WARNING: This post is pretty nerdy

There has been a lot of talk lately about the DroidX which is set for release on July 15th on Verizon. I’ve been looking forward to a new touchscreen smart phone on Verizon for a long time. This will be my next phone. I’m especially excited about it because it runs on Google’s Android operating system and just last December, I switched our entire office over to Google Apps.

I have been following a good number of church tech people on twitter for a couple years now and have noticed a large trend in switching their churches to Google Apps. I have even discussed with a few church tech people how I went about implementing Google Apps at my church. With the release of this new DroidX it just makes sense that I get it. I’ll be able to sync my calendar and contacts list as well as have easy access to all my email messages in the same way I view them through the browser. Collaborating on Google Docs will be a breeze as well. Not to mention all the cool features that come with it.

(click image to enlarge)

We all know that smart phones are changing the way we do business. Many church positions require a fair amount of mobility throughout a normal work day. Off-site meetings at Starbucks, home visits, brainstorming retreats, mission trips, and many more reasons why we aren’t at our desks from 9-5 on a regular basis. I have been working with a Blackberry for the last couple of years. I can’t count the number of times having instant access to my email has saved my behind and allowed a project to continue even when I’m away from my desk. When we are off doing all those things… we still must produce worship services for the following weekend, no matter if we’re in-town or not. A smart phone is the obvious solution.

I realize that I’m preaching to the choir here… as the demographic that reads this blog is a lot of church workers who are up on technology. So I would like to take this opportunity to ask a question.

Who pays your cell phone bill?

If we truly are using our smart phone capabilities for ministry… who is paying for that?

*Discuss*

Due to the lack of blog posts on here in the last couple of weeks… you may be wondering a combination of the following answers to the question Where Is Graham?

1. Has he been eaten by a pack of wild Marmadukes?
2. Has he finally had enough and moved to live on the Ayoreo Indian Territory in northern Paraguay?
3. Has he simply been too busy eating hamburgers?
4. Has he been wasting away in front of the Sci/Tech news section in Google News waiting for an update on the widely hoped for Verizon iPhone?

Well I am back here blogging and want to reassure you:

1. No.
2. Tempting… but due to lack of electricity… No.
3. Shhh…
4. Yes… I have been holding my breath for Steve Job’s announcement at WWDC 2010.

If you know me personally, then you are aware that I have been quite busy in recent weeks with the launch of OSLC’s new website, worship time changes at OSLC and preparing for Ministry Tour 2010! I have been just so incredibly busy with work lately that I need to come up for air. So that is exactly what this bear and I are going to do! He’s going to continue swimming around at the Minnesota Zoo in an attempt to stay cool and I’m going to get on a coach bus with 50+ high school kids as we travel north through Wisconsin, cross Lake Michigan on a ferry, drive into Ontario and through Quebec, down through Vermont, across upstate New York with a stop at Niagara Falls, and finally home via Sandusky Ohio. Ministry Tour every year, is the time when I get to come up for air. I am revitalized by the mission of our annual tour. The kids are amazing and I love being able to see them grow in their faith as they share God’s love with the people we meet along the way. This blog is going to be getting some more rest between June 3-11 but I will be a blogging machine over on www.oslcministrytour.com. The bus that will be hauling us around this year is rumored to have on-board WiFi! So I will have no problem bringing you the latest scoop from the road.

I’m not going to lie. I think Toyota’s swagger wagon family is one of the most clever viral marketing strategies taken by a car manufacturer. I personally never want to own a mini-van. However I do think this is the dopest family to drive one! Hilarious music video!