a miniature world

If the world population were reduced to 100
it would look something like this:

61 Asians
12 Europeans
8 North Americans
5 South Americans & Caribbean
13 Africans 1 from Oceania

50 Women & 50 Men

47 live in an urban area
9 are disabled

33 are "christian"
18 are Muslims
14 are Hindus
16 are non-religious
6 are Buddhists
13 practice other religions

43 live without basic sanitation
18 live without an improved water source
6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community
13 are hungry or malnourished

14 cannot read
Only 7 are educated at a secondary level
Only 12 have a computer
Only 3 have an Internet connection

1 adult aged 15 to 49 has HIV/AIDS

If you keep your food in a refrigerator,
your clothes in a closet,
if you have a bed to sleep in,
and a roof over your head,
you are richer than 75% of the entire world population

If you have a bank account
you are one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world

18 struggle to live on $1.00 US per day or less
53 struggle to live on $2.00 US per day or less

To see a Flash version of this go to
http://www.miniature-earth.com/

Engaged!

Lauren and I are engaged (for those of you that do not already know). We both know that God has an amazing plan for our lives and that He simply wants us to take small steps obedience in order to find His long term direction. Thanks so much for your prayers for us over the past few months...God has brought us a long way since last September when Lauren came into my life. If you haven't met her yet...you are missing out...

Summer is here. I am in Baton Rouge for the time being...enjoying living close to Lauren...doing some wedding planning...looking for some employment...still trying to "figure out" God's plan. Still thinking about doing Air Force Chaplaincy...we still want to live in Southeast Asia at some point to spread the Gospel there...we are looking at doing a beach wedding on October 17th...we are needing your addresses...email me at justinsmccain@gmail.com to give me your current address...

I just graduated with my Masters of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. A blessing for sure. I am trying to have the proper perspective on achieving this degree. How do you master divinity anyway?? Anyone have a answer to that? I'm grateful for my parents who have supported me in this call on my life...a church that also supported me in Istrouma BC in Baton Rouge, LA...and also friends and family who have supported me over the past 5 or so years.

In the mean time...I'm trying to catch up with old friends...make new friends for the future..."figure out" God...myself...and others...to make Him more famous in this nation and all nations. I pray that you are doing the same thing...do not be overwhelmed with life...let Him overwhelm you with His GRACE today...and for the rest of your life...that is the only way to live...and trust me...I am preaching to myself...

Simplified Missional Living :: Jonathan Dodson

I found this article on The Resurgence website...found it to be incredibly practical...thought I'd share it with you...I pray that it helps you to live more "on mission."

Eat with Non-Christians

We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.

 

Walk, Don’t Drive

If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.

 

Be a Regular

Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.

 

Hobby with Non-Christians

Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.

 

Talk to Your Co-workers.

How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.

 

Volunteer with Non-Profits.

Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!

 

Participate in City Events

Instead of playing XBox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city.Participate with the city.

 

Serve Your Neighbors.

Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative.Just serve!

HELP END SLAVERY!! BUY SOME COFFEE!

Dear Justin, This month, drinking great coffee can literally change lives. During the month of May Storyville Coffee is dedicating 100% of its revenue to IJM — up to$1,000,000 — to stop slavery, human trafficking, and other forms of violent oppression. Simply go to WWW.STORYVILLE.COM, purchase coffee, receive fresh roasted coffee beans in the mail, brew and enjoy — or consider a gift of gourment coffee for Mother's Day or to celebrate graduations this month.

Storyville is based on the idea that coffee is a ritual that gives us time to think, create and dream. In dreaming, we remember those who cannot. Your support can enable victims of modern-day slavery to dream again and to build new lives. Spread the word by forwarding this email to a friend. Warm regards, Pamela Livingston Vice President of Communications International Justice Mission

C.H. Spurgeon

“Human nature’s way of salvation is, “Do, do, do.” But God’s way of salvation is, “Done, done, it is all done.” C.H. Spurgeon

Colbert verse Ehrman = Hilarity...

Bart Ehrman currently serves as the chairman of the Department of Religious at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I had the privilege of seeing Bart Ehrman and Daniel Wallace debate at NOBTS at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum: http://www.greer-heard.com/about2008.shtml

Ehrman became an Evangelical Christian as a teen. His desire to understand the original words of the Bible led him to the study of ancient languages and to textual criticism, to which he attributes the inspiration for an ongoing critical exploration of the basis of his own religious beliefs, which in turn gradually led to the questioning of his faith in the Bible as the inerrant, unchanging word of God. He now considers himself an agnostic.

Nevertheless, Ehrman has kept ongoing dialogue with evangelicals. In March 2006, he joined theologian William Lane Craig in public debate on the question "Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?" on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross. In April of 2008, Ehrman and evangelical New Testament scholar Daniel Wallace participated in a public dialogue on the textual reliability of the New Testament. In January of 2009, Dr. Ehrman debated Dr. James White, Director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, an Evangelical Reformed Baptist scholar on "Did the Bible Mis-Quote Jesus?

Anyway...I'm really not sure how Stephen Colbert talks some of these people into coming onto his show...but he surely does. Check out this dialougue between Colbert and Ehrman about Ehrman's "new" book...Jesus Interrupted...

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbenwitherington.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fcolbert-interrupts-ehrman.html&h=74c96ec58db658124f0609cfc2980c03

Trevi Fountain

Mamertine Prison

A Race At Circus Maximus

Roma, Italia (Day 5)

Another day down in Rome!  We had another full day.  We hit up the Coliseum this morning.  Our presentaiton of Roman Gladiators went great!  Thanks for praying.  Kevin and I armwrestled instead of fighting and the reward for the loser??  death...

 

kidding of course...but I did win...So I would have lived to see another day back in the 1st Century...

 

Anyway...I am attaching a couple of pictures from the Coliseum today.  It was pretty amazing to be in such a place as the Coliseum.  Imagine the sheer terror that it struck in the hearts of many people in early Rome...imagine having pleasure in seeing people brutalized by the sword and wild beast.  It really was tough to swallow at times to think about some of the atrocities that took place in the Coliseum.  I believe that Ignatius (traditionally the first Christian killed in the Coliseum) said it best:  "I am as the grain of the field and must be ground by the teeth of the lions, that I may become fit for His table."  Wow.  How would we react in the face of sure death?  What if our faith could become so immovable that we could stare in the face of a lion and say...bring it...Christ awaits me...

 

We also got to see the Circus Maximus (think Ben Hur), The Forum (the early Roman gathering place), Palentine Hill (where Roman Emporers such as Nero and Domitian built their palaces), and Mamertime Prison.  I'll talk about being in Mamertime Prison a little bit.  It was truly amazing to be in there.  If you do not already know, this is the traiditional holding place of Peter and Paul before they were murdered by the Romans in the early 1st Century.  It was as small, cold, and dark as you imagine it might be.  Yet still, God saw them fit to pen the words of Scripture from this very cell...a place of imprisonment...writing words that would set the captives free...

 

May we, the people of God, be set free from our captivity...and live...