The Common Good

The privatisation and individualisation of our faith is a major concern that integral mission seeks to address.

If I keep my faith private it becomes irrelevant to life in society.

If I only focus on individual salvation and do not recognise the Gospel message that calls for liberation, redemption and reconciliation of all things under Christ (Eph 1:10), then my faith becomes self-centred.

Integral mission calls us to see God’s Mission for all of creation. It orientates us around what we all have in common:

• We are all made in the image of God, giving each person a shared dignity, invaluable worth and significance (Gen 1:26)
• We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, therefore we are all in need of salvation liberation, reconciliation and restoration (Rom 3:20)
• The Gospel does not just focus on people, but on all of creation.

What does this look like in practice? For example, we could look at the issue of justice and mercy. We can all agree that these are central to God’s character and mission. Seeking justice for myself and for my family is important. Perhaps I would be willing to die for it? But further afield? Seeking justice and mercy for my community or those who are far away, or even for those who would seek to harm me; would I be willing to persevere and persist in the pursuit of justice and mercy for them?

When John the Baptist was asked by those coming to be baptised what they should do, his answer was simple – those who have two tunics should share with those who have none. The one who has food should do the same for the one who has none. (Luke 3:10-14)

The common good may not be the ultimate good, but is an important aim for our society’s wellbeing. It recognises our interdependence and interconnectedness to one another.

At school I was part of a choir. Within the choir there were some outstanding individual voices, many with okay voices and a few who struggled. When we sung in harmony together we sounded amazing and even won a few competitions. Occasionally one of the singers would promote themselves a bit too much and the impact would be disastrous for the choir, even if their voice was good.

We had to ask ourselves what was the goal of the choir?

If it was to win competitions, we had to work together drawing on the collective gifts of all and working hard to ensure the sound was of a high quality. If the goal was to enjoy ourselves and sing for pleasure, we may still have had to work together, and perhaps the quality would not be as good, but the fellowship would be great.

If individuals in the choir simply opted to promote themselves, seeking the attention and the glorification (and even possibly an individual recording contract), the choir would soon disintegrate.

Society and media have tended to convince us that life is all about individual achievement and promotion, seeking that individual celebrity “you’re worth it” status.

The Theology of the Common Good does not overlook the individual development and potential, but rather seeks to harness this towards a shared goal, communities living life in all its fullness free from poverty, injustice and conflict. The power and the truth of the Gospel is that in Jesus this is possible. We are called to live in this truth, live out this truth, and call all to respond to it.

In our ministry activities and our aid programmes, do we have this shared goal? Are we singing together, both for the pleasure it brings and for the achievement of the goal we share?

Micah seeks to create the spaces and platforms to act together for the common good and for the ultimate good.

Together for Him,
Sheryl Haw
International Director

Urban Shalom

In the next 20-30 years the population of the world living in cities will grow from approximately 50% to 75%!  Whether we live in cites, suburbs, or rural areas how the world’s urban areas are designed, grow, and develop over the next 20-30 years will have a major bearing on our lives–our families, the creation, the economy, our communities, our churches, and our spiritual lives.

The Urban Shalom Project convened evangelicals from all around the world to a "Gospel and the Future of Cities" Summit to explore together the broad spectrum of urban issues and challenges before us, and how we can respond from a biblical perspective, and as a people of God.

For more on the issues and the UN Habitat 3 process, have a read of Dr Bryan McCabe's blog here.

Follow the project on Facebook here.

Watch this space in our next edition for more.

Introducing Sergej Kiel, our new intern. "A movie lead me to Micah Global"

'The Secret life of Walter Mitty – a nice movie I could watch to relax.’ Those were my thoughts when I grabbed the DVD last December to enjoy my free evening. But it turned out to be my starting point with Micah Global! This movie touched my heart so much, that afterwards I had to take a walk outside and talk to God."

For the rest of Sergej's story on how he came to be a Micah Global intern, click here.

If you would like to read Sergej's most recent blog on how the Syrian crisis has moved him, please click here.

Calling all Prayer Warriors

The amazing truth about God’s Mission is that he has chosen to invite us to partner with him. One of the important ways we do this is by spending time in his presence wrestling through the struggles and celebrating the breakthroughs. It is while we are here reflecting on his word and his promises that we begin to receive his guidance and his heart for all that lies ahead. This enables us to pray more intentionally and with discernment.

Prayer is vital as it anchors us in Christ, helps us to know his will, helps us to see how to proceed, helps us to be mentored with his values and love, and empowers us for all that needs to be done and said. Prayer also has a significant spiritual impact as it declares the glory of God and affirms his mission both in the spiritual world and on earth. This breaks down the dominion of darkness and shines the light of God into situations that need to be liberated.

The Micah Prayer Focus is designed to help us reflect on Scripture, reading with a missional / integral mission lens, think it through in our context and then stand together to pray. We will only ever be as effective as we can be when we are praying as we need to be - and that is why our prayer focus is received by all our members, plus anyone else who would like to join us in God’s presence, to unite our voices towards the transformation we long to see.

May we encourage you to use the Micah Prayer Focus each week. Please feedback any thoughts from your prayer time. And invite others to join in.

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter with prayer items or to sign up to receive the prayer update, please email prayer@micahglobal.org and you will be added to the list. You can easily unsubscribe at any time. 

To read previous Prayer Focus letters, click here.

In Memory: Elben César: 1930-2016

Elben César, the director of Editora Ultimato, a member of Micah Global based in Brazil, sadly passed away on the 6th October 2016. He was married to Djanira Momesso Caesar, father of five daughters, grandfather of ten grandchildren and great-grandfather to four grandchildren.

Elben has been and will continue to be a voice calling us to care for the poor and oppressed.

To read through tributes and to learn more about Editora Ultimato see here.

Our thoughts and prayers go with his family and friends as they celebrate his life and share the in pain of his death.

Worth Reading: Challenges of Christian Leadership

This book is drawn from a series of lectures given by John Stott in 1985 in Quito, Ecuador.

It explores the pressures faced by leaders and gives practical and theological reflections and suggestions on how to deal with them.

Available in a number of languages, this book is highly recommended.

Worth Reading: Articles

Transforming Life: Restoring Right Relationships with each other. By Wong Young Soon. Click here to read.

How consumerism infects cross-cultural mission: By Craig Greenfield. Click here to read.

Inspiration: Unequal Worlds at Our Doorstep

Dr Melba Maggay, Micah Global's President, delivered this challenging message at the opening of the 2016 HNGR Symposium to the Wheaton College community.

"Are the rich punished simply for being rich? Are the poor rewarded simply for being poor? We are not told what happened in between the scenes, but perhaps this is precisely the point of the story. The rich man suffers anguish not for anything he has done, but for what he failed to do. It is a sin of omission. It was not so much that he oppressed Lazarus, it was that he did not even notice he was there at the gate ..."

Listen to Dr Melba Maggay speak on Luke 16:19-31. Click here to listen to the 15-minute talk.

Click here for more information on Dr Melba Maggay.

Call to Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come

In 2016 the Archbishops of Canterbury and York invited parishes across England to join a great wave of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost.

The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of thousands joined the wave of prayer in churches of many traditions and denominations around England and around the world. What began as invitation in England started to look like the beginnings of a global wave of prayer for people to know Jesus Christ.

For 2017 the vision is even bigger. The Presidents of Churches Together in England are joining with the Archbishop of Canterbury and York to make the call to churches of all denominations in England, and Archbishop Justin Welby is sending out the call to every part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the World Methodist Council to Methodist Churches worldwide.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Watch this clip for more.

Opportunity: Augustine Fellowship

In honor of Augustine Aiyadurai, American Leprosy Missions and Christian Connections in International Health have established the Augustine Fellowship. Each year at least one experienced, service-minded Christian from the developing world will be awarded a fellowship grant. The fellow, who works in a non-medical capacity in a health institution, NGO or mission will be placed into a similar role in another country for a temporary period (up to six months). The goal is that the recipient organisation would gain encouragement, knowledge, skills and practices from the fellow, and be enabled to serve their clients better.

Click here to find out more about this opportunity.

Campaigns: Micah Sunday(s) Courage to Transform

Were you able to use the Micah Sunday resources this month? Don't worry if you missed the International Day of Poverty (17th October) - the resources we have made available can be used any time in your church. Follow this link to see the Justice video and download other resources.

Vacancies

Tearfund UK: Director for Global Advocacy and Influencing

Closing Date: 23rd October 2016

Member Events

Transformational Development Course: ISACC (Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture: 2 - 12 November 2016, Philippines. Email for more information.

Thinking Theology: Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence: Tearfund UK: Click here for more information. 15 - 18 November 2016, Nepal

Pro-META Virtual Training - Click here for more information.

Live Justice Together: The Justice Conference - Cape Town. Click here for more information.

Micah Events

19 November - National Refugee Conference, StopArmut / Micah Switzerland. This will be held in Bern. For more information and to register see here.

24 to 27 November - Integral Mission Conversation, Moscow, Russia. For more information and to register see here. Or email: Yana Goncharova for more information (NB: communication in Russian)

1 to 2 December - Integral Mission Conversation, Bangladesh. Contact James Roy for further information

24 to 28 April 2017 - Asia Regional Consultation in Thailand: Integral Mission and the Common Good. Registration to open in November.

Invitation to Invest

As we enter into the final quarter to 2016, we call on all our members who have still to send in their annual membership contributions, to please get in touch with us and pay the investment as soon as you can. Please stand by your pledges and commitments as this enables us to act together.

Thanks in advance.

Contributions can be sent via PayPal, Bank Transfer, Western Union or just contact the Secretriat to explore the best way for you.

Tools: Fundraising Platform

Five Two Foundation was created to help ministries raise more funds online, particularly for missions and missional projects. We realize that many ministries do not have the resources to invest in a custom fundraising website. That's why we created a simple and secure platform that can be setup in minutes, using your own brand and funds go straight to your own account with automated tax receipts. We want to see Christian organizations flourish and reach more people and raise more funds to fulfill their part of God's Kingdom purpose.

Visit the website here.

Find them on Facebook here.

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There is no limit ...

to what God can and will do through us all if nobody minds who gets the credit ...

#kingdom