Links To Go (August 30, 2017)

Some Christians Hate Joel Osteen More Than They Love The Truth. And That’s Wrong.

Fast forward twelve hours and the facts began to surface that the church itself was flooded in a few sections. And Lakewood responded that only three people came for shelter, and they had all been helped.
So, well, maybe we might see that facts are our friends.
And just because you hate (or just have theological concerns with him) Osteen does not entitle you to your own set of facts.
I’m not saying they did not bungle their first statement. I am saying that a lot of Christians spread false statements. Let’s let the world spread lies as we stand for truth.


From Katrina To Harvey: How Disaster Relief Is Evolving With Technology

Put together, Lemaitre has seen agencies evolve with technology to help create better systems for quicker disaster relief. This has also created a culture of learning updates and reacting in real time. Meanwhile, more data is becoming open, which is helping both people and agencies alike. (The National Weather Service, which has long trumpeted its open data for all, has become a revered stalwart for such information, and has already proven indispensable in Houston.)


Economic Impact Of Harvey Could Be Felt Nationwide Before It’s Over

Chuck Watson, who studies the economic impact of natural disasters for Enki Holdings, says the cost to the economy from the flooding is likely to be $30 billion. That’s because of the rain.
“If Harvey were just a hurricane, it would have only caused $4 or $5 billion worth of damage. As a tropical storm phase, it’s actually producing five times that much damage,” Watson says.


The 10 most serious problems in the world, according to millennials

  1. Climate change / destruction of nature (48.8%)
  2. Large scale conflict / wars (38.9%)
  3. Inequality (income, discrimination) (30.8%)
  4. Poverty (29.2%
  5. Religious conflicts (23.9%)
  6. Government accountability and transparency / corruption (22.7%)
  7. Food and water security (18.2%)
  8. Lack of education (15.9%)
  9. Safety / security / wellbeing (14.1%)
  10. Lack of economic opportunity and employment (12.1%)

When It Comes to Evangelism, the Small Things Really Matter

The number one predictive factor, according to researchers: Churches with more converts tended to attract and keep more unchurched people. Pastors of churches with the most retained converts were more likely (35 percent) to say half of their congregation used to be unchurched. That dropped to 18 percent for churches with the fewest retained converts.


Five Things Small Town Church Planters Wish Their Denominational Leaders Knew

  1. We would love to come to your meetings, but Bi-Vos don’t get paid to attend.
  2. Our flock may exceed your favorite megachurch’s attendance.
  3. It would be nice to put one of us on stage.
  4. Find some metrics that celebrate small town churches.
  5. We would love for you to visit us sometime.

Free Laundry Machines Could Be A Key To Boosting School Attendance

In the first year of the Care Counts program, attendance jumped an average of two days for students who were previously missing more than 10 days per year; teachers reported a 95% increase in classroom and extracurricular activities among the same students. The success of the program, which washes, on average, around 50 loads of laundry per participating student per year, led Whirlpool to expand to another 20 schools and four more cities.


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