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The iPad in Church?

I like reading the Bible (I use OliveTree) with my iPad and taking notes (OliveTree integrate well with EverNote) during the message.
 
great title

awesome title for a thread. how could you not read this? i'd probably stick with my bound bible, but this is a house of learned men, and, as soon as you go to sleep, i'm putting a rat trap in between your legs. couldn't help it. watching the step brothers dvd again.
 
Indydenny said:
Our church is somewhat large but it provides free wifi in the worship area(s) and the sermon notes are downloadable to follow along on the iPad or other wifi enabled device.

Podcasts of the services are available within 24 hours as well.
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This is what I am talking about. We are in the age of technology and I say by all means. Bring the iPad...I do.

I have been bringing an electronic bible for many, many years on one device or the other...starting with the newton, then plam...now iPad.

I definitely want an app that will allow note taking directly into the bible.

I think this another of the great uses of the iPad. Let it shine...and the iPad step into the sunlight of the spirit and let it be recognized for the awesome tool that it is.

Edit:
And I think one of the wonderful things about church is divine inspiration. When I have wonderful brainstorms about anything that come to me in church, I like to write them down on something that is more than just a piece of paper to be folded up and lost and or have to be entered into something later. The iPad is perfect for that.
 
I've been bringing mine to services since I got it, and my iPod Touch before that. NASB version on both. Never caused a moment of trouble, probably because nobody besides my family sitting beside me could possibly know I am using it unless I'm holding it above pew level, which I obviously wouldn't. I look up passages faster than anyone else, based on the sound of pages flipping several seconds after I'm already there. My husband also gets the benefit, since I can make the text large enough for both of us to read. Also, highlighting and making notes is fast and easy, which I would never have done in a "hard copy" Bible.

Our congregation is very small, about 75 in attendance on average, and very conservative. I never had a doubt about bringing my iPad and can't imagine anyone experiencing hesitation. I mean, it's my Bible, it fits easily in my purse, I'm not playing games, there is no wifi, the light doesn't disturb anyone because we don't have services in the dark (??)....just can't see a problem with it at all. Just my opinion!
 
Don't Worry About It

I use my iphone as my primary bible resource. Mantis Study Bible is by far the best I've seen - have most bible versions, strongs, dictionaries, commentaries, view side by side, take notes, bookmarks, etc.
Bible study and scoring baseball with iScore are the two strongest reasons I'm convincing myself to get an iPad.
 
Bible & notes

lokerd said:
This is what I am talking about. We are in the age of technology and I say by all means. Bring the iPad...I do.

I have been bringing an electronic bible for many, many years on one device or the other...starting with the newton, then plam...now iPad.

I definitely want an app that will allow note taking directly into the bible.

I think this another of the great uses of the iPad. Let it shine...and the iPad step into the sunlight of the spirit and let it be recognized for the awesome tool that it is.

Edit:
And I think one of the wonderful things about church is divine inspiration. When I have wonderful brainstorms about anything that come to me in church, I like to write them down on something that is more than just a piece of paper to be folded up and lost and or have to be entered into something later. The iPad is perfect for that.
Click to expand...

My favorite is the Bible Xpress app. For a Bible it is expensive. But for BIBLES (NIV, KJV, NASB, ESV, MSG) it is great. Helps keep notes, has a strongs dictionary, etc.

Its here: http://www.biblexpress.com/Home.html
 
AppleRules said:
I love Apple as much as anyone but I don't bring toys to church. I go to church to worship the lord not showoff with an ipad. A bible is convenient enough for me at church.
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It's possible to "show off" in many ways, including, apparently, with just a traditional Bible. I remember once shopping at my local Christian bookstore when someone came in looking for a particular Bible. He was dressed in priestly garb, white collar, very sharp. His first question to the sales lady was whether they offered a discount for clergy. They said yes. He wanted a Bible that was bound in "genuine Corinthian leather". He kept asking -- "yes, but is this genuine Corinthian leather? It must be genuine Corinthian leather!" And then he kept reminding them -- loudly -- that he was a priest and thus was entitled to a discount. I just shook my head.
 
I've used my iPhone using the YouVersion Bible in the pews quite a bit. I've never worried about whether or not people thought about whether I was texting or chatting or whatnot, because it's easier for me to look up a passage in the translation I wanted (the pews only have the KJV). Plus, it's worship, and I would hope the people I am worshiping with would be more focused in the message than what was in my hand.

I plan to use my iPad when I next go in.
 
I use my iPad at church, it awesome, my church has an app with all the scriptures and other reference material for free. It great in Sunday school being able to look up multiple scriptures and cross reference.

next week I will be teaching sunday school to the 12-13 year old, all video I use I will play on my iPad.
 
TorontoLRT said:
Wow! Has anyone in your congregation ever complained?
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Not so far! I am fairly discreet, I use a DODOcase so it looks like a notebook when I am holding it.

I run the Sunday School so I also use it to control the projector using Air Mouse, the kids love it!
 
eve-moses-jobs.jpg


Go forth with thou iPad...
 
notjustjay said:
He wanted a Bible that was bound in "genuine Corinthian leather". He kept asking -- "yes, but is this genuine Corinthian leather? It must be genuine Corinthian leather!" And then he kept reminding them -- loudly -- that he was a priest and thus was entitled to a discount. I just shook my head.
Click to expand...

And nobody told him that "Corinthian leather" was a marketing gimmick made up by Chrysler (not Christler :) ) in the 1970's for commercials? Perhaps he should have asked if it was First Corinthian leather or Second Corinthian Leather.
 
A friend on facebook mentioned that he was getting the iPad for his sermons. His reason was because of its usefulness in enlarging the text. You can't do that with the dead tree version. Also, the fact that he's an environmentalist played into it too. He'd probably be okay with a hemp bible, but that doesn't seem likely.
Anyway, it's important that you make the bible reading experience best fit your life, instead of contorting yourself to adjust to it. Granted, I'm an atheist, so I don't think anyone should be inconvenienced by religion.
Trexznl said:
Just skip church and stay home playing with your iPad.
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You don't need the church to study the bible. Considering most preachers don't even know latin, greek and hebrew, you will do equally as well studying at home.

sracer said:
If you rarely go to church then you have larger issues than how using an iPad in church will be perceived. Just sayin'.
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:rolleyes: That's just propaganda. You don't need church to be a good religious person.
 
Church Planter

Would love to have one for my church planting activities. See the big use for one in church planting, but not in CP budget:)
Any church planters using an iPad for church planting?
 
I used mine for the first time this morning, and got a very negative reaction from someone who said it was very distracting, ie the tapping of 'the keyboard of the computer', it also shone in the lights and put her off, and she felt sorry for my poor husband who was preaching, and if I had to use it I should sit at the back!
I have ordered a matt screen cover for it, but really want to use it, ahhhhh!! lol
Anyone else had bad reactions?
 
RawBert said:
FYI : there's a free full Bible in the iBook store.

But, don't bother taking it (iPad) to church. You will only stand out like a sore thumb. Take your real Bible. Why bother with the iPad. Maybe in 10 years when it's no big deal. Now, You will just be distracted and draw unwanted attention to yourself. Don't.
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I take my Bible to church, as do several others. I find it much easier to read than my iPod Touch which I had taken previously.

----------
GAUG3 said:
What free ESV Bible app are you referring to? I've been looking for one that does not require web access.
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I like the LifeChurch.TV Bible app which has many versions including ESV.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

If you want to bring your iPad and use a bible app, so be it. It's still a bible. If its easier for you to read and follow the sermons, then great! If someone informs you that the iPad is distracting because it's too bright or noisy, make the adjustments. Many churches now use readers, so it is becoming more acceptable. If someone points their finger at you, tell them to take the plank out of their eye.
I like the Logos app and use it daily, but I still bring my regular bible to bible study and church service. To each his own.
 
I use mine to teach and preach with. I get a lot of questions about it, no complaints. A lot of people use their devices (phones, tablets) for bible needs at our church.
 
I've definitely used my iPad in church before. Well, I don't own an iPad anymore, but I did. Now I use my phone.

Here's the thing... Social norms change. I pretty much figure like half the audience will be holding tablets or smartphones for their bibles/notes in the not-too-distant future. It's inevitable. Why not jump-start it? Be the change!

Turn your brightness down so it's not annoying others, and if anyone thinks you're goofing off and decides to look over your shoulder or peek in the corner of their eye, they'll notice you're looking at the Bible. Nothing wrong with that at all. I'll even take my notes on it (so that means typing!), which of course looks a little more suspicious, but hey, that's not a big deal.

Again, be the change. Take advantage of your tablet. They're made for situations like that!
 
The problem is not the iPad. The problem is that we are in 2012 and people still bother to go to church. Why?!?! You can read your fairy tales wherever you want!!! On the couch, in bed, in the bath, on the toilet, who cares?!
Besides, it's quite time to stop that legalized con, it's been going for almost 2000 years, I can't imagine how much money they stole within all this time.
If it depended on them there would be no freaking iPad, because we would still be in the Middle Ages, when they could kill anyone who dared to contradict them. Very nice people indeed.
 
wrkactjob said:
thou shalt not worship falsen images
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Excellent point. I suspect they are sitting there, somewhat separated from what is happening, and reading the bible, but sneaking in a check on e-mail or facebook. Church services are about community, not playing with your toys.

We have a student minister who uses an iPad for his sermon; he likes being able to make the text size larger while he preaches. No one complains, but there's no one else in church with an iPad.
 
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