Daytime TV--the commercials

Now that I'm becoming a connoisseur of daytime TV, I'm realizing that it's not just the shows that are different, it's also the commercials.

Sitting at home, I have inadvertently entered a different culture. I'm learning about motorized scooters, for people who just can't get around anymore. Apparently the people with these scooters also get free plastic surgery so their mouths are fixed permanently in a smile position.

Then there are various health and pharmacy plans. The best ones let you see whatever doctor you like with no referrals and no co-pay, and also get prescriptions included. It sounded like a good deal to me, but I'm not on Medicare so I don't think I qualify. But I suspect there was some fine print.

Then there are the bed and mattress commercials. For some reason, the most prevalent mattress companies all begin with the letter 'S'. Sleepy's, Serta, Simmons. And the one showing the most ads now is Sleep Number. We are treated to innumerable little vignettes of happy couples, whose entire lives have been changed due to their ability to set the two sides of the mattress to different firmness levels. Each ad is structured like a classic short story, with a situation, a conflict and a resolution. Here the people start out frowning, and end up smiling.

Then there are the legal ads, such as the one trolling for clients with defective pacemakers, or people who have been injured in nursing homes. No one is smiling in these ads.

The only positive thing I can say about the daytime commercials, is that at least you can tell what the ad is about. But the topics are pretty darn limited. It's sort of like going to a library and suddenly realizing that they only have books in one genre, like sci-fi or short stories.

My big disappointment is that my favorite commercial in this genre is no longer shown. You would think that if they do re-runs on all the programs they could do re-runs on the commercials too. The tag line has entered popular culture as a quotable quote: "help! I've fallen and I can't get up".

I'm thinking of starting a petition for better commercials on daytime TV.

Daytime TV

I've got to start with an apology to anyone who really loves gameshows -- you'll see why at the end of this blog.

While I've been recuperating at home, I've been watching more TV than usual. It's a different world (no pun intended). It's not just more TV, it's different.

For a while I thought I was doing well at holding back the influx of the inane, not to mention the insane. I limited myself to one talkshow per day, and chose the one that even seemed to have some edifying moments. I prided myself on avoiding the daytime dramas, and didn't pick up any reality shows.

But then I had a bit of a relapse, and found myself channel surfing. I innocently found a rerun of Jeopardy, and didn't realize that I had been sucked into the Game Show Network. Hour after hour passed, and the quality dropped show by show. By the second day, I clicked to GSN immediately. Some of it was like being in a time warp (just look at the haircuts on Family Feud). But some of it was culturally up to date -- did you know that there is a show where you indicate your desire to play the next round by chanting: "I need greed"? For some reason everyone claps at this point.

Anyway, I reached my nadir with an episode of the Newlywed game, followed by the Dating Game. I can't even explain why I was watching. It wasn't even particularly interesting or funny, and certainly wasn't edifying.

That night I was praying, and confessed to God that I had wasted time on this junk, and asked for help since I didn't even have the motivation to say I was going to try to do better.

This is where the apology comes in, because the following incident probably impacts lots of people besides me.

The next day, I found that Cablevision had pulled the channel from their lineup -- you need a different level of service to get it.

The moral of that story is, to be careful of what you pray for! Of course, another way of looking at it is that God was protecting me from myself.

A Walk in the Park

In case you were wondering why I haven't blogged lately, I have been recovering from surgery, and nothing really seemed interesting enough to bother blogging about.

While I recover, my daily schedule is very different from my normal frantic rush. Every day now, I get up and go for a walk in the park. I've noticed some curious patterns.

• Almost everyone in the park is retirement age. I wonder what it must be like to have the free time to do this regularly.
  
• The most popular activity is tennis -- the courts open at 8:30am, and people are lined up waiting. The men generally wear tennis whites, while some of the women go a little bit crazy and dare to wear lavender shorts.
  
• Women like to walk in pairs, chatting sociably. One woman proudly sports a metallic gold fanny pack
  
• Men like to jog or bike by themselves, purposefully. On the average they work out harder than the women. Their faces are sometimes alarmingly red, or even more alarmingly grey. I find myself reviewing the steps of CPR in my mind, and wondering where the nearest defibrillator is.
  
• One couple walks together. Every once in a while, without any apparent signal, they break into a jog for a short distance before dropping back to a walk. They always look very serious. They don't talk, although they might politely nod the head as I pass.
  
• Most of the single walkers are listening to I-pods.
  
• I haven't seen anyone pushing a stroller. Don't people do that anymore?
  
• I haven't seen anyone riding a horse (even though the nicest paths are equestrian-only).
  

It's as if I am a temporary member of a different society. But my Visa will be expiring soon and I'll be returning to my normal 'country', where I get up and get on the train instead of going to the park.

The scent of summer

Have you ever noticed that various seasons smell different?

Winter smells clean, and sometimes prickly.
Spring starts with the smell of thawing earth, and then eases into the aroma of flowering bushes -- Lilac is my favorite.
Summer smells like cut grass, and if you're lucky, like Roses.
Fall used to smell like burning leaves (when it was still legal), but now tends to have a musty scent of rotting leaves.

There is a wonderful tree I pass on my way to work. It is fading now, but it has aromatic flowers that look like tiny little orchids. They strew the ground as if a profligate flower girl has escaped from a wedding. I have no idea what it is. I also like the fact that it flowers after all of the spring trees, but before the summer flowers really get going. It grows intertwined with a Maple, so I never even notice it until it is fully in bloom, and the aroma stops me and causes me to look around.

p.s. to anyone who drives down North village avenue, the tree is in between the tudor and the medical building. Do you have any idea what it is?

VLI is over

I can't believe that VLI is actually over. I'm left with a big muddle of thoughts and feelings.

• It's been two years (7 quarters, actually).
  
• It has been wonderful, but also tiring.
  
• I haven't cleaned my apartment in 2 years. (As a friend used to say, "when you're looking for an excuse any one will do".)
  
• I've learned a lot. Although I'm a little afraid that I've turned into a little Steve Robbins clone. Not that I know anywhere near as much as he does, but I've been fully indoctrinated into the Steve Robbins zeitgeist.
  
• I'm sold on the concept and plan of how VLI balances the requirements -- some is taught at a distance (which gives the opportunity to hear from world renowned experts), and some is taught locally (which gives an opportunity for accountability). Some is academic (which provides a foundation) and some is practical (which also provides a foundation).
  
• It's clear that my personality is not suited to be a church planter. It sounds like a nightmare to me. I can't believe anyone wants to do that (although I'm glad they do, and I wish them well!)
  
• I really really recommend VLI...but you do have to count the cost.
  
• My younger classmates (both at my own church and elsewhere) really do memorize things much quicker and easier than I do. And they are much better as figuring out what they really need to spend time on, and what they can kind of gloss over. But it kind of reminds me of Fried Green Tomatoes. Remember the scene where the pretty teens swoop in and 'steal' the parking spot, and then obnoxiously explain "Face it lady, we're younger and faster!" Middle aged Evelyn then repeatedly crashes into their car (intentionally), and calmly replies: "Face it, I'm older and I have more insurance." Well, I'm older (and slower), and have better study habits. So it was quite interesting to see how we each compensate with our own strengths.
  
• I feel like I've learned about 10% of what was taught. And now I only remember about 5 percent of it. In fact, I almost wish I could take it again.
  
• Sometimes it was frustrating taking classes long distance. For example, several classes taught about teams, and how to choose people. In most of the church situations I've been in, however, it ends up being a question of desperately accepting any available warm bodies who volunteer. So how do you get enough volunteers that you even have the option of making a selection?
  
• It was a little scary hearing how often the teachers mentioned how cool it would be to be a martyr. Maybe it didn't actually come up that often, but it sure made an impact on me. Cool was not exactly the adjective I was thinking of.
  
• One of the best things about VLI was that the teachers combined academic qualifications with passion. It is such a privilege to hear from highly qualified teachers who really want to teach.
  
• At the beginning of VLI, I came up with a list of ideas for how to maximize my time to make it through. Most of these ideas actually worked well. The best ones were: getting a headset for my phone at home, so I can do stuff while on the phone, and cutting out random TV watching. I still watch a few favorite shows, but I don't watch aimlessly.
  
• I think most people who take VLI will find some pressure point. For me it was doing the projects. I really stressed out over that.
  
• It's a little humbling to realize that I'm still totally clueless about the major timeframes and people in the Bible. It's not that they didn't teach it, but my attention span was mainly on the concepts, and the dates and names kind of went in one ear and out the other.
  
• Unless you have an extraordinarily good memory, it really helps to come up with mnemonics or rhymes. For instance, the phrase "I Do Eat Peanuts, Not Olives" reminds me to consider whether a Biblical passage is Illustrative, Demonstrative, Exemplary, Prescriptive, Normative, or Obligatory. And then there were the 10 major historical events of the divided kingdom, which I set to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas: For the first major historical event, the kingdom was to-orn in two. For the se-cond major historical event, dynasty of Omri and the kingdom was torn in two... I don't remember all 10 anymore, but at least I remember a few.
  
• And somehow, the whole VLI experience has made me really respect and appreciate pastors even more. Thanks guys!
  

25 years later

I just returned from my 25th year college reunion. It's interesting to see what has changed, and what has stayed the same.

• The smart people are even smarter now.
  
• The sweet ones are even sweeter.
  
• The selfless ones are still helpful.
  
• The library still smells the same. We were all experiencing 'deja smell'.
  
• The big sycamore tree still stands proudly on the front lawn. It has been dying for the past 30 years. The replacement tree that was planted years ago is now about 30 feet tall, but the original one won't give up.
  
• The showers still switch suddenly from hot to cold (or back again) for no apparent reason.
  
• The lake is still beautiful.
  
• The stagecoach is still brought out for special events, complete with black horses, and a driver in uniform and white gloves.
  
• It's still a wonderful, supportive community.
  But...
  
• The spiral staircase seems steeper than it used to be. The hills are steeper too.
  
• The beds are narrower. (I actually fell out of bed!)
  
• The food is better (although maybe they made a special effort for us).
  
• The professors are younger.
  
• The Alma Mater is more dated, but also more touching.
  
• Only one person was skinnier than she used to be. (And it wasn't me).
  

Prayers are answered for distracted congregation

The title of this post was actually a headline on a Reuters News article.

Apparently, St. John's Rectory Church has decided to install a Wi-Fi 'hotspot', so parishoners can send an email or surf the internet while in church.

The intention is to make the church a 'sanctuary for everyone'. Apparently, people are so used to constant electronic access that they can't be expected to be comfortable without it.

It's a sad commentary that church seems so peripheral that it only gains in value if you can multi-task. It really challenges me to consider how far we can and should go to reach out to those outside the church. At what point are we becoming like them, under the guise of drawing them in?

But it did give me some ideas. Why not capitalize on the concept of instant, wireless communication, and advertise the church as a prayer hotspot? Instant access to God. No monthly fee. No hardware required. Never down for maintenance. Installation is simple, and can be done by the following voice commands:
"Lord Jesus, I'm sorry for my sins..."

Banning Gossip

Ignacio Jimenez, mayor of Icononzo, has banned gossip in his town, in Columbia.

That's an amazing concept. Gossipers will incur jail time. The reason for the ban is that people were actually being murdered due to rumors.

I can't imagine such a ban actually working in the US -- it sounds like something that the ACLU would be against. People have an American right to free speech, even if the speech is harmful. But I have an idea. Even if we can't have an official civic ban, maybe pastors could ban gossip in their church. There certainly are clear biblical grounds for this -- consider especially Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

I'm not sure what the best punishment should be. But I think some sort of community service would be appropriate, since it would minister to the community that was damaged by the gossip.

Of course, it would be only fair to warn newcomers about the ban. Maybe we need a standard symbol to indicate that you are in a 'no gossip' zone. How about a logo with a mouth whispering into an ear, surrounded by the classic red circle with a slash? It would work sort of like the drug-free zones around schools. Or like the quiet zones they used to have around hospitals.

Are you ready to take the 'no gossip' challenge?

Notes from Columbus: Gordon Fee - Philippians

Gordon Fee taught a series on Philippians.

05/03/2005 When you read the bible, ask two things:
- What is the historical context?
- What kind of document is it?

Philippians historic context:

• Paul is in prison, probably in rome
  
• The believers in Philippi have sent Paul a gift
  
• There is some internal unrest (not as strong as the division in Corinth)
  Philippians type of document:
  
• Blend of 2 kinds of ancient letter: a letter of friendship and a letter of moral exhortation -- stories of exemplary virtues.
  
• Note that friendship in the greco-roman world was quite different from how we use the world. It was so strong it was almost a contract, based on absolute trust and total good will. Your friend would care for yuour family if you died or otherwise couldn't. The principle of reciprocity - the giving and receiving of help.
  
• And the obligations of friendship, the principles of reciprocity, are then attributed to God: "And my God will supply all your needs, according to his riches in Christ Jesus".
  

05/04/2005 Philippians 2:1-18
Paul calls us to be likeminded; the same mindset; one in spirit.

Avoid attitudes that destroy unity: selfish ambition and vain conceit; rivalry; desire to get ahead at the expense of others; selfishness.

Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves not to your own interests. (N.B. NIV adds the word 'only' -- 'not only to your own interests' but the Greek doesn't have the word 'only'. The TNIV will remove the word 'only').

This passage exists to refute selfish ambition, it does it by emphasizing two things:
1) Christ's pre-existence as God. As God he emptied himself.
2) Christ's incarnation. As Man, he humbled himself.
These two statements stand against selfish ambition and vainglory.
God is interested in confirming us into his image, not just in populating heaven. The antidote to selfish ambition is in coming to God, and discovery that he is like his son, who poured himself out, humbling himself.

Philippians 2:9-11 God the father's vindication of the son in his pouring himself out.

God has stamped his full approval by highly exalting his son and bestowing on him the name - The Name. When God reveals himself to Moses he says this is The Name - Yahweh. In the Shema, it says 'The Lord is one'. In Jewish history they stopped even pronouncing the name Yahweh, and substituted Adonai. But God has given Jesus The Name, so at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is God and Lord.

The only Lord is the incarnate crucified one. Eventually, every knee will bow. Our mission is to bring people to this confession now. To so preach Christ crucified, risen, exalted, that people will follow him and confess that Jesus is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.

05/05
Remember that Philippians is a combination of two things: a letter of friendship, and a letter of moral exhortation.

The heart of the exhortation is 3 paradigmatic stories.

1. Paul in prison -- his response is a pradigm for how to live in adversity.
   
2. The story of Christ -- how to live in the context of conflict: the mindset of Christ, not living out of selfish ambition.
   
3. Living Christ in the context of opposition
   

In verses 3:1 and 4:4, we usually see this translated as "finally" but it more correctly means 'what's next'. So the TNIV says "further" instead of "finally".

• "Rejoice in the Lord" -- the focus is on the Lord, not on an emotion.
  
• The phrase "we boast in the Lord Jesus" uses 'boast' in the sense of putting their confidence in. don't have confidence in wisdom or wealth or strength, but have confidence in the Lord, knowing that he exercises kindness and justice in the world.
  
• Paul tells his own story as a paradigm in 3 parts:
  
  
  
  • v 4-6 the future does not lie in the past.
    
  • v 7-11 the future lies in the present.
    
  • v12-14 the future.
    
  
  In v 4-6, we see that the future does not lie in the past. Paul acknowledges all the things that were simply given to him -- circumcised on the 8th day, etc. These were not due to his own merit, they were part of his heritage. Then he goes on to his actual accomplishments: with regard to sin, blameless. The way to go forward is not to go backward.
  
  In v 7-11. Do we know Jesus or do we just know about him? This is talking about intimate knowledge. In v 10-11 he elaborates what knowing him means-- by the power of his resurrection to live in conformity with his death. It's not a question of enjoying suffering it is a cruciform lifestyle. Being conformed into the likeness of his death, being shaped into his image.
  
  v12-14 talks about the future. We are in the 'already', but there is also a 'not yet'. We have not yet reached the goal.
  
  The 'one thing' is Christ, not some other prize. Paul uses the race metaphor. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the prize, knowing him, because someday we are going to know him even as we are known.
  

the vertical bed 

Notes from Columbus: cross-cultural musings

I have just returned from the Vineyard Pastors/Leaders' Conference in Columbus, and I've been thinking about the challenges of cross-cultural ministry. It occurred to me that we really need the grace of God to sensitize us to our differences.
I live in New York, and the conference was 'next door' in Ohio, and yet we even noticed differences there. Same country. Same language. Same weather. And on the surface the same culture. But differences at every turn.

Here are some of the differences we noticed:

• 'Traffic calming'. We think we finally inferred what this meant. The street through the housing development leading to the church had signs announcing 'traffic calming'. We think that was warning us about the traffic 'humps', which sort of look like squashed 'speed bumps'. Unfortunately, traffic calming doesn't work on people from NY. Clearly we too have been impacted by the normal rebellious condition of New Yorkers. We kept asking each other whether we were feeling calm, and finally gave in to the temptation to drive fast over the hump just to see what would happen. Nothing. We didn't bottom out. We didn't fly through the air. I didn't spill my coffee. Apparently, people in Ohio take it sincerely when you tell them to be calm, while people from New York get rambunctious.
  
• Food. Our first meal in Ohio was at a restaurant whose menu proudly listed Fried Cornmeal Mush. Trust me, that's just not something you would see in New York. Not at a restaurant, at least. It's true that my mother used to make it (and it's pretty good if you put enough butter and maple syrup on it), but I always thought she made it up. On the other hand, it seems that none of the waiters in Ohio have ever heard of club soda. My friend even tried explaining that it's like soda without any flavor. She finally found one waiter who thought that maybe he had heard of it. And then there was the restaurant that served strangely flavorless grilled skewered beef. We finally decided that it had been boiled. And none of us even dared to try the objects that purported to be bagels.
  
• Furniture: I'm not sure if this really counts as an Ohio difference, but it was a new experience for me. When we checked into the hotel I was eager to see if the extra bed we had arranged for would be in our room. The bed was there, but it was vertical. It had straps to keep the mattress and bedding from falling off. There wasn't enough empty floor space in the room to set the bed down.
  I wasn't sure what to do, so I asked the front desk to take care of it. But when we returned to the room at about 10:30pm, it was still vertical. I had this sudden image of the sleeping arrangements that the astronauts used on the Apollo missions, sort of a hanging cocoon.
  
• Friendliness. Everyone we met in Columbus was really friendly, not just in the church, but even out in the wild. For example, the woman who checked me through the security screening in the airport not only hoped I would have a good flight, but wished me a happy mothers' day. I'm not a mother, but the thought was nice.
  

Do you see what I mean? Even someplace as similar as Ohio and New York has cultural differences. So if we add differences of geography and climate and race and ethnicity and language and history and economics and education, we're really going to have to rely on God's grace to teach us to see what's important, and not get hung up on the stylistic details.

Notes from Columbus: 5/6/2005 Bert Waggoner

Bert Waggoner gave the closing talk:

Urban Centers: In 1890, only 3% of the world lived in urban areas. In 1950, 29% did, and by 2000, half the population of the world lived in cities.

The early church was an urban movement. Think of Paul's journeys, but ever since the first few centuries we have been moving away from the cities in terms of missionary activity. More of our energy and efforts need to be refocused in urban centers.

The spirit of God is hovering over the cities of the world, beckoning God's peole to touch all the things represented in the city: ethnic diversity, crime, broken homes, etc.

To be on a mission with God is to be concerned with the whole land. We're going to have to become multicultural and multiethnic. We have to come to grips with what it means to embrace different cultures and ethnicities. Look at the columbus vineyard: they are releasing all the resources of the church to reach out into the community. They will be building a community center to provide medical and legal assistance to the members of the community.

We need to be full of compassion and full of love to break into the darkness. Large churches are needed to do these major projects. Small churches are also important and can team with other churches to have a bigger impact.

The gospel is a gospel of reconciliation, to break down cultural and economic and racial barriers. We need to address social justice and the great moral issues of the day.

If the Vineyard is going to be viable we need to focus our energy on building Hispanic, Asian, and African American churches.

Boise Vineyard is addressing the abuse of the environment. They've got a website called Lets Tend The Garden, based on their understanding that the Lord has called us to be stewards of our environment.

We're not going to reach the inner cities and the youth of America by adopting political agendas. The church cannot be boutht by political lobbies -- we have already been bought by the blood of Christ. The church is to be a prophetic community, an alien nation, so we can be salt and light to the world.

We need the rest of the body of Christ. We need one another. We recognize how desperately we need one another -- that's maturity. The larger and smaller churches need each other. Maturity is taking on the role of a servant. We need to choose to be servants.

As John Wimber used to say: "I'm a nickel in God's pocket -- He can spend me any way he wants". We submit ourselves to the Word. Be courageous. Be bold. In constant submission to the living Word, quickened to us by the Spirit.

We're going to be the kind of committed people who go into the land, listening to his voice, watching for what he does, and saying "Lord, we're going to follow you". Here's the way to go:

• Place yourself under the Lord
  
• Burn your bridges
  
• commit yourself
  
• Be a people of the word
  
• Preach the word
  
• Share in God's mission to the world.
  
• Be committed to the Lord, and to one another.
  

Joshua ordered the officers of the people to get ready to cross the Jordan. That goes for us too:
Get ready!
God's not through with us.
Say "yes Lord!".

Notes from Columbus: 5/5/2005 - Phil Strout

Phil Strout spoke on Continuing on with the Mission of God.

Gen 3:15, God announces enmity, but explains how he'll fix it. The gospel in miniature. The fall and salvation.
Later, God calls Abram, and says he will be a light to the nations.

Mission is discovering what the Lord is doing. It is the Lord who is moving people globally. If we're going to the nations, we need to go together in teams.
Acts 13 says that Antioch was founded by 'some men' - not by an individual. Loneliness is an issue for leaders. We need to send leaders in community.

Think of the example of St Patrick, who went to Ireland with a team. Francis of Assissi walked with a team. In acts 14, notice all the references to "they". And in modern times, think of a Luis Palau crusade, which takes a whole year of preparation by hundreds of people.

We need to protect the rest of our 'herd'. Don't go alone.

Mission is for the neighborhood on the way to the nations -- its not about crossing a body of water. It can start right here.

No one is expendable. Don't let anyone in the family walk away. do it together, so people don't get lonely or alienated. There is an African proverb: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

We need to discover what the father is doing now. This is our destiny.

Notes from Columbus: 5/5/2005 Bob Groth

Bob Groth taught a workshop called 'Pastoral care of Death and dying'. In addition to being a pastor, he works for Hospice, and has a lot of experience in ministering to the dying and their families.

There is a difference between being terminal and being actively dying.

When someone dies and the family asks if they are in heaven, you can say that God is the one who looks on the heart, not us. And God is merciful.

When people know that their time is limited, help them deal with the 5 thoughts to help with closure: I love you. I forgive you. Will you forgive me? Thank you. Good bye. Help them address these areas with their families.

It's not just a question of helping the patient or even helping the family, it is also to help the patient communicate with the family. Ask key questions to get them going ("how did you meet"?) and also ask facilitating questions ("is there anything else you need to discuss?").

Give the signal that you are giving them your complete attention. Take off your coat. Sit down. Look at them. Depending on how the room is set up it might work better to kneel by the bed so the patient can easily see you.

Sometimes the church wants to keep praying for healing, when it is really time to let the patient and family get used to the idea of dying, and get closure. So there is a balance between retaining hope and preparing for death.

Here is an order of service that Bob uses:
- Welcome to the people
- Prayer, thanking God that we are part of the family of god
- Scripture reading
- Read the obituary
- General sharing. You can also encourage people who don't have the time or inclination to share that they can write these things and send them to the family later.
- Message
- Lord's prayer
- Some sort of blessing or reading.

Be a bridge among the family. they will often be of varying denominations. Preach the good news wherever you can. Draw a boundary, however -- if the family wants a service with no mention of God, you have a right to turn that down, because what is there left to say?

Notes from Columbus: 5/5/2005 Philip Jenkins

Philip Jenkins recently wrote an award-winning book called The next Christendom. It is an eye-opening look at the projected future of Christianity.

The current picture of the demographics of Christianity: 2 billion Christians worldwide, of which 550,000 are in Europe, 470,000 in Latin Americ, and 360,000 in Africa.

If the rate of change goes on, by 2025, Latin America nad Africa will probably be tied for the most Christians. By mid-century, Africa will be the heartland of Christianity. Worldwide, there will be 3 billion Christians, of which only 1/5 will be Caucasian.

The rate of growth is incredible. Some African pastors are actually praying for fewer converts, since they have so many that they can't handle any more. Archbishops are worn out by having to consecrate so many new churches. And all of this growth is happening in the middle of devastating sickness. A picture of a 'typical' Christian would look more like a poor woman in Africa or China, than a white suburban American.

In 2050, if the current growth rate continues, the estimates are that countries with large numbers of Christians will include US, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and the Congo, for example. But NOT on the list are Britain, France, Italy and Spain.

Mainstream Christianity in the future will be what we see today in African churches -- a pentacostal flavor with an emphasis on social justice.

The most important reason driving change is simply demographic. The average age in Italy is 40. The average age in Uganda is 16. 90% of the young people of the world are in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The growth of Christianity is a women's movement. Even if the denomination doesn't ordain women, they are key converts and influencers.

Global Christianity is a healing movement. Especially focused on Luke 8. This includes the knowledge of the reality of the demonic, and exorcisms.

In the 1960s there was an expectation that the world would be scientific and urban, industrialized. But this hasn't brought global wealth or health or happiness.

Welfare, health, education services are a great motivator. Whichever religion addresses these issues will attract people. In many places, this is the great appeal of Islam. What are the implications to us?

In the past, missionaries were accused of bringing an alienist imperialist religion. but the most successful social movement of the 20th century is Christianity! communism and fascism are dead. Other movements have passed. Christianity remains. So the missionaries were actually effective, in spite of their flaws.

Christian history doesn not happen how or where we think. Ethiopia and Armenia were actually the first Christian staes. The historic norm of Christianity is persecution and oppression.

Christianity does not have a geographic core. In the 17th century, St Vincent de Paul, wrote during a time of religious chaos and people killing each other: "Jesus said his church will last till the end of time. He never ;mentioned Europe".

Look at Europe today, and think what it means for mission. We think of mission as something that goes from global north to global south. But it is now reversed. Missionaries are starting to come from the South, to evangelize secular Europe.

The US is not as badly off as Europe. The great commission is to preach the gospel to the whole world, but the world came here. For example, Nigerians are one of the world's diaspora people. Houston is the US center of Nigerian community. The US church can influence world policy, by acting politically to provide protection. This could include intervention in cases of forced conversion, for example.

El-Shaddai is a global trans-national Philippine church. Many of the 'invisible' people who serve us in diners are Philippinos who belong to this church. Talk to them!

Ask what other churches in your community are doing to provide assistance to the global church. You may have a church in your neighborhood with contacts in a third-world country. Maybe you can work together with them.

But the most important mission direction today is from the South to the South: Koreans going to Muslim nations; Brazilians in Africa; Nigerians in India.

Notes from Columbus: 5/4/2005 Rich Nathan

Rich Nathan is the Senior pastor of the Columbus Vineyard. His church was a wonderful host to us at the conference.

• II Tim 4, Paul draws a contrast between those who listen to teachers who say what they want to hear, and those he challenges to evangelism. He says: do the work of an evangelist.
  
• Are we a bulwark (protecting the church from erosion, and keeping it 'safe' from the outside), or a bulldozer (changing the landscape)?
  
• We need faith in the gospel (rather than in ourselves or our skills). We need to go to our community with confidence in the good news of christ. Preach good news. Good news! Christ can fill the hole in your soul. Good news! You can be gorgiven of your sins. Good news! To do a great job of evangelism, preach good news. God has done everything to secure for us what we could not do for ourself.
  
• Call for a public decision. Make the message clear. Don't blend a salvation call with something else, that might make the response ambiguous.
  
• Teach the church to be inviters. Pastors need to partner with the people. The people invite their friends to come, the pastor preaches the gospel.
  
• Model evangelism. Use every method, for example use the internet.
  
• Discipleship is like chocolate milk Christianity (all mixed up indistinguishably with life) rather than a grapefruit (in sections).
  
• We have to remove the impediment to the gospel. Quote authorities the listener will respect. Perhaps the New York times, or a secular authority. Try to be inclusive in your preaching, for example, make sure to not leave out women.
  
• Use apologetics as you preach. Remove issues that could keep someone from believing.
  
• Every community has boundaries, but the characteristic of Christianity is how it treats people outside the boundaries.
  
• Preach social justice.
  
• Treat people's doubts with respect.
  
• Christianity is not an argument that you are trying to win.
  
• Rich preaches to Christians and non-Christians together at each service. He thinks this trains and models for the church how to share their faith.
  
• Preach a freedom gospel, not just a forgiveness gospel. People aren't worried about justification.
  
• Speak to the lost
  
• Seak to seekers. Say 'you can find what you're looking for'.
  
• Speak to people in crisis.
  
• Speak to the successful but empty. Those who wonder 'is this all there is?'
  
• Believe in the power of the Holy Ghost.
  
• There comes a time when we need to call for a decision, to say yes to Jesus, to surrender.
  
• Tell people that the resistance they feel is from the enemy of their soul.
  

Notes from Columbus: 5/4/2005 Julia Pickerill

Julia Pickerill is a dynamic youth leader. She spoke with authority, while still being totally feminine. It was a terrific combination.

• The church is God's wonderful creation -- we should love it and speak well of it.
  
• New generations are always being birthed into the church.
  
• We need to look at how to bring the kingdom of God to the next generation.
  
• Who is the next generation? It doesn't all have one face.
  
• When we ask ourselves "what am I doing here?
  we can get into despair. Look at Romans 8. We need to get our eyes off of the bondage of decay and realize that thru Jesus we can be liberated.
  
• We ride behind the king. We ride behind Jesus, so we can go anywhere for the sake of the gospel of Jesus.
  
• It's not new -- our ministry is an incarnational ministry. When God wanted to save the world he went to them. What should we do?
  
  
  
  1. Go where they are
     
  2. Get to know who they are. Get to know them as they are.
     
  3. Serve and suffer and sacrifice for them.
     
  4. Tell them about Jesus.
     
  
  
• Look at how the emergent church is thinking. Here are the characteristics of the emergent church:
  
  
  
  • It is responding to postmodernity by evaluating the modern church. We should ask ourselves and evaluate ourselves (rather than evaluating other churches). Avoid a spirit of rebelliousness.
    
  • It evaluates modern Christians. So we should ask ourselves if we really reflect Christ. Don't be prideful or judgmental. Ask about yourself, not others.
    
  • It evaluates modern Christianity. So we need to be careful about what we do.
    
  • Evaluating postmodern culture. Note: he who marries the spirit of the age is sure to be a widow in the next. We need to be relevant to the people we are trying to reach. Ask yourself "what's for us and what's for them?" Make sure they can come in the door and that you are not creating barriers to their feeling at home. Do what brings them to Jesus. Do it, and if it works, do it some more.
    
  
  
• Challenge the young people to research what we can do about helping the emerging church in Africa. For example the AIDS crisis. The Sudan.
  
• Cutting edge form is easy: simply hold church at night, turn down the lights, and turn up the sound. But we need to concentrate on the function, not just the form.
  
• Be willing to go over the cliff, to take the gospel, healing, worship, justice, responsibility, liberation, to the next generation.
  
• Numbers 14 gives advice to older leaders.
  1)Identify new leaders who show courage, faith, whole-heartedness, people who show up.
  2)Identify older people who are relational and can help, or can host.
  
• Numbers 27:18-20 tells us: Release your younger leaders into significant ministry. Speak authority into them.
  
• Deut 8:2 tells us: Train up younger leaders. Tell our story to them.
  
• Deut 3:28 tells us: Encourage and strengthen younger leaders Tell them what their gifts are.
  
• Deut 5:32 tells us: Teach the leaders to obey God's word. Teach them to be God hearers and God obeyers.
  
• To older leaders, do this:
  
  
  
  • Parent the next generation
    
  • Make a place for the next generation
    
  • Don't be afraid of post-modern spirituality
    
  • Practice 'contact work' -- go somewhere that young people work.
    
  • Expect some chaos.
    
  
  
• To younger leaders, do this:
  
  
  
  • Deut 31 do not be afraid. Preach the gospel.
    
  • Deut 34:9 Receive teaching. Be humble.
    
  • Josh 24:15 choose this day who you will serve. Don't follow the idolatry of the culture.
    
  
  
• To everyone dealing with the next generation, choose these three preferences:
  
  
  
  • Choose function over form: are you seeing people being baptised, restored etc?
    
  • Choose Actions over words: Don't get too caught in dialog. Once the action works, then talk about it.
    
  • Choose Christ over cool. Suffering, service, and sacrifice won't fit into cool. We need to throw off everything that hinders us.
    
  
  

Notes from Columbus: 5/3/2005 Reverend Flake

Reverend Flake leads a church in Jamaica, with almost 20,000 members. He is also the president of Wilberforce University in Ohio (commuting weekly), and in his spare time(!) he writes books. He is a polished and dynamic speaker. Here are the words of wisdom he shared with us:

• Sometimes we don't think God has the power to lift us from our circumstances to do what he has called us to do. He grew up as a poor child picking cotton, and look at him now! How do we come to the realization of what God wants us to do? And how do we have the courage to do it?
  
• We need to trust that God will bless us if we follow his call.
  
• When we hide among the baggage we don't reach the capabilities God made us for. (I Sam 10:20-23). When God calls, stand up.
  
• People will come to a place where they are served.
  
• Don't let yourself be controlled by your fears. He had big dreams -- his church has built 161 homes, and over 600 senior citizen apartments.
  

Notes from Columbus: 5/3/2005 Rick Evans

How to lead healthy balanced ministry.

As part of the normal christian life, we should see healings. There will be different levels of anointing, but we should be seeing stuff.

There are 10 things that will help us to lead healthy balanced ministry times in the life of the church.

1. Believe in your heart that God wants to speak to you. The prophetic: God telling his secrets to his friends. We need to believe that God wants to speak through us. Jesus said "My sheep hear my voice"
   
2. Go beyond the obvious. Go beyond ministry by application. The sermon may be on a certain topic, but God may also be doing something else. Don't beg people to come up to satisfy the last teaching point.
   
   
   
   • Before the ministry time, prepare and listen.
     
   • When you arrive, look around and notice what God is doing.
     
   • During worship, look and sense what is going on.
     
   • During the teaching, also look around.
     
   • As you invite the Holy Spirit, don't be in a rush.
     
   
   
3. Commit to the activity of waiting on God. Learn what his voice sounds like in the quiet, so you can hear it in the noise. We want the giver, not just the gifts. In terms of hearing God's voice, we are always on a learning curve. It will grow over time as we are faithful.
   Ahead of ministry, listen and wait. Give God the opportunity and time to speak. (Rick shows up to conferences a day early and begins to walk. He brings a single piece of paper titled 'ministry time' and asks God to speak to him. God often tells him both the person's situation and what he wants to do or say. This builds faith, which leads to authority.)
   
4. Approach ministry times with authority. Be strong but not arrogant. Authority comes out of hearing what God wants to do. (If you didn't hear anything, still invite the Holy Spirit, but don't claim to know something if you didn't hear yet). Jesus has all authority and sends his disciples in his authority.
   
5. Two heads are better than one. Build a team. Benefit from collective gifting.
   
6. It's all in the packaging. This doesn't mean that you get slick, but don't scare people. Don't make people afraid you will point them out and reveal their sin. Give the word, but let them respond rather than singling them out.
   
7. Look for the signs of the Kingdom. The Lord may speak warnings to you. He may give you a sense of what's coming up. There are certain catalogs of images to become familiar with and notice -- a broken mirror may mean a woman hetes her image, for example. Look for the demonic. Look for the Holy Spirit.
   
8. Ask God for more anointing. And ask for your new marching orders.
   
9. Take time to stand in the waterfall. Receive.
   
10. Never give up!
    

Notes from Columbus: 5/3/2005 Rick Olmstead

• We can't be a 'bubble' church, separated from the world.
  
• We need to repent of the Jonah syndrome -- he didn't even want god to have compassion on the evil-doers.
  
• We have to love more than we hate--to love Moslems more than we hate Islam; to love abortionists more than we hate abortion;
  
• We need to be a refuge for the world, not from it.
  
• Non-Christians see us when we picket, they see what we are against, but they don't have a chance to see what we are for, so we need to welcome them in a very intentional way.
  
• Let's lower the drawbridge. We tend to make the narrow way too narrow. We need to reduce the cringe factor. To put it simply, don't be weird.
  
• God designed the court of the gentiles so non-believers had a place to come as seekers.
  
• We also need to make a way for them to belong before they believe.
  
• Realize that reaching the lost gets messy. It will cost money, people and atmosphere.
  
• We need to die to our preferences, to live for what God wants.
  
• We need to lay down our 'Vineyard Pride' and be willing to learn from those who are successfully catching fish.
  
• We need to contextualize the gospel to the people around us now.