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When I entered the ministry 20 years ago, I typed my sermons on a manual typewriter, kept my appointments on the 12-month calendar that my insurance agent gave me, stored my illustrations in a 3-by-5 card file, and kept my concordance handy to look up Scriptures.

When I left the office, I'd carry a list of important phone numbers, appointments, and a to-do list on a pocket memo pad. And I'd use a pay phone to call the office periodically to make sure everything was all right.

Times have changed.

Today I have an office computer equipped with Word Search, a software program with several translations of the Bible, commentaries, maps, and Greek and Hebrew dictionaries. I have a Palm Desktop, a personal information manager; and InfoSearch, a software program that stores and retrieves illustrations. My desktop computer is networked with other church computers, allowing us to share information and hardware with each other. And when I travel, I take a laptop computer with me that will network with office computers.

To keep in touch with my congregation, I wear a pager and carry a cell phone at all times. And to stay on top of my schedule, I've replaced my pocket memo pad with a Palm Pilot that I synchronize with the personal information manager on my office computer.

I'm not alone in turning to a handheld computing device. According to analysts at International Data Corporation in Framington, Massachusetts, more than 5 million people in the United States are expected to own handheld computing devices by 2002.

The Palm Pilot is preloaded with a calendar, memo pad, address book, and expense tracker. And with just the touch of a button on the Palm cradle or modem, the Palm synchronizes with the Palm Desktop Software on the desktop computer.

The Palm also runs third-party software that helps a minister to be more efficient, such as:

• ProxiMail (www.proxinet.com), a free e-mail service. Using my Palm and a special modem, I can retrieve and respond to my e-mail from any phone. The newest version, the Palm VII, offers direct Internet access without the use of an exterior modem or phone line.

• Street Signs (www.TrekWare.com), a mapping program. With a Palm and this program, I can search for a place based upon an intersection, address book entry, or address that I enter for any major city in the United States.

• Trip (www.handshigh.com) helps me track business miles. It makes quick work of entering beginning and ending mileage and categorizing a trip for reimbursement and tax preparation. With its export feature, the Palm allows me to send the data to my desktop computer to import into my mileage database program.

• OmniRemote (www.pacificneotek.com) uses the Palm's infrared capability to control multiple televisions and VCRs at the office and at home.

• Peanut Press (www.peanutpress.com) publishes electronic books that I can download and read on my Palm Pilot using the free Peanut Reader.

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