Faith in Context

One Thing You Can Do About Slavery

Prism, the journal published by the Sider Center, stated recently that the total number of people in the world who are currently in slavery (not using the word as another way of describing political oppression) is larger than it ever has been in human history. This includes people in sexual slavery as well as labor slavery. These situations are probably distant from most of my readers, but there is one thing you can do about this evil, and this is not about fund raising.

Join youth groups, congregations and individuals around the world this weekend in fasting and prayer for those who are enslaved. A graduate student of mine in Canada started this concept last year thinking that a few church youth groups she is connected with would join in, and found that through social networking it exploded around the world. So this is the Second Annual Weekend of Fasting and Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Pick a time frame that works for you starting on or after 12 a.m. September 23.

For more information use this link. No matter where you are or what you are doing this weekend, you can do something for "the least of these" with whom Christ identifies fully.

Mission in Metropolis Seminar in Philadelphia

I will be presenting a seminar on metropolitan ministry at 4 p.m. on September 27 at the Chestnut Hill Adventist Church, 8700 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia 19118. This is open to anyone who wants to attend. If you want more information, you can contact Pastor Tara VinCross at (215) 247-7022. The seminar will share some of the findings from the ten-year research project on urban ministry and church planting that was published in my book Mission in Metropolis (2007, Center for Creative Ministry, Lincoln). There will be significant time for dialog, questions, etc.

Congregational Studies 2008 Annual Meeting

Last week I taught my class on Field Research for Ministry for a cohort of Doctor of Ministry students and this week I am attending the annual meeting of the Congregational Studies association. One of the items on our agenda is a report on the second phase of the "Reveal" survey conducted by the Willow Creek Association. The first phase was published about this time last year at the annual Leadership Summit, and now they have gathered data from more than 400 other congregations, so this research becomes much more generalizable and interesting. I do not know if they are presenting the same report at the Leadership Summit, but the researchers will be meeting with our group, make a presentation and engage in dialog with researchers from across the country. I will post a preliminary report by Thursday morning. There will undoubtedly by other interesting items from this meeting; there always is.

Center for Creative Ministry Board Meeting

The board of the Center for Creative Ministry is meeting this weekend in Hilton Head, South Carolina, hosted by board member Judi Hewes who lives here with her physician husband. It is the first time we've had a face-to-face meeting in three years or longer. Next year makes the 20th anniversary of this research and resource organization that provides seeks to help congregations, church administrators and faith-based ministries deal with the emergence of new generations and the rapidly changing contemporary context in which God asks us to be faithful to His mission in the world. Paul Richardson is the executive director and I serve as chair of the board.

Do you have input for our discussion and prayer time together? What should the Center be focusing on in terms of research and innovation? What kinds of services and resource materials should it be offering? What are the big issues that you see for the followers of Jesus who are trying to be faithful witnesses in the context of our secular world today?

What do you want to know about innovation?

At the National Innovation Conference, my major assignment is to do a basic presentation for newbies on Sunday afternoon ... a general introduction to the topic. Help me out: What should be included in a basic summary about innovation? What do you want to know to shape a basic cognitive map on this subject? What are the foundational things people should know before they delve deeper into the topic?