Social Media & Influx

(Don't see the video above, go here to view it on YouTube.com)

Social Media:
We’ve all heard it said that information is power.  We’ve just recently seen that played out in the multiple uprisings in North Africa.  We’ve seen where the power of information, communicated via social networking websites and mobile phone technologies, empowered the people so much so that the governments felt the need to turn off the conduits of information – the Internet and mobile phones networks – to put a stop to it.  We can see first hand how the Internet and technology has the ability to move the power from the traditional heads now to the common people.

This isn’t a new concept – the Printing Press.  Before the printing press, information was kept to the elite few who knew how to read and had access to the parchments/scrolls.  When the printing press came about, information contained only in one or two places was replicated and sent out to a multitude of locations.  The printing press enabled more and more people to learn how to read and write so not only were more and more people gaining access to information but they could actually use it.

Now today we’re seeing the Internet as the new version of the printing press.  The “common” people are now able to communicate with people outside their normal spheres and learn about new ideas and concepts.  They are then able to use the various technologies within the Internet to be able to examine and think through these concepts with those in their everyday lives and determine for themselves how they want to act on them.  Movements that are changing their whole paradigms are happening as the power  (information) is now shifting to the people.  Think what could happen if the Gospel were introduced to them in this way?  What movements could happen then?

Influx:
Here in Greater Europe Mission, we’ve been preparing and we continue to prepare (at a faster rate now) for the influx of refugees that will be coming from North Africa into Europe.  Some estimates say that 3/4 of a million people will arrive in Europe from Libya alone.  Millions more from other area of North Africa and the Middle East as they seek places of peace and stability for their families.

This is a huge opportunity for relationships to be built and for the Gospel to be LIVED out (notice not preached or told but LIVED).  These immigrants and refugees will need help both physically and socially as they move into the European cultures.  In the above video of GEM’s president, Henry Deneen, he talks about the preparations we’ve been making and continue to do to be ready to meet the needs that are now coming upon us.  To read more and maybe even see how you can be a part of this – check out the North Africa Crisis Response.

Internet Cafe fighting Alcoholism?

The WHO released a report this last week that shows how much alcohol the world drinks.  As one interpretation of the report said, “Europeans drink a lot of booze, and the Arab-Islamic world does not.”  Also, according to the report, Moldovans drink the most with over 18 liters person per year with a majority of that being “home brews” which is scary since many of these brews can be damaging to people’s health.  It’s estimated that this leads to 2.5 million deaths per year world wide.  It’s estimated that 1 in 5 male deaths in Russia and the former satellite states is caused by alcohol.

With eDOT, I got the privilege of spending some time in Moldova, the small country nestled between Ukraine and Romania.  Moldova, a former Soviet state, is the poorest country in Europe with 4.3 million people.  We worked on a project to increase the abilities of a small internet cafe in a village called Antoneşti.  (You can check out more at their website – Communitas.md)

So how does an Internet Cafe fight alcoholism?  Well, I have to say, it wasn’t something that we were intentional about.  To improve this internet cafe, we purchased more computers and then I went to help install some Internet Cafe software along with Internet filtering and some other things to raise the bar of how the Internet cafe was being run.  Before I showed up, the Internet Cafe worked by the process of when a person came in to use a computer, the Cafe operator would mark on a piece of paper what time the person began using the computer and when they were done.  Then they would go to the operator who then figured out how much time they used and would charge them for the time at a hourly rate.  It’s called a post-pay method and is fairly standard in Eastern Europe.  With the Internet Cafe software we installed, it made it so that people would have accounts and the system would handle monitoring how much time people spent on the computers and would automatically deduct it from their accounts.  This is called a pre-pay method and is used in the Western world a lot as a way to increase business and customer retention.  It was this pre-pay that changed how people were spending their money in the community.

So up until this point, people would receive their paychecks and spend it on what they want/needed at the time – food, clothes, alcohol, etc.  There are no banks and with inflation like it is, you don’t just save money for later – you spend it.  However, the people of this village would end up needing to go to the Internet Cafe so that they could create things for their businesses, check on weather reports and crop prices, etc but would find themselves without the money to do so.  Now with the pre-pay system, people started thinking ahead with their paychecks.  They knew that they would need to visit the Internet cafe later but that they had the money now so they would go in and put money on their accounts.  Some even started putting extra money in their accounts that they knew they would need as cash later but storing their money at the Internet Cafe was safer (due to the security and safe the Internet Cafe had) than keeping it in their homes.  One of the directors of Communitas announced to me that he felt like the banker for the community.

So how does this relate to lower alcoholism?  Well, because people were starting to plan out what their paychecks would pay for and had a way to save for it safely, they slowed their impulse buying of liquors (and materials to make “home brews”) effectively reducing their alcohol consumption according to Igor, executive director of Communitas.  While we haven’t done a study or anything to determine how much reduction has happened, any dent to getting people to move from a dependence on alcohol and to seeing their need for a relationship with God is a positive.

Fortune Cookies & Purpose

Ok, sometimes freaky things happen.  Yesterday, Krista and I were having a date lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and were having a wonderful time.  At the end, the usual occurred where the server gave us our check with two fortune cookies.  Krista and I like to have fun with the fortune cookie sayings just because sometimes they seem to be so generic that they could apply to anyone in any situation.  Anyways, mine read “You would do well in the field of computer technology.”  Freaky right?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now, I’m living my dream job.  While its not easy and it has parts that I don’t really like at times, it is my dream job to impact people so that they can come to a better understanding of God and Jesus Christ using technology to that end.  This is what I was meant to do.  I can look back to when I first started taking apart telephones as an elementary student trying to figure out how they worked as the beginning for my love of all things technology [Note: Just want to say sorry Mom & Dad & Sis that I couldn't get the phones back to working order after I figured out how they worked] My first computer was a TI-994a that I pulled out of the trash – cleaned it up and redid some of the soldering and presto – it worked!  Now I’m a technology junkie.  I almost drool when I walk through places like Best Buy and the Apple Store.

But my technology is all with a purpose. I took apart the telephones because I wanted to understand how they allowed people to talk with one another.  I scrambled to get a 300 baud modem for my Tandy 1000EX so that I could connect with people on electronic bulletin boards (before the days of the Internet).  I started to learn HTML in 1996 (and started the original version of this website) as I could see how the Internet was already connecting colleges and it was seeping into the business world.  I was amazed with the first VGA monitors that had such vivid colors (previously, I just had “green screens” or 8 color screens) as I knew we were moving more and more into everyday life being intertwined with technology. Today I drool as I watch the competition in the smart-phone arenas – why? because these new technologies allow us to be more and more creative in how we can connect with people.  The connection and collaboration of the Internet is now sitting on people’s hips, pockets and purses.  While I love being geeky and exploring new technologies – it’s always in the forefront of my mine that it’s about connecting with people through these technologies that I’m passionate about.

So what should your fortune cookie say to you?

[side note fun:  A friend of mine said that it's really not that freaky about the fortune cookie - watch this video by clicking here]

Scare Tactics in the US

Ok, I’m going to try to keep this short but honestly, I feel like I’ve got to say something.  Since being in the US, I’ve seen a lot of “news” articles and even billboards that seem to have this scare tactic approach about Islam in America (and in other Western nations).  I’m not denying that there’s an increase in the amount of Muslims living in western countries as it’s something we see daily in Europe however I really have to question the whole use of ‘scare’ tactics.  When you use scare tactics, what is the result?  Yes, some people may never look at the reality of what’s going on without these methods (hence the reason the nightly news almost always has a teaser of something like “What have you touched today that will surely kill you?”) however when people come to an understanding of the what is going, what will their response be when you use scare tactics?  Usually something not productive.  It wasn’t so long ago in US history that we heard similar rhetoric about Communists and we even had “witch hunts” for communists within our government.  The response wasn’t an end to the situation but a 40 year “Cold” war.  The reality is that most Western thinkers do not understand how those in the Muslim world think and most in the Muslim world do not understand how Westerners think.  Using scare tactics is not going to help us understand one another but is only going to drive an even larger separation between us.  Since most people that read my blog are Christians, let me say to you — If you seriously want to understand what is going on, talk to and befriend a Muslim.  To help you get some perspective, I recommend going to the website –>  Why Do You Fear Me?

On another note, as a Christian, I believe that if we give into or promote these scare tactics then we are denying that Muslims have the right to see the Gospel lived out which the Bible repeatedly says otherwise.  No one is to be denied this right.  I love the following video and believe this should be our response in light of what is going on these days:

Friends from Lava Lamp Productions on Vimeo.

Learning without a Queen

While I was at The Anchorage Project, we talked a lot about living incarnationally and missionally as a form of church planting.  You see, in the end, The Anchorage Project is about planting churches whose people are about living transformed lives rather than just having their ideas changed about God.  As we talked, Joe (the director) told me a story that someone else had told him last year:

When young children are showing the aptitude to become chess masters, they sit them down and show them all the chess pieces, where they sit on the board and how they move.  All the pieces except the Queen (if you don’t know chess, the queen is a very powerful piece that can move in all sorts of ways).  As they play people and learn the strategies of chess, no one gets to play with a queen.  They learn all about chess and develop strategies using the full abilities of all the different pieces without being dependent on the queen.  Once they have come to a point of mastering these strategies, they are thrown for a loop when their next opponent comes in and has a queen and they still don’t.  They must continue to play without a queen while their opponent gets to use this very powerful piece.  They must continue to play until they develop an understanding of how to use all the other pieces strategically to still win the game – even against their opponent’s queen.  It’s only until they continue to play other players who have a queen and win repeatedly that they are awarded a queen to then play with.

In the church planting context – you might consider the Queen to be Sunday Morning.  In the past, many churches have started with a Sunday morning only to be try and make Sunday morning do everything – build community, discipleship, worship, etc.  Sunday is weighed down and if there’s something wrong with Sundays, then the church doesn’t make it.  But what if in our church planting strategies, we start out not dependent on Sunday mornings.  While Sunday mornings can create numbers quickly, many sitting there are only keeping the pews warm.  What if we instead concentrate on the different aspects of church and only introduce Sunday mornings once these other things are in place?  What kind of life transformation would happen then? Anybody out there seen this lived out and would like to comment?

Ireland – Reflections on my time there

Recently, I got to spend nearly 2 weeks in Dublin, Ireland for two different reasons:  the first part of my trip was to a training time with the authors of Tangible Kingdom as we talked about living “incarnationally” and “missionally” in the European context.  I had read the book a few weeks before coming and having this time with other people (both Americans & Europeans) discussing things was really mind-blowing.  We really started to talk about what this looks like in several of the different cultures we work in and how we can encourage and promote Christians living in these ways.

The second part of the trip was working with a family that lives it.  I blogged a little bit about The Anchorage Project yesterday but living around Joe, the director, was really expanding what I had discussed the week before.  This was taking things beyond book knowledge and I have to say, I loved it!! Now it wasn’t anything about the conditions – I’ve been in a lot worse places but we had a lot of cold, wet walks by the river, it was 12-15 hour days working on the computers, equipment was late arriving, and they had recently painted our B&B room which freaked my sinuses so I was having nose bleeds.  (However, we did get the Irish Breakfast every day that we worked there – not heart-healthy though – see the right side photo).  It was working at The Anchorage Project putting in an Internet Cafe and Wifi Hotspot that I got to see many of the principles we had talked about living.

One night Joe was running a time for some of the kids in the neighborhood but an older gentlemen stopped by and I spoke with him.  He spoke with such a thick Irish accent I wondered if we were speaking the same language (in case you’re wondering – we weren’t.  I think we might have better been off if we had been speaking German).  In the end, I caught that he wanted me to tell Joe that he had stopped by.  He said his name (which I had to ask him a couple of times to repeat because of the accent) and he finally said, “Just tell Joe – He knows me!” He said it in such a way as if he felt that he and Joe were best of friends.  When I talked to Joe about him later, I found out their relationship wasn’t that close but Joe makes everyone he meets and interacts with feel like he really knows them.  I think that’s the thing.  He takes the time so that people feel connected with him.  It’s not that Joe doesn’t have things to do; he’s actually extremely busy with The Anchorage Project and his family (small Irish family with 5 kids) but he still takes the time so that people know they are important.  I want this to be a part of my life.

How do computers bring Hope to the inner city?

Recently Jim and I were able to spend time installing an Internet Cafe as a part of The Anchorage Project in the inner city of Dublin, Ireland. The director there is an Irishman named Joseph Donnelly who grew up in this part of Dublin and can tell stories of what its like to live in this area. He knows it; he lived it. He knows there’s a loss of hope in his town now more apparent than ever as the recession is taking a nasty toll on the economics of Ireland.

Several years ago, the board of directors of an old mission house approached Joe and asked if he and his wife could do anything with the old mission house to change the neighborhood. This is the same mission house that Joe as a teenager vandalized and threw rocks at before having his life transformed by God. The Donnelly’s idea was to use the mission house to now bring hope into the neighborhood. Their mission was that hope is comprised of four aspects: beauty, children, community, & justice. This old mission house is now called The Anchorage Project.

Beauty is being lived out through the use of plants and birds that are sold through the Anchorage Project. They train people on how to take care of these plants and birds, and while it can seem strange, all sorts of people from little old ladies to tattooed young men come to the center waiting for their flowers.

Children are cared for through the Anchorage during the children’s morning programs and special events that happen in the neighborhood. Parents see the joy that the kids have and the sense of play that is inspired at the Anchorage. Through their children’s eyes, they have a sense that things will be alright.

Community is beginning encouraged as the Anchorage Project starts a cafe which includes the Internet Cafe. This is a safe place for people to gather. They can come in and have something to eat and drink, sit around and chat with friends, get on the Internet, socialize or just talk with one of the people working there. Those who serve in the café aren’t there for a job but are wanting to care for people living and working in the neighborhood.

Justice is the final aspect of bringing hope and all the other parts play into it. Almost every part of beauty, children and community has a small fee, such as the flowers are sold or time purchased on the Internet Cafe computers. They are priced to be inexpensive to the community but they do create a revenue source so that every year the neighborhood, via the Anchorage Project, is able to give  help to in places like Africa, Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe. Hope is found in the realization that even though they don’t have much, they are still able, as a neighborhood, to help others.

So how do computers help bring hope to the inner city? By being a part of an overall plan, computers and technology can further the vision and mission of ministries. The vision of a computer center, as part of the café, continues to build a sense of community by getting people out of their homes and together. It also meets a real need by tapping into an opportunity for people to have access to the internet, for everything from research to communication. A way for this poorer neighborhood to have a greater variety of tools to make their lives better. And this is all done in the name of Christ and for the purpose of exposing others to HIS Kingdom.

We were delighted to share in a small part of what The Anchorage Project is doing to impact their community and the world.