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In this issue….
* “MEDICAL MISSIONS & UNREACHED PEOPLES” CONFERENCE
* URBANA ON DECK
* UPDATE ON MRS. WINTER
* GLOBAL GLIMPSE
* ATTENTION ALL COMPUSERVE UPGRADERS
* IN SEARCH OF STREET KIDS
* …AND IN SEARCH OF GOVERNMENT LEADERS
* FROM THE “YOU JUST GOTTA’ HEAR THIS” DEPT.
* BECOME AN “M-BAGGER”
* FOR SPECAL PROJECT PLANNERS
* FIVE LESSONS FROM ENVISION ’96
* ENVISION — THE POEM
* TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
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“MEDICAL MISSIONS & UNREACHED PEOPLES” CONFERENCE
One week from today, some 175 medical personnel will gather at Southeast Christian Church (membership: 10,000 weekly attenders) in Louisville, KY, for what looks to be one of the most significant consultations ever on medical missions and its relevance to reaching unreached peoples. Organizers write, “Four experts in tropical medicine, infectious disease, pediatrics, and ob-gyn will give practical advice from first hand experience on how to practice medicine on the mission field. And our keynote speaker … will speak on the role of the health professional as a missionary for God by integrating his or her faith in Him with their professional skills in treating the whole person. The course is free.” For more information or to receive a brochure, call Stephanie Garling ASAP at 502-451-5317 ext. 725 for more information. Open to anyone with interest in the health care field and/or mission service.
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URBANA ON DECK
Una Francis Lucey wrote Brigada Today about Urbana, “Do you believe that God has something meaningful planned for your life? Are you sometime hopeful and sometimes fearful about your future? Do you wonder how you fit into God’s plan for the world? You may not know the how or the when. You may still be working on the why.
At Urbana, join more than 17,000 others in prayerfully considering the world and how God is at work in it. Examine your own role as you learn about Jesus’ love and power…
Urbana is for college students, recent graduates, high school seniors, and young professionals who want to have their worldview stretched and want to discover more about missions. Many youth workers, college workers, church leaders, missionaries and others also benefit from the convention.
Urbana ’96 is InterVarsity’s Student Missions Convention at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The convention dates are December 27-31, 1996. The theme is “You are my witnesses.” For more information and registration brochures call 608/274-7995.”
Ed. Note: Let’s bow in prayer for a moment and ask God to use this year’s Urbana to raise more awareness and interest in least reached peoples. We’ve been told that Urbana organizers are grouping 10 delegates together to pray for each of the 1739 Joshua Project least reached peoples.
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UPDATE ON MRS. WINTER
Mrs. Roberta Winter, co-founder of the US Center for World Mission, continues in serious condition. Rick Wood, Editor of Mission Frontiers, sent this update earlier in the week: “Over the last few days she has become increasing weak and she has fallen twice because of increasing numbness in her legs. Because of this the doctors decided to perform emergency surgery to remove the cancerous tumor that has been pressing on her spine. This was a very delicate surgery that was performed 4 Nov. The surgery was successful and there was no apparent damage to the spinal cord from the tumor. The tumor was shrunken from the radiation treatments she has undergone thus far and the doctors believe that they have removed all of the tumor. After waking up after the surgery, she appeared to be feeling better and in good spirits. Please join us in prayer for this dear lady who has given so much of her life that the unreached peoples of the world would receive life in Christ. Pray that she would recover quickly from this surgery and regain her strength and energy. Pray for wisdom for the Winters and the doctors as they decide on future treatment.” Thanks for the update Rick!
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GLOBAL GLIMPSE
In a village in southern India five members of a Youth With A Mission team were taken to hospital after they and three others were beaten by an angry crowd. (They had been warned that if they did not leave the area, they would be killed.) Later at a meting called by the local government when one of those injured told his attackers he forgave them, the men responsible broke down in tears. As a result the YWAM workers are now allowed to remain in the area.
(Source: YWAM News Digest, Nov 1996, Andy Butcher, YWAM Press & Media Services, Tel: 719-380-0505 Fax: 719-380-0936, Internet: andybutcher@xc.org. (Check http://www.ywam.org ))
Global Glimpse is compiled each week by John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.
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ATTENTION ALL COMPUSERVE UPGRADERS
Have you tried Compuserve 3.0.1? I did. Yikes. What a disk-hog! Much more integrated with the worldwide web browser than in previous versions, though. As for me, since I rely mostly on Netcom for Internet access, I went back to WinCim and saved the 50 megabytes! But the choice is yours. The upgrade is free. Call CServe at 800-848-8199 (in the USA) for upgrade info. Those outside the USA should call CServe in their own countries or the closest contact number. David Housholder DavidHousholder@xc.org suggests that the best choice to strip Internet headers from CS3 messages is now E-Mail Assist (download it from the CS3 forum [GO:WCIMTE] for $18 shareware pricing). Thanks David!
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IN SEARCH OF STREET KIDS
Victor Hall vhall@att.net.hk is looking for resources (any kind of SIG, website, or conference dealing with ministry or evangelism) toward 3rd world “street kids”. Any ideas out there? If so, write Victor directly . . .and Victor, if you hear any ideas, please send us a report in a couple of weeks, okay? Thanks and Godspeed on this crucial need in places like Brazil, Thailand, and all over the world!
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…AND IN SEARCH OF GOVERNMENT LEADERS
Meanwhile, Roger E Doriot doriotre@ticnet.com would like to find an up-to-date resource to help him pray for leaders of the world’s countries. Operation World has such a list, he says, but he would like to find an updated version more current. If you know of such a list on the worldwide web or somewhere on the Internet, write Roger directly. Roger, let us know what you find, okay?
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FROM THE “YOU JUST GOTTA’ HEAR THIS” DEPT.
These Points to Ponder seemed exceptional… for this Saturday around the world….
1. If a book about failures doesn’t sell, is it a success?
2. Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift?
3. What do you do when you see an endangered animal that eats only endangered plants?
4. Do hungry crows have ravenous appetites?
5. Is it possible to be totally partial?
6. What’s another word for thesaurus?
7. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
8. Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
9. Why do steam irons have a permanent press setting?
10. Can you be a closet claustrophobic?
11. Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?
12. Why do people who know the least know it the loudest?
13. If the funeral procession is at night, do folks drive with their lights off?
14. If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, will it make a sound?
15. When it rains, why don’t sheep shrink?
16. Should vegetarians eat animal crackers?
17. If the cops arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
18. Why is the word abbreviation so long?
19. When companies ship styrofoam, what do they pack it in?
20. If you’re cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?
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BECOME AN “M-BAGGER”
Nathan Fay wrote this morning about sending parcels to on-site teams. He pointed out that the rate for an M-Bag, book, ground is .79/lb. The non-book rate was also really cheap. Compared to normal book ground rate, I was able to send both boxes (41 lbs.) for $30 rather than $80 dollars.” Thanks for the tip, Nathan!
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FOR SPECAL PROJECT PLANNERS
One week ago, many of us – and thousands in all – were gathered in Lexington, KY, at Envision ’96, gazing across an arena at giant posters each representing one of the Joshua Project 2000 “Least Reached Peoples.” One convention worker wrote a missionary in Indonesia this past week, testifying, “Sunday afternoon I counted up those who had turned in decisions. At that time there were 59 who had made full time commitments to mission service. That was out of about 350 who had turned in some kind of a decision. Most of these were decisions to make a commitment to pray for one of the 1,739 least evangelized people groups. About 700 more decisions of some sort were turned in by the close of the service Sunday night. I have not seen the results of those as far as full time mission service commitments. Kentucky Christian College students are processing those. It will probably take two more weeks. … It was awesome to see people standing in line all during the closing service to turn in decisions to adopt one of those groups. I’ve never seen anything like it. … They had four (I think) computers networked in an area just to the right side of the stage where the people manning them worked all during the convention putting in decisions. I can’t remember how many things they had listed in what they called a “Decision Manual”, but there must have been 10 or 15. I think that activity alone is going to bring results the next 15 or 20 years.” We give praise to God alone for the way he is working through Envision ’96.
Now, having been assigned the task of writing up a “how-to” manual on putting together one of these events, Eric Derry and I are trying to look for major focal points that seemed crucial in bringing the event to reality. This list is just a first pass . . . and by no means complete or finished… but it might at least provide food for thought…
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FIVE LESSONS FROM ENVISION ’96
a) INVEST HEAVILY IN PRAYER —
The Prayer Center (just to the left of the stage) was staffed throughout the convention day each day of the event. Intercessors were lifting up convention personnel, goals, and vision around the clock. As President, I had one of those “Duh!” realizations just 6 days before the event . . . when I realized there was too much on my plate to accomplish. The only way I could face the week in good conscience was to leave for a two-day prayer retreat. I did Experiencing God in those two days, from cover to cover, fasted for the first time in my life, and personally experienced renewal of my faith and vision. Those days became the primary components in planning my own comments and the opening night message.
b) FIND THE MOST-GIFTED PEOPLE FOR EACH TASK THEN EXPLAIN THE TASK —
God led us to some of the most awesome people for the challenges we faced. There are way more than I could ever mention, but here are a couple of examples:
1. The guy who became the genius behind architecture of our unreached peoples thrust was like from another planet! He wasn’t ashamed of thinking up the wildest schemes, . . . like preparing a poster for each of the 1739 groups and “seating” them in our arena as if they were with us in the throne room of Heaven. He invested literally thousands of hours of preparation.. And I’m not exaggerating.
2. The gal who took responsibility of seeking out key coordinators for functions such as the 50 “greeters”, the prayer center, and volunteer services. She knew exactly where to go for help and she communicated the vision precisely.
The list goes on and on. Envision ’96 might have had a president . . . but more importantly, it featured the sum total of an army of volunteers. And my right-hand man is brilliant at churning out “job descriptions.” I asked him for 10 one day and I think they were done by 5pm that afternoon! Those job descriptions became “bold challenges” to the people seeking to fulfill those tasks. In short, they set standards for excellence that everyone wanted to follow.
c) INVEST ENERGY AND ALLOW TIME TO DETERMINE THE MISSION —
We started two years before the event, with dozens of focus groups at places like the US Center for World Mission, Fuller Seminary, large and small churches and colleges, big cities and small towns throughout the land. We even asked opinions from those outside our particular “non-denominational denomination.” :-) Interestingly enough, those focus groups – which set us back probably six months on our time-line – probably became the key most important part of our planning. We relied on their input over and over again. There was the one guy in Indy who brashly said, “Ditch the idea of having a convention! Those people need to use that money to go overseas anyway.” :-) (Well, we didn’t quite take his advice literally, but the whole thrust of our convention changed from “spectator sports” to “action/participation in fulfilling the task.”) Then there was the lady at the large church who said, “What it sounds like you want is an ‘Urbana’ for churches.” That was it exactly. And who can forget the president of a major denomination saying, “Don’t try to plan a pan-denominational event. We know your people. They need to experience this on their own. Invite us as guests. But make no bones about the fact that this is a Christian Church/Church of Christ event. We did just that. And he was right. And many guests came and all have said they felt very warmly welcomed. Finally, there was the lady who said, “Clarify what it is you want to do there… then word it in a concise statement. Then build everything you do around that statement.” That’s exactly what we tried to do. We read our mission statement over and over again . . . for nearly two years . . . all the way down to the final closing of the last main session, . . . when we turned it over to God for Him to help us finish.
d) WORSHIP, WORSHIP, WORSHIP —
The Mission Frontiers issue on worship, music and missions hit at exactly the right time for us. I bought Piper’s book the day I received the issue. Thanks Rick Wood. We modeled our convention around Piper’s chapter on worship. We put worship people in charge of the main sessions. I pulled out, even though I was supposed to be president. We pulled the missionaries out. We let the worship people set the scene and they did it with glory. God got all the praise. The smartest thing I did in the whole convention was to realize that I wasn’t that smart . . . especially when it came to things like “sequence”, “flow” and bringing people to their knees before the throne of God. We pulled in three guys who do it for a living. They pulled in literally dozens of others that they already knew. And wow. The results were fantastic. They pretty much set the time line, and then they became invisible. But the results and the glory still shines. The pageantry was beyond our wildest dreams. The balloon drop, the “candles”, the poems, the skits, the lighting, the sound, the “flow” (whatever that means! :-)) transported us into God’s presence. And that was the single most talked-about Envision ’96 feature, if you asked me. Just imagine. Thousands of Christian Church/Church of Christ people standing around an arena with tears in their eyes, worshipping God Almighty. Yikes. What’s this world coming to! :-) If God does choose to bless the results of Envision ’96, it won’t be because of any one man’s or woman’s doing. It’ll be because we allowed Him to take His rightful place – to be seated on the thrones of our hearts. We tried to get ourselves out of the way.
e) [and finally, for now :-)] GIVE ATTENTION TO DETAIL —
We developed checklist after checklist, . . . exchanged terabytes of email! :-) For the last few weeks, everywhere I went, I carried a literal file cabinet of file folders just to try to keep track of the ocean of details. Did we think of everything? Nope. But within the scope of human ability and within the power of God’s fulfillment, I can honestly tell you that we did our best. We did scenarios for this, contingencies for that, ran plans and dreams past presidents and entrepreneurs. From the tiniest little item (making sure there was enough dip for the visitors in the Press Room) to the largest issue (“how do we keep the least reached and their needs constantly in front of the eyes of every delegate”) someone developed a plan… and we now pray that God will bless the results.
Envision ’97 takes place in Tulsa, OK, Oct. 10-12, with Tom Schneller as President. Tom was heavily involved in the team that God set up to attempt Envision ’96. He’s the perfect man for the job. Eric and I will assist him, along with a team of others, in planning and implementing continued PACE Project emphasis. We pray that God will empower Tom to carry the vision forward with all the more power and all the more impact on His people throughout the land. God be praised!
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ENVISION — THE POEM
Envision
by Steve Wyatt, Sr. Minister, Cullen Ave. Chr. Ch., Evansville, IN
Read during Opening Ceremonies, Nov. 1, 1996, Envision ’96
We’ve come from far and wide,
from city and countryside,
crossed mountains and ocean tide –
We’ve come to Envision.
We’ve come to stake a claim, we’ve come to strike a flame, we’ve come in Jesus’ name – We’ve come to Envision.
We’ve come that the world may know, we’ve come God’s love to show, we’ve come, and we’re willing to go – We’ve come to Envision. Lord, impress Your dream upon our hearts, Some region, some nation, some part, where Your kingdom may gain a new start – Lord, give us Your vision.
We’re tired of the status quo, souls dying without hope, a world darkened by sin and by woe, Lord, give us Your vision.
Enlist from among us an army of risk-takers, a battalion of earth-shakers, a legion of Kingdom-makers – Lord, give us Your vision.
And Lord, infect us with Your passion. Remind us that no cost is too great, no price is too high, no sacrifice is too much. And teach us, Lord, that if that cost is paid, if that price is given, if that sacrifice is made in the execution of Your vision – Teach us that when the fighting is over, and the battle is done; when the dust has settled, and our race has been run. When Your vision has become our victory, and the world has been won – Tell us again, Lord, tell us how You’ll look again upon these then who stand before You now – And tell us how You will speak to our hearts as humbly we bow, “Well done.”
Amen.
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BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
*Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
*ADVANCE: Mark A. Kelley, Kainos Press, 70420.1057@compuserve.com
*Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer, mayhew@xc.org
*Technical Development: Jonathan Marsden, MAFxc jonathan@xc.org
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But thanks for working together! That’s the dream of Brigada!
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