photo credit: escapedtowisconsin Just a couple of quick thoughts: Spent the day with a friend that I had known as a blog/facebook/twiter friend for some years but only just met in real life today. Man the world of the Internet is great, but real-life connections are just so much better! It is awesome how we managed to cram weeks of conversation into several hours and yet found that we were very much on the same page in everything we talked about! A shared meal does more for fellowship and friendship than weeks of online interaction, but on the other hand new technologies are making connecting with people and ministering to them so much easier! It is an incredible time to be alive! Last night I spent half an hour on the phone with some dear friends of ours who are in a time of transition in their ministry. They have left the familiar territory of their past denominational structures and have cast out into the unchartered and unfamiliar seas of what the Lord's Spirit is leading them into. Exciting but terrifying all at once. They are relating with an "online/virtual church" community that is providing guidance and support to them during this time of transition. New technologies mean new ways of connecting with people and all very life-giving. One story is of an online friendship that evolves into a real-life meeting and friendship, the other involves a transition from real-life church relationships evolving into having new online connections for ministry. The game is still the same, but maybe with these new technologies we have new tools in our toolbox that we should be using to maximum effect.

On Saturday a group of us went on a "Treasure hunt" to the nearby town of Los Barrios. The treasure hunt was a way of practising some prophetic evangelism in a totally different context to our home town of Gibraltar. In a totally different environment the clues and prompting of the Holy Spirit just had to be spot-on as most of us are not familiar with the town in questions, its landmarks, etc.

We had a time of worship and prayer and then sure enough we started writing down the clues...pharmacy, silver, municipal square.... domestic abuse..... and went looking for the places and people on our lists. We stumbled on a little square that was, funnily enough the municipal square...with a pharmacy...bounded on the one hand by a street called "la plata" (the silver) and n the other side by a council-run centre for women suffering from domestic abuse!!!! C'mon!!! At that point I had to leave early but a couple of folks were prayed for and I can say that the group that went on the treasure hunt are just off-the-charts encouraged and excited!!!!! We have several people that want to join our next adventure in spreading the love of Father God far and wide!!!!!!

Image source: a_purple_turtle Gibraltar sports a town square officially called “John Mackintosh Square”. My grandfather's generation called this square “el martillo” (the hammer) in reference to the auctioneer's gavel, as this was the place where public auctions were held. El martillo was the place where my grandpa's generation would meet, and solve the world's problems over a cup of tea. We risk losing that in Gibraltar – the power of conversations. Words have power. Words can create a reality into which we step and re-frame our understanding of world-views, situations, challenges and crises. We have the privilege, and the responsibility, to change the world. We work towards leaving a legacy for a generation that we will never get to see – a better world, a life that is enriched and where the summit of our achievement becomes the foundation stone of the next generation's work. This cannot happen without conversations – without the power of words – indeed, it is contingent upon it. We face global challenges that require global conversations:

1. Global warming
2. Poverty
3. Aids
4. Abortion
5. An undermining of traditional family values in the West
6. Conflicts and wars
7. The merging of an ideology of terror that risks moving into the mainstream of certain religions
8. An increasingly disenchanted youth in the West that is resorting to a culture of knives, guns and violence

Solutions to these challenges will emerge out of conversations – paradigms need to be redrawn; insights into problems will be revealed; new solutions to challenges will arise when these conversations take place. It is good to talk – we need to talk. It is time to speak into many of these seemingly intractable problems and challenges. We need to recover “el martillo” in our generation, a place where conversations happen..... and lives are changed. Never has there been so much technology available for the propagation of conversations. Bloggers are becomingly increasingly influential in the political scene in the US, a testimonial to the power of words. They are now a force to be reckoned with, which any aspiring candidate ignores to his or her own peril. I love blogging, I love social media, I love conversations. Popular video websites such as Youtube have become a phenomenon and are uniquely placed to assist us in our endeavour (It has recently been reported that Youtube hosted 50 billion videos........this month!). I live for the day when these “new” media re-write the rules of journalism, television, education, and communication. I find it remarkable how a blogger can effectively shape the political discourse of a nation, tapping away on his laptop's keyboard whilst having a latte at his favourite coffee shop. The media is there, and the tools are there. Will you find your voice? Will you speak out? More importantly in any conversation.... will you listen? Technorati Tags: Blogging, Conversations, Speech, Words