- IS THERE AN ONLINE RESOURCE TO DISCERN ONE'S CALLING? -- That's what
Andy would like to know. He's a leader at Wycliffe and he'd love to help
people discover what is God's will for their lives more effectively with
some online tool. "Have you ever run across an assessment tool to help a
person especially a young person determine what God's call on his life
may be? I have experienced something like this in a work book like
"Jesus on Leadership," but I was wondering if there was something on
line that could do much the same thing?" Can you advise him of any
options? If so, please drop by at
http://brigada.org/brigade/?p=52
and leave a "Comment." Thanks!
- WHO WILL TRY THIS CELL PHONE OPTION (FOR INT'L TRAVEL)? -- If you're
willing to be a bleeding-edge beta-tester, we'd love to hear your take
on the new int'l travel cell sim chip at
http://www.maxroam.com
We commented on it earlier. Rates aren't *quite* as good as predicted
(prior to the formal launch of the company), but some of them are
actually quite close. It happens I recently bought into another system
(go-sim), so I'm not well-positioned to test this one. If you're
willing, please jot a note to that effect at
http://brigada.org/brigade/?p=51
Once you've formed an impression, please stop back and tell your
experience. Check back at this site later to see the comments that have
come in. Thanks to anyone willing to try it!!! (And thanks to Steve for
keeping this at the forefront of our attention.)
- MISSIONARY TRAINING CAMP -- It's slated for February 7-10, 2008 at
Living Waters Farm, Virginia. Invest in four days of focused examination
of seven areas critical for becoming one sent from a local church. The
days are a balance of hearing principles and receiving impartation from
others who have years of experience. For a full description of the
training see
http://www.elijahcompany.org
To personally communicate with an Elijah Company representative write to
training(at)elijahcompany
(dot)org or call (757) 226-3507 or (757) 287-4604. [As a means of
preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email
address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . then reassemble
the address back onto one line.]
- LEARN ENGLISH IN THE USA -- Do you know people who are called to
missions but need to speak English to fulfill that calling? An ESL class
will be offered in Lebanon, PA, USA beginning March 2, 2008 and ending
May 23, 2008 for those who want to learn to speak and understand the
English language. The necessary aspects of English grammar, vocabulary,
and pronunciation will be taught to enable the student to acquire
communicative competence. Cost is $2250 with a non-refundable $35
registration fee. For more information or to register contact
ywampa(at)comcast
(dot)net [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the
preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .
then reassemble the address onto one line.]
- 2008 POST-CHRISTENDOM SPIRITUALITIES CONFERENCE -- Practitioners and
scholars working in the field of new religious movements are invited to
submit a title and 250-word abstract along with a curriculum vita for
consideration in the Post-Christendom Spiritualities conference to be
held at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 16-19 October 2008. Special
consideration will be given to papers addressing the academic study of
new religious movements as well as the praxis of engaging these
movements. Papers for the conference might include, but are not limited
to, subjects such as Goddess spirituality and the theology of God,
Inter-religious apologetics in post-modernity, and the work of the
Spirit in mission and New Spiritualities Papers should reflect the ideas
expressed in the Lausanne Occasional Paper no. 45 found at
http://www.lausanne.org/documents/2004forum/LOP45_IG16.pdf
Please submit a title, abstract and CV to
mcooper(at)tiu
(dot)org by 31 December 2007 [As a means of preventing
spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please
replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . then reassemble the address back
onto one line.] If accepted, a paper must be submitted by 15 August
2008 in order for solicitations of responses from critical respondents.
- INTRODUCING PRAYER TOOLBAR -- Finally, there is a tool for churches
to encourage people to pray, worship, serve and connect with God beyond
the Sunday service. Prayer Toolbar (TM) enables churches to publish
messages that display in people's web browser anytime they go online. If
your church uses bulletins, web sites, email or podcasts to spread the
God's Word, than you owe it to yourself to investigate this new
technology to connect people to God through you. What it can do for your
church is huge. What it can do for His people is eternal. Visit
http://www.prayertoolbar.com/
to see a FREE, online demonstration. There's never been anything like
it.
- GO TO THE NATIONS...AS AN ENGLISH TEACHER -- Here's an exciting and
intensive 4-week TESOL course equipping you with effective English
teaching techniques, sponsored by Youth With A Mission in Lebanon, PA,
USA. The school dates are March 9-April 4, 2008 and April 20 - May 16,
2008 and it's a certificate program. Details, application forms, and
alternate dates listed on our website at
http://www.ywampa.org
Email questions to ywampa(at)comcast
(dot)net [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the
preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .
and reassemble the address onto one line.]
- WHEN YOU SUBMIT ITEMS TO BRIGADA, PLEASE... -- Please don't use
"classified ad language." It's not really our style. Also, please
remember to speak in 3rd person; otherwise our readers will become
confused as to which person is speaking. In fact, please check out the
short list of suggestions by clicking on "submit" at
http://www.brigada.org
Thanks! Your investment in some of these tiny differences would help us
a great deal in preparing future editions of Brigada Today - on time.
- A LESS EXPENSIVE VPN -- If you're a one-up VPN user (i.e., you don't
need a dashboard for your entire organization), try
http://www.witopia.net
It's about $40/year and several Brigada participants, including Wade and
Tony, have found it to be very effective.
- WHAT A DIFFERENCE YOU'VE MADE IN BRIGADA -- We *so* appreciate our
dear brother in Sweden who came back in 2007 to give $100, and another
anonymous couple out East sent $50. On top of that, YWAM in Lebanon, PA
bowled us over with a $300 gift! Sobered, encouraged, and motivated...
Thank you! Another anonymous sister sent $100. A brother in Texas sent
$25, joined by another brother who also sent $25 from the mountains of
Northern Thailand and yet another from here in Kentucky (also $25). A
missions committee member from Davao sent $50 with a very encouraging
note. Workers from Oscar in UK also sent $50 and a couple working in
Brazil sent $25. Another mobilizer from the great state of Texas sent
$100. We give praise to God for this partnership and help!
- PROGRESS... BUT COULD YOU HELP US BRIDGE THE GAP? -- The gifts
above, added to last edition's total of $8,967.90, brings our 2007 total
to $9817.90. This is still quite a ways from our goal of $17,150 and
still quite shy of the $15,096 that came in in 2006. We would *so* love
it if we could see some major catch-uppage happen here in the final
week. Would you be willing to help make that happen at your church,
group, family, or in your own bank account? If God has enabled you to
make even a small gift, would you be willing to give it on behalf of
someone who, for now, can't? If so, thanks!!! Just click on the "Donate".
As we say above, we've made progress, but still need the following gifts
to meet our needs...
1 of 1 more gift of $1000
3 of 5 more gifts of $500
8 of 250 more gifts of $250
7 of 13 more gifts of $100
20 of 27 more gifts of $50
56 of 70 more gifts of $25
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: ONE MAN'S REFLECTIONS OF CHRISTMAS -- As I write this
'back page', it's Christmas evening. (Yes, I know the edition is dated
earlier than that; we're *trying* to catch up by the end of the year.
Pray for us! :-) ) I'm listening to Napster Christmas music in my
earbuds, my wife and two sons are fast asleep and I'm redeeming these
tranquil moments to reflect on the essence of family. Fresh in my mind
is Steve Farrar's book, "Point Man: How a Man Can Lead his Family." (See
http://www.stevefarrar.com/
for more info on Dr. Farrar.) It always seems to me that families try a
little harder to "get together" at Christmas. I saw both my brothers. We
spent Christmas Eve with my wife's family. And today I drove up to see
my mom, who now lives alone in the family farmhouse where I was raised.
On the one hand, my wife and I are enjoying having our college-aged son
home for the holidays, while at the same time, our thoughts fast-forward
to summer time, when our other son ships out to begin training as a
soldier. We leave day after tomorrow for a week-long family vacation.
Perhaps, as you read these words, you're serving overseas. But I bet
you've Skyped (or wish you had) with a relative too, sometime during
these past couple of days. So you can at least identify. We make a
special effort to focus on the family this time of year. And I'm
wondering -- what if we could somehow manage to keep that focus
throughout the entire year. Maybe we can't take a family vacation every
month... but we could probably at least do the Skype call, you know? I
*try* to motor up to see my mom at least once a month, but there are
certainly times that I miss. Someone recently admitted to me that we
really don't know for sure that Jesus was born on -- or even around --
December 25th. So although Christmas holiday is a great excuse, it
really isn't rooted to December. So as we turn the corner toward the New
Year, why not join me in a resolution to "focus on the family" all the
more in '08. If you're single, call a parent, sibling, or family friend.
If we're lucky enough to still have parents or others alive in your
life, let's seize the moment. Let's make *every* month like Christmas in
'08. Let's rebuild broken relationships and strengthen others. Let's
save up and budget for the gifts we wish we'd been courageous enough to
give this Christmas. And let's love like it's going outa' style. Let's
make 2008 the year we show family (and the world) a model that Jesus
would have loved. After all, he made sure his mother was squared away,
even as he hung on the cross. So moms, wives, and kids of the world, get
ready -- 'cause here we come! :-)
(Want to comment on this 'back page' editorial? Just log on at:
http://brigada.org/brigade/?p=53
and click "comments" in the summary line. Thanks!)
- CLOSING STUFF --
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COPYRIGHT -- This issue of _Brigada Today_ is Copyrighted 2007.
However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials,
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