Things I find helpful: Bible software

Most of the software I use is free. Libre Office, Dropbox and Evernote do the things I need while costing nothing. But the one thing that I find is worth paying for is Bible software.

I use Logos 5 Bible software to help me study and prepare to preach. I love it because it keeps so many things in one place: Different Bible versions, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, maps, illustrations and my notes. The great thing about it is that its a gradually expanding library that you can add to by buying new books or sets of books.

Pastors traditionally have lots of shelves groaning under the weight of their vast library. I've heard stories of Pastors who have needed two lorries when moving house, one for all their furniture and stuff and the other for their library. My problem is that I don't have a lot of space for bookshelves in my study, so I get ebooks wherever I can.

The biggest advantage of ebooks, after the fact that they don't take up space, is that they are searchable.  This makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for, and logos maximises this potential by indexing all the ebooks they sell. When I add a new commentary, dictionary, or any logos ebook to my software, the program indexes the book so that it becomes part of the search process. That means whenever I type in a passage from the Bible, a load of books and resources open up that connect to that passage. The same is true of a thematic or topical search.

Also, I can access all my Logos books on my phone or tablet. This is the sort of thing that is essential for me as a pastor, but is helpful for anyone wanting to dig deep into the word of God.

But it does cost money!