November 2007

11/30 ~ NEWS RELEASE ~ Planning Started for ‘Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization’ (LCWE) "This is a congress, which implies that people will have been working prior to the gathering ... and when together, they plan to develop strategies, create documents, and strengthen partnerships that will help establish the priorities for the global church for the next generation." —Doug Birdsall, LCWE Executive Chair See also: About Lausanne 11/29 ~ STEWARDSHIP ~ Traveling with Wesley, by Phillip Yancey (Christianity Today) "How do we cherish this life with its gifts of art, beauty, music, and love, while serving the poor and storing up treasures in the coming kingdom?" 11/28 ~ RESOURCES ~ Resource Reviews - November 28, 2007, by Marti Smith (Missions Catalyst E-Magazine) » PRESENTATION MATERIALS - The State of the Gospel » DATA - Drawing Conclusions from the World Christian Database » TOOLS FOR ADVOCACY - Resources about AIDS from World Vision » BOOK - There's a Sheep in my Bathtub » BOOK - Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret (New Edition) 11/27 ~ AFRICA ~ Africa Unbound, by Jonathon Bonk (Christianity Today) Bonk provides an encouraging, whirlwind glimpse into the diverse and complex realities of Christian Africa. 11/26~ PRAYER TRAINING ~ Prayer to Go: MP3's & Videos ~ (UnveilinGlory) Prayer to Go MP3's consist of short, powerful recordings of prayers (that listeners can pray along with) under the following categories: Pre-Teens, Teens, College & Adults. Giving Prayer a Second Chance consists of eight, twenty-minute video lessons, helping viewers to discover why some prayers never get answered and how to pray God-centered prayers that will get answered! 11/24~ TECH TRENDS ~ Web Innovation: Bible Society at Cutting Edge, by John McNeil (Assist News Service) "We’re also thinking, what is the next step?" said Mr Brown. "One of my drives as a church agency is to not be late adopters, but to lead the way. Not to just lead the way in talking about church, but when society looks at us we are not way in the distance; we are right next to them." 11/23~ DEVELOPMENT ~ Why Is Community Development Needed in Central Asia?, by Keith Carey (Global Prayer Digest) "... a 30-year community development worker in Afghanistan ... went with her family to do medical work in 1977, just before the Soviet invasion. During the early days of her work, she spent a good part of her time hiding in a cellar and praying that Soviet rockets wouldn't harm her or her Afghan neighbors. The Afghans noticed that she didn't leave when the going got tough. She and her family became known in the local communities as "the people who wouldn't leave." 11/22~ BUSINESS AS MISSION ~ China Closes Australian Company for Promoting Christian Values ~ (Business As Mission Network) "In an unprecedented move against a foreigner-owned firm in China, a large Australian company called Enoch Group (www.enochgroup.com) has been raided and attacked by various Chinese government agencies in Guangdong province since August of this year." 11/21~ BOOKNOTES ~ Simple Church ~ Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples, by Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger (davidmays.org) "Thom Rainer is president of LifeWay Christian Resources and a well known church consultant and author of books about church. Eric Geiger is the executive pastor of Christ Fellowship near Miami. The authors advocate a focused and streamlined way to do church that deliberately moves people through a discipleship process." 11/20~ GENERATIONS ~ The Millennials Are Coming ~ Morley Safer on the new generation of American workers (cbsnews.com) A secular, Boomer view into the generation of Americans born between 1980 and 1995, their increasing presence in the workplace and the resulting culture clash between them and their Boomer, bosses and supervisors. (Found on: blews.blogspot) 11/19 ~ SHORT-TERM MISSIONS ~ The "Harvest Cycle" and Short-Term Missions, by David Rogers (sbcimpact.net) "Anyone who knows anything about farming knows that, in order to reap a harvest, there are various stages you must pass through first." 11/17 ~ US CHURCH TRENDS ~ The Evangelical Elite ~ Interview by Tim Stafford (Christianity Today) "Michael Lindsay says adherents of the movement can now be found in powerful positions in every niche of American life." 11/16 ~ E-MAGAZINE ~ Practical Mobilization - November 14, 2007 by Shane Bennett (Missions Catalyst) 1) Focus on the Unengaged, 2) Having a Message of Integrity, 3) Subversive Mobilization You will especially enjoy Subversive Mobilization and its practical application to celebrating Thanksgiving. Check it out! 11/15 ~ MISSIONS SERMON ~ "I Am Sending You Out as Sheep in the Midst of Wolves" ~ The Cost and Blessing of Being a Christian Missionary, by John Piper (Desiring God) "... one of the instruments God uses to awaken a compelling calling to missions is the preaching of the word of God. And specifically the preaching of passages of Scripture that describe the mandate and its costs and blessings." 11/14 ~ SAGE ADVICE ~ Developing Good Development ~ 10 principles to guide your church's next mission project, by Greg Snell (Christianity Today) "Many analysts have noticed that when Westerners try to help developing nations, we often waste large amounts of money, undermine the local economy, or make locals dependent on us for generations. But I cannot give up, because I've seen development succeed time and again." 11/13 ~ MEMBER CARE ~ Dollar's Fall Hits IMB Missions Hard by Erich Bridges (Baptist Press) "... we're having to ask people to look for other places to live, to find someplace cheaper. That slows them down as they readjust everything. Those are big energy and emotion eaters when you have to break your nest apart and set it up again in a foreign place." 11/12 ~ BAM ~ Business As Mission on Covers of Christianity Today and Mission Frontiers To see both issues visit www.christianitytoday.com/ct/archives/november2007.html and www.missionfrontiers.org/2007/06/200706.htm 11/10 ~ JUSTICE / RESOURCE ~ Award-Winning Film Amazing Grace Releases on DVD ~ Releases on DVD November 13, 2007 (Assist News Service) "In support of the film, 75 diverse organizations worked together to carry-on Wilberforce's vision of justice and mercy. Be a World-Changer Small Group Bible Study Guide, a five-week series, is a study that helps churches, corporations and campuses serve their communities. Visit www.world-changers.info or www.amazinggracemovie.com for more information." 11/09 ~ ASSESSMENTS & REFLECTIONS ~ In the Aftermath of a Kidnapping by Sarah Pulliam (Christianity Today) Following yesterday's CT editorial, "Missions Isn't Safe", today's article provides critical insight into the broad impact the Korean hostage situation has made on the Korean nation, government, Church and missions movement, as well as on the larger global missions movement. 11/08 ~ WORTHY IS THE LAMB! ~ Missions Isn't Safe ~ editorial (Christianity Today) "... we can learn much about missionary passion, among many other things, from believers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. And one lesson they teach is this: We cannot allow bad publicity or remorse over ill-considered missionary methods to suck the life out of our missionary risk-taking." 11/07 ~ EVANGELISM & SOCIAL CONCERN ~ Getting Back on Course by Ajith Fernando (Christianity Today) "The Christian Vision Project's big question this year has been, 'What must we learn, and unlearn, to be agents of God's mission in the world?' Many respondents have argued for increased attention to issues of global justice. Ajith Fernando, longtime Youth for Christ leader in Sri Lanka, doesn't disagree, but wonders if we're in danger of forgetting what he considers our highest mission priority." 11/06 ~ PERSECUTION / MAP ~ Where Christians Are Persecuted (idop.org) This Sunday (11/11/07) is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Why such a Sunday once a year? To give churches a powerful way to remind us of our responsibility to pray for and care for those who suffer among our brethren, and to recognize where prayer and support is needed most. 11/05 ~ PARTNERSHIP ~ Partnership Essentials ~ Advice from Experienced Church Partners and Two Examples of Partnership Agreements (Catalyst Services) "Catalyst has been informally polling church leaders with significant experience in international partnerships. We asked them to identify what they found to be the most critical elements of successful partnerships from their perspective and also what they had discovered to be major hindrances. Here is the compilation of their responses." 11/03 ~ ISLAM ~ The Battle for Pakistan by Elizabeth Kendal ~ (Assist News Service ) This article was posted on the internet yesterday. It is very helpful in light of today's stand-off between the military government of Musharrif and Pakistan's Supreme Court. October September August July June May April March