One of the international ministries that ACTION networks with is Christian Ministries International. The director Ron Carlson has helped us in the Philippines and in Cuba with pastors’ conferences and printing his books in Spanish. Below is some of his information and where you might purchase his excellent materials.
Ron Carlson's Lectures on Audio CD
6 CD Album: "Answering Skeptics Questions"
1. World Religions: What Makes Jesus Unique?
2. Evolution vs. Creation
3. The Bible: Is it God's Word?
4. The Resurrection: Fiction or Fact?
5. What is God Like?
6. New Age Spirituality and Secular Humanism
6 CD Album: "Answering the Counterfeits"
1. Mormonism: Christian or Cult?
2. Jehovah's Witnesses and The Trinity
3. The Religion of Islam
4. The Occult Explosion
5. The Jesus of the Cults
6. Christian Science and Unity
6 CD Album: "Answering Provocative Issues"
1. Roman Catholicism in the Light of Scripture
2. Freemasonry, Shriners and The Masonic Lodge
3. Health, Wealth, and Prosperity Theology
4. Buddhism, Hinduism, Yoga and Reincarnation
5. Eastern Meditation vs. Biblical Meditation
6. Red vs. Blue: the Real Cultural Divide
Cost: $35. each Album; $95. Special for All Three Albums
Book: "Fast Facts on False Teachings" Cost: $10.
Chapters include: Atheism, Evolution, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Islam, Freemasonry, Hinduism, Buddhism, The Occult, Roman Catholicism, Prosperity Theology, The Jesus of the Cults, Transcendental Meditation, Sun Myung Moon and more ....
Documentary DVDs
1. A Question of Origins: Evolution vs. Creation 60 minutes
2. The Young Age of the Earth 76 minutes
3. The Secret World of Mormonism 55 minutes
4. Jehovah's Witnesses: A Non-Prophet Organization 45 minutes
5. Islam, Israel, and Armageddon 60 minutes
6. Roman Catholicism: Crisis of Faith 53 minutes
7. Freemasonry: From Darkness to Light 34 minutes
8. Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged 60 minutes
9. Seventh-Day Adventism: The Spirit Behind the Church 40 minutes
10. Yoga uncoiled: from East to West 80 minutes
Cost: $20 each, or any three for $55. or any five for $90.
Ron Carlson's Lectures on DVD
1. Evolution vs. Creation 84 minutes
2. Mormonism: Christian or Cult? 82 minutes
3. Jehovah's Witnesses and The Trinity 70 minutes
4. The Religion of Islam 64 minutes
5. The Jesus of The Cults 70 minutes
6. New Age Spirituality and Q&A 118 minutes
7. World Religions: What Makes Jesus Unique? 44 minutes
8. The Bible: Is it God's Word? 41 minutes
Cost: $15. each, or "All Eight DVDs in Special Album" $100.
Checks payable to: C.M.I.
Christian Ministries International P.O. Box 1156
Minnetonka, MN. 55345-1156 Ph: 952-937-1385
www.roncarlson.com
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth
A High Court judge has urged caution and balance when showing school children Al Gore’s film An inconvenient truth on global warming. The judge, Sir Michael Burton, identified nine incorrect claims in the popular film in his judgment on a challenge brought by a school governor over whether the film should be shown in British schools.
The school governor described Gore’s film as ‘a political shock-you-mentary’. The judge said that the film could be shown but should be accompanied by guidance notes that balance Mr. Gore’s ‘one-sided’ views.
The false or unsubstantiated claims listed in the judgment are: 1) Sea levels could rise by 20 ft in the near future; 2) Pacific atolls have been evacuated; 3-6) The drying out of Lake Chad, the decrease of snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro, hurricane Katrina and coral bleaching are the result of man-made global warming; 7) The Gulf Stream will stop flowing; 8) Changes in carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures were an exact fit for the past 65,000 years; and 9) Polar bears are drowning due to lack of ice in the Arctic.
Evangelical Times, December 2007 p. 28.
The school governor described Gore’s film as ‘a political shock-you-mentary’. The judge said that the film could be shown but should be accompanied by guidance notes that balance Mr. Gore’s ‘one-sided’ views.
The false or unsubstantiated claims listed in the judgment are: 1) Sea levels could rise by 20 ft in the near future; 2) Pacific atolls have been evacuated; 3-6) The drying out of Lake Chad, the decrease of snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro, hurricane Katrina and coral bleaching are the result of man-made global warming; 7) The Gulf Stream will stop flowing; 8) Changes in carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures were an exact fit for the past 65,000 years; and 9) Polar bears are drowning due to lack of ice in the Arctic.
Evangelical Times, December 2007 p. 28.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
When God Disturbs the Peace
by Fleming Rutledge
Our gospel may be small because we fail to believe that God animates many social movements.
Most of the participants in the civil rights movement were overwhelmingly convinced that in their resistance, God was on the move.There are two competing ways of understanding and presenting the Christian gospel in America. They are equally valid and ideally should complement one another, but unfortunately, battle lines have been drawn on both sides. Some Christians emphasize the gospel as purely a matter of individual salvation; others see it essentially in terms of community and of social justice. This problem is partly cultural, but more significantly, it arises from insufficient knowledge of the Scriptures: "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God" (Matt. 22:29).
American Christians of both the Right and Left find it difficult to read Scripture from the perspective of communities other than our own. On one hand, teaching in the mainline churches is often detached from any foundational convictions about "the Scriptures or the power of God." A service may begin, "Let us worship God," but then go on to celebrate the possibilities inherent in human nature. Transcendent power is not in view; "inclusion" is the operative word.
On the other hand, worship in many American evangelical and Pentecostal churches, while appearing to extol the power of God, focuses attention on very specific and limited categories. Often the spotlight is on redemption from particular sins, like freedom from whatever one's addiction might be (very popular at the moment). Sometimes it is healing of a specific physical ailment, or it may be a version of the prosperity gospel.
Often in these evangelical-Pentecostal settings, however, the power of God is proclaimed as deliverance from demonic forces. This is a perspective that liberals and evangelicals might be able to share. For some time now, the academic guilds have been moving away from a rationalistic mode of biblical interpretation. This development opens the way for a new appropriation of the conceptual world of the New Testament, in which the presence of the demonic is presupposed. This perspective shapes theo-ethical thinking in two crucial ways: First, it allows Christians to view opponents not as evil in themselves, but as those who are in the grip of external forces. This conviction empowered Martin Luther King in his consistent message that blacks and whites together were in need of deliverance. Second, the worldview that acknowledges the agency of an active Enemy in world events encourages Christians to look for the power of God not only in stories of individual deliverance, but also in the great social movements of our time.
This potential for a common perspective, however, has not yet been located in American church worship and practice, for specific theological reasons. The divide between the liberal, revisionist project and the apostolic, biblical faith is not characterized primarily by the distinction between the individual and the social. The liberal-orthodox gap is most acute when we talk of "the power of God." The biblical proclamation of the triune Creator God who, when his good creation rebels, recaptures it from an occupying Enemy through the invasion of his Son, is not the central operating system for liberal theology. The belief that an "experiential," humanistic perspective on the Christian story is more accessible and appealing is proving not to be the case; several decades of this thin gruel have left us without any transcendent dimension to draw upon, either for social action or for individual regeneration.
The divide between liberal and biblical perspectives has to do with trust in the God who comes into the world from a sphere of power other than our own. It is here that we find the link with the New Testament's picture of a supernatural, occupying Enemy. Humankind does not possess resources to overcome this Enemy, but God does. In the stories of Jesus' exorcisms, we see enactments of the victory of God over the legions of demons. This can and should be interpreted on both an individual and a societal basis. Many African-American congregations excel in their ability to see both at the same time.
Widening Our Vision
Here is an illustration that shows how these divides are bridged—however briefly—where there is biblical faith. I once heard the Czech theologian Jan Lochman describe the atmosphere in Basel, Switzerland, where he was teaching in 1989, when the Berlin Wall came a-tumblin' down. At one worship gathering, this well-known passage from Amos was appointed to be read: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." In Europe, as in America, this text had become over-familiar with widespread use, so that it was reverentially invoked in various contexts, like folk wisdom, without anything concrete expected to happen. But when the passage was read that day in Basel, everyone became aware that there was an event of the Word of God occurring in the very midst of daily events. Lochman, seeking an analogy for his American audience, said that "sudden, unexpected happenings in Eastern Europe were making us feel the tide of the Mississippi River going down with full power." As God moved the currents, men and women reclaimed their freedom and dignity.
We who are evangelicals need to widen our vision of what God does in the world. We have a signature example of "the Scriptures and the power of God" occurring in our midst with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. The current status of this history, however, is a sad example of the divide between an understanding of the gospel with relation to the redemption of individuals, on the one hand, and the deliverance of communities on the other. In the white evangelical churches there is a stunning lack of interest in, or knowledge of, one of the most important demonstrations of the power of God in our time (or any time). Liberal churches do somewhat better, but the problem here is that the movement is not understood theologically in the way that most of its leaders did. Most of the participants were overwhelmingly convinced that in their resistance—their sit-ins, mass meetings, and marches—God was on the move.
A tape of one of the mass meetings is preserved at Riverside Church. One of the celebrities who had come down South to encourage the troops says to the assembly, "You people are doing a great thing here." A shout comes from the back: "We're not doing this! God is doing this!"
As these and other great liberation movements have been interpreted by those Christians who participated in them, there was no talk of "inclusion"—a singularly weak word. The talk was of God's undercover power, the sort of subversive power that made itself known in small Bible study cells in Protestant Eastern Europe, in the base communities of Latin America, in the resistance of many churches in South Africa, and in Poland's Solidarity movement. On the very night of the Soviet crackdown in Poland, December 11, 1981, Lech Walesa cried into the teeth of the tanks: "Right at this moment you have lost; the last nails are being driven into your coffin."
No one in our time has called upon the power of God and of the biblical story more effectively than Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. In the darkest days of apartheid, this small black man insisted on living as though he had an invisible army on his side, even though he was constantly having his visa revoked and no one thought that apartheid could be dismantled without a bloody revolution.
During his nonviolent struggle, the bishop, with a large band of demonstrators, was attempting to meet with government officials. This was not permitted, so they proceeded to the cathedral where they had a worship service. Standing ranks of police lined the walls, keeping a wary eye on the congregation. As his sermon progressed, Bishop Tutu suddenly looked out directly at the police. "You have already lost!" cried this little man. "You have already lost! We are inviting you to come and join the winning side!" I don't need to ask you who was free and who was in chains that day. God is the one who breaks the chains and lets the prisoners go free.
In such events, God was on the move. Yet these stories—unlike the heroic narratives of the liberation of Europe by the Allies in WWII—are hardly known to Christians today. Even when they are, often they have been unmoored from their theological foundations. "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."
Beyond Sympathy to Action
Most white American evangelicals are wary of these sorts of stories. The emphasis on the individual's redemption is deeply embedded in our culture, and has been set over against communal understanding in a way that suggests the two views are mutually exclusive. In the mainline churches, social action has edged out evangelism and spiritual vitality; in evangelical churches, there is ignorance and confusion about what social action actually is. One pastor spoke proudly of his church's "social action" through its program of taking sandwiches to homeless people. This is not negligible, but it is not social action, either.
A few weeks ago, I was slicing chicken for a stir-fry and cut my hand. I was wearing a clumsy thumb splint because of joint arthritis. This episode made me think of the workers who spend their days cutting up chickens for the market. They incur frequent injury from cuts and carpal-tunnel syndrome due to the repetitive nature of their work. They need more support, more rest periods, better health insurance, and more latitude about returning to work after surgery. What is the best way of improving their circumstances? Taking them sandwiches would be a supportive gesture, but they cannot be effectively helped without social action—that is, action directed to their employers and to legislative bodies. All Christians will surely agree that God cares for mar-ginalized workers and homeless people, but our gospel has not always been big enough to motivate us to go beyond sympathy to action—to addressing such things as factory conditions and the root causes of homelessness.
If we are thinking theologically, we cannot in this illustration cast the corporate bosses as guilty exploiters and the workers as innocent victims. Rather, we see how the Enemy works to seduce and insulate powerful people from perceiving the suffering of their underlings. The bosses of workers in unjust situations are not evil in themselves. They are in bondage to the desire for profit, so that they think of their workers as means to an end, if they think of them at all. Who can loosen such bonds? God alone. Therefore, social action undertaken in the sight of God has the potential to liberate not only the workers but also the bosses, not to mention the activists themselves! This is the uniquely Christian vision based in the knowledge of the power of God for the justification of the ungodly (Rom. 4:5; 5:6).
An encouraging set of developments in recent years is a broadening focus in evangelical circles, much noted by the press. When some evangelicals recently signed the Evangelical Declaration Against Torture in 2007, when Rick Warren started talking about the root causes of poverty, when other leaders acknowledged the threat of global warming, those were signs of God on the move. These are the witnesses that truly bring us notice from the culture at large. Sexual behavior is a very important indicator of Christian discipleship, but it is not the only front on which God has enlisted us to fight.
A new social-action hero like William Wilberforce would indeed bring honor to God. But it may be that God will use numbers of more ordinary Christians, banding together to bring down more fortresses of the Enemy—racial injustice, poverty, pollution, inferior education, sex trafficking, inadequate health care, prison recidivism, political corruption, and yes, terrorism—but without terror on our part, for this would truly be to doubt the cruciform power of God, who in his Son has already undone the Enemy once and for all.
Posted on June 2, 2008
Source:http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2008/06/when_god_disturbs_the_peace.html
Our gospel may be small because we fail to believe that God animates many social movements.
Most of the participants in the civil rights movement were overwhelmingly convinced that in their resistance, God was on the move.There are two competing ways of understanding and presenting the Christian gospel in America. They are equally valid and ideally should complement one another, but unfortunately, battle lines have been drawn on both sides. Some Christians emphasize the gospel as purely a matter of individual salvation; others see it essentially in terms of community and of social justice. This problem is partly cultural, but more significantly, it arises from insufficient knowledge of the Scriptures: "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God" (Matt. 22:29).
American Christians of both the Right and Left find it difficult to read Scripture from the perspective of communities other than our own. On one hand, teaching in the mainline churches is often detached from any foundational convictions about "the Scriptures or the power of God." A service may begin, "Let us worship God," but then go on to celebrate the possibilities inherent in human nature. Transcendent power is not in view; "inclusion" is the operative word.
On the other hand, worship in many American evangelical and Pentecostal churches, while appearing to extol the power of God, focuses attention on very specific and limited categories. Often the spotlight is on redemption from particular sins, like freedom from whatever one's addiction might be (very popular at the moment). Sometimes it is healing of a specific physical ailment, or it may be a version of the prosperity gospel.
Often in these evangelical-Pentecostal settings, however, the power of God is proclaimed as deliverance from demonic forces. This is a perspective that liberals and evangelicals might be able to share. For some time now, the academic guilds have been moving away from a rationalistic mode of biblical interpretation. This development opens the way for a new appropriation of the conceptual world of the New Testament, in which the presence of the demonic is presupposed. This perspective shapes theo-ethical thinking in two crucial ways: First, it allows Christians to view opponents not as evil in themselves, but as those who are in the grip of external forces. This conviction empowered Martin Luther King in his consistent message that blacks and whites together were in need of deliverance. Second, the worldview that acknowledges the agency of an active Enemy in world events encourages Christians to look for the power of God not only in stories of individual deliverance, but also in the great social movements of our time.
This potential for a common perspective, however, has not yet been located in American church worship and practice, for specific theological reasons. The divide between the liberal, revisionist project and the apostolic, biblical faith is not characterized primarily by the distinction between the individual and the social. The liberal-orthodox gap is most acute when we talk of "the power of God." The biblical proclamation of the triune Creator God who, when his good creation rebels, recaptures it from an occupying Enemy through the invasion of his Son, is not the central operating system for liberal theology. The belief that an "experiential," humanistic perspective on the Christian story is more accessible and appealing is proving not to be the case; several decades of this thin gruel have left us without any transcendent dimension to draw upon, either for social action or for individual regeneration.
The divide between liberal and biblical perspectives has to do with trust in the God who comes into the world from a sphere of power other than our own. It is here that we find the link with the New Testament's picture of a supernatural, occupying Enemy. Humankind does not possess resources to overcome this Enemy, but God does. In the stories of Jesus' exorcisms, we see enactments of the victory of God over the legions of demons. This can and should be interpreted on both an individual and a societal basis. Many African-American congregations excel in their ability to see both at the same time.
Widening Our Vision
Here is an illustration that shows how these divides are bridged—however briefly—where there is biblical faith. I once heard the Czech theologian Jan Lochman describe the atmosphere in Basel, Switzerland, where he was teaching in 1989, when the Berlin Wall came a-tumblin' down. At one worship gathering, this well-known passage from Amos was appointed to be read: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." In Europe, as in America, this text had become over-familiar with widespread use, so that it was reverentially invoked in various contexts, like folk wisdom, without anything concrete expected to happen. But when the passage was read that day in Basel, everyone became aware that there was an event of the Word of God occurring in the very midst of daily events. Lochman, seeking an analogy for his American audience, said that "sudden, unexpected happenings in Eastern Europe were making us feel the tide of the Mississippi River going down with full power." As God moved the currents, men and women reclaimed their freedom and dignity.
We who are evangelicals need to widen our vision of what God does in the world. We have a signature example of "the Scriptures and the power of God" occurring in our midst with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. The current status of this history, however, is a sad example of the divide between an understanding of the gospel with relation to the redemption of individuals, on the one hand, and the deliverance of communities on the other. In the white evangelical churches there is a stunning lack of interest in, or knowledge of, one of the most important demonstrations of the power of God in our time (or any time). Liberal churches do somewhat better, but the problem here is that the movement is not understood theologically in the way that most of its leaders did. Most of the participants were overwhelmingly convinced that in their resistance—their sit-ins, mass meetings, and marches—God was on the move.
A tape of one of the mass meetings is preserved at Riverside Church. One of the celebrities who had come down South to encourage the troops says to the assembly, "You people are doing a great thing here." A shout comes from the back: "We're not doing this! God is doing this!"
As these and other great liberation movements have been interpreted by those Christians who participated in them, there was no talk of "inclusion"—a singularly weak word. The talk was of God's undercover power, the sort of subversive power that made itself known in small Bible study cells in Protestant Eastern Europe, in the base communities of Latin America, in the resistance of many churches in South Africa, and in Poland's Solidarity movement. On the very night of the Soviet crackdown in Poland, December 11, 1981, Lech Walesa cried into the teeth of the tanks: "Right at this moment you have lost; the last nails are being driven into your coffin."
No one in our time has called upon the power of God and of the biblical story more effectively than Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. In the darkest days of apartheid, this small black man insisted on living as though he had an invisible army on his side, even though he was constantly having his visa revoked and no one thought that apartheid could be dismantled without a bloody revolution.
During his nonviolent struggle, the bishop, with a large band of demonstrators, was attempting to meet with government officials. This was not permitted, so they proceeded to the cathedral where they had a worship service. Standing ranks of police lined the walls, keeping a wary eye on the congregation. As his sermon progressed, Bishop Tutu suddenly looked out directly at the police. "You have already lost!" cried this little man. "You have already lost! We are inviting you to come and join the winning side!" I don't need to ask you who was free and who was in chains that day. God is the one who breaks the chains and lets the prisoners go free.
In such events, God was on the move. Yet these stories—unlike the heroic narratives of the liberation of Europe by the Allies in WWII—are hardly known to Christians today. Even when they are, often they have been unmoored from their theological foundations. "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."
Beyond Sympathy to Action
Most white American evangelicals are wary of these sorts of stories. The emphasis on the individual's redemption is deeply embedded in our culture, and has been set over against communal understanding in a way that suggests the two views are mutually exclusive. In the mainline churches, social action has edged out evangelism and spiritual vitality; in evangelical churches, there is ignorance and confusion about what social action actually is. One pastor spoke proudly of his church's "social action" through its program of taking sandwiches to homeless people. This is not negligible, but it is not social action, either.
A few weeks ago, I was slicing chicken for a stir-fry and cut my hand. I was wearing a clumsy thumb splint because of joint arthritis. This episode made me think of the workers who spend their days cutting up chickens for the market. They incur frequent injury from cuts and carpal-tunnel syndrome due to the repetitive nature of their work. They need more support, more rest periods, better health insurance, and more latitude about returning to work after surgery. What is the best way of improving their circumstances? Taking them sandwiches would be a supportive gesture, but they cannot be effectively helped without social action—that is, action directed to their employers and to legislative bodies. All Christians will surely agree that God cares for mar-ginalized workers and homeless people, but our gospel has not always been big enough to motivate us to go beyond sympathy to action—to addressing such things as factory conditions and the root causes of homelessness.
If we are thinking theologically, we cannot in this illustration cast the corporate bosses as guilty exploiters and the workers as innocent victims. Rather, we see how the Enemy works to seduce and insulate powerful people from perceiving the suffering of their underlings. The bosses of workers in unjust situations are not evil in themselves. They are in bondage to the desire for profit, so that they think of their workers as means to an end, if they think of them at all. Who can loosen such bonds? God alone. Therefore, social action undertaken in the sight of God has the potential to liberate not only the workers but also the bosses, not to mention the activists themselves! This is the uniquely Christian vision based in the knowledge of the power of God for the justification of the ungodly (Rom. 4:5; 5:6).
An encouraging set of developments in recent years is a broadening focus in evangelical circles, much noted by the press. When some evangelicals recently signed the Evangelical Declaration Against Torture in 2007, when Rick Warren started talking about the root causes of poverty, when other leaders acknowledged the threat of global warming, those were signs of God on the move. These are the witnesses that truly bring us notice from the culture at large. Sexual behavior is a very important indicator of Christian discipleship, but it is not the only front on which God has enlisted us to fight.
A new social-action hero like William Wilberforce would indeed bring honor to God. But it may be that God will use numbers of more ordinary Christians, banding together to bring down more fortresses of the Enemy—racial injustice, poverty, pollution, inferior education, sex trafficking, inadequate health care, prison recidivism, political corruption, and yes, terrorism—but without terror on our part, for this would truly be to doubt the cruciform power of God, who in his Son has already undone the Enemy once and for all.
Posted on June 2, 2008
Source:http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2008/06/when_god_disturbs_the_peace.html
Friday, June 20, 2008
Overload
by Philip Ryken
So how should we deal with the inescapable overload of life in the
twenty-first century?
Do you ever get overwhelmed by all the things you need to get done,
and discouraged by all the things you probably won't? Almost every
day, right?
I've felt that way a number of times recently. I felt overloaded when
we made a few small domestic renovations and our home was in something
more than its usual disarray. I felt the same way when I went to
delete the messages in my inbox archive and discovered that more than
ten thousand emails had accumulated since the end of last summer. And
I felt that way when I went to count the books on my "recently
acquired, really important to read books shelf"—or shelves, actually,
plus some piles on the floor—and discovered that I am now 157 books
behind (not counting the pile beside my bed at home). And then there
are all the important things that need to get done in the ordinary
course of ministry and the daily life of the home.
It Only Gets Worse
You are probably just as busy—not with the same things, perhaps, but
busy nonetheless. And the problem will only get worse. Listen to what
Richard Swenson says in his book The Overload Syndrome :
Progress always gives us more and more of everything faster and faster
. There are only so many details that can be comfortably managed in
anybody's life. Once this number has been exceeded, one of two things
happens: disorganization or frustration. Yet progress gives us more
and more details every year—often at exponential rates. We have to
deal with more "things per person" than ever before in the history of
humankind. Every year we have more products, more information, more
technology, more activities, more choices, more change, more traffic,
more commitments, more work. In short, more of everything. Faster. . .
. Progress automatically leads to increasing overload,
meaninglessness, speed, change, stress, and complexity [Richard A.
Swenson, The Overload Syndrome (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1998),
pp. 43-44; emphasis in the original].
The trouble, of course, is that all of this overload gets in the way
of our spiritual progress. More than a century ago Phillips Brooks
observed, "The more we watch the lives of men, the more we see that
one of the reasons why men are not occupied with great thoughts and
interests is the way in which their lives are overfilled with little
things " [quoted by William Philip in a January 2003 newsletter from
The Proclamation Trust in London]. What about you? Is your life
occupied with great things for God, or is it overfilled with little
things? And if it is, what, if anything, are you going to do about it?
A friend of mine is beginning to lobby for an eighth day of the week.
He calls it grundsday , and tells me it would fall between Wednesday
and Thursday. No phone calls, no emails, no meetings—just a chance to
catch up. I don't know about you, but I'm all for it. Maybe it would
help me get a better handle on some of my "things per person." But of
course it wouldn't really solve anything. On the assumption that we
had more time, we would try to do even more, and soon grundsday would
be packed just as full as all the other days of the week.
Offloading the Overload
So how should we deal with the inescapable overload of life in the
twenty-first century? I may not be the most qualified person to speak
on this subject, but allow me to make three simple suggestions.
First, whatever else you do, make time for communion with Christ.
Remember what Jesus said to Martha, that only "one thing is necessary"
(Luke 10:42)—that is, to be with Jesus, listening to what he says and
talking with him about what we need. It is only when we allow God to
minister to us through Bible study and prayer that the rest of life
makes any sense at all.
Second, embrace the limitations of your finitude. Rather than feeling
anxious and distressed about everything you're not getting done, or
always complaining that you need more time, take satisfaction in the
many daily reminders that you are not God. You are not all-powerful,
all-present, and all-knowing. Only God is. So when the overload
confronts you with your limitations, be reminded that you are only a
creature who needs to rest in your Savior's care (see Matt. 6:25-34;
11:28-30).
Just Say No
Third, choose wisely. The hardest choices in life are not the choices
between the good things and the bad things. When it comes to
discriminating the good from the bad, most Christians find it
relatively easy to tell the difference. No, the hard choices are the
ones between the good things and the best things. To make these
decisions we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who works through
Scripture, through circumstances, through counsel, and through our
conscience to help us "discern what is best" (Phil. 1:10; NIV).
In order to carry out God's calling for your life, you will have to
learn to say "no." Many good things in life—many wholesome
entertainments, many useful ministry opportunities, and many God-given
pleasures—get in the way of God's calling and therefore must be
declined. Late last fall, I took a short trip to a beautiful golf
resort in Florida. I taught, but to my disappointment, did not golf.
Not that there is anything wrong with a round of golf. In fact, from
what I saw in the brochure, it's such a beautiful course that it
almost seemed wrong not to play it. It's just that if I had stayed to
do that, I would have gotten back too late on Saturday night to be a
good husband to my wife, a good father to my children, or a good
pastor to this congregation.
What choices will you make this week and in the weeks to come? Will
you make the time to be with Christ? Will you embrace the limitations
of your finitude, resting in the infinite grace of your God? And will
you have the wisdom to make the right choice when you have to say
"Yes" to some things and "No" to others? If not, you will end up even
more overloaded than God wants you to be.
Article is available at:
http://www.reformation21.org/Past_Issues/2006_Issues_1_16_/2006_Issues_1_16_Counterpoints/July_2006/July_2006/183/vobId__2959/pm__435/
So how should we deal with the inescapable overload of life in the
twenty-first century?
Do you ever get overwhelmed by all the things you need to get done,
and discouraged by all the things you probably won't? Almost every
day, right?
I've felt that way a number of times recently. I felt overloaded when
we made a few small domestic renovations and our home was in something
more than its usual disarray. I felt the same way when I went to
delete the messages in my inbox archive and discovered that more than
ten thousand emails had accumulated since the end of last summer. And
I felt that way when I went to count the books on my "recently
acquired, really important to read books shelf"—or shelves, actually,
plus some piles on the floor—and discovered that I am now 157 books
behind (not counting the pile beside my bed at home). And then there
are all the important things that need to get done in the ordinary
course of ministry and the daily life of the home.
It Only Gets Worse
You are probably just as busy—not with the same things, perhaps, but
busy nonetheless. And the problem will only get worse. Listen to what
Richard Swenson says in his book The Overload Syndrome :
Progress always gives us more and more of everything faster and faster
. There are only so many details that can be comfortably managed in
anybody's life. Once this number has been exceeded, one of two things
happens: disorganization or frustration. Yet progress gives us more
and more details every year—often at exponential rates. We have to
deal with more "things per person" than ever before in the history of
humankind. Every year we have more products, more information, more
technology, more activities, more choices, more change, more traffic,
more commitments, more work. In short, more of everything. Faster. . .
. Progress automatically leads to increasing overload,
meaninglessness, speed, change, stress, and complexity [Richard A.
Swenson, The Overload Syndrome (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1998),
pp. 43-44; emphasis in the original].
The trouble, of course, is that all of this overload gets in the way
of our spiritual progress. More than a century ago Phillips Brooks
observed, "The more we watch the lives of men, the more we see that
one of the reasons why men are not occupied with great thoughts and
interests is the way in which their lives are overfilled with little
things " [quoted by William Philip in a January 2003 newsletter from
The Proclamation Trust in London]. What about you? Is your life
occupied with great things for God, or is it overfilled with little
things? And if it is, what, if anything, are you going to do about it?
A friend of mine is beginning to lobby for an eighth day of the week.
He calls it grundsday , and tells me it would fall between Wednesday
and Thursday. No phone calls, no emails, no meetings—just a chance to
catch up. I don't know about you, but I'm all for it. Maybe it would
help me get a better handle on some of my "things per person." But of
course it wouldn't really solve anything. On the assumption that we
had more time, we would try to do even more, and soon grundsday would
be packed just as full as all the other days of the week.
Offloading the Overload
So how should we deal with the inescapable overload of life in the
twenty-first century? I may not be the most qualified person to speak
on this subject, but allow me to make three simple suggestions.
First, whatever else you do, make time for communion with Christ.
Remember what Jesus said to Martha, that only "one thing is necessary"
(Luke 10:42)—that is, to be with Jesus, listening to what he says and
talking with him about what we need. It is only when we allow God to
minister to us through Bible study and prayer that the rest of life
makes any sense at all.
Second, embrace the limitations of your finitude. Rather than feeling
anxious and distressed about everything you're not getting done, or
always complaining that you need more time, take satisfaction in the
many daily reminders that you are not God. You are not all-powerful,
all-present, and all-knowing. Only God is. So when the overload
confronts you with your limitations, be reminded that you are only a
creature who needs to rest in your Savior's care (see Matt. 6:25-34;
11:28-30).
Just Say No
Third, choose wisely. The hardest choices in life are not the choices
between the good things and the bad things. When it comes to
discriminating the good from the bad, most Christians find it
relatively easy to tell the difference. No, the hard choices are the
ones between the good things and the best things. To make these
decisions we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who works through
Scripture, through circumstances, through counsel, and through our
conscience to help us "discern what is best" (Phil. 1:10; NIV).
In order to carry out God's calling for your life, you will have to
learn to say "no." Many good things in life—many wholesome
entertainments, many useful ministry opportunities, and many God-given
pleasures—get in the way of God's calling and therefore must be
declined. Late last fall, I took a short trip to a beautiful golf
resort in Florida. I taught, but to my disappointment, did not golf.
Not that there is anything wrong with a round of golf. In fact, from
what I saw in the brochure, it's such a beautiful course that it
almost seemed wrong not to play it. It's just that if I had stayed to
do that, I would have gotten back too late on Saturday night to be a
good husband to my wife, a good father to my children, or a good
pastor to this congregation.
What choices will you make this week and in the weeks to come? Will
you make the time to be with Christ? Will you embrace the limitations
of your finitude, resting in the infinite grace of your God? And will
you have the wisdom to make the right choice when you have to say
"Yes" to some things and "No" to others? If not, you will end up even
more overloaded than God wants you to be.
Article is available at:
http://www.reformation21.org/Past_Issues/2006_Issues_1_16_/2006_Issues_1_16_Counterpoints/July_2006/July_2006/183/vobId__2959/pm__435/
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Muslims Coming to Faith in Christ
(adapted from Joel Rosenberg’s article The Big Untold Story in the Middle East on www.joelrosenberg.com, March 25, 2008)
AFGHANISTAN -- In Afghanistan there were only 17 known evangelical Christians in the country before al-Qaeda attacked the United States. Today, there are well over 10,000 Afghan followers of Christ and the number is growing steadily. Church leaders say Afghan Muslims are open to hearing the gospel message like never before. Dozens of baptisms occur every week. People are snatching up Bibles and other Christian books as fast as they can be printed or brought into the country.
IRAQ -- In Iraq, there were only a handful of Muslim converts to Christianity back in 1979 when Saddam Hussein took full control of that country. Yet today, there are more than 70,000 Iraqi Muslim background believers in Jesus (MBBs), approximately 50,000 who came to Christ as refugees in Jordan after the first Gulf War in 1990-91, and another 20,000 who have come to Christ since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
EGYPT -- More than 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade. The Egyptian Bible Society used to sell about 3,000 copies of the Jesus film a year in the early 1990s. But in 2005 they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. The largest Christian congregation in the Middle East meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.
IRAN -- In 1979 when Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution, there were only about 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity. Today, interviews with two dozen Iranian pastors and church leaders reveals that there are well over 1 million Shia Muslim converts to Christianity.
SAUDI ARABIA – Over one million Filipinos work there, of which 50,000 are estimated to be evangelical.
SUDAN -- Despite a ferocious civil war, genocide and widespread religious persecution, particularly in the Darfur region -- or perhaps because of such tragedies -- church leaders there report that more than 1 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus Christ just since 2001. Since the early 1990s, more than 5 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus. Seminary classes to train desperately-needed new pastors are held in mountain caves. Hundreds of churches have been planted, and thousands of small group Bible studies are being held in secret throughout the country.
In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. He said "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity, Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year, a tragedy has happened!"
Is life easy for these Muslim converts? By no means. They face ostracism from their families. They face persecution from their communities. They face being fired by their employers. They face imprisonment by their governments. They face torture and even death at the hands of Muslim extremists. But they are coming to Christ anyway. They are becoming convinced that Jesus is, in fact, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father in heaven except through faith in Jesus' death on the cross and powerful resurrection from the dead.
Muslims Coming to Faith in Christ
(adapted from Joel Rosenberg’s article The Big Untold Story in the Middle East on www.joelrosenberg.com, March 25, 2008)
AFGHANISTAN -- In Afghanistan there were only 17 known evangelical Christians in the country before al-Qaeda attacked the United States. Today, there are well over 10,000 Afghan followers of Christ and the number is growing steadily. Church leaders say Afghan Muslims are open to hearing the gospel message like never before. Dozens of baptisms occur every week. People are snatching up Bibles and other Christian books as fast as they can be printed or brought into the country.
IRAQ -- In Iraq, there were only a handful of Muslim converts to Christianity back in 1979 when Saddam Hussein took full control of that country. Yet today, there are more than 70,000 Iraqi Muslim background believers in Jesus (MBBs), approximately 50,000 who came to Christ as refugees in Jordan after the first Gulf War in 1990-91, and another 20,000 who have come to Christ since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
EGYPT -- More than 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade. The Egyptian Bible Society used to sell about 3,000 copies of the Jesus film a year in the early 1990s. But in 2005 they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. The largest Christian congregation in the Middle East meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.
IRAN -- In 1979 when Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution, there were only about 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity. Today, interviews with two dozen Iranian pastors and church leaders reveals that there are well over 1 million Shia Muslim converts to Christianity.
SAUDI ARABIA – Over one million Filipinos work there, of which 50,000 are estimated to be evangelical.
SUDAN -- Despite a ferocious civil war, genocide and widespread religious persecution, particularly in the Darfur region -- or perhaps because of such tragedies -- church leaders there report that more than 1 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus Christ just since 2001. Since the early 1990s, more than 5 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus. Seminary classes to train desperately-needed new pastors are held in mountain caves. Hundreds of churches have been planted, and thousands of small group Bible studies are being held in secret throughout the country.
In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. He said "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity, Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year, a tragedy has happened!"
Is life easy for these Muslim converts? By no means. They face ostracism from their families. They face persecution from their communities. They face being fired by their employers. They face imprisonment by their governments. They face torture and even death at the hands of Muslim extremists. But they are coming to Christ anyway. They are becoming convinced that Jesus is, in fact, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father in heaven except through faith in Jesus' death on the cross and powerful resurrection from the dead.
Muslims Coming to Faith in Christ
(adapted from Joel Rosenberg’s article The Big Untold Story in the Middle East on www.joelrosenberg.com, March 25, 2008)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Where are the Missionaries
In traveling the USA, Canada, and United Kingdom, I get caught up easily in the excitement of evangelical happenings, but, even so, I come away with a deep concern. Where is the burden to reach the world with the Gospel?
Hundreds of Christian book titles are being published monthly, yet there are thousands of pastors in developing worlds who still do not have a single Bible commentary or Bible dictionary. Scripture cookies and candies are being sold in Christian bookstores while missionaries are broken-hearted with people starving in countries where they serve. There are Gospel-verse T-shirts, belts, jackets and hats, while thousands of Christians in developing countries wear rags. Christians in North America continue to argue about what is the best version of the Bible when there are still millions without any version of the Word of God!
Our Bible schools, colleges, and seminaries are more modern and nicer. We do not have to be ashamed in any way of low intellectual attainments or facilities. We have really come up in the educational world!
And what about our evangelical church buildings—they are really something else! Old European cathedrals may still have it for grandeur and majesty, but for sheer “football-field” size, the North American Church has really caught the world’s attention.
Yes, the Church has made great strides in the last 20 years. Christians are on T.V., in the movies, politics and sports. Many of these have a very effective positive Christian testimony. But I ask a question. In the excitement, growth and spotlight—where are the missionaries who are needed throughout the world?
It seems to be popular to talk about missions, to have a missions committee, to break last year’s mission’s budget, but where are the missionaries who are being trained and sent out?
Many evangelical pastors and laymen, as well as some of my own friends in North America, look upon missions as good, but not as a priority. Okay for me, but not for them.
The hardest things for me to understand as a Christian is why are there so few foreign missionaries. It is estimated that there are about one million Christian workers in North America, but only 50,000 foreign missionaries! To reach the world’s unreached 3 billion; over 300,000 more cross-cultural missionaries are needed! Not all of these need come from the North American church but many should.
At no other time in history has the Church been as large or as influential or as wealthy, but where are the missionaries? I love the North American Church! If bigger and better buildings need to be built, then build them, but let reaching the whole world be a priority!
Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The Church needs to send more people. More need to go. The North American Church can rise to its responsibility and opportunity and send many more missionaries to make disciples of all nations.
Hundreds of Christian book titles are being published monthly, yet there are thousands of pastors in developing worlds who still do not have a single Bible commentary or Bible dictionary. Scripture cookies and candies are being sold in Christian bookstores while missionaries are broken-hearted with people starving in countries where they serve. There are Gospel-verse T-shirts, belts, jackets and hats, while thousands of Christians in developing countries wear rags. Christians in North America continue to argue about what is the best version of the Bible when there are still millions without any version of the Word of God!
Our Bible schools, colleges, and seminaries are more modern and nicer. We do not have to be ashamed in any way of low intellectual attainments or facilities. We have really come up in the educational world!
And what about our evangelical church buildings—they are really something else! Old European cathedrals may still have it for grandeur and majesty, but for sheer “football-field” size, the North American Church has really caught the world’s attention.
Yes, the Church has made great strides in the last 20 years. Christians are on T.V., in the movies, politics and sports. Many of these have a very effective positive Christian testimony. But I ask a question. In the excitement, growth and spotlight—where are the missionaries who are needed throughout the world?
It seems to be popular to talk about missions, to have a missions committee, to break last year’s mission’s budget, but where are the missionaries who are being trained and sent out?
Many evangelical pastors and laymen, as well as some of my own friends in North America, look upon missions as good, but not as a priority. Okay for me, but not for them.
The hardest things for me to understand as a Christian is why are there so few foreign missionaries. It is estimated that there are about one million Christian workers in North America, but only 50,000 foreign missionaries! To reach the world’s unreached 3 billion; over 300,000 more cross-cultural missionaries are needed! Not all of these need come from the North American church but many should.
At no other time in history has the Church been as large or as influential or as wealthy, but where are the missionaries? I love the North American Church! If bigger and better buildings need to be built, then build them, but let reaching the whole world be a priority!
Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The Church needs to send more people. More need to go. The North American Church can rise to its responsibility and opportunity and send many more missionaries to make disciples of all nations.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
32 Ways to Serve God
A simple list of 32 ways for children, youth, teenagers, young adults, the middle-aged and seniors to serve God by ministering to needy children and the poor in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
And Jesus said to them, Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to … everyone (Mark 16:15, NASB). Pure and lasting religion
in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit [care for] orphans
and widows in their distress . . . (James 1:27, nasb).
By Praying (5 ways):
1. Gather a group of twenty people for prayer with each taking 12 of the 240 countries of the world (20x12=240). Example: if each one prayed for each of the 12 countries for 1 minute, the world would be prayed for in 12 minutes.
2. Ask your pastor if you can lead in prayer one Sunday per month for the 160 million street children of the world and the 143 million orphans worldwide.
3. Pray daily for the 13 million AIDS orphans in Africa and 143 million orphans worldwide.
4. Prepare an ethnic meal of a country for your Bible study, youth group or church and then pray for that country. Do this once a month, praying for 12 countries yearly. Start with the countries where your church missionaries serve.
5. Adopt one of your church's missionaries, write to him or her monthly, and then pray daily for that outreach.
By Projects (4 ways):
6. Gather vocational and technical books to send to a school for older needy children in the Philippines.
7. Fill a 20' container with rice, beans, corn, and clothes, raise $8000, and ship the container to Malawi orphans.
8. Gather and send good used study Bibles to needy pastors in Africa, India and the Philippines.
9. Assign several from your youth group or adult class to a missionary and help with whatever is needed: packing, raising funds, storage, purchasing equipment, cleaning house. Arrange Saturday work team to help with this.
By Giving (14 ways):
10. $ .50 - provides one evangelistic national language comic book written by Filipinos for street children. ($10 will provide 20 evangelistic comics.)
11. $1.00 - gives supplementary feeding for a child in Zambia for one month.
12. $1.00 - clothes an orphan in Malawi or Zambia, Africa.
13. $1.50 - provides a plastic-covered Zambian-language New Testament.
14. $4.00 - sends an orphan to camp in Africa.
15. $3.50 - provides a meal, the gospel, and a gift at a Christmas party for needy adults and children in Africa, Asia, or Latin America.
16. $5.00 - purchases a Bible for an orphan or needy pastor in Africa.
17. $6.00 - prints 200 evangelistic booklets for the Philippines or Mexico.
18. $6.00 - provides a set of commentaries (worth $40) for a needy
pastor in Africa or Asia.
19. $50.00 per month will support a pastor in Cambodia, the Philippines and India (any amount would help!)
20. $21.00 - sends a street child to camp in the Philippines.
21. $4800 - drills a well for a village for orphans and their caretakers in Malawi.
22. $56.00 - six month “fish and bread” ministry for mothers in the Philippines including meals, medical, vitamins and training.
23. $50.00 - to send a needy boy to a one-week camp in Brazil.
By Going — short- or long-term (4 ways):
24. Action International Ministries (www.actionintl.org) has worldwide opportunities for ages 19 to 89 (especially in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America) with orphans, needy children, and the poor.
25. Teen Missions (www.teenmissions.org) also has worldwide opportunities for all ages, but mainly high school age.
26. YUGO Ministries (www.yugo.org) Mexico, especially for young people ages 13 to 19
27. Finishers Project (www.finishers.org) has practical ministry opportunities worldwide especially for older and retired people.
By Doing (5 ways):
28. Make friends with people from other countries and learn of their countries
and cultures for the gospel's sake.
29. You and your family can invite missionaries to your home for a meal and ask them all about their lives and ministry.
30. Make sure there is a display of world missions with pictures and literature in the main room of your church and in the youth and adult meeting areas.
31. Obtain a copy of the book Operation World and learn all you can about the 240 countries of the world.
32. If 19 or older, participate in the Missionary Apprentice Program (MAP)of ACTION (www.actionintl.org).
Pick out one or two of the items above and trust God to do them for His glory!
Prepared by Doug Nichols, Founder and International Director Emeritus
Action International Ministries (ACTION) www.actionintl.org
ACTION Canada 3015 A 21 Street, Calgary, Alberta T2E 7T1 *Tel. 403-204-1421 * info@actioncanada.net*
ACTION USA PO Box 398, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043-0398 * Tel. 425-775-4800 * info@actionusa.org*
ACTION United Kingdom PO Box 144, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 5WE * Tel. 151-630-245 * actionuk@btinternet.com * Registered Charity 1058661 *
ACTION New Zealand PO Box 8928, Christchurch, New Zealand *Tel. 011-643-341-0933* rob@brighthopeworld.com*
And Jesus said to them, Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to … everyone (Mark 16:15, NASB). Pure and lasting religion
in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit [care for] orphans
and widows in their distress . . . (James 1:27, nasb).
By Praying (5 ways):
1. Gather a group of twenty people for prayer with each taking 12 of the 240 countries of the world (20x12=240). Example: if each one prayed for each of the 12 countries for 1 minute, the world would be prayed for in 12 minutes.
2. Ask your pastor if you can lead in prayer one Sunday per month for the 160 million street children of the world and the 143 million orphans worldwide.
3. Pray daily for the 13 million AIDS orphans in Africa and 143 million orphans worldwide.
4. Prepare an ethnic meal of a country for your Bible study, youth group or church and then pray for that country. Do this once a month, praying for 12 countries yearly. Start with the countries where your church missionaries serve.
5. Adopt one of your church's missionaries, write to him or her monthly, and then pray daily for that outreach.
By Projects (4 ways):
6. Gather vocational and technical books to send to a school for older needy children in the Philippines.
7. Fill a 20' container with rice, beans, corn, and clothes, raise $8000, and ship the container to Malawi orphans.
8. Gather and send good used study Bibles to needy pastors in Africa, India and the Philippines.
9. Assign several from your youth group or adult class to a missionary and help with whatever is needed: packing, raising funds, storage, purchasing equipment, cleaning house. Arrange Saturday work team to help with this.
By Giving (14 ways):
10. $ .50 - provides one evangelistic national language comic book written by Filipinos for street children. ($10 will provide 20 evangelistic comics.)
11. $1.00 - gives supplementary feeding for a child in Zambia for one month.
12. $1.00 - clothes an orphan in Malawi or Zambia, Africa.
13. $1.50 - provides a plastic-covered Zambian-language New Testament.
14. $4.00 - sends an orphan to camp in Africa.
15. $3.50 - provides a meal, the gospel, and a gift at a Christmas party for needy adults and children in Africa, Asia, or Latin America.
16. $5.00 - purchases a Bible for an orphan or needy pastor in Africa.
17. $6.00 - prints 200 evangelistic booklets for the Philippines or Mexico.
18. $6.00 - provides a set of commentaries (worth $40) for a needy
pastor in Africa or Asia.
19. $50.00 per month will support a pastor in Cambodia, the Philippines and India (any amount would help!)
20. $21.00 - sends a street child to camp in the Philippines.
21. $4800 - drills a well for a village for orphans and their caretakers in Malawi.
22. $56.00 - six month “fish and bread” ministry for mothers in the Philippines including meals, medical, vitamins and training.
23. $50.00 - to send a needy boy to a one-week camp in Brazil.
By Going — short- or long-term (4 ways):
24. Action International Ministries (www.actionintl.org) has worldwide opportunities for ages 19 to 89 (especially in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America) with orphans, needy children, and the poor.
25. Teen Missions (www.teenmissions.org) also has worldwide opportunities for all ages, but mainly high school age.
26. YUGO Ministries (www.yugo.org) Mexico, especially for young people ages 13 to 19
27. Finishers Project (www.finishers.org) has practical ministry opportunities worldwide especially for older and retired people.
By Doing (5 ways):
28. Make friends with people from other countries and learn of their countries
and cultures for the gospel's sake.
29. You and your family can invite missionaries to your home for a meal and ask them all about their lives and ministry.
30. Make sure there is a display of world missions with pictures and literature in the main room of your church and in the youth and adult meeting areas.
31. Obtain a copy of the book Operation World and learn all you can about the 240 countries of the world.
32. If 19 or older, participate in the Missionary Apprentice Program (MAP)of ACTION (www.actionintl.org).
Pick out one or two of the items above and trust God to do them for His glory!
Prepared by Doug Nichols, Founder and International Director Emeritus
Action International Ministries (ACTION) www.actionintl.org
ACTION Canada 3015 A 21 Street, Calgary, Alberta T2E 7T1 *Tel. 403-204-1421 * info@actioncanada.net*
ACTION USA PO Box 398, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043-0398 * Tel. 425-775-4800 * info@actionusa.org*
ACTION United Kingdom PO Box 144, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 5WE * Tel. 151-630-245 * actionuk@btinternet.com * Registered Charity 1058661 *
ACTION New Zealand PO Box 8928, Christchurch, New Zealand *Tel. 011-643-341-0933* rob@brighthopeworld.com*
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
We Might be of Some Good to Others
My family and I were watching a portion of the Anne of Green Gables video series. If you have seen the film, you may remember the part of the story where the spinster brother and sister, Matthew and Merilla, were discussing whether to keep the orphan Anne. She had arrived and they had expected to adopt a boy and not a girl. Anne had already caused problems, and they were discussing whether to keep her or not. Merilla said, “Anne is no good for us.” Matthew then responded, “Well, we might be of some good to her!” What a response! So many of us are like Merilla, thinking only of ourselves. Why adopt? Why get involved with the needy? Why stretch ourselves? It is too inconvenient! It will be too hard. It’s not good for us! It’s not good for my family! It would be wonderful if Christians, instead of thinking about what’s good for them, would think, “Well, we might be of some good to others.”
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Missionaries Needed in Colombia
Is the day of sending missionaries over? We have just received the following list of missionaries needed just in Bogotá, Colombia by our small mission team there. Perhaps God would call you to serve in this beautiful Latin American country of 46 million people, with nearly one million needy orphans and 3.7 displaced people.
1.Camp Ministry Coordinator: A person to oversee and plan the logistics of camping for children, teens, and families.
2.Discipleship Evangelism Instructors: Persons who will work in poor barrios and on the streets to evangelize and disciple individuals and families.. They will instruct others how to do it. A need for two people.
3.Church Planting Missionaries: This is an opportunity for those to work beside a church to plant a sister church. Requirements: A good theological base and a strong vision for church planting. The missionary will need a commitment at least 5-6 years in Colombia. A need for two people.
4.Literacy Ministry Coordinator: To teach people how to read, write, and do mathematics. Many people are functional literate in that they can read and write simple Spanish but cannot read a newspaper or Bible. The person will not only teach the “3 Rs” but also teach groups how to develop a ministry in the local context. A need for one person
5.Pastoral Training Coordinator: There is a strong need for another pastor to work with pastors and leaders. The person will develop programs to help the pastors and the leaders in skills to lead the local congregation. Requirements: Bible school and Seminary training plus some experience in working with the local church.
6.Missionary School teachers: To teach children of missionaries from the grades of kindergarten to 12th grade. The El Camino School is a missionary school located in Northern Bogotá. It is English Speaking. A need for two teachers.
7.Disabled Ministry Workers: This need is great in Bogotá among the physical disabled. The person must have a heart to work with those who are paralytic and handicapped. The position includes Bible discipleship and attending to health, social, and physical needs. A need for two persons.
8.Physical Therapists: Persons to assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and decrease or prevent deformity of patients suffering from disease or injury.
9.Children at Risk Workers: Over 33% of Colombia is below the age of 15. The worker will develop ministry to children at risk. This could include street children, poor children, orphans, abused, etc. This also includes youth ministry. A need for four workers.
10.Family Ministry Workers: The worker will work with the family issues in the street and poor neighborhoods. This position will encompass the areas of the spiritual, the physical, the social, and the mental needs of the family. A need for 2 ministry workers. A background in social work and in psychology would be helpful.
11.Micro-Business Coordinator: The person will assist individuals on how to develop and to maintain a small business. The person will put on seminars on accounting, marketing, building clientele, how to acquire loans, etc. A commitment of 5-7 years.
1.Camp Ministry Coordinator: A person to oversee and plan the logistics of camping for children, teens, and families.
2.Discipleship Evangelism Instructors: Persons who will work in poor barrios and on the streets to evangelize and disciple individuals and families.. They will instruct others how to do it. A need for two people.
3.Church Planting Missionaries: This is an opportunity for those to work beside a church to plant a sister church. Requirements: A good theological base and a strong vision for church planting. The missionary will need a commitment at least 5-6 years in Colombia. A need for two people.
4.Literacy Ministry Coordinator: To teach people how to read, write, and do mathematics. Many people are functional literate in that they can read and write simple Spanish but cannot read a newspaper or Bible. The person will not only teach the “3 Rs” but also teach groups how to develop a ministry in the local context. A need for one person
5.Pastoral Training Coordinator: There is a strong need for another pastor to work with pastors and leaders. The person will develop programs to help the pastors and the leaders in skills to lead the local congregation. Requirements: Bible school and Seminary training plus some experience in working with the local church.
6.Missionary School teachers: To teach children of missionaries from the grades of kindergarten to 12th grade. The El Camino School is a missionary school located in Northern Bogotá. It is English Speaking. A need for two teachers.
7.Disabled Ministry Workers: This need is great in Bogotá among the physical disabled. The person must have a heart to work with those who are paralytic and handicapped. The position includes Bible discipleship and attending to health, social, and physical needs. A need for two persons.
8.Physical Therapists: Persons to assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and decrease or prevent deformity of patients suffering from disease or injury.
9.Children at Risk Workers: Over 33% of Colombia is below the age of 15. The worker will develop ministry to children at risk. This could include street children, poor children, orphans, abused, etc. This also includes youth ministry. A need for four workers.
10.Family Ministry Workers: The worker will work with the family issues in the street and poor neighborhoods. This position will encompass the areas of the spiritual, the physical, the social, and the mental needs of the family. A need for 2 ministry workers. A background in social work and in psychology would be helpful.
11.Micro-Business Coordinator: The person will assist individuals on how to develop and to maintain a small business. The person will put on seminars on accounting, marketing, building clientele, how to acquire loans, etc. A commitment of 5-7 years.
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