• Using the telephone for divine purposes. Some of you cannot get out to meet others easily (or at all), or perhaps the time to do so is limited. You can still do much to penetrate your world. Here is a simple suggestion. Prayerfully bring to mind the names of people in your circle of nearness: friends, neighbors, work associates, and more. Maybe one or two names will rise to the surface of your consciousness. These you can take up as a special intention. Call then, saying that you only want to say hello and wish them a good day. They, first of all, will be astonished, so unusual is this simple gesture of friendship in our day. But, in addition, you will often discover that your call is a "divine appointment" for good into their lives. This is the joyful work of Christian Mission. Of course, E-mail and other forms of modern communication can be used in much the same way.

I have given you several suggestions. You will not want to do them all, certainly not all at once. But one idea may be just right. Or it may suggest another idea better suited to your situation. If so, I encourage you to follow your leading courteously and unpretentiously.
—Richard J. Foster

GOING DEEPER

With our emphasis on mission, we had a multitude of books to choose from—histories, theologies, biographies, studies, commentaries— and it was a difficult decision. Here are our choices.

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader sets the standard for studies on Christian missions. Designed to be the missionary platform of essential knowledge for all serious Christians, it presents the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic perspectives, ending with strategies for development and pleas

for teamwork and discipleship. Used in church and college courses all over North America, its editorial and contributor list reads like a who's who of missions: Ralph D. Winter, J. Herbert Kane, Donald A. McGavran, William Carey, J. Hudson Taylor, Andrew Murray. The ninety plus readings in Perspectives give a multi-ethnic, international understanding of mission which maintains the Christian call without being triumphant. A basic book to own and read.

David Shenk looks at both the Old and New Testaments in explaining the basis for missions in God's Call to Mission. Using contemporary examples to show how the Bible challenges us to mission today, each chapter ends with questions for reflection as well as suggested readings from both Old and New Testaments. In the foreword Leighton Ford writes, "This book is a work of love; it is written from the standpoint of one who spent his life involved in missions; it is Bible-based; it has a narrative form; it is theological; it is simple and clear; and it is Christ-centered."

Gladys Aylward's life has few twentieth-century parallels. A missionary to China who led one hundred homeless children to safety after the Japanese invasion, she exemplifies all that is good about Christian mission: compassion, practicality, faith, perseverance. Parents can read the biography, Gladys Aylward: The Courageous English Missionary, to their children and then watch the video, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, with them. (It is always good to read a biography before watching a film or video: we use our own imaginations first; we know the facts before they become "Hollywoodized"; we learn the limits of visual media, and more.) I first saw the movie as a young adult, and I still remember Gladys' story. I know you will have the same experience.
— Lynda L. Graybeal