As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve written a book entitled Macs in the Ministry which is now available. I’m blogging about the book at macsinministrybook.com, so if you’re interested in learning what this book is all about, you can find out more there. In this post, I want to underscore how indispensable Accordance was to me in the writing of the book.
Obviously, Accordance was the place I turned to find passages of Scripture to cite. One of the aspects of the book I’m proudest of is the fact that it’s more than just a straight technology book. Writing this book was my chance to “preach to the preachers,” so I cited Scripture frequently. For example, in the Introduction I talk about what it takes to have an “insanely great ministry,” a subject which has more to do with Biblical principles than with Mac models. In the chapter on using your Mac to promote your ministry, I give several “Biblical Examples of Self-Promotion.” Finally, because all of the practical how-to chapters center around studying and teaching the story of David and Bathsheba, the book contains lots of interesting insights into that particular passage.
In addition to the Biblical help, Accordance also offered me a great deal of visual help. Macs in the Ministry shows you how to build iMovies, iPhoto slide shows, cards, calendars, and photo books, Pages documents, Keynotes slide shows, and other kinds of visually rich productions. The challenge I had was to find royalty-free images that I could include on the book’s accompanying DVD so that readers could complete the various sample projects. My employers were very gracious to let me include images from the Bible Lands PhotoGuide and Bible Art modules so that the how-to projects could have a visual impact worth emulating.
If you ever need to write a book, I’d suggest you do as I did and keep Accordance open at all times. The same advice applies to any kind of writing, sermon preparation, or lesson development.