Author: Jonathan Dodson

Interesting title, huh? Perhaps even man-centered? What are your thoughts?

SEE THIS POST AT: DJCHUANG.COM

The Apostle Paul is Outside the Walls but has not left the building…

Check these shopping opportunities mentioned in RelevantMagazine:

TOMS Shoes
TOMS Shoes’ mission is simple. Buy a pair of shoes from their store, and they will donate a pair of matching shoes to a child in need. Founder Blake Mycoskie spent time in South America and saw the field workers wearing alpargatos, a durable traditional slip-on shoe. He was inspired to come back to the States and found TOMS, bringing the shoes to Americans with fashion sense and bringing more shoes to those in need worldwide. TOMS come in a wide array of colors and designs. They look good, you feel good, children get shoes, and everybody wins.

One T-shirt by Edun
For the fashion-forward activists with a little extra dough for Christmas, consider the One shirt by Edun. The shirt, $40 online or at Nordstrom, is pretty rad and is worn by gobs of hip celebrities. One of the coolest aspects of the shirts is that they are made in Lesotho, South Africa, from all African cotton. When you buy one of these shirts, you support African commerce with the West. In addition to that, $10 from every shirt sold goes toward AIDS prevention and medicine in Africa.

iGive
iGive works on a simple premise. Shop online through its website at any of its 650 affiliated stores (Barnes & Noble, eBay, Apple, etc.), and those stores will donate a portion of the sale to the charity of your choice. Through this massive site you can do ALL of your shopping at the stores you normally visit anyway, with one key difference: part of the money goes to charity.

Sub City Records
Sub City Records gives a sizeable percentage of record sales to charity. Sub City is known for its philanthropic stance; it also runs the Take Action Tour, which benefits suicide prevention. Buy the entire Thrice catalog as well as the other good music they have for sale, and you’ll help support great causes.

Grounds for Change
Grounds for Change is a fair-trade coffee company based out of the Pacific Northwest that sells coffee from all over the globe. Give the gift of joe knowing that you are supporting farmers from South America, Africa and Asia. In addition to supporting fair-trade farmers the world over, Grounds for Change donates a portion of profits to children’s environmental education programs and uses only renewable “green” energy. Grounds for Change is a member of Co-Op America, an organization of socially responsible businesses. Plus the coffee tastes good.

World Vision Catalog
If you (and your gift receiver) are OK without actual gifts changing hands at Christmas, then check out the gift catalog at WorldVision.org. You can honor that special someone with the gift of a goat. Although a goat might not seem useful to your friend, it can provide milk and dairy products for a whole family in Kenya. You can donate items such as fishing kits, freshwater wells and wheelchairs to families in impoverished nations across the planet.

If you never read Jenkin’s first book, The Next Christendom, you missed a good presentation of the state of World Christianity (see my critique here). In case you have had your head in the sand, the West (including America!) is no longer the locus of world Christianity. Using both historical and statistical analysis, Jenkins establishes a case for the global character of past, present, and future Christianity. Although he does not offer new observations (missiologists have been saying these things for some time), he does offer them to a new audience.

In reflection upon the vast influence of Christianity, Jenkins explores possible reasons for its longevity and global presence. He presents compelling statistics, theological and cultural reflection indicating that the shift of global Christianity has been to the 2/3rds Southeastern world. The continents of Asia and Africa contain not only the greatest amount of Christians, but the fastest growing movements of Christianity.

The global character of Christianity is not just “out there,” but is increasingly present in the growing numbers of immigrant churches in the U.S. However, neither the local nor global statistics of Christianity should compell you to read and reflect on non-Western christian faith. What should compell you is the understanding that the beauty of Christ, the expression of the renewal and redemption of all peoples and cultures, and the glory of God is manifested uniquely by the Spirit throughout the world. We can understand, enjoy and serve our God better, if we understand how others know, enjoy and serve him. Jenkins new book, The New Faces of Christianity gives us just that opportunity.