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The iPad in Church?

I take my iPad to church all the time and use it instead of a bound book Bible. I like the advantage of being able to follow along and find the scriptures faster as well as having access to multiple versions/translations.

I've not encountered anyone who has had a problem with it, or really even asked about it. And its not like I'm very discreet with it either since I have the orange smart cover and a green lantern shell on the back. lol We've even used it to video some stuff in church (like when our son is in a play or special music or something).

My cousin also uses his iPod Touch at church as well.
 
The way I see it is, if you use the iPad to read the Bible, while you are using it for that reason it is a Bible. Exactly the same as if it were a Bible made out of paper. It's about it containing the word of God, paper or iPad makes no difference.
 
I use my iPad with the YouVersion app all the time in church. It's great. We even have several of our pastors and elders using them in church, as well as when speaking!!
 
My preacher is already telling the congregation to "turn into your Bible, or, if you have a smartphone, pull up in your favorite Bible app," acknowledging that some people would rather use an electronic version. In fact, he is itching to use his new iPad stand, but is unsure if some of the congregation is ready for it yet. He's 66 years old, btw.

I say go for it! I usually use my MacBook Pro to look at Planning Center Online while I run lights instead of using a printed bulletin or printing a copy of PCO before the service.
 
I usually bring my Bible to Church. Though I have been working on getting OnSong setup on it so I can use it when I play in the Church Band.

Though when I am not at Church I rarely use my Bible and go to my YouVersion on the iPhone, iPad, and Computer. I love the Study Plans and the audio capability is great while driving.

Now I think I will start taking my iPad into Church for the word as well. Most of our Church staff is pretty tech savvy and they use the YouVersion among others as well.

I don't think anyone would think ill of us. In fact, now that I think about it, I have seen plenty of iPads or other electronic devices at Church.
 
I have a number of Bible Apps on my iPad2, as a matter of fact I have a folder on it dedicated to them because I have so many. My personal favorite is the free ESV App.

I would like to say to those that want to be able to put notes into your bible, that the latest version of iBooks allows you to do this. There is a great number of bibles available in the iBook store and some of them, both KJV and NIV are free so there is no charge for trying them out.

I do some preaching at times and use my iPad for sermon writing and for the actual preaching. I have the church e-mail me the liturgy for the day and I put the sermon and prayers etc into it using Pages. I find that I can then just scroll down as I go along and don't lose my place by switching back and forth from a bulletin to the iPad.

I would have no problem with someone using an iPad in church. When I'm in my regular church in Sunday School, I'm normally the first person to find a verse that the teacher wants read. I've learned to keep quiet and let other people find the verse and read also. Our pastor, when he is teaching, likes to have verses read from different versions of the bible. Again my iPad comes in handy for this as my free KJV app has many other translations in it also, so no matter what other versions people may read from, I can normally find one different. We have fun doing this.
 
It's 2012. Even our pastor uses an iPad for his sermons, I think, although he never needs to read while he's preaching. I know a few of our members who use either an iPad or a cellphone to reference the Bible. And we're not some sort of large church full of wealthy people either. I see nothing wrong with using it if it's convenient for you.
 
TheWheelMan said:
It's 2012. Even our pastor uses an iPad for his sermons, I think, although he never needs to read while he's preaching. I know a few of our members who use either an iPad or a cellphone to reference the Bible. And we're not some sort of large church full of wealthy people either. I see nothing wrong with using it if it's convenient for you.
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My Pastor also uses his from time to time. The Word of God is not prohibited to paper. Don't let others dictate what you use to assist you in your Worship.
 
berkleeboy210 said:
I'm an Organist and use my iPad for Sheet Music in Church all the time... Wish we could talk to it though to say "Turn page now"!
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You can use a product called airturn that will turn pages for certain music apps. I use an app called onsong along with airturn when I lead worship every Sunday.
 
I take my ipad to church sometimes, but that's only if I really need it. Like 2 weeks ago I bought it because I needed to check my e-mail on the way to church, which was very productive, as I discovered.
 
We have a Church here in town that has just added wifi for using IPads and other devices for reading the Bible while in church so you can read along with the Pastor. The Pastor has been using a IPad as his Bible as well for his sermon.

Times are changing and you silk see more and more IPads in different places
Just remember to turn off the volume when in church.

Enjoy your new ability to quickly look up passages when needed
 
Something to think about...

The bible used to be on scrolls.

Then it was put on paper.

Then it was made digital.

Times change, we get used to it
 
Reminded me of the Simpsons episode a few weeks back:
Could not find the pic where they are all using their devices inside the church for anything but reading the bible. :rolleyes:

2011-09-25-The-Simpsons-Free-Wifi-Church.png


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The father at my church who is a Monsignor recommends people to download apps on their iPhones (and other smartphones I guess ;) ) praying apps, rosaries and reading the bible and says that it's easier since you will know what special prayer of the day you can do while in your down time or when you just want to get closer to the big man is right there in your pocket and with a search function.
 
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My church I full of iPads. It's a wonderful tool, the ability to lookup words, names, maps and even bounce to a couple of different translations is a good thing. However just as we have free will it can be used for wrong. So be a leader use your gifts.
 
Yumunum said:
Something to think about...

Times change, we get used to it
Click to expand...

Two years after this thread started, it is interesting to see the greater acceptance.

I agree with one of the original ideas that the iPhone is looked on with less approval because it is harder to understand that I use my iPhone as my mini-iPad.

As iPhones and other smart phones proliferate, acceptance will grow. Despite the large number of those devices, it is interesting to see how many people still have outdated phones...either by choice because they don't want to pay the data surcharge, or they aren't eligible, etc. My wife JUST got her first smart phone (iPhone) as did several other people in out circle of family & friends (ironically, all three that I am thinking off are wife's of husbands who have had smart phones). My wife wasn't eligible, so I paid for an early upgrade. I suspect lots of other people are in the same position. So, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next two years.
 
I take mine to church every week and see plenty of other people with tablets and phones. Apples' idiotic implementation of a mute switch that doesn't completely mute the sound has bitten me more than once :(. Also, I've had my scriptures crash on me while I was reading a passage in Sunday school :) That got a laugh out of everyone.
 
ipad in church

I visited a church that my mom goes to in NJ, and I'm guessing there was 15+ iPad's there. It's a rather large church. I was impressed, but I don't think I would be able to pay attention personally with an iPad, and would end up going back in forth from iBible app to my favorite app Flipboard.
 
The iPad and Church

My iPad and my Bible are two different items and serve two different purposes. I am one who goes to church often and have used both items during service. A successful spiritual walk is totally dependent on read and studying the Bible. When you only use the Bible for its intended purpose, (read, study, meditate, useful guide), there are not things that can distract you in your goals. When I used my iPad I found that I had more distractions, my mind was not settled because of the other apps that stared me in the face while i tried to concentrate on the Pastor's message. I also found that I was forgetting where scriptures where using my iPad and I had a hard time finding books of the Bible.

The bottom line, electronics can be a distraction and even though the iPad is an excellent source of reference I think that during church the Bible has priority with an iPad used as a source of reference.
;)
 
I work at a place where my boss is a Catholic priest. He had heard of another, younger priest, who uses the iPad in place of the Sacramentary on the altar during Mass. (This was, of course, before the changes to the mass where the new Roman Missal is now used on the altar.) I thought that was very cool.
 
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Love it for church

I play in our Church's worship team and use OnSong for my chord sheets. My favorite use, however, is for notes. I use NotesPlus to take handwritten notes, and I use YouVersion for my bible. I LOVE the combination of the two. It is very easy to toggle back and forth. Whenever we reference scripture, I cut and paste it from YouVersion into NotesPlus so it is right there in my notes. I use the same "system" for bible studies as well. NotesPlus is ideal in how I can use handwritten notes and then paste in text which I can move around and format as needed. I also love how NotesPlus also now has a split screen mode where I can have a web browser and my notes side-by-side. That was very cool during a bible study where we were discussing Jesus' travels. I was able to capture images of maps and places :)from the web into my notes. I hear that for some the iPad would be a distraction, but it actually helps me to focus and to get more out of my studies. I also love that I always have ALL of my notes with me so I can refer back to them easily at any time. Love it!
 
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