I began using my iPad to preach in October of 2010. Actually, I have used my iPad since I bought it for some teaching, preaching, and other messages.  I used it to speak and sing at several funerals. I”™ve used it at a wedding.  But in my regular preaching, I”™ve used the iPad every week since late October 2010. No regrets thus far. No debilitating challenges. While there are some potential drawbacks, none have been significant enough to outweigh some of the benefits.

Benefits

No More Paper & Printers. I typically bought a specially cut and weighted paper on which I printed my sermons.  The paper was perfectly suited for the laser printer I used, and was the perfect weight and thickness for my preferences in using paper notes in preaching.  I didn”™t have to fold an 8 ½ by 11 sheet in two, creating more bulk. No cutting required.  With my 6 x 9 sheet, I could use a larger font (14) and suitably indent sentences without creating too many pages or having to use larger sized paper.

But no more. No more laser ink cartridges. No more screaming in agony when half-way through printing a sermon the cartridge begin to quit. No more purchasing the paper; nothing more to file afterwards.  I greatly prefer the electronic means to the paper pushing.

Less Mess & Bulk. Early in my ministry I carried my notes loose in my Bible. No problem as long as you keep the pages numbered in case they get out of order. Loose leaf notes may be fine assuming you have a tall enough pulpit to put your notes above your Bible or setting your notes to the side of your Bible, a wide enough pulpit with a bottom lip, and only a slight angle to keep pages from slipping down.  To avoid all of that, I began using a 3 ring binder.  This meant getting a hole-punch set to use for the sized notes I would bring to the pulpit or buying pre-punched paper.  The binder I preferred, though fairly small, still created a bit more bulk to carry around and was not always advantageous for preaching in different pulpits of different sizes. With the iPad, no binder, no bulk (especially with the iPad 2), and no need to mess with paper notes.

Smaller Pulpit Footprint. I like a Bible that has a good sized print (larger than a 10 pt font) and is arranged by verse rather than paragraph. My eyes do not have to strain in finding a reference in the midst of a paragraph.  That means that the Bible I typically take into the pulpit is not a compact size. I wanted a Bible that I could lay down beside or above my sermon notes and use easily without having to squint or bend down to catch where a verse reference was.  Combine such a Bible with a binder for my notes, and I have a larger footprint required for ease of preaching.  Not every pulpit allows for that much space.  In fact, it became problematic when using a music stand.  When needing to turn pages, I would have to keep one side of my notes on top of one of the flaps of my Bible or move the notes if using the Bible to navigate to another reference.  If not using a binder, I would still need to deal with where to put a page of notes once I had completed it ““ moving it underneath the flap of my Bible ““ more paper futzing.

No more.  No more page turning. No more wide-spread footprint for both Bible and notes.  The iPad is a perfect size for me visually and if I use a paper Bible, I rarely have any space issues.  Currently, I use a single-column 11 point ESV Bible. It has more bulk than I prefer, but I prefer the page and verse lay-out for preaching.  I have a fairly small pulpit space for placement of any notes, but putting my bible to the side of my iPad seems to fit perfectly and is less bulky or awkward to use even when preaching from a music stand.

Future Reference & Review. I have all of my sermons at my finger-tips with my iPad.  I didn”™t realize how helpful this was until I began using my iPad.  All of the sudden, while in a meeting with someone and we were discussing a sermon, I could immediately pull it up and refer back to a point I had made. On Sunday evenings, I have a sermon review time with a number of men from our church.  Since I preach twice most Sunday”™s I can bring up each of the sermons quickly for reference.  In staff meetings each week, we review the sermons from Sunday ““ how helpful to have each of them at my finger-tips.

One Stop Shop. While I have not yet been brave enough to do it, I don”™t even really need to bring a paper Bible with me.  With iOS”™s quick app switching, I can move between Bible and notes fairly easily.  Looking up a passage is just about as quick and sometimes faster than using a paper Bible. This would mean that the only thing I have with me in the pulpit is my iPad. I like the thought of having only one thin object with me, containing all my notes as well as the entire Bible.

Drawbacks

No Handwritten Notes. Often, even after printing my notes on paper, I would review my sermon and think of something I should note in the margin.  That”™s not as easy to do on the iPad.  However, I can and do actually add quick notes.  Because I use iBooks, I can leave a note attached to a particular spot in my manuscript.  When I get to that point, a simple tap brings up the additional note.  Not as easy as a hand-written note.

Shut-down Threat. Any time technology is used, the fear of it failing is real.  I haven”™t had any problems with my iPad.  It has never frozen on me. The iBooks app has never shut down on me and the battery is so long-lasting, I can go up with only ½ a charge (I rarely do) and have confidence that my long sermon will still not drain the battery.

Possible Glare or Glow. With the lights shining down on our pulpit, the possibility of glare increases when using the iPad. I generally turn up the brightness all the way when I preach on Sunday morning. No real problems.  On Sunday evening, I am generally preaching down on the floor rather than on the platform and the lights are not nearly as bright. The back-lighting of the iPad then creates a bit of an angelic glow on my face.  Depending on the angle, someone might actually see the glow of the iPad in my glasses ““ giving me eyes of glowing fire, or perhaps distracting glare.

Potential Formatting Issues. I have tried using a number of platforms and apps from which to preach using the iPad.  I have used a pdf of my manuscript which perfectly mirrors the formatting of the notes I create from my desktop.  However, the default view of the pdf is not actual size so I generally need to increase the size.  You can pinch and pull the document to resize it, but then you lose the capability to tap or swipe to easily turn the page.  I have printed my notes into HTML and used a third-party software to turn my notes into an epub document.  This can work well, but takes a bit more time and effort than I think should be necessary.  My current process is to use Apple”™s Pages word processor that quickly imports my document into an epub format to use in iBooks.  However, some of the formatting (some indentation features and any special formatting issues like headers or footers) do not transfer.  I assume this will get better over time, but I have adjusted how I put my notes together.

If you are REALLY into using the iPad from which to preach, you may want to consider this nifty pulpit made for gadget-geek pastors (pictured above) like those of you reading (and writing) this post.

On Friday, I’ll post some of the details on how I go about using the iPad for sermons.

See iPad and Pastoral Ministry: An Update-Part 1.

Here are 3 additional ways I use the iPad in pastoral ministry:

4.  Ultra-portability of Information.

From all the documents I need in any given day, to all of my e-mail, notes, and internet capability, I am finding this aspect of portability to be one of the greatest benefits of the iPad.  I would much rather pull out my iPad to edit documents while travelling (by air, car, etc.).  All of my tasks, weather forecasts, maps, video, articles to read and mark-up, contacts, etc. are with me wherever I can take my iPad.  The footprint is small and is super easy to access. The only reason I use a desktop or laptop is for major formatting issues.  With the ability to synchronize any document over the internet, I can access all the same information from any electronic platform I choose (phone, desktop, laptop, iPad).

For documents, I use DocsToGo.  It will synchronize material from my Dropbox account or from GoogleDocs.  So, when in a staff or elders”™ meeting, I bring only my iPad.  I can bring up our agendas, take notes on them (sometimes using a blue-tooth enabled keyboard), and have them saved and all the documents synchronized, again, accessible from just about any device I may have with me. Using the iPad for meetings has decreased the folders, papers, laptop footprint, and necessary cables to bring along with me.  With the iPad 2 capability to mirror the display, I can quickly connect it to a projector or TV and display any content needed for others in the group to view.

I also use GoodReader and iAnnotate to mark-up pdf documents.  GoodReader synchronizes with my DropBox account, so, once again, I have easy access to just about any document I may need.

I even now use the iPad to preach.  I”™ll give you another post on just how I do that ““ pretty simple and I”™ve loved using it.

5.  Consolidation of gadgets.

I have read the reports on why Kindle”™s remain popular.  Primarily people want a dedicated reader without the possibility of distraction from e-mail and the internet.  Maybe. But the reality is that if you are too undisciplined to keep reading and your mind is dying to know what your Facebooks friends are doing, you are just about as likely to whip out your smartphone.

Honestly, I would rather not carry another gadget.  While on a recent trip, I used my iPad to read, check mail, follow and update Twitter, check on some notes, edit two sermons, read the news, keep up with the local weather, find contacts, read my Bible, do some quick and simple math calculations, take notes during a seminar, make appointments on my calendar, and keep up with important tasks. One device.  One easily accessible, ultra-portable device. Just one. I love that.

6.  Future communications options.

E-mail is a given on the iPad.  I “˜ve yet to use any real telecommunications on it.  Facetime and Skype are available, and I could easy plug in my iPhone ear buds to use them.  I”™ve continued to use my iPhone for both phone and video communications.  This could change with the iPad 2″™s front and rear-facing camera.  Because I have 3G capability on my iPhone, I have yet to spend the extra cash for a 3G iPad. So the phone is the only other gadget I use and it is primarily for communication.

I am finding the iPad (both first and second generations) a great device to use in the regularities of life and pastoral ministry.

Last January, when Apple announced the introduction, I published a post about how I thought ordinary pastors might make use of this new category of computer.  A follow-up post is long over due.  In fact, when looking over which articles tend to be most perused, I find that previous article continually referenced.

I purchased my iPad (the original version) just days after it was released.  I immediately began to put it to use in my regular life and pastoral ministry.  Before I chronicle how I currently use my iPad in ministry, let me give a few follow-up comments to the six reasons I proposed that ordinary pastors might benefit from the iPad.

1.  Magazines/Newspapers can now survive.

Newspapers have embraced the iPad in mass from what I can see.  I have The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, CNN, and The Daily, all on my iPad.  So far, most of these e-papers do not charge for their content.  Some e-magazines do charge; those who do, have not received any of my cash.  Even though most of the e-papers are free I rarely open up any of their stand-alone apps.  Not that I don”™t consume massive amounts of news articles, I do.  As of today, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Politico, CNN, The Washington Post, and many more are making their content free through Twitter. Subscribing to their Twitter feeds and using the Flipboard app I can bring all of the e-papers and magazines I want into one place for me to read, takes notes from, and share with others.  In fact, Flipboard has become my one-stop shop for browsing blogs, following Facebook, keeping up with friends on Twitter, and reading the news.  Flipboard takes in all of the RSS feeds from Google Reader that I have marked and allows me to set up blocks of information in the order I prefer and according to the subjects I prefer. The user interface is very pleasing and it keeps me from having to move to different stand alone apps or browse content from my web-browser.  Flipboard brings to the surface the articles shared on a Twitter freed, so I can quickly glance at the content and if I choose to read further, tap on it to bring up the in-app browser and read the article.

I”™m still not ready to pay for newspaper or magazine content online.  If the news organizations begin to charge for their content, they make the prices reasonable to me, and I cannot find an acceptable alternative, I will probably fork over the cash to subscribe. Until then, I can put up with the advertising with which these e-publications are peppering their sites. I want them to make money so they can keep generating the content I am interested in.  If they can offer the news for free by taking in advertising dollars, the iPad will continue to be my go-to choice for consuming that material.

In fact, from what I have seen from the Kindle (or any other dedicated e-reader), it (they) cannot replicate anything close to this sort of eye-pleasing, personally organized, and easily accessed information.  While other tablets are being produced, the iPad seems to have a tremendous advantage with the number of applications available for personally organized media consumption.

2. E-reading will be better.

Yes, I still read paper-based books, but in bringing the Kindle app to the iPad, and using iBooks as well, the iPad has dramatically increased my e-book consumption.  The benefit of iPad Kindle is that I can read a book, highlight  (with my finder or stylus) content I find compelling and may want to use, and have it synced to my Kindle account online.  I can then access by highlighted material from a browser and cut, paste, and tag the material in Evernote.  No more highlighting, or photo-copying content to keep in physical file cabinenets. No more need to purchase and keep up cumbersome file cabinets at all.  My reading has just become easy to take in and store for later retrieval and use.

I so wish iBooks had this syncing capability.  I prefer their user interface. I love using different colors to highlight material.  The reading experience is better on iBooks than the more clanky-looking Kindle material.  In both Kindle and iBooks I can take notes as well as highlight ““ all while using a touch-screen to do the navigating, typing, and highlighting ““ which keeps me from investing in a dedicated hardware e-reader like the Nook or Kindle.

What do I tend to read on my iPad?  I do my daily Bible reading from the ESV app on my iPad. I keep my prayer lists on my iPad using my task application, Omni-focus.  As mentioned above, I read all of the day”™s news and blog updates using Flipboard.  I have a host of books including George W. Bush”™s recent Decision Points, Jonathan Aitken”™s biography of John Newton, Jonathan Edwards two volume Works, D. A. Carson”™s Collected Writigns on Scripture, the works of John Bunyan, and many, many more individual books. E-reading has taken off for me using the iPad.

3.  E-notetaking.

I use Evernote more than ever.  In fact, even when I do read a paper book, I have the contents that I have highlighted scanned into a pdf format and available in a DropBox folder, which I then incorporated into Evernote.  Using the paid version, Evernote makes the pdf material searchable.  I can tag the scanned content and save tons of time and space, filing the material away for easy retrieval.  In fact, using Evernote for the majority of my notes makes all of that material accessible on not only my iPad, but my desktop at home, or my laptop at the office, or my phone while out and about.  That”™s incredible!

Part 2 on Thursday.

Regardless of what you think of our President’s policies, Barak Obama‘s team is doing an excellent job in its use of media, particularly social media. Technology is enhancing how we communicate our messages and priorities, and the Obama White House has a firm handle on how to do it well.  From the first days after his election and as the President-elect, Barak Obama began weekly video addresses (in addition to the old-guard radio address), and a series of video posts from various internal groups working on policy issues.  They are always enhancing how they use media to connect with people. Media tends to connect people in a more personal way and not merely in a starched policy manner.

In fact, one of the ways the White House is utilizing media well, is to bring the public inside the secured walls of the White House and show them how people and the process work.  An excellent illustration of this was the 2011 State of the Union.  In addition to a brief video on how the speech was constructed, the White House, for the first time, included enhanced on-line media (like a power-point presentation), chats, use of Twitter, and live online interviews with the President after the speech.  I’ve seen few public sector organizations work this well on connecting people more personally.

There is much modern church ministry can learn from the rapid growth of technology. While the message is most important and should be the laser-like focus of leaders and members alike, technology has provided unprecedented ways to publicly broadcast our message.  From the use of Twitter and Facebook to quickly inform church members of prayer needs or immediate announcements, to weekly e-mail blasts that can bring the entire church around specific ministry events, to a church’s web-site and publishing its sermons literally across the world, or regular video highlights that may give people insight into a ministry going on in a church of which they had little information about previously.

Media can be a spiritually devastating distraction also.  Too many today want quick sound-bites that require little thought and high emotional impact. Yet, God gave us a deep and profound book in which we need to think carefully about and linger long and prayerfully over.  Personal, face-to-face conversation is much more important and effective in communicating truth than a mere 140 characters of information or shortened links to more spots on the web.  John Piper gave an excellent challenge last week about distracting yourself from your e-reader with a concentration on Bible apps – a conversation that we would not have had ten (maybe even five) years ago.  Modern media, like food, money, facilities, old-style print publications, cars, etc., can have a dumbing down effect on how we think and meditate on deep and profound subjects.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

How can Christians and local churches make the most of modern media opportunities?  I certainly do not have significant answers, but am trying to think significantly about this subject.  I am told that I can reach out to 95% of the members of my church in one single e-mail.  I am regularly meeting people who have first thoroughly visited our church’s web-site and my personal blog before than have personally visited our church’s worship service.  I am amazed at how I can connect people to what goes on in our family in more personal ways.  It is facinanting to watch Christians across the globe pray for the release of a persecuted Christian in Afghanastan over the weekend.  I am humbled by a group of people who pray for me while I study each week, who I try to keep connected through a weekly e-mail and twitter.  I’m amazed that a mission team from our church will be trained by people in Prauge via Skype.  I am challenged by how many are following my sermon outline (particularly young children) more significantly by a simple use of power-point slides. I’m thankful that we can now publish the lyrics to each week’s songs on our web-site and allow people to meditate on them before we gather to sing them.  The uses go on and on – and we are not even using technology all that well.

What should we beware of?  How can utilize it more effectively? Technology is only going to grow and we ordinary pastors and ordinary churches need to act on the opportunities, and deliberately hold ourselves accountable regarding the dangers.

How do you think churches could best leverage technology? What do you think are some of the most subtle dangers to beware of?

Do you have your iPad yet, or are you still saying it’s nothing more than a bigger iPod Touch?  Here’s a few reviews from those who have been playing with it for a week before release.  I get the sense that the naysayers may be taking back the criticisms.

ABC News:

PC Mag’s Overview:

PCMag: Apple iPad video review from PCMag.com Reviews on Vimeo.

Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal

Andy Ithnako at the Chicago Sun Times

Andy Ithnako reveals the iPad on TWiT:

Free TV : Ustream

Stephen Fry Unboxes an iPad:

Here’s one coming out for sure:

Will you be sporting a new iPad on April 3?

Here’s one for the future.

Now that’s pretty impressive.

I’ve been waiting for something like this – a handheld device that I could consume information very easily and most comfortably.  Apple may have done it and I think it will have a number of benefits for those in pastoral ministry.

If you missed it, here’s the video of the new Apple iPad:

Will/Should ordinary pastors and people use the newly unveiled Apple iPad?

This pastor probably will, and I think many, many will also.

The Kindle has been a big draw among many in ministry and I can’t help but think that the iPad will be another Apple technological game-changer.  Here’s a few reasons why I think so:

1. Magazines/Newspapers can now survive.  The only reason I subscribe to a print newspaper right now, is because my wife wants the coupons from the Sunday paper.  I NEVER read the print paper.  But I do subscribe to a number of newspaper and magazine RSS feeds.  In fact, I can subscribe to the sections of the paper I want and skip the rest.  I noticed that my wife was already starting to clip coupons from the internet.  Outisde of my wife’s coupon newspaper, I no longer have any subscriptions to any print publications – and I don’t miss the mess.  However, I would be interested in reading papers and magazines on an electronic device that I could hold in my hand and was bigger than my iPhone.  Especially if I could cut and paste quotes and sections into Evernote and tag them.  That would help me in quickly clipping, filing, and finding quotes and illustrations for sermons and doing so in a way that would syncronize across my platforms (iPhone, notebook, desktop).  I could imagine that magazines and newspapers, who already include full color images and video on the web, will find new life in something like the iPad – the very thing they cannot do with something like the Kindle.  It could be that the print newspaper and magazine industry just found a way to survive.

2. E-reading will be better.  I know that there is a romance about holding a book and marking it with a pen.  I enjoy it too.  However, I do enjoy having commentaries and other resources on my computer that I can search, copy, and paste content into my exegetical notes when studying.  My iPhone is too small for any sort of quality reading.  While I have a small laptop, it’s still not a reader.  I’ve looked through a number of recent e-readers and am impressed with the Kindle.  However, 15 shades of grey is really underwhelming and seems so limited in what content could be included in a book.  Furthermore, if the iPad will allow me to cut and paste from a book I’m reading and import it into Evernote, then I just found massive ease in collecting quotes.  Currently, I mark it in a book and have to go back and retype the desired quotes into Evernote.  We’ll see if cut and paste in books will be available – if so, this could push me over the edge and produce a new romance in e-reading.  What would this device do for audio books also?  I already enjoy using my iPhone with them.  If iPad will sync my audio books with my iPhone, it’s another selling point for me.  If the books remain as cheap as they currently are, I’m in.  The thought of replacing the stack of books I have on my night stand with a half inch reading device has me ready to buy.

3. E-notetaking is now possible.  I’ve mentioned this already, but it is something I could get more excited about.  Evernote allows me to collect, tag, find, and use notes across multiple platforms.  I will be underwhelmed if copy and paste is not an option for the e-books through the iBookstore, but if it is, I could see myself using an iPad for much of my reading just so I can easily collect quotes.  My iPhone now allows me to synchronize any of my documents on my notebook or desktop and I can edit them and keep them synchronized.  However, using the small screen of the iPhone is not really all that easy for significant editing of documents.  iPad may answer this frustration more easily.  With the portable keyboard for iPad, and the way I keep the majority of my documents in the cloud, I could see the iPad pretty useful and could eventually replace a notebook (not quite yet, though).

4. Ultra-portability of information.  iPad will allow me to synchronize all of my media, making books, pictures, notes, documents, music, and the internet easily accessible in any electronic platform I currently have.   Supposedly, iPad will run all of my current iPhone apps.  That would keep my mail, calendar, tasks, video editing, weather, well . . . everything synchronized.

5.  Consolidation of gadgets.  I almost bought a Kindle.  But I wanted to wait and see what Apple came out with.  I’m still not into the grey, touchless, small screen.  I also am not too interested in adding another gadget to my briefcase.  If I could just carry my phone and an iPad which would allow me to have communications and the majority of my documents and a host of books all in two easy to manage gadgets, I’m interested.  Sitting down at a Starbucks, jumping on their wi-fi and reading from an iPad is far more appealing that having to take the time and space of pulling out my notebook, even as sleek as it is.

6.  Future communications options.  iPad already includes e-mail and no one can match what Apple does in the mobile internet browsing world.  So far, no camera exists on the iPad for Skype calls and no phone capabilities either.  However, I could see these as future elements added.  In fact, AT&T has just today allowed VoIP through their 3G network, which would turn the iPad into a communications device.  Though I’m sure I won’t hold a 10 inch device to my ear, I’m quite sure Bluetooth headsets, a speakerphone, or wired ear buds would work with the iPad, and is actually even more appealing to me that holding my iPhone to my ear.  I could see making Skype calls on this device very easily and from anywhere and the size being much better than the thought of video conferencing with my iPhone (if they ever make a front-facing camera).

I can only imagine how a small and simple device like this will be used in other fields.  One church member suggested that I could easily use the iPad to preach from.  I’m not too sure about that – but . . . .  How will education be affected by such a portable device?  How will presentations be affected?  Is this the modern clipboard?  As Apple often does, this is the first iteration of something that will develop more and more.  I was not interested in the first number of iPods that were introduced.  I waited until iPhone 3G came out.  It may be worth the wait for a future iPad iteration.  But because it is already based on a number of already known and thought-through platforms (OS X and iPhone OS), it has an appeal even now.  Think back on iPhone 2.0 software:  who knew that so many unbelievable apps would be developed across so many professions.  The iPad may just open that many more.

Here are a few interesting articles hours after the iPad revelation:

What People Who Have Actually Touched it Say About the iPad

The iPad Will Kill the Kindle, Netbooks, and Even the MacBook Air

Tim Challies jumps in with a negative review.

Publisher, Michael Hyatt was underwhelmed and isn’t even blogging about it.  Yet, read what he wrote about the original iPhone, his second thoughts after he bought one- he’s now an iPhone-aholic – and has had at least 2 of the 3 versions.

In this post I want to review a few applications every ordinary pastor (or person) can readily make excellent use of – and the best news is that all of them are free.

While the web can be a major distraction for productivity, it can also be an amazing tool for getting things done. Here are tools from the web I use every week (some almost every hour):

Safari Web Browser: I have been a Firefox fan for a long time. I loved the various plugins available that gave me greater connection to social media like Twitter. However, I’ve found that having constant connection to social media while working on high priority tasks on the web is too distracting, so I really use few plugins on Firefox any longer.

The new Safari 4.0 I have found to be faster than Firefox. It certainly loads faster and is speeder in browsing the web. It also has a cleaner interface than Firefox. I have gone back and forth with Firefox and Safari, but tend to find Safari to handle my needs more simply and faster than Firefox.

Email. I have all of my e-mail accounts dumping into my Gmail system. Our church uses Gmail with our own domain name. We can have access to one another’s calendars on the web or on our iPhones. Gmail via the web has been my mail client of choice for months. It loads very quickly and I have instant access to all my mail. I can quickly mark all of my mail read and star those I want to follow up on. I have a general rule that I respond to e-mail immediately if will take me less than 2 minutes to do so. All other mail I star and save until I have a block of time to respond to them. And I make it my goal to have mail mail handled daily (during the work-week). I also love Gmail’s quick ability to search my mail. It has never disappointed me in helping me find what I need reference to quickly I do synchronize Apple Mail with Google so that I always have an offline version. Mail is fairly light weight and searches quickly. It is actually easier than Google to deal with attachments, but not quicker in reading and marking mail.

Calendar. I use Google’s calendar feature also. I have access to around 10 different calendars and can view them all at once or in any combination I choose. It is very easy to create new and recurring events. Like mail, I do synchronize iCal with Google so I have an offline version, but I rarely fire up iCal anymore.

Tasks. This is where I struggle a bit. I am a big fan of GTD so I don’t assign many due dates to tasks. I do assign contexts – or create various lists for tasks. I have lists for Pastoral Projects, Family, Calls, Visits, People to Write, and others. I currently use Google, but this week I began testing some other much more powerful tools for task management. I’ll blog the experience later. But for now, Google tasks is free and directly connected to my mail and calendar.

Contacts. I also use Google contacts to keep up with my address book (I sync it to Apple Address book also). While Google has done little with this portion (or with tasks), it is not as robust as I would like. However, it does all I need it to and I can easily create various groups within my contacts that helps keep up with specific people and quickly send out blast e-mails when necessary.

Reader. Google reader is how I keep up with news and blogs I want to follow. I have 10 different folders of various RSS feeds. Reader is the simplest way to keep up to date and manage my feeds. I regularly star articles I want to follow up on, and I share articles I find interesting. My shared articles can be found on the home page of by blog also.

Blogging. Speaking of my blog, I use WordPress for my blogging platform. I began on Blogger (like most others), but found WordPress to be far beyond anything Blogger could muster. Because I self-host a blog, I have a virtually unlimited number of plugins and ways to tweak my blog so it looks exactly as I want it. I can quickly post anything I’m reading to the blog, or link a page to my blogroll.

I don’t use the browser much for social media. I loathe actually going to my Facebook page and rarely do I open Twitter. I have other ways to check on this stuff that I find more appealing.

I also use mobile Safari on my iPhone to check and handle my mail and tasks. The web apps for mobile platforms are really becoming intuitive.

Perhaps there is more I do with the web in terms of productivity, but here’s a glance at my current use of the web for productivity.

Finder vs Pathfinder.

One of the newest apps I use all the time is Pathfinder. In Windows, the way to navigate through your computer’s inventory is through what they call Explorer. It is much improved in Vista/Windows 7 over XP. In the Mac world, the way to traverse through your computer is through what they call Finder. I’ve grown to enjoy Finder over Explorer because it is simply more simple than Explorer.

However, Pathfinder takes the Mac Finder to a new level. To see its full functionality, see the Pathfinder screencast. But here are a few of my favorite and most used items (I’m honestly just learning to use the vast array of tools in Pathfinder).

One click movement through files and folder (this is the same as Finder).

Quick-link drop-down menus allow for faster navigation to your files and folders.

Tabbed browsing allows for multiple file locations to be accessed easily and quickly.

Multiple view capabilities – for example, I may want to use both the columns view with the cover flow view.

Setting up two view panes in the same window allows for much easier drag and drop of files from one place to another.

Fully customizable tool bar puts the items for one-click navigation within easy range.

Finding recently used file, documents, and applications is very simple and can all be done right within Pathfinder.

I also find myself using the app launcher through Pathfinder also. It is a very quick and easy way to find the app your ready to open.

There are many more features, and the Pathfinder screencast will demonstrate most of them. This is a tool well worth the price.

[YouTube Video]

Hey everyone, today’s blog post (and a few others this week) is a screen cast from my desktop in my study at home. I am currently using a 2.4 GHz iMac. I also have a MacBook Pro for portability (I’m hardly ever without my laptop) and its set up exactly like my iMac.

What do I find to be some of the best applications I tend to use every week? Which are some of the most helpful to me as a pastor? This week I’ll be taking a look at my desktop and sharing with you the apps that find their way into my workweek.

In general, just take a look at my doc (the bar of icons at the bottom of my screen). I don’t have any on there that I don’t regularly use. I’m going to give a quick overview today and then throughout the week, I’ll screen cast some details on those that I find most helpful.

Finder. The way you find your way around the Mac environment is basically through the “Finder.” It’s comparable to Windows Explorer in the Windows environment.

Pathfinder (instead of finder). It is much more versatile and worth the small amount it costs. It makes Windows Explorer and Mac Finder look useless.

Safari (I’ve left Firefox behind for the most part).

Google. For e-mail, calendar, contacts, chat, and tasks. Also Reader. Few Google docs.  I will review a number of the web applications (WordPress, Picasa, etc.) that I use all the time.

Dropbox.  This is an excellent file sharing and synchronizing software.  You can share any files with anyone, including yourself across any platform (Windows, Mac, etc.).

Tweetdeck.  This is my Twitter client of choice, especially since it has an excellent iPhone web app.

Ecto.  This is the Mac-based blogging software I use.  I can compose the blog offline and set it to upload when I want and how I want.

Skype.  Who doesn’t use this – if you don’t, you are missing out.  This is a free way to conduct video/audio/text chat with anyone else who has an internet connection.

Evernote.  I can’t say enough about this application for note taking.  I will wait to say more, but this is simply excellent.

iTunes.  This is the best music software available and with the recent updates its even better.

iPhoto.  This is a Mac application for organizing pictures that comes standard with every Mac.

iMovie.  I am stunned that this video editing software comes standard on every Mac.  Excellent.  Create videos and upload to YouTube, e-mail, etc.

Time Machine.  Mac’s automatic back-up material.

Windows.  Ha!  Yep, I still use Windows, but actually do it through my Mac with VMWare.  It actually loads up faster than my PC and works great.  I’ll detail the tools I use on Windows and why.

iWork.  This is Apple’s word processing, numbers, and presentation software.  Keynote is absolutely excellent and worth the cost of the entire suite.  Pages and Numbers are good (especially for graphics), but not good enough for serious word processing.

Office 2008.  I go with the cheap version here that has Word, Excel, PowerPoint (which I loathe to use) and Entourage (Apple’s shot at Outlook).

Over the next few days, I’ll give a brief overview of each of these and how I find them useful.