Margaret Feinberg Conference Call (7/28) & Book Giveaway!

Posted on July 26, 2011

Join us on Thursday (7/28) for our next Conference Call with Margaret Feinberg from 3-3:30pm CST!

Margaret was recently named one of the ’30 Emerging Voices’ who will help lead the church in the next decade by Charisma magazine and one of the ’40 under 40′ who will shape Christian publishing by Christian Retailing. She has written more than two dozen books and Bible studies including the critically-acclaimed Organic God along with The Sacred Echo, Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey and her newest book Hungry for God: Hearing God’s Voice in the Ordinary and the Everyday.

SIGN UP FOR THE CONFERENCE CALL HERE!

Listen to previous conference calls here!

To win a copy of Margaret’s newest book, send an email with “Hungry for God Giveaway” as the subject to info@margaretfeinberg.com. Be sure to include your U.S. mailing address in the email. The first 10 will win a free copy! Those who do not win will still receive free online resources from Margaret.

Inhumanity vs. Community by Eric Bryant

Posted on July 25, 2011

Why does this happen? Why would someone think violence against innocent people will get them what they want? Who would do such an evil thing?

Police have arrested Anders Behring Breivik for bombing downtown Oslo and shooting at teens at a political camp. Over 80 people have died in these cowardly acts.

According to an article at CNN.com: “Official sources and social media indicate that Breivik might be a right-wing Christian fundamentalist who may have had an issue with Norway’s multi-cultural society. The attack may have been politically motivated, one official said.

‘I think what we have seen today is that politically motivated violence poses a threat to society and I commend the police for carrying out a very swift and effective investigation, but that is still ongoing,’ Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters.”

A Skynews article describes the suspect with these words:

“National police chief Sveinung Sponheim said internet postings by the suspected gunman ‘suggest that he has some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views, but if that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen.’”

I do not know how the political parties work in Europe, but the word “Christian” is used way too often to describe people who do not follow the ways and words of Jesus.

To kill other Norwegians because he does not like immigration policies or does not like Muslims shows the depth of evil that can grow when one allows hate inside.

Hate leads to destruction which does not make anything better.

Tolerance is not the answer either. Who wakes up in the morning wanting to be tolerated?! None of us. We long to be loved and belong.

When we are tired of tolerating others, we should try loving them.

How should we respond to world that is becoming more and more diverse?

What if loving, serving, and influencing those around us (no matter from what culture they came) became the norm? (See “Kidnapping a Muslim” or “Why Multi-culturalism Fails“)

In his book Soul Cravings, Erwin McManus writes:

“The farther we move from community, the closer we move to violence…. Where there is no love there is no value for life. When hate consumes our hearts, all we can think of, all we desire is to destroy. When there is disengagement from human community, there is the potential for inhumanity.

The human heart was not created to be a container for hate.

When we allow bitterness, jealousy, envy, racism, lust, greed, and arrogance to fuel our souls, we create an environment within us to be agents of violence.

We live in a time when the most terrifying bomb is not a nuclear one, but a human one.”

Praying for those affected by the tragedy in Oslo….

Praying we choose to create a healthy and diverse society….

Margaret Feinberg Conference Call (7/28)

Posted on July 11, 2011

Join us  for our next Conference Call with Margaret Feinberg on July 28th (Thurs) from 3-3:30pm CST!

Margaret was recently named one of the ’30 Emerging Voices’ who will help lead the church in the next decade by Charisma magazine and one of the ’40 under 40’ who will shape Christian publishing by Christian Retailing. She has written more than two dozen books and Bible studies including the critically-acclaimed Organic God along with The Sacred Echo, Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey.

SIGN UP FOR THE CONFERENCE CALL HERE!

Look for the next newsletter in July for a chance to win Margaret’s newest book Hungry For God.

Listen to previous conference calls here.

Church & Non Profit Serving Refugees & On the News

Posted on July 8, 2011

Check out this recent story by Jim Bergamo from KVUE Austin News:

“Two faith based organizations have teamed up to help refugees in Austin. They’re doing it with, of all things, a garden.

There was music and balloons, so you know it’s a party. However there is also a garden smack dab in the middle of this celebration, so a garden party it is.

Two months ago, the Grow Together Team from Gateway Church along with Mobile Loaves and Fishes broke ground on this garden at the Capital Village Apartments in Central East Austin. The complex is home to numerous refugees….

‘What a great way to remember our new fellow citizens than by helping them out and people transitioning in’ said Michael McKee, the Director of Grow Together

The garden allows them to grow food and relationships with other refugees.

‘Like know each others feelings and what kinds of plants they grow in their country,’ said Kalpana Kharel, a refugee from Nepal. ‘Just working together.’

Even youngsters like Thangtinuk Sakawthang from Burma like working in the garden.

‘To do is fun,’ he said.

Besides Burma and Nepal, there are refugees from Africa, India, Iran and Iraq. On a wall surrounding the garden, refugees made chalk outlines of their hand prints. They wrote the names of their home countries as well.

Also participating are men like Danny and Jose. They used to be homeless, but now, through Mobile Loaves and Fishes, help cultivate the garden so the refugees can plant their food.

‘It makes me feel good that I’m giving back into the community and seeing the progress and smiles on people’s faces,’ said Jose Coronado, who works for Mobile Loaves and Fishes.

‘It’s not necessarily a bunch of different communities, homeless, refugees, whatever, it’s one community coming together,’ said McKee.”

“Churches – Protection From or For the World?” by Eric Bryant

Posted on July 6, 2011

We enjoyed visiting several castles on our trip to the U.K.. Our favorite castle was in Wales. Llanstefan Castle was built around 1100 by the Normans. Now it sits empty. After hiking about a half mile in the rain to get to it, we had a great time exploring the ancient ruins.

Castles have a unique function in history. Castles were meant to be a protection FOR the surrounding villages from the enemies coming from afar. When the enemies would march or sail towards the castle, the neighboring villagers filled up the castle where the local lord or monarch lived. The castle was supposed to be a refuge for others in the area.

Castles were not meant to be a protection FROM the surrounding villages.

Too often our churches have a castle mentality. We try to protect ourselves from the world rather than to become a place of refuge for the world. The people around us are not our enemy. They are the reason we are here! The Enemy is the enemy not the people he has confused and enslaved.

Is your church a shelter FROM the world our a shelter FOR the world?