Bread of heaven – Serving daily (A marketplace ministry testimony)

This morning I had a cup of coffee with my friend Andy who is an entrepreneur second to none! Andy owns a number of businesses (a thriving restaurant in a local mall, a bakery and various other enterprises). Andy has a passion for serving Jesus through his business - he is such an example of Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" I wrote about Andy in 'Transform your work life: Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling' - here's an excerpt from page 91 of the book:

One example of a person who took the Church to hell is Andy Loughton, a marketplace minister from our Church. Andy loves the Lord, but of equal importance, Andy loves the people that the Lord loves. One of Andy’s business is a bakery in the centre of our town. The area close to the bakery is popular place for homeless people to congregate. Remember, as we discussed in the previous chapter, a minister is a servant who operates under the authority of the King. What do you think Jesus would do if he was the owner of ‘Bread of Heaven’ bakeries? Of course, he would use this business to minister to the needy. Thankfully Andy thinks like Jesus does, and so in his mind ‘Bread of heaven’ was a prime opportunity to establish the Church in the marketplace! Wherever you have need and you have a Christian in the same location you can be sure that Jesus wants to do something special. So Andy began to establish the Church in a simple way, as a baker he could provide some bread to feed the hungry, but he could also provide the bread of life (John 6:35). In a place where the Churches of our community were seldom active you will now find the Church meeting daily. The hungry are fed and the Gospel is preached. ‘Bread of Heaven’ has become a little like the story of Ephesus – there have been so many lives changed because of Andy’s obedience that many in our community are beginning to hear the good news (like in Acts 19:10).

This is how that section of the book concludes:

Remember, God’s intention for the Church is that it would be a mighty instrument of salvation, healing and transformation. In order to make that happen we will need to take the Gospel out of our local congregations and into the marketplace. Your workplace may just be the next Ephesus where the testimony of God’s grace is so powerful that everyone comes to hear the good news of Jesus (Acts 19:10)!

I'd love to hear some more examples of people like Andy, and companies like 'Bread of Heaven' who are doing extraordinary things to bring God's Kingdom to bear on their surroundings! Please do share any ideas and testimonies in the comments below or on the discussion and feedback page! One thing Andy did mention, which has been something I've often thought about, is how disconnected our Christian efforts are from the good work that other believers are doing. For example, he indicated that there are some days on which there are two Churches feeding the same people (one in the morning and another in the afternoon) and other days on which the homeless are not being fed. How do we create networks and relationships to help us work together more effectively for sustained transformation? I'd love to hear your thoughts! God bless, Dion

Reader feedback on 'Transform your work life'

I am pleased to say that 'Transform your work life:  Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling' is moving off the shelves (and from the internet) at a good pace!  This is great news for the Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical campaigns since the proceeds from all of the sales are donated to these two wonderful organisations! But, it is even better news since it means that the message of being a blessing, and finding great blessing, in the 9 to 5 window is getting out there! The feedback is starting to pour in at a steady pace as more and more people share their insights, testimonies, and experiences of discovering what it means to be a minister in the marketplace!  Here are a few little lines from some of our readers:

This powerful book has great potential to do what the title sugests: Transform your work life - turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling. You will discover Biblical perspectives, practical knowledege, and very usable tools to be a kingdom ambassador and change-agent in the marketplace. Through this book you will also be connected to a network of experiences and insights of this new move of God to transform our world in our life time. May you be equiped to be part of that and become a history-maker where you are everyday. (Dr. Johann Oostenbrink, Associate at Camino Consultancy Practitioning Coach & Mentor and Consultant in Organisational Development)

Johann is a wonderful leader who is doing a great deal to activate leaders for to reach their God given potential in their work life - his endorsement is an incredible affirmation for the book.  Thank you Johann!

I want to congratulate Graham and Dion for an excellent resource. Their new book ‘Transform your work life’ is a must for every working person and also for Pastors seeking to minister effectively to people struggling to turn their working hours into ‘worship.’ Well done guys!

This feedback comes from Rev Delme Linscott, the author of two great books 'Now' and 'Living Oceans Apart'.  Delme is a minister in a thriving Church in Pietermartizburg, it is such a blessing to have a pastor's perspective on the book!  Thanks Delme - you can read more about Delme's work at www.livingingrace.co.za

Hi Dion. I've finished the first chapter - great reading - and a topic I've struggled with for several years and still don't have an answer. It's a flipping big question and I just wish God would write the answer on my bedroom wall!! If I didn't have to get up @ 5am I would have finished your book tonight!!

This wonderful bit of feedback comes from my friend Philip Collier - Philip did an MA in Psychology and is an expert in neuroscience (see his great blog at http://www.brainsparks.co.za/ for more). He is currently developing a unique model to high level performance that helps athletes to surpass their current levels of achievement. I'd love to hear your feedback on the book as you read it!  You can either comment on this post below, or add a comment on the comments and discussion section of my blog, or leave us a comment on the 'Transform your work life' facebook page.

A month (and a bit) with the Apple iPad in South Africa - a review

I'm privileged to be one of the few persons in South Africa to get my hands on an Apple iPad.  I got a basic 16Gig wifi version (you can read about that here) just over a month ago.

It is a remarkable device.  Having used it for a month now I can give a much more informed review of the iPad in everyday use.

I am frequently asked to comment on the iPad, and whether it can replace a laptop.  The simple answer is no.  It could not function as one's only computer (if you are a person who uses your computer for 'work').  You do need to have a desktop of laptop computer somewhere (whether it is at your home or office) in order to do some things (like print, get stuff off flash discs, CD's, DVD's etc.)

But, I have found that my laptop is now largely confined to my desk, and then also only used for 'heavy lifting' (like video editing, working between multiple documents (particularly when they're documents in different formats, such as working between Excel and Word for a presentation), printing, and recording my radio show).

That being said, the iPad works for just about everything else.  I use it to respond to email on my Microsoft Exchange account, on my gmail account and on my pop3 accounts.  It is my preferred device for web surfing, using facebook, twitter, and also for reading (I have only one book purchased in iBooks - the variety is just too limited at present.  I have numerous books on the Kindle).  It is also my preferred device for watching video (such as Ted Talks, youtube videos etc.)

My use case:

You may have inferred that I am a minister and theologian who works in a corporate environment.  That means that my work requires information on hand (my Bible, sermons, Bible studies, powerpoint presentations, reports, books etc.), it also requires me to keep a very carefully controlled diary (I have anything up to 15 individual appointments and meetings during the average work day - some involve meeting with individuals, others with groups etc.).  I have to keep notes in meetings (and have the notes and minutes from previous meetings on hand).  

I also keep the text from the books and articles that I've written on my iPad for reference during talks.  And, perhaps the application that I use most often is Mail (the email application on the iPad).  I have 5 email accounts and receive over 300 emails a day (excluding spam).  Every spare moment is spent replying to emails, following up with staff, volunteers and responding to requests etc.  

I also serve on the Lausanne Congress' digital communications team (heading up the social media strategy).  So, I spend a few moments throughout the day scanning RSS feeds, checking the Lausanne Twitter accounts, Facebook page, and the Lausanne Conversation site.

The iPad is perfect for all of these tasks since it is not obtrusive (it is smaller than a regular folder).  I can sit in just about any meeting and use it to stay on top of communication tasks and information.  Whereas others have to take notes, and then when they return to their office the notes are either filed (and so only accessible when they're near their files), or transcribed into a document.  My notes are done in the meeting.  They're searchable and always with me.  

They on screen keyboard on the iPad is fantastic for 90% of what I need to do.  If I have to do extensive text entry for any reason, I would take out my generic fold up bluetooth keyboard (an old one I bought some years ago to use with an iMate windows mobile phone).  It works like a charm!  I have written reports, blog posts (like this one), academic articles, reports etc. in Pages on the iPad and then either exported and emailed them for printing, or distribution.

Testing the iPad to its limits!

I used my iPad as my primary device during the Global Day of Prayer conference - I was the director of the program for the conference with close to 50 speakers in 13 concurrent venues, as well as a plenary for each day with multiple musicians, speakers, videos, powerpoints, dramas etc.  So, I had to have numerous spreadsheets with all the venue, speaker, and equipment data - email that to stewards coordinators, the sound and lighting people, etc.  The iPad worked like a charm!  It was light enough to ALWAYS have with me (I would never have carried my laptop around from before 5 am until after 11pm at night).  

The only down side was when I was given some media on a bluetooth stick or CD Rom / DVD that needed to be passed on to someone else.  In those instances if I needed the information I would dump it into my Dropbox folder (2 gigs free) and access it from there.  If someone else needed it I would carry it on my USB flash drive and pass it on from there, or log into my Dropbox account using a web browser on their machine and downloading the required file from the web interface.  The iPad simply went on and on working... I could switch it on (without the need to boot up), use it on any surface, or stand on the spot, and then switch it off (without fearing for a spinning hard drive) and drop it into my conference bag and go on.  Every bit of information was at my fingertips, as well as my emails.  It truly proved its worth!  

I was also one of the speakers at the conference (I spoke in one plenary session and two track sessions), so when I had a few spare seconds I would work on my Powerpoint presentations (in Keynote), check my speaker notes, create some 'buzz' about the talks on twitter etc. 

My book 'Transform your work life:  Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling'was also launched during the conference.  I was able to keep an eye on the guest list, respond to emails, and even had my notes for my talk, thank you list etc. on the iPad.

OK, one of the most common questions I get asked is whether my iPad is a 3G version.  Nope, it is not.  I use my Apple iPad with a Vodacom Mifi (a 3G data dongle that acts as a wifi hotspot for up to 5 devices).  The mifi lives in my iPad case.  The 3G iPad will NOT work in South Africa (until it is officialy released here) since it will need to be tied to a South African data provider, and the iPad uses a microsim which none of our cellular companies support (I believe Vodacom may get it soon, but MTN does not support it).  So, the only way to get it on the internet is to have a mobile wifi device.  I first used my Nokia E51 phone with a Joikuspot (which worked perfectly!  Except that it is quite heavy on the Nokia's battery life).  Then when I got my Mifi I use that on the road and my home wifi at home.

Pro's

- Battery life is a definite plus!  I am still amazed that I can get well over 10 hours of use WITH wifi activated.

- Instant on, instant off! It is amazing to have a hand held computer with incredible battery life that switches on and is working immediately (for appointments, spreadsheets, documents, contacts etc.), and then goes to sleep safely the minute you press the power button. While a netbook may have a similar size, some USB ports and a physical keyboard it certainly does not have the instant on, instant off feature!

- Size is a plus.  It is small, light, and very portable.  Yet at the same time the screen is absolutely amazing for watching videos, reading books and web browsing.  Also, as mentioned above, it can be used while standing (much like a notepad).  Because of the size (and light weight), I find myself using my iPad far more often, and taking it with me just about everywhere I go.

- Choice of apps!  The iPad section of the app store grows each day.  I have some incredible apps!  My favorites include:  Pages (Word for Mac), Numbers (Excel for Mac), Keynote (Powerpoint for Mac), Dropbox, Goodreader, Kindle, Twitterific, Squarespace blog app (for iPhone), Wordpress, facebook (for iPhone), Olivetree Bible reader (with NIV, NRSV, Greek and the Message installed).  Many persons have asked me how I can buy some of these apps (some of which are not on the South African iTunes store)?  I have a US iTunes account - I set it up when I was teaching at Duke University in 2005 and have used it since then.

- Using the iPad with the Nokia (and Joikuspot) or the Mifi for always on internet access.

Con's

- Lack of data input from US sticks and physical media. But, Dropbox is a great work around solution!

- The fact that the iPad 3G does not work in South Africa (see above).

- No multitasking...  No, I'm not just being grumpy... It is a REAL pain when you're going from a spreadsheet to an email and have to exit Numbers, open Mail, work on the message, save it as a draft, then go back to Numbers, open your document check it, close numbers, go back to your email, open your draft and carry on working...  Or, if you're on a skype call and get asked if you can make a meeting you have to exit skype (literally close the call down, exit skype), check your calendar and then start your call again!  It is frustrating!

- No camera.  Man, the iPad would have been great with even a simple 1.3 Megapixel front facing camera for Skype or iChat.  Perhaps someone will make one that plugs into the port at the bottom or connects via bluetooth at some point?

Must haves!

-  A good cover.  The iPad is a precious device and needs good protection (particularly if it lives in a backpack or bag, like mine does).  It also gets a lot of finger marks on it so make sure to carry a small soft cloth to clean it.  I also managed to get a cover that would let me keep my mifi with my iPad.

- The VGA dongle.  If you're going to use your iPad for presentations or showing videos it is pretty useless without the VGA adaptor!  If you're ordering yours from Amazon (like I did) be sure to get the VGA adaptor when you order it!  I had to find a friend who was traveling back from the USA to get my adaptor!

- Mifi or Nokia phone with Joikuspot.  The wifi version is pretty useless without internet access!  A secondhand Nokia E51, E90 or E71 should be quite cheap to get, then you simply ad Joikuspot and a prepaid sim card and you're on the road! Three of my friends here in SA are doing this  (just be sure to enable WEP on your Joikspot so that other users don't connect to your phone draining all your data).  The Mifi is the real answer, but not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to get one of those.  My data contract expired about two weeks after I got my iPad and so my mifi was my contract upgrade device.

- A free dopbox account (see above) - please consider signing up for drop box using the link in this post (I will get extra free space if you do so!  Your help is appreciated!)

- A US iTunes account. (again, please see above)

Conclusion:

The iPad is an incredible useful, very affordable, very stable, productivity device!  I would recommend it to anybody who needs constant internet access, a high level of productivity  in lots of meetings, doing lots of public speaking or someone who consumes lots of content (Kindle books, videos, audio books, web browsing etc.)  But, it could not be your only computer - if you're looking to own just one computing device that is small, inexpensive and portable then buy a good quality netbook.  If, however, you have a desktop, or laptop to use (e.g., if one is provided for you at work, or you have one to share at home) then the iPad could just be the device that you're looking for!)

Lastly, my kids love the iPad!  They watch videos in the car, play games at night... I have to wrestle it from them when I need to get some work done.

You're welcome to contact me to ask any questions about the device, how I use it, what apps I use, and how I ordered it from Amazon and had it delivered to South Africa.

God bless,

Dion

To Hell with the Church!

"The target of the church should be the world and not the pew." – Ed Silvoso

Chapter 5 of 'Transform your work life', entitled 'To Hell with the Church' is causing a bit of a stir!  That's good news!  Here's an excerpt from that chapter:

Where is the best place to ‘shine your light’ and be ‘the salt of the earth’ (Matt 5:13–15)? You need to shine your light where it is dark of course! For many years I made the mistake of thinking that a church’s success is measured by its seating capacity (how many people are in worship on a Sunday). The truth is that a church’s salt, its real worth, is measured by its sending capacity. God does not care how big the ‘salt shaker’ is, rather what God is concerned about is how much salt is shaken from the salt shaker, and how much light the church shines in the darkest places of society.

Let me ask you another question, if your church were to close its doors this week, who would notice that you are not in ministry any longer? Of course the members who worship in your congregation would care, but would the homeless in your area notice? Would the hungry and the abused of your society realise that you are not operating anymore? Would your closure have an impact on the sick and the elderly people in your community? How about the schools and businesses in your community; would they notice that you are no longer ministering in the community?

When Jesus said that He would build his church and the gates of hell would not overpower it (Matt 16:18), there was a clear assumption that He builds his church at the gates of hell! One of the most loving things we can do with the church is to send it to hell. We need to find the places of suffering, brokenness and need, and be the church in those places so that Jesus can build his church there. In my experience those places are not very far from where you work!

What do you think?  Where should the Church's ministry be focussed? Either leave a comment below, or post a message on the discussion forum here.

I'd love to hear your feedback!

How technology is changing, or should change, the way the Gospel is shared

The June / July edition of the Lausanne World Pulse was released today.  I am so blessed that an article that I wrote has been published in this edition.

In the introduction to this edition of the Lausanne World Pulse Doug Birdsall writes of the fact that the unchanging message of the person and ministry of Jesus must be presented in new and effective ways to encounter the evolving expectations and experiences of people across the world.  He notes that technology, and particularly communication technologies, are having a radical effect on the globe, and so too on the way in which we can engage the people of the world with the Gospel of Christ.  Of course communication technology is but one small part of the changing landscape of the world - advances in science, medicine, economics and even warfare all have to be taken into account if one is to bring the Gospel of Christ to bear on the world in order to work for Christ driven healing and transformation.  

There are some wonderful scholarly and popular articles to get one thinking and praying along those lines.

My article is entitled 'How technology is changing, or should change, the way the Gospel is shared'.  Here is an excerpt from the introduction to the article:

The German theologian Helmut Thielicke once commented, “The Gospel must be constantly forwarded to a new address because its recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence.” This is a very challenging yet true observation about the nature of mission and evangelism.

One of the most significant Christian books of our era is Philip Jenkins’ The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Jenkins quotes Philip Yancey, who notes that:

As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God “moving” geographically from the Middle East to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where he’s wanted.

There is no doubt that the geographical movement of Christianity throughout history has radically changed the manner in which the gospel is shared—from its birth in Israel among disenfranchised Jewish peasants; to a state-sanctioned religion under the emperor Constantine; through Europe and the Reformation; taking a detour via the dominance of media and mega-church-driven North American Christianity of our recent history; to where Christianity seems to be finding its place among African, Asian, and South American believers. Each new context presents challenges and opportunities for the gospel and the faith.

The Next Shift in Global Christianity 
But what if the next shift in Christendom is not merely a geographical shift, but in fact a shift into cyberspace—a movement of a completely different kind?

Have you given much thought to the way in which the 'next shift' in global culture is reshaping the way in which to Gospel should be shared? I would like to encourage you to read this month's articles on the impact of technology on Christianity and the world.

If you have some ideas, or maybe some examples or more compelling statistics to share, please drop a line in the comments below.

A new way of 'being community' - Ron Martoia's ttTribe Manifesto

I have been a fan of Ron Martoia's work for some time now.  I devoured his recent book 'The Bible as Improv' (on my iPad no less!) and found it to be one of the most accessible, and clearly reasoned books on forming a Biblical faith in a world of competing truths.  Ron's style is not to skirt around thorny issues, but to approach them head on, thoughtfully and meticulously deconstructing the facts from the fiction.  His work is well researched, extremely well written, but what sets it apart from other such excellent texts are his ideas!

Ron has a passion for authentic faith and an authentic expression and experience of being in community with Jesus Christ.  I find a great personal resonance in his passionate approach to knowing Christ and making him known.  When I read Ron's books, and the posts on his blog, I get an image of someone who is not willing to live with a lie, or a half truth, or a denial of the difficulty of being in relationship with God in Christ in real world situations!  There are far too many Christian authors and theologians who skim over the tough questions and real challenges for the sake of comfort; placing a higher value on appeasing the masses than on discovering and sharing expressions of truth.

Today Ron released his 'Transformational Trek Tribe Manifesto' - it is a challenging series of invitations for authentic Christian living.  As I read it my perceptions of the Christian faith and Christian living were challenged and reshaped.  It is only 12 pages long, but perhaps these are among the best 12 pages I've read this year.  There are some points that I am still digesting, considering, and praying through.  I guess that is the way it should be with challenging thoughts!  You may not agree with everything that Ron writes in the ttTribe Manifesto, but it will certainly challenge you to seek a deeper, more sincere, and more authentic faith life in Christ and the world.  I invite you to read it!

I will be making this required reading for my students!  Once you've read it I would love to hear your feedback and comments!

Gigapixel image of Newlands Rugby stadium 22 May 2010

This is an incredible technology! I had heard about the Gigapixel technology, but hadn't realised how impressive it truly is!

Gigapixel image of Newlands Rugby stadium 22 May 2010 from Dion Forster on Vimeo.

In this video you'll see an image of the WHOLE of the Newlands Rugby stadium on the 22nd of May at the Stormers semi final match. It opens on our company's Box, I then zoom back and go to the half way line and zoom in to a picture of myself (just above the flag in a blue Rugby shirt). Incredible! 

Here is the URL for the image.

An overview of ministry in the marketplace

In this post you'll find a good video interview about ‘Transform your work life’.  Moreover the interview gives some good insights into the concepts of ministry in the marketplace and being a marketplace minister - if you're missional and mission minded this would be a good primer on the subject of living your faith beyond Sunday's Church service!

What is God’s purpose for work?
How can you find blessing during your worklife?
How can you transform your workplace without alienating your co-workers and clients?
Does God automatically bless Christians?
Should Christians only work for Christian companies?

These questions, and many more, are discussed. You’ll also get some insights into ministry in the marketplace and being a marketplace minister.

Transform your work life - full interview about the book. from Dion Forster on Vimeo.

I'd love to hear your perspectives, insights, and ideas on serving Jesus in the '9-5 window'! Drop me a, or post a comment below.

I'm leaving my iPhone (for an Android Milestone and an iPad)

Yup, that headline may come as a shocker, but after about 3 years of using iPhones (if my calculations are correct, I got my first generation iPhone shortly after they came out), I am considering moving on - in a manner of speaking - from my iPhone.

Let me give you a little background first.  I have a 16Gig iPhone 3GS that is running iPhone OS 3.0 (so that I can tether it to my Mac, and use it on the MTN network in South Africa).  The iPhone has been relatively stable for an unlocked / jailbroken phone. In truth, when you jailbrake an iPhone OS device it looses quite a lot of its stability!  The phone has served me well in most instances.  The one annoyance I have had is that every so often the screen stops responding (I have to power off and on to get it to work again), and because I'm on OS 3.0 there are a few applications that I cannot run on my iPhone.  Also, I have found that the iPhone does not always work when I travel overseas (I have had to take to keeping my old Nokia E90 on hand just in case I land somewhere and find my iPhone doesn't connect to the local network).

Well, my personal phone contract came up for renewal late last year.  I posted a poll to find out what phone to get and didn't find anything worth upgrading for (most persons suggested the Blackberry 9000 or the iPhone at that stage).  So, when I upgraded I got the Nokia E63 and gave it to my wife. Her contract came up for renewal last week and so she offered me the chance to get a phone - I was surprised to find the Motorola Milestone (basically a European version of the Motorola Droid) on offer without the need to make any additional payment!  So, I snapped it up!

The Milestone is a great little Android phone (Android is the Google OS) with a physical keyboard, an exceptional screen (much better than my iPhone) and a 5 Megapixel camera (you can see the full specs here).  I have had it for about a week now and am loving it.  It works with our Microsoft Exchange server, there are plenty of great apps to help me manage my personal and work related social media activities (twitter, facebook, flickr, tumblr, QIK, youtube, wordpress etc.), the camera is fantastic for stills and video, it has HSDPA data and an incredible screen.

So, my iPhone is no longer my primary phone... What!?  Yup, I have decided to relegate the iPhone 3GS to second place in my arsenal of communication technology.  You'll notice that I am NOT doing away with my iPhone - I, like many South Africans, am in the position to have two cellular phones.  I have a private contract and one supplied to me at work.  So, my work sim card has now moved from my old Nokia E90 into the iPhone.  

There are some things that the Android phone does not do too well.  That's where my iPad comes in!  The iPad and the Milestone make for a perfect combination.  I can use my Milestone as a wireless hotspot for my 16Gig iPad, and the iPad functions like a great full powered computer on the road!  Last week at the Global Day of Prayer conference I used my iPad to keep track of each venue, each speaker, the timelines for plenary and track sessions, all important numbers, and even to show and create presentations for my own talks (as well as videos).  I used a ticker app to manage my time when speaking and used the iPad with a mifi to download email, update facebook, and even make some calls on Skype.

Just perfect!

Is anyone else out there using an Android phone (I saw a journalist recently with an Google Nexus!)?  Has anyone else given up their iPhone for a different phone?  ALSO, are there any more people in South Africa who have got their hands on an iPad?

I'd love to hear your feedback!  Blessings, Dion

Update on Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 10:45PM by Dr Dion Forster

Well, perhaps my enthusiasm for the Android phone was a little too much!  I eventually swapped the Droid for a Sanyo Xacti HD camcorder and a Blackberry 8900 cell phone!  The Android has a great new home, and I have two great devices to use.

My reasons for leaving Android were simply that the keyboard on the phone was not good enough for me to use it for serious work, and I found the user memory too restrictive!  I have over 3800 contacts, when those are synced and you load a few applications the memory is full!  I found it frustrating to have to device which applicaitons I wanted to uninstall just so that the phone would work.

For now I am back to my iPhone 3GS and the Blackberry that I got in the trade.  A good solution for my two phone accounts - iPhone for personal calls and personal browsing and the Blackberry for work, work, work (email, work calls etc.)

How do you balance caring for your family and the expectations of work life?

I posted this comment and prayer request under the prayer request and discussion section of my blog:

Balancing your work life and your family life is always something of a challenge.  Megan and I have been blessed with two wonderful children.  Our son was born three months premature and has had some health problems since birth.  This afternoon he will go into hospital to receive treatment for pneumonia.  Please do spare a prayer for him!  I am reminded to pray for all parents who struggle to balance their work responsibilities and their family life.

Each Friday Megan and I fast and pray for parents and Children.  You can read more about this on my blog, simply search for 'fast' it should bring up a few posts on this matter.

How do you cope with the balance between caring for your family and managing the demands and expectations of your work life?

 We would sincerely appreciate your prayers! How do you balance caring for your family and the expectations of work life? I am fortunate enough to work for a person who is compassionate, allowing me some flexibility.  I know that there are many who do not have this luxury!

Shift happens - where is the Christian faith heading? A reflection on GDOP 2010

Last week was an incredible week of blessing, encouragement, discovery, friendship, and learning.  We had close to 1000 persons at the Cape Town International Convention centre for the Global Day of Prayer 10th Anniversary Celebration conference.  The Global Day of Prayer started at Newlands Rugby stadium in Cape Town in 2001 and this Sunday (23 May 2010) was the 10th anniversary of what God has done in and through the Global Day of Prayer.

As Graham Power, the initiator of the prayer movement, says - the Global Day of Prayer is truly a testimony to God's power and grace.  No person or committee or organization could ever have put together such a massive prayer movement.  In 2009 and again this year in 2010 every single country on earth registered their participation in the Global Day of Prayer on Pentecost Sunday.  From the rising of the Sun in Fiji until it set over the Hawaii Islands there were people in cities, towns, rural areas, schools, stadiums, Churches and homes praying together in repentance and prayer.  It truly is the largest recorded prayer gathering in history!  The conference was as great a blessing as the day of prayer.  Our team started working on putting together the venue, speakers and participant care well over a year ago. I was in charge of setting up the program (simply visit the GDOP 2010 website and click on the list of speakers in each of the 5 streams for details of the speakers in the Church, Transformation, Prayer, Missions and Youth streams).

What struck me most significantly was the fact that God is using 'new', 'fresh' and 'emerging' movements and groups to achieve great things across the earth.  The them of the conference was 'His Story, His Glory, His Call' and we emphasised that we wanted to hear from the global South and the emerging world.  This was indeed the case as speakers and groups from Asia, Latin America, and Africa shared incredible testimonies of what God is doing to redeem both people and places.  There were many stories of salvation coming to individuals and groups, as well as many stories of God's justice and mercy bringing healing and tangible transformation to political, social and economic systems throughout the world.  It was such an encouragement.

I spoke in three sessions (a plenary and two track sessions).  In the Youth / emerging generation plenary I used a quote from Philip Yancey (that comes from Philip Jenkins' great book The Next Christendom:  The coming of Global Christianity (Oxford University Press), 2002):

As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God “moving” geographically from the Middle East, to Europe to North America to the developing world.  My theory is this: God goes where he’s wanted

Now of course this observation is true (I add a few subtle steps).  Christianity began in Israel, then shifted to Asia (and North Africa), from Asia it moved to Europe under the rule of Constantine, then from Europe to England, from England to North America, and from North America the 'weight' of global Christianity has shifted to Africa, Asia and Latin America.

But, where is Christianity shifting to next?  I my presentation (entitled 'Shift Happens') I made the conjecture that Christianity's next global shift will not be a geographical shift, rather it will be a shift onto the internet.  If you were to take the registered users of facebook as a population group, facebook would be the 3rd largest country on earth (behind China and India).  It is a simple fact that most of the emerging generation do not posit their primary identity in their geographical or primary cultural context, rather their identity and sense of being is shaped by global interactions through the internet, television, movies and others forms of rich media!

The title of my presentation 'Shift happens' comes from the incredible video below:

The question is:  If this shift is so powerful why are there so few ministry groups and Christians doing strategic work on and through the internet?  Most of the Christian groups I know use this 'new media' in an 'old media' manner - i.e., as a broadcast mechanism (posting reports, putting up text that does not allow for interaction, using 'long form' posts (such as this one!) instead of the short form posts like twitter's 140 characters...)

I've made a short video reflection on my thoughts in this regard which you can watch below.

Reflection on GDOP 2010 new media and ministry from Dion Forster on Vimeo.

The two persons I mention in this video post are @jaesonma and @olgalvaro - check them out. Of course you can also connect with me on twitter @digitaldion.

Also, consider this.  Long after the next Lausanne congress has met, hundreds of thousands of people from all across the earth would have interacted around the issues of bringing the whole Gospel to the whole world.  And, after the participants in the third Lausanne Congress have left Cape Town, after the World Cup Soccer has come and gone, the conversation will continue!  Rather than a 'static' medium (such as a journal with conference papers) the collective wisdom, and immeasurable wealth of international connections and relationships will be the force that sustains and informs evangelism going forward!

Shift is happening - my prayer is that more Christians will get ahead of this shift.  This does not mean an abandonment of the 'established' ways of being faithful in worship, service and community.  But, we do need to engage people where they are moving to!

The theologian Helmut Thielicke summed it up best when he said:

The Gospel must be constantly forwarded to a new address since its recipient is constantly changing his place of residence.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this point!  Do you think I am missing something?  

By the way, I have a more critically researched article on this phenomenon being published in the Lausanne World Pulse in the next month or so.  I'll post a link here once it is published.  That has both statistical and empirical research as well as clear references.

Pentecost - power to change!

This pentecost I have been challenged, once again, that the purpose of faith is to love God, and the purpose of religion is to serve God's will of transforming the world.

This quote from Karl Barth was quite challenging in that regard:

"The Holy Spirit establishes the righteousness of heaven in the midst of the unrighteousness of the earth and will not stop or stay until all that is dead has been brought to life and a new world has come into being." - Karl Barth, from his book The Word of God and the Word of Man

As an undergraduate in Theology at Rhodes University our Systematic Theology Professor (Brian Gaybba, an expert in pneumatology who wrote the book The Spirit of Love) would pray the following liturgical prayer at the start of each lecture:

V - Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.

R - And kindle in them the fire of your love.

V - Send forth your spirit, Lord, and they shall be created.

R - And thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray,

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of your faithful; grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.

This prayer has often been a source of encouragement and strength when facing challenging tasks and difficult people.  So, today I want to encourage you that we have a task, the task is transformation.  It is a difficult task, but we do not face it alone.  God empowers us by His Spirit, the Spirit of Life, truth and love.

When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

- Acts 4:31

Let us be filled with God's Spirit that we may have joy in proclaiming God's loving word with boldness.