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News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse https://brigada.org
Compiled by Doug Lucas, Cincinnati, Ohio
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
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In this issue….
* GET A LIST OF BRIGADA CONFERENCES
* QUICK AND EASY EMAIL BROCHURE ON BRIGADA
* LIBRARY TO GO IS READY TO GET
* LAST CHANCE TO BECOME A FAMOUS TENTMAKING AUTHOR
* ARE YOUR “MISSIONARY KIDS” READY FOR REENTRY?
* JUST WHEN I WAS EXCITED ABOUT CSERVE’S UPGRADE…
* FOLLOW-UP TO “TALK TO YOUR BUDDY ON THE NET”
* FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SHARE CHRIST WITH MUSLIMS, SEE YOU AT CIU!
* NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN TESL/ESL
* WHY AREN’T I HEARING MUCH ABOUT OCTOBER?
* DONDE SE PUEDE ENCONTRAR “MISSIONARY BIOGRAPHIES” EN ESPANOL?
* ASIA FELLOWSHIP WANTS PRAYER HELPS
* GLOBAL GLIMPSE THROUGH PERSECUTION
* GREAT PRAYER RESPONSE IN PREP. FOR GCOWE
* HOW DO YOU SPELL DISCIPLE??? HOW ‘BOUT STARTING WITH PRAYER?
* WHEN IS “ENOUGH ENOUGH?”
* TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
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GET A LIST OF BRIGADA CONFERENCES
You can get an instant list of all Brigada conferences at any time, 24 hours/day, compiled “real-time”, by sending a note to hub@xc.org with only the words,
conferences brigada
in the text of the message. Then you could pick out the conferences you’d like to join! A one-liner description for each is provided for your info. And just think — every last one is free! :-)
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QUICK AND EASY EMAIL BROCHURE ON BRIGADA
At any time, you can also pick up a quick-and-easy email-able brochure on Brigada by sending a message to hub@xc.org with only the words,
info brigada
in the text of the message. An automated reply will come your way.
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LIBRARY TO GO IS READY TO GET
We think you’ll like the great start that Brigada participants have provided for on-site workers! To receive a file stocked full of electronic resources for cross-cultural church planters, send email to hub@xc.org with only the words,
get brigada library-to-go
in the text of the message. There are dozens of options. If you decide to add to the file, or suggest a change, write DLucas@TeamExpansion.org with the words,
LIBRARY TO GO
in you subject line, please. We regret that we cannot process changes sent in other forms.
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LAST CHANCE TO BECOME A FAMOUS TENTMAKING AUTHOR
We asked last week for input on the tentmaking article (” WRITERS WANTED FOR PROPOSED FRONTIER MISSIONS ARTICLE”) and several responses have come in, but we could use some more! The deal is, a writer for a major journal is seeking an article from Brigada Today with the title, THE INTERNET: TENTMAKERS’ COFFEESHOP FOR THE NINETIES. There will be sections on “security, potential, and the future of the Internet and tentmaking.” Please send your ideas/paragraphs/quote to DLucas@TeamExpansion.org with subject line,
TENTMAKING ARTICLE
All input must be received no later than June 9. Give any personal examples of how the Internet has helped you prepare for, implement, or survive/thrive in tentmaking ministry. Talk about your fears for security on the Internet, give your favorite horror story :-) or even talk about what you see happening in the future. Thanks!
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ARE YOUR “MISSIONARY KIDS” READY FOR REENTRY?
Just found a brochure on my desk for “Are you Ready for Reentry?,” a seminar for sons and daughters of missionaries by http://www.barnabas.org/ Barnabas International and others. They’re doing one on the East Coast July 14-25, ’97 in PA, and one on the West Coast, July 29-Aug. 9 at Biola. For info, contact them at 75453.2464@compuserve.com,
PO Box 11211
Rockford, IL 61126
phone 815-395-1335
fax 815-395-1385.
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JUST WHEN I WAS EXCITED ABOUT CSERVE’S UPGRADE…
I was all set to make sure you had noticed that CompuServe (now officially “CSI” — guess they have some sponsorship from the former Soviet Union??? :-)) had finally gotten with Internet standards. Users can upgrade at any time now by typing in “go newmail” while online and with the new mailbox that will be created, they can then receive attachments in the same manner as everybody else on the Internet. (Previously, if you “attached” a file to a message, then sent it to a Cserver, the file was stripped at Cserve’s Internet gateway.) Now just when I was about to be excited about that, DavidHousholder@xc.org wrote with news that somehow, when the user executes this new mail software, his messages sometimes fill with “=” and “3D.” I had noticed these strange symbols in some of my friends’ emails lately, but hadn’t caught the link to Cserve! Now the most recent news (and this is insider stuff — highly confidential — top secret — a Brigada Today exclusive! :-)) from David is that if users don’t trust the new mailbox software, they can use a little publicized backdoor that allows people who have changed to newmail to get back into oldmail. He said use the GO word “MPX-32.” As of last night, David was still unsure about the whole process — but the bottom line is that not everything Cservey is rosey at this point. If you’d rather switch than fight, check your yellow pages for a list of real Internet Service Providers. :-)
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FOLLOW-UP TO “TALK TO YOUR BUDDY ON THE NET”
In last week’s Brigada Today, we described a couple of programs that allow you to talk “live” with a friend on the Internet (” TALK TO YOUR BUDDY ON THE NET”). One reader (“Greg Fletcher” fletch@jms09.jeton.or.jp wrote in to comment, “I had a look at those sites, but none seemed to compare to ICQ. Have a look at http://www.mirabilis.com . They have a great program that notifies users when friends/acquaintances (selected by the user) are online. It will also do “pager” messages that pop up when the addressee goes online next, launch chat, voice chat, game, and other external programs and link users together to use those programs. They also have a “White Pages” that to look up people who use the software.” Shew! What’ll they think of next!?
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FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SHARE CHRIST WITH MUSLIMS, SEE YOU AT CIU!
From June 2 through August 8, Muslim Studies courses are being offered at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. Introduction to Islam, Folk Islam, Planting Churches in Resistant Areas and Islamic Theology are each two weeks long. They can be taken for credit or audit. If you have any questions, call Dr. Warren Larson, 1-800-777-2227, Extension 3483.
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NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN TESL/ESL
Been wanting to brush up on your TESL skills? (Teaching English as a Second Language) Summer ESL Institutes will be held in Tulsa, OK – June 9-14; Philadelphia, PA. – June 23-28; San Diego, CA. – July 14-19 and Santa Rosa, CA (the Bay Area), July 28-Aug. 2. They will train participants in a new Bible-based ESL curriculum, “Passport to the World of English.” (I asked for details and they told me it was just completed last November!) The one-week course also includes: how to begin an ESL mission outreach in your community from your church; Coordination leadership of an ESL outreach; Finding resources for tutors; Pronunciation, Rhythm and Intonation and music; and lots of other goodies. Tuition & materials: $115, housing and meals extra according to the location attending. Supposedly, it was designed for volunteers to use, so it is very user friendly. With the audio tapes, which include music, students can practice alone between class sessions. Sounds like a great deal!!! Wish I could go!
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WHY AREN’T I HEARING MUCH ABOUT OCTOBER?
Is it just my imagination, or does it seem that we aren’t hearing as much about the October “Praying Through the Window III” campaign as we have in previous PTW thrusts? Now granted… maybe it’s just my imagination, but we hope this isn’t indicative of a loss of interest anywhere…. If you’ve got an opinion, send it to DLucas@TeamExpansion.org with only the words
PTW3 in the subject line. Make sure you note if you’d rather remain anonymous — just in case you say something quote-worthy! :-) And by the way, if you’d like a list of the people groups to be featured in this October’s PTW campaign, just send a message to hub@xc.org that reads,
get brigada ptw3-peoples
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DONDE SE PUEDE ENCONTRAR “MISSIONARY BIOGRAPHIES” EN ESPANOL?
Jon would like to know. Where in the world are all the missionary biographies in Spanish? If you’ve got an inkling on this one, write him in Ecuador at ekblad@uio.uio.satnet.net and he’ll send us a compiled list. He’s afraid it’ll be woefully short. :-(
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ASIA FELLOWSHIP WANTS PRAYER HELPS
This seems like a simple enough request. But what do we give him? Blake fmm_personnel@juno.com has an international consultation coming up in which he’ll need to lead prayer times each day on each major religious bloc (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Animism, Nominal Christians). They are looking for some resources that could help guide their prayer time. He’s willing to send us a compiled list once he assembles it. Please drop him a line with your recommendations at fmm_personnel@juno.com.
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GLOBAL GLIMPSE THROUGH PERSECUTION
God’s church is continuing to grow in the Middle East, despite complications and persecution. One of the Bible League’s teams recently delivered 60 tons of Scripture into the region, saying the hardships they endured in the process point to great things about to happen. The group has now received a request for 20-thousand Armenian Bibles and three times as many New Testaments for distribution in Syria, Lebanon, and Armenia. Also, PrayerWave Asia, based out of Singapore, kicks off July 1, calling for the Asian Church to unite in a chorus of prayer on behalf of the hundreds of unreached people groups who haven’t heard the Gospel message.
(Source: Mission Network News, Wednesday, June 4, 1997, http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/news/news.html )
Global Glimpse is compiled each week by John Hanna , Advocacy Director, Caleb Project, 10 West Dry Creek Circle, Littleton, CO 80120, USA.
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GREAT PRAYER RESPONSE IN PREP. FOR GCOWE
Benny Mostert bennie@cis.co.za wrote us this past week to report that he had an excellent response from many parts of the world from those requesting the 44 day prayer guide (1 June – 14 July) for GCOWE ’97. People still wanting to be part of this and want to give the information to their church prayer networks or other prayer groups can contact us at nupsa@glocal.co.za. Benny reported, “Momentum is building for this very strategic conference. This may be the last of these type of conferences this century.” Benny added, “This conference is going to take place in the midst of a remarkable prayer awakening in many parts of South Africa. People are praying for revival as never before.”
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HOW DO YOU SPELL DISCIPLE??? HOW ‘BOUT STARTING WITH PRAYER?
How do you sustain long term effective prayer for unreached people groups? How will the thousands of churches which have agreed to pray for the Joshua Project 2000 list stay committed? How can you increase prayer for the 10/40 Window this October? Well according to the Raleigh office of the US Center for World Mission, the answer to all these questions is simple: “Disciple’s Prayer Life.” That’s a 5-Day training course to help you teach Disciple’s Prayer Life and/or greatly enrich your prayer life during this week of August 11-15, 1997 at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. Sponsored by the Southeast Regional Office-USCWM (see the add in the June issue of Mission Frontiers), it’s $75 (includes materials, refreshments and one lunch, but doesn’t include housing). Space is limited. For more information email bsuscwmse@aol.com and put
PrayerLife-your city
in the subject line or call 919-787-3821, speak slowly while leaving name and address to receive brochure.
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WHEN IS “ENOUGH ENOUGH?”
In ministry-oriented jobs, it seems there’s always something else demanding our attention. Penny (have I told you about my beautiful wife, Penny?) just rented a movie called Preacher’s Wife, starring Whitney Houston. Honestly, the movie almost seems to land somewhere between It’s a Wonderful Life, Touched by an Angel, a Promise-Keepers Sunday night video, and Ghost (but without the sultry love scenes :-)). Well, maybe I’m reading just a bit into it. But not much. The plot revolves around a preacher who has seemingly “lost his first love” in more ways than one. So this angel drops in (pretty much literally) and, well, gets a bit side-tracked at times with the pretty preacher’s wife. (Now that I write about it, it sounds pretty zany.) At the church, he is feeling like a failure, with faltering numbers and no visible opportunities for growth. And at home, his marriage is a wreck. His wife (Whitney — man can she sing!) is feeling pretty underwhelmed with their relationship. She isn’t looking to leave or anything… just weary with his 12-hour days and 7-day work weeks. He’s always missing appointments to meet her and their son at the park and he forgets about “dates” and trades them off for hospital calls.
As I thought about the fact that this movie was produced by media-types in Hollywood, it dawned on me that they, too, must sense a real “conflict of interest” for men and women in Christian service. The producers do a fairly good job of showing the preacher in a good light. He isn’t having an affair with the organist… and the choir director is his own wife! :-) In fact, during one of Houston’s songs in which she’s reflecting back on their earlier love, the scenes cut over to glimpses of the preacher doing really cool things like serving in a soup kitchen and praying for the sick in nursing homes — and those are pictured in a positive light! In fact, over all, the writers set him up in a pretty positive light throughout the whole movie.
But still, something’s unnerving about the fact that the world knows how hard of a time we have achieving balance. We’re supposed to be loving people, in love with our families, setting the pace on care for our children while we set the pace on care for the sick and the imprisoned. So — when is enough enough? How do we know when to say “uncle!”
As much as I hate to admit it (why do we men hate to admit that our wives know more than we do! :-)), it seems the answer can usually be found in the heart of the female. It almost seems that God has given them this magical barometer for a heart. They know when the magic in marriage is gone… and they know what it would take to get it back, if we’ll just listen. At first, it goes against our nature to hear their pleas for “more time” or “more help” at home. But, as one of our Team Expansion missionaries in Caracas told me a few years ago, once we see the “glory” returning to their faces, it’s well worth the energy and love we invest in rebuilding the relationship.
And how do we achieve balance without going too far (cheating “the company” by taking too much time off? :-)), strangely enough, it seems that once the wife is convinced that she’s first — before job, career, and everything else (second only to one’s personal relationship to God), then she willingly ‘shares’ her mate with the world! Pragmatically speaking, I won’t claim to have an answer, but some of our best missionaries tell me that they focus on tracking their time by looking at the day in 3 “blocks” (morning, afternoon, and evening). According to this model, if you’re spending two blocks per day, 5 or 6 days per week, you’re doing great. If you feel yourself hitting several “3-block” days in a row, better slow down, for everyone’s sake. (And by the way, if you feel you’re only doing 1-block days, or only hitting 4 days instead of 5 or 6, then consider having a heart-to-heart talk with your team leader about how you can build back up to “critical mass” for your ministry’s sake. But for some reason, that’s usually not the problem — for some reason, we’re more likely to cheat our spouses than the ministry. What does that say to our wives about where they stack up in the pecking order?)
So what’s the bottom line?? Balance. Finding that critical balance where we’re serving 2 “blocks” per day, 5 or 6 days per week and giving families the attention and investment they deserve and need, in order to be fruitful and effective for the long haul.
That’s all I’ve got to say about that. :-)
Epilogue: I won’t tell you how Preacher’s Wife ends. Who knows. Maybe you’ll rent it someday??? :-)
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At https://brigada.org on the web, you can see tons more.
(This issue of Brigada Today is Copyrighted © 1997. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Christianity to reach the unreached. But please tell your readers where you learned about the item, and if it’s not asking too much, include the 3 lines on how to subscribe — see above.
IMPORTANT: To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.)
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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. Kelly, Kainos Press, MarkKelly@xc.org
*Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer, mayhew@xc.org
*Technical Development: Jonathan Marsden, MAFxc jonathan@xc.org
*Brigada Customer Service Manager: Revis Ann Massey, RevisAnnMassey@xc.org
*Brigada Coordinator: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@TeamExpansion.org
*and many other occasional contributors too numerous to mention!
But thanks for working together! That’s the dream of Brigada!
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