Ceejay Horrell

www.CeejayHorrell.com

The little things can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Today’s mobile phone offers users many more capabilities than voice mail or text messaging, and manufacturers continue to add an array of features.

Roaming, for example, allows you to use your phone in multiple countries. You can send and receive data and faxes, access to the internet, and GPS is integrated into many devices. Applications like a clock alarm, calendar, calculators and games are standard on most devices and video and music are a must for some.

But have you ever considered that your mobile device could actually have a huge impact on the life of an unbeliever? I was listening to the “Focus on the Family” Broadcast: ‘Making an Impact in Your World’ (26.08.2011 www.FocusOnTheFamily.com) about ordinary people in every day situations who are having an extraordinary affect on the world around them, by simply living out their faith.

I was moved by the story of Jim Omi, a high school custodian, who helped shape a school's spiritual atmosphere. Working the midnight shift from 10pm – 6am, Jim longed to be used in fulltime ministry, but soon realized that God was speaking to him in a different way. While praying about his work and fitting into God’s kingdom, he heard God confirm that this custodian position was for him.

Working long hours in an empty school building was pretty scary at times, to say the least, and Jim was determined to change it. Using his mobile device, in this case an IPod, he decided to plug it into the schools PA system and crank it up with his favourite praise and worship songs. He was soon convinced that he was brining God in, and anointing the entire building in a very unique way. 

Jim didn’t stop there. While walking through the school performing his duties, he would pray as he walked through the hallways, brushing the lockers with his hand as he walked by, and praying over each one. Soon those who knew what he was doing began to see a difference. One prayer group in the school turned into ten. One pastor on hearing about his ministry thanked him and said, “You’re pastoring and you don’t even know it, because you’re praying over people’s lives, for God has given you a special passport into these schools.”

God uses people in every day situations, because many of them have access to unique places. The little things can make a huge difference and the devices we’ve become so dependent on are powerful tools. Who would have thought an IPod in the hands of custodian could set the stage for such an impact?

We can all be stirred by the Spirit of God to move where we see the opportunity. You don’t need a degree or some special piece of equipment; all you need is a heart that’s ready to serve, right where we are.

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. Colossians 3:23 NKJV

By the way, many mobile devices have a built-in camera, allowing you to take pictures and record video, but did you know, most also have sound-recording capability. Why not record a testimony of how God is using you where you are, and have it played at your church for the Personal Ministry feature. I’m sure many will be blessed and encouraged.

I watched in amazement one Sabbath morning as I witnessed a very practical example of how technology is changing the world we live in. The scripture reading was being read, and I was distracted by a silent but very visible exchange between a deacon and one of our youth. Disgusted by the smartphone in the hand of this young man, the deacon was motioning to him to put it away. It was not too long before the deacon’s face changed from one of repulsion to one of embarrassment, when he realized the young man was actually following along on his smartphone’s Bible App.

In just 175 years, we’ve moved from Morse code to the age of radio, TV’s, fax machines, computers, the internet, cell phones and cyberspace. In almost every part of the world these fast-track developments have had their impact. Newspapers contain yesterday’s news, as global events and news is available in real time. When President Barack Obama took the oath on Capitol Hill, almost anyone who wanted to see him could, distance has become a thing of the past.

One of the main contributors to this metamorphosis is the Internet. Every day millions of people exchange ideas, pictures, video conversations and information at the click of a mouse, as if they were physically present. As a provider of Multimedia Solutions, I’m seeing that with the steady increase of broadband internet service, internet technology is exploding with highly advanced methods of communicating both audibly and visibly.  Vendors are employing all the tools available to them to maintain consumer relevancy and seek cost-effective opportunities to acquire and retain customers. This begs the question, where is the church in all this?

Too many of our churches are still trapped in the dark ages of communication, but with the momentum with which new technology becomes user friendly, any church can empower its members to become powerful ambassadors of the Gospel, and the greatest resource available to us is sitting right in the pew.

The other day my (then) five year-old and I walked into a Bell World store and within five minutes he was tugging at my pants leg to listen to a voice recording he made using the IPhone 4 demo. Can you imagine the possibilities if we could marry the life experience of our seniors with the innovative high-tech minds of our youth, working together and using technology to spread our message?!

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, GodTube, Linkedin, and Blogger etc., have all become household names and it’s not unusual for account holders to have 300 or even 1000 followers, giving an entirely new meaning to each one, reach one. Social media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.

If we’re not deliberately using at least one of these forms of social media, we may be slowly becoming silenced by these new forms of communication, and soon we may be busy saying nothing at all. So where do we begin? The best place to start is with our youth, our youth are not our future, they are our present, and given the opportunity they can not only help provide education about the usefulness of these innovative forms of communication, but they can easily spearhead the effort of integrating them into our ministry.

What a difference if that deacon and young man were both sitting at a control booth, streaming the service.