BibleTech 2009 Conference Draws Digital Disciples

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Friday, March 27, 2009

Over the next two days, a conference that merges Bible study and technology will draw from around the nation Christian publishers, programmers, webmasters, educators, bloggers and anyone interested in using technology to improve Bible study.

BibleTech:2009, sponsored and hosted by Logos Bible Software, aims to "inspire and inform" by offering attendees of the Mar. 27-28 gathering new ideas, opportunities to forge new relationships, and the chance to be exposed to the work others are engaged in at the crossing point of Bible study and technology.

The conference comes as Web 2.0 and Internet-connected mobile devices are offering new ways to interact with Scripture and open source projects and APIs (application programming interfaces) are sparking creativity and getting more people involved in developing technology for Bible study.

"BibleTech:2009 is shaping up to be an incredible event for anyone passionate about the latest developments in Bible and technology," exclaims J.D. Elgin, the coordinator for this year's BibleTech conference.

"Last year's was one of the best, most fun conferences I've ever been to," adds Rick Brannan, an "information architect" at Logos Bible Software, the largest developer of Bible software and a worldwide leader in multilingual electronic publishing.

Held this year in Seattle, BibleTech will feature speakers including, among others, Jim Albright, XML specialist at Wycliffe Bible Translators; Mike Anderson, director of theResurgence.com at Mars Hill Church; John Dyer, director of Web Development at Dallas Theological Seminary; and Aaron Linne, digital media producer at LifeWay Christian Resources.

Topics include SMS Texting for Churches, Web-Empowering Your Church, and Becoming a Digital Disciple.

Though the conference will not be streamed live on the internet, as web savvy Christians might expect, conference organizers plan to make audio available after the conference. For those unable to attend BibleTech:2009, organizers are also putting together a list of speakers who will be blogging during the event.

"I am excited for BibleTech09," wrote Stephen Johnson, a software engingeer at Olive Tree Bible Software, on the mini-blogging site Twitter.com on Thursday. "It was an amazing conference last year, and I expect this year will be even better."

Kicking off this year's conference will be a general session at 9 a.m. PT followed by the first session at 10 a.m. The two-day conference concludes Saturday evening.