- PRAY FOR NORTH AFRICA -- At least one worker there believes that "a major breakthrough is in the offing in the next year or so." At the same time, he grants that "there are going to be believers suffering to the point of shedding blood at some point in the near-ish future, and some of them might even be westerners." If this happens, pray that their blood will be the seed of both new and stronger growth in this region where the percentage of adherents to Chr1st is regularly less than 0.3%. Pray that our brother there would remain humble when the harvest comes in. Pray that all glory would go to the Lord of the universe.
- MINISTRY MANAGER SOFTWARE -- Here's a free software package available to help missionaries manage communication with their donor base. Features include contact management, budget goals, contribution analysis, and advanced reporting. Download your free copy today at
http://www.sunergeosystems.com/product_info.php
- MEDICAL PRE-CONFERENCE AT SOUTHEAST CHRISTIAN IN LOUISVILLE -- This year's Global Missions Health Conference, Nov. 8-10 at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., will open with a pre-conference on "Empowering the Indigenous Church," Nov.8. Steve Saint will begin the discussion during the pre-conference. The main conference will continue this dialogue through workshops and more speakers. Last year's focus on holistic mission stirred discussion around the role of the broader Christian community in raising up disciples, equipping them, and then disengaging. More fruitful discussion time is planned this year as conference presenters and participants take a look at indigenous churches and the way cross-cultural outreach efforts impact them.
https://www.medicalmissions.com/
- HOW TO PROTECT EMAIL ADDRESES FROM BEING HARVESTED -- It's an ever- growing problem. Thanks to Brigada participant, Dave, who asked this past week, is it still safe -- even with our typical "@ to 'at'" approach. As a result of his questions, we did some reading. Like... at this site:
http://nadeausoftware.com
We went to this article: (paste this line after the above line)
/articles/2007/05/effective_methods_protect_email_addresses_spammers
As you can see, there are very few safe options these days. As a result of this study, we're changing our approach effective *immediately*. From this edition onward, we'll start placing email addresses, when they're necessary, on separate lines. Web-posted information continues to be a better bet. Thanks for your patience as we wrestle with spam. Sometimes, the actions of a few ruin the fun for all. :-(
- NEW BOOK ON MONGOLIAN CPM STORY -- "There's a Sheep in my Bathtub: Birth of a Mongolian Church Planting Movement" by Brian Hogan, is the story of the church planting team that started a movement in Erdenet, Mongolia that continues to this very day. This is the full account of the case study made famous in the Perspectives Reader. Humorous and heart-wrenching, readers will experience the joy and the cost of being part of the transformation of a nation. The author is making an introductory offer for Brigada readers. Buy before the end of October and receive an additional $2.00 OFF. Simply put in the coupon code: "Brigada1007" in your shopping cart purchase at
http://asteroideabooks.com/page4.html
For special orders contact info@ AsteroideaBooks.com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please reassemble them on one line.]
- IS THERE A VEDIC BRIDGE TRACK FOR BUDDHISTS? -- That's what Brigada Brigade commenter, John, would like to know. See his question at:
http://brigada.org/brigade/?p=31#comments
And, if you know the answer, respond to him in the next comment please.
- SCREAMS IN THE DESERT: FOR WOMEN IN CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY -- "Screams in the Desert" is an invitation to participate in one woman's cross-cultural journey and the lessons she learns along the way. Sue Eenigenburg's poignant and humorous accounts of life overseas provide insight into issues that many women encounter in the mission field. Join Sue for trips to the zoo, bouts of illness, landmine fields, miscommunications, and other everyday experiences of life in a foreign country. Providing women with examples to learn by, scripture to meditate on, and space to write about personal experiences, Screams in the Desert offers hope and humor to women working cross-culturally.
During this prepublication offer from William Carey Library, the books are $8.00 individually and $6.00 per 100 books. After November 1, regular prices will be in effect.
You can order the books through Send the Light at their website. Click on new titles and then pre-publication sales to find the book:
http://www.missionbooks.org/
- WANTED: "BEST PRACTICES" FOR SHORT-TERM HEALTHCARE -- An interdisciplinary multi-denominational group is now forming to develop best practices in short-term healthcare mission work. They welcome input from those who send and receive healthcare and medical short-term missionaries. Their goal is to create a set of Best Practices (Goals and Recommendations) which are Biblically guided, evidence based, consistent with ethical standards and common-sense experience. For more info, e- mail Peter Yorgin at
pyorgin@
yahoo.com. [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please reassemble the address onto one line.]
- ENHANCE YOUR SUPPORT LETTERS -- Do you struggle to get out your ministry support letter? Could you use a little punch in its wording and format? Writer's Edge International is a Christian business created just for you! They specialize in writing and creating prayer and ministry update letters which are attractive and enjoyable to read. With ministry responsibilities, and all that keeps you constantly moving, it is difficult to have the time to sit down and write that powerful letter you need to bring the money in. Writer's Edge takes your letters, stories, or ideas and turns them into well-polished update letters that your supporters will enjoy reading. Your donors deserve to read a well- written and aesthetically pleasing letter, and Writer's Edge would like to help you with that. Contact them now for 25% off your first letter! Ph: (760) 300-3690. Visit:
http://www.writersedgeinternational.com
- A NO-COST OPPORTUNITY FOR RETIRED MISSIONARIES -- Veteran missionaries, do you remember how alone you felt when you were out there and no one seemed to understand? Do you still long for a part of the work on the field? Nation to Nation is launching a ministry to support those who are now experiencing what you have already gone through. Experienced missionaries have much wisdom to share and encouragement to give those who request help. This can be done via email. Please send for more information to Karen@
here4u.com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please reassemble the address onto one line.]
- MAKE BRIGADA HAPPEN -- That's what you do every time you give $50... or $500 ... or $15. Just click on "Donate" .
You can pull the money from your PayPal account or from any major credit card. Or if you prefer, send a check payable to Team Expansion to: Team Expansion (Brigada secretary), 11327 Jefferson Trace Blvd., Louisville, KY 40291. (Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so for USA citizens, your checks made out to Team Expansion are tax-deductible.) As always, be sure to let us know if you'd like us to promote any particular service or ministry, or if you'd prefer your gift be anonymous. And thank you in advance for helping.
- THE BACKPAGE: THE TROUBLE WITH CHANGE -- Have you ever noticed that, in general, we like the familiar? I thought about that this past week when the online music service, "Urge" did an 'Urge-merge' with the online service, Rhapsody. Urge was kind of "built-in" to Windows Vista. It was easy -- just 'turn it on.' Suddenly, a million titles were yours for the clicking. I play keyboard for our church worship team... so I went for it. It was awesome. They'd give me a list of songs and I'd come home to see if Urge had them. The folks at Urge always did. Until this past weekend. An email had informed me earlier that Urge and Rhapsody were "teaming up." (Smelled like a buy-out to me, though.) But this past weekend, the hammer dropped. Urge closed. I was being force-fed into Rhapsody's subscriber list. I called customer support and was suddenly talking to "Bob" in India. (Have you ever met an Asian Indian with a name like "Bob"?) I promptly cancelled the account, partly because of principle. I didn't like the fact that they didn't give me a choice. But there was another factor: Rhapsody just didn't work as well. The Urge plug-in was a 7 meg add-on to Windows Media Player. By contrast, Rhapsody's software wanted to add over 50 megs to my already crowded hard drive. I balked. Instead of the urge to merge, I felt the balk to walk.
Which brings me to my point. When we can see that change is on the horizon, here's Doug's top-seven ways to soften the blow. Try them out on your next big shift and see what happens.
*** 1 - If there are 'victims' of the change, give them whatever choices you can. Let them be part of the decision. Don't force them into Rhapsody.
*** 2 - Explain the true reason behind the change. "Rhapsody has paid us well for this buyout. You'll profit too. Here's why."
*** 3 - Be personal. Don't keep your 'victims' at arm's length. "We know this is not going to be easy. That's why we've set up a help line in case you have questions."
*** 4 - Try to list tangible benefits of the change. Rhapsody might have argued, "We know you'll lose hard drive space, but you'll gain features. Here are 10 things you can do with the new software that you couldn't do with the old."
*** 5 - If possible, *ease* them through the change. For example, Urge might have explained, "Stay with Rhapsody for 3 months before you have to pay a cent. Try it out. If you don't like it, you can always quite later."
*** 6 - Ask several different spokespeople to communicate the change. It would have helped to have heard from the president of Urge. "The reason we're shutting service down is...". The top-dog at Rhapsody could have chimed in too.
*** 7 - Realize that your constituency is always one touch away from disenfranchisement. I liked Urge. I bragged about it. But when it closed, I bolted. I didn't just blindly follow the crowd to the next big thing. Online music services became a commodity item to me, because I no longer had any owner loyalty. Urge, if they wanted to keep me, probably needed to do a bit more homework.
What would help *you* in the midst of change? How could *your* employer, agency or church make it easier for you when something has to transition? Got an opinion? Write a comment below. Get it off your chest. Just click to:
http://brigada.org/brigade/?p=43
Click on "Comment" below the post and fill us in on your ideas.
- CLOSING STUFF -- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION -- Important! Please don't just hit "reply". Subscriptions are automated. First, you need to determine the mailing source of your individual copy of Brigada Today. We're now sending them from 2 sources. To find out, just look at the "From:" address of your last edition. The domain will tell the tale. Here's how to do it:
If your Brigadas come via YahooGroups: To unsubscribe, write to brigada-today-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe, write to brigada-today-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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To change your address, you must unsubscribe using your old address then subscribe anew using your new service. If you are receiving this email via some "alias" that you'd like to unsubscribe, try putting that alias email address in the "From:" box of your email client temporarily, then send the unsubscribe message (mentioned above). It'll probably "spoof" the server into unsubscribing that old address. Then just change your "From:" box back to your new address.
TO SUBMIT AN ITEM -- We love to feature your news & resources! To find out how, read our submission guidelines on the web at: http://www.brigada.org/submissions.html
TO LEARN MORE -- Interested in learning more about Brigada? Read our site at: http://www.brigada.org and you'll learn the who, what, when, why and where of Brigada. By the way, we no longer provide server-sent files via email-activated commands. Just read all about us on the web!
NEED SUBSCRIPTION HELP? -- If you're a sponsor, you can now write to help(at)brigada(dot)org [replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .] and get a real human response. For information about becoming a sponsor, log on at: http://www.brigada.org and click on "Sponsor" in the top line menu. Note that due to the large number of subscribers (literally thousands) only sponsors get human help.
DISCLAIMER -- We can't screen 'em all. Please forgive us if a particular site contains offensive information -- or no information at all! We *try* to visit them in advance, but often write "on the road" so we simply *can't* preview everything.
PLEASE DON'T SUBSCRIBE US TO YOUR LIST -- Sorry -- nothing personal -- but we're already deluged. We'll eventually teach our spam filter to just delete it anyway, but in the meantime, we'll have a sad face because of the volume of mass mailings we receive. :-(
WARNING ABOUT FORWARDING EMAILS -- Just say no! :-) Read our thoughts about forwarding emails at http://www.brigada.org/articles/opc.html
WHY DO WE SAY, "[replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]"? -- More and more shady marketing types ("spammers" and "scammers") are using computerized searches to harvest email addresses from off the web without asking permission of the owner. We use this "plain English" addressing syntax to avert automated harvesting for our contributors.
PRIVACY INFORMATION -- We will never give your information to anybody. We won't market you, won't hassle you, and won't ever bother you. You won't be signed up for mailings you didn't request. Your address is safe and your future is secure. Life is good. :-)
COPYRIGHT -- This issue of _Brigada Today_ is Copyrighted 2007. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials, including those available on the Brigada website, provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Jesus Christ to reach the unreached.* To copy or reproduce _Brigada Today_ for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted. * When you quote or paraphrase material from Brigada, please include this phrase: "For a free subscription to Brigada's weekly missions publication, write brigada-today-subscribe@googlegroups.com and/or visit Brigada on the web at www.brigada.org."
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