Well, I’ve just returned to blogging after two weeks of vacationing and catching up on some much needed rest.  While away, I had a chance to reflect on life, marriage, my relationship with God, ministry, and family.  Over the course of the next few weeks, I will blog about my reflections and vacation experience.  I’m refreshed and ready to get back to work.

BEFORE WE BEGIN…

Once again (just can’t seem to make up my mind) I switched back to the iPhone and put my BlackBerry Bold away.

Check out this video & you’ll understand why:

Mantis Bible Study 4.0 is the most advanced Bible Study Tool available for any mobile platform.  Designed exclusively for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, Mantis Bible Study was created to be powerful enough for full-time Bible students and pastors, yet easy enough for the casual reader to use. Here are a few features:

1. Fantastic support for Bibles with integrated Strong’s Numbers – tap a number to open a definition, tap it again to close it
2. Additional support for Strong’s Numbers: drill-down to root word(s), tap to find where a number is used throughout Scripture, then tap and preview verses
3. Easily create bookmarks, notes, and highlights for any verse in the Bible, or even for commentaries, dictionaries, devotionals, or other books
4. References to Scripture inside personal notes are automatically turned into one-tap cross-references
5. Create, edit, and move bookmarks and bookmark folders
6. Unique “Analyze Verse” feature shows a single verse in multiple translations on one page, along with any installed commentaries for the selected verse
7. Fast and flexible, yet simple search system
8. Save search results as a named folder full of bookmarks
9. Personal notes and translation notes appear inline with the text and can be toggled on and off, making it easier to view the notes within the context of its related scripture
10. Highlighting Bar allows highlighting of individual words and phrases in 4 colors
11. Inline verse-display toggle links for all cross-reference links (in commentaries, dictionaries and other books containing scripture references)

That’s right, it took ONE application to make me switch and after one week of continuous use, I’M HOOKED (for now…)!

By the way, what do you currently use, I’d love to hear your comments!

Currently, I serve as the Senior Pastor of the Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago.  Contrary to what many believe, pastoring Mars Hill is more than preaching, counseling, and praying.  Aside from my pastoral duties, it can be compared to running a small business.

Yesterday, I received a phone call regarding my productivity habits & tools, thoughts on computer hardware, life hacking, and advice for young pastors, entrepreneurs, and leaders. The questions are as follows:

What type of bag do you carry and why?

Currently, I carry a Tumi Laptop Briefcase.  It’s the Alpha Expandable Leather Organizer Model.  I know this bag is rather expensive, but, after carrying cheaper bags, it’s worth the investment.  Tumi bags are always sleek, modern, stylish, and durable.  The Alpha model is not exception, with its bold, black, streamlined look.  It excelled at each challenge I set for it.  Trust me, you’ll enjoy this bag for decades.

What’s In Your Tumi Bag?

1. Apple MacBook (That’s right – no PC here)
2. BlackBerry Storm (yep, dropped my iPhone until they work out a few kinks OR until it comes to Verizon)
3. Amazon Kindle (this is the future of publishing – imagine carrying ONE DEVICE around campus that contains ALL your books. Personally, I like it, but, I don’t see myself giving up books).
4. Moleskine Notebook (Journaling, capturing leadership moments, ideas/planning, etc).
5. Chicago Tribune To Go (gotta know what’s happening in and around Chicago).
6. Wall Street Journal (gotta stay connected with the world – especially the financial world).
7. Leadership Journal (The #1 Journal for pastors & church leaders).
8. Rev. Magazine (The best magazine for ministry application).
9. Homiletics Journal (A must have for those who take preaching seriously).
10. Expandable File Folder (My life is compartmentalized so I need folders to reflect that).
11. Starbucks Mints (I believe in fresh breath & I carry them especially for others & offer them immediately).
12. Levenger True Writer Obsidian Pencil (I use this pencil when I’m suited up & taking notes in professional settings).
13. Levenger Executive Rollerball Pen (ditto).
14. Levenger Pocket Brief (This time-tested leather notepad is the tool for taking good notes on the run, at presentations, and over lunch)
15. G2 Pens (The G2’s are everyday writing pens that don’t bleed – honestly, in my opinion, they are the best writing pens on the market).
16. Flip Digital Video Camcorder (You never know when something may happen).
17. Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki (This book is a MUST HAVE for leaders – sorta like a desktop reference guide).

What gadgets do you use on a day-to-day basis?

I have such a crowded life and crowded schedule. When people send me a link with a gadget, I’ll look at it and buy it if it looks interesting, but I don’t have time to check out everything I’d like to. Currently, I use the following:

1. BlackBerry Storm (I use it as a digital camera & voice recorder)
2. Amazon Kindle
3. Platronics Discovery 925 (My bluetooth earpiece)
4. iPod Classic (My constant companion loaded w/many audiobooks, music, & podcasts)

What are you using to manage your email?

Currently, I use Apple Mail, but, lately I’ve grown fond of Gmail.  It has an excellent spam filter and I can access it from any computer anywhere in the world.

What’s your web browser of choice?

My browser of choice is currently Firefox. I do not use Windows Explorer (WE) and may switch to Google Chrome (Mac Version). WE has too many security issues for me and I don’t like its current interface. If they improve WE with Windows 7, I may look at it again.

Do you have any questions that I didn’t cover?

One of my facebook friends asked me to convince her why she should buy a Mac.  Her question inspired me to share my experiences with you.

Ok, here we go:

You know you’ve been thinking about it.  Everyone is doing it.  Who wouldn’t when they look at their ugly black Dell compared to one of the macbooks?  Of course Macs look good, however, I’m sure you want reasons other than “they’re the finest looking computers out yonder.”  Let me first give my testimony.  I used (“PCs”) for 18 years.  Then when Apple came out with OS X, I was a little intrigued, although that didn’t stop my jeering.  After watching it develop, I caved in and purchased an MacBook & an iMac G5.  Now I wouldn’t switch back for money or fame.  I sometimes forget the horror people go through with their computers—although I am jolted back into reality when a friend calls with problems, and is fixed after running Ad-Aware or some other utility.  Defragers, disk doctors and utilities, registry repairers, virus protection, spy/adware removers, and more all need to be bought and run frequently.  It isn’t worth time, money, or stress.

(Ooooo…looks so sweet…you know you want it)

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