Village of 100

The following is some food for thought regarding the World Today*:



Population in 1900 - 1.6 billion people with 20 cities of 1 million+


Population in 2000 - 6.1 billion people with 410 cities of 1 million+



If all the people of the world were represented by a village of 100 people, the world would look something like this:

ETHNICITY of the Village of 100

57 are Asian
21 are Europeans
14 are Americans (North and South)
8 are Africans


GENDER of the Village of 100

51 are female 49 are male

FAITH of the Village of 100

33 persons are Christian
67 are non-Christian

of the 67 non-Chrisitans, 33 profess Islam, 15 are Hindu, 8 are Buddhist, 8 are Atheist, and 3 have some other belief system.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS of the Village of 100

80 people live in substandard housing
70 people cannot read
50 people suffer malnutrition
1 has a university education

33 people are under age 15
85% of this 33 live in poverty
13 of the 33 live on the street, without home or parents (=100,000,000 street children)

50% of the wealth is owned by 6 people...all from the United States

Consider the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel according to Luke...

"When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." -12:48b (NLT)




*based on figures supplied by Dr. Darrell Whiteman via Rev. Dr. Howard Mellor at the World Methodist Evangelism Institute, June 25, 2007.

P.O.W. - Tekoa

Had the awesome chance to connect with my ministry roots recently. I started out in youth ministry before becoming a lead pastor, and most recently a church planter. From time to time, it great to back where you started.
Kind of like when you walk into a room and forget why you walked into the room. I always retrace my steps and go back where I started from and I usually remember what I was going after. For me, a week at camp serving as Pastor of the Week (POW) is that going back and remembering.
Camp Tekoa is a United Methodist Camp in the mountains of North Carolina. Each summer for the past few years I have taken a week to serve Christ in the mountains at camp. My duties include opening and closing campfire talks, and small group time with each of the family groups. The groups usually have 10 - 15 kids, ranging in age from 2nd graders to high school students. this was one of the best years yet.

A cool thing about this year was "Barnabas Camp" - which is a camp experience for people with mentally handicapping conditions. Barnabas was a follower of Christ who's name means "son of encouragement". The Barnabas campers were just that, an encouragement.

On the last day of camp, we have a closing campfire. During the closing talk I invited campers and staff to stand to indicate a desire to pursue full time ministry. 5 stood. We also had 15 campers stand to indicate their desire to follow Christ. The evening closes with a candlelight service around the lake. See Picture.

If you are interested in more information about this camp - follow this link: Camp Tekoa.

World Methodist Evangelism Seminar - Wrap Up

The International Evangelsim Seminar was an extraordinary event. The potential impact of the combined people at the seminar is great! I believe God will continue to do some awesome things through this.
Personally, I believe the relationships built with other Christians, of the people called Methodist, will be beneficial for Kingdom business in the future. I can truly see our congregation connecting with churches in Kenya, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Hungary, India, and to the ends of the earth.
As it becomes easier to travel, send & receive information, and make alliances across borders - we will see the Kingdom of God continuing to advance in the name of Jesus Christ. Lives will be changed, and more will decide to become Christ followers.
Peace and Towels,
Andrew

A Long Run - W.M.E.I. - Day 3

During the Lunch period while I am here I have been taking a walk after I eat. On Thursday, I walked a long ways, all the way out to the main road and then several miles. I eventually ended up running and walking on the way back. I fully intended to have a leisurely stroll, but ended up doing something a little different.

The morning speakers for Thursday were Jamal Bryant, pastor of Empowerment Temple, A.M.E. Church and Lindsey Davis, N. Georgia Conference, U.M. Church Bishop.

Jamal shared reflections from scripture (Luke 17:11) on reaching the current generation for Christ. He spoke of being at a Crossroads where we needed to be willing to reach out to the hurt, the downcast, and the oppressed. He also shared some of his personal triumphs and struggles in starting a new congregation. He made an observation which really spoke to me. He said that you may not find yourself where you expected to be, but watch and see what God will do.

Lindsey shared the current vision and work of the "Path One" Team in United Methodism. This is a national emphasis on Church planting. The concept seems sound and they have made good progress toward instituting it. This is an area of great need in our church. Let us pray for the success of this initiative.

Sometimes we run, sometimes we walk, sometime we end up with a sore knee, but if we continue to keep the work of Christ before us and reach out to others with the good news message, I believe God will be honored in what we do.

Friday is a day of prayer and fasting.

Peace and Towels,
Andrew

"Family Reunions" - W.M.E.I. - Day Two

Do you go to family reunions?

We have one in our family this weekend. I can't attend this year because of being here in Atlanta. One of the fun, yet strangely unnerving things about family reunions is the people. You know some of the people you hope to see and then there are those crazy uncles, cousins with rat tails and mullets, and the inevitable aunt who still pinches your cheeks (on your face) and talks to you like you are a kid. (By the way I am talking about your family, not mine).

Though I won't make this year's family reunion I am at a different kind of reunion. This is a reunion of the people called Methodist. And, true to form there are some crazy uncles and interesting hair styles. Yet, just like family, if you look past the surface you see the person and there are some great people here. Additionally, I have seen some awesome things take place and have learned alot. Which do you want to hear about first?

OK, here are some of the awesome things:

(1)the pastor from Benin I shared about yesterday was in a workshop with me. He shared yesterday about his desire for renewal and church planting to take place in his country. Today, the workshop leader was the "Bishop of Evangelism" [pictured] from Nigeria (Nigeria shares a border with Benin). The Bishop offered his help to begin renewal and church planting in Benin. The pastor from Benin was so overwhelmed he began to weep.

(2)Had a conversation with the Bishop of the New Delhi Conference in India and three delegates from Malaysia. We talked about (of all things) church Discipline and ordination (yawn). Actually it was enlightening to see how other Methodist bodies do things.

(3) Saw about 100+ kids at the YMCA camp taking place on the conference grounds while I was on my walk. I wish we could harness that amount of energy for evangelism as we return to our home conferences.

A few things I have learned:

(1) Nigeria is planting churches through a parenting church model in much the same way we are in our annual conference.

(2) Translation is a tough but much appreciated work for an event like this.

(3) Bok Choi tastes like collard greens and cabbage.

(4) Praying in our native languages with a small group of people from 7 different countries must be something similar to the day of Pentecost.

I am getting to know a lot of family members I have never met. I am thankful for this opportunity and hope to continue many of these relationships in the future. I really, really miss my family, but this family here is worth getting to know.

Peace and Towels,
Andrew

World Methodist Evangelism Institute - Day One

I arrived at a retreat center just outside Atlanta, GA today.

I am here for the 8th International Evangelism Institute which is organized by the World Methodist Evangelism Institute. The institute is sponsored by World Methodist Evangelism, a division of the World Methodist Council. The World Methodist Council is an association of the churches in the Methodist and Wesleyan tradition - world wide.

The evangelism seminar brings together people from all over the world. Churches from the Methodist / Wesleyan family from the following countries are here (as of the end of seminar tonight): Costa Rica, Philippines, Nigeria, Australia, Pakistan, Brazil, Barbados, Nepal, England, Germany, Bahamas, Indonesia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, S. Korea, India, Liberia, S. Africa, Bangladesh, Panama, Ireland, Italy, Colombia, Switzerland, Togo, Benin, Mexico, Grenada, St. Vincent, Malaysia, Senegal, Kenya, Guatemala, Latvia, Norway, Myanmar (former Burma), Congo, Belgium, Poland, Tonga, Angola, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Estonia, Macedonia, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Russia, Uganda, Tanzania, United States of America, Venezuela, Panama, Belize, Honduras, Hungary, Chile, Bulgaria.

My geography is a little rusty so I used the following site to orient myself. (The World Factbook)

I ate supper with four guys. One from Powder Springs, GA, one from Benin (although he is living in Kentucky for Seminary), one from Ghana (though he is pastoring in Italy), and one from Congo. We talked about evangelism to young people and with young people. As we shared ideas it became obvious we were all talking about the same way of reaching people for Christ - incarnational mission, that is living among the people as one of them and watching for opportunities to share the gospel. Incarnation is what God did in Jesus Christ and I believe it is a great example for us in reaching others.

The evening ended with a worship gathering with communion. It was great to see people of so many different nationalities sharing the Lord's Supper. I think that is what the Kingdom of God must look like.I am very encouraged to see so many people of the Methodist/Wesleyan family, from so many countries, eager to worship and learn more about sharing the gospel with others more effectively.

I am a firm believer that God is not finished with the camp of John Wesley. As a matter of fact (according to World Methodist Evangelism statistics): the Methodist / Wesleyan movement consists of 76 million people speaking 500 different languages and this movement is growing at the rate of about 1,000,000 people per year.


Peace and Towels,

Andrew

A little bit about Crossroads Church

Here's a video created by one of our church members. It shares a little about the past, present and future of the work we are involved in. Let me know what you think.





Peace and Towels,
Andrew

Welcome to the Peace and Towels Blog

Hey!
Thanks for visiting the "Peace and Towels" blog. It is my hope that this will be a place for you to know me better and share some of the things you know better than me.
Peace and Towels,
Andrew