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Posts Tagged ‘application’

5 Further Ways to Define Mobile Ministry

Monday, December 20th, 2010

After a number of conversations, further readings, and a excellent mobile ministry forum (report coming as soon as I slow down), there’s still this lingering feeling that the definition port forth here towards what is mobile ministry while not bad, just might not have gone far enough.

So, in the spirit of how this initiative is run, I want to put out a refreshed subset of that definition that I’ve been sitting on. It is one part just trying to get into a place of better understanding how to best apply a definition, but also lead towards developing and finding the research/case studies that support mobile ministry as an effective tool.

For a refresher, here’s the definition:

Mobile ministry is the skillful use and application of computer technology classified as mobile for the context of fulfilling the Christian (religious?) designation of forwarding the proclamation of the key ideals and history of the faith, following form to and innovating on top of cultural and faith traditions within applied contexts.

And here’s what I’ve been sitting on:

Mobile in missions: contextualizing Gospel messages; business as mission opportunities; technology in politics/global conversations

Mobile in Media: specifications around video/audio/text engagements; mobile applications alongside broadcast channels; mobile service development/infrastructure concerns

Mobile in discipleship/education: curriculum development; special education; educational explorations (OLPC-like initiatives)

Mobile Marketing/Analytics: SEO; security and access; local media channel development; mobile applications alongside and independent of broadcast channels

Spiritual implications of connected spaces: theological constraints/precedents; directions for educators/parents/local communities; psychological/cultural effects of mobile vs other personal/connected technology media elements

Mobile in Moment: use of connected services and applications; SMS/MMS; effects of and effects towards social and linear networks; personal use; theological constraints/precedents

So, in looking at mobile ministry as a tool, practice, or context, its becoming clear that how mobile is being defined determines its best application.

With that said, do you see any areas here where the Body is already equipped to move quickly into mobile? Or, do you see gaps that need to be addressed, before mobile ministry is regarded as wholly beneficial?

Tags: application, applications, church, definition of mobile ministry, discipleship, engagement, mobility, resources, smartphones, SMS
Posted in Commentary | No Comments »

What is Mobile Ministry

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

In one of the recent conversations that I was around (about the kiosk), we talked about how ventures like MMM would do well to be certified – it would add validity to the effort around this site and the perceptions towards mobility and mobile ministry. Thing is, mobile ministry isn’t something that you can be certified in (yet) – frankly speaking, it isn’t old enough for there to be sufficient best practices and/or innovations above those.

And yet, I (and some others) sense this need and therefore, we’ve got to define what mobile ministry is, what are the key applications, and what are its clear implications. This post will sit as MMM‘s re-introduction to the public conversations on this topic.

A Working Definition
Mobile ministry is the skillful use and application of computer technology classified as mobile for the context of fulfilling the Christian (religious?) designation of forwarding the proclamation of the key ideals and history of the faith, following form to and innovating on top of cultural and faith traditions within applied contexts.

Mobile [technology] can defined as:

personal computing use that is defined by time, task, and spatial relationships, and is not limited to a device which maintains a wired connection; behavior of use is not limited to non-moving contexts; viewport of use is established by a 1:1 ratio of device/service and user.

Another way to look at this definition is to look at these specific mobile characteristics of mobile technology as identified here:

Mobile is the first personal mass media
Mobile is permanently carried
Mobile is always-on
Mobile has a built-in payment mechanism
Mobile is available at the point of creative inspiration
Mobile has the most accurate audience measurement
Mobile captures the social context of media consumption
Mobile allows augmented reality to be used in media

via Tomi Ahonen, Communities Dominate Brands

This differs from what we commonly hear about mobile. The market definition of mobile is any device that contains wireless communication capabilities (cellular or IP) and is designed around a viewport (screen) of less than 5in. This cosigns mobile into a personal computing context that both magnifies the characteristics, and presents the framework in which to approach mobile for service/life application.

Working Applications of this Definition
With this definition in mind, we can start looking at contexts in which this action of ministry (sharing and multiplying faith experiences) happens. Here are some of these contexts (as defined by MMM‘s case report categories):

Short Messages: SMS (text messaging) and MMS (multimedia messaging)
Long Messages: email, mobile web, mobile applications
Social Networking
Multimedia
Evangelism
Analysis and Metrics
Language Development
Communication Strategies/Implementations

Indeed, within these constructs, the definition and application of mobile can get very wide and deep. The challenge therefore, is to identify the characteristics of mobile, with the applicable technologies which are mobile in context, to create opportunities for ministry-type engagements.

Missions, Media, and Moments
There are currently, three focuses that I’ve seen in the area of mobile ministry which have come to light over the past 6-10 years: mobile in missions, mobile in media, and mobile capturing/definiting moments.

Mobile in missions looks at the application and use of the technology and characteristics of mobile primarily within the context of fulfilling missional engagements. This includes SMS/MMS campaigns, multimedia sharing/engagement, web media development, educational facilitation and mobile health/wellness campaigns.

Mobile in media ascribes the characteristics of mobile to existing media domains (TV, radio, Internet) to bolster activities and engagement to fringe audiences, and to bolster connections to existing audiences. Here we see SMS/MMS campaigns as a subset of a larger media campaign. There is more of a focus on creating experiences through dedicated applications. And we commonly find those persons whom are missional in business contexts creating Gospel-led moments through these activities.

Mobile as a moment is largely the space where personal use and experimentation of the technology becomes the driver of Gospel engagements. Here, we have the use of religious applications such as bible readers, reading plans, and messaging alerts. Many missional and media engagements start also at this level – where a single person, directly with a mobile or with the assistance of a messaging/social networking service, reaches out to friends and loose associates with messages of encouragement, reproof, instruction, etc. In the marketing space, this would be akin to grassroots and viral methodologies at their most basic levels.

Where Do You Stand
Given this short look at defining mobile ministry, I’d hope that you’d be able to better see where you or your organization might stand in respect to how you choose to engage mobile contexts.

At this still early stage of making this field a viable option for ministries and individuals, such definitions are not just helpful, but frame and understanding towards what can and should be the aims of the tools and behaviors that we shape as mobile ministry becomes yet another avenue to share the wealth and depth of the Christian faith to others.

Stay tuned to the Mobile Case Studies/Research page as items there will also continue to contribute to this (working) definition and the means to identify trends in this space.

Tags: application, church, discipleship, engagement, mobility, resources, smartphones, SMS
Posted in Commentary, Future Trends | 8 Comments »

Proposal: A Bible App That Starts from the Commentary Out

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Last night, I attended a Bible study where the pastor/teacher had his congregation study the text beforehand, and then come to the study being able to respond with cross-referenced verses to the primary passage. Really excellent seeing the engagement of the entire community to study the text and be able to respond intelligently to some of the questions.

However, there was some issue with cross-referencing while respecting cultural or literal context with some of the additional Scriptures. And while that’s certainly something worth finding out if it is something addressed for that kind of study, it got me thinking about the structure of Bible applications and how switching the primary interaction.

Since the dawn of digital Bibles, the emphasis has been on reading and seeking. We have a library of Bibles and commentaries, but the start of anything that we do is with the text. This works out for many types of interactions, as in many cases, the place of a mobile device is usually within a context where you are looking up a passage or a bookmarked entry.

But, what if we turned that model around a bit. What if the Bible application only stored our notes, dictionaries, and commentaries? What if that same application was intelligent enough to stitch our notes and the Scripture references that we used to online Bible services such as a YouVersion or Biblia? And it would also be able to – by a metadata driven index – be able to link our notes to similar phrases and indices within those dictionaries and commentaries? What would that do for a study like the one that I described able, where the point is to make the connections within Scripture to common concepts, while forcing the reader to literally meditate on the Scripture to know that those threads exist?

Example and Description

Proverbs 28:9
- Note(s): is the position of your life and heart in right relation to God and His instructions
- (XR) Isaiah 1:15 (hands full of blood) – JH Commentary, MH Commentary – 50% Relevant to Source Scripture (History of Isaiah book, book #2…)
- (XR) John 9:31 (God doesn’t hear sinners) – MH Commentary, JMA Commentary – debatable relevance because of context of the speaker and the lesson that was being taught
- Search for more (XR)

So, here we have a person that’s got a source piece of text, and a note attached to it. The note is scanned for all possible search matches (word, phrase, etc.) and the next button asks if the user wants to search all available library material (local and connected dictionaries, commentaries, Wikipedia, etc.) for cross-references (XR). After the search is completed, the user taps on the verse and gets what was cross-referenced (the word or phrase) and those associated resources which speak more on that specific XR. It then gives a percentage of the relevance of that XR to the note and primary Scripture based on some algorithm that weighs the primary Scripture, then the associated resource, then the user’s note content.

Thinking about it like this, the person is essentially having a near-real-time query of every statement they make in their notes run up against all available materials, without storing the Biblical text itself on the device. Ideally, one would use a API call in this app to link the Scripture to whatever Bible of choice the user wants – but this app keeps the focus on the notes and the ability of the user to constantly make connections which have higher relevance ratings.

Potential Benefits
There are several good things which would then come from this: we’d have people who become used to search as a means to relate applicable concepts to literal Scripture and already existing commentary (filling a gap where education might not be attainable); we’d have people who are made more aware (or at least more quickly aware) of their inconsistencies in reading or understanding Scripture against already established memes; it will expose people to the wealth of content that folks like Logos have turned digital in an amazing amount of time; and it would further push this idea of getting content in the open where publishers can better see who digests it, possibly making for them another means to make good where print/legacy study interactions might be failing because of the switch to digital content streams.

I will admit, this is about as rough as ideas get here; but something that would be worth exploring by a developer/publisher who is looking to sow some kind of application into the digital ether, but wants to do something that’s not as “me-too” as the hundreds of Bible apps and reading plans already available.

Your Comments
So let’s hear from you. If you are a pastor/teacher, would this kind of application be a help to you personally or for a Bible study such as what’s described above? If you are a developer, what are some of the good points of this idea? What are some of the issues you can see? Is anything in this idea impossible, or improbable? Let’s discuss

Tags: API, application, Bible study, Biblia API, cross-reference, doctrinal studies, education, resources, search, software, theology
Posted in Devices and Software | 3 Comments »

Of Applications and Motivations

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Been thinking a bit about some of the statements made in that Future of Bible Software piece. Sometimes, a bro can be a bit far-reaching, and other times, I simply expect more out of us all than what’s probably realistic.

I mention this because I’m thinking about my primary mobile device (a Nokia N97 running the Symbian^1 operating system) and why I no longer have a Bible reader application on it. Part of the reason is becasue I’ve found it better in many of the gatherings that I attend to simply listen to what’s being said, using my mobile to note important points. Other times, I’m in a setting where the larger screen and UX of the iPad plays a better role for things.

I wonder though about going back to having something more than a link to preferred Biblical resources on my device. Something that isn’t a Bible reader, but does give me some of the benefits of a quick and targeted search. I don’t (necessarly) need to even bookmark the passage, but I do need to possibly copy it (or tweet it) so that I can recall it later.

And so, I thought some about the Biblia API project started by Logos, and how simply their releasing of this API releases them from an expectation of having to create an application [for me] – but it puts the onus on me to learn how to use that pipe for the kind of content experince that I desire. I’m in favor of such a move, because it is indirectly causing some aspects of the user-base of Bible applications to become fishers of content themselves, and creators of more personal solutions.

However, I’ve not started to crack open the book(s) on learning this API, nor how best it could be used in my kind of a scenario. In some passing conversations with Brett (MMM’s latest team member), his expressed desire to learn to develop for various platforms has rubbed off on me. I want to learn how to use that API, and do it in such a way that adds value to my Biblical needs, not just scratches an itch for information at my fingertips.

What I have been doing is planning my approach. For example, I know that I want something that’s not a native application – it needs to be a web runtime (WRT) widget. The widget would need to have two panels: the static one on my homescreen would just display an icon to the left and the Scripture references to the last two or three items I searched for (there’s no room for more than that). Clicking on the widget would take me to an expanded view where I see a listing of my latest searches (5-7 perhaps) and a search box at the bottom where I could put into it any measure of references, boolean operators, and phrases, which would then spit back to me on a similar screen the results of the search. Clicking on a search result would automatically add it to my “history,” open the browser to the biblia.com website to that reference, and on the widget there’d be a button at the bottom to go back to my search results screen. Because this is a widget, it wouldn’t need to save anything, so when I close it, the only things really saved are my history of the references I went to, not the search queries.

In my mind, on my mobile device, this is something that’s very possible. I don’t necessarly need an app anymore than I can develop one myself. The pipes are there, and I can do with the content what I can based on legal and ethical agreements.

It has me thinking hard about the future of applications as a whole, but also how we are motivated towards creating our own experiences or doors into searching and valuing the availability of Scriptural content. I can’t say that at this moment that I’ve moved forward past what I’ve said here, but I am thinking that something like this should happen nearer than in the future.

Tags: application, Biblia API, development, education, Logos, mobile application, nokia, search, share, Twitter, web application, widgets, WRT
Posted in Devices and Software, Future Trends | 1 Comment »

Developing Wisdom Towards Mobile Applications

Monday, July 12th, 2010

It can be well argued that in the early stages of MMM that there was the position of “if its mobile, then its an answer for ‘X’.” Over the years, its been good to mature from that point of view, yet still hold onto the focus that there are indeed benefits to communication, engagement, and sharing the Gospel with mobile technology as an agent. Recent conversations have helped this maturing perspective, though there’s a good bit more work that’s needed.

My mother used to quote to me Proverbs 4:7 to me quite often (wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding). As it relates to the use of mobile technology within faith-based initatives, there’s a good bit of direction that such a verse gives. There’s the acquistion of knowledge with which to build wisdom and understanding. There’s the experiential factor of success and failure for various implementations of that knowledge (which leads to understanding). And then there’s an ability to reteach and relearn concepts related to that initial knowledge acquisition, but do so with a somewhat clearer lens than times previous.

The difficult thing is that aspect though to get wisdom. Wisdom isn’t so much that you can get by attending a class, finding a resource guide, or even experimenting. Wisdom comes after all of those, plus the greying of time and focus, to see what is the implication of decisions made towards and with digital technologies in lieu of the presented contexts (or environments).

For example, knowledge can tell us that to increased access to technology doesn’t guarantee increased educational advancement. Wisdom takes that study and asks about the methods employed, investigates the people and contextual concerns, and then in as unbiased a manner as possible, analyizes the proposed and realized positive and negative implications of that technology adoption attempt. Wisdom is careful to attempt this again, but with full understanding of what happens when certain variables are taken/not-taken into consideration. Or, wisdom doesn’t attempt this again, until certain other measures are employed.

This becomes one of the challenges to MMM on the side of training and consulting. Much of what we want to espouse has to do with developing the best or most ideal environments to understand and wisely apply mobile and social-web technologies. This cannot be done where zeal and temperance overburden the level of knowledge that’s present (if you will, the “let’s do it because they are doing it too” mentality). Much has to be done to develop avenues of knowledge building (on our end that’s case studies, resource guide/reports, and speaking engagements) so that there’s suitable understanding on tap to develop wisdom by.

At some point in the (near-ish) future, there will be ample information here and other places onlline and offline that the inital steps towards building understanding and wisdom won’t need as much tilling. At that point, developing solutions for mobile ministry engagement will be less a question of experimentation, and more one of “go and seek those who have already travelled this road.” Until then, this site, like a few others, will serve to learn and disseminate approaches to, and lessons from, the implications of the use of mobile technology in ministry contexts. Then, with those lessons garnered, we will detail the stories of what works and what doesn’t work – with the expectation that those searching for wisdom will not only find it, but become co-laborers in telling this story of what’s possible.

Tags: application, development, proverbs, wisdom
Posted in Commentary | No Comments »

But There’s No App For That

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

While I feel that I should apologize for saying this, I won’t. Its just the reality of the matter. There is no app for letting people know that you live in Christ and that the Holy Spirit lives in you. No widget. No development tool. No social network. No spam. Nothing. You have to livewith others for them to eat from the Tree you say you belong to. Trying to put mobile, web, or otherwise in the way is thorny, immature, and self-defeating.

So before you download that next app that you want to show to familiy and friends, just remember that Jesus bears witness to the person reflecting Him, not the mobile device reflecting a piece of what He created.

Tags: application
Posted in Commentary | No Comments »