Letter from the editors

As is usually the case when we put RISE together, once completed we find a theme has been woven through the articles which we never anticipated when we first began.  This month we find the theme is all about “being heard” or “getting our message across”.

You may know the book by Bill Hybels called “Just Walk Across the Room”.  Some churches may have done the studies or heard the messages.  It is all about taking that first step, quite often relying on God’s strength rather than our own, and putting ourselves in a position where we can communicate God’s love to other people.  This will often take place outside of our comfort zone.  And sometimes it commences merely with building a relationship, perhaps taking years for that relationship to get to a point where we can openly share about Christ.

This month we share examples of how some people are walking across the room with a view to being heard.

Rachela Leo has just released her first single called “Hear Me”.  Her heart is to bring messages of hope to young people through her music.  It is a step of faith to walk into the secular music industry with a passion to be heard above the din of negative and destructive messages.  Read about Rachela in RISE People.

BIG is an initiative of a group of Adelaide people who are passionate about communicating the message of the Bible to our youth.  They have invested a lot of time and money in producing DVDs and Bible study material based on the first 17 chapters of Genesis.

And in Smart Living we read about ways we can communicate effectively to a society which is used to being bombarded by an excessive number of visual and audio messages. 

Spotlight on the Nations is a simple call to prayer and support for people who are walking across the world, not just across the room.  As we anticipate the commencement of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, these people are really going outside their comfort zone and into a different culture where a different language is spoken, governed by quite different views on human rights and religious freedoms.  But all are passionate about sharing the love of Christ to people who may never have heard the Gospel message.

This month, let’s all look for ways of walking across the room.

Sincerely
Edi, Molly and Wendy
Editors
RISE Magazine