20011230 Brigada Today

1) ALPHA COURSE OFFERS PROMISING HELP FOR DISCIPLERS

ALPHA COURSE OFFERS PROMISING HELP FOR DISCIPLERS — Are you involved in discipling others to Christ? Ever try the Alpha Course? Check it out at:

http://alphacourse.org/

It’s a 10 week course, complete with videos, outlines, and tons of resource help on the web. One team we just visited says it’s the best thing since the light on the Road to Damascus! (Okay… so maybe they didn’t say it exactly *that* way, but at least they liked it.)

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2) GET A LOOK AT THE GREAT COMMISSION TOOLBOX CD

GET A LOOK AT THE GREAT COMMISSION TOOLBOX CD — I love this thing. I finally got a personal peak at Wycliffe Canada’s new Great Commission Toolbox. What a wealth of resources… if you have to teach or mobilize for missions — especially for those working with youth! The Adobe PDF lesson sheets are *professionally* laid out, ready to print. I’m tellin’ you… it’s an instant curriculum of seminars and workshops galore! The really surprising thing is that you get all these for less than US$8 ! Canadian residents may contact

<mediaresources_canada@wycliffe.ca> to order the Great Commission Toolbox CD for $15 Canadian plus GST and shipping–a real deal! Or order from the Wycliffe Canada web page: http://www.wycliffe.ca/resource/HTML/cd_games.html . US residents and others can order for $7.95 US plus shipping and handling at these addresses: e-mail Dennis Cable at <dennis_cable@wycliffe.org> or ask for extension 3778 at 1-800-WYCLIFFE (800-992-5433) or 1-407-852-3600.</dennis_cable@wycliffe.org>

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3) SIX-HOUR “PEOPLE RAISING” FUNDRAISING AUDIO KIT

SIX-HOUR “PEOPLE RAISING” FUNDRAISING AUDIO KIT — Now there is practical advice on fundraising. Whether raising personal support or organizational funds, the 6-hour audio training program is designed to help reduce the fear as well as dramatically reduce the time needed to raise funds. Advice comes from William Dillon, author of People Raising: A Practical Guide To Raising Support, who has been raising funds for ministry for over 30 years. Check out the Audio Edition http://www.peopleraising.com/tools.cfm or e-mail <bill@peopleraising.com>.</bill@peopleraising.com>

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4) WATCH MISSIONS FEST LIVE WORLDWIDE!

This year Missions Fest Vancouver is transmitting live video streaming of their plenary sessions through the internet. To access the live streaming and for more information, go to

http://www.mfest.bc.ca . The video streaming is slated to begin at 12 noon (PST) on Jan. 25, 2002 until approximately 5 P.M. (PST) Jan. 27, 2002 In between the live streaming there will be other pre-recorded broadcasts. E-mail address: <carla@mfest.bc.ca> .</carla@mfest.bc.ca>

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5) FREE CATALOG FOR THOSE SHARING CHRIST

Pick up the “Living Evangelism Abundant Life Series” and use it to effectively share Christ with neighbors, friends, co-workers, and even strangers without fear. Three different formats are available, including 12 week sessions within your own church, 12 week sessions of home study, and weekend + four sessions in your church. For all the resources you need, call in the USA or via Net2Phone to 1-800-467-0804 Pin #27 or dial +1-386-615-1411 or email

<scministries@cfl.rr.com> or click to

http://www.sharechrist.org .

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6) RELOCATED AND READY TO SERVE

Global Economic Outreach is now operating from Wilmington, North Carolina. GEO has registered several hundred volunteers with a wide variety of occupations, hobbies, and skills, willing to answer missionaries’ questions by Internet. Subjects include business, agriculture, health, computers, veterinary, technology, and many more. Missionaries can make requests to GEO by email or using the website. There is no charge for this service. Visit them at

http://www.teamgeo.org or write .</mail@teamgeo.org>

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7) ISLAMIC STUDIES IN ASIA

Earn up to 9 graduate credits in Islamic studies at the Institute of Islamic Studies, April 08 to May 31, 2002, on the mountain campus of Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, Baguio City, Philippines. *Course 1: “Introduction to Islam”: Wk 1- The Religion of Islam (Dale Fagerland); Wk 2- Peoples of Islam (Dr. Robert Douglas); Wk 3- Folk Islam (Dr. Bill Musk). *Course 2: “Approaches to Islam”: Wk 4- Theological Approach (Dr. Ida Glaser); Wk 5- Contextual Approach (Dr. Phil Parshall); Wk 6- Practical Approach (TBA). *Course 3: “Christian Ministry in Muslim Contexts”: Wk 7- Ministry to Muslim Women (Donna Smith); Wk 8- [Pastoral] Counseling in Ministry to Muslims (Faouzi Arzouni). Get the brochure by emailing <apts@agmd.org> or <langford@xc.org>. Or call (63)(74) 422-6977. On the Web: langford@xc.org></apts@agmd.org>

http://www.apts.edu . The registration deadline is March 01, 2002.

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8) MISSIONARY TRAINING CAMPS

Here are training camps that feature experienced missionaries sharing practical, personal, and biblically-based training to prepare people for missions work. The next camp is at the Triple R Ranch in Chesapeake, Virginia from February 7-10, followed by another in Spain from June 1-10. Past participants say the camps are practical down-to-earth training that may make the difference between success and failure on the mission field, giving steps needed to take to get to the field and stay there. For information and applications, call Elijah Company, Inc. at (757) 474-2054, or write <trumpetcall@elijahcompany.org>. See ECI web site for more details</trumpetcall@elijahcompany.org>

http://www.elijahcompany.org .

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9) CYBER-EVANGELISM – IS IT EFFECTIVE?

As promised in Jan/Feb 2001, the raw results and a dissertation in the area of the effectiveness of using cyberspace as an evangelistic medium are now available. The URL is:

http://www.mleggett.uklinux.net/weq .

(the last letter is a lower case Q for questionnaire) Further information is available from <ieqhelp@mission-it.org> . I love all the charts and graphs. If you ask me, Mick raises the bar and sets the pace for all of us in doing our homework, then presenting it effectively and broadly! Great work Mick!

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10) UNLOCKING ISLAM

Cornerstone Centre for Intercultural Studies (Netherlands) is offering a one week course 14 – 18 January 2002, giving an overview on the geographics, demographics, history, theological developments (including divisions), the beliefs and practices of Islam. It also includes how Muslims relate to the Western world, and how Christians can witness to Muslims. Costs only 140 Euro including full board. The organizers offer their apologies for the late notice, but figured better late than never. Apply at

http://www.cornerstone-mtc.com or write to

~~.</short-courses@cornerstone-mtc.com>~~

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11) ANOTHER NON-MICROSOFT ALTERNATIVE APPLICATION

For those who love the robust power of Microsoft Office but would prefer less expensive alternatives… or even simply non-Microsoft alternatives, check out

http://www.openoffice.org . It’s the “opensource” Star office fork, so it’s free now and should always be (as opposed to Sun’s Star Office featured last week). It’s also actively developed, and a Caleb Project staffer reports that it is “pleasantly Microsoft cooperative compared to Star Office’s Microsoft-hostile posture.” Either way, the price is right! (Thanks John!!!)

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12) CHINA FOCUSED SCHOOL OF FRONTIER MISSIONS (SOFM)

Do you want to go, but you don’t know how to get there? Youth With A Mission Taiwan will be running a SOFM focused on a few unreached people groups in China. The school will start on March 31, 2002. The lecture phase will last 3 months followed by a 1 or 2 year placement on the field. This school will be bi-lingual using Mandarin and English. The total cost for the lecture phase will be USD750. That’s everything! If you are interested, just contact Don Gillman at .</gillman@m2.is.net.tw>

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13) THE BACK PAGE: DEFINING LEADERSHIP

Our organization recently held its 3rd summit of team leaders and, as always, I learn more from this growing group of top-notch workers than I ever can possibly give back. Since our time together, I’ve been mulling over in my mind how to define leadership. I started out thinking about it in terms of activity. I figured leaders should be people who have somehow learned how to get things done… so maybe others rally around them because, well, these would-be teammates see the action and they want to be a part of it. Not only is it more *fun* to be a part of the action, but also it just feels more productive… more effective… more fruitful.

But then I started realizing that some great leaders didn’t really *do* things. They *are*. Gandhi is an example. He stood up for a set of *values*… so people ended up standing up for *him*. They were attracted by his ideas, rather than his actions. Sure he took steps that were visible… tangible… but in the end, it was more a matter of his *principles* than his *tasks*.

As my thinking continued to evolve, I moved on to a phase of focusing on great leaders and their *relationships*. In a way, that’s part of what defined success for Jesus. After all, he never wrote a book (directly) nor did he record any motivational tapes. If his teachings were going to last, it would be because of the notes made by those who followed him. And that’s exactly what happened. The Bible is *full* of eye witness testimony by those who loved him most. More than anything else, it seems, Jesus majored in spending time with *people* … his “teammates” (the disciples), needy folks, and even those who didn’t seem to *think* that they needed him.

So now I’ve come full circle. I’m beginning to conclude that great leaders maybe have all *three* facets. They learn how to get things done… they stand for noble principles… and they invest time in *people*. Part of the magic is… great leaders come to believe that those people are not “projects” but someone to love.

So… I think I’m starting to get it. And I’m further thinking that if we want to train our new disciples to be great leaders in their local churches, we’ve got to model it for them. We’ve got to churn out the work, retain those guiding principles, and love people. I’m starting to believe that only *then* will we really make great leaders.

What do you think? Got an opinion? Let me know at .</dlucas@teamexpansion.org>

Thanks and may 2002 be a blessed one for you, your team, your family, and your ministry!