Iran: Dog Ownership to Be Outlawed Under Lawmakers' Plan
Time.com
By AZADEH MOAVENI – Tue Apr 19, 2011
For much of the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated what it considers a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice: the keeping of pet dogs.
During periodic crackdowns, police have confiscated dogs from their owners right off the street; and state media has lectured Iranians on the diseases spread by canines.
The cleric Gholamreza Hassani, from the city of Urmia, has been satirized for his sermons railing against "short-legged" and "holdable" dogs. But as with the policing of many other practices (like imbibing alcoholic drinks) that are deemed impure by the mullahs but perfectly fine to many Iranians, the state has eventually relaxed and let dog lovers be.
Those days of tacit acceptance may soon be over, however.
Lawmakers in Tehran have recently proposed a bill in parliament that would criminalize dog ownership, formally enshrining its punishment within the country's Islamic penal code.
The bill warns that that in addition to posing public health hazards, the popularity of dog ownership "also poses a cultural problem, a blind imitation of the vulgar culture of the West."
The proposed legislation for the first time outlines specific punishments for "the walking and keeping" of "impure and dangerous animals," a definition that could feasibly include cats but for the time being seems targeted at dogs.
The law would see the offending animal confiscated, the leveling of a $100-to-$500 fine on the owner, but leaves the fate of confiscated dogs uncertain.
"Considering the several thousand dogs [that are kept] in Tehran alone, the problem arises as to what is going to happen to these animals," Hooman Malekpour, a veterinarian in Tehran, said to the BBC's Persian service.
If passed, the law would ultimately energize police and volunteer militias to enforce the ban systematically.
In past years, animal-rights activists in Iran have persuasively argued that sporadic campaigns against dog ownership are politically motivated and unlawful, since the prohibition surfaces in neither the country's civil laws nor its Islamic criminal codes.
But if Iran's laws were silent for decades on the question of dogs, that is because the animals - in the capacity of pet - were as irrelevant to daily life as dinosaurs.
Islam, by custom, considers dogs najes, or unclean, and for the past century cultural mores kept dog ownership down to minuscule numbers.
In rural areas, dogs have traditionally aided shepherds and farmers, but as Iranians got urbanized in the past century, their dogs did not come along.
In cities, aristocrats kept dogs for hunting and French-speaking dowagers kept lap dogs for company, but the vast majority of traditional Iranians, following the advice of the clergy, were leery of dogs and considered them best avoided.
That has changed in the past 15 years with the rise of an urban middle class plugged into and eager to mimic Western culture.
Satellite television and Western movies opened up a world where happy children frolicked with dogs in parks and affluent families treated them like adorable children. These days, lap dogs rival designer sunglasses as the upper-middle-class Iranian's accessory of choice.
"Global norms and values capture the heart of people all around the world, and Iran is no exception," says Omid Memarian, a prominent Iranian journalist specializing in human rights. "This is very frightening for Iranian officials, who find themselves in a cultural war with the West and see what they're offering as an 'Islamic lifestyle' failing measurably."
The widening acceptability of dog ownership, and its popularity among a specific slice of Iran's population - young, urban, educated and frustrated with the Islamic government - partly explains why dogs are now generating more official hostility.
In 2007, two years into the tenure of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, security forces targeted dog owners alongside a crackdown on women's attire and men's "Westernized" hairstyles. In the regime's eyes, owning a dog had become on par with wearing capri pants or sporting a mullet - a rebellious act.
The government's tolerance for this low-level lifestyle dissidence fizzled after Ahmadinejad's contested electoral victory in 2009, which sparked massive demonstrations and the most serious challenge to Islamic rule since the 1979 revolution.
In the aftermath of that upheaval, the state has moved to tighten its control over a wide range of Iranians' private activities, from establishing NGOs to accessing the Internet, to individual lifestyle decisions, according to Hadi Ghaemi, the director for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
"No doubt such attempts are motivated by a desire to squash acts of criticism and protests, even if through symbolic individual decisions that simply don't conform to officially sanctioned lifestyles," Ghaemi says.
The criminalizing of dogs, in this context, helps the government address the legal gray areas concerning lifestyle behavior. When authorities found it difficult to police what it termed Westernized hairstyles worn by young men, it solved the problem last year by releasing a poster of specifically banned styles.
For many young people, these measures are a firm reminder that the government will brook no disobedience, whether it be chanting antigovernment slogans in the streets or sporting excessively long sideburns.
Dog owners in Iran, like much of the population, are mostly preoccupied these days with inflation, joblessness and the parlous state of the country's economy. But they will soon need to consider whether keeping their shih tzu or poodle is worth the added worry.
Their dogs may face the same fate as the hundreds of street dogs that the government regularly sweeps from the streets of Tehran.
"Many in Tehran and other big cities find the killing of street dogs offensive and cruel," says Memarian. "It's like the Iranian people and officials live in two different worlds."
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Prison Epistles; An Afghan Christian's Testimony to the World during Nine Months of Imprisonment
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Prison Epistles; An Afghan Christian's Testimony to the World during Nine Months of Imprisonment
He was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity
By Aidan Clay
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) -- "When they asked the question, 'Are you ready to become Muslim?' I refused it. They said that they cannot defend me in court because my fault is this: I have believed in God almighty and His only Son."
Said Musa
Said Musa wrote these words after being refused a lawyer on January 25, 2011.
Throughout his imprisonment and under constant threat of execution, Said's letters - written in a jail chamber and smuggled out of Kabul's prisons - boldly testify to his faith in the God who overcomes darkness and offers hope to the destitute and weary.
Refusing to die in secret, Said crafted his own defense in epistles inscribed in broken but legible English. As in the days of Paul, Said wrote so that the church - upon hearing of the perseverance of the saints - might be encouraged and led to prayer.
Taking up his cross
A fifteen year employee with the Red Cross treating victims of landmines, Said was known as a compassionate care-taker. Said himself is an amputee with prosthesis on his left leg - the result of a mine explosion 23 years ago when serving as a young officer in the Afghan Army. As a Red Cross employee, Said offered therapy to handicapped children and was greatly respected by the community. "He took care with compassion and great professionalism of the amputee or handicap children we used to bring him," said a westerner in Kabul.
Said was also known throughout the community as a Christian. A former Muslim, Said's curiosity about Christianity was aroused during the Afghan civil war when his neighbor's house was bombed. Two foreign women helped dig through the rubble when nobody else would. They managed to find one person still alive.
"Many tried to hide, but the women didn't," Said told the Associated Press. Said later found that the women were Christians, which prompted him to learn more about the faith. Eventually, a Christian convert from Iran led Said to Christ. Christianity was by no means the easy path to take, but Said knew that to follow Christ meant taking up the cross of Christ's sufferings (Luke 9:23).
Said's arrest came in late-May of last year after footage of Afghans being baptized was broadcast on national television and led to protests throughout the country. So enraged were some Islamic fundamentalist groups that a parliamentarian called for Afghan Christians to be executed. The national church in Kabul immediately fled the city. Said, however, was unable to escape. After having lunch with patients, Said was unexpectedly rounded-up by security officers working with the Ministry of Interior. Said's arrest was the first in what became a nationwide crackdown against Christians.
Christian world takes notice
International Christian Concern (ICC) visited Afghanistan just weeks following Said's arrest. After month of advocacy and awareness, the Christian world took notice. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Southern California were among other pastors who campaigned for Said's release through social media like Twitter and Facebook. Churches throughout Europe and North America made the cause their own by standing together, united in prayer, calling for Said's freedom.
"It's a sympathetic case," said Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom. "Here he is, himself an amputee who lost a leg, working with amputees for Red Cross. He has six children. One is handicapped. He's an appealing figure."
It was difficult not to take notice of Said. His humility, gentleness of spirit, and love for his people touched even the most anti-Christian critics. Secular media was also intrigued and could find no fault in him. Said's plight hit the New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, and other major news outlets, and Said soon gained international notoriety.
Said Musa working with the Red Cross in Kabul treating victims of land mines
It was through Said's letters, however, that he became a symbol of Christian suffering to the world. "Prisoners in jail did many bad behaviors with me about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They did sexual things with me; beat me by wood, my hands, my legs. Nobody let me for sleep night and day. Every person spat on me and beat me. Please Pray and immediately help with me and rescue me from this jail. Otherwise they will kill me."
Said's letters expressed a broken heart crying for relief in a very real and terrifying way. But, Said's fear of death was soon overcome by a joyful and fervent desire to serve his Lord and his people. "Every day and night I pray and cry, 'O Lord, I want to display your name in Afghanistan,'" Said wrote on December 1. "I want to build up your church, for this is my purpose. I have in my heart a fire of Good News. It should be announced to the people. It's our mission in the world."
Said was exactly where God wanted him to be during his nine long months of imprisonment. In one of Said's most encouraging letters, dated December 16, 2010, he spoke of sharing the Gospel with a member of the Taliban in his prison cell.
"I want to tell you. A person who's accused of murder, he's sleeping in front of me in the corridor of jail," Said wrote. "He's a hundred percent extremist and has discrimination with my religion. He's a Talib person. One night he wants to suicide himself. I prayed for him more and more. I told him, 'Please be patient. Please believe in Jesus Christ, he's the only person to forgive you and save you and release you from this jail.'
The first time he began screaming and insulting me. He told me, 'You're not clean, you're not a Muslim.' But I told him, 'Oh my friend and brother, please think about my word.' Then I prayed for him since the middle of the night. He woke up from sleep. He came near my bed and sat and told me. 'Please forgive me brother. You're really true person. I have seen wonderful dreams. A very light person spoke with me. He was an amazing person. I fell down on my knees and to the ground. He told me, "Please believe in your friend Said Musa. I am Lord Jesus Christ. I forgive you now. I couldn't speak at that moment and was shaking from fear and then I woke up." He told me, 'Now I have believe in Jesus Christ.''"
In prison and in freedom, God has lifted Said up to minister to his people and be voice for Christian freedoms like no other Afghan has been able to accomplish in recent memory. Yet, humbly, Said knows little about his influence. Seeking God's protection and strength, and appealing to the church for help, Said signed his letter, "Your destitute brother in the world."
Said Musa has now been freed and has been safely transported out of Afghanistan, but what a legacy he has left behind him.
ICC (www.persecution.org) is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
Prison Epistles; An Afghan Christian's Testimony to the World during Nine Months of Imprisonment
He was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity
By Aidan Clay
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) -- "When they asked the question, 'Are you ready to become Muslim?' I refused it. They said that they cannot defend me in court because my fault is this: I have believed in God almighty and His only Son."
Said Musa
Said Musa wrote these words after being refused a lawyer on January 25, 2011.
Throughout his imprisonment and under constant threat of execution, Said's letters - written in a jail chamber and smuggled out of Kabul's prisons - boldly testify to his faith in the God who overcomes darkness and offers hope to the destitute and weary.
Refusing to die in secret, Said crafted his own defense in epistles inscribed in broken but legible English. As in the days of Paul, Said wrote so that the church - upon hearing of the perseverance of the saints - might be encouraged and led to prayer.
Taking up his cross
A fifteen year employee with the Red Cross treating victims of landmines, Said was known as a compassionate care-taker. Said himself is an amputee with prosthesis on his left leg - the result of a mine explosion 23 years ago when serving as a young officer in the Afghan Army. As a Red Cross employee, Said offered therapy to handicapped children and was greatly respected by the community. "He took care with compassion and great professionalism of the amputee or handicap children we used to bring him," said a westerner in Kabul.
Said was also known throughout the community as a Christian. A former Muslim, Said's curiosity about Christianity was aroused during the Afghan civil war when his neighbor's house was bombed. Two foreign women helped dig through the rubble when nobody else would. They managed to find one person still alive.
"Many tried to hide, but the women didn't," Said told the Associated Press. Said later found that the women were Christians, which prompted him to learn more about the faith. Eventually, a Christian convert from Iran led Said to Christ. Christianity was by no means the easy path to take, but Said knew that to follow Christ meant taking up the cross of Christ's sufferings (Luke 9:23).
Said's arrest came in late-May of last year after footage of Afghans being baptized was broadcast on national television and led to protests throughout the country. So enraged were some Islamic fundamentalist groups that a parliamentarian called for Afghan Christians to be executed. The national church in Kabul immediately fled the city. Said, however, was unable to escape. After having lunch with patients, Said was unexpectedly rounded-up by security officers working with the Ministry of Interior. Said's arrest was the first in what became a nationwide crackdown against Christians.
Christian world takes notice
International Christian Concern (ICC) visited Afghanistan just weeks following Said's arrest. After month of advocacy and awareness, the Christian world took notice. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Southern California were among other pastors who campaigned for Said's release through social media like Twitter and Facebook. Churches throughout Europe and North America made the cause their own by standing together, united in prayer, calling for Said's freedom.
"It's a sympathetic case," said Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom. "Here he is, himself an amputee who lost a leg, working with amputees for Red Cross. He has six children. One is handicapped. He's an appealing figure."
It was difficult not to take notice of Said. His humility, gentleness of spirit, and love for his people touched even the most anti-Christian critics. Secular media was also intrigued and could find no fault in him. Said's plight hit the New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, and other major news outlets, and Said soon gained international notoriety.
Said Musa working with the Red Cross in Kabul treating victims of land mines
It was through Said's letters, however, that he became a symbol of Christian suffering to the world. "Prisoners in jail did many bad behaviors with me about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They did sexual things with me; beat me by wood, my hands, my legs. Nobody let me for sleep night and day. Every person spat on me and beat me. Please Pray and immediately help with me and rescue me from this jail. Otherwise they will kill me."
Said's letters expressed a broken heart crying for relief in a very real and terrifying way. But, Said's fear of death was soon overcome by a joyful and fervent desire to serve his Lord and his people. "Every day and night I pray and cry, 'O Lord, I want to display your name in Afghanistan,'" Said wrote on December 1. "I want to build up your church, for this is my purpose. I have in my heart a fire of Good News. It should be announced to the people. It's our mission in the world."
Said was exactly where God wanted him to be during his nine long months of imprisonment. In one of Said's most encouraging letters, dated December 16, 2010, he spoke of sharing the Gospel with a member of the Taliban in his prison cell.
"I want to tell you. A person who's accused of murder, he's sleeping in front of me in the corridor of jail," Said wrote. "He's a hundred percent extremist and has discrimination with my religion. He's a Talib person. One night he wants to suicide himself. I prayed for him more and more. I told him, 'Please be patient. Please believe in Jesus Christ, he's the only person to forgive you and save you and release you from this jail.'
The first time he began screaming and insulting me. He told me, 'You're not clean, you're not a Muslim.' But I told him, 'Oh my friend and brother, please think about my word.' Then I prayed for him since the middle of the night. He woke up from sleep. He came near my bed and sat and told me. 'Please forgive me brother. You're really true person. I have seen wonderful dreams. A very light person spoke with me. He was an amazing person. I fell down on my knees and to the ground. He told me, "Please believe in your friend Said Musa. I am Lord Jesus Christ. I forgive you now. I couldn't speak at that moment and was shaking from fear and then I woke up." He told me, 'Now I have believe in Jesus Christ.''"
In prison and in freedom, God has lifted Said up to minister to his people and be voice for Christian freedoms like no other Afghan has been able to accomplish in recent memory. Yet, humbly, Said knows little about his influence. Seeking God's protection and strength, and appealing to the church for help, Said signed his letter, "Your destitute brother in the world."
Said Musa has now been freed and has been safely transported out of Afghanistan, but what a legacy he has left behind him.
ICC (www.persecution.org) is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
What Subway Can Teach the Church
http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/dr-james-emery-white/what-subway-can-teach-the-church.html
What Subway Can Teach the Church
Dr. James Emery White, Pastor, Ranked Adjunctive Professor of Theology and Culture Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
The Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald’s Corporation as the world’s largest restaurant chain in terms of units. At the end of 2010, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide to McDonald’s 32,737.
What is even more impressive is that Subway didn’t open its first international restaurant, where growth has been most explosive for chains such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, until 1984. But by 2020, Subway expects its number of international restaurants to exceed its domestic ones.
How did they do it?
Subway has opened outlets in non-traditional locations such as an automobile showroom in California, an appliance store in Brazil, a ferry terminal in Seattle, a riverboat in Germany, a zoo in Taiwan, a Goodwill store in South Carolina, a high school in Detroit and a church in Buffalo, New York.
“We’re continually looking at just about any opportunity for someone to buy a sandwich, wherever that might be,” says Don Fertman, Subway’s Chief Development Officer. ”The closer we can get to the customer, the better.”
Consider that a lesson, church.
And before you start in on the bigger isn’t always better, and quality trumps quantity, and numbers aren’t everything, and that the church isn’t in the sandwich business, re-read Fertman’s words, and substitute the gospel:
“We’re continually looking at just about any opportunity for someone to be introduced to Christ, wherever that might be. The closer we can get to an unchurched person, the better.”
Kind of sounds like Paul in I Corinthians 9 writing about becoming all things to all people in order to reach them, doesn’t it?
So how might the church take a cue from Subway and expand its reach?
It’s very common for churches to offer multiple services at varying times.
It’s becoming increasingly common to offer those multiple services over multiple days.
Now, the frontier that needs to be explored is offering multiple services over multiple days through multiple locations.
Meck has become a multi-site church, which simply means one church with multiple locations. We currently have five campuses with a total of seventeen services each week. Three of these campuses are physical locations in our immediate area; one is an internet “campus,” and one is international serving expatriates in the United Arab Emirates. The Charlotte Observer ran a front-page story this past weekend featuring our efforts.
We have plans to launch two more Charlotte campuses by February of 2012, and are open to additional international opportunities (Our staff has already prayed and are convinced that it’s God’s will to start one in the U.K.; they’ve also all volunteered to be on the launch team.).
Why is this a worthwhile strategy? It’s simple. If someone has to drive more than 15 or 20 minutes as a first-time guest, chances are, they won’t. You might say, “Well, if that’s their attitude, they should just be more committed!” Quick reminder: these people aren’t even Christians yet. Rumor has it that it’s our job to go to them. Same to those who say, “You’re just trying to make it easy on folks to attend.” Yes, that’s kind of the point.
When you go to multiple sites you go to where the people are, tearing down any and all geographic barriers to attend, and opening up the ability to offer vast numbers of services at optimal times. And most importantly of all, you are making it easy for anyone and everyone, no matter where they live, to invite their friends.
Due to breakthroughs in technology, including video and simulcast, in ten years, this will probably be the new normal. It will be as common for churches to be multi-site as it is now for churches to have multiple service times. It’s already exploding: In 2008, 37% of all churches averaging 2,000 or more people per week were multi-site. In 2009, over five million people attended a multi-site church in the United States and Canada.
Geoff Surratt draws an analogy from World War II in regard to the multi-site approach to reaching a city:
Some 300,000 troops were pinned by Hitler at Dunkirk with their backs to the sea. The only way out was to retreat across the water. But how do you move 300,000 people by water? There isn’t a single boat big enough to carry that many people. So the call went out to anyone with a boat to rescue them. One thousand boats arrived, and over the course of ten days, all of the troops were evacuated.
They couldn’t build a boat big enough to move 300,000 people, but 1,000 little boats could do the job. No single church with a single location can fully reach your city. But a single church in multiple locations can.
Hear my heart: partner with other churches where and when you can; plant new churches wherever it makes sense; but also multiply your current church wherever possible.
At the very least, think about it the next time you eat at Subway.
James Emery White
Sources
“Subway Runs Past McDonald’s Chain,” Julie Jargon, Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2011. Read online.
“Satellite sanctuaries a hot trend,” Tim Funk, The Charlotte Observer, Sunday, March 27, 2011, p. 1A and 4A. Read online.
Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird, The Multi-Site Church Revolution (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).
Editor’s Note
To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, log-on to www.churchandculture.org, where you can post your comments on this blog, view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite.
Page Source (url): http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/dr-james-emery-white/what-subway-can-teach-the-church.html
What Subway Can Teach the Church
Dr. James Emery White, Pastor, Ranked Adjunctive Professor of Theology and Culture Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
The Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald’s Corporation as the world’s largest restaurant chain in terms of units. At the end of 2010, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide to McDonald’s 32,737.
What is even more impressive is that Subway didn’t open its first international restaurant, where growth has been most explosive for chains such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, until 1984. But by 2020, Subway expects its number of international restaurants to exceed its domestic ones.
How did they do it?
Subway has opened outlets in non-traditional locations such as an automobile showroom in California, an appliance store in Brazil, a ferry terminal in Seattle, a riverboat in Germany, a zoo in Taiwan, a Goodwill store in South Carolina, a high school in Detroit and a church in Buffalo, New York.
“We’re continually looking at just about any opportunity for someone to buy a sandwich, wherever that might be,” says Don Fertman, Subway’s Chief Development Officer. ”The closer we can get to the customer, the better.”
Consider that a lesson, church.
And before you start in on the bigger isn’t always better, and quality trumps quantity, and numbers aren’t everything, and that the church isn’t in the sandwich business, re-read Fertman’s words, and substitute the gospel:
“We’re continually looking at just about any opportunity for someone to be introduced to Christ, wherever that might be. The closer we can get to an unchurched person, the better.”
Kind of sounds like Paul in I Corinthians 9 writing about becoming all things to all people in order to reach them, doesn’t it?
So how might the church take a cue from Subway and expand its reach?
It’s very common for churches to offer multiple services at varying times.
It’s becoming increasingly common to offer those multiple services over multiple days.
Now, the frontier that needs to be explored is offering multiple services over multiple days through multiple locations.
Meck has become a multi-site church, which simply means one church with multiple locations. We currently have five campuses with a total of seventeen services each week. Three of these campuses are physical locations in our immediate area; one is an internet “campus,” and one is international serving expatriates in the United Arab Emirates. The Charlotte Observer ran a front-page story this past weekend featuring our efforts.
We have plans to launch two more Charlotte campuses by February of 2012, and are open to additional international opportunities (Our staff has already prayed and are convinced that it’s God’s will to start one in the U.K.; they’ve also all volunteered to be on the launch team.).
Why is this a worthwhile strategy? It’s simple. If someone has to drive more than 15 or 20 minutes as a first-time guest, chances are, they won’t. You might say, “Well, if that’s their attitude, they should just be more committed!” Quick reminder: these people aren’t even Christians yet. Rumor has it that it’s our job to go to them. Same to those who say, “You’re just trying to make it easy on folks to attend.” Yes, that’s kind of the point.
When you go to multiple sites you go to where the people are, tearing down any and all geographic barriers to attend, and opening up the ability to offer vast numbers of services at optimal times. And most importantly of all, you are making it easy for anyone and everyone, no matter where they live, to invite their friends.
Due to breakthroughs in technology, including video and simulcast, in ten years, this will probably be the new normal. It will be as common for churches to be multi-site as it is now for churches to have multiple service times. It’s already exploding: In 2008, 37% of all churches averaging 2,000 or more people per week were multi-site. In 2009, over five million people attended a multi-site church in the United States and Canada.
Geoff Surratt draws an analogy from World War II in regard to the multi-site approach to reaching a city:
Some 300,000 troops were pinned by Hitler at Dunkirk with their backs to the sea. The only way out was to retreat across the water. But how do you move 300,000 people by water? There isn’t a single boat big enough to carry that many people. So the call went out to anyone with a boat to rescue them. One thousand boats arrived, and over the course of ten days, all of the troops were evacuated.
They couldn’t build a boat big enough to move 300,000 people, but 1,000 little boats could do the job. No single church with a single location can fully reach your city. But a single church in multiple locations can.
Hear my heart: partner with other churches where and when you can; plant new churches wherever it makes sense; but also multiply your current church wherever possible.
At the very least, think about it the next time you eat at Subway.
James Emery White
Sources
“Subway Runs Past McDonald’s Chain,” Julie Jargon, Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2011. Read online.
“Satellite sanctuaries a hot trend,” Tim Funk, The Charlotte Observer, Sunday, March 27, 2011, p. 1A and 4A. Read online.
Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird, The Multi-Site Church Revolution (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).
Editor’s Note
To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, log-on to www.churchandculture.org, where you can post your comments on this blog, view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite.
Page Source (url): http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/dr-james-emery-white/what-subway-can-teach-the-church.html
Monday, March 21, 2011
The road to 911 Movie
Hicham Chehab
Dear All,
The movie presentation was put off to 4/9/11...same time...same place.
This movie will answer a lot of questions on hot Middle East issues. I will comment on it.
Everyone is Welcome: 7 pm, 04/9/11, at Jefferson Park Lutheran Church 5009 North Northwest HighwayChicago, IL 60630, (773) 545-5109
http://www.amazon.com/Road-9-11-Sab...
See More
Amazon.com: The Road to 9/11: Sabin Streeter, Michael Weingrad, Bill Siegel, Peter W. Kunhardt: Movi
www.amazon.com
Amazon.com: The Road to 9/11: Sabin Streeter, Michael Weingrad, Bill Siegel, Peter W. Kunhardt: Movies & TV
Dear All,
The movie presentation was put off to 4/9/11...same time...same place.
This movie will answer a lot of questions on hot Middle East issues. I will comment on it.
Everyone is Welcome: 7 pm, 04/9/11, at Jefferson Park Lutheran Church 5009 North Northwest HighwayChicago, IL 60630, (773) 545-5109
http://www.amazon.com/Road-9-11-Sab...
See More
Amazon.com: The Road to 9/11: Sabin Streeter, Michael Weingrad, Bill Siegel, Peter W. Kunhardt: Movi
www.amazon.com
Amazon.com: The Road to 9/11: Sabin Streeter, Michael Weingrad, Bill Siegel, Peter W. Kunhardt: Movies & TV
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Appeal for Lebanon
http://www.lutheranchurchcharities.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=904&catid=34:media&Itemid=117
Monday, March 14, 2011
Isn't God Faithful
Isn’t God faithful!
Have you ever felt that you are alone, and you have to do God's work by yourself?! This is how I felt last Friday. Although I had a few volunteer worship leaders, none of them were available for the service at Salam on Saturday. I felt as though I would have to do the entire service on my own. But, by the grace of God, a phone call came out of the blue. It was Vicar Rennie Kaufmann (“My twin” brother in Christ) who is a professional musician and a close friend. Rennie was planning on coming out to Chicago that very day, all the way from Detroit, MI. He was able to come to Salam, sing in Farsi and lead worship! Isn’t God faithful!
God is taking care of us even in the times when we don’t see it, and even in the times when we don’t ask. When we are down, God is there to lift us up. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” God is always trying to find a way to bless us – especially when we’re doing His work.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The road to 911 Movie
Friends,
I will be showing an excellent movie (50 min) on the rise of Islamic extremism; "The Road to 911." It is an objective work that would answer a lot of questions on the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt..etc ...Followed by Q & A.
Place: Jefferson Park Lutheran Church
5009 North Northwest Highway
Chicago, IL 60630
Time: 7 pm on March 26, 2011
RSVP, Please call Rev. Mark Zuehsow, Pastor, (773) 545-5109
All are welcome
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3572798208/tt0482585
I will be showing an excellent movie (50 min) on the rise of Islamic extremism; "The Road to 911." It is an objective work that would answer a lot of questions on the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt..etc ...Followed by Q & A.
Place: Jefferson Park Lutheran Church
5009 North Northwest Highway
Chicago, IL 60630
Time: 7 pm on March 26, 2011
RSVP, Please call Rev. Mark Zuehsow, Pastor, (773) 545-5109
All are welcome
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3572798208/tt0482585
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