On the Links

• 2010 Celebrate Recovery Summit
  The Summit (August 11-13) is a life-changing, three-day conference where pastors and lay leaders will learn how to start Celebrate Recovery in their own churches. Leading experts will be speaking including, John Baker and his wife Cheryl, Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. In addition, there will be over 20 workshops and networking opportunities.
• Celebrate Recovery: Seven keys to launching a successful recovery program
  The people attending your church are looking for freedom from their hurts, hang-ups, and habits. A proven way to help people find freedom is through Celebrate Recovery. Since the program was founded at Saddleback Church almost 20 years ago, more than 600,000 people have completed the program throughout the United States. The materials have been translated into 20-some languages, and it is being used in churches all over the world.
• Celebrate Recovery: How do we cooperate with God's change process?
  John Baker offers seven focus points that show you how to cooperate with God as he brings transformation to your life.
• Free Gospel Presentation -- iPhone App from My316.com
  Sharing the gospel? My316 is a step-by-step audio visual presentation of the gospel, using John 3:16, that helps you share the Good News wherever and whenever you have your device. Watch video resources directly from the app and share them with your friends on Twitter and Facebook with ease.
• Join Pastor Kerry Shook for the First National Facebook Fast
  Shook, from Woodlands Church in Houston, Texas, is promoting a Facebook fast, where people, instead, get face-to-face. The Facebook fast is on 08-25.
• Ageing with HIV: The hidden side of world's AIDS crisis
  The world will face a mighty social and medical challenge as millions of people with HIV survive into old age, the world AIDS forum has heard. (VIENNA--AFP)

Book Look

• Not Like Me: A Field Guide for Influencing a Diverse World
  by Eric Michael Bryant
  This is an updated version of Peppermint-Filled Pinatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love, newly created to help people effectively love, serve, and reach those too often overlooked by the church. One of the new features includes a brief article after each chapter with practical ways to apply the principles presented in that chapter. People such as Ed Stetzer, Margaret Feinberg, Kevin Harney, Dr. Gerardo Marti, Lon Wong, Mark DeYmaz, and Dan Kimball contribute these articles.

Saddleback Sayings

• "God made you so that you would not be able to see into the future no matter how much you try. Even with all the gimmicks to predict the future, you don't really know what's going to happen. Why did God do this? He did it so you would depend on Him." Rick Warren

Bible Bytes

• And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!" But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, "Lord, who has believed our message?" So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
  
  Romans 10:15-18a (NLT)

Notes & Quotes

• "It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." C.S. Lewis
• Only 54 percent of cancer patients in a U.S. National Cancer Institute study said they were told they had cancer in a doctor's office. Eighteen percent said they were told over the phone. Thirty-nine percent said no one was with them when the news was given. (Source: USA Today, July 9, 2010)
• "In today's modern times, one out of every three people lives on less than $2 a day - 2.4 billion people total. That's impossible to comprehend. If a third of the world cannot afford one cup of Starbucks a day, that should matter to Christians." - The Green Bible (HarperOne, 2010)
• Rick Warren calls Celebrate Recovery a "leadership factory" because more than half of those who have been through the program have become leaders at Saddleback Church. More than 70 percent of those who take part in Celebrate Recovery come from outside the church.
• The Rolling Stones are planning a final tour to coincide with their 50th anniversary as a rock band (1962-2012). Drummer Charlie Watts will turn 70 on the tour. Guitarist Ronnie Wood is now 63; Keith Richards and Mick Jagger are both 66. (Source: The Sun)