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The flying car

October 14, 2009 in Reading Notes with 0 Comments

It’s a joy to see people of faith on the frontlines of innovation. In the November issue of Popular Mechanics, Steve Saint is highlighted among “The Year’s Best Inventions” for building the first flying car! Sound like fiction? It’s not. Nearly ten years ago, Steve started I-TEC, an engineering ministry in Florida. He envisioned a vehicle that would allow the very same tribe that killed his father to get around the roadless world of rainforest and rivers they live in.

You may be familiar with this historic story. In 1956, Steve Saint’s father Nate, along with four other missionaries, Jim Elliot (husband of Elizabeth Elliott), Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Peter Fleming, made a historic journey to meet the Aucas or “naked savages” in the jungles of Ecuador.  Steve Saint was only five years old when he heard the news that his father and the other missionaries had been killed by the tribesmen.

In an unforgettable story of love and perseverance, Nate Saint’s sister, Rachel Saint, and Elisabeth Elliot, widow of Jim Elliot, moved into the rainforest to live with the tribe. Eventually many of the tribesmen in the contact group converted to Christianity, including those who had killed the missionaries. Instead of hating or fearing the Aucas (who now call themselves the Waodani), Steve  Saint grew up loving the tribe and forming a lifelong relationship with them. He is still passionately committed to serving hard-to-reach tribes.

And he’s still making the headlines. Powered by a 128-hp engine, as noted by Popular Mechanics, the 1100-pound “Maverick” can travel 80 miles per hour on pavement and move over dirt tracks. When a trees, rocks, or the end of the road get in the way, the driver/pilot hoists a parachute up a mast and shifts the vehicle into flight mode.

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Five Warning Signs

October 13, 2009 in Reading Notes with 0 Comments

Below you will find some information that Thom Rainer and his team put together about dying churches. I hope that in my ministry, Vision Baptist Church, we will be able to avoid these and do even more.

What were some of the warning signs my team saw? Though the list is not exhaustive, these five issues were common. Some of the churches had a one or two on the list; some had all five.

1. The church has few outwardly focused ministries. Most of the budget dollars in the church are spent on the desires and comforts of church members. The ministry staff spends most of its time taking care of members, with little time to reach out and minister to the community the church is supposed to serve.

2. The dropout rate is increasing. Members are leaving for other churches in the community, or they are leaving the local church completely. A common exit interview theme we heard was a lack of deep biblical teaching and preaching in the church.

3. The church is experiencing conflict over issues of budgets and building. When the focus of church members becomes how the facilities and money can meet their preferences, church health is clearly on the wane.

4. Corporate prayer is minimized. If the church makes prayer a low priority, it makes God a low priority.

5. The pastor has become a chaplain. The church members view the pastor as their personal chaplain, expecting him to be on call for their needs and preferences. When he doesn’t make a visit at the expected time, or when he doesn’t show up for the Bible class fellowship, he receives criticism. In not a few cases, the pastor has lost his job at that church because he was not omnipresent for the church members.

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