100 People

I recently received this through email so I don't know how accurate it is, but if it is even close (and I expect it is) it certainly helps put things in their proper perspective.

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:
57 Asians ~ 21 Europeans ~ 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south ~ 8 Africans
52 would be female ~~ 48 would be male
70 would be non-white ~~ 30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian ~~ 30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual ~~ 11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the USA.
80 would live in sub-standard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death ~~ 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only one) would have a college education

What in this list grabs you?

I find it very discouraging that only 3 in 10 people in the world can communicate through the written page. It was this lack of the most basic education that empowered the dark ages in history and that empowers the dictators and oligarchies of today.

I also wonder how the world would be changed if the 30% that identify ourselves as christian were to speak with one common voice instead of through the hundreds of fractured factions that make up our community.

Psalm 23

The following is a unique view of the 23rd Psalm. I don't know who originated these thoughts, but I would like to share it with you in hope that your heart will be encouraged.

"The Lord is my shepherd" ... that's Relationship! "I have everything I need" ... that's Supply! "He lets me rest in green meadows" ... that's Rest! "He leads me beside peaceful streams" ... that's Refreshment! "He renews my strength" ... that's Healing! "He guides me along right paths" ... that's Guidance! "Bringing honor to His name" ... that's Purpose! "Even when I walk through the dark valley of death" ... that's Testing! "I will not be afraid" ... that's Protection! "For You are close beside me" ... that's Faithfulness! "Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me" ... that's Discipline! "You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies" ... that's Hope! "You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil" ... that's Consecration! "My cup overflows with blessings" ... that's Abundance! "Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life" ... that's Blessing! "And I will live in the house of the Lord" ... that's Security! "Forever" ... that's Eternity!

Face it, the Lord is crazy about YOU!!

Excerps from "The Missional Church" by Al Maxey

I am convinced that one of the greatest failings of the modern church (and, indeed, the church throughout the ages, for the most part) is that we have largely lost touch with who and what Jesus has called and commissioned us to be. We frequently speak of "going to the church," "having a meeting down at the church," "inviting people to our church," and a thousand and one other such expressions, all of which chronicle our tendency to embrace an institutional, corporate model. We -- the church -- are neither!

The church our Lord established is not an institution, it is an organism; it is not a place, it is a people; it is not about programs, it is about purpose.

One of the primary challenges to the church today is relevancy. Are we impacting the world in which we live? Are we making a difference in the lives of those about us? Do we matter?! Or, are we an anachronism?!

So, what do we do?! We must awaken within the breast of each disciple of Jesus Christ a sense of purpose; an awareness of their own individual responsibility to be part of a community of believers with spiritual focus. Each Christian must come to a life-altering comprehension of their reason for being, and then act upon it. Individually and collectively we must recapture that missional vision. Which is?! Glad you asked! I like the way Bro. Fred Peatross, a friend and fellow author, stated it in one of his recent articles in his Abductive Columns --- he wrote, "Missional incarnation means trading church time for time in the water with the fish." That just about says it all.

When the church finally gets out of the building and begins becoming part of the daily lives of the people who live all around them, the church will then become truly relevant. A missional church is a body of believers who daily share Jesus, through all aspects of their lives, with their neighbors.