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Uncontacted tribes still exist. It is hard to believe a group of people can exist for thousands of years without having contact with the outside world. But currently over 100 uncontacted tribes are scattered throughout the world.

Yesterday, new photos of an uncontacted tribe on the border of Peru and Brazil were published. When the tribe saw the airplane, they tried to shoot it with arrows. Unfortunately, contact with such tribes also brings them in contact with deadly diseases they have never known. Survival International reports many uncontacted tribes are fleeing their land as colonists, loggers, oil crews, and cattle ranchers come.

So how do we reach these uncontacted tribes with the gospel? It is not an easy question to answer, particularly when contact could expose them to diseases. Each tribe is unique. One missions organization that does well reaching people who have never heard the gospel is New Tribes Mission. If you want to see what evangelizing and discipling a remote tribe looks like, watch the following two videos about the Mouk tribe of Papua New Guinea.

Evangelizing the Mouk Tribe

Discipling the Mouk Tribe

For Discussion:
- How do you think these uncontacted and remote tribes can best be reached with the gospel?

[via Yahoo! News & The Daily Mail]

I spent part of my childhood as a missionary’s kid in Lima, Peru. They didn’t have tacos there. That surprises some. Instead, a popular meal was half a plate of rice, half a plate of mashed potatoes, and a chicken wing on top.

I never cared much for tacos. But that all changed during my first Christmas in Peru. My parents had been saving a box of Old El Paso taco shells that they secretly brought during our move to Peru. And that night, our first Christmas in Peru, we ate American tacos.

Those were the best tacos I have ever had. It took a season without American food to awaken my love for tacos. But now every Christmas, I eat tacos for dinner.

MINISTRY LESSON
Sometimes it takes being away from something to realize just how much you love it.

In ministry, it is easy to become a workaholic. Your passion consumes you, and before you know it, ministry consumes your day. But the problem with living life with no breaks, no rest, and at full force is it will weaken your passion. The flame will flicker and, if not careful, burn out.

Sometimes the most productive thing for your ministry is to stop. Take a break. Take a vacation. And if your passion for ministry is real, then your short season without ministry will awaken an even stronger love for it.

For Discussion:
- How do you reawaken your passion for ministry?

Other MK Ministry Lessons
1. Speaking Another Language
2. Big Numbered Intis
3. Timoteo’s Fly Eye Kaleidoscope

Researchers from SAMHSA and RTI International discovered that an alarming number of teenagers experience major depression. In fact, 1 in every 12 teenagers (8.5%) aged 12 to 17 experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) within a one year period.

• 1 in 8 teen girls (12.7%) experienced a major depressive episode
• 1 in 21 teen boys (4.6%) experienced a major depressive episode

The likelihood of a teenager experiencing a MDE increases with age.

Among teens with a past year MDE, how many are impaired by the MDE in at least one of four role domains (i.e., home, school/work, family relationships, or social life)?

• 1 in 5 (21.0%) reported very severe impairment lasting an average 58.4 days
• 1 in 2 (48.3%) reported severe impairment lasting an average 25.8 days
• 1 in 4 (25.0%) reported moderate impairment lasting an average 14.1 days
• 1 in 19 (5.3%) reported mild impairment lasting an average 11.7 days
• 1 in 250 (0.4%) reported no impairment

For more details, read the full report. It is saddening to see so many teenagers being crippled by depression. Based on these statistics, there is a good chance someone in your youth group is experiencing a major depressive episode.

For Discussion:
- Aside from prayer, what are some effective ways to help teens prevent or cope with depression?

[via MSNBC]

This week, The Barna Group published research on tithing in the United States. In 2007, 84% of U.S. adults donated money to churches or non-profit organizations, but only 5% of adults tithed. This is not too surprising. Pastors already know paying tithes is not a habit of most Christians.

What interests me is Barna’s analysis of which demographic groups tithe the most and tithe the least.

Who tithes in the United States?

Religion

• 24% of evangelicals
• 12% of people who have prayed, read the Bible, and attended a church service during the past week
• 11% of charismatic or Pentecostal Christians
• 9% of all born again adults
• 8% of Protestants
• 2% of Catholics
• 1% or less of atheists and agnostics

Politics

• 12% of conservatives
• 10% of registered Republicans
• 1% or less of liberals

General

• 5% of adults
• 1% or less of downscale adults
  (Those whose annual household income is less than $20,000 and who have not attended college)
• 1% or less of people under the age of 25
• 1% or less of single adults who have never been married

It stuns me that the percentage of Catholics tithing is not much higher that the percentage of atheists and agnostics who tithe. And equally surprising is that conservatives out-tithe liberals by at least 12 to 1.

But what surprises me the most is only 1 in 100 people younger than 25 tithe. And the same is true for singles who have never been married.

How can a church effectively get more of its members to start tithing?

Obviously, discipleship is a factor since people who pray, read the Bible, and attend church weekly are among those most likely to pay tithes. And I think it is also vital for church leadership to communicate the importance of tithing, whether from the pulpit, small groups, or leading by example. Congregations tend to be strong in areas that are modeled by leadership.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any creative ideas like LifeChurch.tv’s 3 Month Tithing Challenge?

This week at the 2008 Q Conference, Jon Tyson of Origins Church (New York, NY) discussed the necessity of the re-urbanization of the church. Here is a mix of direct notes and paraphrased notes from several bloggers at the conference.

The Re-urbanization of the Church

The early church did it. In Acts, 120 people changed culture for the Kingdom of God. And because of them, 32 million of the 60 million people in Roman Empire were reached three hundred years later.

But why aren’t we seeing any change today?

We have people coming to Christ (individual renewal), but we are not seeing cultural renewal.

There is a lack of clarity on how culture works. Many people pull out of culture, but culture itself is neither bad nor good. You have to tackle the systems that run the world, otherwise you create a dualism. How systems are used determines whether they are good or evil.

We must address how the world is structured - the city, and systems. We need to deconstruct the bad systems and replace them with good systems. We need to return to the city, where culture is shaped. Paul performed cultural acupuncture by impacting cities. We need to train and release people into our cities’ channels of culture.

Just being kind and loving doesn’t cut it. We don’t just reach people out of an evil system. We need to change the system.

Sources:

• DJ Chuang on Twitter
• Scott Hodge
• Duncan McFadzean

Over the years, I have heard quite a few perspectives on church marketing and whether or not it has a Biblical basis. I believe that church marketing is a good thing although, as with any area of ministry, I have also seen church marketing taken to negative extremes.

Lately, as I have been reading Mark, I have been thinking about how Jesus’ ministry fits into the modern definitions of marketing. Specifically, I have been thinking about the 4 P’s of the marketing mix - product, price, place (distribution), and promotion. Jesus’ ministry is an example of what ideal church marketing should look like. Although I should warn you, Christ’s example always sets the bar high. So here are some of my insights:

The 4 P’s of Jesus’ Ministry Marketing

• Product
  Jesus is perfect. He was sinless. Therefore, His ministry was perfect. It was remarkable, and consequently, it created word of mouth.
• Price
  Jesus’ ministry was free, financially speaking. It was accessible to both the wealthy and the poor. However, because Jesus’ ministry (His product) was perfect, He frequently experienced more demand for His ministry than He and His disciples could supply. People were willing to tear a hole in someone else’s roof so their paralyzed friend could see Jesus (Mark 2:4). In Mark 3:20, Jesus and His disciples could not find time to eat. And when at the lake, Jesus used a boat as an escape plan just in case the people crowded Him off the beach (Mark 3:8-9). Sometimes to lessen the demand, He raised the cost of the time and effort needed to see Him by traveling to a secluded place (Mark 1:45). But people still came from everywhere to see Him.
  
• Place (Distribution)
  Jesus frequently traveled to make Himself accessible to a greater region of people. He ministered in the synagogues, the streets, and the countryside. He ministered everywhere.
• Promotion
  Jesus had no need to promote His ministry because the “product” was flawless. People promoted His ministry for Him. However, because He had a face-to-face ministry, it could be said that He used personal selling for promotion.

>> Read part two of the series as I take a look at how Jesus would market His ministry today.

Comments are now open on Church Relevance! So send me a nice friendly “hello” and join in on the conversations of my future posts.

Now there are some guidelines. I expect each commenter to follow three basic rules:

1. Be polite.
2. Stay on topic.
3. And try to add value to the conversation.

I look forward to talking with you. And I hope our discussions lead to a better understanding of how to do ministry in a more effective and relevant way.

With the 2008 presidential election nearing, The Barna Group investigated what issues concern America the most. What are the biggest problems that the nation is facing? Here is what they found:

1. Poverty
   >> 78% of Americans
   >> 78% of U.S. Born Again Christians
2. Personal Debt
   >> 78% of Americans
   >> 79% of U.S. Born Again Christians
   >> 81% of U.S. Evangelicals
3. HIV/AIDS
   >> 76% of Americans
   >> 77% of U.S. Born Again Christians
4. Illegal Immigration
   >> 60% of Americans
   >> 68% of U.S. Born Again Christians
5. Global Warming
   >> 57% of Americans
   >> 33% of U.S. Evangelicals
6. Abortion
   >> 50% of Americans
   >> 67% of U.S. Born Again Christians
   >> 94% of U.S. Evangelicals
7. The Content of Television and Movies
   >> 45% of Americans
   >> 60% of U.S. Born Again Christians
   >> 79% of U.S. Evangelicals
8. Homosexual Activists
   >> 35% of Americans
   >> 49% of U.S. Born Again Christians
   >> 75% of U.S. Evangelicals
9. Homosexual Lifestyles
   >> 35% of Americans
   >> 51% of U.S. Born Again Christians
   >> 75% of U.S. Evangelicals
10. The Political Efforts of Conservative Christians
    >> 23% of Americans

What I find most surprising about this research is that American born again Christians, particularly Evangelicals, are more concerned about personal debt than are non-Christians. With such a high percentage of Christians concerned about personal debt, I cannot help but wonder how many Christians are bound by debt to such an extent that it hinders them from doing anything great for the cause of Christ.