I'm just thinking of all the youth rooms in all the churches and all the homes that have an X Box already. Seems like a good fit between the technology present and interacting with the biblical text.

i've been waiting for this since it was first announced 3 months ago! I'm downloading as soon as i get home.
i'm a pastor and home group leader, and a gamer. my xbox is frequently on when people arrive for home group, and now i'm very pumped about LEAVING it on when they arrive, and using my TV to display the scripture for everyone to see, particularly if they've forgotten their Bible for some reason. in my opinion, this is overdue, and hopefully will be available on the PSN soon too!

and you're right, Xbox Live is indeed a different world, and i've been praying about a way to begin using the connectivity inherent in the service to build relationships and develop some kind of ministry. a kid from our youth group had the same thought, independently, and brought it up last night as we were both playing Halo to raise money for Haiti (yes, that really happened). if any other readers have had thoughts about how to build/structure/implement a ministry to gamers through Xbox Live, please get in touch with me!

Communication requires four things; a transmitter, a receiver, a medium, and data, or content. B&H and Gutenberg did exactly the same thing- used advancing technology to create a new medium. As far as I am concerned, anything that facilitates greater distribution and better understanding of scripture is a very good thing.

And speaking of missional approach- all the is happening here is using elements from the target culture and adapting them to the end of extending the Kingdom.

Ed -

Thanks so much for seeing the ministry value of something like the Bible on the XBOX 360. Since I've been lucky enough to have had the beta for a while now, I can honestly say that being able to put the scripture on my TV has completely changed (for the better!) the dynamics of our small group. Since we're all looking at the scripture together, it truly has become a community reading of the Word and not just people's heads looking down into the Bible.

As a teacher, I love that when we display the passage on the screen, the verse is always shown in context. This means that the other group members can more naturally pick up on the verses around whatever it is we're talking about.

I'm glad to see your readers see the possibilities, too! I'll be sure to keep up with the blog post; if anyone has any questions about Bible Navigator X: HCSB feel free to ask - I'll do my best to answer them!

Respectfully. . .

This is really cool and all, but are kids really going to stop playing Halo and read the Bible?

Josh Hunt
Good Questions Have Groups Talking
www.joshhunt.com

Color me skeptical.

For the home study idea, I'm just not sure I see the value in having a home version of what most churches have -- a screen where you can project Bible verses. In my experience, it's been plenty communal to have a group of believers gathered together reading through their own Bibles. This just seems to encourage the erroneous ideas that (1) any gathering for studying/teaching should be a show; and (2) people need not have their own Bibles to read through because the pastor/study leader will just project up there what we're talking about.

I'm more skeptical about the idea that this could be "missional." It's not as if the program flashes Bible verses in the middle of a Halo game. Are people really going to exit out of their games and open up the Bible program instead in an effort to engage their unsaved friends? How would that conversation go? "Hey, I know you dig this Halo game of mine and all, but let's switch to something different. It's a sweet program that projects Bible verses on the screen. Come on, it will be just as fun!" If that's the point, wouldn't it be just as easy to open up the Bible on the coffee table in front of you and read it to them?

Even assuming there is some utility in projecting Bible verses on the TV this way, does that justify the cost of the program?

Ed,

Thanks for bringing this topic up, and seeking feed back from the ones in the community.

I think this is a valuable tool, I mean it is the Bible, and now it is available in ways for those that are in this unique community to access. However my thoughts align with Josh, "are kids really going to stop playing Halo and read the Bible?" I think not. Some may that are already Christians and see it as a cool new thing, but as an outreach...

What I have been experimenting with to reach this group, is joining clans and seeing how I can influence from with-in, so far I have had some influence and beginning to have deep spiritual conversations with some guys from a clan, aHOL. Bible Navigator X will be an awesome tool for this group, maybe we can spend 5-10 min. discovering God's word together before we Pwn other clans.

For what its worth,
Chris A.K.A MaRduR1

Granted, it won't be the first thing a teenager wants to do on his xbox360 but one of the big changes in the younger generations (me included i hope at 33) is that we never gave up our video games completely. So now that I just purchased a 360 and also have youth group at my house it seems like it will be a great fit.

Also for those young adults who don't have their Bibles on a bookshelf it is just another way to make it available, so I guess I understand pessimism but really what is the downside?

I love the idea of this. This is a great example of taking the Gospel to the people.

I don't know whether people will use this or not, but at least they have the option. Someone is not going to read the bible if it is never presented to them in the first place.

I agree that kids wont stop playing to read the Bible but having bookmarks set up and ready to go for outreach events, this could come in handy, but there are already systems in place in most Churches.

I was more interested in what you said about making the Bible available in languages that people understand and a system they can use. What an advantage to the spreading of the Gospel to parts of the world where maybe Bibles are not easily available. We will never know if things work unless we are open to trying...

Ed,

This is every bit as wacky an idea as leaving Bibles in hotel rooms. And we both know a guy who was saved, all alone in his hotel room, reading such a Bible, simply because there wasn't anything else in the room to read.

Oh .. I REALLY don't like the security word .. it's "gayness of".

Really.

Like most things, time will tell. I remember thinking Windows would never be able to replace DOS and who would ever find a use for those little sticky notes? If it takes off, the guy who came up with the idea will be a genius!

For Christians who know about this, they'll think it's cool and go get it.

For non-christians, I can just see them browsing the indie channel and possibly say, "hmm.. bible on xbox... I wonder what this looks like" and they find themselves reading the bible.

While many churches have other technology to get the bible on the screen, most individuals do not have similar technology in their homes. So this is helpful for home churches and small groups who meet in homes.

I can also see this being utilized church plants. They may not have the means to purchase the technology that larger, more established churches have, but may be able to borrow someone's xbox and large TV to have a similar effect with minimal cost.

This is called innovation. LifeWay hasn't innovated anything since 1925. Finally, they have done something that no one else has done. There will always be people who think "it'll never work." But alas, it will work. PEople will buy it. God will use it to change lives. Baptists will complain about it. And all will be as it should be.

Ed,
I am a "gamer" and minister. I have had a 360 since they came out. I use my 360 for games, community (Facebook), watching movies, playing music, etc. I don't know if I will purchase the Bible Navigator or not.
Our youth and children's ministeries are learning to use gaming systems as tools. I can see where they could learn to use the program, but being limited to the HCSB version might be a negative.
With existing presentation software like PowerPoint where the ministries can craft an entire study presentation I doubt they would opt to use a 360 for something so limited.
There does not seem to be much in the way of gaming excitment about the Navigator. Things happen in the gaming community "organically". If it works it works, if it doesn't there are other things to do. I don't know if a group sitting in a living room would necessarily prefer it over having their own Bibles. I have not heard of the Navigator's use of the Xbox Live service, but if one person could guide a connected group through a study that would be cool.
I am sure people will find there own way of utilizing the program.

@Shawn -

I don't think that anyone in our group has ever thought the using BNX is "putting on a show." What I saw happening was that, since the verse that we were focusing on was on the screen, the members of our small group that did bring their Bibles we actively jumping around to other verses that they knew would connect to the lesson. It may just be the way that our group is wired, but by having the verse on the screen it really did open up the conversation more.

I think, for the small group I'm in, being able to keep our eyes up and not bury our heads into a book really helps with the community/social experience of reading the Bible. And, most importantly, it forces us to deal with the context of the verse rather than just singling out 1 thought or idea.

@Clint -

You can use a Live party in order to get a group of people to chat together, and then do a study online through the XBOX. Unfortunately, however, in this CURRENT vesion, have one person's screen/bookmarks navigator the other people's screens.