the journey

Advent resources, part 4

I've been enjoying Following the Star for several years.

According to the site, the daily devotion writers "come from a variety of backgrounds, some are ministers or missionaries, others are professors or high school teachers, what they have in common is they know and love students!"

And they're "written especially for students and seek to provide reflections on themes that impact our faith journey. We hope that in the midst of busy or boring days, these sites will create a quiet space in your life for contemplation and prayer."

If you've never experienced Following the Star, I would encourage you to give it a try.

Tags: Following the Star, Advent

Advent resources, part 3

This blog provides a number of Advent resources worth consideration.

One of the links they suggest is the Teaching Mom.

Have fun browsing.

Tags: Lent & Beyond, Advent

Advent resources, part 2

The Advent Conspiracy promo video. :-)

Here's their website.

Tags: Advent Conspiracy, Advent

Advent resources, part 1

Needing advent resources?

No, I'm not talking about Advent calendars (like the one shown here), advent wreaths or manger scenes.

I'm talking about blogs, videos, articles and other resources that might help you (and the ones you lead) prepare for the holiday season.

So, I thought I'd share a few over the next few days...

Here's a collection of advent articles, as well as an Advent Guide, written by a former Presbyterian (hear *fairly conservative*) pastor.

I like what he says about why Advent matters to him.

That's today's suggestion, more soon...

Tags: Advent, Advent resources

Nouwen on the poor

“Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of corruption. As soon as power and wealth come to the Church, manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption are not far away.

How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is clear: by focusing on the poor. The poor make the Church faithful to its vocation. When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses its spiritual identity. It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy, power games, and pettiness. Paul says, “God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others” (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). This is the true vision. The poor are given to the Church so that the Church as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace.”

- Henri Nouwen

ht: dream awakener

Technorati Tags: poor, poverty, Nouwen, Henri Nouwen

Servitude

I really like this image.

I've always liked this related passage in Deuteronomy 15 too:

7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.

ht: resurrecting footpaths

Tags: servitude, service, poor, poverty, homelessness

Have a seat

Have a seat..!
Originally uploaded by imapix

[Click on photo for larger versions.]

This looks so relaxing. I love sitting outside near a body of water.

What I wouldn't give to go to a place like this (right now) with a good book or a copy of the New York Times, and a piping hot mug of fresh-ground gourmet coffee.

Instead, it's a diet coke, a turkey sandwich and Tostito scoops seated in front of the desktop computer in my bedroom. 

Well, I can dream anyway...  :-)

Technorati Tags: Flickr

ChurchMetrics

If you don't have the bucks for Fellowship One, you might want to consider ChurchMetrics, a web tool designed by Lifechurch.tv, to track attendance, giving and other numeric patterns. 

Here's the promo video:

Introducing ChurchMetrics from ChurchMetrics on Vimeo.

If you're looking to save money, ChurchMetrics is an option.  It's free!

ht: ys blog

Tags: ChurchMetrics

Let's get back to the primary call on our lives

These words caught my attention while catching up on some reading today:

The kingdom's work is always small (Matt 13:31-32), close to the ground (Matt 25:32-40) and subversive to the powers (Eph 6:2). This speaks to the fact that we really cannot expect too much from the new president. It is why I felt compelled to say earlier "Go ahead and vote, just don't expect too much." Instead, let us now get back to the primary call on our lives, nurturing communities of God's justice, salvation, and reconciliation in the world.

Source: Reclaimingthemission.com

Technorati Tags: Kingdom of God

Vote out poverty

Sojo is engaged in an new campaign to end poverty.

It's called Vote Out Poverty.

Printed below are the campaign goals:

Our goal is to mobilize a faith-based constituency of churches and individuals capable of putting poverty at the top of the political agenda. We want a national plan from the president and Congress to:

Cut domestic poverty in half over the next decade, and [a]chieve the Millennium Development Goals, a set of international goals for reducing global poverty.

For resources, podcasts and other related information, click here.

To participate in Poverty Sunday (11/21), click here for an organizer's toolkit.

It's all about making the end of poverty a national priority.

Tags: Sojo, Vote out poverty, poverty