An Out of the Comfort Zone team experiences island life as they bring Christ’s love to children and families on Gilutungan and Kinatarcan Island.

Community encounter teams seek to serve their local communities and bring Jesus to their neighbourhoods.

The Turning Point Community Encounter team in northwest London learns to share Christ’s love with people from a Muslim background.

An OM Lifehope Community Encounter team works to plant churches in an area of England full of beauty, but one that desperately needs Christ.

Chorley Mission is a small church of mostly elderly people; a Lifehope team brings new life to the congregation through working with children and youth.

Guayaquil, Ecuador :: Logos Hope's crewmembers visit children living with HIV, to tell them about their value in God's eyes and the power of prayer.

'Communist China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region.' 'It's crucial for the USA to continue its support in countering these malicious tactics.' 'India, along with other nations in the region, is not alone.'

Every year at this time, Edison Research and Triton Digital publish the results of a study called The Infinite Dial that tracks the use of digital audio and related media in the United States. It’s a study that dates back over 20 years—it got its name from the digital radio that was introduced at that time—and is well-respected for the rigor and consistency of its methodology. This year’s study shows how the pandemic has changed digital audio consumption habits. It also shows a few surprises in the streaming music sweepstakes.

The 2021 Infinite Dial results show that the use of online audio—including digital radio, AM/FM internet streams, podcasts, and music services—has plateaued at 68% of Americans ages 12 and up. But there are clear winners and losers, and they don’t merely reflect pandemic-related factors such as people staying at home.

One big winner is podcasting. Growth in podcast listenership shows no signs of tapering off, as monthly listenership continues its linear growth path to 41% penetration, up from 37% in 2020. Growth is particularly high in the 12-34 age bracket, more than half of whom now listen to podcasts regularly (while the 35-54 bracket levels off around 40%). Podcast listenership is also getting more racially diverse, with nonwhite listeners now at 43%, up from 37% last year.

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled broadcast.... to share a message more momentous than we've reported on before. We bring a message of hope, of goodness, of peace, of universal brotherhood. Here's how we can join our voices in a global conversation that can forever change the world.

"In one's own way," my mother told me long ago, "every person can change the world." That advice was at the time more prophetic than a truism.

Hyperbole aside, I do believe that individuals are now empowered as never before in history. Individuals are no longer bound by the confines of time, place, language, and political regime in their quest to do good in the world. We now have the capacity to find each other, to gather, and to converse without ever meeting in the flesh. It's all made possible through virtual communities and virtual networking.

Why does that phrase in the United States Constitution "we the people" so resonate in the hearts of people throughout the world? I think it has something to do with our nature as social beings.

In the past, institutions such as governments and churches were needed to organize and rally people. The problem is that all institutions by their nature become corrupt. Leaders succumb to power and greed, and institutions stray from their altruistic beginnings as they amass fortunes and property, gain political power, and build monuments unto themselves.

To Jesus, the church was the community of believers. It wasn't a building, it wasn't an organization, it wasn't a corporation. The church was not a place nor did it own any property. It's unfortunate, but institutions calling themselves churches have embellished to the point of distraction those simple teachings of Jesus to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. The true church remains the community of believers.

To do good in the world, you don't need institutional wealth, buildings, and treasuries. To self-organize, you don't need creeds, dictums, laws, governments, and rulers. People just need to do be free to do two things: talk and act. You just need to be able to communicate with others of like mind and then to collaborate with them in resolving needs. All conversation inevitably leads to understanding. Understanding leads to acceptance and concern, which in turn naturally leads to the desire to act.

So why can we be so optimistic?

Think for moment about peer-to-peer networks, instant messagers, collaboration workspaces (wikis, collaborative blogs), online communities (Meetups, AOL, Craigslist, Tribe.net, eWomenNetwork, Yahoo Groups, Ecademy, Idealist), alumni communities (SelectMinds, Classmates, TheSquare), syndication technologies (blogs, moblogs, RSS news feeds), and social and business networks (LinkedIn, Ryze, Orkut, Spoke Software, VisiblePath, ZeroDegrees, Knowmentum, Company of Friends). These social networking inventions are now in place and changing the way we interact and converse. But they only portend the future; more powerful social networking is on the horizon.

Social networking facilitates real-world and online conversations. Each of these technologies helps us bridge the six degrees of separation in finding others with similar goals and interests. We just need to apply this knowledge to loftier purposes. It's high time we used what we know for a higher purpose than dating, deal making, and job hunting. How about world peace? Maybe that generation of Miss America contestants had it right after all.

I'll call this repurposing of social networking the "Good News Network." The Good News Network needs no place, no domain, no trademark, no sponsors. It needs only open access and to be built on standards -- standards to converse one language with another and standards to programmatically exchange information. It consists of you and I, our friends, friends of friends, and those yet to be brought into our circle of friendship.

The Good News Network has two functions: to promote conversation and action. We converse by sharing the good news, our faith, and our belief in the goodness of humanity. And we act. We act in small ways, in big ways, but always in individual and personal ways, to share the good news of universality and peace and to promote well-being.

We speak multitudes of languages, we live in diverse regions of the globe, and we comprise all races and nationalities. In this day and age that is unique in history, we can all converse, we can join a global conversation, and we can meet in the virtual living room or the virtual temple of our choice.

So back to the age old question, how do you change the world?

Start by entering the conversation. In your blogs, in your chat rooms, in your networks, in your music, in your poems, in your art, in your families, and in your communities -- tell your story. Let your voice be heard. Sign on in whatever way makes sense to you in order to make a difference. As the marketers say, create a buzz. In the sense of paying it forward, start something in your own way and in your own voice. Start a conversation that will spread, that will continue, that will penetrate the hearts and minds of the power brokers. Those in high places will join us. They will, as Saul of old, see the vision and join the conversation. Perhaps in fulfillment of ancient prophecy, those with ears to hear will find each other, and they who are confused will recognize the voice.

Interrupt your own broadcast to begin the conversation. Let it begin with you; let it begin now. Spread the Good News!

Season's greetings, my friends,

Ray Matthews
Editor RSS in Government

In which Nicole shares what she learned at the recent Whole Good News Conference and the talk she gave there. Also a lesson in time about praying while sick. Mentioned in this episode: The Whole Good News Conference hosted by MissioAlliance (https://www.missioalliance.org/twgn) The Life of Moses by Gregory of Nyssa The Emotionally Healthy Woman by Lisa Scazzero Irresistible: the Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer The intro and outro of this podcast are the songs "Idea" and "Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel, available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Did you know that the word "gossip" originally meant "godparent" and is connected with the word "sibling"? Did you know that gossip and Good News aren't the same? (Go ahead, you can tell me, I won't tell.)

Not everyone will agree, but you'll have to listen to figure out why. BTW, is there any good news? Fr Joseph speaks of his recent "work-cation" in the PNW.

Sometimes you can judge a podcast by its title!

As the following game show reveals, some of your favorite Bible verses might not be in the Bible!

In a world which feasts and frenzies on the bad news and misfortunes of others, Fr. John Parker encourages us to keep ever before us the truly and eternal Good News: that Jesus Christ became man and took on flesh for the salvation of the world.

"On Friday we tried to read the gospel on the stairs at the mission. We were not well organized and without structure. In spite of this, reading the gospel outside made us, even for a little while, to see and hear Jesus preaching to people in the light of the day, sitting in the boat." From reflections written by Fr. Nicolaie.

Sermon on the Leavetaking of the Elevation of the Precious Cross (Galatians 2:16-20; Mark 8:34-9:1)

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Lawrence Farley, pastor of Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in British Columbia, the host of the AFR podcast Coffee Cup Commentaries, and the author of The Gospel of Luke: Good News for the Poor, published by Conciliar Press.

Strange New Worlds gets another season, but it's the end of the road for the animated hit Star Trek: Lower Decks.

The post Good News / Bad News for the Future of Modern Star Trek first appeared on SciFi Stream.

Is it just me, or does it seem like every time things start to look up in your world, it’s almost immediately followed by a big, proverbial waah-waah? 

Like literally yesterday, after a phenomenal weekend of celebrating my 40th birthday, my boys started back to school and when my oldest (who is in 6th grade - aka THE WORST) came home, he brought with him a load of homework that should’ve taken an hour or less. But instead, I spent the hours between 4:00pm and 7:00pm working overtime to not say all the worst cuss words out loud in front of my child, because he had decided that everything else on planet earth was more important than his homework - “everything” meaning our dog, the smudges on the wall behind him, where the light in the window was coming from, and whether it’s been long enough since his last pack of fruit snacks to get another one. 

Why is it that just when we enter into what feels like a season of good news, lurking just around the corner is some sort of bad news. Sometimes it’s silly, insignificant things like my situation yesterday. But other times it’s not so silly. 

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas this past year, things in my own personal world experienced an enormous shift that would leave me in a place vocationally that I’ve dreamed of for as long as I can remember dreaming. However, in the other corner of the ring that is my life, my sweet husband is enduring the most trying season of work that he’s ever had to deal with and for the most part, it is succeeding at robbing every ounce of joy and peace in our home that it can. 

For some other friends of ours, in the midst of celebrating and gearing up for the birth of their 2nd baby later this spring, they suddenly lost their two year old son. So for them, excitement and expectation has been replaced with devastation and grief. Yet each day they fight. They fight for hope and joy and love and the future. 

I think that part of this strange cycle can be chalked up to life just being life. But I also can’t help but wonder if some of it has to do with the unseen, spiritual battle waging around us every single day specifically against those of us who serve the local church and strive to abide in the kingdom. 

Paul reminds us:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  - Ephesians 6:12

But Jesus also said:

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. - John 16.33

So while I would love to tell you that this piece is full of tips on how to avoid the bad news so that you can relish the good, alas it is not. But what I would like to do is encourage you, my brothers and sisters in ministry, to remember and bank on a few things.

1. You are not alone! Not only do you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, giving you the power to endure it all, you are surrounded by a host of others who are experiencing the same dichotomy of good and bad, victory and loss, rejoicing and mourning. You have not somehow been singled out to be forgotten by the Father.
2. Leaning is not weakness! Even Moses had to rely on Aaron and Hur when his arms grew weak. God gives us people to press into so that we don’t have to carry our burdens alone. We at All About Worship would love to be that for those of you out there on the front lines where perhaps there isn’t a ready stock of support. 
3. There is an “other side”! Jesus’ promise to us holds all the weight that we need to endure the days that seem riddled with bad news. When we take each circumstance to Him, His response is “Done! I’ve overcome it!” That doesn’t mean we immediately feel relief and things are resolved. But sometimes, knowing that truth helps us take the next breath, gives us what we need to press forward, and believe that He’s still in control.
4. Rejoicing and mourning can coexist! When something good is followed by something not-so-good, don’t overlook the victory. The enemy would love to see us move right past celebrating and acknowledging something God provided or did for us into dwelling on the negative. But it’s important that we delight in and make much of the moments when God shows his faithfulness and favor. Sometimes, those moments are what will carry us through the hard ones.

As long as we are on this side of heaven, good news and bad news will always live next door to one another and there really is nothing we can do about that. What we can do though is steady our hearts to be ready for both at any given moment. We do that by arming ourselves with the truths and promises in His Word, by surrounding ourselves with others to fight alongside, by worshiping even when it doesn’t make sense, and by praying first in every situation.

If there is ever a way that All About Worship can come alongside you as you make your way through the up and down seasons of ministry life, never hesitate to reach out on here, email us at info@allaboutworship.com, or find us on social media. We are for you and will do whatever we can to support you in your various places. Feel free to comment below specific ways we can be praying for you in the coming weeks.

Running out of things to say (along with health issues) was one of the reasons I gave when I informed people last year that I would retire on my 65th birthday. Today is my 65th birthday. And this is the 17,071st, and last, NewsCut post.

In the late '60s, a young man searching for peace, love and belonging traveled from the East Coast to San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district in search of fulfillment but only found darkness. 

Dr Shapira has been utilizing Neuromuscular Orthotics for 45 years to treat chronic headaches, migraines and TMJ Disorders. He is the leading proponent of Teaching patients to Self Administer Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks for almost instant relief.

DALLAS, October 17, 2024 — Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association, which is celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health, issued the following...

Solar, wind, hydrogen and other renewable technologies are likely to become cheaper and available at a rapid clip, creating huge business and political opportunities.

Pioneering jazz bassoonist Karen Borca has had to wait a long time for her leadership debut. It arrives courtesy of the adventurous Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint, compiled from archival recordings of two appearances at New York City's fabled Vision Festival... [ read more ]

Climate change is a huge topic and often debated across the world. We continue to burn fossil fuels and ignore our charge toward human driven climate change but while our behaviour never seems to improve, something else does! For the last few decades we have been pumping chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere causing a hole in …

Continue reading "Good News, the Ozone Layer Hole is Continuing to Shrink"

The post Good News, the Ozone Layer Hole is Continuing to Shrink appeared first on Universe Today.

Tyrone midfielder Michael Murphy's shoulder injury is not as bad as first thought, manager Mickey Harte has confirmed.

Construction has started on the undersea component of Google's Umoja fibre-optic cable.

OMers visit the beachfront cafes for weekly Bible study, seeking to bless the businesses and share God's love all year round.

Two young Hungarians share about their experiences serving abroad with OM on Logos Hope and in the UK.

An OM worker in Israel has an opportunity to share the gospel with his neighbours.

In spite of fluctuating numbers, an OMer knows God is working in the hearts of those who attended the kids’ club and heard the gospel.

Antofagasta, Chile :: A team of Logos Hope crewmembers pray for patients and their relatives at a hospital.

A member of OM Germany's Xenos Team, working amongst immigrants in a South German city, shares about a friend who comes to Christ.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

A total of 33 prominent companies providing medlinkhealth insurance/medlink in India have become members of the NHCX, which stands for National Health Claims Exchange.

The metro line project to Jewar Airport has been a long pending demand of the residents of Greater Noida and Noida.

But food inflation could hold the RBI’s hand in reversing its interest rate cycle in the near future

An Out of the Comfort Zone team experiences island life as they bring Christ’s love to children and families on Gilutungan and Kinatarcan Island.

Community encounter teams seek to serve their local communities and bring Jesus to their neighbourhoods.

The Turning Point Community Encounter team in northwest London learns to share Christ’s love with people from a Muslim background.

An OM Lifehope Community Encounter team works to plant churches in an area of England full of beauty, but one that desperately needs Christ.

Chorley Mission is a small church of mostly elderly people; a Lifehope team brings new life to the congregation through working with children and youth.