Brigada Today
SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE!
20 of March, 1998
(Pronounced, "bree-GAH-duh")
Now with 7000 participants! Hooray!!!
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse http://www.brigada.org or http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today
Brigada Today is "the missionary helper newsletter!"
Compiled by Doug Lucas <DLucas@teamexpansion.org>, Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
Join us as we celebrate 3 years of focus on
mobilization for the final frontiers! The first "edition" of Brigada Today occurred in January 1995 as a simple test letter between two individuals,
Jonathan Marsden and Doug Lucas. Within a month, there were 38 participants
and with the Feb. 18th issue, the idea of Brigada Today and the Brigada family of networks began to take shape in a more concrete way. March 21st was
set as the official "public opening" and by that day, there were more than 100
involved. Interestingly enough, by August 23rd, just when we were about to
celebrate topping the 800 mark and introducing something called the "People
Group Consultant," we ran this item:
FROM THE "LET'S GET SERIOUS ABOUT VISION" DEPARTMENT -- Ya know, I always
thought that if a person was highly technical, highly skilled, highly process
oriented, then they would probably be pretty scared about bulging growth. Not
so with Jonathan Marsden, who helps bring the technical stuff to life at MAFxc
and, as such, helps with Brigada technical projects. When I asked him in
August '95 regarding how he felt about Brigada growing past the 800 mark, I
was surprised to hear him say he wasn't satisfied. "I won't be happy until we
have 10,000 people on board, with hundreds of conferences about least reached
people groups and cities all over the world." And now, with well some 7000 people involved, we're nearly 3/4 of the way to
Jonathan's goal... but we've got a long way to go to really make a dent in the
Task. Will electronic networking accomplish the Great Commission? Never. But
can it help put people in touch with others? You bet. Thanks for all the
encouraging testimonies we receive each week ... and thanks for being part of
the Brigada family! (Thanks, too, for keeping us humble! 
One Brigada participant wrote last week, after seeing our opening item, "Let him who thinks he stands..." Point taken. He went on to give encouragement . . . but .
. . a word to the wise received!
So . . . on this 3-year anniversary, we say thanks to all Brigada participants and make a very simple birthday wish: that God would enable us to make some small contribution to the global growth of His kingdom. We don't wish for big numbers if they aren't effective at bringing change; we don't long for new technology if it doesn't put us better in touch with people worldwide; we don't yearn for publicity, a "name" or anything earthly... but that You, our Lord, would be exalted through our every word, our every step, our every keystroke. That's our prayer. That's the purpose of Brigada.
For $14.95, I can understand why.
Thompson's Chain would cost $50 by itself!!! (at least in print form) The same
company also offers a "Trial Edition" for $2.95 (that's not a typo!), and
includes the full library of their $350 version! The difference is that it
expires after 30 days. (Maybe His word isn't eternal after all!!! ) The
idea is that it will benefit people who are considering purchasing Bible
software but aren't sure what to get, and who don't want to buy something they
aren't sure they can use. Now for the price of a hamburger (... well ... maybe
a value meal???) you can try world class Bible software in their own homes for
30 days. Check it out at http://www.epiphanysoftware.com/ or
contact the company at support@EpiphanySoftware.com, Tel 888-333-BIBLE. Thanks Andy!
Great opportunity! 
Honest -- last week's reference to "the
magic of the Internet" wasn't intended to carry any spiritual significance.
It's only a figure of speech. Yikes 
-- we get mail on everything! So far we've only heard from one
supplier of software that helps Christian workers track donations (March 6th Brigada Today, DIALING FOR DOLLARS (WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DONOR SOFTWARE). They
were to have contacted Les Tilka clfcebu@iname.com, who will assemble the full
list. The one we've heard about so far looks like it has really possibilities though
-- Personal Ministry Manager, it's called. Bob Newman rnewman@mindspring.com puts it out personally -- $75 plus $2 for domestic shipping ($5 for
international). (If 10 or more are purchased as a group, he drops the price to
$60 and promises to negotiate for larger orders.) I've seen screen shots
and it does indeed look helpful... but correspond directly with Bob for the details.
Our own organization wrote something back in 1991 that we still use today...
but we're currently looking at other options just because it's so hard to
maintain the product code. ) 
Remember to be sensitive to peering eyes on your web
site. Ian Prescott IanPrescott@XC.org sent a warning just this morning to
Brigada-Peoples citing an illustration from the field in which a local
web-browsing resident had picked up a reference from one of the search engines
and happened upon page-after-page of information about his Muslim people
group. So -- bottom line -- write everything with the reality-check that it might
someday be read by those who don't share a sympathetic view. The greatest
attribute we can display is love. 
Our apologies for the mile-long margins
last week! Yikes . . . one Brigada participant wrote that it was 2 feet deep
and about 4 yards wide! Another said he finally had an excuse to buy a bigger
monitor! You guys are hilarious. That's all we need Missionary-types trying to become comedians. Seriously, seems to be a problem with the new
email client we're using (for those who care, "Goldmine" is the culprit). In
the meantime, we've sent this issue in good old-fashioned EudoraPro 4.0.
We're corresponding with the developers about the issue. 'Course, maybe they can't
see our problems because they can't scroll that far to the right! Want to
hear the funny part? Some users loved the new format because their mail
clients wrap the text automatically . . . and when they copied it into their
word processors for import into other formats, they didn't have to suck out
the hard carriage returns! For that reason, the first response from the developers
at Goldmine was, "Tell all your users to upgrade!" Easy for him to say. Sorry the recent reference to John Piper's web site was
a little bit behind-the-times! His new site is http://www.desiringgod.org/ Thanks Mike! The latest are "RETURNED OR UNABLE TO DELIVER" and "Win
a Holiday." Once again . . . neither is legitimately a virus. You can't get a
virus by reading email at this time. But you can by running attachments.
So, for that reason, we suggest that unless you have virus-checking software,
don't open unrequested attachments! 
Avoid sending unconfirmed warnings about viruses.
See the U.S. Department of Energy's Computer Incident
Advisory Capability Web site for a list of Internet hoaxes
and procedures for confirming a genuine virus warning: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html
Through December 1997 more than 11.5 million
records and cassettes were sent out from Gospel Recording's Los Angeles base since 1938 when the first recording was done. In 1997 recordings were distributed in 1935 languages from this one base alone and shipped to 98
countries. Over 43,000 items were sent including over 6000 master cassettes
for further reproduction. Recent breakthroughs for Gospel Recordings include
distribution among two difficult-to-reach groups in China and Korean.... Thanks Maurice! This week's web watch features a site still under construction, but very promising . . . http://www.travdoc.com. Check it out for a wealth of
information including where to find good quality medical care in many
countries, information about pregnancy care overseas (their specialty),
various articles on different overseas medical needs, etc. A great resource for
anyone travelling to (short-term missions) or planning to live in another country.
Thanks Jim and Laurie! TO SUBSCRIBE -- To subscribe to BRIGADA TODAY, send email to brigada-today-subscribe@egroups.com.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE -- Send email to brigada-today-unsubscribe@egroups.com. (Subject and text are ignored.)
IF IT DOESN'T WORK -- Write Don & Judy, our Customer Services Managers at help@brigada.org. Yahooooo for volunteers!!!
COPYRIGHT -- This issue of Brigada Today is Copyrighted © 2001. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute
these materials, including those available through email autoresponders, provided that such redistribution is to those who
will help the Good News of Christianity to reach the unreached. But please include this phrase: "For a free subscription of Brigada's weekly missions publication, write <brigada-today-subscribe@egroups.com>."
IMPORTANT: To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.
DISCLAIMER -- Please note that there's no way we can possibly screen all the text on all the web sites or items we recommend. We try to
check them out first... but if we miss something, please don't assume that the opinions on those sites are identical to those
of the Brigada family of networks. "Eat the corn, leave
the cob!" 
For subscription questions or problems, write help@brigada.org.
SUBMITTING CONTENT -- To submit content or ideas to Brigada Today, first please get a copy of "Guidelines for submitting items to Brigada"
Then, once you've composed your item in keeping with those guidelines, send your item for Brigada Today to DLucas@teamexpansion.org.
Thanks to <eGroups.com> for hosting the Brigada mailing list.
Emphasis is placed on items relating to unreached peoples and challenges faced by those reaching them cross-culturally.
PLEASE DON'T SUBSCRIBE US TO YOUR LIST -- It's always better to ask before manually force-adding anyone to your list-serve or mailing list. Recently, tons of well-meaning people have been subscribing Doug to their lists. Since he often travels overseas, he doesn't join many of those, for obvious reasons (like being charged big-time for overseas access). So as a general rule, please don't bulk-mail us! See the note above if you'd like to submit items for Brigada Today. Thanks for understanding. Bottom line: We will never create Brigada Today items from bulk mail. Bulk mail gets deleted immediately -- sorry. Nothing personal. We suggest you apply the same standard to everyone. Ask first!
WARNING ABOUT FORWARDING EMAILS -- Please, before forwarding any kind of request (even if it says
"please send this to all your friends"), please check to
make sure it has a VERIFIABLE ORIGIN, a VERIFIABLE PURPOSE, and a
VERIFIABLE CLOSURE (OPC). By following this simple approach, many
"email viruses" could be nipped in the bud... at least in the Brigada family. More information about the full Brigada OPC protocol is available. Thank you.
BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, WebServant@brigada.orgBrigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.orgBrigada Coordinator: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@teamexpansion.organd many other occasional contributors too numerous to mention!| "If you've been asked to lead, you've been asked to serve." | |||
 Home Page | Doug Lucas DLucas@teamexpansion.org | Phone: 502-297-0006 |  Today Index |
| 3700 Hopewell Rd. | FAX: 502-297-9823 | ||
| Louisville, KY 40299-5002 | Organization: Team Expansion | ||