Breathable Technology

I hopped into a conversation on FriendFeed started by Tony Steward yesterday and it got me thinking.

Tony asked the question,

What technology and insights are you most excited about in the church world right now?

I had a few things to add, mostly regarding the iPhone. I thought I’d expound a bit on some of them and see what you all think. I realize that most of these are currently completely unfeasible, but a geek can dream, can’t he?

1. Let me embed hyperlinks into my Keynote slides (or PowerPoint, for you Windoze users) that beams the Scripture references I am using to web-enabled cell phones automatically over WiFi. This could, essentially, eliminate the “I forgot my Bible at home” syndrome, and would allow me as the communicator to pick one translation so everyone can be on the same page, literally.

2. Open up a web-based communication channel that would allow me, as communicator, to see real-time feedback from the audience on my iPhone. It would need to be “closed” and identity-based to allow some accountability.

3. “What song did the band play tonight? It was that one song… You know, with the chorus and the guitar? That one.” Ever heard that as a ministry or worship leader? What if you provide a real-time tracking system for your worship songs that allowed iPhone users to be notified of each song played at your service and a link to iTunes to download immediately? If one were so inclined, you could have the entire night’s worship set in your iPhone before you leave the church.

4. Give me an app that generates tag clouds of the preachers and teachers I am listening to. Type in their name (or build voice-recognition into the app so it can automatically identify who it is you are listening to) and the app goes to work, collecting tags about the speaker from Amazon reviews, blogs, Twitter, etc.

This is “Web4” type stuff, requiring data that can “sense and react” to the real-world environment around us. It’s possible, just not right now. Ask Seth Godin–he knows.

So let’s continue to conversation that Tony started, right here. What technology and insights are you most excited about in the church world?

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Contributor: Justin Wise

I am a religious deviant who enjoys coffee, collared shirts, spending time with my wife and son, learning about quantum physics and creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ. Find more here: JustinWise.me

CML

1 Timothy 5:18
For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,"[a] and "The worker deserves his wages.

Michael Novotny

Here's the deal here... I REALLY like this article. Your list of four things are creative, useful, and as a developer, I would love to make them. I love the challenge and as I was reading them, I was already thinking of how I'd begin to work on it. That is just who I am as a developer...

But with that said, there were two things that, honestly, that kind of made me mad and got me thinking for a week now. Those two things are:

"I realize that most of these are currently completely unfeasible, but a geek can dream, can’t he?"

"This is 'Web4' type stuff, requiring data that can 'sense and react' to the real-world environment around us. It’s possible, just not right now. Ask Seth Godin–he knows."

I'm just going to say it like it is and it might sting a little bit... Personally, I think we are closer to these things than you [Justin] and Seth might think. I think the tools and the fundamentals are there, so what is holding it up? Innovation costs. It's as simple as that! And "cost" can be defined in several ways, but mostly it comes down to "costing" time and money. And usually to get someone's or a teams dedicated time, it takes money, so in a way, they are related. I spell all that out so I can make a point that relates to this and to me personally...

My time is very limited these days being a co-owner of a new business all the while learning to do what I do better, a loving husband, and an involved father of an 11 month old (I mention the age since that takes up even more time and attention). More than any other point in my life, time is at a premium for me. In order to get large slices of my time professionally, I need to be compensated for it. As the only income for our family, that compensation for me is money. And both personally and professionally I'd LOVE to work for the church by developing / creating these things that you have listed. But in my experience, the church is typically unwilling to fork over the cash to hire such a person(s) to create these things. The church could and should be helping lead these kind of technological advances / services, but in my opinion, it fails to see things like this as a justifiable cost. So the church doesn't lead in it and it just sits and waits for someone else to create it. And once it's created, if the cost is low enough, the church will start using it.

And to toss in the typical thought pattern I've seen / experienced... I DO believe that one should use their gifts within the church, but I think that the church typically expects these "gifts" to be just that... FREE! Sometimes, that's ok, here and there, if the person's gifts are offered. But to undertake these kind of things, it takes a LOT of time. To expect these kind of things to be created in "free time" is borderline taking advantage of people's gifts. And it's DEFINITELY NOT OK to EXPECT that these kind of undertakings be done on the cheap, again, unless it's offered. I'll reserve more on this for another time as it's a completely different subject...

All of the above boils down to this... The kind of applications / services you listed and many more ARE possible. I truly believe that. And if pieces of them are not currently available, I am just as confident that they could be invented / created given the resources to allow for it. So the technological base is there, the talent is out there, but the last question remaining is, is the church willing to make the investment? That, in my mind, is the TRUE holdup in this process...

Your move, church...