We say 'it's all about Him' but do we mean it?

I often look in the mirror of my heart and don't really like some of what I see. Where do my affections really lie, what is my true treasure..and is it really Him, do I live what I know in my heart to be true? I think this is a common struggle with most of us, but in this time of year when we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, it is a great time to take another look and see. Some things to consider as we do our shopping as a backdrop to our spending..on what?

• approx. 2 billion people are considered an unreached people group ( 1 out of 3 )

• only 2-3% of missionaries are reaching this group
• 66,000 people die every day from this group
• out of every dollar given to various Christian ministries, only 4 cents goes to reaching the nations
  
• of the 4% that goes to the mission field, 80% of it goes to already established works
• 97% of missionaries work in already evangelized fields

What can we do, what should we do?
I think with me, it begins and ends not in guilt or a sense of duty, but at the feet of my Savior in worship, the more I know and worship Him, the more I am compelled to want others to know and worship Him..He is amazing!
Bob Sjogren has written a wonderful book that really sets the 'theology' of missions and what it means to be all about him, it's called Cat and Dog Theology, here is what his website says about it.

Using an illustration of "cats and dogs" and how each relates to its master, Cat and Dog Theology challenges Christians to see how we tend, like a cat, to use our Master mainly for getting what we want. The illustration points out the difference between "us living for God" and "God living for us".

We find that the average Christian, though saying he lives his life for God, is actually living to get from birth to death in the safest, softest, easiest and most comfortable fashion possible, and often just uses God to reach that goal and keep the difficulties, trials, and tragedies away. Cat and Dog Theology will help the people of your church switch from what we call "Me-ology" (studying the Scriptures with a focus on me) to "Theology" (the study of God). Click on the book for more information.

Women and Moms who want more for their children

In an amazing new book, Running into Water, Angela Blycker delves into the soul of being a Christian mom and woman while thinking globally and how to leave a missional legacy with your children.

Award winning recording artist Nichole Nordeman had alot to say about this book, here is what she said:

"If you are a young mother like me, you will probably admit to standing occasionally in a bookstore, drawn by exhaustion and sheer habit to the “Christian Inspirational Writing” section, with no real direction. You are fragmented and wilting from apathy, desperately scanning the shelves for ANYTHING that speaks to you. You stare through a fog of depletion into the great abyss of titles that promise to speak to women’s needs. Many of them seem to be shiny and pink and full of anecdotal Jesus-y ways, to help you be the mother you were meant to be with a more organized pantry and a scrapbook that screams Proverbs 31. Another pinkish book has extremely helpful suggestions on staying whimsical and sexy for that guy it seems you married. For reasons that only millions of other women understand, in your strained delirium, you frantically pluck it from the shelf. It glitters.

Welcome to my nest.

It is hard to grasp how marginalized and condescending most writing for Christian women is until you stumble disbelievingly onto something that is so profoundly . . . not. This book left me breathless. Stung at first by its many truths, the way an ocean’s wave slaps you sideways before it retreats into gentle waters beckoning reluctant toes into the deep. And deeper has never meant easier. Don’t waste your money on this if your soul needs more chicken soup."

Read more about Angela and this profound new book here www.angelablycker.com where you can read her blog which is filled with breathtaking insight.

Is God Finished With the Church?

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about church, what it has become in the US and actually imagining what God might actually want it to become and be.
Reports throughout the US are depressing or at the very least don't offer up a lot of hope for the future the church in America. Reports about how church growth is down, or if there is a big church somewhere, the leader has just fallen from grace...it's depressing really and it seems that we have lost our way.
So when we hear reports of rapid and actually meaningful church growth occurring we generally don't think such churches exist in North America.
In His recent book, Missional House Churches, J. D. Payne reported his findings from a research of thirty-three house churches in the United States which are both experiencing amazing growth in reaching new believers and are planting other churches. The book is the first published work studying house churches and their missionary activities in the United States. Although these churches are not a representative sample of all American house churches, they do offer an encouraging model of what the Lord is presently doing in a Western context through non-traditional expressions of the Body of Christ.
Read the rest of this fascinating article here http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/990

The late Dr. Ralph Winter from the US Center for World Missions said this:
"The Bible consists of a single drama: the entrance of the Kingdom, the power and the glory of the living God in this enemy-occupied territory."

In this first post for 'The Missional Mind' blog, I want to ask you this question:
What does that mean and how should it be lived out?
To get us started I wanted to share this from an author friend of mine, Joseph D'souza from India posted this on his blog:

Dalits, backward classes worst hit by floods

India has been the victim of some very late-monsoon flooding again this year. Sadly, many news sources have come out with the reality of the situation... that the Dalits once again are suffering more than others because of discrimination. See below one such article out of North India.

Dalits, backward classes worst hit by floods

Raju S Vijapur, Oct 11, DHNS, Hubli:

Though all the communities have been affected by the recent floods, dalits and other backward classes in North Karnataka are the worst hit.

Most of the flood victims from the marginalised groups lived at village end, where the rivers and streams flow. Thus, their situation has been aggravated due to the precarious nature of their habitation.

According to initial estimation, more than 92 villages in Gadag district and 45 villages in Bagalkot have been affected by floods. About 23 villages in Bijapur and 12 villages in Dharwad districts have also been hit by floods. Official sources say that more than 40,000 dalit and backward class families have been affected in these districts.

You can read the rest of the article on his blog @ http://www.josephdsouza.com/

So, taking this reality and the quote from Dr. Winter, how does this impact our lives, financially, spiritually, globally? What does the drama look like for fighting for His glory in places like this?

Join in the conversation and be heard!