I recently purchased a used 1st generation iPhone, and since then it has become an extension of my arm. In fact, I think I might be addicted. But I could stop using it anytime I want. Really, I could. I’m not addicted.
Seriously, though, I have learned to use my iPhone to help me in my spiritual life. Here are 5 ways I’m using it to improve my walk with God:
- Note taking: I take notes in church and in chapel on my iPhone. Everyone thinks I’m just text messaging someone (or twittering), but the truth is I really have been taking notes. Then I email my notes to myself and file them in a folder listed “sermon notes” in my gmail. Since gmail is easily searchable, I can always look for a certain topic or passage.
I also use it to take notes in my personal Bible study time. Then I email it and file it away.
- Devotion alarm: The Calendar application is set to remind me everyday that it is time to do my devotions. That’s pretty easy to do on any cell phone, but it helps me to actually DO IT if I schedule it.
I’m also thinking about setting an alarm to beep every hour to remember to pray for certain missionaries. I haven’t done this yet, but it might help me specifically pray for certain friends of mine who are serving in other countries.
- Praying for my contacts: I’ve begun to go through the contact list that is in my iphone (synced with my google contacts with nuevasync). I pray for a letter a day, and by the end of the month, I’ve prayed for everyone that is in my contact list.
I also use the facebook app to pray for my facebook friends alphabetically.
- Youversion: I read and bookmark Bible verses in Youversion. Although I like to use the full Youversion website even more than the mobile version, it helps me as I can scroll through various versions of the Bible.
- Worship: The iphone is also an iPod, so I use it to listen to worship music during my time with God. Mark Batterson talks about having a worship playlist to help you wake up. It’s a great idea.
Bonus: You can also listen to podcasts and view sermons on the iphone. I haven’t tried this yet due to lack of time to actually listen to or watch anything, but I can see how this would help improve your spiritual life.
Any other ideas for using your iPhone or iPod touch to improve your spiritual health?
Oh…by the way, you can get a free iPhone here. My friend has signed up and gotten TONS of free stuff from this site. Check it out.
Last week, Apple celebrated the seventh birthday of the iPod. You can check out a visual journey of the iPod’s evolution here).
Before I had an iPod, I had a little MP3 player (a Diamond Rio) that held about 32MB of songs. I thought it was so cool. Then, I bought a Dell Jukebox, which was a great product with a better price than an iPod.
Finally, a few years ago, I delved into the dark world of Apple and begged allowed my wonderful wife to buy me a “video iPod.” She even got it engraved. I recently purchased a used 1st gen iPhone (which I love). Technology has certainly come a long way in 7 years.
I say all of that to say how much changes in 7 years. Technology surely changes, but also our lives, relationships, and ministries.
Seven years ago, I was a youth pastor at a local church in Florida. Now, I live in a completely different country and have a different job description. Now, I have two sons and a lot of different relationships all over Latin America.
I guess, my question is, “What’s going to happen in 7 more years?” Imagine what the iPod/iPhone will be like in 7 years. Imagine what your life will look like in seven years. I’m hoping that, like technology, my ministry and life continue to advance and get better throughout the years.
(Photo by happylandfill on flickr)
I couldn’t go to the National Youth Workers’ Convention in Sacramento this weekend, but because of the use of technology, I felt like I could have been there.
Adam did a great job with the use of technology, including live blogging, regular blogging, video wrap-ups, and twitter updates.
It got me thinking about the use of technology in ministry (something I think about often). We have to think of more ways to get to people. There are so many tools available to us now that we literally have endless opportunities to connect with, learn from, and share with people all over the world.
Even in Mexico, we are using technology in ministry. We had a pre-concert two weekends ago, and admission to this concert got you a free VIP pass to a concert that will will be happening this weekend. The VIP pass will be delivered by text message. Since everyone in Mexico (especially our target audience) has cell phones, they can just come to the door on Sunday night with the encrypted text message.
There are tons of ways to include new technology in ministry. I think it’s a new way to be more personal. The internet is more social now, so in order to connect with people, we need to use it more.
Today is Blog Day, a day when bloggers are encouraged to recommend five other blogs.
The rules are simple: Find 5 new blogs you find interesting, notify the bloggers that you are recommending them, write a description and link to the new blogs, post the blog day post, and tag it and link to the Blog Day website.
I decided to link to five other blogs written by missionaries.
- Finding Direction – Our friends the Cottrills recently finished language school and are now living in Ixtapaluca, Mexico. They blog about their daily life as missionaries in Mexico.
- Between Diapers and Dishes – Michelle and her family are ministering to the deaf in Ensenada, Mexico. She writes about life as a mom living and ministering in Mexico.
- Pura Vida – Greg and Jan Millsaps live in El Carmen, Mexico. I recently discovered their blog and enjoy their writing style.
- Mexico Adventures – Jon and Nicolle are interns with Youth Ministry International, working with Huberto Perez, our friend and first graduate in youth ministry from the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary.
- Mexico Mitchells – The Mitchells have five daughters and are living and ministering in Mexico City. There blog is very informative.
Here are two bonus blogs for Blog Day:
I absolutely LOVE twitter. It’s been a great way for me to meet new people. I’ve never personally met anyone who follows me on twitter, but I have come to know many people through using it.
A lot of people (including my wife) think that twitter is a waste of time, but I was thinking about the benefits of using twitter for missionaries. Some of these are things that I’ve done, and some of them are things I hope to do with twitter.
5 Ways for Missionaries to Use Twitter
- Set up a special profile for prayer. (Ours is twitter.com/PoulettePrayer). With this profile, you can allow people to sign up and receive your most timely prayer requests.
- Get to know new people to expand ministry opportunities. You can connect with new people on twitter, which may or may not lead to ministry alliances and new partnerships.
- Show people that missionaries are normal people, too. The great thing about twitter is its social aspect. You can tweet about what you ate for lunch or about serious things. You answer the simple question of what you are doing right now.
- Keep up with old friends from home who are not near you. Sometimes, we feel isolated and far away from everyone we know. With twitter, you can keep up with friends and family (or even complete strangers).
- Stay informed about your niche. If you’re a pastor, you can find out what other pastors are thinking. If you’re a youth worker, you can meet other youth workers and talk about ministry. It’s a great way to keep informed about what’s happening in the world of ministry.
So, if you’re not on twitter, what are you waiting for? If you sign up, make sure to follow me @drpoulette and get our prayer updates @PoulettePrayer.
