Over the years, I have seen ministers using multimedia to help advance the gospel (Matt.28:18-20). Multimedia was defined as two or more media such as sound, images, text, animation and/or video (Picciano, 2011). I have also seen churches where the ministers/"congregants" did not (seem to) favor the use of multimedia in the church. I think that the best way to teach is to use every available resource. I also think that is the best way to advance the gospel. I have seen people who do not carry a Bible with them to church (or anywhere else for that matter) because they have an electronic version their phone. Conversely, I have seen people who would rather come to church without a Bible than pull their "phone" out and read their Bible on it. I have an auditory style of learning. So, I really enjoy the ability to listen to the Bible and listen to books. One of my favorite applications for reading the Bible is YouVersion. My favorite application for listening to the Bible is the Word of Promise audio Bible. With this app. I have listened to the Bible more than I have (or would have) read the Bible. What do you think about an audio version of the Bible? Do you have the Bible on your phone? Should ministers use technology to share the Gospel?
I have been leading a small group at my church on Wednesday evenings. A few ways that I have been using multimedia in my small group is by using my ipad as a: Notepad; Bible; movie-player; database. This has assisted me in connecting with my group (and working at staying connected) and helping them to grow in their knowledge of the Bible and help them to become active in sharing the Gospel too (2 Tim. 2:2). Technology is not the answer to the Great Commission, just as technology will not solve educational institutions problems of educating students. Still, I am an advocate of using technology to help with both scenarios! Christians who use social media have in their hands the potential to share the Gospel with so many people. I want to make the most of this privilege. Picciano (2011) said that educators should help children to be able to live and function in a society that relies more on multimedia than it used to. He also said that there are many excellent educational multimedia products available.
Reference:
Picciano, A.G. (2011). Educational leadership and planning for technology. 5th ed. New York, NY: Pearson.
You have an interesting take on things as you are approaching them from a different perspective than most. Stepping outside the concept of K-12 and looking at the integration of technology into things such as church practices offers a refreshing perspective that there are a multitude of places where learning takes place and technology can be just as useful in each.
ReplyDeleteI personally have always loved the use of technology when it comes to the church. In my undergraduate degree I was a Biblical Studies major and one of my favorite tools was Logos Bible Software. This was a digital library of major biblical research tools that allowed me to focus on studying the information and took the hours of finding things out of the equation. For the same reason I think that the use of electronic Bibles would be hugely acceptable.
Logos Bible Software is good, I use that I agree, too, that technology can be used to help students learn in any context. Technology provides many great tools to advance learning.
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