| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-444 * 10 JUNE 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN444-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Enough is enough! JN444-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Reconciliation in Burundi JN444-3. NEWS BRIEF: 2,8 million Americans pray for President JN444-4. RESOURCE: The Heavenly Man JN444-5. RESOURCE: The Recovering Secularist JN444-6. RESOURCE: Leadership versus authority --- QUOTE: "Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position." (Anonymous) --- JN444-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Enough is enough! When Erion Veliaj returned to Albania from study in America, he saw his homeland through new eyes: the widespread corruption, the human trafficking, the poor level of services, the blood feuding, the poverty, and so on. His overseas experience, and his Christian faith, had taught Eri that ordinary people could make a difference. So he devised a plan to encourage ordinary folk to rebel against the status quo, a citizens' campaign to shout "ENOUGH!" to bad developments in government and society. Eri designed a series of arresting posters featuring a blood-red handprint against a black background, underscored in bold type by the word "MJAFT!" - ENOUGH! Displayed in windows, offices, schools, on cars - wherever - this simple tool could empower any person and family to break out of the traditional passivism and help create a rising tide of popular revolt against unchallenged injustice and crime. Right now special public events, stickers, buttons and newspaper articles augment the posters throughout the country, shouting in unison, "MJAFT!" Eight themes have been addressed, each for two weeks during the campaign, including mafia crime, human trafficking and blood feuding. The campaign, mainly led by young people, is expected to turn the tide in Albania. LINK: http://www.mjaft.org/en/index1.htm LINK: http://www.ywameurope.org/news/word/readWord.asp?word=84 --- JN444-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Reconciliation in Burundi The East African nation of Burundi needs our fervent prayers now. Terrible violence with daily attacks and killings and the shelling of the capital by rebel forces has spread great fear among the population. A local prayer leader wrote recently, "You just need to be ready to face the Lord in heaven at any moment". Women and girls are being raped, and the number of miserable street children has increased. A successful transition of power from the Tutsi president to his Hutu vice-president took place April 30, but the rebel forces led by Pierre Nkurunziza have refused to join the political process and have stepped up their attacks throughout this ethnically divided nation. 300,000 have been killed in the last 10 years in the conflict between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. You may remember that Samuel Nimubona, a key agent for reconciliation and the coordinator of a prayer initiative in 2000, was also himself murdered last year. Please pray with Christ's people in Burundi for the following: 1. That the rebel forces will quit the path of violence and join the political process. 2. For the demobilization of rebel soldiers and the thousands of children who have been forced to fight for them. 3. For peace and security to be restored to the nation. 4. For protection, wisdom and uprightness for the new president Domitien Ndayizeye and his administration. 5. That corruption, injustice and poverty will be effectively dealt with by the new government. 6. Unity and protection of Christians in the midst of the current fear and insecurity. 7. That spiritual forces hostile to the nation and its wellbeing will be bound so that true reconciliation will occur between Hutu and Tutsi peoples. Source: International Prayer Council --- JN444-3. NEWS BRIEF: 2,8 million Americans pray for President In just 600 days the mobilisers behind The Presidential Prayer Team have reached their goal of enlisting 2.8 million Americans (1% of the population) to pray daily for President Bush and his cabinet. The effort is considered the fastest growing non-profit organisation in the United States, growing by over a million participants in the last three months alone. Throughout his term, President Bush has been outspoken by calling America a 'nation of prayer', and declaring that prayer is a part of his daily life. LINK: http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org --- JN444-4. RESOURCE: The Heavenly Man Monarch Books recently published 'The Heavenly Man. The remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun'. This is the intensely dramatic story of one of China's house church leaders, a man who despite his relative youth suffered prolonged torture and imprisonment and has been used by God to lead many Chinese to Christ. It's impossible to read this book with dry eyes. It's about Acts in our time! Not the three P's of pastoral maintenance, programs and politics that mark the church in the West, but of passion for Jesus, persecution and power of the Holy Spirit. LINK: http://www.cpo-online.org.uk/product.asp?cat=343&prod=AH43 --- JN444-5. RESOURCE: The Recovering Secularist The Atlantic Monthly magazine featured an insightful article by David Brooks on the decline of secularism as a worldview. He acknowledges that life is essentially 'religious' or 'spiritual' (as opposed to 'secular') in nature and that 'secularism' (the denial of the spiritual realm and its importance) is a failed worldview. LINK: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/03/brooks.htm --- JN444-6. RESOURCE: Leadership versus authority For many years the Church has perceived church leadership ability and spiritual authority as equivalents, or at least as directly proportional to one another. In other words: the better your church leadership ability (which goes hand in hand with the number of 'followers' that you have), the more spiritual authority you have. And vice versa. "This is a myth," says Eben Swart of Herald Ministries in South Africa. "The truth is that spiritual authority and leadership ability are two completely separate concepts. They can operate separately from one another, but also together in the same person." This article offers a fresh insight in the whole issue of leadership and submission. The article can be retrieved by sending an e-mail to lyris@xc.org with only this command in the body of your mail: get joel-news-international swart-leadership-vs-authority Source: Joel News --- COLOPHON Joel News International is a leading special interest bulletin on prayer, church growth and revival. We offer a keen selection of the most encouraging news reports, the most challenging developments and the best resources from over 100 reliable sources in six continents. Joel News International is a great help and time-saver for thousands of Christian leaders and intercessors in over 120 nations. Editors: Alex ten Cate and Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl. 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