Tiltshift

This guy is amazing! Using 'Tiltshift Photography' and time lapse, real life video can be made to look like miniature scenes.

HP "Create Amazing" - Director's Cut from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Croatia (2)

CEF Central European Leaders Forum

Around 35 CEF National Directors, committee members and Kilchzimmer staff have gathered in Crivenica, Croatia for the Central European Leaders Forum. We give thanks to God for His protection on the 11 hour journey (I just lost a wheel cap while still in Switzerland). Some fo the Romanian team drove almost 24 hrs!
The countries belonging to this area are mostly represented here. They are Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Gerd-Walter Buskies opened our time last night with a message challenging us to be both biblical and significant in our ministry to children.
Barna Kovac started the day by leading our prayer meeting before breakfast. Then we had a rousing message from Roy Harrison from 2.Tim. 2:1-10. Gerd-Walter then spoke on the theme of “National Committees and National Leaders hand in hand together”. I will be speaking this afternoon about developing Youth Challenge in these various countries and about leadership integrity on Thursday morning.
There are about 10 different languages spoken in this group, so everything is being conducted in English with some simultaneous translation taking place throughout the room. Thank you for praying for us.

10 year Bible College reunion

At the end of September, we visited our Bible college again for a 10 year reunion since graduation. From those we shared the 3 years with, some are now serving as missionaries in various parts of the world like Lithuania, Paraguay, Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria and of course in local churches in Germany. Some got married, had children, relocated, etc. It was so good to see those who could make it along including our year teacher who married us a few weeks after graduation (far left).

Eastern European Leaders Forum - Moscow

I have just returned from a very profitable visit to Russia where I was able to meet with leaders representing 11 countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Many of these brothers and sisters are working in sensitive situations, facing imprisonment for their CEF activities. Through my seminar, I presented the need for developing a teenager ministry and was able to follow this up with many private conversations. Many of the workers shared how the training and literature they have received has been put to good use. We were also able to make provisional plans for future JYC instructor courses. Many countries want to develop this ministry and are looking to us for help.

Photo: Speaking at the forum with my interpreter, Olga from the Ukraine (she did an excellent job!).

Parallel to our forum, the Russian workers were holding their staff conference. Together we profited morning and evening from the Bible messages from the CEF International president, Reese Kaufman.

Photo: Reese Kaufman preaching to both groups

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CEF EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
11-18 May 2010 – Schwäbisch-Gmünd – Germany

Against Music*

Greg Gilbert is not against contemporary praise and worship, but in this excellent article he puts his finger on something that many believers have fallen prey to without realising it.

"I wonder if the whole “excellence in praise and worship music” phenomenon we’ve seen over the past few years–for all the good it’s done–hasn’t also had some less-than-desirable effects on young Christians. I wonder if it hasn’t created a generation of functional mystics who gauge their relationship with God by emotional experience rather than the objective reality of redemption." Read the whole article

Greg Gilbert is senior pastoral assistant at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

Children's Ministry Leadership Course

The next Children's Ministry Leadership Course (CMLC) in Kilchzimmer, Switzerland will take place (D.V.) from 26th September – 18th December 2009 with two classes for English and German speakers. We praise God for the 33 students who have registered:

• For the English class, we have 13 students, representing Ireland (North and South), USA, Germany, Tanzania, South Korea, Slovakia & Britain.
  
• For the German class, we have 20 students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
  

Pray for the current group of students who will be graduating tomorrow (Friday), that they will be obedient to follow God's leading in their lives and that He would use them mightly to see more children in Europe (and beyond) being transformed with the Gospel. Pray too for a good start to the Autumn CMLC on 26 September.
To find out more about this course click here.