Lucky Me

My cab driver from last night turned in my cell phone.... Kind of pathetic how we are tied to those things huh...

Home Again

Flew home last night in a bit of a fog - I think I have a touch of the flu.... Then I think I left my cell phone in my cab... That stinks.

I did gather the Cameroon leaders late last night just to talk a bit, see each other face to face and pray.  I really loved it and am really looking forward to working with this group of people.  They will sacrifice and lead - it is within their DNA.  To you that were there last night, I hope I wasn't too scattered...

Easter fun

We are having a great time here in Savannah for Easter, except Em is a bit sick.  We went to the beach last night and everyone except for Em and D went to church this morning at Rivers Community Church, one of the congregations of a church planting network called The Sycamore Network.  Rivers is where my sister-in-law's family goes and they have taken good good care of them.  Good experience for my kids to see church like this.  Maybe more beach on Monday or the walk in health clinic for Em.  I fly home Monday evening, while the girls and the Madre stay a few more days.

When telling my sister-in-law about the summer's team to Cameroon and our host family, she asked, "Where do people like that come from?" 

Georgia ...

We are in Savannah for Easter weekend.  Be back at home late Monday night. 

- The tomb was not enshrined
Since Jesus' tomb was not recognized as a shrine of worship, this also indicates that it was empty. It was common in that day for the tombs of holy men to be enshrined. In Palestine at that time, the tombs of at least fifty prophets or other religious figures were enshrined as places of worship and veneration. Yet, according to James G. Dunn, there is "absolutely no trace" of any veneration at Jesus' tomb. The obvious reason for this lack of veneration is that Jesus was not buried but instead resurrected.

Read more from Mark Driscoll's post about Circumstantial Evidence for the Resurrection .
Have a great Easter!

In the light of Good Friday

At six o'clock on an April evening in 2001, five-year old Arjun Janki Dass died in New Delhi from an accidental electrocution.
His parents took him to a medical clinic where they worked on his body for two hours - without success.  The doctor charged them 5,000 rupees (about $110) and told them to call a mortician.
Instead they called Rodrick at the nearby Deliverance Church.  He then called upon Savitri, one of his staff members.
Savitri brought two other Christians to Arjun's home, and the five of them began praying over the dead body about 10:00pm.  They prayed their hearts out for six hours.  Then at 4:00am the next morning, Arjun snapped back to life - no brain damage, no problems.
Today, he's a normal eight-year-old kid.  I met with Savitri, Arjun and his mother, Mina and the boy is A-OK except for a nasty scar behind his left ear where the wire hit.
Savitri is a 60-year-old widow, a Dalit from the lowly Dom caste.  She spent her life as a street sweeper, which made her, in the caste system, the lowest of the low.  The broom was her livelihood, and she remains today a fine, humble lady, a former Hindu turned to Christ.
As we were parting, I asked Savitri through an interpreter, "How many resurrections have you been involved with in the six years that you've been doing ministry?"
She answered quietly, "Sixteen."
For a moment, my brain froze.  Then I began to re-evaluate my life.  
I would give you Savitri's e-mail address so you could check her out for yourself, but she doesn't have one.  She can't read.
- MegaShift

posted via email

So you want to be a missionary?

Some great tips summarized from Nuno Barreto , "I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of foreign missionaries to Portugal, and it's time to speak out. This is for everyone that want's to know how it feels to have missionaries sent to him."

Technorati tags:: missions

Cameroon Leader Reading - #1

Hi Cameroon team leaders,

Here is some light reading for you...

** The Road to Hell is Unpaved

** NationMaster info on Cameroon

** Joshua Project [the best resource on unreached people groups] info on Cameroon

** Baptist General Conf missionary report

** Young Urban Kenyans

** Shona Burial Traditions

See you Monday night. If my flight is delayed, make yourself at home.

Technorati tags:: S.P.A.C.E, Cameroon, student missions

I thought I loved the back row

Every believer was expected to worship God every day, both in private and in the company of other believers. This did not require a 'worship service;' it only necessitated a commitment to feel the awe of God's magnificence, to express gratitude for His love and authority, to acknowledge His control and power, to follow Him with dedication, and to enjoy the miracle of His relationship with us.- George Barna on Intimate Worship as one of the Seven Passions of Revolutionaries, Revolution

When I was in high school, it was like pulling teeth to get me and my group of friends to sing in youth group, much less 'worship.' Week after week, we were consistently in the back row. Worship was, unfortunately, not even on our radar. I was even from an unchurched family - you would think I would be somewhat grateful for God and what He had done for me. Negative.

We got Em this Hillsong kids CD for Christmas. A few nights ago, we put it in for the girls right after their bath and before bed. We put on the track that has the words at the bottom so you sing along. While Em just jumped around to the music, K used the 15 minutes as her 'reading homework" and sang to it. [And yes indeed I signed her homework paper for it.]

When I first showed up at the Warehouse in the fall of 1997, things were cozy. The group of kids there seemed like one medium sized family compared to today. That first night there was full of games, food and a talk. When the evening was winding down, these two high school girls grabbed two mics, and put in a worship karoke dvd, cranked up the volume and sang at the top of their lungs. I noticed it right then and there, and continue to notice it even today. It isn't singing that they are doing. It is worship. And these kids love it. You cannot stop them.

This generation of students is not interested in sitting in the back row.

Star Wars, Forrest Gump and Perspectives

I went to Perspectives last night [yeah again, but probably the last time this semester.] There were two speakers and both were exceptional again. The topic was Pioneer Church Planting, and I was reminded of a few important topics including:
- indigenous [originating in and typical of a region or country]
- contextualization [presenting the Gospel in ways which consider the world view of the respondent culture]
- redemptive analogy [a story, legend, etc. embedded in a culture that can be used to demonstrated the Gospel]

I was also reminded that not only are these concepts vital for cross cultural ministry, they are just as important to grow people in our own culture that live on mission and purpose. Students should own the ministry. Let them do whatever they can themselves. Listen and learn from them about their culture.

I dragged LB with me to class. I was pretty sure she was going to like it, but not totally confident. That changed when first, I realized that she had been typing notes into her laptop for just about the whole duration of the class and secondly, when she got out her 'laptop pen' and drew the graphic the speaker had on the board into her high-tech touch screen/notetaking software thingy.

One of my favorite redemptive analogies from our culture is the movie The Shawshank Redemption. The main character Andy lives with such a hope that all around him are curious and intrigued. Last night, the speaker mentioned Star Wars and then asked for more examples from our culture. One of the students mentioned Forrest Gump. Hmm, I'm going to have to think about that second one a little bit.

Technorati tags:: student+missions, redemptive+analogy

The greatest traveler of all time

#1 - Captain James Cook
Captain Cook discovered more of the earth's surface than any other man and excelled as a scientist, cartographer and surveyor.
Places visited: He circumnavigated the globe twice, visited all seven continents and crossed the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
Hardships suffered: Sailed with Captain Bligh, recovered from biliary colic by eating stew made from a ship's dog; was clubbed to death in Hawaii.
Changed-the-world rating: By finding Australia and mapping New Zealand, Captain Cook essentially created the map of the Pacific we know today. He also anticipated ethnology and anthropology - and, arguably, independent travel. His aim to go "farther than any man has been before me but only as far as I think it possible for a man to go" is an inspiration to every traveler.

Read more from this article in the Independent - The 10 greatest travelers of all time via Gadling

Invites - Cameroon team

I think we are almost done with inviting specific students for our Cameroon team for this summer. This past week, two students that were invited have made commitments - very exciting. These two bring some serious energy, fun and servant hearts. There are three more outstanding invitations. We'll see about those. I will tell you more about the team as a whole later.

This trip has also brought out some other interesting issues with SPACE, and I think student ministry in general. First, there are going to be kids that you will seek out for a team and they will not be interested. There are bound to be lots of logsitical reasons including academics, athletics [lots of students getting ready for fall sports in the summer time,] and having to get jobs to make money. It is a list of many of the same conflicts with kids and student ministries in general. These kids lead busy lives. What is easy to miss [and I missed it at first - D didn't] is that because of the risk and fear - some students might find it easier to say no because of the unknown. I found that a helpful nudge to not be so quick to judge. I'm a bit scared too.

Secondly, parents might have issue with the team mix. Honesty and openness is the ruling set of principles here, but in the end, parents have to make the decision on their own. It's a balance of judgment about your team, their trust and desires for their student. And in school, sports teams, after school jobs, and yes, even youth groups, there will be kids we don't want our kids spending time with.

Thirdly, lest you think SPACE is all that, I can't give too many details but there are kids that have been part of our experiences that have dropped the Jesus thing. It pains me. Maybe we have not given them an experience where they have met God first hand and found Him worthy.

See a related post about some characteristics we look for specific for the SPACE team [learner, servant, leader.]

Technorati Tags:: S.P.A.C.E, Cameroon, student+missions

Hollywood Around

Some current posts about Hollywood and such...

Brian Russell posts about some principles when using movies as teaching tools. Brian is a professor at the Orlando campus of Asbury. Ah, Orlando....

A few from Barbara Nicolosi :
- "Screwtape on DVC".
- What are the worst misconceptions Christians have about Hollywood and visa versa?

Scot McNight, scholar and prof at North Park University posts about the Gospel of Judas. Well worth a read.

Technorati tags:: Hollywood, Da Vinci Code

Attention - Grace CpR Seniors

#1 - Have a great last CpR retreat this weekend.

#2 - You are invited...

SPACE [Students Prepared to Act for Christ’s Empire], the service/mission components of GCC’s student ministries, invites YOU to a senior weekend mission experience. This weekend is an exercise in missionally living, engaging with different cultural contexts and serving alongside their peers with impact.

Authority and Interventions

Rebellion against authority means that a person is not subjecting himself to God, though it may appear that the person is rejecting some impure manifestation of God's authority through a human channel. - J. Robert Clinton, The Making of a Leader

I can remember some intense conversations on mission experiences and they all deal with the appearance of rejecting an "impure manifestation of God's authority." I like to call them 'interventions.' I know I'm being a bit overly dramatic, but in many mission experiences, these types of conversations are painful, important and a little too close for our comfort.

I can remember having these types of conversations with whole teams [my whole team of 5 in 1994 were irate at me], small groups [two students upset at one leader], and one on one [me and one student]. It all varies and every time, it is difficult.

Sometimes it is inevitable. Mission experiences are pressure-cookers full of ranges of new and intense cultural, logistical and emotional situations. Adolescent emotions swing within a wide range. And of course, living 24x7 with the same people can also be difficult.

But the biggest cause of these conversations is authority. A leader saying something a student didn't appreciate. A leader not showing enough touchy feely love to a student. A student not getting enough respect. It seems to always be related to a leader and a student and always about the leader's level of authority over the student.

Here are a few ideas that I think may help, even before we get into the authority scenarios - and when its too late.

1 - As the lead leader, believe in your leaders.
Encourage them, uphold them, have a good dialogue with them once something like this happens. And tell them that it is okay. Give them permission to have students dislike or not agree with them. They are *your* leaders. You picked them. They sacrificed a huge amount to serve with you. And you know how capable they are, what kind of character quality they have and how they would lay down their lives for these kids.

2 - As the lead leader, believe in your students, just a little less.
I know there are kids reading this. And I will tell you - face to face as well as in a post - that I put more trust in the leaders than you. Not a lot more...but the balance swings in their favor. Not that I don't believe you, because I do. Since I picked these leaders, I know them. I know how they see you. And I can tell you that they adore you. You have easily won their hearts. They would, and as a matter of fact, have, sacrificed enormous amounts for you - to give you this experience - so that you can do something with it.

3 - As a leader, be gentle with your students. Keep sarcasm in check. Respect them, listen to them, love them within this awesome opportunity you have sacrificed for to get them here.

4 - As a student, respect your leaders. They know more details, have a bigger picture and are committed to your growth and well-being. They are wholly, 100% on your side.

5 - If there is an issue, talk about it. Get it out in the open. Appreciate honesty from all sides. Most of the time, just talking about it helps immensely.

And let's remember that authority is a big issue in life, not just on mission trips. It affects a whole lifetime, including my teachers, my boss, my kids, and ultimately, how I view and obey God.

Technorati tags:: The+Making+of+A+Leader, J+Robert+Clinton, student+missions

Informal Team Prep

There is a lot of formal mission prep that we hope to do this summer. What is just as important is the informal, that includes time the kids and leaders hang together, time they spend together involved in other things and the individual growth and maturity [spiritually and other] that each person pursues on their own.

Tonight, I had an opportunity to hang with our DC team as they served at a local elementary school. I got a request a few months ago for some students to come and help out with a sort of open gym night at a local school, while some adults from GCC were running some kind of parenting seminar. On one hand, it looked a lot like free day care. But on the other hand, it fit in perfectly with this idea of informal preparation, so I signed up. Where else could some students get a first hand look at working with kids, with no advance preparation. Luckily, a bunch of the team showed up. Otherwise, it would have been me, my girls, 30 screaming elementary kids, 20 hula-hoops, and 25 basketballs.

Park and children's ministry is always fun, easy and is a great way to build relationships. Students have a great time, the kids love new people and parents are usually pretty appreciative which can lead to receptivity. Hopefully tonight was a good primer for these students to get a feel for some hang out time with kids. I think they might be doing a lot of that in DC.

Technorati tags:: student+missions, childrens+ministry

Formatting Issues

Sorry everyone. I had a bunch of formatting errors - you could only see it in IE though. Remember to look at your blog every once in a while in IE instead of just Firefox. Hopefully will be fixed soon.

If you read from RSS, sorry for all the dups.

Is My Lunch Still Saved?

I stepped out at lunch today for a quick bite. As I was line at a grocery store, I saw an old acquaintance. Many years ago, his two sons were students in a youth ministry parachurch program I was involved with. We said hello and he asked me,

"Are you still saved?"

I mumbled something, since I was a little surprised at that question. Then he gave me a tract. He was going to give me one with an Islamic symbol on it, but then muttered, "I need that one, I have a Muslim coming on board." He then gave me one titled The Long Trip.

I just can't believe that this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote about being prepared to give an answer. Yuck.

Technorati tags:: evangelism

Why Again?

It's been a bit crazy around here - been one of those times when it's easy to think about packing it all up.... But tell me again why we do this?

Psalm 67:1-7

Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, Selah
2 that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. Selah
5 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
6 Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Technorati tags:: The Bible

SPACE virtual meetings

We have IM meetings all the time at work. I hardly ever have them outside of work, but it actually is kind of cool.

Last week, we had one with the Cameroon leader team. Here is a small glimpse into the characters that I am working with...

ts (10:03:29 PM): ok everyone is here
gregm (10:03:33 PM): i kinda actually feel like we are all at a meeting
ts (10:03:34 PM): everyone type something so we know its all working
nlind (10:03:43 PM): something
lb (10:03:49 PM): i heart somethings
spaceintern (10:03:50 PM): something
gregm (10:03:52 PM): the average weight of a golfball is 2.3 ounces
lb (10:03:55 PM): wow
lb (10:03:57 PM): impressive
ts (10:04:03 PM): yeah and everyone is a comedian
gregm (10:04:07 PM): hahaha
lb (10:04:11 PM): we learned from the best, tony

BR - Saturday

Luke 5:12-28:

"12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.'
13Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' And immediately the leprosy left him.
14Then Jesus ordered him, 'Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.'
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

The man didn't tell anyone and news still spread.

Technorati tags:: The Bible