| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-479 * 6 JULY 2004 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN479-1. TYPICALLY GOD: The counter-culture of fruit salad JN479-2. PRAYER FOCUS: God's destiny with France and Canada JN479-3. NEWS: New generation of Christians in Latin America JN479-4. WEBLOG: In Memoriam Christian Winter JN479-5. RESOURCE: Emerging leaders connect Europe JN479-6. RESOURCE: Praying for the homosexual community --- JN479-1. TYPICALLY GOD: The counter-culture of fruit salad It's one thing to live from donations, it's another to live up to a faith decision not to spend money on food, but to let God literally prepare the table, day-by-day. While post-war Germany was becoming more and more individualistic and materialistic, and was under threat of a nuclear conflict, the Protestant Sisterhood of Mary formed a counter-culture of community and child-like dependency on God. Intentional poverty can be a road to deeper intimacy with God, thus experiencing the richness of his daily fatherly care. In her book 'Realities of Faith' Mother Basilea Schlink, founder of the Sisterhood, relates the story of a butcher in the Odenwald region who had developed a new type of sausage. But it didn't sell at all. Then God reminded him of the biblical principle of giving first fruits and told Him to bring six big sausages to the monastery. After that the sausages sold like crazy. On another occasion the sisters threw a birthday party. Mother Basilea announced that God would provide all the food, even a special dessert - a fruit salad. The day before the party all the food arrived, as God specificially led people to bring the different ingredients to the monastery, but there was no fruit salad. Only on the day of the feast, when the birthday meal was nearly finished and the time for the missing dessert had come, the doorbell rang - a well-known company brought a huge portion of fruit salad. These kind of miracles, as special as they are, have been daily practice for the Sisterhood of Mary. Mother Basilea Schlink collected a number of these miracles in her book 'Realities of Faith. God's miracles in our days.' LINK: http://www.kanaan.org/Books/books4.htm#realities --- JN479-2. PRAYER FOCUS: God's destiny with France and Canada For many years now, the church in Canada has been undertaking a remarkable journey of healing and reconciliation, to see her nation become a resting place for the glory of the Lord. A key part of this journey has been the healing of the historical animosities Canada as a nation inherited from her French and English parentage. Damian believes God wants to reconcile the French and English Canadians on a deep level. A special gathering will take place in Montreal from 8 to 10 July titled 'The Homecoming'. A representation of leaders from the Church in France will come to Canada for a "healing of the heart of the beautiful French Canadian 'bride', through restoration of the relationship with her 'mother' country of France. Only when the root of abandonment and rejection is broken will French Canada be able to truly open her heart to receive the love English Canada longs to bestow on her." Let's cover this historic meeting in prayer, that the Spirit of God will have his way and bring true healing and destiny to the nations involved. LINK: http://www.thehomecoming.ca/ --- JN479-3. NEWS: New generation of Christians in Latin America "A while ago, I was in Chile's capital city, Santiago, and watched a group of young people on the street," reports Berna Salcedo, who coordinates the DAWN movement in Latin America. "Their clothes and coloured hair stood out - as did the songs they were singing. To my astonishment, they were singing Christian songs. They told me that they follow Jesus, but not in the traditional evangelical manner of their forefathers. They want to reach out with the Gospel to people who would never set a foot in a traditional church. Following that surprising statement, I investigated the phenomenon in Latin America. Latin America is a very young continent; 60% of the population is under 34 years old; many millions have no religion, instead forming sub-cultures along lines such as music style. According to my research, the established churches do almost nothing to reach this generation. That is also the reason why that group of young people left the church in Chile; they did not feel welcome! At a gathering of young Christian leaders from Paraguay, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela, a new movement called 'Amanecer X' was formed ('Dawn X' in Spanish), coordinated by Olgalvaro Bastos. The movement's aim is to plant churches which disciple and train this generation. Over 300 young church planters have already been trained. The young leaders don't let formal traditions hold them back, so the movement seems to be spreading faster than some diseases." LINK: http://www.tribalgeneration.com.br --- JN479-4. WEBLOG: In Memoriam Christian Winter Joel News publisher Marc van der Woude keeps a weblog in which he reflects on God, the Church and daily life. This week he wrote an in memoriam about Christian Winter of the house of prayer in Herrnhut, Germany, who suddenly died. "Step by step God is restoring the wells of 24-hour prayer and missions in Herrnhut. It's up to the emerging generation to pick up the mantle and walk in the inheritance the spiritual fathers left." LINK: http://marcsmessages.typepad.com/mm/2004/06/in_memoriam_chr.html --- JN479-5. RESOURCE: Emerging leaders connect Europe The Connect Europe network links emerging visionary leaders around God's purposes for Europe. From 20 to 23 August the network gathers young people from different nations in Geneva, Switzerland, for a time of 'seeking God, building friendship and receiving insight in the new reformation that our continent needs'. The Connect Europe website offers an overview of what's happening in Europe in relation to prayer and missions initiatives by the emerging generation. The Nations section of the website offers printer-friendly profiles of 50 nations, that can be used for prayer. LINK: http://www.connecteurope.org --- JN479-6. RESOURCE: Praying for the homosexual community English prayer leader Phelim McIntyre is networking intercessors with a heart for the homosexual community. He has started a web-based forum that is open to intercessors from all nations. The idea is to start a process of learning to apply the principles of prayer evangelism, identificational repentance, healing prayer, inner healing, spiritual mapping, and the various areas of intercession to the stronghold of homosexuality, and what this stronghold actually is. For more details e-mail Phelim at nationsaflame@beeb.net. 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. Editor: Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl. Joel News International is distributed weekly by e-mail on the basis of an annual donation. For more information see http://www.joelnews.org/donation-jni.htm#options. Has this bulletin been forwarded to you? Then subscribe directly by sending an empty e-mail to: subscribe-joel-news-international@xc.org. |
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