This comic is true for both the lay-person and the pastor. We spend so much time banging our heads against the reality in front us, the system we operate under, the models which used to work, and the reality we wish was still real that it’s difficult not to burn-out!
I’m a Baptist pastor, but this conversation is one I’ve had far too many times in the past. After I have a conversation with some of my low-Church brethren, I’m often left wondering two things:
I must admit, there are times where I want to go into a corner and just be left alone. Here’s the video, laugh at my pain with me.
Christians often mean well, but we are often so immersed in our world and our lingo that we fail to see how we are being perceived by the people we are attempting to communicate with. This comic is memorial to all the tragic misunderstandings we Christians have caused over the years.
We say we trust in the LORD for our lives. I think we show too often, however, that we really believe in the power of marketing.
There’s a phrase that I’ve come to hate as I’ve ministered within the Church. It’s a phrase that, more than any other, tells me, “Don’t try to teach me anything – I’m perfectly happy where I am, thanks.”
The phrase is, “I’m not much of a techie.”
As I’ve become known as “the computer guy” in ABCNJ I hear a variation of that phrase just about every time I’m introduced to someone. “Oh, you’re the computer guy? I’m afraid I’m not much of a techie.” Some people feel an overwhelming need to repeat the phrase over and over and over again. As if, should the phrase not be repeated, I might forget.
Typically, what people mean when the utter the dreaded, “I’m not a techie” is, “I don’t know what buttons to push, so don’t bother telling me any of the value this stuff might have for me.” It is, essentially, a pre-emptive strike against the possibility of change and growth. Why do I know this? Because I do it for other things – any time I say, “I’m not much of a…” I create the same effect. Bad me.
Look, I honestly don’t want everyone to be a “techie” (especially since it seems that only non-”techies” ever use that nomenclature). Everyone does not need to be a geek because it’s not everyone’s calling. I don’t expect people to understand how to manipulate a database, or change permissions from a command line, or write a shell script, or even have a clue what a regex is. To me, geek-tasks like that are what people are afraid of – the “magic” which happens below the levels they are able to access. Fear of that “magic,” however, causes them to settle in several levels above where they are actually able to access (lest the “magic” do them some harm if they came to close). It’s easier to keep away from such dangerous stuff than it is to go as deep as you are able.
So I hear the phrase, “I’m not a techie,” and know that in the future I may get a call from them to fix a pdf in which everything has been aligned by spaces or to clean up a document where all the text suddenly moved over because they accidentally hit the right-justify button and were too frightened to click (touch?) it again. People are very appreciative of my ability to manipulate the arcane forces of technology on their behalf, but in the end hearing that phrase just makes me feel lonely.
Here’s the thing. To communicate in this world people need, at the very least, a basic level of technological-savvy. This does not mean that people need to know what button to push in any given situation. It does mean, however, they learn to press buttons on their computers and not be utterly terrified while doing it. We can’t afford the panic that the “I’m not a techie” attitude grants us permission to have. Why? First, because it’s completely silly for people who are normally competent and capable of thought to lose their heads when a text message comes to their phone. Second, because that panic shouts to the world in which we live, “I have no idea how to communicate with you!” Third, because the tools we have at our disposal require wisdom to use well – and panic and wisdom to not compliment each other. These three reasons, when combined, tell us that technological panic doesn’t just make our witness irrelevant to people, it makes it non-existent.
So, if you suffer from “I’m not a techie” syndrome, I make you this promise. I know how easy it is to succumb to it’s effect, and I can honestly say I’ll do my very best to avoid the “I’m not a…” syndrome myself. I just ask for a similar effort from you.
We’ve probably all heard about the “law of unintended consequences.” An action is taken, and unplanned-for results spring up in it’s wake. Sadly, given the nature of the term, we often assume that these unplanned-for results are inherently negative. Hence the “consequences” moniker. I want to share, however, a recent experience Central has had with an unplanned-for result from an action we took. An experience which might help us to see that, perhaps more often than we think, an unplanned-for result can be a cause for celebration.
The Story
Ever since I met Antoine Wright, founder of Mobile Ministry Magazine, at BibleTech in 2009 I’ve been fascinated by the potential of QR Codes. Right away I saw how these codes could be used to hurdle the platform gap that exists when exchanging information between smart phones. Back in the world of PDA’s information exchange was typically done via IR transmission. It was slow, and frequently awkward, but it worked. Then Bluetooth came out and people thought that IR was going to be immediately replaced. With bluetooth, you no longer had to stand in awkward positions to match up IR ports, and the speed was much faster. The downside, however, was the way Bluetooth was integrated into PDA systems – you needed to be a major geek to make it work. Bluetooth transmission was frustrating.
When the iPhone came out the Bluetooth stack was extremely limited, and there was no IR on the device anywhere – so people tried to come up with solutions that would allow us to pass information between devices. Innovative concepts like “Bump” solved the problem, but only when there was an active network connection and only if both parties had iPhones. This was unacceptable.
Then someone came up with an idea. They realized that every smartphone has a camera, which just about anyone in the “Developed World” already knows how to operate. The camera, combined with the processing power of a smart phone, was combined with a technology that Toyota had developed in the 1990′s – the QR Code.
These 2 dimensional bar codes are perfectly designed to contain short notes, web-links, and even vcard data. Using this technology, any bit of information on a smart phone can be turned into a code that can be optically scanned by any smartphone which has a reader installed on it (there’s a lot of free ones out there). Suddenly, we’re back in the world of being able to transmit data regardless of the device we’re using – as a speed which makes previous transfer techniques look agonizingly slow. Snap a picture, and before can think the code is converted to text and laid out for human consumption. Most readers will even allow you to re-display the code to pass the information to others. The technique is, by all measures, a glorious hack.
When I first saw these codes in action, I’d found the answer to a puzzle that had been vexing me for many years – the dreaded “dead tree” method of data transmission. That is, “printed handouts.” While I have nothing against “dead tree format” for books (give me a hardback any day of the week), I can’t stand it for information that needs to be randomly accessed or is temporary by nature (such as an event schedule). In these settings, DTDT (Dead Tree Data Transmission) frustrates me greatly. I’d much rather make materials available via digital format, and allow people to access them with their mobile devices – until I saw a QR Code in action, however, I couldn’t figure out how to get from point “a” to point “b.” The QR Code was the path.
So, as the number of smart phones at Central began to grow, we decided to take the leap and make our bulletin available in digital format, accessible via QR Code. We tried several different methods, but eventually settled on simply publishing our worship order and announcements on the Church web-site. When people scan the code, they are taken to a mobile version of our site, and to the published bulletin, natively formatted for their screen. My intent was to be able to slowly reduce the number of printed bulletins over time, saving time and money, and reducing waste. So far, it’s worked out fairly well.
Several weeks after we implemented our QR Code experiment Central Baptist had a new couple come for a visit. I saw them entering the building one day, and helped direct them to our Sunday School Auditorium. Accompanying them was a seeing-eye dog, because both people in the couple are severely visually impaired. As my son also has a significant visual impairment, I’m rather sensitive to the needs of folks who share some his struggles (in this case, the struggles are much worse than his own). After inquiring as to our guest’s level of sightedness, I asked the couple if there was anything I could do to make the worship more accessible. The answer I got blew me away.
No, thanks. You guys have a great web-site and we found your bulletin on-line so we know what’s going on.
Now, I had literally activated a new web-site layout the very week this couple visited Central, so the fact that it was obviously accessible sent me in near-earth orbit. At the same time, however, I was blown away. I had put the Bulletin on-line in order to allow the data to be transmitted optically – and here that decision make our worship accessible for brothers and sisters in Christ who cannot see. How’s that for an unintended benefit?
The crowd was maxed out...
I’ve been excited to attend an Accordance training seminar since I first started using the software a couple of years ago. Alas, the shows were always just a little too far away for me to get to. Today, I not only got to attend a training seminar, I got to host one. I’m very glad I did.
The session had just under 40 people at the start, and it slowly whittled down over the day. I’m writing this just prior to the dinner break, I’m not sure how many people will be left for the evening session! That, however, is where we’ll deal with Greek and Hebrew so I hope some folks stick around!
Martha, Lloyd, and David have been great to work with – actually, every person I’ve met from Oak Tree Software has been great to work with. An added bonus came when they forgot their iPad (to demo the iOS app). They needed to borrow my iPad for the demonstration (which did mean I had to give it up over night so they could practice), and I went out and got a VGA adapter so they could mirror the screen through the projector. Seeing my iPad projected up on the screen was almost worth giving it up for a night (I’ll recover).
Was this worth spending a Saturday in-doors on a gorgeous day? Yup, I learned lots, and can be even more dangerous with my studies and sermon prep. I got to meet some great people, and had a lot of fun.
I’d also like to point out that my wife is awesome. She not only gave me up for a Saturday, she also did a lot to help prep the space for the seminar.
Last week I got an iPad 2, which I really like. Now the question is, “What am I planning on doing with this?” Let me share some thoughts on how I’m planning to use the iPad in ministry
First, the iPad is going to be my default note-taking device. I really dislike taking notes on my iPhone, as I make far too many mistakes, and mind-mapping on the small screen is impossible. I also dislike taking notes during a meeting on my laptop. The screen gets in the way of participating with a conversation, especially when helping people plan a funeral or wedding. The iPad, by contrast, is not as “present” as my laptop (or even my phone, as I’m cut off when I type on the small screen). It’s there, and its useful, but it’s not in the way.
Second, I’m going to use this during worship as my complete information repository. As a pastor, the sheer amount of paper I have to carry into worship is staggering. I have a bulletin, all the inserts, my Bible, my lyrics or hymnal, and whatever last-minute added things people want to make sure I don’t miss. It’s insane. With my iPad, I’m down to one device (actually two, my iPod touch. Is my remote clicker) – it’s my Bible, my lyric sheet, my worship bulletin, my announcement sheet, my notebook for last minute information, and my prayer concern recorder. This is so much easier for me, with the added benefit that the information I take in when I’m with the community doesn’t end up in the recycle bin (after which I find I need to access it agin).
Third, I’m going to use it to create on the fly. If I’m out having a conversation with someone, it’s a lot easier to take my iPad with me than my laptop. If we come up with an idea, I can open pages, or another creative app, and get working on it immediately (with the aforementioned benefits of it being less present).
Fourth, what a wonderful “screen.” I write most of my documents in Google Docs (and now I’m using Evernote as well), so when I need to display information on more than one screen my iPad is right there (with the nice smart cover) to display the information on an easily viewable screen at an angle that makes it easy to see both screens simultaneously. When I’m using it conjunction with my laptop, the iPad becomes a cloud powered screen. It’s truly wonderful.
While my personal work-flow makes it currently difficult for me to use an iPad as my default computer, the reality is that an iPad and an external keyboard (for extended typing sessions) is all most pastors need. It’s intuitive, powerful, easy to transport, and inexpensive. A great tool to have.
Well, yesterday I stood outside and got myself an iPad. Now, a day later, I’m ready to share some thoughts on actually using it.
It might seem odd to start with the bad things in a review, but with my iPad I feel compelled to share the one thing that I feel Apple got “wrong” with this device. Simply put, it’s the buttons. Or, rather, every toggle on the device except for the home button.
Ironically, my problem with the toggles is a side-effect of one of the iPad 2′s greatest features, it’s thinness. On the iPad 1, the straight edge served as the perfect venue for the volume rocker, the lock switch, and the sleep button. On the iPad 2, that straight edge is gone, and the buttons are almost under the screen. This is a minor annoyance for the sleep button, which I don’t use anyway since I got a smart cover. It’s an inconvenience with the volume rocker, as I’m not used to it’s location yet and I need to fish around for it. The lock switch, however, is a bear. Unless your finder is directly on top of the switch, it’s really difficult to toggle – I’m actually afraid of damaging it! I guess I’ll get used to its odd angle (compared to the screen) and the particular way it needs to be toggled, but compared to the iPad 1 it seems like an odd design flaw. The hardware buttons really do take some getting used to.
So what about the good? My son has an iPad 1 so I can compare it with that device, it makes the good of the iPad 2 stand out even more. There’s a lot to love.
First, when I showed my wife the two devices side-by-side this morning she said instantly, “The iPad 2 is a lot brighter.” The LED lit screen on the iPad 2 is brilliant and is noticeably brighter than its first gen cousin. I’m going to check it out in bright sunlight tomorrow to see how the screen fares there, but indoors, it’s stunning.
Second, this thing is fast. Web-browsing is noticeably faster, and animations are smooth. In fact, the animations showed no stuttering even while installing multiple updates and receiving desktop notifications. I haven’t seen a breakdown that tells us how much ram it has yet, but it’s obviously got more than the iPad 1.
Third, I love the smart cover. Yes, it only protects the front of the device – but it’s just dang cool. When it’s folded back flat against the back of the iPad it actually makes the device easier to hold and it keeps it from sliding around when on your lap. The “stand” function is also really cool – though I do wish that it could somehow work to stand up the iPad when in portrait mode.
The cameras are OK. The two times I’ve use it, both under artificial light, the picture has been rather grainy. I need to do a comparison, but my 3Gs seems like it does better video in lower light conditions (of course, that could just be because I can’t see the graininess on the smaller screen). Facetime works as advertised, the audio quality is excellent and the picture quality is pretty good as well (I want to try it out with someone on an iPhone 4). I haven’t installed Skype yet, but I’ll do that soon.
Typing on this device is about the same as the iPad 1, which means “good” but not great. I typed my “in line” blog entry on the iPad and wasn’t frustrated at all, which is saying a lot, but I did find myself accidentally hitting the space bar from time to time. I did get used to it, but it was a minor annoyance. I’ll get a bluetooth keyboard for this eventually if I’m going to do any serious writing on it.
Video streaming is wonderful. HD videos in my dropbox play without a hiccup and the quality is perfect. Youtube videos play equally well, and html 5 UI elements on web-pages show absolutely no lag whatsoever. Apps in general are responsive and seem to launch faster than on the iPad 1. This thing is fun to work on.
I actually haven’t played a single game on the iPad yet. I have one installed (Harry Potter Lego), but I got this to be a work device, so I’m trying to keep the clutter of of it as long as I can. I do foresee angry birds on this in the near future though!
I own a first generation iPod Touch and an iPhone 3Gs. When I got back to install someone on the 1st gen Touch, it feels slow. It’s not really any slower than when it was my primary iOS device, but the shift to the 3Gs was just that dramatic. The shift to the iPad 2 from the iPad 1 isn’t quite as dramatic, but it certainly feels similar. It is a very dramatic switch.
Give me a day or two, and I’ll post a bit on how I want to make use of the iPad in ministry.
Last year we were given money in order to purchase an iPad for my son, who has ocular albinism. We got it so he would be able to read, especially the Bible (thank you Olive Tree, for your excellent reader). Since then, the iPad has become the way my son interacts in worship. We put on the lyrics, the worship slides, and the readings on it’s wonderful screen – and it allows our son to participate.
I also fell in love with device, and when my birthday came around I determined that I would get one myself. Now, people might wonder why I just don’t use my son’s iPad and save the money. It’s a good question and it has a good answer, it is his iPad. The money we were given was specifically donated in order to help our son read and, while I have experimented with his iPad over the last year, I’ve done my best to remember that this is HIS device – given for HIS benefit. My experiments, however, have shown me the potential for and iPad – hence, I determined that I’d be getting one myself.
So, I was out yesterday with several hundred other nerds (waiting in line isn’t really even geeky, it’s a level below that) waiting for the appointed hour to arrive. I was also blessed to have a friend stand in line with me, thanks Vernl! It took about an hour for me, and the other wonderfully socially-awkward nerds around me, to get into the store. We arrived in line just after three o’clock, so Vernl and I waited about three hours. This wasn’t bad at all. I was out of range of Apple’s wifi, however, and At&T’s 3G was non-existent (400 yards from one of their stores, believe it or not). I turned off 3G and updated my social streams over edge. It was slow, but it worked.
When we got half-way through the line to the store, we were met by two Apple employees and received our “magic ticket” which assured us that there would be iPads in the store when we arrived (though there was no guarantee on the model). A short while later I was introduced to my personal agent for my purchase and announced exactly what I wanted. While she went off to get my iPad, I went over to pick out my “smart cover.” By the time I had it picked out, she had returned and I completed the transaction. I may have been in the store for 10 minutes.
The experience was a lot of fun. The people in line were hysterical, and I the Apple employees were a blast. I tried getting a picture with the guy at the door, but he said he wasn’t allowed to pose. This was a bummer, but with hundreds of people in line behind me I can understand the policy. The cheers in line as people held up their iPads reminded of The Empire Strikes Back when the speaker announced, “The first transport is away.” Like the people in the Rebel base, we were happy for the folks on the other side, but we also were wondering, “What about us?” I did think that being cheered by the staff on the way out was a bit odd, but it’s all part of the deal.
All in all, I’m glad I went. Look for my reflections on the iPad itself shortly.
ABCNJ Technology
