in the
DAVID LANG Author
Copyright Š 2010 by Thomas Nelson Publishers All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in Nashville, TN, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email: SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com Book Interior: Stephen Ramirez Editor: Mary Cosola Series Editor: Michael Lawson Produced in Association with Lawson Music Media, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request. ISBN: 1418541729 ISBN-13: 9781418541729 All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 — 13 12 11 10
Acknowledgements If this book proves helpful to you in your ministry, it will be because of the help and support I received from so many others. Mike Lawson, who first approached me about writing this book and who offered the encouragement needed to complete it. My employers at OakTree Software, who graciously let me scale back my workload at a time when there was no shortage of work to do so that I could complete the manuscript. The many ìMac ministers who responded to my questions and surveys. The pages of this book are seasoned with their wisdom, experience, and practical advice. The gurus on the Mac-Ministry e-mail list, who expertly answered all my technical questions about Mac hardware and software. Tim David of Apple Inc., who repeatedly pointed me to helpful resources and helped spark new ideas. My five wonderful children—David, Caleb, Bethany, Alexa, and Josiah—who patiently understood when their father had to tell them, “I can’t right now. I need to write.” My incredible wife, Lisa, who not only gave me the time I needed to write, but who also served as a sounding board, editor, and inexhaustible source of encouragement.
Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Macs in Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . Insanely Great Ministry . . . . . . Using Technology in Ministry . . Inspiration and Perspiration . . . Mac Ministers and Mac Literacy . My Mac Cred . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. ix . ix . xii xiv . xv xvi
Part One Inspiration: Discovering What’s Possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Chapter 1 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 In the Beginning Was the Word, So Start There Paper versus Electronic Bible Study . . . . . . . . Web-Based Bible Study Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . Bible Software for Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Web-Based Tools or Bible Software? . . . . . . . Choosing Bible-Study Software . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. 4 . 4 . 5 . 8 19 20
Chapter 2 Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Presenting to a Small Group . . . . . . . . . . . Presenting to a Congregation . . . . . . . . . . . Multimedia in Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ways to Use Multimedia in Worship . . . . . . Multimedia in Conjunction with the Sermon Presenting in Other Kinds of Services . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
23 25 27 30 34 43
Chapter 3 Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 From Desktop Publishing to Desktop Anything . Print Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publishing on CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publishing on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power of the Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
48 48 55 58 64
Contents
Chapter 4 Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Biblical Examples of Self-Promotion . . . . . Promoting Your Message in Print . . . . . . . PDF: Bridging Print and Electronic Media . Promoting Your Message on CD and DVD . Promoting Your Message on the Internet . . A Message Worth Hearing and Promoting .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
65 67 70 71 72 78
Chapter 5 Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Why We Fail to Involve Others in Ministry . Encouraging Participation in Ministry . . . . Creating Ministry Opportunities . . . . . . . Fill in the Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
81 85 87 90
Chapter 6 Practical Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Creative Fund-Raising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technical and Creative Services . . . . . . . . . . . . Oering Vocational Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Build Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loving Your Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Family Memories = Family Ministry . . . . . . . . . The Most Important Part of Your Ministry Team .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
Part Two Perspiration: Making It Happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
91 96 97 98 99 103 109 111
112
Chapter 7 Ten Basic Steps to In-Depth Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Look Up Your Passage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Read the Passage for Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Understand the Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Compare Multiple Translations . . . . . . . . . . . . . Examine Key People, Places, Concepts, and Events . Consult Related Passages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Record Your Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Examine Key Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Consult Commentaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organize Your Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Make It Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
114 114 115 116 118 121 123 124 127 128 130
v
vi
Contents
Chapter 8 Making an iMovie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Planning Your Movie . Getting Started . . . . . Modifying a Clip . . . . Adding a Soundtrack . Recording a Voiceover Fine-Tuning . . . . . . . Transitions . . . . . . . . Adding Titles . . . . . . Making It Your Own. .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
131 136 137 139 141 142 143 144 145
Chapter 9 Creating iPhoto Slideshows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating an iPhoto Slideshow. Eort Well Spent . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
149 151 154 155 159
Chapter 10 Creating iPhoto Cards, Calendars, and Photo Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Creating a Promotional Postcard Creating a Calendar . . . . . . . . . Creating a Photo Book . . . . . . . My One Gripe with iPhoto . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
160 162 169 171
Chapter 11 Making Music with GarageBand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . Working with Loops . . . . . . Adding Tracks. . . . . . . . . . Using the Arrange Track . . . Mixing Things Up . . . . . . . Sharing Your Masterpiece . . Going Beyond GarageBand .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
173 173 175 176 178 180 181
Chapter 12 Recording and Sharing a Podcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Recording Your Narration . . . Editing the Narration . . . . . . Adding Jingles. . . . . . . . . . . Adding Images and Chapters . Sharing Your Podcast . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
184 185 185 189 191
Contents
Chapter 13 Creating a DVD with iDVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Chapter 14 Designing a Website with iWeb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Adding a Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Blog Summary. . . . . . . . . . . Adding a Podcast . . . . . . . . . . . . Publishing Your Podcast . . . . . . . Adding Hypertext Links . . . . . . . Publishing Your Website . . . . . . . Submitting Your Podcast to iTunes
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
201 205 207 209 209 210 211
Chapter 15 Getting to iWork, Part 1: Creating Documents with Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Developing a Sermon Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Developing a Weekly Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Chapter 16 Getting to iWork, Part 2: Creating Presentations with Keynote . . . . . . . . . . 225 Working with Master Slides . . Building Your Presentation . . Delivering Your Presentation . Beyond the Basics . . . . . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
228 230 239 242
Chapter 17 Worship Presentation Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Flexibility Is Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chapter 18 Finding Help When You Need It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Apple Online Documentation and Training Apple Store Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding Third-Party Mac Applications . . . . Christian Macintosh User’s Group . . . . . . Macs in Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wisdom from Experienced Mac Ministers .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
248 249 250 250 251 251
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
vii
Introduction
I
t was a missionary Sunday at my church. The normal Sunday school classes had been suspended so we could hear reports from visiting missionaries and members of the congregation who had recently participated in short-term missions projects. This particular Sunday we were to hear from a couple doing missions work in the South Pacific and from a teenage girl who had done a summer mission to a poor village in Mexico. The professional missionaries had clearly done this before. They showed us a computerized slide presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows. I seem to recall having to wait a few minutes while they tried to get their Windows laptop to communicate with the projector, but eventually they were able to give their presentation. I’ve heard it said that power corrupts, and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely. That adage was certainly evident in the missionary couple’s presentation. It was hideous, with poorly chosen fonts, a garish combination of backgrounds and colored text, and the indiscriminate use of every conceivable slide transition effect (wipes, dissolves, page flips, spinning text, and so on). While their ministry was well worth hearing about, their presentation was woefully amateurish and distracting. Then it was the teenage girl’s turn. She went up, plugged her laptop into the projector, and was immediately up and running. She showed us a couple of videos a friend had created using photographs and footage taken on the trip. The music was engaging and perfectly in sync with the still images and video clips shown. A judicious use of subtle transitions and titles gave these videos a professional, polished look. All of this had the net effect of giving us a feel for what this young lady had experienced. We saw the muddy roads and drab buildings of the village. We saw the grinning faces of the children who were being helped both physically and spiritually. We saw the teenagers on the mission trip goofing off together and working hard to build houses. In a matter of minutes, we had shared in this student’s experience. As I thought about the contrast between these two presentations, it occurred to me that the missionaries’ awkward presentation had likely taken many hours to produce, while I’m confident the young lady’s videos had been produced in a fraction of the time.
Introduction
Was this just a case of the teenager and her friend having a better grasp on how to use technology than the grownups? I don’t think so. It was simply that the teenagers had the benefit of tools that helped them look professional and polished. These teenagers had Macs.
MACS IN MINISTRY This young lady and her friend were not professional ministers. Neither were they professional videographers. Yet they were able to use the Mac to help communicate a message and minister to others. This book is about Macs in Ministry: how you can use your Mac to minister to others. Whether your ministry consists of preaching, teaching, leading worship, youth ministry, missions, or serving behind-the-scenes, the Mac can help make your ministry easier and more effective. All computers promise to make life easier by saving you time and effort, but the Mac actually delivers on that promise. First of all, the Mac is easy enough for mere mortals to figure out how to use. Secondly, it requires less under-the-hood maintenance than other computers do. Thirdly, Macs just work, without the need for frequent restarts and reinstalls. All of these strengths combine to offer you a tool to help you accomplish your ministry goals, rather than distract you from ministry. Your Mac can make your ministry more effective because the Mac has been designed to make its users look good. Apple’s iLife suite of applications (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, and iWeb) makes it easy for rank amateurs to create professional-quality media such as photos, video, music, podcasts, and Web pages. Apple’s iWork suite includes office productivity programs like Pages for word-processing and page-layout, Numbers for data and spreadsheets, and Keynote for slide presentations. Yet, unlike most office productivity suites, iWork is designed to help you incorporate great design into your documents and presentations. Other Mac applications we’ll cover in this book are likewise designed to help you do quality work and present a professional image.
INSANELY GREAT MINISTRY In the Mac universe, the goal is never to be “good enough,” but to be “insanely great.” In fact, the desire to be insanely great is
ix
x
Introduction
central to Apple’s corporate culture (see sidebar “Mac Literacy: Good Enough or Insanely Great?”). Can your Mac help you to have an insanely great ministry? Sure it can, but an insanely great ministry ultimately depends on three things, none of which is driven by a microchip.
Mac Literacy: Good Enough or Insanely Great? When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was overseeing the development of the first Macintosh computer, he repeatedly inspired the Mac team to create a computer that would be “insanely great”: something so forward-thinking, it would eventually change the world. In 1984 when the first Mac was released, most computers used a command-line interface in which the computer user would enter arcane text commands that had to be memorized. The Mac introduced the graphical user interface typical of most computers today. It was so easy to use that many computer geeks dismissed it as a toy, but eventually the innovations popularized by the Mac would forever change the way people interact with computers. The Mac did indeed prove to be insanely great. When Microsoft eventually released Windows 95, some argued that PCs were now “good enough” to be considered comparable to Macs. Whether or not that was true can be debated, but the contrast in standards is striking. Mac users expect their computer and its software to be insanely great. They’re never satisfied with good enough, and it shows in the hardware and software that gets developed for them.
Sacrificial Service When Jesus commissioned Peter to lead His church, He commanded Peter repeatedly to “feed” and “shepherd” His sheep (John 21:15–17). James, the brother of Jesus, defined “pure and undefiled religion” as taking care of “orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). Paul taught that “Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). Finally, Jesus made it clear that Christian life and ministry are about serving rather than being served: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)
Clear Communication Sacrificial service must be coupled with clear communication of the gospel. After all, we don’t just serve others in order
Introduction
to be do-gooders, but to exalt the name of Christ and to reveal His love. Jesus said, “Whoever gives just a cup of cold water . . . because he is a disciple . . . will never lose his reward!” (Matthew 10:42). Jesus also commissioned us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). In other words, the ministry of making disciples requires clearly communicating whose disciples we are to become and how we are to follow. Similarly, Paul underscored the need for clear communication of the gospel when he wrote: For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? . . . So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ” (Romans 10:13-17). An insanely great ministry is one that clearly communicates the message about Christ, the good news that any who call on His name can be saved from the penalty and power of sin.
The Work of the Holy Spirit No matter how ardently we serve or how eloquently we preach, the success of our ministry ultimately depends on how the Holy Spirit works in it, through it, and sometimes even in spite of it. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44); and Paul made it clear that “the natural man does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually” (1 Corinthians 2:14). In other words, the hardness of the human heart can only be overcome by the power of the Spirit. We are blind to the truth until He enables us to see it. When I was in college, I was involved in a ministry that was strongly focused on evangelism and prided itself on finding the best methods of communicating the gospel to unbelievers. It was a wonderful ministry and a wonderful experience for me, but one thing always struck me as odd. Whenever they would introduce us to some new evangelism method or technique, they would give us some statistic like, “Forty percent of those who hear this evangelistic presentation make professions of faith.” I remember
xi
xii
Introduction
thinking when I would hear these statistics that I didn’t realize the Holy Spirit graded on a curve! We can do many things to make our ministries more effective. We can ramp up our service, improve our communication, make better use of technology, and learn new methods. Most of this book is dedicated to helping you do exactly that. Yet ultimately, the effectiveness of our ministries depends on God. Jesus said, “The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me” (John 15:5). As you use your insanely great computer to help you in your ministry, don’t lose sight of the fact that an insanely great ministry “does not depend on human will or effort, but on God who shows mercy” (Romans 9:16).
USING TECHNOLOGY IN MINISTRY Throughout church history, Christians have embraced new technologies as a means of spreading the gospel. Roman roads enabled the first Christians to evangelize an empire. Christians led the way in moving from the scroll to the codex (bound books as we know them today), probably because books were more economical, portable, and durable. When Gutenberg’s printing press made the mass production of books and pamphlets easier and more affordable than ever, Christians embraced the new technology to increase circulation of the Bible, carry on theological discussions, and evangelize previously unreached parts of the world. More recently, Christians have utilized air travel, the telegraph, radio, television, computers, and the Internet to spread the gospel and minister to others. Yet at every step along the way, some Christians have questioned whether these technological advances were indeed a good thing. After all, each new advance brought with it unintended consequences, created new problems and new opportunities for sin, and was used by non-Christians to advance their own agendas and ideas. Today, new technologies are being introduced at such a dizzying pace that their long-term benefits and drawbacks are increasingly hard to discern. This book will expose you to a wide variety of ways a particular technology—Macintosh computers and software—can be used in ministry. It will also introduce you to a wide range of people and ministries who are using Macs in innovative ways. Which methods you choose to adopt and which examples you
Introduction
choose to follow will depend on your own philosophy of ministry and technology. Don’t know what your “philosophy of ministry and technology” is? Start by considering the following examples. Which one sounds the most like you?
The Technophile Steve is a 23-year-old seminary student who is serving as a youth minister at a church of about 400 members. He barely has two nickels to rub together, but somehow he owns a MacBook and an iPhone. He has set up a Web page for the youth group and frequently blogs about his latest seminary class or the last movie he watched. He uses Twitter to give up-to-the-minute reports on what he is doing and uses instant messaging to keep in constant communication with the kids from the youth group. At youth-group meetings, Steve loves to illustrate his points with video clips and snippets of popular songs. He’s very concerned with being relevant and engaging. In fact, he worries that the church is losing young people because the worship service and sermon might not hold their interest. He is constantly preaching the virtues of new technology as a way to improve outreach and pushes the church staff to get up-to-date.
High-Tech Prep, Low-Tech Preaching Mike is the 49-year-old senior pastor of the church. He’s no technophobe; he uses computers all the time. He uses e-mail to communicate and Bible software to prepare his sermons. He sends his sermon outline to the church secretary so she can prepare the print bulletin. He may even use instant messaging occasionally. Yet when it comes to the weekly sermon, he sees solid content as far more important than flashy delivery. In fact, he worries that too many visuals will distract his congregation from the message he is trying to preach. He’s suspicious of churches that focus too much on entertainment and not enough on sound doctrine. He’s not quite sure what to do with Steve, his enthusiastic youth minister. On the one hand, he admires how Steve uses technology to make himself so accessible to the kids. On the other hand, he wonders if all these brief tweets and IMs are leading to a fragmented, disjointed form of communication, which he feels ultimately results in shallow relationships. Is the Facebook generation capable of deep conversation and clear theological understanding? Sometimes he wonders.
xiii
xiv
Introduction
The Presenter Josh is the 32-year-old assistant pastor of the church. He’s not nearly as connected as Steve, but not quite as suspicious of new technology as Mike. He preaches from time to time in relief of Mike, and when he does, he uses a video projector to display bullet points and the occasional video clip. While Mike isn’t crazy about Josh’s high-tech delivery style, he tolerates it so long as Josh is careful not to let flash get in the way of content. Most of the congregation responds positively to Josh’s preaching, and he feels that the visuals help hold their interest. Still, he sometimes wonders if they’re really listening to what he is saying or merely focusing on his bullet points. He therefore sees some validity in Mike’s concerns, but he nevertheless feels the advantages of his presentation style outweigh the disadvantages. While these three characters are fictional, they represent a spectrum of attitudes toward technology that can be found in any church or ministry setting. Some, like Steve, embrace all the latest technologies uncritically, without any thought to their potential downsides. Others, like Mike, embrace technology to a point but worry that too much emphasis on it will have a variety of negative side effects. Still others, like Josh, fall somewhere in between, cautiously adopting an extensive use of technology. Wherever you fall along this spectrum, I would encourage you to think through how best to use technology in general, and your Mac in particular, to enhance your ministry. Some of the ideas in this book may appeal to you, but if they don’t fit well with your approach to ministry, or if the people to whom you minister will not respond well to them, you should avoid them. Don’t get caught up in the use of technology merely for its own sake, and don’t avoid it just because you’re suspicious of it. Instead, strive to use technology in a way that meshes well with your theological commitments and ministry goals. You’re not backward if you decide not to use multimedia to enhance your sermon, and you’re not necessarily being an effective preacher if you do.
INSPIRATION AND PERSPIRATION Thomas Edison famously remarked that genius is “one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” The goal of this book is to help you use your Mac to become a ministry genius by
Introduction
giving you the inspiration you need and reducing the amount of perspiration required. Part One of this book will offer you inspiration by showing you what’s possible. In it, we’ll explore how your Mac can be used in six distinct and alliterative areas of ministry. Preparation Discover resources to help you study the Bible and organize a lesson or sermon. Presentation Learn how to present your message in a way that enhances communication. Publication Find out how to publish your message for a wider audience: in print; on the Web, CD, or DVD; or even through iTunes. Promotion See how you can publicize ministry activities, communicate with your congregation or supporters, and reach out to the community. Participation Get other people involved in the creation of all this content, helping to develop their gifts and giving them a broader understanding of what “ministry” entails. Practical Needs Use your Mac to develop innovative fundraisers, service projects, and outreach opportunities. Part Two of this book is about perspiration: showing you how to make all these things happen. Here we’ll take a single Bible passage (the story of David and Bathsheba) and use it in a series of step-by-step projects: preparing a sermon, presenting a lesson, publishing it in a variety of ways, and so on. Once you’ve worked your way through these sample projects, you’ll be able to customize them for your own lessons and ministry activities.
MAC MINISTERS AND MAC LITERACY Throughout each chapter, you’ll benefit from the examples of various Mac Ministers. These are folks who are using Macs to enhance their own ministries. These include pastors, youth workers, Sunday school teachers, missionaries, laypeople, churches, and parachurch ministries. The best form of inspiration comes from real-world examples, and the best advice comes from those who have been there. So you’ll find plenty of these Mac Minister profiles.
xv
xvi
Introduction
You’ll also find brief lessons in Mac Literacy. These lessons will expose you to interesting Mac facts and trivia, history lessons about Apple and the Mac, and things you need to know to avoid looking like a Mac newbie. (See sidebar “Mac Literacy: It’s a Mac, not a MAC.”)
Mac Literacy: It’s a Mac, not a MAC One sure sign of a non-Mac user or a recent switcher is that they will write MAC in all caps. Trust me, it’s a Mac, not a MAC. PC is written in all caps because it is an abbreviation for Personal Computer. Mac, on the other hand, is merely a shortened form of the word Macintosh. Written in all caps, MAC looks like an acronym for a three-word phrase, which, of course, it is not. So don’t look like a Mac newbie. Write Mac not MAC!
MY MAC CRED The Mac Literacy lessons are designed to give you Mac credibility, so it’s only fair that I should tell you a little about my own Mac cred. Put another way, if you’re going to read a book about how to get more out of your Mac, you want to know the guy writing it has something to teach you. So here’s a brief account of my own experience with using Macs in ministry. I bought my first Mac in January of 1992 as a student in seminary. After telling a fellow student that I was looking to buy a computer, he began “evangelizing” me to my need for a Mac and dragged me to a demo of a pre-release Mac Bible software program called Accordance. When I saw this somewhat eccentric programmer using a Mac to do sophisticated searches of the Greek New Testament, I was hooked. “This,” I thought, “is what I want to do with a computer!” I stretched my budget as far as I could to get a Mac Performa 600. I used that computer to write papers for school, develop a homegroup curriculum for my church, and even run a side business called Cyrano’s Custom Calligraphy. Eventually, the work I had done for my church turned into a full-time job ghost-writing books for the senior pastor. The church supplied me with QuarkXPress, a professional (and expensive!) page-layout program, and Accordance Bible software, which officially had been released. Not long after I sent in my registration card for the Bible software, I got a call asking if I’d like to work for the company
Introduction
part-time! It was a local company named OakTree Software, which was so small at that point they were willing to approach a local kid who had bought their software. I had no prior experience in software development and only a couple years of experience using Macs, but they assured me they would teach me everything I needed to know. I started working for them from home on a part-time basis and have been with the company ever since. I started out converting e-texts of Bibles and commentaries into the modules that work with the Bible software, and I eventually moved on to helping design the program interface, writing tutorials and online help, developing a company blog, and even creating our own custom Bible-study materials. I also got to demonstrate the software at numerous MacWorld expos, conferences for biblical scholars, pastors’ conferences, and training seminars. My work for OakTree on Accordance has taught me a great deal about the Mac, a great deal about the Bible, and a great deal about the needs of people in all types of ministry. About the time I started working for OakTree, my new boss— the same programmer I had seen at the seminary a couple of years earlier—invited me to come to a local meeting of the Christian Macintosh User’s Group (CMUG). He had been asked to participate in a panel discussion with CMUG’s president, the president of a company that developed church-management software for the Mac, and a woman who wrote books and articles about using Macs in desktop publishing. CMUG was based in California and had monthly meetings there, but they also had a worldwide membership. CMUG published a monthly newsletter with tips for using Macs in ministry, and they also had an e-mail list called the Mac-Ministry List. Originally designed as a way to support Macusing missionaries who might not have local Mac tech support, the Mac-Ministry List has grown into an online community of Christian Mac users. After I attended my first CMUG meeting, I became a member, began writing articles for the newsletter, and became an active contributor to the Mac-Ministry e-mail list. I’ve been involved with CMUG since 1995 and have been its vice president and maintained its Website for the better part of a decade. Eventually, the local CMUG chapters kind of fizzled out, and the print newsletter became too difficult to produce and distribute, but the Mac-Ministry List is still very active and CMUG continues to have a Web presence at www.cmug.org. My work on Accordance and my involvement in CMUG have given me a broad view of how Macs are used in ministry, but I’ve
xvii
xviii
Introduction
also personally used Macs in a wide range of ministry activities. These activities include leading worship and doing special music, teaching Sunday school classes and leading small groups, working with high school and college students, and even helping with a Bible study for residents of a nursing home. In short, I’ve been around Macs for a long time, and I’ve seen firsthand how incredibly helpful they can be in ministry. Hopefully that gives me enough cred to write a book on the subject! Okay, that’s enough about me. This book is really about you. Let’s explore how your Mac can help you be more effective in your ministry.
Part One Inspiration: Discovering What’s Possible
C HA P TER 1
Preparation
A
s I said in the Introduction, your Mac is designed to make you look good. iPhoto lets you take digital photos and turn them into great looking cards, calendars, slideshows, and Web pages. iMovie can help you turn home movies into first-rate productions. Keynote lets you create great-looking presentations while discouraging you from going overboard with text effects and transitions. Pages goes beyond word processing to help you create stunning page layouts. At every turn, it’s as if you have your own team of designers helping you to look polished and professional. Yet all of this design help is useless without great content to share. iPhoto will sit unused until you actually import some of your photos into it. iMovie just consumes disk space until you upload a movie to edit. Without your text, Pages layouts are filled with such stimulating phrases as “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet” (see sidebar “Mac Literacy: Why ‘Lorem ipsum’?”). And what good is iTunes without some actual tunes? Good design and a polished presentation can enhance good content, but if the content isn’t there, all that design is like frosting without any cake. Before we see how your Mac can help you present your message, let’s look at some ways your Mac can help you prepare your message. In other words, let’s learn how to put together some great content before we focus on how best to deliver it.
4
Macs in the Ministry
Mac Literacy: Why “Lorem ipsum”? Before you enter your own content, Pages and iWeb layouts are filled with the modified Latin text beginning “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.” Why is that? Lorem ipsum is the standard dummy text used by the printing industry. This text is used as a placeholder to show how text and graphic elements will combine in a particular page layout. Although the Latin text is derived from an ancient ethical treatise by the Roman orator Cicero, it has been modified and is not intended to be meaningful. The presence of meaningful text in a page layout would actually distract us from looking at the layout itself, so at some point, a wise printer took an obscure Latin passage, modified it somewhat, and used it as a placeholder. Presumably no one else wanted to go to the trouble of chopping up perfectly good Latin, so the text of Lorem ipsum became a kind of standard—one that even made the transition to digital media through font samples and page-layout programs. It would appear that Lorem ipsum is with us to stay.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, SO START THERE For Christians, any message worth communicating begins with the Bible, which we believe to be the very Word of God. All preparation for ministry—whatever that ministry happens to be—must therefore begin with the Bible. So how can our Macs help us study the Bible? Through Webbased Bible-study tools and powerful Bible software programs. Which resources you choose will depend on your needs and your budget. In this chapter, I’ll survey the options that are currently available and expose you to what’s possible with each one. In Chapter 7, I’ll actually describe the process of using Bible software to prepare a sermon or lesson. You’ll also find a demonstration video in the Bible Software folder of the accompanying DVD. Before I list the resources available for studying the Bible on your Mac, let me talk for just a moment about why you would want to use your Mac to study the Bible.
PAPER VERSUS ELECTRONIC BIBLE STUDY I love books. I love the way they feel in your hands. I love the smell of the paper. I love the way they look on the shelf. I love the
Chapter 1
Preparation
experience of lounging somewhere reading them. However, I don’t love having to shuffle between a half-dozen reference works spread out across a desk. I don’t love scanning the small print of a paper concordance in an attempt to find some half-remembered verse. I don’t love flipping back and forth between the main text and the index, or the main text and the end notes, or the main text and a glossary. Finally, I don’t love lugging a bunch of books around. Doing in-depth Bible study with paper books is cumbersome. It takes time and effort to find the information you’re looking for, and the effort required can actually interfere with the quality of your study. If you’ve ever sat at your desk and thought about consulting a book on your shelf, only to decide that it would be too much trouble to get up, you know exactly what I mean. The beauty of doing Bible study or other research electronically is that it is easier to find the information you need, which in turn enables you to consult more resources and dig deeper than you otherwise might. That said, paper still has some advantages. When reading an entire book, most people still prefer the experience of curling up with a good book to staring at a computer screen for hours on end. With electronic books, it can be so easy to access the relevant sections that it likewise becomes easy to take passages out of context or miss an author’s wider argument. Paper books, on the other hand, encourage you to read from beginning to end, or at least to skim forward and back enough to get the broader context of an argument. In the final analysis, paper books are best for extended reading, but electronic books are best for consulting reference works and doing nonlinear research. Put another way: When you’re doing your daily devotions, you might want to reach for your print Bible; but when you’re engaged in serious Bible study, you’ll probably want to start up your Mac.
WEB-BASED BIBLE STUDY TOOLS So many Web-based tools for studying the Bible are available today that it would be impossible for me to survey them all. All I can do is expose you to a few of the best and most popular. The primary advantage of Web-based tools is that you can get free access to some top-notch resources, including modern Bible translations, study Bibles, dictionaries, language tools, and
5
6
Macs in the Ministry
commentaries. If you’re working with a limited budget, Webbased tools will become an indispensable resource.
Bible Gateway www.biblegateway.com The Bible Gateway lets you look up and read passages in a wide variety of Bible texts and translations (see Fig. 1.01). You can search for passages by verse, do basic word and phrase searches, or find passages related to a particular topic. A modest selection of commentaries, dictionaries, and reading plans is also available. You can even access a handful of audio Bibles. FIG. 1.01: The Bible Gateway Website allows you to compare different versions of the same Bible passages side by side.
Blue Letter Bible www.blueletterbible.org The Blue Letter Bible brings together a powerful collection of study tools. Enter your passage on the home page to view that passage in the translation of your choice. Beside each verse, a series of icons gives you access to a variety of Bible study tools.
왘 왘 왘 왘
The K button shows cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. The C button brings up a Strong’s Concordance giving information about the Greek or Hebrew words being translated. The L button gives a Listing of commentaries on the passage, including some modern Bible teaching and even audio and video resources. The I button provides links to related Images.
Chapter 1
왘 왘
Preparation
The V button lets you see the verse in every available Version. The D button lists Bible Dictionary entries for words in the passage.
You can also access these and other resources by clicking the links in the contents bar to the left or using the search fields on the right (see Fig. 1.02). FIG. 1.02: A page from the Blue Letter Bible site showing the Biblestudy tools on the left and the search options on the right.
YouVersion www.YouVersion.com YouVersion offers a pleasant reading experience coupled with a social-networking component. Featuring an attractive layout and simple design, YouVersion’s basic view offers one Bible translation on the left of the page, with a collection of Bible study tools to the right (see Fig. 1.03). You can also opt for a view that replaces the Bible study tools with a second Bible translation. YouVersion offers a wide selection of translations. The Bible Study Tools section includes a daily reading plan, a journal option that can only be viewed by you, and a Community Contributions section that acts as a sort of running commentary. You can even add your own contributions (including images and video) and share them with the rest of the community. You can follow members whose contributions you find helpful, or tag the contributions you “like.”
7
8
Macs in the Ministry
FIG. 1.03: The YouVersion Website offers a socialnetworking component with its Bible-study aids.
YouVersion also lets you search for keywords, add tags or bookmarks to passages, and copy links to passages that you can add to your own documents or Web pages. YouVersion even offers an iPhone app.
BIBLE SOFTWARE FOR MAC When I was in seminary, I used to work nights cleaning office buildings and churches, including the church I happened to attend at the time. I remember dusting the shelves of my senior pastor’s office and lingering over all the books on the shelves. There were numerous Bible translations, commentary sets, dictionaries, lexicons, literary works, Bible atlases, systematic theologies, and more. This pastor was an avid reader, and after twenty years in ministry he had amassed quite a library. As a young seminarian, I dreamed of having a library like that some day. Today, I have access to a library at least as large as my pastor’s, and it all resides on the hard drive of my MacBook! That’s the beauty of Bible-study software. It’s designed to give you instant access to all the material anyone in ministry might need: multiple translations, original language texts, lexicons, commentaries, and even maps, timelines, and images. Mac users have always enjoyed some of the best Bible software tools available. Here’s a brief rundown of the commercial, free, and shareware programs currently available.
Chapter 1
Preparation
Commercial Applications At the risk of stating the obvious, commercial Bible software programs are those that are purchased by the user, and the companies that produce them rely on product sales to stay in business. Commercial Bible programs usually cost more than other alternatives, but they also tend to oer more features, better support, and a greater breadth of materials, particularly modern Bibles and study aids that need to be licensed from their respective publishers. There are currently four commercial Bible programs available for the Mac: Accordance Developer: OakTree Software, Inc. Website: www.accordancebible.com Current Version: 8.4 Cost: $49 and up Accordance Bible software is a full-featured commercial Bible program developed exclusively for the Mac. You can use it to do everything from basic Bible study to in-depth scholarly research. The Accordance interface is designed around the idea that the text of the Bible should be the central focus of your study. The main Bible view is designed to let you search by words or verses, as well as display multiple Bible texts, commentaries, and user notes in parallel panes (see Fig. 1.04). FIG. 1.04: Accordance Bible software is designed to keep the user’s focus on the text of the Bible.
9
10
Macs in the Ministry
The Resource palette at the right lets you quickly access commentaries, dictionaries, lexicons, and a large library of study aids. Searching any of these resources is built right into the top part of the tabs in which they’re displayed. You can also instantly search any resource by amplifying to it. You do this by selecting something you’re looking at—a word or phrase in an English translation, a place name on a map, Greek or Hebrew text, or whatever—and then choosing the resource you want to consult from the Resource palette. The resource you choose will immediately be opened and searched for the text you had selected. This kind of quick look-up capability results in a workflow that keeps you focused on the text of the Bible. You run across a word you want to look up in a dictionary, so you instantly pull up the dictionary, get the information you need, and return to the text. Then you come across a place name you want to find on a map, so you click a button, work with the map, and return to the text. Then you find the name of a person you want to place on a Timeline, so you click another button, view the Timeline, and return to the text. All of these resources are kept neatly arranged in tabs, so you can always get back to your passage of study. Accordance offers a wide range of Bible study materials in a variety of different packages, but most people begin with one of Accordance’s primary collections. Choose some level of the Library Collection for a wide selection of English Bibles and study aids, some level of the Scholar’s Collection if you need Greek and Hebrew texts and lexicons, or some bundle of the two collections if you need both. Other collections, add-ons, and custom options are also available. The least expensive way to get Accordance is to purchase the application for $49 and download a free collection of starter modules. iLumina Developer: Tyndale House Website: www.ilumina.com Current Version: 2.6 Cost: $89.99 Most Bible programs tend to emphasize tools for studying texts. They may offer some multimedia resources like maps, timelines, and images, but the bulk of your time is spent searching the Bible, consulting dictionaries, and reading commentaries.
Chapter 1
Preparation
iLumina is the opposite. It offers some text-based study tools, but its main focus is on multimedia resources. What kind of multimedia resources? You name it. iLumina has pictures. It has a basic timeline. It has maps. It has videos of Biblical events like the showdown between David and Goliath. It has 3D reconstructions of first-century Jerusalem and Herod’s temple. It even has some instructional videos narrated by an archaeologist. All of this media-rich content is presented in a custom-built interface that is relatively simple but not particularly Mac-like. A Bible view gives you the option of viewing the text of Tyndale’s own New Living Translation, the King James Bible, or both side by side. A portion of the window is dedicated to showing media related to your passage, and another portion lets you view commentaries or cross-references (see Fig. 1.05). FIG. 1.05: iLumina’s Bible view lets you read a passage in the New Living Translation and King James Version.
Other views include an Encyclopedia view for looking up dictionary articles and topics, a Time Travel view that shows a Timeline, and the Media Center, where you can explore all of iLumina’s media content directly (see Fig. 1.06). iLumina is designed to meet the needs of those who are doing basic Bible study and who may not know how to study the Bible. It therefore includes just two Bible translations, a relatively small number of commentaries and reference material, and a huge amount of visual content. If you want to do in-depth study and need a large library of resources, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
11
12
Macs in the Ministry
Yet even if you do choose another program as your main study tool, iLumina’s rich media content and educational materials, coupled with its low cost, make it a worthwhile supplement to the other programs listed here. FIG. 1.06: iLumina’s Media Center lets you explore 3D virtual tours of the First Century Jerusalem Temple.
Logos Bible Software Developer: Logos Research Systems, Inc. Website: www.logos.com; www.macbiblesoftware.com Current Version: pre-release alpha of Logos 4 Cost: $149.95 and up Logos Bible software (also known as the Libronix Digital Library System) places an emphasis on working with large libraries of electronic books. Originally developed for Windows and released in 1992, Logos is notable for offering the largest selection of Biblical and theological books currently available in Bible study software. In March of 2005, Logos announced that they would soon release a native Mac version of their software. This initial porting effort, which Logos had outsourced to another company, faced repeated delays and was eventually released in December of 2008 as Libronix DLS for Mac. This program lacked many of the features of the Windows version, including user notes, highlighting, effective window management, and some advanced original language searches. Meanwhile, Logos had embarked on a major rewrite of their Windows product (Logos 4), and the existing Mac product was in danger of falling further and further behind. Logos therefore decided to abandon its existing Mac product and begin developing Logos 4 for both Windows and Mac.
Chapter 1
Preparation
In November of 2009, Logos released Logos 4. The Windows application currently features a revamped interface but is missing many of the features of Logos 3 for Windows. At the time of this writing, the Mac version of Logos 4 is a pre-release alpha, which is extremely limited, but it does give Mac users a glimpse into where Logos is heading. For the time being, Mac users wanting to use Logos 4 must use the Windows version in a virtualization program like Parallels or Fusion. Mac users can also request an install disc for the older Libronix DLS for Mac and use that. The Logos interface places a great deal of emphasis on broad searches and automated reports (see Figs. 1.07 and 1.08). The screenshots shown in Figures 1.07 and 1.08 are of Libronix DLS for Mac. The pre-release alpha of Logos 4 has a dierent look but the same kinds of reports. FIG. 1.07: The Logos Passage Guide (left) organizes resources related to your passage of study (top right).
FIG. 1.08: The Logos Exegetical Guide lets you delve into each word in your passage.
13
14
Macs in the Ministry
Logos offers a series of base packages ranging in price from $149.95 to $4,290.00. Logos encourages customers to purchase the largest package they can afford in order to get the best value. QuickVerse Developer: Findex.com, Inc. Website: www.quickverse.com Current Version: 3.0 Cost: $59.95 and up QuickVerse has long been a popular Bible program for Windows. A Mac version of the program was released in the summer of 2005. While the Mac program retains the QuickVerse name and some similar functionality, it essentially is a separate program developed for the Mac. The Mac program therefore has a more Mac-like interface than its Windows counterpart, yet it lacks many of the features of the Windows program. QuickVerse opens with a window that has four tabs. The Library tab lists all your available books (see Fig. 1.09). Doubleclicking a book in the list will open that book in a separate book window. You can also drag a book into an existing book window to view two or more books in the same window. The Find tab is where you perform searches of your QuickVerse library. You can choose to search for text or verse references, to search the full text or just the article titles, to select a portion of the Bible to search, and the type of search performed. You can also choose which books you want to be searched (choices are All Books, Open Books, the Current Book, or a custom selection of Specific Books). Searches are performed relatively quickly, and the results are displayed in a pane at the bottom of the window. Single-clicking a specific occurrence causes it to be displayed in context in a Preview drawer to the right (see Fig. 1.10). Double-clicking an occurrence causes it to be displayed in a separate Book window. FIG. 1.09 (L): The Library tab in QuickVerse lists your available books. FIG. 1.10 (R): The QuickVerse Find tab displays the results of a search.
Chapter 1
Preparation
QuickVerse uses a Strong’s Concordance to give some access to the Greek and Hebrew behind the King James, but it does not appear to offer direct access to the Greek and Hebrew texts. The 2005 version of QuickVerse for Mac is incompatible with Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) or above. An upgrade released in 2007 fixed this problem, but users of the first release must pay for the upgrade to use QuickVerse under Leopard. The 2007 version of QuickVerse for Mac also added new features such as user notes and the ability to access Web pages and PDFs from within the program. In the summer of 2009, Findex released version 3.0 of their QuickVerse for Mac engine. This version adds no new features, but reportedly fixes a number of known problems with searching. QuickVerse Mac is currently available in three boxed editions ranging in price from $59.95 to $349.95.
Shareware and Freeware Applications Shareware and freeware Bible programs generally are developed by individuals who are not relying on sale of the software for their primary incomes. These developers could be anyone from a self-trained hobbyist learning to program to professional programmers developing Bible software in their off hours. The advantage of shareware programs is that they are generally inexpensive, and freeware programs are, of course, free. The primary disadvantage is that these programs typically are not able to offer modern translations and study aids (with some notable exceptions). The other major disadvantage is that ongoing development of the software cannot always be the developer’s top priority. The following list of shareware and freeware programs may not be exhaustive, but it should cover most of the programs currently available. Bible Reader Free Developer: Hiddenfield Software Website: www.hiddenfield.com/bible-reader Current Version: 0.99 Cost: Free Bible Reader Free is a basic program that lets you view and search a handful of public domain English Bible texts, including a version of the King James with Strong’s numbers (see Fig. 1.11). You can do basic word searches, but you cannot use wildcards or Boolean commands. You can create notes in the form of simple text documents, but the program does not appear to keep track of these.
15
16
Macs in the Ministry
FIG. 1.11: Bible Reader Free allows users to search and view some public domain English Bibles.
Bible Reader Free’s unique feature is Swaps, which Hiddenfield calls “a user-definable list of words or phrases that will replace matched words in the text.” In other words, you can specify that every occurrence of “thee” in a Bible text will be replaced with “you.” When you view that text, you’ll see “you” where “thee” would normally appear. Bible Desktop Developer: The Sword Project Website: www.crosswire.org/bibledesktop Current Version: 1.6 Cost: Free Bible Desktop is an open-source program written in the Java programming language to run on various platforms, including Mac OS X. It reads modules created by the Sword Project, which you can download for free from www.crosswire.org. Most of these are older, public-domain works, but a few modern Bibles are available, including the English Standard Version. The Sword Project also offers a large number of foreign-language resources. Surprisingly powerful, Bible Desktop lets you view multiple Bibles in parallel (see Fig. 1.12). It can even show the differences between them. A version of the King James Bible with Strong’s numbers enables you to see the Greek and Hebrew words behind the English. Bible Desktop also offers some powerful search options, which you can enter using a somewhat cryptic search syntax or by selecting options in an Advanced Search dialog.
Chapter 1
Preparation
FIG. 1.12: Bible Desktop is a surprisingly powerful freeware program.
iBible Developer: Leif Wright Website: www.leifwright.com/page5/page5.html Current Version: 2.7 Cost: Free iBible is a very basic Bible program that has not been updated in quite some time. It oers the King James Version and World English Bible translations, a Strong’s number view, and a simple word-search capability. MacSword Developer: The Sword Project Website: www.macsword.com Current Version: 2.0 Cost: Free MacSword, like Bible Desktop, is based on the open-source Sword Project and is capable of reading Sword modules. Although not currently as full-featured as Bible Desktop, MacSword features a more attractive Mac-like interface. MacSword 1.0 was released in March of 2004. Perhaps its greatest strengths were its simple interface and its attractive text formatting. It received incremental updates over the years, and version 1.4.4 is still supported and available for download.
17
18
Macs in the Ministry
In October of 2009, MacSword 2.0 was released. This new version looks less like an upgrade than it does like a completely different program. The text-formatting flexibility has been lost, and there are some not so Mac-like aspects like the new “Mod Options” menu. On the other hand, MacSword 2.0 features a much more integrated and flexible Workspace interface. Within the Workspace, you can open and view multiple resources in different tabs. You can also view multiple Bible texts and commentaries in parallel panes within the same tab (see Fig. 1.13). MacSword also lets you access Strong’s number information, perform reasonably powerful searches, and create your own notes in the form of personal modules. FIG. 1.13: MacSword lets you view multiple Bible texts and commentaries in parallel.
Online Bible Developer: Ken Hamel (deceased) and successors Website: www.online-bible.com Current Version: 4.1 Cost: Free to Download, $39.95 or $79.95 on CD-ROM Online Bible is the trusted old guard of Mac Bible shareware. A Macintosh search engine designed to work with the large number of modules created by the makers of Online Bible for DOS (and eventually Windows), Online Bible for Mac soon established itself as one of the most full-featured Bible programs available for the Mac. The basic program along with a number of public domain works could be downloaded from the Internet for free. If you wanted a larger library of materials, you could purchase a CD-ROM at $39.95 or $79.95. The more expensive of these included a handful of modern translations.
Chapter 1
Preparation
Unfortunately, Online Bible’s transition to Mac OS X has been extremely slow. No one expects a shareware developer to be the first to adopt new technology, but it was four years before an OS X-native version of Online Bible was made available, and even that was a beta release. By that time, many Online Bible users had moved on to other programs. This slowness was apparently due in part to the developer’s ongoing battle with cancer. Ken Hamel passed away in 2009, but before his death, he reportedly handed off development of Online Bible to others. In spite of all this, Online Bible for Mac remains one of the more full-featured shareware Bible programs available. You can access a wide range of materials, easily create your own notes, and take advantage of reasonably powerful search capabilities (see Fig. 1.14). FIG. 1.14: Some of the features in Online Bible for Mac include powerful search functions and the ability to create your own notes.
WEB-BASED TOOLS OR BIBLE SOFTWARE? As you can see from this survey of Web-based Bible-study tools and Bible software programs, Mac users currently have a lot to choose from. So which should you choose? For those with a limited budget, Web-based tools such as those listed above offer free access to a wide range of translations and some pretty powerful study tools. With such quality resources available for free, why would anyone pay for Bible software? One obvious downside of Web-based tools is that you have to be connected to the Internet to use them. If you have a laptop
19
20
Macs in the Ministry
and you rely heavily on Web-based tools, doing your Bible study at the local park or while you’re sitting in a doctor’s waiting room may not be an option. If inclement weather interferes with your satellite connection or a hurricane knocks out your cable connection (a real possibility here in Florida!), you’ll be forced to do without those resources. Another downside to Web-based tools is their lack of speed. First, we all know that the quality of our experience using the Internet depends heavily on the speed of our Internet connection. Yet, even if you have a blazing fast connection, a Web-based interface can be inherently slow and cumbersome. For example, a Website might offer access to the latest Bible translation, but you may find that you can view it only one chapter at a time. Turning to multiple passages will therefore involve a process of navigating back and forth from some table of contents or verse lookup interface. Websites are designed to break information up into digestible chunks and give you a means of navigating to the bits you want. The speed and convenience of your study will depend on how much you have to jump from page to page to page. Finally, Web-based Bible study does not have the advantage of a consistent interface. You may access Bibles from one Website that is very slick and well designed, then consult a commentary from another Website that is more cumbersome to work with. Since no one Website will have it all, any in-depth study you do will require visiting multiple Websites and dealing with multiple interfaces. As sophisticated as Web-based tools have become in recent years, these drawbacks are enough to lead many people to look for a more streamlined user experience. In most cases, Bible software offers that. Then, of course, some Bible programs also offer powerful features and access to large libraries of books not currently available online. If your needs go beyond basic Bible study or you want access to a wider range of study material, a good Bible program is worth the investment.
CHOOSING BIBLE-STUDY SOFTWARE If you decide to invest in Bible-study software, here are a few tips for choosing a program you’ll be happy with.
Chapter 1
Preparation
Consider Your Needs If you want to be able to look up the occasional Greek or Hebrew word behind an English translation, most Bible programs offer that capability. But if you need to be able to read, search, parse, and analyze the actual Greek and Hebrew texts, the only programs that will meet that need are Accordance and Logos. Likewise, if you want a simple, media-rich Bible-study experience to help your children better understand the Bible, iLumina is clearly the right fit.
Look Past the Videos and Screenshots Most commercial Bible software developers now use video demos or screenshots to wow with you all the cool stuff their software can do. That’s fine, but make sure you look beyond the sales pitch. Be careful not to get so wowed by features you may not actually use that you forget to ask about the features you really need. Watch the videos, get excited, but be sure to ask if it will do what you need it to do.
Compare Packages Carefully Most commercial Bible programs offer different packages you can buy at various price points. Each package will contain different translations and study aids, and sorting out what you get in each package can be bewildering. Most developers try to minimize confusion by offering charts detailing what you get in each package. If you’re trying to decide between two or more programs, comparing the packages can get even more bewildering. Your best bet is to pick a price point and then compare the two programs’ packages at that price point. You might even print off the list of contents for each package and then compare the lists. Cross out the stuff they have in common and then look at what’s different. Of the stuff that’s different, which one has more of the resources you’re looking for? Also, consider how the contents of each program are listed. One program might list a 10-volume commentary as one item, while another might list each volume separately. Consequently, the advertised number of included resources can be misleading. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting.
Consider the Developer’s History, Rate of Development, and Level of Support Is the developer of a program likely to continue its Macintosh development? How often do they release improvements
21
22
Macs in the Ministry
and upgrades to their software? How committed are they to supporting their users? When you buy commercial software, you’ve paid for the right to expect reasonable support and ongoing development.
Read Published Reviews Good thorough software reviews are hard to find, but they are out there. Most Bible software developers have links to published reviews of their software.
Solicit User Feedback Reviewers are generally provided with complementary review copies of software, but users actually pay money for it. So they can tell you whether the purchase was worthwhile, whether they’ve been disappointed in any way, and so on. They can also help you decide which packages or modules you should purchase. Many commercial Bible programs have user forums or e-mail lists you can join. Try asking the users on those forums for their opinions and purchasing advice. Tell them what you want to use the software for, what your budget is, what your initial impressions and concerns are, and so on. Most are happy to help. Another place to ask those kinds of questions is on the Christian Macintosh Users Group’s Mac-Ministry e-mail list. The folks there have seen it all and can give you very informed opinions. You can subscribe at www.cmug.org/MacMin.html. Choosing Bible software is a little like choosing a computer platform. One of the great barriers to switching computer platforms is the amount of time and money you’ve invested in your current platform. The same goes for Bible software. The time spent learning to use a given program and the money spent on resources for that program will not usually transfer to a new program you later find to be a better option. So take a little time up front to research your options. You’ll be much happier if you get it right the first time In Chapter 7, I’ll show you how to use these kinds of tools to prepare an actual sermon or lesson. Whatever your ministry, it needs to begin with God’s Word, and your Mac gives you access to some pretty incredible tools for studying it.