iPads during worship

[TomVols]

One question I have: I've heard some say they can use iPads, etc., to have multiple versions open so as to compare and contrast. Is the worship service really the best time to do this? A Bible study? Ok. But during a sermon, I'm not sure. Again, I won't be dogmatic either way, but I have found that even using parallel Bibles (the old fashioned leather bound paper kind ) tends to distract me from meeting God in the sermon when I'm more worried about whether the ESV is better than the NASB or NIV or HCSB with a particular verse rendering.

 

[interalia]

Not sure if this topic had a subconscious effect on me after reading last night, and though I would never be accused of being a technophile, I used my Kindle today to read Psalm 100 before the offering and Prayer of Thanksgiving. No one, including myself, was harmed.

 

[Rom]

One question I have: I've heard some say they can use iPads, etc., to have multiple versions open so as to compare and contrast. Is the worship service really the best time to do this? A Bible study? Ok. But during a sermon, I'm not sure. Again, I won't be dogmatic either way, but I have found that even using parallel Bibles (the old fashioned leather bound paper kind ) tends to distract me from meeting God in the sermon when I'm more worried about whether the ESV is better than the NASB or NIV or HCSB with a particular verse rendering.

My pastor quotes from different translations. I can now follow along and even note that for future reference. Plus moving through the Bible itself is quicker. While the rest of you are fumbling through your stone tablets, scrolls, etc.

 

[jandrusk]

At the same time, you are under the authority of your session and presbytery- so you are a man under authority. If the pastor will not "let" you, then you shan't use it.

Im gonna play the rebel and suggest that the RPW would argue that no one has the ability to tell you what format your Bible should be in. Some one could ask someone to avoid being a distraction to others, but I'd fight it the whole way if a court of the church tried to forbid me from reading from an electronic device. It would be the same as saying no you cant read the ESV from the thinline you must use the Study Bible!

So my Klingon version of the bible is OK to bring to worship?

Klingon Language Version of the World English Bible

 

[Jack K]

It's easy to preach to people whose heads are up, making contact with you, clearly listening. It's hard to preach to people whose heads are down, clearly reading or otherwise distracted while you're trying to preach, whether they're reading off an iPod or some sort of paper material. And I would think it'd be particularly frustrating to try to preach to people who're busy doing their own research on your text, no matter what media they're using.

So I would say that if you bring an iPod in order to read along when the preacher reads, or to quickly skip to references he points you to, you're being a good and active sermon listener. But if you bring it to do your own thing that disengages you from how he's taking you through the passage, that's being a bad listener. And since the iPod does put a greater number and variety of possible distractions at your fingertips than does paper technology, we ought to exercise special care in using it during services.

 

[Notthemama1984]

I just ran across this video. Apparently you can use an Ipad without a sound board to run the sound system in church.

Videos Posted by Church On Wheels: iPad based 32 Channel "Sound Board" [HD] | Facebook

 

[Eoghan]

I am all in favour of using Technology but not in church. At a school assembly led by an evangelist from the USA, I caught sight of someone seated at the back, accessing the internet on their iphone.

The embarrassing thing is it was the Headmaster!

 

[Bill The Baptist]

Very good points - I make sure that my devices are all being used appropriately for worship. But I enjoy worship and listening to the Pastor preach. So my device (iPad or laptop) is wholly dedicated to understanding him better, taking notes that are instantly cross-referenced within the Bible text so that I can access them the next time I read the passage (better than taking margin notes!), etc.

Besides, I've seen people read their Study Bible notes and the Church bulletin instead of listening to the pastor - so it's not like technology started this...

My Mother-in-Law is what we Baptists would call "backslidden" and rarely attends church. When she does come with us (she thinks our church is a cult) she always cleans out her purse during the sermon. It is a joke between my wife and I to see how long it will take for her to pull out her purse and start cleaning.

 

[T.A.G.]

If people dont want to focus they will not focus. I think it would be legalism for those to say you ought not to read Scripture off an Ipad. An Ipad can often be more handy then a paper Bible. You can follow along with Greek and Hebrew better, you can look up references quicker, look up vocab that one might not understand etc. Regardless, if people dont want to listen they will figure something to think about instead. To me it is similar to the **** issue, people have always lusted, you do not need internet to do that.

 

[(^^)Regin]

Hi Jawyman, I use my spouse's Ipad during worship, that is where I download my songs and it saves me printing time and preparation, since I placed it on the music stand, the congregation does not see it, my only complaint is that it has a 'time-out' and I have to touch the screen every-now and then and since I am using a guitar it gets 'challenging' at times but other than that the church that I lead worship does not mind nor is affected with that technology.

Also regarding some of the things I read, I think it would be up to the owner of the Ipad: if he or she sense that it is a cause of distraction for fellow believers in worship and in hearing the word of our Lord, then for their sake one should abstain from its use. In my case, here in Japan, technology is intertwined with how people live, having an Ipad is no different from having a phone or a new set of Sunday clothes, so this not an issue as far as where my logistics are and I hope that the Lord forbids it to be one; I am not very good with keeping and organizing and reusing printed materials this technology gave me an my spouse some sanity back regarding keeping our prints in one small device

Blessings to you!

 

[fredtgreco]

Hi Jawyman, I use my spouse's Ipad during worship, that is where I download my songs and it saves me printing time and preparation, since I placed it on the music stand, the congregation does not see it, my only complaint is that it has a 'time-out' and I have to touch the screen every-now and then and since I am using a guitar it gets 'challenging' at times but other than that the church that I lead worship does not mind nor is affected with that technology.

Also regarding some of the things I read, I think it would be up to the owner of the Ipad: if he or she sense that it is a cause of distraction for fellow believers in worship and in hearing the word of our Lord, then for their sake one should abstain from its use. In my case, here in Japan, technology is intertwined with how people live, having an Ipad is no different from having a phone or a new set of Sunday clothes, so this not an issue as far as where my logistics are and I hope that the Lord forbids it to be one; I am not very good with keeping and organizing and reusing printed materials this technology gave me an my spouse some sanity back regarding keeping our prints in one small device

Blessings to you!

You can avoid the "timeout" by going to Settings --> Auto-Lock and changing it to "Never"