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Connections Connecting man to man to God! Week of Issue 109 CONNECTIONS is the opt-in newsletter
for the men & friends of "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose
confidence is in him. He will be like
a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its
leaves are always green. It has no
worries in a year of drought."
Jeremiah 17:7 and 8 (NIV) CONSIDER "Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be
as original with other people as he is with you." Oswald Chambers ELEPHANTS IN PUBERTY
ARE LIKE MEN WITHOUT FATHERS In his latest book, To Own a Dragon, Donald Miller discusses the
epiphany he had that growing up without a father affected him in myriad ways
long after his childhood. Q: What was your experience growing up without a father? A: My dad left before I remember anything. There were early memories of my mom
interacting with my dad occasionally, trying to get a credit card back from
him, but I don't have any memories of my dad.
It all seemed pretty normal. It
wasn't until five or six years ago that I even began to process the fact that
something in my life had been missing. There were a lot of the things I didn't
know. By know I mean that on a
holistic level I didn't know that authority equals love, those sorts of
things. I always felt like I was ten
years behind in terms of the way I was living my life. I attribute that to not having a father. Q: It was watching a documentary about a group of orphaned
elephants that helped you see the need for a male authority in your life. A: Without the presence of older elephants in their lives to
mentor them, these elephants remained in suspended musth
cycles, which essentially is like a puberty phase. With an older male elephant there, their musth cycle will only last about three days. It's a very uncomfortable time, but it's
eased when an older male elephant is in their life. But for the elephants on this reserve, with
no older males, their musth cycles did not
end. They basically began to lose
it. They acted out aggressively and
violently toward other creatures. They
began to withdraw from their tribe.
When they introduced older male elephants into that community of
orphaned elephants, their musth cycles ended. They were able to be normal.... Read this interview in full at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/124/22.0.html EMPTY PEWS: WHERE DID
ALL THE MEN GO? Men don't need pirates in the pews. Then again, the presence of such
swashbucklers might not be the worst thing to happen to a Sunday
morning. So goes the thinking of David
Murrow, author of "Why Men Hate Going to
Church." "We don't have to
have hand-to-hand combat during the worship service to get men there," Murrow said.
"We just have to start speaking [their language], use the
metaphors they understand and create an environment that feels masculine to
them." Today's churches, Murrow argued, just aren't cutting it. In the middle of the 19th century, two-thirds of church members
in http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060901462.html PRESIDENTIAL
PROCLAMATION ON FATHERS "By offering guidance, support, and unconditional love, a
father is one of the most important influences in a child's life. On Father's Day, we honor our fathers and
celebrate the special bond between a father and a child. "Fathers play a significant role in shaping the character
of their children and the future of our country. By spending time with their sons and
daughters and listening to their experiences, fathers can have a profound
impact on their children's lives. As
advisors, role models, and friends, fathers help their children to understand
the difference between right and wrong and to recognize how the decisions
they make today can affect the rest of their lives".... Read this in full at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060606-4.html CHRISTIANS WHO SAMPLE
PORN ON MINDS OF 'PRAYER WARRIORS' When the Pure Life Revolution's disciples scouted out a staging
location for a full-frontal assault on what they call the "pornographic
plague" and its threat to "We want for the church to come clean, get real, get
honest," says pastor Scott MacLeod.
The first targets are the Christians who sample such wares while
claiming higher moral ground. He
doesn't think churches should be finger-pointing if pew-sitters are
"entangled in pornography."
Read this article in full at http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/NEWS06/606100329/1023/NEWS CHRISTIANITY IN by Martin E. Marty The DEW (Distant Early Warning) signal of Cold War days may have
a religious successor, which we in the Mark Noll, a superior historian who just moved from Wheaton
College to the University of Notre Dame, knows Canadian religion as few U.S.
scholars do, and made it the subject of his presidential address to the
American Society of Church History, whose journal Church History (June 2006)
published it. I hope my mention of it
will prompt a visit to the library or the study of your friendly neighborhood
church historian. Line one: "What
happened to Christian Canada?"
Line two: Noll and most others in the know assume it once was (more)
Christian. Now Christian language and
"public theism" are waning or disappearing from public scenes,
oaths of office, holidays, and all that.
Christian education in public schools moves almost to zero from a once
secure place. Same-sex marriage
support? Almost a breeze. Catholic church attendance?
Down from the former 80 to 90%s -- especially in Read this in full at http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2006/0612.shtml WORLD CUP Until July 9 http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/index.html Kickoff 2006 -
Kick-Start Your Faith June 15-18 June 26-July 9 http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html LEADERSHIP TIPS
(BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE) Leadership Lessons ... from
Toilet Cleaning by Steve Sjogren "Recently the St. Pete Times (FL) contacted me with the
news that they were doing a series of articles on the one place we all spend
a lot of time each day - the toilet!
To their surprise when they put the word "Toilet cleaning"
into Google my name popped up several times in connection to toilet cleaning
outreaches (what a thing to be known for!).
Over the past 15 years, my wife Janie and I have traveled the world
cleaning toilets at practical places to show the love of Jesus in a practical
way. "They asked lots of interesting questions like,
"What's the most interesting place where you have cleaned a
toilet?" (That one was easy --
Larry Flynt's Super Porno Store -- Janie and I
wanted to make a statement of love to him in spite of local Christians who
were protesting his presence by marching in front of his store".... Read this article in full at http://www.thechurchreport.com/content/view/1559/67/ VERSE TO PONDER "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by
it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord
is good." 1 Peter 2:2 and 3 (NIV)
CONSIDER "We are silent at the beginning of the day because God
should have the first word, and we are silent before going to sleep because
the last word also belongs to God."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer KENTUCKY SCHOOLS
REVERSE DECISION ON ELIMINATING 'B.C.' http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5487443 Also see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/122/32.0.html 'I'VE FOUND GOD,'
SAYS MAN WHO CRACKED THE GENOME The scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is
to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and
is convinced that miracles are real. Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome
Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that
scientific discoveries bring man "closer to God". His book, The Language of God, to be published in September,
will reopen the age-old debate about the relationship between science and
faith. "One of the great
tragedies of our time is this impression that has been created that science
and religion have to be at war," said Collins, 56. "I don't see that as necessary at all
and I think it is deeply disappointing that the shrill voices that occupy the
extremes of this spectrum have dominated the stage for the past 20
years." For Collins, unravelling the human
genome did not create a conflict in his mind. Instead, it allowed him to
"glimpse at the workings of God".
"When you make a breakthrough it is a moment of scientific
exhilaration because you have been on this search and seem to have found
it," he said. "But it is
also a moment where I at least feel closeness to the creator in the sense of
having now perceived something that no human knew before but God knew all
along. "When you have for the first time in front of you this 3.1
billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all
kinds of mystery about humankind, you can't survey that going through page
after page without a sense of awe. I
can't help but look at those pages and have a vague sense that this is giving
me a glimpse of God's mind." Collins joins a line of scientists whose research deepened their
belief in God. Isaac Newton, whose
discovery of the laws of gravity reshaped our understanding of the universe,
said: "This most beautiful system could only proceed from the dominion
of an intelligent and powerful being." Although Einstein revolutionized our thinking about time,
gravity and the conversion of matter to energy, he believed the universe had
a creator. "I want to know His
thoughts; the rest are details," he said. However Galileo was famously questioned by
the inquisition and put on trial in 1633 for the "heresy" of
claiming that the earth moved around the sun. Among Collins's most controversial beliefs is that of
"theistic evolution", which claims natural selection is the tool
that God chose to create man. In his
version of the theory, he argues that man will not evolve further. "I see God's hand at work through the mechanism of
evolution. If God chose to create
human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an
elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to
say that is not the way," he says. "Scientifically, the forces of evolution by natural
selection have been profoundly affected for humankind by the changes in
culture and environment and the expansion of the human species to 6 billion
members. So what you see is pretty
much what you get." Collins was an atheist until the age of 27, when as a young
doctor he was impressed by the strength that faith gave to some of his most
critical patients. "They had terrible diseases from which they were probably
not going to escape, and yet instead of railing at God they seemed to lean on
their faith as a source of great comfort and reassurance," he said. "That was interesting, puzzling and
unsettling." He decided to visit a Methodist minister and was given a copy of
CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, which argues that God is a rational
possibility. The book transformed his life.
"It was an argument I was not prepared to hear," he said.
"I was very happy with the idea that God didn't exist, and had no
interest in me. And yet at the same time, I could not turn away." His epiphany came when he went hiking through the Collins believes that science cannot be used to refute the
existence of God because it is confined to the "natural" world. In
this light he believes miracles are a real possibility. "If one is willing to accept the
existence of God or some supernatural force outside nature then it is not a
logical problem to admit that, occasionally, a supernatural force might stage
an invasion," he says. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2220484,00.html CONSIDER "Use your discernment and choose the course which takes you
farthest away from the deadening activities of the stifling world, and brings
you close to God." Babai the Great VERSE TO PONDER "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law." Galatians THIS WEEK'S HYMN: O
GOD, CREATION'S SECRET FORCE Words: Attributed to Ambrose of Milan, 4th century Music: Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, 1708 O God, creation's secret force, Thyself unmoved, all motion's source, Who from the morn till evening ray Through all its changes guid'st the
day: Grant us, when this short life is past, The glorious evening that shall last; That, by a holy death attained, Eternal glory may be gained. O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son; Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee, Doth live and reign eternally. >from CyberHymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/g/c/ogcsforc.htm GOD FAQ Question 77: Wherein do justification and sanctification differ? Answer: Although sanctification be inseparably joined with
justification, yet they differ, in that God in justification imputes the
righteousness of Christ;in sanctification his
Spirit infuses grace, and enables to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin
is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued:the one
does equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that
perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation; the other is
neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to
perfection. http://www.shortercatechism.com/ PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY DAILY BLESSING PACT PERSONAL FINANCIAL Settlements "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if
thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God" (Deut. 28:2). [As you travel on
business or vacation, let me know if you'd like the church guys to pray for
your safety and spiritual effectiveness. I'll add your name to the list for
the time you'll be away.]
CLASSIFIEDS Are you looking for something or do
you have something to sell? Let me
know and I'll put it in this newsletter. SHARE YOUR FAVORITE
WEBSITES Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why. Grilling Tips http://www.starchefs.com/fathersday_grilling/html/ Weber Grilling Tips http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/recipe/ Top 5 Grilling Tools http://www.southbeachdiet.com/public/dailydish/dd_20060527.asp All links to websites are provided as a service, and do not
imply endorsement by our church. (BTW: whenever the URLs in this newsletter are too long to turn
into links on your e-mail program, just copy the entire URL (two lines or
more) and paste it into a temporary email message. Then delete the return in the middle of it
and copy it again. Then paste it into
your web browser and hit enter.) Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter of announcements, news,
recommendations, articles, and other information helpful to men in our
spiritual growth. Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box! Who to
contact: Minister
Frank Coleman, Men Servants Ministry Chairman, 773-410-1483, Minister
Arnold Whitehead, Men Servants Ministry Vice-Chairman, 773-846-6090 The mission of New Joy Divine Full
Gospel Church is to be a Christ-centered, Bible based, Spirit guided
church meeting the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of its members
and the community it serves. The Men Servants Ministry Team offers a
variety of activities for men to interact with other men on our journey of
faith in Christ together. Large group, small group, and one-to-one events encourage
relationship building and spiritual strengthening that result in maximizing
the potential we all have in Christ. Contact Min. Frank Coleman, 773-410-1483, [email protected]
if you'd
like to participate in a men's discipleship program. New Visit
our website at: http://www.newjoydivine.org/
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