Brigada Today
4 Jan 2002
Compiled by Doug Lucas <DLucas@teamexpansion.org>, Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
ALPHA COURSE OFFERS PROMISING HELP FOR DISCIPLERS -- Are you involved in discipling others to Christ? Ever try the Alpha Course? Check it out at:
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.)
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.
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>.
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> .
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
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>.
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:
http://www.apts.edu . The registration deadline is March 01, 2002.
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
http://www.elijahcompany.org .
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!
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>.
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!!!)
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>.
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!
TO SUBSCRIBE -- To subscribe to BRIGADA TODAY, send email to brigada-today-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE -- Send email to brigada-today-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.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 © 2002. 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@yahoogroups.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 YahooGroups.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 Website: WebServant@brigada.org
Brigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.orgBrigada Coordinator: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@teamexpansion.org| "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 | ||