May 2008

5/31 ~ TECH ~ Barna Report ~ Social Networking, Online Entertainment and Church Podcasts (barna.org) "One recent study we completed among teenagers showed that just 9% of church-going teens had learned something helpful about technology in their church during the past year. As each new generation becomes increasingly enmeshed with technology, these discussions and choices cannot be left to chance. Control, image, relevance, immediacy, transparency, purity, truth, stewardship, and escapism are some of the many issues that technology brings to the surface, not always with benign consequences." 5/30 ~ RECOMMENDED BOOK ~ The Journey of a Post-Modern Missionary by Richard G. Lewis (amazon.com) I came across Richard Lewis's book in Justin Long's most recent (March/April 08) momentum-mag. Following are a few links to help you become more familiar with Richard's ministry as well as his book: » Google Book Search (Read significant portions of Richard's book online) » Amazon Reader Reviews » Lewis Cross-Cultural Training, Inc. (Richard has trained over 300 hundred missionaries from 20 different mission agencies) » Blue Passport (Richard's blog is very worth checking out) 5/29 ~ STRATEGY ~ The Home Assignment Triangle by Ellen Livingood (Catalyst Services) "The concept of a “sending triangle”—where the church, agency, and missionary coordinate their efforts in the fielding of workers—is receiving growing attention ... While stronger connections have improved certain aspects of the sending process, much more consideration and energy needs to be focused on how this cooperative relationship should function in relation to missionaries’ home assignment (previously called furlough)." 5/28 ~ RESOURCES ~ Resource Reviews: BAM, Worldviews, Reaching Muslims, and More by Marti Smith (Missions Catalyst E-Magazine) » BOOKS: Top 25 on Business as Mission » BOOK - Making Sense of the World's Spiritual Chatter » DVD - Video-Based Curriculum on Reaching Out to Muslims » TRAINING MANUAL AND MORE - The China Games and Beyond Equipping Kit » VIDEOS - US$1.99 Missions Videos from Bluefish TV » EVENTS - New Items on the Missions Catalyst Calendar » QUESTIONS - Can You Help Us? 5/27 ~ WORTHY IS THE LAMB! ~ One More Person (Facebook Group: Perspectives on the World Christan Movement) Oscar Schindler's gut-wrenching recall of wasted opportunities to redeem men and women from the holocaust has to rank as one of the most convicting scenes in the history of motion pictures. Suggestion: Prayerfully watching this clip every day could make for significant life-change. 5/26 ~ NATIONAL PRAYER GATHERING ~ The Call D.C. ~ August 16, 2008 (cbn.com) "The Call is not an event. The Call is a movement emphasizing prayer, worship, and fasting for spiritual breakthrough. It is a nameless and faceless movement joining the generations. The primary participants are young people. The musicians on stage are worshippers, not entertainers. The Call is a grassroots movement. It is a cross-cultural and cross-denominational gathering." (The Call began 8 years ago in Washington D.C. ~ Click here to learn more at The Call's web page and to register.) 5/24 ~ TEAM PRAYER ~ Take Your Team Out for a Day to Pray by Doug Lucas (Brigada Brigade) Doug Lucas wrote a "Backpage" for the March 31 issue of Brigada Today that provides a great "Day of Prayer" model for all ministry teams to follow. If your ministry doesn't have a day of prayer set apart on a regular basis, there's no better time to start than now. 5/23 ~ GOD'S TIMING ~ Strategic Delay by Debbie Przybylski (Intercessors Arise) "The Lord, in the time of strategic delay, will bring the peoples of the earth to the point at which His intervention is absolutely necessary, and He will orchestrate the timing of that intervention to bring maximum glory to His own Name. Those who have oil in abundance, who have cultivated intimacy with Jesus by the Holy Spirit, will understand with a much greater degree of peace and rest what His strategies are, and will find the grace to cooperate with them” - Gary Wiens 5/22 ~ CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING ~ The Kampei Game (childrencomefirst.com) "The Kampei Game was written and designed by the author of The Luna Game so it has many of the components The Luna Game has. Whereas in The Luna Game participants get to feel what it's like to go overseas as a missionary, in The Kampei Game they learn how to reach out to immigrants and ethnic peoples who've come to the USA and who may live in their city but are going unnoticed. It's a tremendous simulation game to encourage and empower participants of all ages to roll up their sleeves and reach out and befriend the world that has now come to us." 5/21 ~ PRAYER / VIDEO ~ Like Incense by Wycliffe Bible Translators (Godtube.com) "Images from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe emerge and intertwine for an experience of prayer that is unlike any other. Listen to prayers, based on Scripture, featured in French, Spanish and English." 5/20 ~ JUSTICE / VIDEO ~ Born Into Brothels ~ Movie Review by Shannon Whiting (urbana.org) "Passionate photographer Zana Briski had set out to capture the stories of brothel women in northern Calcutta. It’s almost impossible to take photos in the red light district,” she says in the beginning of her documentary, Born Into Brothels. This problem soon resolves itself through eight pairs of small and eager hands." 5/19 ~ CHINA ~ China Earthquake: Hands-on Approach is Measure of Change by David Eimer (telegraph.co.uk) "After being criticised for its slow response to the snowstorms that brought China’s railways to a halt in January and its clumsy handling of the unrest in Tibet, now the government seemed to be thinking on its feet." 5/17 ~ INTERCEDE ~ Debt Woes Drive Thousands of Indian Farmers to Suicide (news.yahoo.com) "KOCHI, India - For the widows, left to tend the crops and raise the children, the suicides are personal calamities with roots not in macroeconomics, but in homegrown problems — impossible debts, the loss of ancestral land, rapacious money lenders." 5/16 ~ DISCIPLING THE NEXT GENERATION / BOOK ~ Prayer Saturated Kids (amazon.com) "Prayer-Saturated Kids is a vital guide for parents who long to impact their children's lives on every level. Parents will discover different styles of prayer, learn how to intercede for their children's protection and growth, and deepen their children's awareness of God's work in their lives--all of which creates an environment where children are prayed for, prayed with, and praying. " 5/15 ~ BOOKNOTES ~ Screams in the Desert by Sue Eenigenburg (davidmays.org) "Sue Eenigenburg has been a missionary for more than twenty years, twelve of them living with her husband and four children in the Middle East. With wit and insight she helps us understand many of the incongruities and traumas of a family living in another culture." 5/08 thru 5/14 ~ SABBATICAL ~ Daily Connections took a week-long rest. Thanks for your patience! 5/07 ~ BURMA ~ Prayer for Burma by Stan Guthrie(stanguthrie.com) Stan Guthrie of Chiristianity Today provides an opportunity to pray for Burma following the recent cyclone which has taken tens of thousands of lives. Stan also provides a glimpse into the history and struggle of Burma under a military dictatorship that, following the cyclone, is now asking for international assistance. See also John Piper's response to this disaster: 6 Ways to React to the Cyclone. 5/06 ~ CONFERENCE ~ Disaster Assistance Response Training ~ July 13-18, 2008 ~ Bartlesville, OK (Strategic World Impact) "Join with Strategic World Impact with its international faculty at a one-of-a-kind conference. With rich spiritual depth, world-class teaching, and interactive group field exercises, the week-long DART Training Conference provides valuable tools necessary to minister hope to those who are distressed and oppressed. Included in this course is classroom instruction as well as an overnight stay in a simulated refugee camp." 5/05 ~ THE NATIONS HAVE COME TO US ~ Books/Resources on Ethnic Groups in the U.S. and Canada (EdStetzer.com) "This bibliography was developed by the library at the International Mission Board, and they have given me permisison to pass it on to you." - Ed Stetzer 5/03 ~ PERSPECTIVES ON FUNDING ~ Missions and Money ~ Web Site "Missions and Money" is a web ministry created to serve the Body of Christ by providing a wide range of opinions on the issues of funding and partnership (primarily with "overseas" churches). One nice feature of the site is a pull down menu on the "articles" page, allowing the user to select articles based on specific subjects, such as: Case Studies, Lifestyle of Missionaries, Partnership, etc. This site is a work in process and the ministry behind it invites comments and suggestions for additional material to be posted here. It also provides an RSS feed to indicate when a new article has been posted. 5/02 ~ WORTHY IS THE LAMB! ~ A Passion to Imitate Jesus Christ by Paul Borthwick (Urbana.org) Paul Borthwick follows yesterday's entry with regard to passion and the call of God. Here's a teaser: "... the deeper meaning of passion is being absolutely dedicated to a task, to a vision, to a goal. The Greek word – pascho – literally means "to suffer." That's why the week between Palm Sunday and Easter - the week of Christ's suffering and death - is called "Passion Week." Combining the dictionary definition with the biblical word, I'd like to define passion this way: Passion is the zeal to be so intensely committed to something that we’d suffer or die for it." 5/01 ~ GUIDANCE ~ Does God Call You to Do Something You Don't Feel a Passion For? by Jack Voelkel (Urbana.org) Urbana's "Ask Jack" provides four succinct examples from Scripture to show that passion is not an essential element of God's calling. Be sure to read tomorrow's entry as a complimentary and much more thorough treatment of the subject of passion for Christ and our service to Him. Note: today's and tomorrow's entries came from Urbana's E-News, a weekly compilation of selected articles from Urbana's vast archives. Click here to subscribe. Back to Archives