A project at Sunset International Bible Institute that I have been involved with since its planning stages is the Sunset Digital Library app. At Sunset we have a large archive of older video and audio recordings of our instructors and ministers dating as far back as 1970. Some of the well-known names (now deceased) include Cline Paden, Gerald Paden, Ted Stewart, Truman Scott, Doyle Paden, Abe Lincoln, Richard Rogers, Norman Gipson and Richard Baggett. Others still with us include Ed Wharton, Truitt Adair, Ken Jones, Dan Rouse and many others.
Software
Pick of the Week: Google Keep Note-taking App
For much of my early ministry I carried a small notebook around in my pocket to write down and keep random bits of information I might need later. This would include (before cellphones!) phone numbers, addresses, to do lists, shopping lists, and various thoughts about upcoming lessons I might be working on. While I still have a few of these pocket notebooks around, I no longer use them.
Instead I now use my Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smart phone with the free Google Keep notes app on it. What a useful, versatile and handy app this is! Everything I enter in it immediately is available on the Google Keep app on my Apple iPad, in the Google Keep app in my laptop and desktop’s Chrome web browser, and even by going to the https://keep.google.com website and logging in using my Google Gmail account.
I use Keep mostly as a place to type in the various bits of info I want to keep, but it has many additional features I have not even tried. Read about some of the many things you can do with Google Keep at these websites: PCWorld, Lifewire, and PCMag.
There are numerous other apps available which do more or less the same thing as Google Keep – think Evernote, Apple Notes, etc. But I wholeheartedly recommend the free Keep app for its combination of ease of use, versatility, and almost universal accessibility on any device.
Pick of the Week: Google Slides Online Presentation Software
For some time now, preachers and teachers have joined the education and business communities in using visual presentations with their teaching. This usually means the use of either Microsoft PowerPoint (for both Windows and Mac OS) or Apple Keynote (Mac OS). And these are the two software packages I have used for years as well.
But recently I decided to be adventurous and try an online slide creation and presentation software available free from Google. I had tried Google Slides several years ago but found it too awkward, unintuitive and lacking in features to continue using. Many changes for the better have come to Slides since then. The cost of admission is simply a Gmail email account login, which is itself free.
Pick of the Week: e-Sword 12.0.1 Bible Software Released
My favorite Bible software program has just had a significant update to v. 12.0.1 for the Windows version. I believe I first discovered e-Sword, this FREE Windows Bible program, back at V. 5 in about 2001. At the time I was giving about equal time to two other packages, Quickverse and PC Study Bible. I soon abandoned those programs altogether in favor of e-Sword because it just seemed so much more intuitive and easy to use.
With this new version by Rick Meyers and his team, some of the features I noticed right way include:
- App Themes for changing the color of the basic interface window borders. Before, only gray was available.
- The ability to choose low light (soft off-white) and night light (black) backgrounds in addition to the standard white.
- A revised Resources Window making access to books in that windows easier to manage and use.
Software: Logos eBook Readers
One of the most touted major Bible software programs is Logos by Faithlife. I have owned and used Logos since V.2 in about 2003 (called Libronix back then). The Windows and Mac versions are now up to V.8. In addition, iPhone, iPad and Android phone and tablet versions are also available. I have spent thousands of dollars expanding my Logos library and dutifully upgrading as new versions have been released. The good news is that once I purchase Logos once, I can run it on the various platforms without spending more money except to upgrade versions as they come along. I don’t need to sing the praises of the Logos software; many others do that already.
However, I scarcely ever use my Logos main program – even though I regularly pay to keep it up to date and purchase occasional additional resources to expand my library. Why don’t I use it more? Because it is so complicated to use! Now, for someone who invests a considerable amount of time to learn its intricacies, then uses it almost daily and exclusively, its complexity ceases to be an issue I suppose. But that is not me. Now this post is not intended to primarily criticize the usability of Logos, but to point out why I like it and how I use it despite this major (to me) hindrance.