Alltop Church Chatter

The one thing that Alltop does for me is aggregate current thought from church folks that have a bead on the pulse of our generation. I absolutely feel blessed to have access to the blogs listed. I invite you to check it out too.

I readily admit that if you are looking for a blog to knock mine off your subscription list (and you shouldn't be), you'll find one here.

Alltop is perfect for my other hobbies as well (soccer, mobile technology, books, etc.). All in all, I am sure you'll find a use for it.

And, as the badge on this very page states, I still can't believe I got in...

Read more »

Ministry Helper Apps (Android edition)

Since the inevitable Android move has happened, I have been getting acquainted with my new device and the OS that powers it.

As in everything else tech, I try to find a way to bridge it to ministry. Here is my list of Android Applications that currently are must haves:

YouVersion Bible: Yes, I know at this point, I sound like an indefatigable cheerleader with a crush, but YV is really all that... and a BIG bag of chips. With Live integration, Note availability and creation, downloadable version (NLT is one) and built-in reading plans, this is a serious tool for the serious Android-carrying church worker. YouVersion is all the bible you need on the go.

Get on the bus. The possibilities are endless. You can literally run a entire bible-based message from your phone. You can tweet, send to Facebook and add study notes for the church directly from the app.

HanDBase: Relational database on steroids. This bad boy is an app of a thousand apps. Think data entry and utility creation. You can create expense ledgers, member lists, even giving records. Need a task list? A building catalog? List of guest speakers? parent list? Nursery roster? HanDBase is there. It is syncable to desktop/laptop, too.

I have used HanDBase since my Palm days, and it has been a staple on my devices since. I have my unofficial time clock on it. Helps me keep track of my ministry hours, and allows me to send reports (like weekly output). I also use it to catalog my training plans and player stats in soccer. The scary thing is that I don't think I have even touched the surface with regards to its functionality.

Extra bonus: HanDBase is owned by a christian artist, David Haupert.

Pocket Informant: I am a churchworker, soccer coach and also manage our church's online calendar. I also need to have access to my wife's calendar to stay on top of the kid's events.

I run a lot of calendars. Pocket Informant helps me manage everything.

It syncs well with Google Calendar, right down to the color coding. If a fellow staffer adds an entry to Google Calendar, it populates to the general Google Calendar, which populates to my device. Pretty seamless. Besides syncing to the Google Cloud, it also syncs to Toodledo, a fantastic task manager with GTD capabilities. All in all, PI is one of the best PIMs out there.

Dropbox: Dropbox has been around for a while, and I am shamelessly late to the party. Still, it made it's way into my heart quite easily.

Dropbox is a storage repository conveniently located in the "Cloud" an accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. This connectivity has given Dropbox the secondary ability to serve as a universal jumpdrive.

How can this help you? Church workers move more paper and information than the US Mint and Library of Congress combined. Say a busy pastor needed to collaborate with the music minister and head deacon about the upcoming Easter program. We are talking about music, graphics and budgetary concerns... with a click of the button, everyone's physical input could be uploaded instantly to a common file, collaborated on and then re-accessed.

I use Dropbox heavily on the fly, to help get media out on our webpage, FB page and the church twitter account. Instead of hoarding event pictures on my phone, I simply upload them to my Dropbox. It's one less reason to carry a laptop, when I can simply access the the info from any computer.

Dropbox offers free accounts that are upgradeable, but I have not yet used up my generous free allotment. You can also download the app for free on iOS, BlackBerry OS and Mac.

Save a tree: use DropBox.

Read more »

Season's greetings.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read more »

YouVersion. Again.

YouVersion became a part of my walk not that long ago. A Twitter friend brought it to my attention, and I remember thinking it was too good to be true.

I gave it a whirl, and became such a fan of YV that I penned a review about the Blackberry port. I got to meet some pretty cool people affiliated with Lifechurch.tv, and got to understand the vision that guided the minds of the folks behind YouVersion.

Since then, YV has gained steam, and has become such a blessing in the lives of even more people worldwide. The idea of making Bibles accessible to people in the form of mobile software wasn't new, but removing the financial barrier to ownership was revolutionary.

In its early days, its biggest attribute -- portability based upon wireless signals -- sometimes could be a drawback. Still, this is somewhat soothed by the presence of offline (downloadable) versions on the iOS and Android ports. This makes it even easier to get Scripture, any lack of cellular signal and/or wifi notwithstanding.

I have been blessed with an opportunity to be part of the YV Android testing group, and watching the way the developers respond to glitches and release new builds has been fun. I am particularly smitten with the new Notes feature of the Android port; now I can make notes and add spiritual revelations on the go, right from the handheld. I already rely heavily on YouVersion to do my job, but this added functionality blows it out the water. Add that to the pre-existing multiple translations in multiple languages, social networking connectivity, built-in reading plans and access to "Live" events and scripture word search, and you can see why this software is such a hit.

All in all, I consider YV to be such a huge part of my ministry, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about God. You can do it on any major platform with data access, including a regular desktop or laptop.

For Android users, it is readily available on the Market.
--
Sent via Android.

Read more »

People I dislike: Katherine Wolfe.

If you need a dose of inspiration, or wanna read about an old-fashioned hero that lives today, head over and read about Katherine Arnold Wolfe.

Beyond being a woman with untold courage, she managed to survive a life-threatening stroke. This wife and mother also fought to re-learn skills that she lost after the stroke.

People that are braver than me make me feel small. Katherine Wolfe makes me feel refreshingly minute, and it is a privilege to write about her. Every now and then, we meet or read about powerful beings that only wear human flesh. Katherine is one of them.

I am grateful God gave me an opportunity to read about her.

Read more »

Hotness

A quick birthday shout-out to my wife. As y'all know, she is hotness personified...

Happy Birthday, Cookie. I love you.

Read more »