Becoming

When I first starting working for the Binningup church I had a few goals. One of them was to catalyse a movement of the church away from the fringes of the local community in both the minds of the members and the community itself.

Back in 2005 we published a flyer with information on the church. Yep, the thinking behind was probably a little more attractional in focus than we would like to admit now, but it included the slogan "A part of your community". This was the first outward expression of this goal. Even though the majority of the members and most of the leadership at the time had no idea how that would work.

The front of our original brochure

This week I feel like that goal has been achieved, that the church has corporately managed the move from an irrelevant institution to an active (and even proactive) member of the town.

Around 3 weeks ago the church was asked by a community group (one that in the past has been quite openly antagonistic towards the church) to organise the Australia Day Breakfast for the town. What eventuated was a coming together of 4 different community groups in a great effort to serve and raise funds for the community.

The church was joined by members of the Surf Club, the Watersports Club, the Tennis Club (and some of the Alternate[Or] Crew from Bunbury to fill a few gaps) in setting up, serving and making the breakfast happen. More than 200 people turned up and well over $1000 dollars was raised to put towards cricket practice nets and new tennis courts for the town.

The community in action at the 2009 Aussie Day BBQ

While there will always be those who will want the church to stay on the fringe, for the most part things are changing and the church is now really begining to be seen as a part of the local community, caring about many of the same things the rest of the community cares about and wanting to make a real difference in the town in positive ways.

Way back in 2005 when I first started talking about this kind of thing, someone called me an idealist. Well, maybe I am, but I think this is proof that having ideals isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Not feeling guilty?

These videos will soon change that!



And



Thanks to Blind Beggar

New Moves in Mission

Yesterday arvo Alternate[Or] met for the first time in 2009. We are changing the way we are doing things a little this year.

Last year we met on Thursday afternoons in an office in Bunbury. This was ok, and meant that we were easily accessible to some of the younger crew we are involved with, but it also meant that, for those of us with families (which was just Lyss and I for most of the year) we couldn't all meet together regularly at the same time and with the kids.

This year we have a new family, with kids (yeah!) joining us and so we are moving things around a bit. We will now be meeting alternate Sunday afternoons in team members homes. The format is going to be similar to our Thursday arvo gatherings, but we are also going to share some tucker and incorporate communion into this.

Social Sunday's will continue every second Sunday as a purely endeavour and as a means of introducing people to our community and offering support and engagement in healthy aspects of community for those on we are invloved with, the youth and some of the families that are now starting to join us for our fortnightly BBQs.

"Action" continues to be an important part of our community and we will kick off the year in this regard on Australia Day. We have volunteered to help out Binningup Beach Christian Fellowship (where I am currently employed in a pastoral role) cook and dish out the Aussie Day breakfast for the town. Should be fun with anywhere between 150 and 250 people expected to attend!

The mentoring I've been doing for the past 18 months or so will also continue, although a number of the young blokes I have been involved with have found their feet and are working and doing ok at the moment. This will change the way this side of things operates, with less of the street work and probably more time spent socially. Although there are still a couple of guys needing ongoing support and advocacy with court cases coming up, and with alcohol and drug issues, trying to get straight and find work.

So that, I think, has most of our bases, as a Community Development/Urban Mission project covered. Here's to what should be an interesting and, hopefully, fruitful year!

New African Self Help Group Video

I've just uploaded a new mini-doc showcasing Day 4 Community Aid & Development Inc's Self Help Group networks in Rwanda.

These groups are amazing in what they achieve for their members. We are trying to replicate these networks and the sustainable business projects that have come out of our experiences with these networks elsewhere in Africa (we are currently working with a community in Bungoma, Kenya and in Kampala Uganda on similar development projects).

So, check out the video!

Saving Christians

I finished reading Rob Bell and Don Golden's book "Jesus wants to save Christians" about a week ago. It takes, what the authors call, a new exodus perspective on the biblical story. In a nutshell this means the first exodus forms a basis for understanding the mission and ministry of Jesus - a mission that had firmly in its sights the alleviation of the suffering and the hardship of the least. Of those enslaved.

The New Exodus is one perspective, taken from the side of the weak and marginal and the God who cares about them. We're interested in the big story because that's what the Bible is—a story that unfolds across history. Who are the major characters, what's the plot, how do we take part in it? Perhaps this is why Jesus can be hard to understand. It’s hard to understand the later parts if you haven't been brought up to speed on where the story has been so far*.

I'm a fan of Rob's and read this book hot on the heels of his other new book, "Sex God", and found it drew together many of the themes concerning kingdom and gospel and the link between being the body of Christ and caring for the least in our world - in other words, social justice.

I recommend it as an easy, introductory read on what is really quite a deep subject.

Here's an interview with Rob from Relevent Magazine, in which he discusses the book. Out of Ur also posted a 2 part review of the book which you can read HERE (Pt 1.) and HERE (Pt 2).

*Bell - Online: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=7569

Understanding love

Surely, exiles need to recover a more biblical understanding of the nature of Christian love for God. If loving God is not just about singing love songs, what more is involved ... Love, then, in the Christian framework, is an action. It is a verb, not a noun. To love is to do something for others, not neccessarily to feel something for them. It is to desire their spiritual growth, so that they might blossom and grow and become everything that God intended them to be in the first place. And, interestingly, this is also how we love God, by serving God's creation.

This is not to suggest that there won't be feelings attached to our love of God and others. (Exiles, Frost, M. pp. 308, 310)

Rwandan child choir to perform at UN

The message of Forgiveness coming from the mouth of babes! These young orphans and vulnerable children from the beautiful country of Rwanda in Africa between the ages of 11 to 18 years of age will delight and inspire their audiences in song, drumming and dancing! December 2008, USA – In December, a group of Rwandan children will arrive in the U.S. as young cultural and peace ambassadors to take audiences on a journey into the lives of the Rwandan people through music, dance, costumes and drumming. They are known as the MIZERO Children of Rwanda which in Kinyarwanda, the language of their home land, means "HOPE." MIZERO EPK video

While many organizations are helping Rwanda recover from the 1994 genocide, few have addressed the issue of cultural brokenness. "My vision for MIZERO is to build, bring and to spread hope to Rwandan children through our vibrant music and dance traditions. It is my goal to mentor them to help them discover the power of forgiveness as I have, to help these young ones grow up free from hatred, bitterness and the spirit of revenge. This use of the arts combined with the message of forgiveness can help these children heal their wounds from the past and put a stop to violence and any future genocide through this next generation of young leaders" says MIZERO founder and CEO, Jean Paul Samputu

The UN has declared the year 2009 as the Year of Reconciliation. Samputu and MIZERO have embarked on an impassioned 2009 schedule filled with activities that focus on 'Forgiveness as a Step to Reconciliation'. This includes the 'Forgiveness Tour', various conferences and concerts, and global conferences called 'Gathering of Forgiveness: A Step to Reconciliation'to be held in
Rwanda in February and July which will also commemorate the 15^th year of the Rwandan genocide.

This inspirational tour's highlight will be the children's performance at the UN at theGlobal South-South Development Expo, in conjunction with the Fifth United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation on Dec. 19^th http://ssc.undp.org. They have been invited to perform at the conference: Advancing Cooperation between the United Nations and World's Religion. which will take place in New York on December 16^th 2008 at UNICEF Labouisse Hall. In addition, the MIZERO children are looking forward to exchanging with children from various schools in the Greenwich, Connecticut area. They will be 'jamming' with the Djole Drum and Dance Company from South Carolina who will be making a special trip to New York City to meet with the MIZERO children. The MIZERO children will experience Christmas with the gracious hosts from Foxhill Bruderhof Community in Walden, NY.

The MIZERO foundation welcomes financial donations, donation of Christmas gifts for the children, or if you can make available a van or bus for transportation needs while in NY and the tri-state area. If your group, organization or church would like information about having the children perform at your event, anytime from December 27^th through to January 23^rd, please contact us at (438) 275-5147 or (828) 507-1848 or email us at mizerofoundation@gmail.com MIZERO Children of Rwanda believes that through music and arts, youth receive self-confidence, life skills and creative expression to help them heal and go forward. These children are sharing their gift of music and performance while raising awareness about the 1 million other orphans of Rwanda.

Congo Appeal - Every cent helps

Day 4 Community Aid & Development Inc. have just launched an appeal to raise funds for the purchase of food, blankets and clothing for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Goma, north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

They are working in with a local church organisation recommended by Claude Nikondeha of Amahoro Africa.

The appeal is only running for a short time - the aid is required urgently so we are trying to raise as much as we can by the 15th of December.

No matter where you are in the world, you can donate online via Day 4's secure credit card gateway - http://www.day4.org.au/donate.htm.

If you are in Australia, please contact me (Andrew) via the Day 4 website and I can give you bank account details for direct deposits into our account.

If you do use the credit card gateway, please make sure you put "Congo" in the "Order or Item Number" field.

We also have flyers which I can email to you if you are willing to advocate for this appeal within your faith community, workplace or among family and friends.

Thanks in anticipation of your prayers and support.

Community Transformation

Rick Meigs shares another example of community transformation over at Blind Beggar.

It never ceases to astound me how limitless the opportunities seem for making a difference and creating something of genuine community in the community.

Have a read here.

Amahoro Africa Video

Tim Keel has posted a video about this years Amahoro Africa Gathering in Kigali, Rwanda. I have had the privilege of participating in the last two Gatherings and also hope to be at the third, to be held in Johannesburg in South Africa, next year.

If you're from Australia and interested in attending (and perhaps participating in a field trip to Rwanda as well) please contact me or visit the Day 4 Community Aid & Development Inc. website for more information.


Amahoro Africa from Andy Michael on Vimeo.

Unfortunately we didn't get a spot on the video! But Fuzz Kitto, a fellow Antipodean, did a pretty good job of representing the Great South Land.

Equity - Give Young People a Go!

It really, really pisses me off when I experience first hand or hear stories of young people being given a hard time simply because they are young people.

A 19 year old friend of mine told me today of an experience he had at a job placement agency yesterday. He was essentially called a liar and given the brush off by the customer "service" person responsible for "serving" him. When he told her that he knew someone who worked at the plant and gave the name of the same person, she proceeded to tell him that no such person worked there and then didn't follow any of the process, my young mate had been told was supposed to be followed, in assessing his suitability for a job. She simply took his name (not his phone number) and said they would "be in touch" on the off chance something came up!

Thankfully, the person he knows at the plant is my wife and she is going to follow this up with the manager responsible for work placement who will hopefully follow it up with the placement agency and he will get a fair go at the job.

The thing is this kind of thing happens everyday. People in positions of authority (whether real or imagined) choose to lord it over young people just because they can.

A couple of years ago I stood and listened to a customer service officer at the South West College of TAFE lecture a young person I had taken in to enrol in a TAFE course, on his enrolment. The guy assumed the young bloke would be unsuitable for the course simply based on how he looked, and proceeded to tell him this. After a few minutes of listening to him berate the young bloke for no reason at all, I asked him if the enrolment form was filled in correctly and if he was the person who was responsible for receiving it. He replied that it was and that he was the man. I then asked him why he simply couldn't have just accepted it without giving the completely unnecessary 5 minute lecture. He took the form and didn't reply. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the application form or the way in which the kid was enrolling.

It had taken me 3 weeks to convince the same kid to front up and put his application in. He had very low self confidence and was sure his application wouldn't be accepted. Had he been on his own he would have probably lasted 10 seconds before telling the bloke "where to go" and walking out without putting his paperwork in. Ironically (two fingers to the bloke behind the counter), in the end he was accepted into a pre-apprenticeship course in carpentry.

Another friend recounted a story of walking into a church as a young person seeking information on God and being told by the pastor to leave and only come back when he was dressed appropriately for the "house of God". He was wearing a tee shirt featuring a heavy metal motif. Thankfully he was smart enough to realise the pastor didn't really have a handle on God and my mate encountered God elsewhere and now is a follower of Jesus.

My final example actually happened to my wife, who is quite small (and cute!) last year. We were both out doing a letter box drop around Binningup just on sunset when a dog started barking at her as she dropped a flyer in a letter box. Lyss had a beanie on and a jacket and it was getting dark. The home owner came out to see what was going on with his dog and saw Lyss and mistook her for a young boy. He called out aggressively "hey little bloke, what are you doing? Did you think you could stir up my dog hey!" He got a bit of a surprise when Lyss turned around and told him she wasn't a "little bloke" but a 30 something lady and that the problem was his dog!

These are by no means isolated incidents. It's real easy for all of us to bemoan the lack of respect young people seem to have for authority or for their elders. But at the end of the day what goes around comes around (Jesus referred to it as "reaping what you sew").

So here's my "pay it forward" challenge for the week. The next time you're faced with a young person, no matter how surly or grotty or standoffish they appear, why not take the time to consciously treat them with respect and dignity and see what happens? At the very least, I know that they will notice it, and they will be grateful for it, even if they don't show it outwardly.

Pic by Binababy12 -http://www.sxc.hu/photo/995276

Ugandan Connection

Lyss and I have had a friend from Uganda staying with us for the last week. Alyssa and I met Paul Kiviiri at the Amahoro Gathering in Kigali in May.

For the past 10 years Paul has been working to build bridges across tribal divides and establish new forms of church among southern Uganda's marginalised, nomadic Tutsi tribes people.

The tribal culture prevalent throughout Africa makes this kind of work difficult. It also creates many of the problems we hear about in the west and associate with politics. It is virtually unheard of, even in the Ugandan church, for relationships and ministry to extend beyond the tribal lines.

Paul says it took him 5 years to build the trust of the nomads he is involved with and he still struggles to gain understanding from the other local church leaders for his approaches to church (I can relate to that!).

The churches Paul has been involved in developing following the nomadic people around. They are not fixed to a place and they seek to meet the real day to day needs of those they are formed from. A big part of Paul's work is training up the leaders, many of whom are illiterate, and helping them to impart the way of Jesus to their fellow tribes people. He is also having to tackle issues such as bride-selling, polygamy and traditional spiritual beliefs.

Paul himself knows, as most African's do, what it is to struggle. He was born into a polygamist family during Idi Amin's reign and spent much of his teenage years as a street kid. Even though life was difficult he managed to put himself through school and train as a primary school teacher before becoming a youth pastor in a Kampala church. His heart has always been with the people though and he made the choice to leave the institutionalised church behind in order to pursue a ministry that would break down tribal barriers and share the love of Christ for all African people in meaningful and culturally relevant ways.

It's been a great privilege to have had Paul with us this past week and for him to meet and spend time with the people we are involved with her in the South West.

Paul's story is another example of the way God is working around the globe to revolutionise mission and to move His church into a new era.

Opportunities for Action

I'm pretty excited about tomorrow. A week or so back the Bunbury City Council contacted me to see if Alternate[Or] Community could provide volunteers for a graffiti art "installation" in a council car park. A bunch of local young people have spent the last few weeks learning some of the finer points of street art and are going to now have the opportunity to do their thing on a council wall.

The council is making a day of it - there's gonna be food and stuff for the kids etc. Finding volunteers can be difficult and the council was struggling in this regard. While we may not be eliminating all their volunteer problems, 5 of us from the Alternate[Or] Community crew are going to be helping out.

This is another great opportunity to show the community that followers of Jesus are interested in the same things they are, particularly when it comes to improving our community, for our crew to work together for something other than ourselves and to show our kids our faith in action in the community.

We also have our Social Sunday this Sunday and have a visitor from the South West Environment Centre coming to talk about local environmental issues. If you are in the area and would like to come and hear what they have to say you are welcome to drop by. We'll be hanging out at the Jetty Baths park and play ground and having a BBQ dinner. It all starts at 3.45pm.

Cluster Bombs put children and civilians lives at risk in Georgia

I received a press release from Dani at Survivor Corp. yesterday (a link to the release is at the bottom of this post). It details Russia's use of cluster bombs in it's recent military action against Georgia.

Cluster bombs, along with their close cousins, land mines, have been responsible for horrific injuries to children and non-combatants in current and former conflict zones around the world.

In May this year 107 countries signed a treaty in Ireland, agreeing to cease production and use of cluster bombs in armed conflict. Several countries have avoided signing the treaty and are downplaying the dangers of the bombs to the civilian population in conflict zones. Most notable among those refusing to sign are the governments of the USA, Australia and Russia.

As an Australian I am appalled at the Australian governments stance on these weapons and the lame excuses they are offering for refusing to sign the treaty.

Australia is a signatory. I made a mistake! See this post for more information (updated 1 Sept 2008).

I would encourage all readers to follow the links included in this post to get a better understanding of the problems these weapons are causing around the world. Working in former conflict zones I have seen the results similar weapons, such as landmines and other unexploded ballistics, have on the unsuspecting civilian population. Even years after conflict has ceased, these weapons still pose a significant risk to life and limb.

As citizens of the world I think it is imperative we speak out against, and raise awareness of, actions that put the lives and standard of living of the vulnerable at risk. The more people who are aware of the situation in Georgia, and are aware of the significant number of Western governments condoning Russia's action through their own refusal to support the ban on these weapons, the more likely it is we will see a change in the way things happen.

People! Write to your politicians about this. Tell people you meet about this. Raise awareness of the fact that our your government (if you are an American or a Russian) wants to freely use similar weaponry in a similar way in other parts of the world.

The first link here is to Survivor Corps' media release. I'd encourage other bloggers to post the release or a report on Russia's unacceptable actions in invading a sovereign territory and use of cluster bombs. The remaining links are to related news articles.

Please drop him an email or send him a letter telling him how abhorrent it is telling how glad you are that a modern, western nation like Australia would refuse agree to sign a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs. The more people who speak out against this the more likely they are to change their approach to this issue.

• Survivor Corp. Press Release

• Russia 'used cluster bombs' in Georgia - ABC News Report
  

• Australia baulks at cluster bomb ban - Sydney Morning Herald Article

• The Cluster Munitions Coalition
  

• Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith

I'd also encourage you to contact your local Federal members, this is an important issue of global responsibility taking and accountability.

Thanks Dani for bringing this issue to the fore!

Rwanda and Amahoro Africa 2009 - The "Emerging" church on the African Continent

If you've ever thought about visiting Africa and experiencing life and faith of the locals there's no better time than 2009.

Visit Africa
Make a Difference
Change your life

Day 4 (the aid and development organisation I manage) are teaming up with Amahoro Africa to offer a package that includes the 2009 Amahoro Africa Gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa and a couple of weeks on the ground in Rwanda. A package is also available through Day 4 that features the Gathering only.

We have around 10 places available for the combined package so please, if you're interested contact me ASAP. If you know others who may also be interested please share this information around.

Amahoro Africa Gatherings are an amazing time of connecting with emerging leaders from Africa and around the world, of learning and being inspired by the work of God among his people in Africa and beyond. Speakers include Claude Nikondeha (you can read more about Claude in McLaren's new book, Everything Must Change), Brian McLaren (author of The Secret Message of Jesus, Church on the Otherside and other best selling books), Richard Twiss (Native American activist, author and theologian) and many other inspiring African leaders - some like Edward Simiyu have featured on Moved Mountains in the recent past.

You can read all about the Gathering on the Amahoro website and about the Day 4 Community Aid & Development side of things at the Day 4 site.

Blog Wrap - Week 1

I use Bloglines to keep up-to-date with my favourite blogs. For those who don't know, Bloglines is a blog reader. It takes all of the latest posts from the blogs you tell it to access and collates them all in one place. It makes it quick and easy to get the latest news from your favourite bloggers.

Bloglines also allows you to save posts for future reference.

Something I've been meaning to do for a while is link to some of the many interesting posts I've saved in my Bloglines account. They date back a while, and I have quite a collection happening, but, thought that I would start sharing them around with a regular "Blog Wrap".

So here goes - this weeks interesting blog snippets are:

Christian Radio on Glenn's Re-Dreaming the Dream blog.

Some interesting and original thoughts on "Respecting Strange Gods" from Matt Stone.

A new blog (at least it was new when I saved the post back in April) on "Lectio Divina for the Ipod Generation" from Emergent Village; and David Fitch takes on Mark Driscoll's claims that the Emerging Church doesn't have any convert (he should come and see what we are doing in Bunbury - most of our regulars are brand spanking new believers with absolutely no Christian background!) in this post also from Emergent.

An "Ancient Celtic Prayer" from JR Woodward at Dream Awakener.

"10 Reasons Why Men Should Not be Ordained for Ministry" from Helen at Conversations at the Edge.

Rick Meigs from Blind Beggar responds to the all pervasive "Come and See" mentality that exists in much of the Evangelical church around the world.

And finally:

A post on a very current and important topic from Hamo at Backyard Missionary, "Radical Hospitality and Incarnational Mission in Suburbia".

Enjoy!

New Day 4 Videos - Rwanda

I've started editing together the brief promotional videos I shot while in Rwanda a few weeks ago. These two show are new intro and a promotional video of one of our finished projects - Mountain Rain. Mountain rain was completed in 2007 and represents our first finished sustainable community development project. It's one we are very proud of because of the effects it has had on the community.

The music is from Rwandan music star (and follower of Jesus) Jean Paul Samputu.

There are several more videos on the go and I'll stick them up as they become available.

I welcome any comments about the videos.

Amahoro Gathering - Day 3

The malaria seems to be under control. The dizzyness has all but gone and the fever comes and goes. I have been told the artemisinin treatment is strong and fast acting.

Today was another full on day. The morning featured presentations by local Christian organisations involved in the reconciliation process - uniting Hutu and Tutsi. We heard directly from Hutu perpertrators, including a lady who was fairly high up in the Hutu administration at the time of the genocide, a Hutu lady who was married to a Tutsi man who was killed in the genocide and a Tutsi woman who lost most of her family. I have never heard the tribal differences spoken about as openly. Previously I had been told that it is illegal to publically speak about the tribes in this way. The government is promoting one Rwandan people, and in the process pushing discussion of ethnic differences and opinion underground.

I met a Rwanda guy the other day at lunch who now lives in Sydney. He spoke about the reconciliation process in Rwanda and his own journey towards reconciliation. This was the first time he had been home to Rwanda in many years - he's lived in Australia for 12 years. He said the institutionalised form of reconciliation promoted by the Rwandan government was not working. Simply not mentioning the tribes has done nothing to heal the wounds and ethnic tensions still existed.

He hoped Amahoro would provide some answers to genuine reconciliation for Rwanda. Reconciliation from the heart and not from the government.

The feeling I get when I speak to Rwandans is the genocide may be 14 years in the past but the tensions that lead to it are still very real in the present.

The situation in Kenya was also addressed through a presentation led by a man I am privellaged to call a friend, Pastor Edward Simyu.

Like a Kenyan Martin Luther King, Edward led a convoy of Christians through the road blocks in January, risking his life in the process, to take Jesus message of reconciliation to the people behind the ethnic violence.

Edward introduced us to Joy, a Nairobi residence and member of his peace convoy to Eldoret. He also interviewed a number of Kenyans who had experienced the violence first hand. One guy, a pastor called Peter, still lives in a displaced persons camp as his home was destroyed.

There were different opinions on the source of the violence. One thought it was spontaneous - a direct result of the elections, another believed it was planned before hand as an act of ethnic cleansing. Whatever the cause, there is little doubt Kenya, like Rwanda before it, has a long road ahead.

I felt humbled and honoured when Edward asked me to pray for his country at the conclusion of his presentation.

Can the church be a part of the solution?

This was the question addressed by Brian McLaren in his presentation on pre-emptive reconciliation. Obviously it is too late to pre-empt the trouble that resulted in the Kenyan violence and the Rwandan genocide, but there is an oportunity for the church to act now. To be a part of the healing process. Bringing people together and promoting forgiveness.

McLaren portrayed the kingdom of God as standing over and above the kingdoms of the world. He described Jesus story as being superior to the stories of domination, revolution, purification, isolation, and alienation (I might try and expand on this a little later). Instead of domination McLaren says, Jesus calls us to servanthood, instead of revenge, reconciliation. Instead of purification (or ethnic cleansing), acceptance, healing and love. Instead of isolation, engagement.

As I think about everything that has taken place over the last few days I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm also feeling again like I am participating, in a very small way, in something big,something of global significance.

Today we head back to the guesthouse. The rest of the week will involve business meetings and trips to view projects we sponsor. We are also meeting with the Australian Ambassador to Kenya this afternoon. I hope to be able to discuss Australia's future involvement in Rwanda.

The pursuit to be like Jesus

---

[Emerging churches] do not believe in evangelistic strategies, other than the pursuit to be like Jesus in his interactions with others. They do not target people or have an agenda but rather seek to love all those whom God brings to them. They do not hope for a belief change for their conversation partners as much as a life change. Because of their high level of engagement with other cultures, the sacred/secular split is overcome as they practice the kingdom in their midst, in community.

---

Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger cited in Scot McKnights, A community called atonement (Abingdon Press, 2007).

What do I have to do ...?

Promotion! It's something I find really difficult. Even though I am so sure, and so confident that what I am promoting is good and valuable and worthwhile it is really difficult to get people to listen and get on board. Maybe I'm just not good at "selling the vision"? Maybe I'm not presenting the right information in the right way - so as to build confidence? Maybe I just don't come across as someone who is trustworthy and so my "cause" is overlooked?

I'm thinking of the work I am involved with through Day 4 - a community aid and development organisation I founded around 5 years ago which has a good track record of working accountably and successfully with communities in Central and East Africa to develop sustainable, locally driven projects which really do have a positive effect on the standard of living.

It's small scale stuff, but still valuable.

Yet I have found it really difficult to get Christian's, particularly emerging-missional types, involved and supporting this work - financially and also through word of mouth and online promotion and support.

I worked in commercial media for a number of years before getting into more people focussed ministry so I understand the pull of gloss and professionalism - and, especially when it comes to professionalism, I support every effort made to promote a professional image. But I think when we are faced (and I'm speaking for myself here as much as anyone else) with a choice between a glossy, professionally marketed cause and a much less glossy not so professionally marketed one we will tend towards the gloss.

So, I want to ask the question - its actually a question I'm going to be asking a few by email as well;

What is it that we at Day 4 need to do to get your support? How do we need to change in order to start to:

a) receive broad support and promotion from organisations (a number of organisations that I am involved with in one way or another will regularly promote "aid" type organisations or initiatives of "friends" but never seem to even look at Day 4) and;

b) receive wider support and promotion from individuals, online and in the real world?

It is really difficult to get your slice of the aid and development "pie" when you aren't able to grow your supporter base.

At the end of the day I have to say though, we don't have access to professional marketers, web and graphic designers or the print media. We don't have any celebrity poster-people or any big CHristian names endorsing us. So improving the way we present online and through our various promotional resources is going to be difficult for us.

At this point in time our supporter base and income isn't big enough to warrant spending hard earned funds on a marketing campain, especially when those same funds can be used to develop a sustainable project on the ground in Africa. So in this sense we are faced with a "catch 22" situation. And I know some of you will say "you have to spend money to make money".

Answers to these questions will really help me to understand what it is we need to do to be more appealing to the public and also perhaps to answer questions people maybe have going around their mind when they are confronted with our appeals or our organisation as a whole.