FaithEngineer

One of the most used apps on my iPod is the YouVersion Bible app by Lifechurch.tv. I have blogged about YouVersion numerous times in the past (see the posts here), and I am excited about the continual updates that the digerati team at Lifechurch keep pushing out. Last week they announced a new milestone. YouVersion users have spent one billion minutes reading the Bible on mobile devices! But they didn’t stop long to celebrate and now they have added the ability to track a personalized Bible reading plan on your mobile device. The feature came out today for the Blackberry application and is coming out soon on the iPod/iPhone. It is also available on their website.

I have kept a little printout in my Bible for a long time that I use to track my reading progress. It works great until you lose the sheet, which I have done several times in the past year.  I’m planning on switching over and using this to track and guide my reading starting January 1st. There are multiple reading plans to choose from, so what’s holding you back? Will you join me in reading through your Bible in the upcoming year?

If you want to find out more about how this works, check out the video below.

ChurchCrunch had the news about this yesterday.  If you want to utilize technology for ministry, then definitely check this website out. It is a great blog with an active forum of church tech users. Definitely one of my favorite ministry websites. Check it out at www.churchcrunch.com.

Nineteen years ago I was running in the state cross-country finals.  We had a great team and I was a scrawny 135 lb senior running 18 minute times in 5K’s. Since that time, I really haven’t continued running and the years and pounds have added on.  Over the last couple of years I have tried to start running, but I have lacked consistency.  This summer I have managed to rack up about 25 miles, but I am still far from being in shape.  But I am playing basketball regularly, biking, and jogging.  I am definitely making an effort to be more disciplined in all areas of my life.

This morning I ran the Susan G. Komen Lowcountry Race For the Cure near Charleston, South Carolina with over 5000 other people.  It was a fun race, but the real reason I ran was to honor my mother-in-law (you can see the details of her previous battle with cancer here) .  My wife Jennifer had planned to run, but her knee has been locking up and will probably require surgery in the next few weeks, so she was unable to run.  But I ran with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law for Team Bambu.  Our kids all ran the 1 mile fun run as well.

I wasn’t real pleased with my time of 32 minutes, but with my lack of training and current weight, it is all that I really could expect.  I started developing shin splints several weeks back and they really bothered me during the race.  I wasn’t used to running on pavement and the impact took it’s toll on me. I still need to drop about 25 pounds to get to a decent running weight.  It was still a fun race and I’m glad that I ran it.  Check out some pictures below.

If you want to learn from my mistakes, here is what I recommend:

• Don’t compare yourself to others.  Even if you get passed by 70 year olds, women pushing strollers, your sister-in-law , and a man in a fat suit (which all happened to me today) don’t give up.  It takes discipline and hard work to get in shape.  And some people are just natural runners.
• Forget your past.  It doesn’t really matter what you used to do.  All that matters is where you are now and where you need to go.
• Music is a great motivator.  Be sure to pick music that keeps you running at a good tempo. Nike has some great running mixes and the free podrunner podcast is a great place to pick up some good techno running music.
• Have a plan! Start gradually and work your into shape – the couch to 5k plan is a great way to get in shape for a 5k in two months. They also have a podcast and a couch to 5k application for the iphone and ipod touch.
• Mix things up, don’t feel bad changing your workout routine. Weight training is important as well
• And finally, train on the same surfaces that you will be racing on. I’ve been running on the trail at home and the road really bothered my knees and shins during the race.

When you consider how much time a pastor spends on a phone, it is a big deal when you switch phones.  I just bought a HTC 6800 phone off of one of our youth members.  Why?  Because I absolutely hate my old Motorola Q and this buys me some time to wait on new phones that will be coming out next year.  AT&T=no coverage, Sprint=no coverage, T-Mobile=no coverage and Verizon is just starting to cover the area. That leaves US Cellular as our only real current option.   I’ve had the Q for a year and a half and I could fill a book with everything I don’t like about it.  I really don’t want to enter into another 2 year contract, so by buying this phone I can wait a while until a Google Phone or an iPhone is available in our CDMA market.

So far, I’m really liking the HTC.  It’s still not even close to my iPod Touch on ease of use, but at least it is customizable. You can even do a little hacking to get GPS working on it and you can even install the newer Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 operating systems.   I like the touch screen and the slide out keyboard works great when responding to emails.  It’s a little too thick, but for now I’m very content. For a gadget guy, that doesn’t happen very often.

Apple – iPod touch – Software Update

First of all, I really want an iPhone. There’s only one problem. There’s absolutely no coverage anywhere around us with AT&T.  The new Palm Pre looks nice, but … no coverage with Sprint. I really like the Android phone from T-Mobile, but … yet again no coverage. There are advantages to living in the country, but staying on the cutting edge is not one of them. So that brings me to my iPod Touch. If I can’t have an iPhone, at least I can pretend with my iPod.

I just finished updating my 2nd generation iPod touch to the new 3.0 software. Apple added some features and made some improvements, so the $9.95 isn’t too bad to pay.  Apple added bluetooth stereo headphone support, a cool new spotlight search, a landscape keyboard for all apps, and finally the ability to copy and paste text between apps. I’ve experimented with the new features and I like everything so far, except for the bluetooth support.

When I heard they were unlocking bluetooth, I immediately thought of the Motorola S9 stereo headset that I use with my cell phone. If it would work with the iPod using skype, then the iPod could function as a phone whenever I had wifi access. The headphones look a little dorky, but they actually sound pretty good.

I paired it up with the new iPod software and started listening to music without any problem. But when I went to try out the microphone that is embedded in the headset, the iPod wouldn’t recognize it. After some checking, it looks like the bluetooth support is only for the A2DP stereo headphones, without headset support. Apparantly, Apple was afraid of enabling full headset support, knowing that the iPod might become too similar to the iPhone. I’m hoping that they will change their mind, because that one feature would be huge. I know I can plug in headphones with a microphone, but wireless is definitely the way to go. If anybody figures out a way to make it work, please let me know.

One last thing, I was able to update Jennifer’s iPod touch as well without paying the fee twice. Since we share the same Apple account, it updated her touch without purchasing it a second time. Overall I like the update, I just hope it’s not the last.

Through the Blogger review program at Thomas Nelson, I had the privilege to review the Next Generation New Testament.  Anytime I can take a look at how companies are combining technology with youth ministry I get excited.  It contains CD’s full of mp3 files of the entire International Children’s Bible New Testament, read and dramatized by an all-star cast of tween and teen stars.  It contains over 23 hours of scripture read by American Idol Jordin Sparks, Hannah Montana cast members Emily Osment and Cody Linley, High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu, actress AnnaSophia Robb, and many more.  Max and Jenna Lucado provide great book introductions as well.

Since I have been in youth ministry for a long time now, I wanted to see if this would be appropriate to give to teens. After spending some time listening through it, I would have to say that the better audience would be the 8 to 13 ‘tweener’ crowd.   The sound effects and soundtrack add to the dramatic feel of the narration.  Think of it as a movie without the video.

I decided to check it out with some help from my 10 year old daughter.  She was excited when she realized that some of her favorite tv and movie stars took part in narrating the Bible.  She likes it and now wants to use my old iPod nano just for listening to the Bible. If it helps my children get excited about God’s Word, then it definitely gets my attention.  The best part was the dvd containing video clips of all of the actors and actresses sharing about their faith.  It was great seeing my kids engaged and excited about hearing the testimony of others.

It did seem a little strange to hear some of the adult roles in the Bible being read by teen boys with very young voices.  And I would have preferred that they base the project on a Bible version that wasn’t for young children.  I think pre-teens and teens can easily understand most modern adult translations.  But overall I think this is a great idea, one that I would recommend for middle schoolers with iPods.

The Word of Promise: Next Generation is much more than just a word-for-word reading: it’s an all-star cast performing audio drama with a rich original score and Hollywood special effects. When Jesus walks on the water, kids will feel like they’re in the boat. When Peter waits in the courtyard during the Lord’s trial, the fire will crackle. The ambient sounds of the Holy land, the breath-taking musical score, the world-class young actors and the timeless Word of Promise all combine to deliver an unparalleled achievement.

Set includes 24 hours of audio drama on 3 mp3 CDs and a bonus 75 minute Behind-the-Scenes DVD featuring interviews with the actors.

There are some great podcasts out there if you are interested in learning more about utilizing technology in the church. Some of these are video shows, and some are audio, but they all have some great information about the software, tools, and technology to help you share the message of Christ.

Click on the links below to view each podcast (most of these links require iTunes to be installed on your computer)

• Church Media Design TV
• ChurchyMedia
• ChurchTechTalk
• The Collide Show
• Geeks & God Podcast
• God’s Mac
• Church IT Discussions

I have always been a “gadget” guy.  I like experimenting and using the latest technology.  The latest and greatest item to grab my attention is the new Amazon Kindle book reader.   I enjoy reading and try to read at least one new book a week, so I could definitely save some money over time by buying the cheaper electronic version of each book. I think I would miss having a hard copy to save and refer back to, but I could definitely get used to a Kindle.  You can highlight, insert bookmarks, and even take notes on what you read.   And it all syncs back to your computer.

I would love to have one, but the price is holding me back.   At least for now they have come out with a free iPhone and iPod Touch version of the book reader. I’ve been using it some on my iPod and I really like it.

I do have to be careful to not let gadgets consume my time and energy.  They can be fun to play with, but they can also be a huge distraction.  Trying to balance convenience, fun, and productivity can sometimes be a challenge.

Instead of explaining how it works, I’ll let you see a couple of videos that show it in action. What do you think?  Could you get used to reading a book on a device?

Since I received my new iPod Touch, I’ve been using it to do some of my daily Bible reading. I have been reading through the book of Isaiah and so far I have really enjoyed using the iphone Bible application YouVersion from the tech geniuses at Lifechurch.tv. It looks a little strange to be flipping through Bible verses on your iPod, but it works great. I especially like the ability to bookmark verses so I can come back to them later.

But it has made me stop and think. I’ve got a bookshelf full of Bibles, I can access the Bible from my smartphone, I can listen to it as mp3 files, and now I can read it on my laptop or iPod. We have more access to the Word of God than any other generation and yet, as Americans, we simply don’t make it a priority to read! How can you truly love a God you don’t know? And how can you know the character and love of God if you never have read His words written to you?

You will never see significant Spiritual growth in your life until you start reading the Bible. If you don’t take responsbility and start feeding yourself, you will remain an infant being spoon fed by others. It doesn’t matter if you read the Bible on an iPod or a normal book, JUST START READING! If you don’t know where to start, then check out my previous post about different Bible reading plans.

So my question for you is, how do you read the Bible?

And I’ll add in a plug for YouVersion, if you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, you really need to download this app – it’s awesome. They also have a blackberry version and a normal website as well.

YouVersion iPhone Bible App from YouVersion on Vimeo.

My prediction from a few months ago became a reality. I ordered an ipod touch to replace my old nano with several Apple gift cards. Jennifer orchestrated everyone getting me Apple gift cards for Christmas. I ordered the 8 gig version and it should be here by Tuesday or Wednesday. I really want an iphone, but the fact that it is on AT&T kills it for me. They have zero bars in our entire city, so there’s no hope anytime soon. The ipod touch is simply the iphone without the phone.

Here’s my question for my blog readers. What apps would you download for your touch or iphone from Apple’s app store. I’m planning on adding Facebook, everything Google related, Evernote, Remember the Milk, Jott, YouVersion, Weather Channel, Amazon, and Apple Remote. What other apps or games would you recommend?

I’m curious to see how I can integrate this into my workflow. I have a feeling that it will mostly replace my smartphone. Since the touch has wifi internet, I may even drop my phone back to a basic model to save the internet fees every month. Most of the time when I’m on the internet with my phone, there is a wifi network available. The only downside is I will have to carry two devices around. I’ll let you know how it works.

Apple via kwout

I’ve got gadget envy again.  This time, it’s the new ipod touch.   I knew they were coming out with a new one so I’ve been waiting.  The best improvements to me are the built in Nike+, the app store, and the price.  My first generation ipod nano might be replaced.  Now if I can just convince my wife that I need want this so I can be more productive and healthier …

Apple via kwout

I haven’t shared in a long time what I’m listening to on my iPod.  I love podcasts and I try to listen to several messages each week.  These are the guys who are really stretching me right now.  All of these churches have podcasts on itunes, so check them out.

Perry Noble of Newspring Church
Craig Groeschel of Lifechurch.tv
Francis Chan of Cornerstone Church
Mark Batterson of National Community Church
Andy Stanley of Northpoint
Greg Surratt of Seacoast Church
John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church

I have 3 CD’s on my iPod right now that I am playing constantly. To me, this is what worship music should be for our generation. Contemporary and compelling. Lyrics that challenge you and music that is just as good as anything you here on a current rock station. Most churches would have trouble pulling off some of these songs unless they have a large teenage/college/young adult crowd, but there are plenty of songs that would work in any contemporary church. All three have strong guitar driven rhythms, but are able to slow it down without sounding feminine. I agree with Mark Driscoll who says that much of contemporary praise music is like “prom songs to Jesus” and Chris Elrod who calls it “Panty Praise”. Here are some short thoughts about these three CD’s. Click on the album art to go straight to iTunes and listen to the songs.

Steve Fee, one of the worship leaders at Northpoint, Catalyst, and Passion has an incredible worship album out. These songs are being sung everywhere right now, and for good reason. They are easy to sing with and they have a strong message. I got to hear many of these at Catalyst this year and it was absolutely incredible to hear an entire coliseum singing at the top of their lungs. It was seriously loud, but the power came from the lyrics that focus on Christ.

Lee McDerment is the worship leader at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina. I have been reading about this CD for quite some time on Perry Noble’s and Tony Morgan’s blog. At Unleash, I was able to pick up a copy. This is an incredible CD that takes you on a musical journey from loud arena rock to soft ballads that still sound powerful. I like the distorted rhythm and lead guitars. That crunch is what is missing in too much worship music today. I also like the fact that this CD does not sound “over produced” It is real and passionate. I think you will be hearing some of these songs in other churches real soon.

The passion conferences have brought us some incredible worship music. When you get Matt Redman, David Crowder, Charlie Hall, Steve Fee, Christy Nockels, and Chris Tomlin all together on the same stage, you can expect a serious worship encounter. I think that this newest Passion CD is the best one yet. It is a live worship album so you get to hear the response of the people at the conference. This is one of those CD’s that you just find yourself singing along with. The influence that Passion has on the music sung in churches today is incredible. You will hear almost every one of these songs across the country in churches every week.

You should check out all three CD’s if you get a chance. iTunes has all of them so you can also just pick out your favorite songs. They all have the FaithEngineer stamp of approval.

Cornerstone has been using a free web service called SermonCloud to put our sermons online for over a year now. I did a little research today to see how much the service has actually been used and I was pleasantly surprised. We have 71 of our Cornerstone sermons online, and all together they have been downloaded or listened to online 7658 times as of today! That includes the iTunes downloads as well.

The neat thing about sermoncloud is that you can search through all the different sermons from other churches by church or topic or scripture reference. You can download an mp3 or listen to it using their online jukebox. This is just another tool to get out God’s Word to people who are hungry to listen and learn and obey. I pray that it will motivate those listening to experience new life in Christ, that it will equip them to carry out God’s message to a hurting world, and that they will use what they learn to engage people all over the world.

Check out Cornerstone’s SermonCloud page here.

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Another youth pastor has shared how he has gotten a free Xbox 360 and a free iPod Touch. I’m typically the super skeptical, check everything out on snopes type of guy, but this is actually legit. I’ve debated putting this on my blog, but I’m giving it a quick shot. You won’t hear any more about this, so just skip over this if you’re not interested. If you’re willing to deal with a little advertising inconvenience, you can get a free iPod. Here’s how it works

1. Click this link: http://www.youripodtouch4free.com/index.php?ref=4492862
2. Sign up and choose an account type (Referral is the easiest).
3. Complete just 1 offer (like Blockbuster, Netflix or Stamps.com) and then refer up to 8 people to do the same under your referral link. (The 16gig iPod Touch needs 8 referrals, there is also a 8gig iPod Touch, or cash offer as well)
4. Receive your iPod Touch FREE!

First off, this is only for adults. Sorry, no Teens! It will require that you try out one of the advertising services, and some of them have a slight cost involved to try out the service. The truth is that I would love to have one of these, but there is no way I can justify spending money on one. My older 1st gen iPod Nano still works, but it doesn’t have video or wifi.

How do they do it? The sponsoring companies actually pay for the iPod. By showcasing their services, they hope to gain some new customers. It really is not a typical pyramid scheme, because there is no investment from you. The money comes from the sponsoring companies. If you are thinking about trying out netflix or blockbuster or even printing your own stamps, then you are really not out anything. If you have any questions, then post them in the comments or shoot me an email.

While I’m on a video posting kick, I want to share a cool video by a teenager. The teen from England posted the video on youtube. It got noticed by Apple so they asked the teen to work with their ad agency to make it into a real ad. With cheap tools for video editing available now, how many other companies will follow Apple’s lead to let their customers develop advertisements? This video also made me think about how we can be using teens to help with technology in church. The complete story is here.