Serving God's Purposes in Our Generation (Acts 13:36b)

Wireless Generation

A cover story in USA Today (October 3) describes the current generation of people under 25 as “digital natives” who grew up in a world filled with computers, cell-phones and cable TV. These are people who can’t live, work, relate, or play without technology. As a result of Asian Indians natural inclination toward technology, we are seeing a higher adoption of tech-based tools and processes. The Coconut Generation are exceptionally tech savvy. How can tech tools help you in reaching and serving this generation? Got any ideas. What the story ignored is the impact of wireless laptops and phones on…

Mentors Or Tormentors

A leader, correctly understood within the Christian context, is a steward of the followers, co-workers and personnel under his or her care.  Often, that care involves simply being a loving brother or sister in Christ. Unfortunately, instead of loving other people, many leaders often exploit or discourage them. The net result of perverted stewardship and corrupted leadership is a loss for the Kingdom of God.  Many organizations are left without proper successors and young followers often fall away, discouraged and disillusioned.  Many potentially great leaders have become casualties because of the unethical behaviour of senior leaders.  God calls such leaders to repent and to rediscover the true meaning of being a steward-leader. 

Confident In God's Calling

There are times when I see my future flash in front of me. It's like a snapshot image. I feel encouraged knowing that God has a definite plan for me. It's like destiny kissed me on my forehead. Things are different when I left Portland Bible College. PBC was the foundational years of my Christian life. Now, I am in regular college, I am being challenged and stretched in different ways. I am being stretched academically, and the humanities classes really challenge me to stand on my faith and question the things about faith. Being in a liberal or non-christian…

J-J-S-E Paradigm of Acts 1:8

Last weekend I was in Carolina Beach, NC attending a mission conference of Seaside Chapel on behalf of RIMI. Met some great people and greatly encouraged to see a church catch mission vision. On Sunday I spoke on Great Commission, particularly Acts 1:8. My primary emphasis was on why our mission involvement has to be at 4 levels. J-J-S-E paradigm - Being witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and End of the Earth. The geographical ripples has to be understood along with the key connecting word “and”. The verse does not say “Or” and not even “then/afterward”. The final commandment of…

A Hint Of My Future . . .

There are certain times in my life when I get a hint of my future. There are occassions when I get a small glimpse into what the future holds for me. Usually in these times, the wonder of this revelation in itself leaves me speechless and amazed. It’s in these moments I thank God for believing in me, and constantly reminding me of what He has for me. There are other times when you get a hint of your future, and you’re wondering what God was thinking of when He thought it up. Deeper WalkI went up to Vancouver this…

Is It Part Of God's Plan For My Life?

With reverence.....Dear God,A generation of Davidic warriors. I can't believe I am one.Want to be where the heat is but swallow my fear at the field. Its encouraging talking to you.I did not think it would be so demanding but I felt it would be easy. Still feels easy but thinking about it is hard. 'Sign on' in ministry, "Lord here I am send me". How do or How can I see in the:Strength of SamsonWisdom of SolomonHeart of DavidProphetic Vision of Samuel How! Idealist, when:"So are you going to talk to me like this like how you talk to…

Willow Creek's "Axis – Next Gen Ministry" Closed

Is there a thing called generation gap? How will that affect how ministry is done and recieved in churches? Should there be a generation thrust in ministry or will faith supercede generational differences. This is particularly critical in immigrant churches. The “church within a church” model is something that I had suggested among the many other models of ministry in the Coconut Book for immigrant churches. Not necessarily, this will work for all churches. One of the pioneers of this model, Willow Creek Church closed its next generation ministry called Axis in July 2006 after 10 years. Read Willow’s announcement and…

Purpose

Standing here in Your presencethinking of the good things You have donewaiting here patientlyjust hear Your still small voice again Holy Righteous Faithful to the endSaviour Healer Redeemer and Friend I will worship You for who You areJesus My soul secure Your promise sureYour love endures always God,thank you.for making everything work, waiting patiently for us to hand over everything to You, and then finally doing it right. Thank you.for listening to our prayers, not just hearing them, but earnestly listening to them, because it wasn't because of us that all this happened.thank you.for Your promise, faithfulness, and passion for…

The Indian Diaspora

1.         The honeymoon is over: Three out of five Non Resident Indian marriages in the US are being dissolved in less than a year.  There are about 15600 divorces among NRI in US.  NRI men marry in India bowing down the wishes of their parents even though they have live-in girl friends, or already married foreigner or gay – opt for divorce.  It costs $500 for getting divorce for men while women have to defend by paying $2500-$3000 and other lawyer expenses, which many women could not afford.  More and more NRI are also opting to marry Filipino women.  (Sushmita…

The Maligned Missionary

It is still intriguing to me how the subject of Christian missionary activity makes so many non-Christians uncomfortable, often to the point of remonstration. One mention of Christian conversion in company as diverse as a devout Hindu, a nominal Jew, or an enlightened secularist and you immediately get the feeling that this is a distasteful subject. The reaction is especially common amongst the post-colonial cultures of Asia, where missionary activity is associated with a crusading westernization that is out to undermine the virtues of indigenous culture. Are the critics right? Is the spreading of the gospel necessarily an arrogant enterprise that presumptuously proclaims to unbelievers, “we know better than you”?

I Love Books

If you know me well enough, you’ll know that I love books. My friends on campus here are at times bewildered at the amount of books I’ve collected over the past one year here at PBC. Books have a special place within my heart. Maybe it has something with do with my writing, but I love to read books. Instead of hearing a message I’d rather read a book from cover to cover. The funny thing is that I have so many books right now, that I haven’t even gotten around to reading all of them. There are some books…

Dalits – the Untouchables or Outcasts of India

October 14 marks World Religious Freedom Day. On this day back in 1959, Dr. Ambedkar, the author of the Indian Constitution, left Hinduism to become a Buddhist. On this day in 2006, thousands of Dalits converged in Nagpur to publically renouce and convert to Buddhism and Christianity. See news reports:BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stmZee News http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=329139&sid=NAT&ssid= Dalits are the lowest of Indian caste system and are also called untouchables or outcasts. They are the oppressed and crushed victims of the traditional caste system. They account for almost quarter of Indian population (over 250 million people). They are not allowed to worship at temples, never had educational…

Jesus – Light Of The World

Light of the World YouTube BelowJesus - Light of the WorldYou stepped down into darkness Opened my eyes, let me see Beauty that made this heart adore You Hope of a life spent with You Here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me King of all days Oh so highly exalted Glorious in Heaven above Humbly You came to the earth You created All for love's sake became poor I'll never know how much it cost To see my…

Catalyst for Change: The South Asian Diaspora

A 2005 Release -- Catalyst for Change: The South Asian Diaspora, was released on April 7, 2005 at the International Network of South Asian Diaspora Leaders (INSADL) Consultation 2005 in Dallas, Texas, USA. Catalyst for Change is a pioneer volume containing keynote addresses at the 2002 and 2003 INSADL Consultations, reports of South Asian presence, and influence, effective ministry approaches and findings from working groups and suggestions of resources. The reader will be inspired by what the Lord is doing among South Asians.

Looking for Directions

'LOOKING FOR DIRECTIONS - towards an Asian Spirituality' is our new book written specifically for young (Diaspora) Asians, as well as those who want to reach and understand them. It presents the Gospel in a way that addresses some of the misconceptions and questions that young Asians may have and also provides questions for further group or individual study.  

Jesus Appeared In A Dream To a Sikh Woman And Changed The Destiny Of Her Family Forever

Like so many immigrants, Bhupinder Singh moved to Canada from India within the last decade. Working in the banking industry as an Information technology professional, . . . he was thankful to God for that. "I thought whatever I had," says Bhupinder, "was a blessing from WAHEGURU - my own religion, my own faith, my own scriptures." But that began to change. "One night, after praying and reading our scriptures, my wife had a dream. In this dream, the Lord Jesus himself came to her and told her about what she has been praying for. . . . 

Gotta Love the Internet

Reasons why internet is cool . . . Buying cheaper textbooks. I just calculated the total cost of textbooks this semester and the total cost comes to about $350. That is when all the books are used. I going to spend the next two weeks textbook shopping. On ebay, I found a textbook with starting bid of $5. I am watching that. If I bought it from my school store it would be about $75. I am also going to sell my old textbooks over the internet. My school's textbook buyback is a rip-off. I bought a new $100 last…

Early Years of Marriage

Most casusalty happens in early years of marriage. Contrary to the popular notion, many marriages break up in the honeymoon year itself. Others within the first three or five years. If any couple survives ten years or so, they are likely to stick on even if they do not have a great marriage. A recent study by the Creighton University Center for Marriage and Family suggests that time, sex and money pose the three biggest obstacles to satisfaction in the lives of newly married couples. In its report, "Time, Sex and Money: The First Five Years of Marriage,'' the center…

Deeper Walk Fever

1. Deeper Walk is in 5 days!!! I think it's going to be the best Deeper Walk we've had. It's stressful nonetheless, but exciting at the same time :P 2. Work is going well. 3. School is nuts! I have so many endless readings to do and due dates coming up this next month and a half and then there's exams :( 4. I'm really thankful to God for certain people in my life because they inspire me. 5. I lost my planner!! I took it to work on Wednesday and haven't seen it since... my whole life is in…

This Blog Is Closed

THIS BLOG IS CLOSED:After much discussion and consideration, I have decided not to take A Christian Journey down.  Though the blog is officially closed, I pray that the information presented here will continue to be a resource to manyCassandrah Batya, A Christian Journey webloghttp://achristianjourney.blogs.com