Rob Bell

I think I'm the only blog in the world that has yet to weigh in on Rob Bell, accusations of universalism, and his new book.  It's clearly time I need to weigh in.  Here's what I believe are the key points, thoughts, and opinions I need to add to blogworld concerning this discussion.

I have not read the book.

That is all.

*conVERGE Episode 4 with Carrie Badertscher Follow Up

Hello to *conVERGE viewers.  Welcome to my little corner of the the internet world... a.k.a. my blog.  There will be times we'll send you over here for some follow up info on certain episodes.  In Episode 4 with Carrie, we talked Innovation for Change, and I shared some statistics at the close of the show concerning some of the issues going on in our world.  I believe God cares deeply about every issue outlined below.

• 40% of the world lacks basic sanitation facilities.
• 1 Billion People have unsafe drinking water.
• 1 out of every 2 children are born into poverty.
• 1 out of every 4 children have to work instead of going to school.
• In Africa there are 15 million children orphaned due to AIDS.
• Equal to entire population of Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
• Every year, 2.2 Million children die because they are not properly immunized.
• 27 Million people are living as modern day slaves.
• Every 6 seconds, a child dies of hunger.
• 1 Million+ legal abortions are performed every year in the United States (1 every 30 seconds)
• 6,871 of the 16,000 people groups in the world are still unreached with the message of Jesus Christ.
• 2.8 Billion people have not heard the message of Christ.
• 33% of the world is Christian. 4.62 Billion people practicing other or no religion.
• 1 out of 3 teens have been heavily drinking this year.
• 900,000 teens have been abused in their own homes.
• 1 out of every 5 have seriously considered suicide
• 1 out of every 4 high school girls have experienced sexual or physical abuse.
• 9 out of every 10 teens have been exposed to online pornography.

If you've been struck by any of the issues, here's some websites and ministries that may be good to check out:

• I-heart.org - Organized by the Hillsong Worship Group, this site highlights many of the more significant Humanitarian/Justice issues. It gives further information on the issues as well as ministries you can partner with.
• groundwire.net - A ministry reaching out to teens in crisis.  If you're 18 or older, you can go through training to become an online coach & help others in need.
• joshuaproject.net - A site dedicated to the fulfillment of The Great Commission.  It's full of information on the different people groups of the world.  Great place to start learning more about unreached people groups.

Here's some examples of Innovators for Change mentioned by Carrie:
Hoops of Hope:  Check out this site to see a great example of someone who saw, felt and acted on the issues.  Browse through this site and watch the stories on what happened.  It's a great example of an innovator for change.  Also, I highly recommend Austin's book, "Take Your Best Shot" to any teen who is seeking to follow Christ.

Tom's Shoes:  One for one.  For every pair of Tom's shoes you buy, a pair is donated to someone in need.  Blake Mycoskie (Tom's founder) saw a need and came up with a way to do something about it.


Teens and Trafficking:  Nappanee Missionary Church Youth saw two significant needs (Teens in Crisis and Human Trafficking) and have done multiple programs and steps to address those needs, inlcuding a dodgeball tournament that will raise $$ for a Teen Crisis Ministry.


View the epsiode from Carrie here.

Next week I'm joined by Caleb Bislow to talk about what it means to be a Missionary.  It will be FANTASTIC!

*conVERGE: Episode 2

Episode 2 of *conVERGE aired last night on Remedy.fm. Terry Linhart joined me as we talked leadership.
 
You can now view it on the Converge Page on Remedy.  Terry dropped some great wisdom as we looked at whether or not all Christians are called to be leaders, and maybe more importantly, what is God looking for in a leader?  Go check it out here.

Coming to the Blog: Got Nothin'. You Decide.

I rarely experience writer's block.  I am clearly there when it comes to this blog.  I thought 60 Days of  Beauty would bump me out of it, but I'm still there.  I sit down to update, and I have nothing rising to the top that I feel compelled to write.

So, here's what I'm thinking.  You tell me what I should blog about.  You can do this one of three ways.

• Ask a question:  Ask me some question where you would like to see a response.  I'll then post based of this question.  (Leave a comment and  start it with the word QUESTION)
• Give me a title:  You make up a blog post title and I'll make a post based on that title.  Go as random, odd or specific as you like.  (Leave a comment and start it with TITLE)
• Give me a series:  You come up with a series of posts you think I should blog about.  Again, go as creative as you'd like. (Leave a comment and start it with SERIES)

2 thoughts:

1. I have no idea how much response I'll get here, so I can't guarantee every comment will receive a post, but I'll try.
2. I will be less likely to select "anonymous" comments, so be sure to leave your name.  Either log in, or put your name at the end of your comment if you don't know how to log in.

Fire away!

*conVERGE Episode 1

There's a new show I'm doing with Remedy.fm focused on the Christian teen.  Episode 1 aired last night at 7:30 p.m. EST.  After the show airs, it's posted to vimeo.  Here is the first episode:

4 Nights That Could Change Your Life

Every year in late February/ Early March, NMC takes 4 evenings to hit the pause button on everything else, and seek the heart of God. We offer various Age Specific "tracks" to what we call "Fanning the Flame" week (based on I Timothy 1:6).

Tonight it starts.  In Student Ministries, we will be having Jon McCallon speaking & Chris Lehane leading worship for our Middle School (5th-8th Grade).  Sean Dunn will be spaeaking & Jeremiah Lauber will be leading worship in Senior High.  Starts at 5:45 p.m. tonight, 6:45 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

There's tracks being offered for every age group.  Join us, it's going to be a great week!

Angry Birds

Do not download this game on your phone.  I have lost much sleep due to it:

Shane Claiborne

I've mentioned before that I'll be doing a new weekly show on the webstation Remedy.fm starting this Sunday at 7:30. If you're unfamiliar with Remedy, they are a fantastic online ministry to teens. They are utilizing music, the language of this generation, to generate a discussion on the ultimate need for a savior.  There are multiple nightly and weekly shows they do to accomplish this mission.  One of those shows is Backstage Pass, where they sit down with popular Christian artists to hear their stories and what God has done in their life.  A few weeks back they strayed from the script of having musicians and had author and revolutionary Shane Claiborne on.  I find Shane's message to be so refreshing and challenging.  Maybe if you watch this you will find the same.