100 Years Ago - Atlanta Race Riot

There are many portions of our history, especially in regard to race, that go untaught and unnoticed.  For most of my own personal history, I have lived as if race was never a big deal.  I knew some bad stuff happened in the past, but that was the past and (I thought) it was probably not that bad because people are generally nice to people.  I was blissfully ignorant in most areas concerning race.  

Over the past few years I have received quite the education.  So, I was shocked on Sunday to learn about a riot that took place in Atlanta 100 years ago this past Thursday.  These are the ugly, but true, aspects of our history that we fail to look at and then fail to learn from.  
There are many accounts of this, but the NPR site does a good job with the whole story.  You can check it out here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6106285&ft=1&f=2

From the NPR Article -
"The modern-day civil-rights movement grew out of the biracial coalitions that were established at that time. Many current leaders will gather this weekend for a series of events commemorating the 1906 race riot, including a memorial service, walking tours and an exhibit called "Red Was the Midnight," at the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site.

"What we hope people will understand is that problems cannot be ignored," says exhibit co-curator Harris. "Negative things that have occurred in the city's history cannot be ignored, and current conditions that are not beneficial to people in the community cannot be ignored. We have to address them."

Financial Stats

61% of Christians in the U.S. Believe that God wants them to be ‘financially prosperous.’

31% believe that if you give money to God, God will bless you with more money.

21% believe that material wealth is a sign of God’s blessing.

From Time / SRBI Public Affairs

Simple Summer

If you have ever logged time at one of our summer leadership development venues (referred to as Summer Projects), you can quickly see that we have these things down to an exact science.  There are variations on the theme, but the basic context of a summer has been the same since the 70’s.  Usually at a resort location (Branson marginally qualifies) with a focus on development and training in personal ministry skills.  Many o life has been changed in the course of a summer like this (including me – Summer of 87 in Myrtle Beach baby!).

This past year I was incredibly proud of some great friends who stepped out to do a little missional change in our normal strategy.  Kevin Dennis, Steve Van Diest, Joanna Meyer and Dennis & Carita Chen all started new organically focused summer projects – in Orlando, Long Beach and San Jose respectively.  Results vary (as with any learning curve) but God did some cool stuff.  Here is a quote from one student from Long Beach.

"God has been teaching me way more than I thought this summer. I originally came with a hardened heart because I was pretty sick of the structure of CRU and the general state of mind. We're all so cliquey and exclusive and sometimes I think we're all about being in CRU instead of being all about the Lord.  I was afraid summer project would be a CRU overload for me and I heard that you're kept super busy on project which really worried me.  Sometimes I go through the day planning Bible studies and doing D-Times and when it's time to go to bed I realize that the Lord was not included.  From the outside it looked like I had it altogether and I thought I had it together half the time too because I wasn't leaving enough room to think in a day to know that I didn't let God in.  Sure my day was filled with "holy things" but that's a lie because I never really asked God what He wanted me to do.  I'm learning is that prayer is everything.  You need to pray to see results and prayer should be my first step in EVERYTHING I do.  it seems like a concept I should have had down a long time ago but for so long I felt like I was wasting my time by praying for someone.  I'm still struggling with that but now I won't hesitate to sit down and prayer over someone who needs it knowing that the Lord will hear my call and answer if it is in His will."

"Man just as I get back into the school life, it is really hard to apply what I've done this summer.  It's strange that its easier to be intentional about ministering to people somewhere else than it is to do that here.  I'm already tempted to get back into my "ministry duties" rather than seeing my life as a ministry and seeking God for every moment.  But the good thing is, I'm trying, and I know with the Lord's help I can do it.  It's just been really hard right now."

"This summer was so incredible for me.  I learned to take the most of every opportunity I had and make it a ministry opportunity.  I am still keeping in contact with 2 of the women at the rescue mission.  Please be praying for them.  The mission received a grant right when we left Long Beach.  This allowed for the Mission to remodel their facility and to better equip it, but it also left the women homeless again for a month.  So, please be praying for them.  I am also keeping in contact with a girl named Mayla. I worked with her at the shoe store.  Since I have left, things at the shoe store have been kinda rough.  They hired a new manager and I hear she is kinda rough and a lot of the employees are getting discouraged and wanting to quit."

I hope we have a lot more opportunities like this.

Back at It

I meant to take an August hiatus from the blog (like an Italian vacation) but 4 weeks turned into 6 and now I am just now getting back at it.

A lot has happened in that time - but leaning toward spiritual movements everywhere by any means is still the watchword, and I am more invigorated by this mission than ever.

Crocker Chronicle: Changing a Culture

Too true -

Crocker Chronicle: Changing a Culture

Strength From Their Faith

It is great to be alive when you can literally watch God transform a nation of people. The sleeping tiger of China seems to be awakening and bringing forth a radical faith that we could all use a dose of. This article in Newsweek is a very encouraging read about just that: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13879416/site/newsweek/

Destino Project San Antonio

On Thursday I had a cheap date with most of the leadership of the Destino Summer Project in San Antonio. I offered to take them to lunch and they suggested Chik-fil-a - not a problem.

One of the interesting things they noted, especially the white staff on the project, was the need for a us to learn more about ministering in the Latino culture. For them, the project was a real eye opener. For Michelle and Mark (our Hispanic staff running the project) this provided a great training ground for what can work in the Latino context.

The project did most of their work at UTSA and saw 6 students trust Christ the first week of the project. Hats off for this learning opportunity in San Antonio.

The Sneeze - University of Marilyn

Like alot of web blather, this may or may not be true, but not a bad story of the state of things.

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.

Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.

This class would not pray during the commencements----not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.

The speeches were nice, but they were routine.....until the final spe ech received a standing ovation.

A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened. All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!

The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, " GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...

The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found an unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.

Organic Summer Projects

I just spent an incredible three days with student mission projects in San Jose and Long Beach. Both of these new projects are approaching ministry on a very simple church / organic level - to varying degrees of success. Steve van Diest and company in Long Beach have been at it a bit longer and they have watched students experience the 'detox' of not having everything programmed for them at every moment. In fact, the project schedule is so wide open that some students floundered a bit as things were coming together. But the combination of praying for the lost, identifying your 'oikos' in the community and encouraging each other to step out, has proven to produces some significant fruit in the lives of these young leaders. Many are excited in how clearly they are hearing what the Lord is calling them to. Lead on guys!! It is really cool.

Dennis and Carita (along with Gordon & Angela Ebert and Keoke & Kris King) are just starting. Their group is smaller but they are approaching things very much the same way. Keoke helped them understand G3 (similar to Neil Cole's LTGs) and already a few students have done evangelistic gatherings with new students they have met on campus. There is a real boldness to this group that I believe will yield some interesting reslults - I look forward to what God will do in San Jose.

It was bonus to see Jaeson Ma and his crew one evening while I was there. I called Jaeson to let him know I was standing on his home campus - and lo and behold he was in town. He joined us and the rest of the project for some Ben and Jerry's and good hang time. I love it when teh Lord brings thing together in providential ways.

Missippi's Katrina

Linda and I spent part of the past week with a group of students in Pass Christian MS. The students, 45+, where from 20 different states. They came to MS as part of a Campus Crusade summer project to do relief work, demolition and construction. Paul & Amy Mayer (along with a bunch of other Cru Staff) have done a fantastic job leading this beast. It was one of the most inspirational things I have ever been a part of.

Each day the crew makes their way to from the Library (the place they are staying is the shell of the old Pass Christian Library) to a place a few blocks away where a gentlemen named Randy gives them the days assignments. Of course, many assignments last for more than a day and the students are all over the city making repairs and generally helping out. While we were there we helped gut the home of an 84 year-old man who had not touched the place since the storm (safety tip: Dont open the fridge). My kids worked pretty hard along side 4 students from the University of Toledo. One of the students, Erin, was on her forth trip to the area. There ar a lot of young people doing very similart things - planning their next trip almost as soon as the leave.

The project operates with 4-5 crews focusing on different things around the city. One crew arrives at “God’s Katrina Kitchen” at 4:30am. This food tent is right of the beach on hwy 90 and serves three squares to the workers and residence alike. The food is hot and good and there are great opportunities to minister to whoever shows up.

Paul and Amy and doing a fantastic job. Watching these staff and students work made me feel proud to be part of this organization. We should have hundreds of projects like this – for this truly seems to be the hands and hearts of Christ to those who are hurting.

Two Years Back

This article on Organic Church Movements is from May 2004, but it is worth the read. The article mentions 400 simple churches . . . . I believe that it is now closer to 700. Part of he artricle states:

In 1999, Cole jettisoned his traditional pulpit ministry in Alta Loma, California, to launch Awakening Chapel--founding it literally in the smoking section of The Coffee Tavern in Long Beach, an urban beach town southwest of Los Angeles. In a little more than four years, the crew he gleaned from the smokers' ranks on the patio at The Coffee Tavern has ballooned into a movement of 400 churches in 16 states and 12 countries.

I think one of the key words here is 'jettisoned'. There is a sense in which Neil could have never done what he set out to do without radically changing what he was currently doing. All to often I believe we want to simply adjust what we have and our minor surgery is never enough to truly bring radical change. We may have to kill what is in order to birth what could be.

Largest Enrollment Fall 2005

Here are the numbers for where the big schools started last fall. You can check out the last decade here.

1. Arizona State 51,612
2. University of Minnesota 51,175
3. Ohio State 50,504
4. University of Texas 49,696
5. University of Florida 49,693
6. Michigan State 45,166
7. Texas A&M 44,910
8. University of Illinois 41,862
9. University of Wisconsin 41,447
10. Penn State 40,709

Birth of Radical Prayer

So how does a prayer movement begin? Often through a vision God gives to one man. Graham Power is a man like that, and in July 2000 he received a clear and compeling vision from God. Check out the what has happened and what steps are planned next. The basic plan is amazingly simple and masses of people have rallied to the call.

Following the example of the first believers who “joined together constantly” in prayer (Acts 1.14) during the ten days between the ascension of Jesus and the descent of His Spirit on Pentecost ….. the next 5 years until 2010, a simple threefold strategy will be implemented:

1. 10 Days of day-and-night prayer from Ascension Day till the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday.
2. A global day of repentance & prayer on Pentecost Sunday
3. 90 Days of "community blessing"

College Students (from the Wall Street Journal)

From the March 25th Wall Street Journal article College Admissions: Is the Gate Open or Closed?

Here are some factoids for the US:

• In 1940, more than three-fourths of those age 25 and older hadn't graduated from high school. Just 5% held a bachelor's degree or higher.
• In 2004, about 15% of those 25 and older lacked a high-school degree, while 28% had a bachelor's degree.
• In 2005, 68% Mexican American college-bound seniors where first generation college students (neither parent earned a college degree). The numbers where 50% for Puerto Rican, 53% for other Hispanic and 52% for African American.
• Total college enrollment in all degree-granting institutions has increased by 26% to an estimated 17 million in 2005 from 1990. The Department of Education expects that number to increase to about 19 million by 2010.

Some observations for collegiate ministry:

• When Bill Bright began this crazy endeavour of Campus Crusade, the university was truly an elite place. Just 11 years prior to beginning Crusade, only 5% of the entire population had been to college - now we are close to 30%
• If ministry growth mirrors student growth, then we should naturally get to 2100 movements and 70,000 students involved by 2010 (without changing a thing - this is simply population growth). Or a better way to put it, if we achieve these numbers it only represents keeping up, not growth in light of the whole.
  
• We had better do something in the Latino community if we desire to influence the collegiate world.

Asian American Christian Leaders

This recent article in Christianity Today highlights the growing influence of Asian American Christian leaders on the elite universities of the US. Check out the article.