The Office

Guess the characters...

PS-I am so glad The Office is back!

Quote of the week

The contest is a lion fight...so chin up, put your shoulders back, walk proud, strut a little; don't lick your wounds, CELEBRATE them. The scars you bear are the sign of a competitor. You were in a lion fight...just because you didn't win doesn't mean you don't know how to roar.

Anyone recognize this?

Headed to Kenya

Hey blogging buddies. So I am headed to Africa this summer and totally thought that I'd give all of you a heads up, ask for prayer, oh yeah if any of you feel called to help me with the trip that would be totally awesome as well. Thanks for the prayers...


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Dear Friend,

Did you know that each year 3.4 million people, mostly children die from water-related diseases? In Africa alone, waterborne diseases cause 85 percent of illnesses in children. Even worse, according to recent statistics, over 17 million Africans have died from AIDS. Last year alone, 2.3 million died from the virus. Currently 28 million Africans are infected with HIV; approximately 1.5 million of those are children.

What does that mean for us? Great question! This summer I have been presented with the opportunity to join Crossroads Church of Pittsburgh on a mission to the continent of Africa. My Father serves as the Senior Minister at Crossroads Church and I am so excited to join their team this year in Kenya. To date their teams have been a part of:
• Teaching over 18,000 students HIV education and abstinence training
• Building two churches and trained a number of pastors to continue the work long after they returned to the states.
• Established a relationship with World Vision and raised the support to purchase 3 water wells for a struggling town.
• Been a part of ministering and sharing the Gospel in two UN refugee camps.

This year I feel God has called me to join Him in His work in Kenya. We will be traveling to Bomet, Kenya for two weeks in June. Bomet is a very poor, heavily populated area and the ministry opportunities are endless. This summer we'll be focusing on HIV education, abstinence training, Vacation Bible Schools (for the young children in the orphanages), ministering in a number of local churches and training church leaders and pastors. If God blesses us with enough funding, we'll also be purchasing the supplies and building a church in the village and building a water-well for the World Vision AIDS orphanage.

We take a lot for granted in the US! So many Africans suffer from lack of clean water and wells. Women in Africa are walking sometimes 10 miles a day to bring clean drinking water to their families. As Bono has said, "if everyone gets together, this idea of brining water to Africa is not far-fetched. It's possible, and we can do it right now.'

Please pray about partnering with me. To be clear, I need some financial help with the trip. In order for us to be able to travel to Kenya and provide the support for the missions projects each person needs to raise $3,000.

If you choose to make a financial donation, please write the check payable to Crossroads Church of Pittsburgh, with my name in the memo portion. This will allow your gift to be a tax-deductible donation for 2008.

Thanks for your prayers and your partnership. I count this as a huge privilege and honor to be a part of God's work on the continent of Africa. Thanks for considering this partnership with me. If you're interested in participating email me and I'll fill you in on the details on how you can be a part of making a difference this summer through our trip.

Blessings,

Zach Montroy
zmontroy@gingercreek.org

Willow's REVEAL Study

I've been reading the blog buzz about Willow's Reveal Study and am kind of blown away at some people assumptions. I read this today on blogging buddy Ben's site today:

Willow's Dangerous Confessions

Willow's REVEAL study is killing me... I love Willow. And I LOVE that they're re-examining their approach to disciple-making. But something critical is being lost in translation...

God used Willow's model to reach hundreds of thousands of people with the Gospel. But as with ALL models and approaches... their effectiveness has waned. The old wineskin has started showing some cracks. Scores of people have matured in Christ and are now waiting for the next step.

Willow is so good to respond. This shift is critical, necessary, vital... and I applaud them for doing it. BUT the interpretation that others are making is: "We were wrong with the seeker model... We have sinned... We should have never done this."

I don't think this is what Willow is saying, but it's coming across that way. The somber black & white video footage, the empty auditorium, the despondent diaglogue... it might as well be a life insurance commercial for a fellow who lost his uninsured wife.

I think there's a way to turn at the fork in the road without cursing the journey.

*****
I must say...I couldn't agree with Ben more. One of the ways that God spoke to me to go into ministry and more specifically do what I do was at a Willow Creek Arts Conference. This very interesting topic and discussion is interesting. Anyone have any thoughts?

Charles is blogging

Charles (my boss) is currently on his way to Haiti with the Feed My Starving Children organization and we setup a blog for him (finally).

Check it out.

An incredible team

Here's the team that made Easter 2008 happen. Thanks everyone...GREAT JOB!