I’ve posted a few blogs about my journey using the iPad to preach (see related posts below).

Thus far I’ve loved using it. I own the original iPad and I’m waiting to upgrade until next year’s version releases.

Here’s my current sermon prep and delivery process.

1. Write sermons on a Word doc on my Airbook.
2. Convert doc to a PDF.
3. Drop PDF into Dropbox on my Mac.
4. Open Dropbox on my iPad.
5. Open the PDF in Noterize.
6. Mark up my PDF.
7. Enthrall millions with my eloquent preaching (oops, Freudian slip there…I meant preach to a few hundred)

Here’s a snapshot of what one page looked look from last week’s talk on spiritual gifts.

This week I’m trying something new. (more…)

I’m convinced God gave me a ‘Geek’ gene.

From my monopoly on science fair first prizes in high school to my toy tank that fires bb’s to my radio-controlled helicopter that shoots plastic missiles, I love any gadget that runs on electricity. I’m also among an elite 50,000 who bought the very first Macintosh in 1984. I sold a life insurance policy and used the cash value to pay for it. Since then I’ve owned over 20 different Macs and I now sport a brand new MacBook Air. I also use an iPhone 4 and an iPad.

Like I said, God gave me a geek gene.

At the same time Mac blood has flowed through my veins, God infused into my bones a passion to teach God’s Word. I’ve preached over a thousands sermons and I’ve seen my preaching evolve over the years in this progression.

1. write sermon notes in the margin of a wide column bible (my eyes can’t see teeny-tiny print now )
2. type out the sermon on one half-page and insert into my bible
3. type up the full text and insert small pages into the bible so that it looks like I’m not using notes
4. print out the full text and place the full sized pages on the lectern
5. Preach from an iPad

I love using the iPad now. It took a few weeks to getting used to it, but I don’t think I will ever change. I see three advantages in using an iPad.

1. Easily mark up and highlight on the fly
2. Keep all your sermons in one place
3. You look really cool, especially when the house and stage lights are off…it casts a holy glow on your face

Here’s how I now prepare my sermons and get them to the iPad.

1. I write my sermons on my Mac with Word. Accordance (easy to use and trusty) and Logos (quite expansive yet rather slow and cumbersome at times) are my primary study tools. Note: My iPad still has not replaced my laptop and I don’t expect it to.
2. I save my Word doc as a PDF file
3. I drop the PDF into Dropbox (a free app that allows you to easily move a pc file to the iPad via shared wi-fi)
4. I open up the PDF in Dropbox and then open it in Noterize ($2.99). Many PDF markup programs exist. This one tends to be a bit slow in turning the pages, but thus far it works best for me. I would love to use Apple’s Pages program, but at this point they don’t offer highlighting options.
5. I then mark up, highlight, and make changes as needed. Our service production team always has a paper copy available in case my iPad goes down.

Here’s a screen shot of what an iPad page looks like.

If you are an iPad user, what apps do you use for preaching? Any tricks you’ve learned?

Related posts:

• How an iPad improved my devotional life
• How Pastors can benefit from an iPad

I’m a busy pastor and am committed to developing my walk with Jesus through several spiritual disciplines. One discipline I practice is a daily time with God when I read Scripture, pray, and journal.

Before I owned an iPad, my quiet time looked like this.

1. read my bible (the paper version), often reading several different bibles to compare translations
2. read a devotional from a paper book
3. journal with pen and paper and later I journaled on my Mac in a Word doc
4. pray through my prayer list on a Treo outlining program, when I got an iPhone I began to use it

Here’s what has changed since I got my iPad 6 weeks ago.

1. read my bible on my iPad using Olive Tree’s BibleReader program (multiple versions, side-by-side comparison, ability to hi-light, take notes, and cut and paste into another program)
2. read an e-devotional from one of the best bible study apps, Logos
3. journal on my iPad using a program called MaxJournal
4. pray through my prayer list using a program called PrayerLists

How this has improved my devotional life.

1. While not feeling rushed, having these tools all in one place has saved time that I can now devote to the actual spiritual exercise.
2. Reading on the big iPad screen using BibleReader is an incredible experience as I can view side-by-side 2 translations at once, can pull up commentaries alongside the text, can copy a verse and paste in into my journal, can hi-light in one color verses I’m memorizing and hi-light in another color a verse that stands out
3. MaxJournal gives a very nice layout, the ability to search, and the ability to use the on-screen keyboard or a bluetooth keyboard. Very cool.
4. PrayerLists provides an easy way to record prayer needs and allows me to schedule them on the days I want to pray for those needs.
5. Having everything in one small package makes it more convenient since I don’t have to lug around four things-bible, journal, devotional, and prayer list.

Struggles I still face.

1. To be honest, I still feel kinda’ guilty not reading out of a paper bible. Sometimes I feel like I’m not really reading the bible though the more I read from BibleReader, the less guilty I feel.
2. It is a bit of a hassle with the current iPad os to move back and forth between programs, but OS 4.0 will allow multi-tasking.
3. PrayerLists is not yet adapted for iPad but the developer is working on it.
4. At first it seemed too ‘tech-y,’ but the more I use this system, the more I’m finding this tool to be an invaluable help in my walk with Christ.

If you have an iPad, has it helped you grow? if so, how?

In a few weeks I’ll post my experience using the iPad in preaching.

Related posts: How Pastors can Benefit from an iPad

For more Help, Tips and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I’m a pastor and I bought an iPad 10 days ago (16 Gig wi-fi version, the cheapest).

If you are a pastor, could an iPad help you become more effective? Maybe. Maybe not.

Although I’m only a little over a week into owning mine, this phrase captures my experience,”It has exceeded all my expectations.”

What prompted me to purchase one?

First, it might help to know the technology I currently use. I am a shameless Mac fanatic and have bought probably 15 macs since the first one came out. I am the proud owner of one of the first 50,000 Macs ever sold. I still own it. My current Mac is a MacBook Pro (10.5.8) and I also own an iPhone 3g.

The most used software programs I’ve put in my Mac dock bar are:

1. Microsoft Office (I primarily use Word and Entourage)
2. Safari browser
3. Accordance Bible software
4. Libronix Logos Bible software (I purchased this after I had used Accordance for several years)
5. Appleworks (I still use the word processor sometimes)

Other software I often use includes: Tweetdeck, Contribute (to edit my website), iTunes (of course), Skype, and Filemagnet (iPhone document sofware). Since I bought my iPad I’ve added Evernote and Dropbox.

When Apple began to hint about a slate type computer, my imagination went wild hoping I could replace my notebook. When the iPad appeared, I tried to justify a purchase that could replace my notebook. But, I couldn’t. I realized I would still need my notebook to manage my bible software.

So, what pushed me over the ledge? My wife said I could buy one. Really. She had to agree before I’d plunk down 500 bucks. In trade, I bought her a new car. Got to keep the marriage intact, you know.

A sidenote: my iphone 3g is ……s…….l……..o………w…….. Drives me crazy and I wanted to use something FASTER. Wow, has the iPad met that expectation.

Here’s how the iPad has benefited me thus far.

1. Lightning fast speed. In every respect, including internet access, the iPad is faster than my MacBook Pro. I’ve pondered having the, “Honey I really need a new MacBook Pro,” talk with my wife, but I need to save that conversation for the new iPhone that comes out in June that I really want.
2. It’s much quicker to type emails than typing them on my iPhone. (more…)