I. Thank God for what he has done in your life or the lives of others in the last month — feel free to be specific.

II. Pray for the People of Chile and Haiti
A. Survivors to be comforted and to get the medicine and supplies they need to get better or to stay healthy
B. Aid workers to have wisdom in knowing how to set up infrastructure to get aid distributed and to provide housing for the displaced
C. Medical teams to have strength, energy and supplies to treat the sick
D. Orphans to be comforted and eventually placed in mew homes with loving parents
E. Public health situation and sanitation — give leaders and aid workers wisdom and the supplies they need to manage the health risks
F. Peace and comfort for the people who are injured, sick or grieving
G. Wisdom for leaders and people as they figure out how to rebuild
H. Pray for people to give generously and for the funds to be used to directly help the people of Chile and Haiti
I. Pray for Christians of Chile and Haiti to trust God during this time of distress and to comfort others and tell them about God during their time of distress

III. Pray for IBC Elders and Pastors
A. Pray for our elders and pastors to have wisdom in leading the church
B. Pray that they would listen to each other and learn from each other as discuss various aspects of church life
C. Pray that they would grow in their unity and have a shared vision for IBC

IV. Pray for Venture Small Groups
A. Pray for groups to grow in honesty and in really getting to know each other and challenging each other to rely on Christ more
B. Pray for group members to trust each other enough to share their struggles
C. Pray for group members to be in each other’s lives during the week and not just at small group once a week
D. Pray for Venture people who are not in small groups to have a desire to plug into one
E. Pray for people in Venture on Sundays and small groups to be looking for and welcoming new people

V. Pray for a heart of leadership and service in Venture and IBC
A. Thank God for the people who are currently leading in Venture — sound guys, band members, Great Lunch leaders, the events team, small group leaders, small group members who serve as greeters, ushers, and info table people, people who make the coffee and clean up the coffee pots.
B. Pray for God to raise up people with new ideas for leading Venture in community outreach, small groups, and new Sunday morning stuff
C. Pray for people to serve in the IBC parking ministry, in IBC children’s ministry, in IBC’s youth ministry and in Venture

VI. Pray for Venture’s summer trip to Nicaragua — August 14-21 and for IBC Missionaries
A. Pray for the people applying to go to Nicaragua and pray for the team to come together
B. Pray for IBC Summer Mission Trips to Africa
C. Pray for the Student Ministries Mission Trips
D. Pray for Ruth Rhinier — teaching in Spain
E. Pray For David and Katie Black as they live in Canada and learn French in preparation for their ministry in Niger, Africa
Pray for Clay and Ruth Buttermere — missionaries in Macedonia

The Venture worship service is canceled for Feb 7, 2010 due to snow.

I. Thank God for what he has done in your life or the lives of others in the last month — feel free to be specific.

II. Pray for the Haitian People
A. Survivors to be comforted and to get the medicine and supplies they need to get better or to stay healthy
B. Aid workers to have wisdom in knowing how to set up infrastructure to get aid distributed and to provide housing for the displaced
C. Medical teams to have strength, energy and supplies to treat the sick
D. Orphans to be comforted and eventually placed in mew homes with loving parents
E. Public health situation and sanitation — give leaders and aid workers wisdom and the supplies they need to manage the health risks
F. Peace and comfort for the people who are injured, sick or grieving
G. Wisdom for leaders and people as they figure out how to rebuild
H. Pray for people to give generously and for the funds to be used to directly help the people of Haiti
I. Pray for Haitian Christians to trust God during this time of distress and to comfort others and tell them about God during their time of distress

III. Pray for IBC Elders and Pastors
A. Pray that they would listen to each other and learn from each other as discuss various aspects of church life
B. Pray that they would grow in their unity and have a shared vision for IBC

IV. Pray for Venture Small Groups
A. Pray for groups to grow in honesty and in really getting to know each other and challenging each other to rely on Christ more
B. Pray for group members to trust each other enough to share their struggles
C. Pray for group members to be in each other’s lives during the week and not just at small group once a week
D. Pray for Venture people who are not in small groups to have a desire to plug into one
E. Pray for small groups to be welcoming to new people

V. Pray for a heart of leadership and service in Venture and IBC
A. Thank God for the people who are currently leading in Venture — sound guys, band members, Great Lunch leaders, the events team, small group leaders, small group members who serve as greeters, ushers, and info table people, people who make the coffee and clean up the coffee pots.
B. Pray for God to raise up people with new ideas for leading Venture in community outreach, small groups, and new Sunday morning stuff
C. Pray for people to serve in the IBC parking ministry, in IBC children’s ministry, in IBC’s youth ministry and in Venture

VI. Pray for Venture’s summer trip to Nicaragua — August 14-21 and for IBC Missionaries
A. Pray for the people applying to go to Nicaragua and pray for the team to come together
B. Pray for Ruth Rhinier — teaching in Spain
C. Pray for Clay and Ruth Buttermere — missionaries in Macedonia
D. Pray For David and Katie Black as they live in Canada and learn French in preparation for their ministry in Niger, Africa
E. Pray for Blenda Chao — as she adjusts to being home after spending eight months in Africa

Last spring, I attended a conference called Q. Why is it called Q? The conference hosts would never say for sure, but most of the attendees think that Q stands for the many questions the conference asks. Q is not your typical Christian leadership conference offering tips for how to do some aspect of church-life more effectively. Instead, it’s a conference bringing together leaders in media, social justice, education, business, and the church to “think-tank” about some of the biggest issues facing us today.

Each speaker at Q has to boil his or her presentation down to 18 minutes. Once he or she steps on the stage, a digital clock everyone can see is set to 18 minutes. Once the clock hits 00:00 – the speaker must stops whether or not he or she is finished.

After several 18-minute sessions, audience members can choose to go to one of the speaker’s talk-back sessions. A talk-back session is a time to question the speaker on his or her presentation, to share ideas, and to brainstorm about ways to put ideas into action.

What most struck me about Q is it left me with more questions than answers. Sometimes two speakers would have directly opposing views. Both were well-thinking people addressing the same issue and coming up with opposing answers. This paradox made me realize how important it is to really consider things – not just to think I know the answer.

In future blog posts, I’m going to try to give a thumbnail version of some of the issues Q’s caused me to ponder. Because of Q, I am reading Flickering Pixels – How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps. So as I’m using technology to write this blog, I’m wondering:

How does technology enhance my faith?
How can technology impede my faith?
How would God have me use technology?

My thoughts on these questions and more are coming soon….