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The Starfish Files?
Starfish line the shores of the world’s beaches. Chop off an arm, and a new one grows to take its place. Tear a starfish in half, and you’ll soon have two starfish on your hands. A torn-off limb can even become a brand new starfish. And what’s more, they populate by releasing hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions, of eggs in just a few hours. Just like the house church movement through the ages. An estimated 300,000 new house churches have started between 1998 and 2006. And this doesn’t include what’s happening in China, which has about 80 to 100 million believers involved, or Latin America, which had about 1 million Basic Christian Communities in 2007. It’s also taking root in Canada. Enter The Starfish Files. The magazine’s goal is to inspire, inform, and interconnect the house church networks across Canada and beyond.

• The average teenager still has all the faults his parents outgrew. ~ Author Unknown #
• RT @Billy_Cox Rt @CoachDawn: "To HANDLE Yourself, use your Head; to handle Others… use your H E A R T" ~Donald Laird #quote #
• RT @UrFamilyLivin ”No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop #
• A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind. ~ Albert Szent-Gyorgyi #
• People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than by those found by others. ~ Blaise Pascal #
• The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~ Mark van Doren #
• The greatest discoveries have come from people who have looked at a standard situation and seen it differently. ~ Ira Erwin #
• Learning is the discovery that something is possible. ~ Fritz Perls #
• You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. ~ Plato #
• The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~ William James #
• When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. ~ William Arthur Ward #
• All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. ~ Galileo Galilei #
• A man's errors are his portals of discovery. ~ James Joyce #
• Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. ~ Arthur Conan Doyle #

• Being available to walk alongside a family member, friend or neighbour in crisis is what neighbourhood chaplains… http://bit.ly/ce2eW7 #
• The most life-changing ministry we can humanly provide a group of overlooked friends is a simple Body of Christ, a… http://bit.ly/aIscGf #
• Enjoyed this: "The Missional Challenge" http://www.squidoo.com/missionalchallenge #Squidoo #
• RT @missional: 2 B missional is 2 believe & proclaim & obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pursuing His Kingdom & His justice & 2 do ths tgthr. #
• Discipleship is a journey not a destination. http://bit.ly/a5fNzI #fb #
• RT @Missionaries What is a Disciple? http://bit.ly/c4kU5Y #fb #
• @JaxStateFan Depends on what you mean by good Christians. in reply to JaxStateFan #
• @JaxStateFan We will probably come up with another term to say, in a complicated way, what Jesus said so simply. in reply to JaxStateFan #
• Missional Church… a simple 2 minute explanation of what it means to be missional. http://youtu.be/arxfLK_sd68 #
• Don’t Just Tell Me, Show Me (pt.3) @lanceford http://bit.ly/aJe5vS #
• Don’t Just Tell Me, Show Me (pt.2) @lanceford http://bit.ly/bZ6cwp #
• Don’t Just Tell Me, Show Me (pt.1) @lanceford http://bit.ly/9BqI3V #
• What does it mean to be generous? Food for thought. ; ) Ogori Cafe: Service With a Surprise http://bit.ly/cwkxqc #
• God loves us as we are and not as we should be, because none of us is as we should be. ~ Brennan Manning #
• @jgrubbs Sent an email but received an auto-response. I have tried to get in touch with Andy before with little success. ; ) in reply to jgrubbs #
• #FollowFriday @jgrubbs @nobuildings @buffal0nickel @felicitydale @desi_starr @KarlIngersoll @Reason4Faith @jasonwilks @dpbkmb #
• He became what we are that he might make us what he is. ~ Athanasius #
• The real unity of the church must not be organized, but exercised. ~ Johannes Lilje #
• God's agenda 4 R lives may B far difft from R own. He cares more abt R char than R convenience, comfort or cash. ~ Joseph M. Stowell #
• When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. ~ Billy Graham #
• Everybody thinks of changing humanity, but nobody thinks of changing himself. ~ Leo Tolstoy #
• God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. ~ Max Lucado #
• RT @889ShineFM: Family Literacy Day – TODAY! – What is Family Literacy? There are many ways to streng… http://ow.ly/16rgAa #
• @thai5 Even seeing some of the current stats related to the Internet it is hard to imagine what has been happening. ; ) in reply to thai5 #
• Working on a new lens at Squidoo on digital missions and house churches. http://www.squidoo.com/digitalmissions #
• RT @KevinMartineau: Help me raise $$ 4 Haiti! I'll give $1 for every $10 given! http://bit.ly/ayuadZ #helpforhaiti #30daygiveaway (PLS RT) #
• A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip. ~ Billy Graham #
• Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible. ~ Corrie ten Boom #
• This is the one and only chance I get to do today … How am I going to make a difference? #
• LINCHPIN – Are you Indispensible? Interview with Seth Godin "thought-provoking" http://bit.ly/cbJKRa #
• We have a God who delights in impossibilities. ~ Billy Sunday #
• There are three acts of faith; assent, acceptance, and assurance. ~ John Flavel #
• Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing yet had been done. ~ C.S. Lewis #
• God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them. ~ Max Lucado #
• Knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. ~ Samuel Johnson #
• The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. ~ C.S. Lewis #
• In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. ~ Richard J. Foster #
• The permanence of God's character guarantees the fulfillment of his promises. ~ Arthur W. Pink #
• Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough. ~ Josh Billings #
• If you can DREAM it, you can DO it! ~ Walt Disney #
• Who do I know could use an encouraging word today? What do I plan on doing about it? #fb #
• Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul. ~ John Maxwell #
• more thx 4 the RTs: @leonderijke @KarlIngersoll @thehilker @desi_starr @KarlIngers @Yoke_Folk #
• thx 4 the RTs: @KarlIngersoll @eugen12 @kayleighford @joeyboyblue @Jason_A_Coker @CMAResources @heidibezanson #
• The only real failure in life is the failure to try. ~ Unknown #
• An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come. ~ Victor Hugo #
• I believe in the possibility of miracles but more to the point, I believe in our need for them. ~ Dean Koontz #
• Truth fears no questions. ~ Anonymous #
• A friend might well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson #
• I myself do nothing. The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me. ~ William Blake #
• The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it. ~ Woodrow Wilson #
• Interesting perspective on how our world is changing.- Socialnomics: Social Media Revolution http://youtu.be/NhPgUcjGQAw #
• Great time of worship, study, prayer and fellowship tonight gathering in Christ's presence. #
• The church is not a noun it is a verb ~ Reggie McNeal #

• A city is a large community where people are lonesome together. ~ Herbert Prochnow #
• Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen. ~ Samuel Paterson #
• It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. ~ Henry Ward Beecher #
• The real giants have been poets, men who jumped from facts into the realm of imagination and ideas. ~ Bill Bernbach #
• Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not. ~ Oprah Winfrey #
• RT @BootsToSuits: A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it. ~ Bob Hope #
• Nobody will ever win the Battle of the Sexes. There's just too much fraternizing with the enemy. ~ Henry Kissinger #
• House church refers 2 an indigenous & self-functioning church small enough 2 gather tgthr in a home or similar surroundings. ~ Del Birkey #
• A house church network is a loosely associated group of house churches that are connected to one other by relationship. #
• Organic Church: Jesus being followed, loved & obeyed. Christ alive, forming spiritual families & wrkn w/ them 2 fulfill His mission.~N. Cole #
• Simple Church is a Christ-centered community founded on a relationship to God and to other members of the community. http://bit.ly/7MZotK #
• The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences. ~ Saint Augustine #
• When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask,'Compared to what' ~ Sydney Harris #
• thx 4 RTs, Mentions & #FFs: @quoteshash @eugen12 @prophetesstli @sunlitepuddles @jgrubbs @mannyhz @ajsdr @gailtiv #
• Mission Flows from Listening (Part 2) http://bit.ly/4osVYz #
• Mission Flows from Listening (Part 1) http://bit.ly/8muMom #
• A Declaration of War (The primary battleground is in our minds.) http://bit.ly/7hdyoa #
• @prophetesstli thanks for the shout out. in reply to prophetesstli #
• The Great Assumption by Milt Rodriguez @rebuilders "thought-provoking" http://bit.ly/8prWoF #
• In Essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love. ~ Augustine #
• The only reason to gather as His people is to be part of God's story. http://bit.ly/7ioWDR #
• RT @lensweet: "I believe every time ppl talk tgthr in a social & mutually gratifying way, the world becomes a better place" D. Menaker #
• RT @toddrhoades: "If you want to change the culture, you have to change the stories." – Harvard Business Review http://bit.ly/6sVyW8 #
• @sunlitepuddles You are welcome. in reply to sunlitepuddles #
• Cheat sheet on social networking http://networkedblogs.com/p24934033 #
• Christianity is not a theory or speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a living presence. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge #
• A human life is a story told by God. ~ Hans Christian Andersen #
• Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. ~ Anonymous #
• It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. ~ C. S. Lewis #
• The way we view death determines, to a surprising degree, the way we live our lives. ~ Billy Graham #
• thx 4 RTs & #FFs: @danielcberman @ServingStrong @ShoutMGB @elagrew @HarborNetwork @jimbell1974 @sunlitepuddles @sarahmsalter @nobuildings #
• House Churches as Sending Centers – Guy Muse http://bit.ly/8fdP82 #

• Sunday Morning Devotional: The Meaning of Christianity with Leonard Cohen (Interesting Perspective) http://bit.ly/5O6QhX #fb #
• Are Networks Important? http://bit.ly/4EdcyT #
• RT @PhilMcCreight Storytelling in Business from the Society of Storytelling http://bit.ly/5xd6I1 #storytelling #
• RT @worldprayr “When you pray, don’t give God instructions… Just report for duty!” #
• RT @ServingStrong RT @Curtjonestweets Learn from the turtle – You need to stick your neck out if you want to move forward. #
• RT @KarynBrownlee What does Jesus want? He’s not interested in our religious acts of sacrifice, but our gracious acts of love. Mt 9:13 #
• RT @worldprayr Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 4 this is Gods will 4 u in Christ Jesus Thes 5:16-18 #
• RT @PhilMcCreight Storytelling Expert Shares Secrets Of Using Stories To Promote Nonprofits http://bit.ly/8i5eWs #storytelling #ngo #
• RT @jgrubbs go and lay aside position and feeling and anything having to do with self. That’s being holy. (via @jasoncdukes in “Live Sent”) #
• Positive attitudes and actions take courage when faced with negative worldviews. #fb #
• Friendship is a plant we must often water. ~ German Proverb #
• RT @CMAResources Check out these audio files of “unpublished works” by @alanhirsch on @christianaudio http://is.gd/6gxjf #
• What does it mean to be a New Testament gathering of believers? Check out @rogerthoman post: http://bit.ly/4IDYj9 #
• If you don’t work with and through local people, when you leave, the work leaves with you. ~ Victor #
• Eat first: Meet later. The importance of building relationships. http://bit.ly/4E99aY #
• RT @nobuildings (Not just for house churches.) Chances are, there is a building you need to leave. Learn more here: http://su.pr/2ZUbq5 #fb #
• RT @oceansailor72: Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story. #
• @sunlitepuddles Yeah it is sad. But it does give opportunity to share Jesus in so many different ways. in reply to sunlitepuddles #
• Watching cartoons with my sons. Amazing how much social commentary is interspersed in kids entertainment. #
• Organic church is a lifestyle – a spontaneous journey with the Lord Jesus and His disciples in close-knit community. ~ Frank Viola #

Many people are familiar with hospital, military and workplace chaplains. However, if you put the words neighbourhood and chaplain together to form the descriptive title “Neighbourhood Chaplain,” most often you will be met with a look of puzzlement and the obvious question: “What is a Neighbourhood Chaplain?

Simply defined, a “Neighbourhood Chaplain” is one who comes alongside someone during a time of crisis. It has nothing to do with the title rather the function of being a faithful follower of Jesus.

“Neighbourhoods, in some primitive, inchoate fashion exist wherever human beings congregate, in permanent family dwellings; and many of the functions of the city tend to be distributed naturally—that is, without any theoretical preoccupation or political direction—into neighbourhoods.” Mumford, Lewis (1954) The Neighbourhood and the Neighbourhood Unit

He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ”The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields” (Matthew 9:36-38 NLT).

• @KarlIngersoll Thanks Karl. I appreciate knowing the name of the person quoted. ; ) in reply to KarlIngersoll #
• FB RT: The Sabbath itself is a sanctuary which we build, a sanctuary in time … The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals ~Abe Heschel #
• FB RT: To be a great man, you must be an obedient man- Phil Helfer #
• God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. ~ Sir James Barrie #
• The cold world needs warm-hearted Christians. ~ Anonymous #
• It is in the ordinary duties and labors of life that the Christian can and should develop his spiritual union with God. ~ Thomas Merton #
• The Bible is a compass, pointing you in the right direction. ~ Anonymous #
• Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway. ~ Mary C. Crowley #
• No two Christians will ever meet for the last time. ~ Anonymous #
• I believe in the sun even if it isn’t shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent. ~ Unknown #
• Live as though Christ died yesterday, rose from the grave today, and is coming back tomorrow. ~ Theodore Epp #
• @PastorPaul With the amount of responsibilities you seem to have on your shoulders I can understand why. ; ) in reply to PastorPaul #
• To maximize my effectiveness I need to minimize my focus. #fb #
• RT @tallskinnykiwi: 18 signs of a church movement. Continuing conversation on Organic Church Movements. http://bit.ly/72Qubn #
• Is There an Organic Church Movement (happening in North America)? ~ Neil Cole http://bit.ly/662Lq1 #
• RT @thequote “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche #quote via @brianprimeaux #
• Taking time to pray and reflect on the direction God is leading our ministry this year. #
• Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. ~ Paul Boese #
• A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds. ~ Unknown #
• Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on you. ~ L. Thomas Holdcroft #
• Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow; it only saps today of its strength. ~ A. J. Crown #
• Ultimately you are doing what you do for one of two reasons: to serve oneself or to serve God. ~ Unknown #
• There is enough time in every day to do God’s work… in God’s way. ~ Dr. Ted W. Engstrom #
• God is looking for ordinary people empowered by Him to do extraordinary things! ~ Unknown #
• @Mtbikerguy Who would of thought they would have a country station in Vancouver. They must of borrowed one from Calgary. : ) in reply to Mtbikerguy #
• In the end, a person is only known by the impact they have on others. ~ Jim Stovall #
• It is a wealthy person, indeed, who calculates riches not in gold but in friends. ~ Jim Stovall #
• A journey may be long or short, but it must start at the very spot one finds oneself. ~ Jim Stovall #
• Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. ~ Benjamin Franklin #
• Verge: National Missional Community Conference: Feb 4-6, 2010 Austin, Texas (The DNA of Gospel Movements) @VergeConference #
• Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. ~ Author unknown #
• What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. ~ Pericles #
• Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day, saying. ..”I will try again tomorrow.” ~ Unknown #
• Wherever you are, be all there. ~ Jim Elliot #
• You can live opposite of what you profess, but you cannot live opposite of what you believe. ~ Dallas Willard #
• Language is the apparel in which your thoughts parade before the public. ~ George Crane #
• Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. ~ Oswald Chambers #
• God sweetens outward pain with inward peace. ~ Thomas Watson #
• If we only have the will to walk, then God is pleased with our stumbles. ~ C.S. Lewis #
• The thing we don’t want to know about evangelism is that we tend to preach to people just like us. http://bit.ly/7UgRju #
• People look at life, faith, and the world through a variety of lenses or frames. How do we help them see Jesus without distortion? #

• Living a Good Story, an Alternative to New Years Resolutions. http://bit.ly/4W50Dd #fb #
• @MartinSchmaltz Your Welcome. May you and yours have a very blessed new year. in reply to MartinSchmaltz #
• RT @MartinSchmaltz: Will Your 2010 Goals Cost You? First Apostolic Note of 2010 http://tr.im/JaG4 #fb #
• Simple Tools for Praying. PrayerLiving and PrayerWalking. http://bit.ly/7waBSk #
• Two important aspects of our prayer lives. I. Prayerliving is about sharing your everyday ups & downs with… http://bit.ly/4F7izC #
• Simple Church Tools (C02 – Church of Two) Smaller Still The Transformational Power of Churches of Two. http://bit.ly/6DpB6H #fb #
• Tools: Developing vibrant disciples of Jesus. Life Transformation Groups: http://bit.ly/4AuHPJ Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/4LLE7E #fb #
• Vibrant families of Jesus in close reach, culturally and geographically, of every person on the planet. http://bit.ly/4JKWgN #
• What would it take to see a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach—culturally and geographically—of every person on… http://bit.ly/935TCc #
• Happy New Year everyone! #fb #
• RT @mikehenrysr: RT @mszot: Nothing of worth or weight cn B achieved w/ half a mind, w/ a faint heart & w/ lame endeavor. – Isaac Barrow #
• RT @johnmcginn: As we are on the cusp of 2010, remember: “All change is not growth; as all movement is not forward.” ~ Ellen Glasgow #
• @ChurchTaskForce Thanks. I just downloaded the workbook. in reply to ChurchTaskForce #
• My life lived for Jesus is my message. adapted from Mahatma Gandhi #fb #
• Discipling Viral Disciplers ~ Roger Thoman http://bit.ly/5hJWMV #

• Living a Good Story, an Alternative to New Years Resolutions. http://bit.ly/4W50Dd #fb #
• @MartinSchmaltz Your Welcome. May you and yours have a very blessed new year. in reply to MartinSchmaltz #
• RT @MartinSchmaltz: Will Your 2010 Goals Cost You? First Apostolic Note of 2010 http://tr.im/JaG4 #fb #
• Simple Tools for Praying. PrayerLiving and PrayerWalking. http://bit.ly/7waBSk #
• Two important aspects of our prayer lives. I. Prayerliving is about sharing your everyday ups & downs with… http://bit.ly/4F7izC #
• Simple Church Tools (C02 – Church of Two) Smaller Still The Transformational Power of Churches of Two. http://bit.ly/6DpB6H #fb #
• Tools: Developing vibrant disciples of Jesus. Life Transformation Groups: http://bit.ly/4AuHPJ Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/4LLE7E #fb #
• Vibrant families of Jesus in close reach, culturally and geographically, of every person on the planet. http://bit.ly/4JKWgN #
• What would it take to see a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach—culturally and geographically—of every person on… http://bit.ly/935TCc #
• Happy New Year everyone! #fb #
• RT @mikehenrysr: RT @mszot: Nothing of worth or weight cn B achieved w/ half a mind, w/ a faint heart & w/ lame endeavor. – Isaac Barrow #
• RT @johnmcginn: As we are on the cusp of 2010, remember: “All change is not growth; as all movement is not forward.” ~ Ellen Glasgow #
• @ChurchTaskForce Thanks. I just downloaded the workbook. in reply to ChurchTaskForce #
• My life lived for Jesus is my message. adapted from Mahatma Gandhi #fb #
• Discipling Viral Disciplers ~ Roger Thoman http://bit.ly/5hJWMV #