No, this doesn't involve anything sharp or violent. Hack My Bible is an initiative to use technology to make the Bible more accessible to our changing culture. Since Agapé France didn't host a hackathon this year, May participated in Hack My Bible, hosted by the French Bible Society. Together with two colleagues and 40 other participants, they dreamed together to use today's technology to bring the Bible into people's daily lives. May's group created a working model of a voice operated Bible app (in French), like talking to Alexa, Siri, or Google. Imagine if your "assistant" were thoughtful enough to ask you how you are feeling, then offer you a Bible verse that corresponds? This is what they did! When they call to the assistant saying, "tell me a Bible verse." it offers a verse of the day. Or it can ask how they are feeling in the form of several multiple choice questions: calm or stressed, and so on. Then the assistant shares a verse tuned to their needs. That's a neat idea, isn't it? Another project during Hack My Bible was a chatbot that could help people memorize scripture. This program progressively displays a Bible verse of your choice with more and more words to fill in over time. I could definitely use that! As the use of assistants and augmented reality grow, we can bring the life giving message of the Bible into people's lives in new ways.

A passel of creative artists + blank paper over the tables + a healthy supply of markers = lots and lots of doodles! I spent a week in Chicago to meet Cru's Creative 1 media team. These are 46 staff who work in the creative arts primarily for campus ministry. One of them, Jesse Rogers, studied animation in college and has already been regularly connecting to coach me in the animation process. I am very thankful for the encouragement and support Jesse has given, and I'm hoping that some of the additional connections with this team will prove helpful. Scriptwriters, illustrators, videographers, photographers, graphics designers and animators are great to know! Since Agapé France doesn't have anyone working in the field of creative arts, besides me, I'm longing for the spurring on that comes from teamwork and the candor of the critical eye of others. But let's take a look at the name Creative 1, a nod to the One who is the origin of all things creative. This time of year it is a joy to see the colors the Creative One paints with the trees turning color and pink sunsets on blue skies. God is at the origin of all creativity! Why is it easier to think of him as originator than as artist - creator? Yet any close look at flowers or the dazzling colors of fish in the sea should remind us that God is a master artist. I am thankful to be living in this masterpiece. He is the true creative one.