Phil McConnell :: Friends blog

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheForgottenWays/~3/385637948/

Mohandas Gandhi, one of the most influential figures in modern social and political activism, considered these traits to be the most spiritually perilous to humanity…

• Wealth without Work


• Pleasure without Conscience


• Science without Humanity


• Knowledge without Character


• Politics without Principle


• Commerce without Morality


• Worship without Sacrifice

Appropriate given the current political and social environment, don’t you think?

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/you-might-be-a.h

In the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy, I was just thinking up some ideas for my session at GodblogCon in a few weeks when I teach on the missional church in the internet age. You might be a faith blogger, I was thinking . .

IF . . .

- if you sit in the back row of the church because thats where the wifi signal is the strongest

- if your sermons allow both comments and trackbacks

- if you tithe through a widget

- if you think committing the original sin is getting tempted by the latest Apple

- if you pray that God will allow you to upload your photo to the Lamb's Book of Life

- if your prayers are less than 140 characters because thats all Twitter allows

- if you ever wonder why the domain of Satan doesn't have its own URL

- if you think Jesus' command to Peter to "Feed my sheep" was to allow RSS syndication

- if you think streams in the desert is a blog from Las Vegas

. . . then you just might be a faith-blogger!

Now thats funny! I don't care who you are! But now its your turn to throw me a bone. If you add your own faith blogger joke in the comments, I might even use it in Las Vegas at GodBlogCon, which is part of the larger BlogWorldExpo.

Related on TSK: Interview for GodblogCon

GodBlogCon 2008 - I got invited to speak

BlogWorldExpo - I am going

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/the-new-atheist.

I just reposted a 2 year old post on new atheism because it got messed up. I also added a few new links to update it.

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/the-new-athei-1.

I just reposted a 2 year old post on new atheism because it got messed up. I also added a few new links to update it.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/09/friday-is-for-fr

Politics

The Bible says we should be slow to speak. Good idea. Something I said on Twitter while watching the RNC was picked up by Brian Ayers - and he is encouraging me to run for office in 2012 with Sarah Palin. It's probably a good match in some ways, though I am afraid she would beat me in a hunting contest.

But we do share a sense of style. It looks like we shop at the same store for our glasses (Lenscrafters, I am guessing). But I'm not sure where Brian get's the idea that I am smaller than Palin. And why am I hiding behind her?

Missionaries

When some people think of international and cross cultural missionaries they conjure up unrealistic images super-saints. Here's a video that shows a more honest picture of those who have gone into West Africa; who they were before life on the mission field, and who they are now.

To learn more visit www.gowestafrica.org/cardboard

BTW: If you know an SBC-affiliated 20 something guy or gal, the West Africa mission has a fully-funded (insured and salaried) 2 year mission experience with their name on it! (They have a real need for guys especially because in some of the cultures in Africa guys can go places women are not allowed.)

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/on-going-fourth.

So it's like 3 FLIPPIN' A.M. and I cant sleep and my mind is churning over and I am solving the worlds problems when I should be snoozing. Again.

I have recently requested some funds for a number of social enterprises. What was keeping me up was the measurement criteria for a global mission fund for missional entrepreneurs. How can we raise the standards? How can we measure a truly holistic ministry enterprise? How can they in turn spin off other enterprises? The thoughts in my sleepless, delirious, half-awake brain were like . .

Fourth Sector. We all need to go fourth.

Government institutions [first sector] need to go fourth.

Private businesses [second sector] need to go fourth.

Ministries and charities [third sector] need to go fourth.

And social entrepreneurs need to figure out what the fourth sector looks like in the 21st century and how it's success might be measured.

But how to measure it? Ahhhhh. It might be a little corny and its certainly not there yet, but the word FOURTH popped up 4 times [4x4]

1. Fourth Sector. It is not just a non-profit ministry [third sector] that wants to start a business enterprise and it is not just a private business [second sector] that wants to get charitable but rather it is a hybrid, something unique, a fourth sector enterprise that must therefore be driven by a unique set of values and be judged by unique measurement criteria.

2. Sent Fo[u]rth: It is missional. It is connected with the "Go Forth" of the Great Commission of Jesus, in which it finds its mandate as well as its direction - that of continually extending itself outwards into new territories where it seeks to give itself away to others, to impact and transform,

3. Fourth Bottom Line. Outcomes are measured by four bottom lines - it will be (1) socially transformative, (2) environmentally responsible, (3) economically self-sustainable and (4) spiritually renewed.

4. Fourth Year Turnaround. By the fourth year, the enterprise will have moved from receiving funds to becoming financially sustainable (in the 2nd or 3rd year) and by the fourth year it should be assisting new enterprises to launch, thus reaching maturity and reproducing itself.

4x4 . . . just a another stupid cheesy thought half-dreamed and half-baked. But sometimes thoughts like this tighten up later on. Might as well blog it for a laugh, ay?

Related: Mission and the Fourth Sector, by Andrew Jones, a missions article published on CMS site [and totally ignored by everybody!!!] regarding Henry Venn, co-operatives and fourth sector enterprises.

More thoughts and resources on fourth sector and emerging mission.

Technorati Tags: mission, fourth sector

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/church-of-scotl.

Technorati Tags: church of scotland

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/four-square-on.h

After having an interesting discussion with a Foursquare pastor who I met when I spoke at their gathering of leaders a few years ago in Switzerland, I should point to a fantastic little resource page on their site called Missional Conversation. It deals with their engagement with the emerging church but uses a wide brush, like many of us have done.

Technorati Tags: foursquare

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/09/did-don-carson.h

Is true that Dr D.A. Carson preached in my church last year?

No. That is totally inaccurate! It was 2006, the year before, that Don Carson preached in my church, North Beach Baptist Church in Perth, West Australia. But it should be known that I no longer pastor at that church. I left in the 90's to bring my family back to USA and back into overseas mission. But it really was a fantastic time and we learned a lot from that church as well as giving of ourselves. Earlier in the year I was back in Perth and I popped in to say hello to the new pastors who are all doing a great job.

Technorati Tags: don carson

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheForgottenWays/~3/385220335/

This post is taken from the blog of one of my really good (and very bright)  friends, Mark Sayers. It adds further weight to all this discussion about networks and movements…

….Have been reading a bit about the future of organized crime. Fascinatingly crime is changing as our culture changes. The older traditional crime structures such as the Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza are struggling. Traditional organized crime structures thrive in migrant neighbourhoods with high social cohesion. However as social connection breaks down, and a more liquid way of living takes hold, and gentrification transforms inner city neighbourhoods; traditional organized crime structures are finding it hard to recruit younger members and flourish in the 21st century.

However a new kind of organized crime is developing in the West one that does not obey the traditional modes and rules. This new form of organized crime has its roots in the developing world, be it Central America, Nigeria or former Soviet Bloc countries. Whereas the old organized crime structures worked on systems of honour, commitment, hierarchy, central control and a strict set of rules, the new structures tend to be more cellular, chaotic and anarchic.

A classic example of this new kind of organized crime structured is the central American gang MS -13 which some law enforcement experts have labelled the Al Qeada of Central America. The gangs growth has been phenomenal, and the gang now has tens of thousands of members, and has now spread out of central America into South America, North America and Europe.

Is it just me or does all of this sound familiar?