Ed. Note: I am getting back into the office and back into the swing of regular publication schedules. Here is a quick collection of links to notable articles related to the church worldwide. Thanks for bearing with us as we have been in the process of a move to Texas. Government Relations, Surveillance "Implications of [...]

Official Google Blog: Google+: 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99… 100.. Google has just introduced a new feature called “Hangouts on Air.” Up to 9 people can join your video “Hangout”–but anyone can view it while it’s in progress. How could this be used for missionary training & advocacy & conversations?

“Korea Strives to Reduce Suicide Rate,” The Chosunilbo. 42 Koreans commit suicide daily–the highest rate among OECD members. Over the past five years there’s been an average of 1 suicide every 3 days along the Han River. Suicide prevention is a top priority. However, suicide rates are higher in agricultural areas. How can the church [...]

“Implications of Facial Recognition Software?” Brigada Today. Takes a look at the missionary implications of facial recognition software and search capabilities. Doug asks how long it will be before these techniques are used to screen potential visitors at the borders. More worrying to me is whether these technologies will be used to identify missionaries entering [...]

Digital inspiration writes about a new service called “TinyLetter” which might be useful to missionaries. It appears to compete with Constant Contact, MailChimp, etc. This one looks far simpler, however—just a simple interface for entering your letter and for emailing subscribers. Interestingly, it allows you to require a subscription (e.g. $5) collected via Paypal. I [...]

“Goal setting: don’t pick the low-hanging fruit,” Christopher Peterson, Psychology Today. “Sometimes the easy things are not the good things. Sometimes expediency gets in the way of efficiency and often in the way of excellence.” A worthwhile read for considering how the goal we set can keep  us from the next highest goal: because what [...]

On Islam and the West and cross-cultural crossing/clash/shock: Many Afghans Haven’t Heard of 9/11: the majority of adults are illiterate and news is spread largely by word of mouth. Many have no idea of why the US is in Afghanistan. Can a Muslim sitcom from Canada prove popular elsewhere? Looks at the Canadian sitcom, “Little [...]

Here are some particularly frightening articles on the subject of surveillance and cybercrime: Half the world’s PCs use pirated software: much of this piracy is in the majority world. Many of these computers are infested with trojans, malware, keyloggers and the like. How an Omniscient Internet ‘Sextortionist’ Ruined the Lives of Teen Girls: this horrifying [...]

Here’s an illustration of how a methodology can limit the growth of Christianity. Singapore has a population of 5 million living in 275 square miles. Let’s say you strategized to have a church building in every square mile to cover every individual. You would need some 270 buildings—each attended by 19,000 people. Rick Warren’s Saddleback [...]

Mobilizers get passionate about the things they have a vision for. Unfortunately when we are passionate about our vision, we may not be passionate about the God-given vision someone else has. Mobilization for missions must be about prodding people toward the voice of God and the leading of the Spirit in their lives—not about swaying [...]