YouVersion – a 2.0 spiritual resource
Its amazing how things change, and how at the same time, things so much the same.
Looking into how our culture works, I’m watching people at the check-out get replaced by automated voices and “self-checkout” lanes. Haiku’s of the past are today’s Tweets. We are at once more isolated and yet more connected than ever before. We are scatter-brained, multi-tasking, over-worked and stressed out, yet we have created Wikipedia, the largest repository of human knowledge IN HISTORY.
The same is true for spiritual formation. I am passionate about Christ-centered transformation in a person’s life – including my own – and yet I remain very firmly planted in our world’s changing world. What of worth can come from using the tools of Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, and the like for the purposes of spiritual formation and discipleship? How can we center on Christ through these tools? I’ve written before on “Eschatechnology” and using technology as an extension of our resources in pursuing Christ. Paul did it with the new Roman roads, mailing systems and parchment writing. Moses did it with stone-tablets. Martin Luther did it with the Gutenberg Printing Press. More on that here.
YouVersion is quickly finding itself among the coveted list of spiritual resources for the digital age. They’ve just released a new version of their Bible reader online and on many of the smart phones. Now you can choose or customize any number of reading plans, picking from dozens of translations of the text. You can make contributions and comments right alongside the learned theologians (a la Wikipedia). You can join groups, add friends, (like Facebook) and engage live presentations (at a worship service, for instance) with audience response, note-taking, and group-share.
I’m still imagining what this might look like in our church network. Maybe friends in an LTG become friends on Youversion and share insights into the text they’re reading for that week. Maybe new disciples can read through the “Outreach New Testament” reading plan – designed for people just looking into the Christian faith or brand new to following Jesus. Maybe tweeting a verse that hit you while you were reading and beginning a conversation on Twitter with others.
Certainly this tool is not for everyone – but it gives fresh life to those who are inclined like I am toward infusing their faith into a 21st Century world.
Ever wonder where Christian Orthodoxy comes from? I read a fascinating article on that over at 
Sean, and 
Josh Frank 12:07 pm on December 21, 2009 Permalink
There’s an interesting conference in CA coming up in March:
Theology After Google
More on that here:
http://transformingtheology.org/calendar/theology-after-google
Good thoughts as usual, Mark!
Mark 12:19 pm on December 21, 2009 Permalink
Josh – cool! Where do you hear about such awesome conferences? I’m guessing that I’ll be “attending” via Twitter.
Josh Frank 12:26 pm on December 21, 2009 Permalink
Most of them are through the emerging circles I still follow, folks like Adam Walker-Cleaveland and, to a lesser extent, Tony Jones.
While California in March (Chicago’s extra month of winter??) sounds great, I’ll likely be following along online, too.