In his career, he took the Chicago Bulls for six NBA championships within a single decade, only briefly quitting basketball to attempt a career in Baseball (most of us are still not quite sure what this was about).

Yet, most of us do not realize one of the secrets to His Airness's soaring success - "Michael puts it this way: 'I've missed more than nine thousand shots in my career.  I've lost almost three hundred games.  Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.  I've failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.'" (excerpt from Why Don't Students Like School by Daniel T. Willingham).

What do you want to succeed at?  Better get started and stop worrying about the failing part ...

There is a trend going on in the Western Church to especially support missions endeavors within the 10-40 window, or the most un-reached areas of the world, including the Middle East, Northern Africa and parts of Asia.  While I support this idea, and from what I've heard missions funds desperately need to be re-distributed towards these parts of the world (only a small percentage currently goes in this direction) ... I also see the great need to support missions in every nation of the world.

Michelle and I have some amazing missionary friends who are doing a great work in Central America, whose mission funds were cut dramatically on their recent furlough, due to churches redistributing their missions dollars to areas of the world less-reached.  The sad part of the story, is that these missionaries primary work was raising up dozens of latin Americans who were going to the middle east as missionaries.  These internationals had several compelling reasons for our support:
-They looked more like the culture of those they were going to reach, and would have far less trouble than American missionaries to the middle east (with all our national tensions right now)
-They grew up with less materially, and thus could handle the rigors of missionary life in these parts of the world better than American missionaries (in general, of course).
-These international missionaries needed FAR less support than the standard American missionary.  Pennies to the dollar less.
-A comparison is that there are relatively few American missionaries in the Middle East (and even those that are, stories of them are rare because of the danger), while these friends sent several dozen Latin American young adults as missionaries during just a three year term!

Even if my friends weren't sending missionaries to the 10-40 window, their work (in my opinion) would still be valid.  Saying South America or Africa or Europe doesn't need missions support or more missionaries is like saying the United States doesn't need more spiritual help.  The US has the most Christians of any nation in the world (although we are the only nation of the world in decline statistically).  Yet our church planting and ministry launching efforts continue.  God continues to call young people into the ministry and put dreams and burdens in the hearts and lives of the next generation.  Nearly all of us would agree that America needs our prayers and funds and energy and effort.  It is the same with every other nation of the world - Christian or unreached.  Each is worthy of our efforts, funds and passionate devotion.  Because each of these nations is just one generation away from extinction of Christianity.

Article written on behalf of the Lausanne Movement Conversation leading up to Cape Town 2010 this fall.  Connect with us on the conversation site here.  Set up your own profile and participate in the conversation with like-minded believers from across the earth here.  More about how you can be involved here.

Previously I mentioned that the Lausanne Movement was started by Billy Graham in the 1970s.  In my humble opinion, this year's congress represents one of the most exciting moments in world history, as thousands of godly leaders gather from across the earth dreaming of what could be and should be for our generation, and millions more participate online.

There are so many ways you can get involved in the Lausanne Movement leading up to the congress this fall.
1. Set up a profile on the conversation site (and connect with me there!).  
2. Spread the word with like-minded friends on facebook and twitter.  
3. Follow their twitter for updates on the conversation and the event.
4. If you are in leadership, you may consider applying for the Blogger network as well. 
5. I believe there will be opportunity to host simulcast gatherings at churches and home groups this year as well, thanks to the wonder of the internet.  I will keep you posted on these possibilities. 
6. Make a point to regularly pray for this gathering and these leaders.  Download a Lausanne prayer diary here.
7. Participate financially, towards all the outreach events and ministry efforts in participation with this congress. 

Many of the clergy were embarrassed by it all.  The man was called before a conference of religious leaders, who said, "William Booth, will you go where we tell you to go?  If not, you will be defrocked."  In the balcony a woman stood.  She was Booth's wife, Catherine.  She said, "William, say 'No, never!'"  And he said, "No."  That no changed history in Great Britain and in many other parts of the world, as Booth founded the Salvation Army, which has given help for both body and soul wherever it has gone." (Billy Graham, Decision Magazine, p. 2, July-August 2010)

I can't help but be reminded when I read this story, of the hundreds of young men and women I know who are giving their all, their energy, their heart and soul to reach out to the least of these in their cities and around the world.  Like Booth, many of these young people may look foolish as they preach on the streets, hang with the homeless, walk in purity with Christ in a dark world and call the Body of Christ to action ... 

But if eternity is real, both heaven and hell .. as real as Jesus Christ exclaimed and lived that it was .. then any human would agree - those who are doing this are doing the coolest thing you can do.

While working for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, I was deeply impacted by the deep faith of the staff I worked alongside, the emphasis on prayer (including hours and hours of actual praying that happened!) and the integrity of the ministry.  I also saw the great power of working together as we partnered with hundreds of local churches, mobilizing individuals to reach their friends.  God blessed our teamwork with participating churches as we saw great fruit from our combined efforts.  God seems to love when we unify with other believers and cross denominational lines to work together.  When this happens we stop building our smaller "kindgoms" and bring the Kingdom of God into focus.  Nameless, faceless ministry brings more glory to Jesus Christ.  Unity is sticky ministry and draws God's blessing.

While currently working for 95.3 Praise FM, I have sensed over and over again that God's favor rests heavily on this ministry.  Working is easier than it should be, and doors keep swinging wide open.  I can't help but feel God loves worship!  Worshipping the Lord is a sticky ministry, and draws God's favor.

I suppose the same could be said for ministries that emphasis key items of God's heart, such as the Word of God, God's glory, reaching the lost and caring for the poor and hurting.

This is just one of the reasons why I am so excited about Accelerate - Prayer and Fasting Retreat for Ministers with Dr. Jack Hayford this fall, October 4-6, 2010.  It combines several of the stickiest ministries - unity, leaders refocusing, prayer and the Word of God!

Dr. Jack Hayford served as the President of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel for many years, leading 38,000 churches in 136 countries with nearly 5 million members.  He was also recently listed as one of the 25 most influential preachers in the past 25 years along with Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Andy Stanley and others.

Pastor St. John had a desire, because of the opportunity to have Dr. Hayford, to partner with others.  We have partnered together with multiple denominations and ministries across the Midwest US for this years retreat entitled Accelerate - Prayer and Fasting Retreat for Ministers with Dr. Jack Hayford, happening October 4-6, 2010 in Alexandria, MN.  These partners are the Greater Minnesota Association of Evangelicals led by Carl Nelson, The Global Day of Prayer (largest prayer meeting in world history with 250 million participating from every nation on earth) led by GDoP co-founder Bob Bakke of Bloomington Baptist Church, The Salvation Army in Minnesota and North Dakota, The Christian Community Fair led by Rich and Lana Branham, Alpha Twin Cities led by Steve Gartland, Allies led by Dan Buschow who recently served as the student chair of Rock the River with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Luis Palau Festival a few years earlier, North Central University, Bridging the Gap and Carol Lund, Praise FM radio network in the Midwest US and several other countries of the world, Foursquare Church Heartland District led by Dan Mundt and the Minnesota District Assemblies of God.

Would you consider helping us in this effort?  Invite your Pastor and other Ministers you know to check the retreat out and consider joining us for this special time.  Connect with Accelerate on facebook and twitter.  To download promotional and media materials go to: http://ow.ly/2eEzI.  More information and registration at AccelerateMidwest.org.

At the time they were not even close to proficient bike riders, but they came up with a brilliant idea: gather a team of crazy young adults to ride bicycles across the country to raise awareness for and hold benefits to raise money for the needs of the poor around the world. For years, Venture Expeditions has been doing just that, and they are turning more and more heads towards the great injustices of the world.

Ride:well tour is taking place this summer along with a dozen other rides, including some in other countries of the world. Ride:well tour has probably gotten the most press this summer, and let me just say that hardly any group I know does as good of a job making charity work look as cool as these guys. Last summer they partnered with Donald Miller (who wrote a book about his cross-country ride with them) and Jars of Clay's Blood:water Mission to provide clean water wells for those in poverty-stricken areas of Africa. The UN reports that the #1 cause of infant mortality in the world is unsafe drinking water. And only a small percentage of the world has access to clean, drinking water. Other artists and authors having jumped on the bandwagon for this tour. This summer Ride:well tour has been mentioned on Starbucks twitter account several times already (to nearly a million caffeinated followers). Facebook causes team has written a blog about their ride and they have connected with World Vision a bit as well. They have also been featured several times in Relevant Magazine.

Another tour happening right now is Just+Hope Tour with a team riding from Seattle to New York City to raise awareness and funds to free sex slaves in Thailand. Their Minneapolis benefit was Saturday night, July 17, 2010 at the Overflow Cafe in Minneapolis from 7-10pm and featured local artists and the riders. We interviewed them on 95.3 Praise FM as well. Check the tours out and be a part - who knows, you may just end up on a bike someday yourself.

Persecution had led the early Christians to scatter and bring the seed of the Gospel with them.  Philip the Evangelist went to Samaria and revival broke out in the city - cripples and paralytics were being healed left and right, and many were being freed from demonic oppression.  The whole city was filled with joy!  This is a true picture of revival.  But then, something strange happens - God sends an angel to tell Philip to leave the revival!  An angel was needed here, because Philip would have a hard time leaving unless God was clear.  God tells him to go down a desert road that leads to Gaza.

As he goes, a chariot is passing, and the Holy Spirit directs him to run alongside the chariot and witness to the Ethiopian man in the back!  Philip witnesses while running alongside a chariot!  The man is a high-up Ethiopian official in the Queen's court, and ripe for the Gospel.  Philip takes him from one passage of Scripture and points him to Jesus.  The man asks to be baptized along the side of the road, Philip baptizes him and is suddenly supernaturally tranported (yes, Star Trek style) 20 miles to Azotus where he begins preaching again.  This is the only New Testament passage that shares about someone being transported - there are several miracles like this mentioned in the Old Testament.

This passage is not only incredible, but also shows us a bit about the priorities of God.  God is really moving in Samaria, great things are happening, but he calls Philip to leave the revival.  Revival is not the main thing we should be after.  Instead, we should be after obedience to Christ.  Our greatest passion in life should be to fulfill our assignment from God - going where we sense He places us and doing what we sense He wants us to do.

Second, do we have a passion to run after those who don't know Christ?  I'm not encouraging you to literally run alongside cars (or chariots, if you ever see them), but in the small works of your life, are you praying, giving and going with the message of the cross to your neighborhood, city and nation?  One commentary shared a great thought - this passage of Scripture contains the essentials of true evangelism:
-The man of God - are we walking closely with the Lord and being obedient to the Scriptures?
-The Spirit of God - are we allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our words and our witness?
The Word of God - do we know the Scriptures, can we show people the way to Christ by the Word?
A powerful combination.

May God give us the burden and passion that Philip the Evangelist had to fulfill our assignment and run after lost souls!

Previously, they had reviewed our new book Revolutionaries on page 15 earlier this year in the April issue.

To give you a little history, MCC took home lots of awards from the Dallas Evangelical Press Association awards show earlier this year, including best overall Christian newspaper!  The editor Scott Noble has previously worked for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Decision Magazine.  The distribution of MCC goes out to tens of thousands of Christians of all denominations across the Twin Cities each month.

I just love Decision Magazine and the Minnesota Christian Chronicle.  It is such an honor that they decided to write an article about Think Eternity and our new book Revolutionaries, and we were blown away when they featured the ministry on page 1.  Praise God for this blessing, and we pray He gets so much glory through our lives.

The e-edition of the July issue is now available and you can read it by clicking here.

It reminds me of a movie I saw as a kid, where professional baseball players are grumpy and making qualms over the little things and forgetting that they are living the dream.

Discontentment is okay if it is the Holy Spirit redirecting our lives, but often our discontentment can really be a deeper issue - one of wanting to stand out in people's eyes, and build our own "little kingdom" rather than being satisfied in walking with the Lord and building His Kingdom (even if we don't get the credit).

"Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats. Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.  You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves.  You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way. You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it." (James 3:13-4:11, Msg)