This is a Guest Post by Tom McFarlin.
Between all the technology and online services that we’ve created each of which demands our attention on some level, sometimes I wonder what we’ve really done to ourselves. There is a constant temptation to feel like we need to stay udpated with all this stuff online.
It’s amazing we get anything done.
Yeah, I know. There’s already a lot of critics out there about this kind of stuff. I’m not one of them. Sure, I think you can go overboard with certain things but that is something that’s held true long before the Internet. Instead, I’ve attempted to actually to leverage all of this stuff to help keep myself honest in pursuing my faith rather than distracting me from it.
Here are three ADD-inducing technologies and one ancient strategy that I leverage to help me keep the faith:
Bible Gateway
Maybe this one is a given. I mean, come on: the entire Bible in every translation imaginable in a searchable format. For me, that aspect of the service is only as useful as my initiative to actually go and use it.
But I wanna be kept honest. I want screaming notifications that I’ve got stuff to read. Fortunately, they’re smart over there. Bible Gateway provides reading plans via RSS. So each morning, while reading the days news and other recent blogs, I can see what God was up to a few thousand years ago (and how it’s still relevant today).
Christian Bloggers
Obviously, Christianity is all about a relationships. Aside from our relationship with Him, we’re meant to invest in one another. Almost every time I hang out with other Christians, I walk away sometimes feeling challenged, sometimes having a lot to think about, but always feeling blessed.
But I can’t hang out with Christians all day. I can’t look over the cube at the dude next to me and get into a conversation about how many colors were really on Joseph’s coat. But the nature of my job does make it easy to stay up-to-date with all of my favorite blogs. To that end, there’s always lot of think about and even discuss with other authors and readers via comments.
It’s definitely no substitute for face-to-face conversation, but it does provide a good way to spend a lunch break rather than simply sitting in my cube eating a ham sandwich and looking out the window.
Oh man. Twitter.
It’s become so mainstream that’s it’s almost cliche. I enjoy using Twitter, but I’m honestly not sure how much I really need it. While I’m busy figuring that out, one of the things that I do enjoy is the ability to control the information that I wanna see. It’s never been easier to pay attention to the things people are saying even if they don’t know who I am or if I’m even listening (isn’t that eavesdropping?).
Seriously though, there are a number of church leaders, bloggers, and other Christians that routinely share little pieces of a useful information. On top of that, I’ve enjoyed messaging other Christians, my pastor, and even my church.
Offline Reading
There’s always something to be said for going old school. Sure, I spend a lot (and by a lot, I mean a ridiculous amount) of time in front of a computer. A lot of times it’s because it pays the bills; other times, it’s because I want to.
But I can’t keep Google Reader 24 hours, people don’t publish blog entries every minute, and I don’t particularly wanna check Twitter every second.
I figure that if I’m going to be sitting in front of a keyboard for hours at a time every day and can’t leverage all this holy web-based goodness, then I can keep myself honest like they used to do back in the day (where the day means a “few years ago”): keep a Bible nearby. In my case, right beside my keyboard.
It’s in my field of vision. I can’t ignore it. It’s reminding me that it’s there. It’s a book and there’s really only one thing you can do with it – read it (I mean, you can tear it up and color in it, but blasphemy isn’t something I want to get into).
So these are the ways that I’ve been keeping myself honest with respect to my faith recently. Of course, this isn’t the definitive list. It’s my list.
When it comes to leveraging technology for your faith, what kind of stuff works for you guys?
[Image from AshleyRosex]
dewde says
DUUUDE!
peace | dewde
@gospelr says
Speaking of using technology to keep the faith, please let us know what you think of the Gospelr redesign featuring an online social study bible at http://Gospelr.com. You can now tweet verses directly from the bible as well as share notes and comments about the verses with your family and friends. You can also search the bible and tag specific verses with keywords and bookmark your place.
We recently added a couple of new features:
1. We can now identify ministers/pastors/priests so that you can pay closer attention to their notes in Gospelr.
2. You can also watch what people are saying on Twitter in real time about the bible and religion in general.
Let us know what additional features that we could add to make your bible studies even more effective.
God Bless,
Gospelr
dewde says
Honestly, I've been using my BlackBerry as my bible and my notebook on sunday morning. I look up verses in YouVersion ( http://youversion.com ) and I take notes in EverNote ( http://evernote.com ). As I'm taking notes I often copy/paste something I just wrote into Twitter and share it with a the community that goes way beyond my church's walls.
Very useful and handy. We have 2.5 kids so space is precious. Keeping all this stuff on my BlackBerry frees up my hands before and after the service to keep my young children properly managed.
peace | dewde
BrettBarner says
I've been trying to convince my wife that I could use YouVersion for the iPhone for church, and not look like I'm goofing around on my phone. But so far, I'm not allowed. 🙁 Instead I have to leave my shoe on my knee the whole service to form a sort of "Leg Desk" to hold my Bible and Notebook. (I do look very studious though.)
dewde says
Bummer. My wife's usually too busy twittering to notice. SOLUTION: Get your wife hooked on twitter.
🙂
peace | dewde
Tom says
Doing the whole Bible+Notebook Balancing Act can be a challenge, especially if the seats in front of you are close together. Kicking someone in the back is never fun. At least not in church.
But, yeah I can relate somewhat. I still roll with a notebook and a pen. And I look studious, too.
I think..
Tom says
Ha, dude. The idea of using YouVersion for the Bible on Sunday mornings is awesome. I love it. Why didn't I think of that?
Evernote's nice – I've been experimenting with it for about a week. So far, I dig it, but I don't know if I'll stick with it. When there are notes I need to take on the go, or keep tracking of something, I normally just email it to myself. It's kind of a cheap way to use email, but it works.
dewde says
Honestly, I've been using my BlackBerry as my bible and my notebook on sunday morning. I look up verses in YouVersion and read along with the pastor. I take notes in EverNote (http://evernote.com). As I'm taking notes I often copy/paste something I just wrote into Twitter and share it with a the community that goes way beyond my church's walls.
Very useful and handy. We have 2.5 kids so space is precious. Keeping all this stuff on my BlackBerry frees up my hands before and after the service to keep my young children properly managed.
peace | dewde
BrettBarner says
Another helpful way in using tech to keep the faith is 411God. I wrote about it here (http://bit.ly/2bUgZr), but you can just check it out at http://411God.net They send you small devo txts, emails, or phone calls (whichever and whenever). It was extremely helpful when I was switching up my personal devo time from night to mornings. Was both a nice reminder and starting point to my quiet time.