Influence Culture by Reading the Bible

Whitney Kuniholm, president of Scripture Union and a longtime friend and colleague, makes a good point about the importance of Bible reading. He says fighting for more family Bible-reading time is far more important than fight for the public square.

Whitney writes:

My encouragement to Christians who, like me, want to see the Bible become a more pervasive influence in society is this: start with "the household of God." On any given Sunday, 45% of Americans attend a worship service. If just half of these church-goers became more regular in their Bible reading it would not only renew the church, but also do more to influence our neighbors for God than anything else we could do.

The best way to win the culture war is not for Christians to hyperventilate about those who don't believe the Bible. Instead, it's for the church to "read it and live it" themselves. Until we do that, our message and our mission will never be fully successful.

LifeQwest Making a Big Difference in Mongolia

In 2004, Debbie and I traveled to Mongolia twice to observe and support the terrific work of a group called LifeQwest. Jerry and Susan Smith, who have been laboring in the barren steppes of Mongolia for 15 years, stretch every dollar to help orphans, teens, infants, and the elderly. It is powerfully effective ministry in literally the most remote place in the world, on the opposite side of the world.


Jerry has provided a very helpful outline that demonstrates how much can be done with a small amount of money. Check this out:

We want to share with you the stewardship of the resources God provides through His people. Sometime we think it TAKES SO MUCH to make a difference in Kingdom work. Sometimes we think, oh, I just don't have anything extra to help others with. Remember the Widow's mite?

Thought you'd enjoy some interesting numbers about 2010 and LifeQwest ministry to children and elders:

Children's Center Operations - 30 children 24/7 - 365 day care
complete care (food, medical, clothing, education, houseparents, utilities, etc.)
Per year/1 child = $1,037
Per month/1 child = $86.39
Per day/1 child = $2.87

Mustangs - 15 young men 24/7 - 365 care (Includes EVERYTHING)
Per Year/1 mustang = $969
Per month/1 mustang = $80.78
Per day/1 mustang = $2.69

Infant Nutrition Centers - 120 children in 4 center (Nomgon, Khutel, Sant, Baruunburen)
(2 hot nutrious meals per day)
Per year/1 child = $109.58
Per month/ 1 child = $9.13
Per day/1 child = $0.30

Kindergarten Nutrition Centers - 180 children in 4 centers (Nomgon, Khutel, Sant, Baruunburen)
(2 hot nutrious meals per day)
Per year/1 child = $66
Per month/1 child = $5.50
Per day/1 child = $0.18

Elder Care Project - 100 elders (age 65 to 107 yrs old) - These people have no relatives to care for them.
(monthly medicine, monthly medical exam in their ger, food, fellowship)
Per year/1 elder = $20.55
Per month/1 elder = $1.71
Per day/1 elder = $0.05

As you can see, every gift and donation, no matter how small, can help care for someone LifeQwest touches in Mongolia.

Different Generations View of the Bible

Interesting and disturbing study of the view of the Bible by different generations, done by the Barna Research Group. All of the advances, including the amazing news strides in technology, Biblical literacy and centrality is declining at an alarming pace.

Truth About Haiti and How to Help

There is a great post on the Flourish Blog on the tragic history of Haiti and the need to help, by Joanna Pritchard, a community advocate with a research background in Haitian history and culture, and Rusty Pritchard, a natural resource economist and president of Flourish.

They write:

With so much talk in the environmental community about global warming, it is easy to forget that no matter what we do about it, all it means for poor countries is more of what they already experience–natural disasters that become social and economic disasters. Whether or not global warming is good science, whether or not we should cap-and-trade carbon pollution, we still should be ramping up our assistance to help poor countries. That doesn’t always mean more direct aid: it will also mean making economies more robust and less corrupt, less dependent on trade in commodities, encouraging private enterprise and finding ways for financial capital to stay in place.

And this:

Wacky, discredited ideas from some Christians claim a Satanic pact during the Haitian revolution has crippled the Haitian economy and corrupted its culture. It’s clear from Haiti’s history that human greed by so-called Christian nations (including Haiti’s own leaders) has a great deal to do with Haiti’s present situation. There’s a technical word for the mental condition that leads to crazy claims about pacts with the devil: idiocy.

If you want to read a Haitian Christian’s careful debunking of the Satanic-pact myth, look to the three part article, “God, Satan, and the Birth of Haiti,” by Jean R. Gelin, Ph.D., a Haitian Christian and agricultural expert.

Check out this and many fascinating articles at the Flourish Blog

12 Stone Church/World Hope International Help Haiti

12 Stone church is working with World Hope International to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Here's a message to the church from Pastor Kevin Meyers.

Putman on DETOX: raw video about the new book for the overly religious

David Putman talks about his new book DETOX for the Overly Religious.

What's that you say, Mr. Robertson?

What's that you say, Mr. Robertson?

On Haiti: theology + bad history + bad manners = disastrous public witness. Today’s Haitians are the descendents of slaves who overthrew their French oppressors. Who was actually doing the Devil’s work? Here’s a perspective from a Haitian Christian.