We love to travel. Through personal travel and missionary trips I have seen many wonderful places in the world. I love discovering new culture and I believe there is much to be learned from other countries. After almost two weeks away, however, I am reminded how much I love my country.
My 18 year old son Nate is serving as an intern this Summer for Michael Bayne our family minister working primarily with middle and high school students. Recently he took it upon himself and made this video announcement to send to the students. It reminds me that the methods of communicating with our people are changing every day. Are you staying current? Does your church use Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and video messaging to stay current?
One thing that has kept us occupied the most in our culture training this week in Lithuania is the difference Soviet occupation has made on this country. People talk constantly about “Soviet times” and “during occupation”. We visited the KGB museum and saw the evidence of the stressed conditions of the people. Not one family here is unaffected by those days.
My blog friend Scott Williams has a creatively done and entertaining post/tribute on Michael Jackson. What would Michael Jackson Tweet if he Twittered?
Moses was not eloquent in speech. He did not command a great army. He was in exile from his people. He was not the most obvious choice to lead this great exodus from Egypt, but He was God’s man. And, Moses had everything God needed to complete the task!
Nate and I were commenting back and forth on Facebook. I told him I was getting up early here in Lithuania, because it is daylight from about 4 AM to 11:30 PM. Here was his comment back:
Quick question: What has happened to general common courtesies?
I am in Lithuania right now on a mission trip. This country for the most part was cut off from Western civilization for the many years of Soviet occupation/Communism. In the first few days we have been here I have heard numerous accounts of how sterile an environment the country was during those years. Apparently, however, one part of the Western world managed to find it’s way through to this culture. His name is Michael Jackson.
Perhaps the biggest culture shaper in Lithuania is the fact that for years they were under Communist rule and have only recently had the freedom to do the things they do today, such as travel, enjoy other cultures, explore the latest trends and fashions, participate in capitalism, go to church, etc. Giving someone freedom can have all kinds of crazy reactions, which we are seeing constantly, but I suspect we started to see the results on the plane ride here. Rule followers need to beware; here are a few highlights I thought were interesting from our trip here:
Summer is often a time for church leaders (unless you are youth leaders) to take vacations, chill out, and rest up. While I agree with that need, the fact is that fall gets here quickly and we need to be prepared for one of the best growth opportunities of the year.
