God blessed each on of us with loads of creativity - especially for the Kingdom's sake.  Have you ever had an idea you thought was maybe too far out for your church? It never hurts to try your hand at what you do best for surely God will multiply your efforts. 

Marcel Schwantes from Adventist Today magazine sat down with Jeff and Tami Cinquamani to ask 7 Questions concerning how to tap into expressing our creative ideas.  Jeff Cinquemani is the Associate Pastor for Florida Hospital Church -- a  vibrant and progressive Adventist church community in Orlando with close to 1,000 members...

A man is on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence of his guilt, but no one had discovered the body. In his closing arguments, the defense lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, decided to play a trick. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced. “I have a surprise for you all. Within a minute, the person presumed to be dead will walk into this room.” He then turned and looked confidently towards the courtroom door.

All eyes followed his, and the jury waited, stunned and expectantly. A minute later, the lawyer resumed. “Actually, I didn’t mean what I just said. But you all watched the door with such anticipation that it is reasonable to assume that you doubt whether anyone was killed. I therefore insist that you return a verdict of not guilty.” The jury, now confused, returned to deliberate. A few minutes later the jury returned with a pronouncement of a guilty verdict. “But why?” asked the defense lawyer. “You must have had some doubt; I saw you all staring at the door.” “Oh, we did look,” replied the jury spokesperson. “But your client didn’t.”

Doubts. We all have them, if we are honest with ourselves. Some of us have theological doubts or uncertainties about God’s Word. Others ask how we can trust the miracles of God when they clearly contradict the laws of science. Still others are more concerned with the larger, more mundane questions of the universe. Why does God allow suffering to continue? Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? Where is God? Doubts. They can be nagging. They can be overwhelming. They can threaten to sap our faith of its very vitality. The first thing we can console ourselves with is that doubt is normal; it is natural. Almost all of scripture’s giants of faith doubted at some point in their lives. Even Christ asked the question, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Which is not to say he did not have faith in God. But he did have doubts...

One of the things that we have always tried to do as a ministry is not ask for financial support. It is true, we really can't operate without it, and we've been grateful for all the support we've gotten over the years from so many of you.

"No guilt and all content" - something we've put a lot of focus on. That's a serious commitment - especially for a religious non-profit organization that can't survive without the help of its supporters. Through God's grace we've maintained our ministry by trusting that He'd help us continue what we believe is the most vitally important work that can be done - to evangelize the truth about His loving character in the midst of so many misconceptions. But it is a form of pride if we are unwilling to be transparent and ask for help when it is needed in that it limits His ability to work through others.

It is true, we will continue to only ask when it is a necessity because anything else would be dishonest - but from this moment on - we pledge to be more vulnerable (letting people know we need help) in all that we do.

We plan to unveil many of our "next step" plans in October's newsletter - including an invitation from us to everyone out there that is passionate about the character of God's love to join us in building community and becoming more involved in our organization. Our immediate need is for sufficient funds to be able to put out the newsletter on time.

Our budget every month is close to $2,000. It doesn't sound like that much when put into the context of an organization, but it is a lot when there is no buffer between each month that our budget must be met. Donations can be made  online by clicking here or by mail at: HeavenlySanctuary.com, PO Box 4, Redlands, CA, 92373.

So, "no guilt and all content?" We sure hope so. Once again, we thank you for your continued support and care. Love to all!

- The HeavenlySanctuary.com Team

One day during a powerful sermon, Mike Yankoski had a paradigm shift as a believer in Christ. He decided that he needed to become the Christian that he claimed to be. That epiphany evolved into a daring plan: drop out of "normal" life and live for five months as a homeless person. After prayer and counsel, he found a kindred spirit named Sam Purvis to accompany him for safety's sake, and they did just that. Equal parts travel journal and faith chronicle Under the Overpass is their fascinating story.

While most Christians (myself included) dream about the radical things they would *like* to do for God, Mike and Sam actually stepped out and did them. They traveled around the US to five different cities and spent about a month in each. They lived by their wits: panhandling, sleeping under bridges, eating discarded food, and getting to know the grungy homeless most...

Acclaimed author and Emergent church leader Brian McLaren states, "More and more Christian leaders are beginning to realize that for the millions of young adults who have recently dropped out of church, Christianity is a failed religion. Why? Because it has specialized in dealing with 'spiritual needs' to the exclusion of physical and social needs. It has focused on 'me' and 'my eternal destiny,' but it has failed to address the dominant societal and global realities of their lifetime: systemic injustice, poverty, and dysfunction."

McLaren asks, "Shouldn't a message purporting to be the best news in the world be doing better than this?" What he sets forth in this provocative, unsettling work is a "form of Christian faith that is holistic, integral, balanced, that offers good news for both the living and the dying, that speaks of God's grace at work both in this life and the life to come, both to individuals and to societies and the planet as a whole."

Brian comments on his book, "This book in many ways is a sequel to The Secret Message of Jesus, although people can begin with either book. It asks two essential questions: What are the world's top crises, and what do the life and message of Jesus say to those global crises? I spent a few years researching the global crisis literature and tried to synthesize the best thinking on the subject. I developed a metaphor to help people understand global crises - a machine with four moving parts, corresponding to the four critical crises that create so much human suffering.

Meanwhile, I was studying the gospels in a concentrated way, seeking to understand how Jesus' original hearers would have heard and understood his message of the kingdom of God. The two pursuits enriched each other in ways that I will probably never fully be able to communicate. This book is by far my most ambitious project yet, and I can't imagine ever writing anything that is more important and urgent."