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Connections Connecting man to
man to God! Week of Issue 140 CONNECTIONS is
the opt-in newsletter for the men & friends of Minister Frank
Coleman. It's a periodic service that
helps connect you with God and with other men. If you'd like its delivery to your email
address stopped, scroll down and follow the instructions at the end of this
message. Also let me know if you
change your email address and want to keep subscribing to CONNECTIONS. "[God]
has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your
God." Micah 6:8 CONSIDER "You
formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in
you." Augustine NAE NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR W. Todd Bassett,
former National Commander of The Salvation Army, has been named Executive
Director of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Bassett has
served on the NAE's Executive Committee for 4
years, representing The Salvation Army, one of the organization's 60 member
denominations. In his new role as
Executive Director, he'll oversee NAE's
administrative, financial, and communications functions and help formulate
and implement organizational vision and strategy. Todd and his
wife Carol were commissioned as officers in the Salvation Army in 1965 and
have served in ministry for nearly 42 years in a variety of
appointments. Their assignments have
included youth ministry, the School for Officers' Training, and divisional
and territorial leadership. They also
served for 2 years at the Army's International Headquarters in PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR CHANGE The ·
Go out to eat with someone who is
homeless, or invite them to your home or cafeteria to eat with you. ·
Leave a random tip (and - why not? - a
thank you note) in the restroom at your place of work or study for the folks
who clean them. ·
Find out who makes your favorite brands
of clothes and if those companies reflect the values of Christ. If not, write the CEOs a letter asking them
to change. ·
Give your winter coat away to someone
who is colder than you are. ·
Try sitting in silence for 15 minutes a
day. ·
Kill your TV (consider gutting your TV
and turning it into a pot for a plant) -- or go TV free for a year. ·
Go down a line of parked cars and pay
for the meters that are about to expire.
Leave a little anonymous note of niceness. ·
Go fuel-free for a week -- ride a bike
everywhere, carpool, walk. ·
Go to a retirement home and ask to visit
a few old folks who don't get any visitors. OUTREACH MAGAZINE NAMES MOST INNOVATIVE
CHURCH With a weekly
attendance of more than 18,000 people at 9 separate campuses and over the
Internet, LifeChurch.tv is the largest congregation
in the "When LifeChurch.tv began in 1996, 40 members met in a two-car
garage equipped with just a borrowed overhead projector and two construction
lights purchased at Lowe's for $19.99," explains Outreach magazine in
its announcement. "Ten years
later, the church has been named No. 1 on our list of LifeChurch.tv, born out of " http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070118/25244.htm LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE) British
leader Sir Winston Churchill died The Churchill
Centre http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 Wikipedia:
Churchill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill Churchill
Speech Interactive http://www.churchill-speeches.com/ History.com:
Churchill speeches Soundboard:
Churchill speeches http://www.soundboard.com/sb/winston.aspx Nobel Prize:
Churchill http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/churchill-bio.html The TIME 100:
Winston Churchill http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/churchill.html Churchill
Quotations http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Sir_Winston_Churchill/ Wikiquote: Churchill Quotations http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill BBC:
Churchill Biography http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/churchill_winston.shtml The Winston
Churchill Foundation http://www.winstonchurchillfoundation.org/ Churchill
Online http://www.churchillonline.org.uk/ VERSE TO PONDER "Do
everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless
and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation,
in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of
life." Philippians 2:14-16 CONSIDER "...never
be conceited. With respect to our
attitude toward our enemies, this means first, remember that you were God's
enemy and that, without having earned it or being worthy of it, you were met
with mercy. It means second, remember
that God hung on the cross for your enemy too, and love God and God loves
you." Dietrich Bonhoeffer GUIDANCE "Discovering
God's plan for our lives is less about "finding God's will" than it
is about following his voice. Often we want to know the blueprint-the details
of our destiny. While God does reveal his overall plan for us through his
Word, I've discovered that, if we'll listen, God also will lead us every day.
He prompts us to do good things, kind things, right things, honest things,
courageous things at every turn."
Mike Breaux, Making Ripples WHAT IS THE ABUNDANT LIFE? by Robertson McQuilkin The
successful young attorney had everything going for him: blue-blood pedigree,
top-flight education, recognition, the confidence of the supreme court. But he walked away from it all. He treated it like so much garbage, in fact,
in his quest for something better. In
a letter to his friends in The narrow
entrance to true life, Jesus often taught, is the shape of a cross. He warned that it won't do to follow the
crowd in trying to fill up on fun, things, or recognition. In the first place, those things can't fill
up a being designed on the pattern of God.
Maybe half-full, or full for an instant, but in the end life goes gray
and flat. Yet people keep trying -- even church people. In fact, recent studies show that
evangelical believers are neck-and-neck with unbelievers in the race to find
the abundant life in more stuff, success, or pleasure. It won't work. But it's
worse than that. To try to fill up on
one of those is more than futile; it's destructive. The end of saving life for oneself is
death, Jesus said. But, in one of
those grand paradoxes of divine truth, for the one who starts out dying, the
end is life! Just say "no" to self-interest for Jesus' sake or the
sake of the Cause. You'll find
yourself really alive.... Read this in
full at http://www.moodymagazine.com/articles.php?action=view_article&id=867 LIVE LONG AND PROSPER by Walt
Larimore, MD "Researchers
tell us that the odds of living to one hundred years of age are increasing
every year. There are already many
thousands of centenarians alive today, and at least half of them are well
enough to live independently. Are they
just lucky in the "good genes" department? Or is their health due to the way they
live?".... Read this is full at http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/Book/Articles/Live+Long+and+Prosper.htm 33 NAMES OF THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW HAD
NAMES 1.
AGLET - The plain or ornamental covering
on the end of a shoelace. 2.
ARMSAYE - The armhole in clothing. 3.
CHANKING - Spat-out food, such as rinds
or pits. 4.
COLUMELLA NASI - The bottom part of the
nose between the nostrils. 5.
DRAGÉES - Small beadlike pieces of
candy, usually silver-coloured, used for decorating
cookies, cakes and sundaes. 6.
FEAT - A dangling curl of hair. 7.
FERRULE - The metal band on a pencil
that holds the eraser in place. 8.
HARP - The small metal hoop that
supports a lampshade. 9.
HEMIDEMISEMIQUAVER - A 64th note. (A 32nd is a demisemiquaver, and a 16th
note is a semiquaver.)... Read the list
at http://www.canongate.net/Lists/Words/33NamesOfThingsYouNeverKne EVANGELICALS BEHAVING BADLY WITH
STATISTICS by Christian
Smith American
evangelicals, who profess to be committed to Truth, are among the worst
abusers of simple descriptive statistics, which claim to represent the truth
about reality, of any group I have ever seen.
At stake in this misuse are evangelicals' own integrity, credibility
with outsiders, and effectiveness in the world. It is an issue worth making a fuss
over. And so I write. By simple
descriptive statistics I mean elementary ways of quantifying differences in
the world, such as percentages and averages describing distributions and
trends in populations. Now, I am not
among those who believe that the ability to quantify is the true test of
authoritative knowledge. I am not even
a quantoid-geek type of sociologist. But I do think that statistics can often
usefully represent what is going on in reality. They can help to get at what seems to be
true about what is actual. So
statistics are well worth doing well and getting right. Why do
evangelicals recurrently abuse statistics?
My observation is that they are usually trying desperately to attract
attention and raise people's concern in order to mobilize resources and
action for some cause. In a world
awash in information and burdened by myriad problems, some evangelicals may
justify the problematic misuse of statistics to get people to pay attention
to what they think are good causes. But this is inexcusable. Such desperation, alarmism, and sloppiness
reflect the worst, not the best, in evangelicalism".... Read this in full at http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/001/5.11.html ONE MAN'S LUXURY TURNS INTO THE SAME
MAN'S NECESSITY Economists
have long puzzled over the fact that societies don't seem to get happier as
they get richer, beyond a level of comfortable subsistence. One theory is that we're on a "hedonic
treadmill," quickly adapting to any new good thing in our lives and then
taking it for granted. The theory gains
indirect support from a The list of
"things we can't live without" has grown as people shift items from
the luxury column into the ranks of necessities. Air conditioning is a good example. Seventy percent of respondents rated home
air conditioning a necessity, up from 26% in a 1973 poll (and from 51% as
recently as 1996). Car air
conditioning is a necessity for 59%, vs. 13% in 1973 and 41% in 1996. Some things that were novelties a
generation ago are now necessities for many.
That's true of home computers (51%), cell phones (49%),
cable/satellite TV service (33%) and high-speed Internet access (29%). Of course, some items have been necessities
for decades. Ninety-one percent of
respondents see a car as a necessity, virtually matching the 90% who said so
in 1973. The same goes for a washing machine (88% in 1973, 90% now). One surprise: People were more likely to
see a clothes dryer than a TV set as a necessity (83% vs. 64%). Perhaps some are content merely to watch
their clothes tumble about.... Read
this in full at http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003532469 Cancer deaths
in the http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Cancer_Deaths_Down_Again.asp It was a sea
of humanity in quest of salvation as nearly 7 million devotees, many from
outside India, participated in the 'shahi snan', the royal bath, of the 6-yearly Hindu festival of Ardh Kumbh at Sangam, the confluence of three rivers considered sacred
by adherents. Read this in full at http://religion.info/english/articles/article_296.shtml CONSIDER "One can
give without loving, but one cannot love without Giving." Amy Carmichael (1867-1951) VERSE TO PONDER "If
anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother,
whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever
loves God must also love his brother."
1 John 4:20-21 THIS WEEK'S HYMN: OH, REJOICE, YE
CHRISTIANS, LOUDLY Words:
Christian Keimann, 1645 Music:
Michael Hammerschmidt, 1646 Oh, rejoice,
ye Christians, loudly, For your joy
hath now begun; Wondrous
things our God hath done. Tell abroad
His goodness proudly, Who our race hath
honored thus That He
deigns to dwell with us. Refrain Joy, O joy,
beyond all gladness, Christ hath
done away with sadness! Hence, all
sorrow and repining, For the Son
of Grace is shining! See, my soul,
thy Savior chooses Weakness here
and poverty, In such love
He comes to thee Nor the
hardest couch refuses; All He
suffers for thy good, To redeem
thee by His blood. Lord, how
shall I thank Thee rightly? I acknowledge
that from Thee Every
blessing flows to me.. Let me not
forget it lightly But to Thee through
all things cleave So shall
heart and mind receive: Jesus, guard
and guide Thy members, Fill Thy
brethren with Thy grace, Hear their
prayers in every place. Quicken now
life's faintest embers, Grant all
Christians, far and near, Holy peace, a
glad new Year! >from
CyberHymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/r/orycloud.htm GOD FAQ Question 108:
What are the duties required in the second commandment? Answer: The
duties required in the second commandment are, the receiving, observing, and
keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God has
instituted in his Word; particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the name of
Christ; the reading, preaching, and hearing of the Word; the administration
and receiving of the sacraments; church government and discipline; the
ministry and maintenance thereof; religious fasting; swearing by the name of
God, and vowing unto him: as also the disapproving, detesting, opposing, all
false worship; and, according to each one's place and calling, removing it,
and all monuments of idolatry. http://www.shortercatechism.com/ SPIRITUAL WINGS Receive
daily meditational ponderments capsulized as simple one-liners in your
e-mailbox as yet another path to spark the soul in thought. Includes a daily
spiritual acronym; a weekly spiritual affirmation, a weekly spiritually
oriented artwork, a weekly spiritual sharing, a weekly spiritual prayer, a
weekly spiritual poem, a weekly spiritually oriented joke, and a weekly
spiritually oriented cartoon. Ecumenical, nondenominational. -"May
the road always lead, where you need to be." http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpiritualWings/ ON PRAYER "The
more you pray, the more you want to pray." John Vianny PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY DAILY BLESSING PACT I
am agreeing in prayer with you for God’s blessings to overtake you! 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. 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.) You can't
serve God by being his advisor. Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS
into your in-box! We offer 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. Quick Links... · Download & Share Your Favorite Music · Visit my blog - comment & share your thoughts email: [email protected] phone:
1-773-410-1483 To subscribe to CONNECTIONS, send a
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