazin Ministries – dude, I love you in Christ and because of CHrist. THank you immensly for your words of wisdom, encouragement, and straightening up.

Now, there a some people who would say that they saw MMM going this far. There are some who are wondering still how we made it this far. I have no idea except to say that it has been God’s grace. A whole lot of grace.

Lord willing, before Blogger’s FTP service gets shut down, we’ll get another redesign up and then some stuttering of things as the move to another blogging system has been a lot slower than hpoed for. God, I really wish that I could have done a lot of things faster, better, with more clarity of the impacts etc. This site has been one heck of a learning experience, and I hope that for you visiting, reading, or just checking to see if MMM has finally found an editor, that you can understand that we are only moving forward because of the grace afforded to us.

Its been 5 years. And there are over 1700 posts here of stories which talk about life at teh intersection of faith and mobile tech. Wow. Just wow. If God gives this site another decade under my watch, I wonder what the imppacts and stories will look like then.

A new mission statement therefore for MMM: Enabling the story and His-story of the Christian faith through a mobile lens. How this is done has been stated for 5 years, but in this next stage of life for me and this site, we dig into this further. Hope you will come and share your story with us.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

Such moments leave me personally without many words. I would hope though, that for any who have stories of their own, that they too would find some consolation in the fact that in its right context, mobile tech is one powerful minstry agent.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

The New(ish) Mission Statement: Enabling the story and His-story of the Christian faith through a mobile lens.

Its the opinion of this site that how we define and work out living out this Christian faith has significantly changed, in part due to the threads that various forms of technology has given us. With this new design and sharpened focus on the story as it comes from you and your engagements with faith and mobile devices, its the hope that this site will keep that story of our faith out front so that present and future generations can see how His story is continuing to be threaded throughout our lives.

The design is based on lessons learned from the Mag+ Concept Video and Project which had been posted some months ago. Some of the core lessons in this video dealt around not making digital content fit older models of reading, but to develop containers for that content which allow digital technology to take a better advantage of how digital tech is being used – specifically with reading devices. Most of MMM has been in long-form blog postings, themed content, and then interactive elements sprinked throughout. Its the hope that attention to the story instead of the various aspects of “chrome” will come to the front, and then using the tools exposed on the site, you’d be able to see just how much can be done when a story is shared.

I am totally sure that there are issues somewhere and with some posts; but being under a tight deadline and with only access to a mobile device, this step was taken to ensure that a move to a new blog/content management system will follow a similar look, but push that interactive story a good bit further.

As usual, comments are welcome and appreciated – and will be answered with a grateful heart.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

• Updates to MMM will happen via Twitter (@mobileminmag) as the site will be moving to WordPress. This will be the case for a few weeks until that move is completed.
• The Archives section will appear on the bottom of the page, until that happens, the search buttons at the top and bottom of the page will work towards finding content. Also the Category link is a good resource to search for items here.
• MMM will publish via Twitter some updates about its involvement with Digital Disciples in the coming days.
• Will be looking for a suitable netbook or notebook to replace a desktop that I have so that MMM can get back into creating some unique content and following through on some research.
• Oh, MMM is a full-time gig; look forward to more speaking and appearing at conferences (as budget and travel allows).

So that’s the deal with things as it stands right now. There’s much that needs to be done, and at the same time a call to me, and to MMM, that needs to be followed through with. You are invited to come alongside and help us till this digital ground together, and at the same time, if you have a need towards understanding how to engage this story of our Christian faith through this mobile lens, well, this is what we do and would like to help you see similar possibilties. A new adventure begins, and a new chapter to MMM starsts now.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

Apple’s revolutionary new device is almost here and we’re ready with a brand new YouVersion Bible app designed specifically for the iPad’s big, beautiful screen. We’ve had the chance to play with it in the simulator (since no one has an actual iPad) and we think you’re going to love the Bible reading experience.

With the tight deadline and the fact that we’ve never actually tested the app on a real device, we decided to focus on the Bible reading experience with the first release, but more features and further refinement are already under development and we plan to release new versions quickly over the next few weeks. Some of the features slated for versions 1.1 and 1.2 are syncing with your YouVersion Reading Plans, more social sharing, and YouVersion Live.

No need to wait, check it out at YouVersion and download via iTunes.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

Starting with my running into the Logos team before things got started, until that late night conversation with Logos and Trey Gourley (maker of the in-conference revamped Holy Lamp reading plan site) – conversations were definitely flowing the entire time.

Before highlighting some of the conversations with the presenters, I’d like to point you to Scripture Tunes and PixelPew. The ladies that run these respective sites were just attending so that they could get a better understanding of tech and connect with others in the Body. In my conversations with them, I wasn’t just impressed with their hearts for their respective areas of ministry, but in how much that was talked about that they had genuine interest in. These ladies are on the ball even more than us who present.
Side note: am wanting to steal Pixel Pew for her web design services, you should as well.

Then there was an insightful conversation with the folks representing MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). Let’s just say that what they do with planes and ministry isn’t just encouraging, but brings back memories of wanting to fly like an eagle. They serve all over the world, and one of them talked about their travels in the South Pacific. I can only say that there’s a lot more in terms of information and life sharing that MMM will be doing with them in the future.

Another interesting conversation was had with the person from Interserve. Before BibleTech, I understood how professional services and the persons within them could serve Christ, in that conversation I understood how important that it was that these missionaries, more accurately, these service-supporters of missionary services are very valuable. MMM has a lot more to learn of that area, especially if Inner-Linked is going to become a bit more than just a footnote aspect of MMM’s goals.

Getting to those folks who did present. Well, Bob, Drew, Steven, Jonathan, Gabe, Donny (and wife), Aaron (and wife), Neil, Steven, James, Elizabeth, Weston and everyone else whose names I just forgot while typing this – you folks are awesome. I sincerely hope that its not another year before conversing with all of you. Yes, their platforms/presentation were great, but these folks just life a life in Christ that’s just one to learn from. It was the interaction with all of you that I personally looked forward to the most and was not disappointed.

Jayson Bradley (from Logos and the guy who set up BibleTech) – you are amazing. I wish we had more time. Thank God for your ears and insights. You did a great job, really great. Make sure that you get a window seat in those new offices now

Just as much as the technology is there to bring us together, the theme of the conference seemed to be to not forget the face time as well. And there was a lot of that all around. I even got into a number of conversations with the folks at the Sheraton San Jose where the conference was – great service, solid food, and just a general friendliness that was very nice to have.

So yes, there was a lot of talking going on. And there will be more. We’ve still got to talk about the main presentation and the other technical snaffu that happened during it. Stay tuned.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

One of the reasons for speaking on the topic of mobile as a doorway into Christ-led encounters was to deflect some of the attention off of the newness, or the shiny, that mobile has become. Its a truism that mobile has hit some sort of collective consciousness and tons of folks want to know how to use it to better do ministry or be connected with others.

With this in mind, I made a point to reconnect and listen more to what people were asking about mobile – compared to last year at BibleTech where I did more talking. Here are some of the observations:

• Using mobile alongside social networks efficiently
• Using mobile as an avenue for non-online content
• SMS engagement and service strategies
• Mobile as a personal broadcasting point
• Mobile as a community learning point

There were a few other conversations, but these were some of those pieces of mobile which tended to stick out a good bit.

There were about five presenters total who spoke on mobile directly, with another three or four mentioning mobile as an element to their strategy. By, the time day 2 rolled around, and it was time for MMM’s presentation, the ground was set to chat about being Christ-led and mobile enabled.

The presentation can be broken into two parts, the expanse of mobile, and the intention of the believer with mobile. In the first half, I talked about mobile in relation to statistics spoken of last year, along with some global trends. To that end there were 10 characteristics of mobile that were covered:

• Communication (voice and text)
• Consumption (passive media)
• Charging (monetary transactions)
• Commercials (targeted and response advertising)
• Creation (user generated audio and video content)
• Community (social networking)
• Cool (fashion and psychology)
  Control (telemantics, remote control)
• Context (status, location, environment, adaptivity)
• Cyber (augmented reality, plants, animals, etc.)

Its within these areas that opportunities for mobile to enable ministry lie. I also made mention to reference the presentation from the previous night as mobile isn’t just a technological change, but a cultural one.

And then my phone rang. No. Really. Got a phone call in the middle of the presentation. I had a feeling it would happen. But you know, having your presentation interrupted by an unknown phone number on the projector is kind of funny – and a lot embarrassing. Thanks to the audience for rolling with that one.

Part two of the talk centered more on the believer who takes on mobile as a significant aspect of the great commission. There are a few statements here which are items that will pretty much carry the next (hopefully) 5 years of MMM:

• Go. Teach. Disciple.
• You disciple with the spirit of God and you maintain the connection with mobile devices. (thanks Vajaah for tweeting this one)

The first point we talked about before. “Go.Teach.Disciple.” as a short form of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and as a long form for the impact that we are to have as we engage a culture that is growing increasingly digital and passive.

Therein lies the meat of things with the second point. Yes, there’s the big mobile-enabled world out there. And there are a ton of needs. But, without the Spirit of God – aka the Holy Spirit – our deeds are just that, deeds. We effectively bring the living Gospel to others when mobile becomes a handshake to something more than just something shiny.

And that’s how the presentation ended. Similar to the VSN Presentation, MMM’s encouragement is to use mobile as a handshake towards inviting others to the reality of Christ’s passion for them. Whether that’s directly in words, or indirectly in creating a cure, this is our mission. And in Christ’s leading, mobile becomes one powerful tool on our belt.

As with previous presentations, this one is available for viewing here.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

This is a free application and can be downloaded by going to http://mobile.esv.org/ or the iTunes App Store.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine

…My friend Dan Cohen, from Gear Diary, and I were talking a couple of months ago and after that one of my motivations for buying an iPad was to enhance my daily Bible reading and study experience. I have the Bible loaded on my smartphones and the software I use is quite good with the only real issue being the size of the display and now the iPad brings something bigger. I doubt Moses ever dreamed he would see tablets like the iPad, but I believe this new device can offer a compelling Bible reading and study experience so check out a couple applications available now and pack your iPad [electronic tablet] to church this Easter morning…

Check out the rest of the article by Matt, along with his other iPad impressions. And download LifeChurch.tv Bible HD, Logos, and several other iPad applications from iTunes.

This post originally appeared on Mobile Ministry Magazine