Thursday, March 30, 2006

Interview with an Iranian Christian playwright, filmmaker

Y'know, I just yesterday had the idea of an Iraqui Christian refugee as a character in a film. Not that Iraquis and Iranians are the same, any more than Kiwis or Aussies. Just interesting though.

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ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com


Wednesday, March 29, 2006

THE IRANIAN NEW YEAR, THREATS TO BOMB IRAN, AND A CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THE COUNTRY THAT WAS THEN CALLED PERSIA
Noted Iranian playwright, noted poet and filmmaker, Ata Servati, discusses all three of these topics

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

TARZANA, CA (ANS) -- The Iranian New Year celebration called Norooz is symbolic of representations of two ancient concepts - the End and the Rebirth; or Good and Evil.

Ata Servati being interviewed at his home by Dan Wooding

The number of Iranian-Americans now living in the United States tops some 2,000,000 and one of them, noted Iranian playwright, poet and filmmaker, Ata Servati, invited me to his home in Tarzana, California, which is in the San Fernando Valley, to take part in the celebration and also talk about a number of topics.

He began by talking about the new year’s "Norooz" and also a second celebration. “We celebrate twice,” said Ata. “This one is called Norooz which is the beginning of spring and the other is at the start of the fall which is called Mehregan and marks the first day of the ‘cold’ year (autumn and winter). We celebrate both because it means new – the nature is new – both inside and outside. Everything is new. It is a time for us to be happy, not sad.”

Despite this being a time to be happy, Ata, who had to leave Iran, confessed to being saddened with reports that he had heard about that it would be good to bomb Iran.

Ata Servati took a deep breath and then told me, “I didn’t really want to comment about something like this when we are celebrating our New Year, but some people are suggesting that the USA should bomb Iran and kill and destroy the people there. I believe that making such comments is as radical as what the Iranian president [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] said about Israel.

“I hope all those who are thinking of killing people and destroying a nation, will stop for a second and think about another course of action -- following the path of peace and love that Jesus Christ talked about; the path that Gandhi and Mother Teresa also followed. Killing and destroying the people of Iran doesn’t resolve anything. It will make it worse.

“Therefore, I believe that we have to have a philosophy of love and respect and only then can we get something out of this situation. But killing and bombing the Iranian people is not going to resolve anything. So I believe that the media has to be responsible when tackling this situation.”

He then singled out another American media personality, Oprah Winfrey, for praise. “I have to take my hat off to her,” he said. “I really respect her for how she has made it in the media. I consider her to be a responsible entertainer and as somebody who can change live in a good way. And she does. We, as entertainers, have to believe in peace and love and we have to do something nice and good for the people. We should help them to be happy and make difference in their lives to become better and more peace human beings. Oprah Winfrey is my hero in this case.”

I then asked Ata what he would like people around the world to know about his people back home.

“The Iranians were from the beginning peaceful and spiritual people,” he said. “We are peaceful people. We really love to love people and also be loved. We don’t like war and my people do not want a nuclear program. Forget about what you see in the media.

“Recently there was a survey in Iran, and over 75 percent of Iranians said that they love America and only 10 percent said they followed the Mullahs who have taken over 90% of the Iranian people hostage and do not represent the majority of the Iranian people. To remove such a headache, the answer is not to bomb Iran and kill everyone. If the international community really wants to do something important, it is very easy; they should not allow the relatives of the rulers or Iran live in their countries and bring out the wealth of Iran and invest it there, especially while over 90% of the Iranian people are suffering of hunger and lack of medical services.”

He then spoke about his new book called “In Search of Heaven” which tells the story of the American missionary, Howard Conklin Baskerville, who in 1907 went to Iran, and the following year sacrificed himself for Iranian freedom, after the Russians had bombed and destroyed the Iranian parliament and killed all it representatives.

“He is known as ‘The son of Iranian freedom.’ I really wanted to say ‘thank you’ to this man and I want him to also be ‘the son of American and world freedom as well. I want him to be a symbol for living with honor,’” he said.

He said that he hoped those who have suggested that Iran must be bombed would read the book. “I would like them to look at the life of Mr. Baskerville. He was a Christian man and he decided that he had to help people that he didn’t even know. He went and sacrificed his life in 1908 for the people who some people seem to want to bomb and kill.

“Howard Baskerville believed that God has given the right for freedom that the Iranian people needed to have. When I heard about his story, I felt that I had to let people know about him and his bravery and heroism. He is a hero to me. Thinking about what he did is really beyond my imagination. His heart was full of love, just like Jesus was also full of love for the people of the world.

“I have to say thank you to this man, and I want the people back in Iran, particularly the youth, to understand what he did for their country. I believe by remembering what Howard did at that time, they will possibly rise up and get their God-given freedom back from the religious radicals that are in power right now. We know that these men are not representative of the Iranian people. But Dan, I must say, this is an internal problem for the Iranian people who will and will take care of their own affairs and will bring freedom to their nation. But without bloodshed. It will be a peaceful change.

“At the front of this change will be the brave women of Iran and as well by the younger generation who have more anger and passion. You know it seems when you pass over 35 your anger and passion will replace with greed and power hungry.”

“You know, the Los Angeles-based Iranian Cable TV ‘Channel One’ has suggested a few points that the international community must follow to help Iranians take their government and freedom back. They were great suggestions and are being mass emailed and faxed to the White House and the international community. Maybe you should print them too.”

Ata Servati concluded by recounting an extraordinary event that took place in his homeland hours after the terrible attack on America by the Al Qaeda terrorists.

“On September 11, 2001, many of the Iranian people came into the streets and held candlelight vigils for those that had died,” he said. “They did so under the threat of guns from the government. They also came to the street on the anniversary of September 11; despite knowing they are going to be batten up by the government forces. And they were. Some were jailed, and tortured. Some disappeared. I call that also bravery by Iranian people. People in no other country that I know of outside of America, did that. That was a very brave and radical statement for these people to make. It shows that they love the American people. And these are the people that some are suggesting to be bombed and killed.”

With the interview over, Ata rejoined his American and Iranian friends to continue with the New Year’s party!


Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com. (Ata Servati makes a point during the interview)

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ASSIST News Service is brought to you in part by Gospel for Asia (GFA). Gospel for Asia's passion is to plant churches among the world's most unreached peoples - those who have never heard a Gospel message. More than 15,000 native missionaries are now on the field with more than 29,000 churches planted in 10 Asian nations. You can help sponsor a native missionary for less than a dollar a day. Gospel for Asia is currently working to relieve the poverty and hopelessness of the Dalit communities by reaching out to Dalit children with food, clothing, and an education - all through the love of Jesus Christ. To learn more about GFA and their work among the Dalits (Untouchables) of India please go to their website at www.gfa.org or in North America call 1-800-WIN-ASIA.
ASSIST News Service is brought to you free of charge and is supported by friends like yourself. If you would like to make a donation (tax-deductible in the US) to help us continue this service around the world, you can do so by logging onto our website -- www.assistnews.net -- and making the donation by credit card or by sending a check to ASSIST, PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA .
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Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Prayer meeting

We walked into absolute silence, my jandals making the loudest echo in the wooden cathedral. I slipped them off, thinking of Moses in front of the burning bush.

The silence continued as we joined the group - some seated, some kneeling, some prostrate on their faces - at the front. Eventually someone spoke. She read a passage of Scripture where Jesus is greeted by a crowd. "What would you do if Jesus walked in the door tonight?"

Long, slightly uncomfortable pause as we realised this would take real thought, and the courage to express what was in our hearts as individuals. There were no rules here. Real dangerous territory.

Gradually the responses came. A song, a phrase. One person ran towards the door, thanking Jesus and bowing down to him.

For me, my response was shock and awe. Words would be so cheap if the creator of the universe walked in the door. I just gave him the biggest smile I could, and thanked him quietly.

Later on, if anyone had a message from the Lord to share, they were encouraged to share it. One person felt that not only did Jesus want to come in and be with us, he also wanted to bring gifts.

Then - this is funny - Luke, the pastor, picked up a plastic bag and started handing fruit out. Their neighbours had given them this big bag of fruit, and this is what it was for. What a brilliant moment. God has such a cool sense of humour. I got an apple.

It's funny; we'd resisted going along to these Tuesday night prayer meetings because we felt we needed something more like a homegroup, something with community. But here we found such wonderful, real, vulnerable community. Sometimes we don't appreciate what's right in front of us.

Do you know Jesus?

Do you know Jesus?

For her humility and small size, Grace is an amazing woman.

We first heard about her in a church newsletter last year; she was on a missionary trip to Hawaii and then Japan. Not knowing much more about her, we prayed that God would bless her trip.

Fast forward to last Sunday. Marie's mum, going through some struggles of her own, goes to Christian Life Centre, meets Grace out of the blue, and takes her home for lunch.

Lunch turns into dinner, dinner turns into the spare room for the night, and so on until today. Freeloader? No! Blessing? Yes!

Not only has Grace helped Marie's mum with some of the areas she was struggling with, she also advised Marie on her studies, having come from a very similar background herself. That was something only God could arrange.

Grace has this question she asks people - Do you know Jesus? It's a real cut-through-the-crap sort of question. People usually answer "I'm not religious" or "I used to go to church" but she points out that's not what she asks. Then she tells them Jesus loves them and that's it. No pressure, no hassle.

It's really nice to have some simplicity in your life sometimes. Maybe one day I'll learn how to be that simple.

Is Ministry Leadership Different?

LeadershipJournal.net - Leader's Insight: Is Ministry Leadership Different?

Interesting article featuring comments from Pastor Andy Stanley and Jim Collins, author of Good to Great.

I'm a fan of Collins' words on leadership, but definitely not a fan of the corporate mega-church fad.

In the article, Andy Stanley says:

"One of the criticisms I get is 'Your church is so corporate...' And I say, 'Ok, you're right. Now why is that a bad model?"

Here's why:

* Church is not business. They have fundamentally different purposes: business exists primarily to make money; churches exist to reflect the character of God. Sure, they overlap - you can have a business that also reflects aspects of God's character if it's run well, and you can have a prosperous church, but it's harmful to confuse the primary purpose of the two.

* People are crying out for a church that supports them in doing what God has called them to do - being salt of the earth, wherever they find themselves - rather than being cajoled, pushed and pulled into various administrative positions to maintain the machinery that is 'church', while making those who aren't 'serving the Lord in full time ministry' feel less spiritual.

* Businesses of necessity have to have a strong brand identity to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. A church should be very careful about their own brand. Nothing should be more important to us than our Lord Jesus. He's the one that gives us our identity, we don't have to go creating our own religious brand.

* Businesses are goal-oriented, both short-term and long-term. People are paid to work in businesses toward these goals. I believe churches should not be goal-oriented. Yes that's right; I know that flies in the face of much current teaching but I have thought about this over many years. Churches should aim not to do but to be - to be a facilitator for the fantastic potential God has given individuals and groups of people within the church. Trying to channel everything through 'church' leads to wasted resources and burnout among the leadership.

So what am I saying? It's not that churches can't learn anything from the business world, but they have to have a relevant, contemporary AND biblical understanding of what church is for. And I believe that is to equip God's people for works of service - and releasing them into it. So that means flatter management structures, looser structures altogether, and a laser-sharp focus on the church's reason for being.

On the one hand this should take the pressure off pastors, I mean elders. They don't have to do everything or be some visionary who's going to change the world.

On the other hand it introduces different pressures for ministers. They have to be very emotionally aware of their people, and available to them. I guess what I'm talking about is the old idea of a vicar.

I see true pastoring in our pastors at theSanctuary, Luke and Marieta. I've never heard them talk about Vision with a capital V, or going out and changing the world. Instead, their actions speak very loudly when they recognise us laggards, who only attend once every three months, and still welcome us with open arms. When they know their people by name and always have an encouraging word that's not generic, but specific to that person.

Sad to say, this is the first time in my life I've seen genuine pastors like that. May there be more in our time, Lord.

Monday, March 27, 2006

One of my hobby horses

...Churches treating businesspeople as ATMs, that is. Ministry happens as often - in fact, oftener - outside the walls of a church as inside them.

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com


Sunday, March 26, 2006

BUSINESS FOLK NEED A HAND UP, TOO
CEO says the only thing anyone ever seems to want from businessmen in the churches is money

By Lavinia Ngatoko, in Challenge Weekly, New Zealand
Special to ASSIST News Service


OUTSIDER: Dick Brunton outside his Takapuna office ... “It would have felt really great if sometimes pastors said ‘right we’re going to pray for an anointing on businesspeople.’”

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (ANS) -- Dick Brunton, co-founder and chairman of New Zealand’s leading market research company, Colmar Brunton, wants to see the Church provide more support for businesspeople.


In an interview with Challenge Weekly, Mr. Brunton revealed a deep hurt at what he said was the Church not recognizing and ministering to the needs of businessmen.


Mr. Brunton has been at the helm of the company since it was established in 1981. It is now the largest independent, employee-owned market research company in Australasia.


But for this highly successful businessman, who in April will turn 59, life can get very lonely at the top.


He recalls how in early 1984 God worked in his life overnight.


Although as a teenager he had felt quite moved when he received his first communion at a Presbyterian Church in Hawkes Bay, when he went to university he fell into a bad way of life, which would last for many years.


Then one night in February, 1984, suffering from an addiction that he would prefer not to talk about, he asked God for help.


“I’d been able to give up other things like smoking and drinking, but this particular thing I couldn’t. I was at a low ebb and I sat on my bed one night and I said: ‘God, if you’re for real, please show me.’


“I looked back down my life and realized that I’d been in charge of it, and that I’d totally screwed it up ... The next morning when I woke up everything was new. The addiction had gone and that was a great miracle in itself.


“But on top of that I felt this love and this peace and a great hunger to read the Bible. I don’t even know if I had one, but I got one somewhere. And I began to read it wherever I went - what a staggering thing.”


Mr. Brunton says, however, that although he had managed to through his new-found faith overcome most of his demons, he began to question his role in life.


“Because it was such a dramatic change, I thought I was the only person that had gone through this. I thought ‘gosh people need to know about this, and here I am working away on business - I really should be an evangelist.


“For years I labored under the idea that I was really in the wrong place. God did show me in a quiet sort of way that I was in fact an evangelist but it was in the marketplace.”


Although he knew that in his head, he did not feel it in his heart.


“And I think this aggrieved me without ever really realizing it. I read a book that addresses this very point and I do think that Christians are hated by the devil – hated with a vengeance and attacked with a vengeance in their marriages; their businesses, everything and it can be a truly lonely place sometimes.


“If you’re the CEO of a business, you’re the boss and you can’t really wear your heart on your sleeve with the staff. It can be a lonely place.


“It would have felt really great if sometimes pastors said ‘right we’re going to pray for an anointing on businesspeople, for wisdom, or for all the things that business people need and to honor them that way.’


“It’s the evangelists, the helpers, the missionaries who seem to get honored and prayed for and blessed and sent forth and the only thing anyone ever seems to want from businessmen is money.”


Mr. Brunton said it was significant that a Massey University survey done not long ago had revealed that one person in two said that business was a necessary evil.


“Now that means that probably one church person in two, or one pastor in two, feels that business is a necessary evil.”


But his faith in the Lord, he points out, has never wavered and he has pieces of Scripture, especially Psalm 91, that he feels God has given him.


“I treasure them as little letters that God has written to me, if you like. One rock in my life is the love of God and I can tune into that anytime I want and I almost feel the anointing come over me very quickly - it’s beautiful.


“Sometimes I’ve just been working away doing little things and I get a ‘divine cuddle.’ It might last for about five minutes and then it goes away.”


Mr. Brunton says his plans for the company at the moment are for it to be much more customer-focused. He is open to exploring other options in his life now and although is committed to being with the company for another two years as part of his contract, is thinking of cutting down his hours.


“I’ve been a very goal-oriented person most of my life. But I think God’s going to let me have some fun, and a lot of love. I think one can be too earnest and too serious.


“I do feel that a door is going to open up for me and then I think it will be made clear to me how I’m going to be fruitful in my latter years, because it’s not clear now.”


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Lavinia Ngatoko reports for Challenge Weekly, New Zealand’s independent and non-denominational Christian newspaper.

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ASSIST News Service is brought to you in part by Gospel for Asia (GFA). Gospel for Asia's passion is to plant churches among the world's most unreached peoples - those who have never heard a Gospel message. More than 15,000 native missionaries are now on the field with more than 29,000 churches planted in 10 Asian nations. You can help sponsor a native missionary for less than a dollar a day. Gospel for Asia is currently working to relieve the poverty and hopelessness of the Dalit communities by reaching out to Dalit children with food, clothing, and an education - all through the love of Jesus Christ. To learn more about GFA and their work among the Dalits (Untouchables) of India please go to their website at www.gfa.org or in North America call 1-800-WIN-ASIA.
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ASSIST News Service is brought to you free of charge and is supported by friends like yourself. If you would like to make a donation (tax-deductible in the US) to help us continue this service around the world, you can do so by logging onto our website -- www.assistnews.net -- and making the donation by credit card or by sending a check to ASSIST, PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA .
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Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Fantastic words from an advertising wizard

I suspected it long before it was confirmed; Roy H Williams, the Wizard of Ads, is a Christian. It sneaks through in his writing from time to time; I admire how his faith is just a natural part of his business. Perhaps America is an easier place to do that... who knows. Anyway, this from his latest newsletter:

The Origin of Creativity

I like to think God said, "Let there be…" and then paused to think for a moment. Suddenly it came to him, "Light!"

If you accept the book of Genesis, then God is a creator by nature. And he created us in his image, little miniatures of himself. That means we're creators by nature, too. Creativity is our heritage. It's in our DNA. When we create, we're being Godlike. We're doing what we're supposed to do. Musicians, inventors, landscapers, cooks, beauticians and actors and writers of books are just following the call of a creative plan and fulfilling the destiny of a thing called Man.

What do you create?

In the fifty-fifth chapter of his book, Isaiah reports God as saying, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Now back to the nature of God for a moment. When he said, "Let there be light," we can be sure he didn't use vocal cords to create vibrations that traveled through air. The fourth part of the letter to the Hebrews tells us "the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Did you catch that first part, about how God's statements are "living," alive?

John's gospel skips Bethlehem and the begats. John takes us back to the big bang, "Let there be… Light!" Here's how he puts it: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him [the Word,] and without Him nothing was made that was made… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Writers, like God, speak worlds into existence. Likewise, every artist takes visitors to a world that isn't there. Photographers take us to long-ago moments by freezing a frame in this filmstrip we call the space-time continuum. Painters take us to places we've never been. Actors introduce us to people that don't exist. Landscapers create moods and feelings we didn't have before, as do musicians and interior decorators. Video games create emotion in us by allowing us to star in our very own movie. They are an art form like every other.

What is the form of your art? Into what moist clay are you leaving your fingerprints? Are you molding the minds of young men and women? Are you, like Alberto Mendieta, causing buildings to rise from piles of materials? Are you able to swing his hammer?

Please don't insult God by telling me you aren't creative. You are creative. And every creative effort brings a rich reward.

Read the first chapter of Genesis. And then create something. Do it so the thing will exist. Fling it into existence from the fingertips of your mind.

And then watch what happens.

Roy H. Williams

Monday, March 13, 2006

What kind of a protagonist is Jesus?

Last week I was on a screenwriting workshop with Paul Margolis from LA. One of the many, many things we discussed was the need for a fascinating hero - someone with something missing.

I thought about my personal hero, Jesus. Does he have anything missing? Not obviously. He's perfect - and you can't say that about anyone else.

But does perfect equal boring? Or is Jesus fascinating despite it all.

After mulling it over for a while, the thought came to me that Jesus is in fact missing something. Us. The human race. He feels the need and the longing for us like we can't even imagine. That is love. That is the grand drama.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Great Fast Company quote

This just in from Fast Company's First Impression daily quote email thing:

"If you have a belief, you espouse your belief. If you don't act on it, your belief is moot."

Dave Ulrich, management consultant

Read the article

Upon skimming the article, Dave Ulrich is a mormon, so it's not surprising he would quote something virtually direct from the Bible, but still, it's great to read something like that in a non-religious context.

Along the same lines, this morning when Marie and I were praying, I was just going through the concepts, not the words, of the Lord's Prayer ... Marie said it was good to do that, because we easily forget the meaning behind the words.

Friday, March 03, 2006

FUEL e-newsletter - metrospirituals?

In the latest FUEL e-newsletter (about marketing), they're talking about "metrospirituals":

Metrospirituals include everyone from celebrities (Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Gere and Angelina Jolie, to name a few) to average office workers looking to add meaning to their lives. What they all aspire to, both in themselves and in the products they buy, is a socially conscious combination of style and substance.

...

"Just because you're spiritual does not mean you can't be a rabid consumer," notes Sharon Lee, co-founder of the youth trend forecasting firm Look-Look, which has been tracking the rise of metrospirituals among the 14-35 age group for the past six years.