|
September 2007
• DJ Classic Article: Don't Beam Us Up Scottie• Get More from Your Time with God • A Ministry Tool, Personal Growth Resource, and Great Christmas Gift—All on One CD! • NavPress Bible Study Sale Extended through September 30! • Small-Group Tips: How to Meet the Needs of Your Small Group without Killing Yourself • ReGroup™ Small-Group DVD and Participant’s Guide • October Is Clergy Appreciation Month • New Releases from NavPress • Comprehensive Lesson Plans for Teaching Kids to Pray • Answer The Call • Parting Thoughts: A New Adventure DJ Classic Article: Don't Beam Us Up Scottie  "The giant, white starship fills the screen, then cruises powerfully into the black depths of space. On board the Enterprise everything is perfectly clean and pure. No one perspires, no one leaves dirty dishes in the sink. People rarely cry.
"The characters are largely untouched by the outside world. A planet may explode, and only a slight frown of puzzlement or dismay will crease the captain's brow. Everyone is competent. Everything is under control.
"Occasionally in their quest for justice the intrepid crew ventures into a hostile world. As the matter transporter beams them into the most forbidding environments, they are secure in the knowledge that at the slightest hint of trouble they can be saved by uttering the famous phrase, 'Beam us up, Scotty!' Immediately they are removed from the scene of potential trouble, pain, or anguish and restored to the pristine security of the ship. A change of clothes and they are back in control."
Star Trek could be a parable describing Christian involvement in the world. But to fulfill God's purpose for our lives, we've got to leave the safe, secure environment of our Christian Enterprise. In this month's DJ Classic article, "Don't Beam Us Up Scottie" (Issue #75 May/June 1993), Ian John explores the risks and rewards of embracing the world. (Illustration by Mary Power) Get More from Your Time with God  Do you ever sense something is missing from your devotional life? The new issue of Discipleship Journal can help. Its special section shows you how to move from routine to relationship in your time with God. In "Cultivating a Connection with God," Cynthia Bezek (editor of DJ's sister magazine, Pray!) and coauthor Buddy Westbrook talk about their struggles to relate intimately with God and offer insight on how to experience a relationship with Him that is truly personal—and deeply satisfying. You can get your copy of the September/October issue at Christian bookstores or by clicking here.
Do you have friends or family members who would enjoy DJ? Now is the best time of year to purchase gift subscriptions with DJ's Christmas gift subscription promotion. From now through January 31, 2008, you'll pay only $17* for your first one year, 6-issue gift subscription, $14* for the second, and $13* for each additional gift subscription.
*Plus sales tax where applicable. For Canadian and international subscriptions, add $6. A Ministry Tool, Personal Growth Resource, and Great Christmas Gift—All on One CD!   Enjoy complete portability and instant access to Discipleship Journal's first 25 years of award-winning articles and artwork on your personal desktop or laptop PC with the new DJ Anthology on CD-ROM (Issues 1-150). Available in your choice of WORDsearch 7 or Libronix Bible software formats, both versions incorporate the latest user-friendly features from these top-rated Bible software programs.
Features include:
Purchase online now and save $40!
Need to upgrade an earlier DJ CD anthology purchase? Simply call 1-800-366-7788 between 7am-5pm M-F, MST, and one of our customer service specialists can help. Upgrades are available for $20-$30 (plus applicable sales tax and shipping) depending on the version you need to upgrade. NavPress Bible Study Sale Extended through September 30! Whether you're looking for Bible studies for a men's group, a women's group, a couple's group, or a young adult or student group, NavPress has you covered. And when you go to NavPress.com before September 30, you'll save at least 20% on EVERY Bible study you purchase. (Bigger discounts–up to 35%–are available on large quantity purchases of single titles.)
To browse available NavPress Bible studies and small-group resources, go to our special Bible studies resources page. There you can pick out the studies that are just right for your small group or Sunday school class, place your orders, and select the best shipping method to get your studies when you need them.
Here's a sampling of some of our best-selling series.
DISCIPLESHIP JOURNAL® BIBLE STUDY series
Nurturing a Passion for Prayer
DESIGN FOR DISCIPLESHIP series (by The Navigators)
DFD 2: The Spirit-Filled Follower of Jesus DFD 4: The Character of a Follower of Jesus
LIFECHANGE™ BIBLE STUDY series (by The Navigators)
LIVING THE LETTERS series (by The Navigators)
Small-Group Tips: How to Meet the Needs of Your Small Group without Killing Yourself In a small group there can be people in crisis. But there can also be crisis people. The first type may be too shocked or numb to voice their needs. The second seem to have "needy" signs taped to their foreheads. Chances are you'll encounter both of these types (or be one yourself) in your small-group life span. How can you help people in need without stretching yourself or the other members of your group too thin? We posed several small-group situations to family therapist Steve Williams.
(Please click here to read, print, or email this article from DJ's online archives. Issue #68 March/April 1992 © Discipleship Journal. All rights reserved.) ReGroup™ Small-Group DVD and Participant’s Guide Advertisement
October Is Clergy Appreciation Month Though we should encourage our pastors year-round, October has been specially designated as Clergy Appreciation Month. This year, help everyone in your congregation–kids and adults–give your pastors the priceless gift of prayer with these focused resources from Pray! magazine.
New Releases from NavPress
Comprehensive Lesson Plans for Teaching Kids to Pray  "PrayKids! is one of the best resources for teachers, parents, and children’s pastors who want to raise praying kids, equip children to know and experience the love of Jesus, and pass on the legacy of prayer...every church and family would be blessed to have this resource for their children." –Cheri Fuller, speaker and award-winning author of When Children Pray
Are you a Sunday school teacher? A homeschool parent or grandparent? Or maybe you simply have a God-given passion to teach children how to pray to their heavenly Father.
If so, the PrayKids! Teacher's Guide was developed with you in mind. The guide is designed to be used alongside PrayKids!—a fun and easy-to-use thematic prayer curriculum for elementary-aged children that is produced by Pray! magazine. (To view sample copies of PrayKids!, click here.) The teacher's guide, which provides comprehensive lesson plans for each of PrayKids! 26 issues, will get kids praying in a way they'll find energizing and fun! Teachers will find energetic games to play with their kids, cool snacks to make, and exciting movie clips to incorporate into their lessons.
With this comprehensive resource (available for only $19.99 when ordered online), you can use PrayKids! as a full-year, stand-alone curriculum or as a supplement to your existing children's ministry curriculum.
Click here to order your copy of the PrayKids! Teacher's Guide today. Answer The Call Advertisement
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re doing. When God calls you to act, you know it. But where do you begin? That’s where the Pastoral Leadership Institute comes in. Our training program is practical, focused, affordable, and convenient. In no time at all, you could be ready for ministry. If God is calling you, answer "Yes!" and visit us online at www.plionline.org to take the first step. Or email us at pliadmin@mcusa.org. Parting Thoughts: A New Adventure In June of 1990, I–a young widower whose 5-year-old daughter was about to start kindergarten–first walked through the doors of NavPress to begin a new job in ad sales and marketing for Discipleship Journal. My only credentials were a business degree from a small college in Arkansas, nearly 12 years working retail for a company committed to providing great value and excellent customer service, and a passion for following and serving Christ. My time at NavPress has changed me. Over the years, I have been challenged and inspired by my NavPress family–and by many of you. I've experienced the Lord's mercy in times of struggle, loss, and failure, and I've seen Him faithfully provide exactly what was needed to do His work. Now, after 17 years at NavPress and seven years as the editor of this newsletter, I am once again transitioning into a new ministry adventure. In about six months, my wife, Glenda–whom I married 16 years ago–and I plan to move to China. We'll spend two years learning to speak Mandarin, and then–as the Lord opens doors–we'll use our professional skills (mine in business operations and personnel development and Glenda's in physical therapy) to work with an openly Christian public service organization that's been serving–at the invitation of the government–the people of Shanxi Province for the past 16 years. It has been my privilege to bring you this newsletter each month. I hope it has encouraged you in your walk with the Lord and connected you with many practical and effective ministry resources. Thank you for the uplifting emails that many of you have shared with me during the years. As I pass the baton to my associate editor, Dianne, my prayer for each of you is that the Lord will continue to make Himself more real to you every day. I pray that, as you obediently and expectantly follow Him, you will experience more and more of His extravagant love, continue to be transformed into the image of His Son, and reflect Him to those around you in such a way that they too will be challenged and changed. My final "parting thoughts" come from Paul in Phil. 4:4-7 (MSG): "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down." With love and prayers,
Dave Wilson, Editor DJ Online News
Discipleship Journal Online News is
distributed freely each month by www.discipleshipjournal.com.
You are encouraged to forward it (in its entirety) to others who might
also find its contents helpful.
You are currently subscribed to DJ Online News as: %%EmailAddr_%%
Questions or comments about an order, our products,
or your experience as a NavPress customer can be
emailed to customerservice@navpress.com.
For personal assistance, call 1-800-366-7788 or 1-719-548-9222
(7am-5pm M-F, MST).
Comments or suggestions for the editor of this newsletter
can be emailed to:
customercomments@navpress.com Copyright © 2007,
Discipleship Journal
®, 3820 N. 30th Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, |
Whether you’re a new or seasoned group leader, or whether your group is well-established or just getting started, the 
