GlocalNet

Frank is one of our pastors at NorthWood that was born in Vietnam - we were talking in a meeting the other day and what he shared was good - I thought some of you might really enjoy this. 

Frank Dang’s Journal
A Reflection on an Inspiration From
June, 2010 Trips to Vietnam and England
In the East, the gates of the churches are closed but the hearts of the people are open.
In the West, the gates of the churches are open but the hearts of the people are closed.
As society turns into a global village, the concept of identity no longer remains as one single and fixed form, but instead, it has been changed into the cultures of hybridity, a concept that involves several and unresolved identities. People living in 21st century have witnessed the flow of information, technology, and the multiplicity of cultural values, religions, and identities that coexist in both worlds at once.  All of these are viewed as the flow/flood of globalization.
Having witnessed and dialogued to leaders/pastors/priests & professors from Orxford & Camabridge Univeristies, William Carey’s church, John Wesley’s church, & John Bunyan’s and other places/ churches in London, from the study tour on cultural/global and future leadership, the conclusion can been drawn as England churches have been drown in the post-modern era as the result of the flow/flood of globalization.  England, a one-time cradle of Christianity, now has only 3% out of 60 million attending church on Sunday.
What is God speaking to His People around the world, especially in America? Will American churches be heading towards England’s reality in a few more decades? Perhaps, the most important question for the American church is: How can she survive and float on the surface of the flow/flood of the globalization in order to break-through and start a whole new generation? 
The Revelation and Lessons from Genesis 6-9 for 21st Century churches.
        Genesis 6-9                                             21st Century
1. God spoke.                                          Does God still speak today?
2. Noah heard God.                                  Can anyone hear God today?
3. Noah walked with God.                            Does anyone walk with God today?
4. Noah obeyed God.                                Does anyone obey God today?
5. Noah did exactly what God told.                Does anyone have the courage to execute God-given vision?
6. The Ark with three levels/stories               What is the Church & its 3 descriptions today ?
7. Lower/Middle/Upper                             Cell/City/Universal Church (Dr. Bob Roberts’ Notes)
8. Every kind of Animal to enter                   A church of every language & tribe.                             
9. The Rain/the flood                               The flow of Globalization.
10. 40 days/nights                                   A long time/the ends of the world have come!
11. Rainbow                                         God’s faithfulness
12. New Covenant                                 In - Christ
13. Whole New Generation                         Whole new Perspective on the K.O.G
à Noah did exactly what God told him regardless/though people might have ridiculed him and his family for building the ark on the mountain.  And, when the flood came, the Ark did surf on the surface of the water/flood to start a whole new generation.  How to survive and surf on for the surface of the flow/flood of globalization? Perhaps, the church in 21st could learn from and apply what Noah had done.
How could a church impact the ends of the earth in 21st century? By being salt and light from where they are.  “The light that shines farthest shines brightest at home!”