(Reprinted from http://everynationonelocation.com)

GEM’s vision is to see God expanding his kingdom through all peoples of Europe to the world.

In 2007, Ruth and I moved back to Ireland because I felt I could influence a growing number of young Irish people involved in visual media to learn ways they might leverage their skills for kingdom purposes.

With the help of an Irish businessman, Clear Media began in 2008. Another young man who I’d first known as a little kid in our school carpool also joined us to form the nucleus of the “not-for profit” media production company. The rest of our crews were made up of film students, musicians, and photographers.

During the launch year we were able to complete 50 media projects, the majority made for Irish based ministries. I left the company in July, making room for more young Irish media specialists to get involved.

Right now, Clear Media has a crew in Uganda, filming and producing materials to promote Fields of Life, an Irish launched ministry to the less fortunate of Uganda.  By providing schools, health programs and fresh water, Fields of Life is making a huge impact there, but so much more is yet to be accomplished. The materials created by Clear Media will be invaluable in mobilizing people and funds for this important work.

In most cases professional media assistance is too expensive for ministries like Fields of Life, but God is expanding his Kingdom through Europeans to the world at least in part because of GEM’s vision for ministries like Clear Media.

-Durand Robinson, Dublin, Ireland

To see photos from Uganda as well as other projects created by Clear Media, click here.  And for information about the work of Fields of Life, click here.

Why? Because the world has come to Europe. About a decade ago, my host country of Ireland was invaded by the Poles. Nearly half a million strong, they came while jobs and money were plentiful. But when the economy shifted, they moved back to their home country in droves. In fact, currently over half have returned and more are leaving daily.

But when they returned to Poland, they brought with them increased job experience, better skills, a second language under their belt and money in their pockets. They are the reason that the Polish economy is growing while other European countries are shrinking. (Reuters)

I don’t know what happened to the Poles spiritually while they lived among us, but there was for a period of time a real potential for the Irish church to impact the spiritual future of Poland if significant ministry had been accomplished in the lives of those living among us.

What I’ve explained is a microcosm of the opportunity the church in Europe has to reach the world with the Gospel. The world has come to Europe. The economists tell us that the global economic domination will to shift to Asia in the next couple of decades. (Here’s a TED talk on the subject.)

The challenge of the church in Europe is to reach the world while it lives in their midst. And the challenge of the church world-wide is to partner with them to succeed.

I tend to think about things others aren’t. I notice things others don’t. And I’m always associating or connecting things together in ways others wouldn’t. If I were still in junior high this might make sense, but I’m past that stage, at least for the most part. I was recently reassured that someone understands me as I read an article in the Harvard Business Review over the Christmas holidays.

According to an article entitled “The Innovator’s DNA” I have the makings or “DNA” common to innovators. Simply put, I enjoy and am obsessed with collecting things and linking them together to make new things. The authors Dyer, Gregersen and Christensen identify five skills common to innovators.

1. “ASSOCIATING helps innovators discover new directions by making connections among seemingly unrelated questions, problems or ideas.
2. QUESTIONING allows innovators to break out of the status quo and consider new ideas.
3. Through OBSERVING, innovators carefully and consistently look out for small behavioral details (in the activities of customers, suppliers and other companies) to gain insights about new ways of doing things.
4. In EXPERIMENTING, they relentlessly try on new experiences and explore the world.
5. And through NETWORKING with diverse individuals from an array of backgrounds, they gain radically new perspectives.”
-Source: The Innovator’s DNA, J.H. Dyer, H.B. Gregersen and C.M. Christensen, HBR, Dec. 2009, p. 128

We need innovation if we want to make a difference in the world for Jesus’ sake. Simply doing what we’ve been doing with the people we’ve been connecting with won’t give us significantly different results than we’ve been seeing. The only way we’re going to reach people no one is reaching is through innovation; to be doing what no one else is doing. (Listen to a great podcast on this by clicking on this link.)

I’m going to be exploring each of these skills separately in the next few posts and would love to get your feedback, stories, observations as I go along. Send me a message or leave a comment. I love collecting new ideas…

The adults however aren’t quite as amused. I was trying to work out why 3-4 inches of snow were causing major disruptions of train lines, traffic and people’s holiday plans.

Then I found out that since they don’t get much snow, people just aren’t prepared. The cities have no snowplows and people don’t even have snow shovels. They bank on the assumption of being without snow and they’re usually right. But not this Christmas.

Their unpreparedness has started me thinking of another assumption about Europe I have held for years. It’s the one that says Europe isn’t really responsive to the God of Christmas. Most of the time I’m not far off the mark, but I’m wondering just how prepared we as followers of Jesus living in Europe are for God to answer our prayers for friends and neighbors here. What if the Spirit of God ever really let loose here?

I get pleasantly surprised when a conversation turns to the eternal. Once in a while I get the chance to see hints of God’s grace in the midst of broken relationships, shattered hopes and destructive choices. Maybe not huge flakes, but small glimmers that settle on me long enough to notice them and make me wonder if a blizzard’s on the way.

I would love to see Emmanuel to show up so heavy and so deep that life will be interrupted… and rediscovered with child-like joy. And so like a child, I’m praying for a white Christmas in Europe and hoping I’ll be ready.

Merry Christmas,

I’ve not rushed into committing myself to new directions this fall. I’ve been able to try on some new responsibilities while asking God specifically how to focus my full attention. Here are a few of them.

•I’m still working to use my abilities in creative media production, by helping small ministries with big needs and no funds. And I’m writing scripts for several new television programs for children.

•A national leader in youth ministry and I are writing a curriculum for youth to be used nationally that will help build the DNA of service into young believers while making the Gospel clear for those who think God has somehow forgotten them.

•GEM’s leadership has asked me to explore new partnerships in Ireland and the UK to mobilize missionaries to areas where the church is not. I also created a website and an online community for URBANA to connect people in North America who are considering serving in Europe with people who already are.

•I’ve volunteered to help the Irish Bible Institute develop an online learning environment that will give leaders outside the Dublin area the chance to train in ministry.

•eDOT (GEM’s group harnessing technology in ministry) has asked me to partner with them to create a new approach to online discipleship that will hopefully make sharing Christ online more effective in helping people become fully devoted followers of Jesus.

•Finally, I’ve been asked to assist in exploring possible new initiative cities in countries around Europe. Through networking, small exploration teams and partnerships I’m being asked to take part in “scouting” out the land. (Know any good Joshua’s and Caleb’s?)

•Ruth has been able to work two days a week as a piano teacher at a local music school. Even with the job, we continue to only have enough support for partial salary. The dollar’s loss of buying power (two-thirds of what it was at the beginning of the decade) and churches cutting back on support are daily reminders of our need to depend on the Lord.

I listened to a sermon recently that asked a question I’ve asked every day since. What would someone in my situation do if he were completely confident that God was with him?

Emmanuel. God is with us. May God use you to be a blessing to others this Christmas.

We’ve just created a special section of our web for our partners called “the room”. If you’re a regular supporter, either financially or in prayer for our work, you can be given access to updates that will energize your prayers and partnership with us.

Updated regularly throughout our week, you’ll find timely requests for prayer, photos, videos and our perspectives on what’s happening in the ministry of CreativeWorks like you’ve never had before.

Why is it different? It’s password protected. Things open to the general public are visible by everyone. Which means there are needs we’d love you to be praying for, but sharing them in public simply isn’t appropriate.

And by updating this space, we’ll save hours each week in personal correspondence and do a better job of keeping you, our partners, praying. Which means we can be more regular in updating you.

Nothing of eternal value is ever accomplished apart from consistent prayer. Will you join us in the prayer room? Click here to send us your request for a password.

But before all that, there’s connecting with people who have vision for making Him known in their area. It takes connecting with talented communicators that can be available for these events. And it takes helping them connect with others who’ll help provide the means to make it all happen, from supporters of the artists to venue choices and advertising, sound, lights and media… the list goes on.

Part of my role is to help others be able to serve. This past week I’ve been able to step in by serving them.

This week, I’ve been helping two ministries we partner with get websites up and running to help them share their vision and connect with others. One is in the Balkans. The other is based in the States. The one in the Balkans is using a business platform to connect with people and get opportunities to be Christ’s ambassadors in that arena. (Sorry, can’t be more specific. It’s a high risk area that doesn’t allow religious workers.) But I’ve been helping them become more attractive in that environment and their business has doubled in only a week.

The other is Project 150 and my dear friend George Vinson. He’s a seasoned communicator, artist and musician with a network of professionals from Nashville that want to leverage what they know how to do for the sake of His Kingdom. We want to do more concerts like the Songwriter Sessions we did a couple of years ago, but without greater prayer and financial support, it’s going to be a challenge. This site should help cast a vision for the important role they need to play around the world.

These folks don’t have the kind of cash to spend on new websites. A buddy of mine in the web business charges 80 euro an hour for his work, a normal if not modest rate in Europe. I’ve spent easily 12 hours for each site, but because I am not charging them to do it, about $1400 of God’s money can be used elsewhere. I’m thankful that those supporting me at CreativeWorks have helped make that possible. I liked the way George titled his post on the subject… “It takes a village to build a website.”  A global one at that.

The past several weeks have been filled with lots of smaller ways to help ministries here in Europe. Friends were coming up on the opening of their coffee shop which is the new hub for connecting with students who need to hear about hope in Christ. But they were without a website, out of time and out of funds. So I built them one. No big deal really.

But at least in part because the site came online in time for reinforce newspaper ads, a thousand people came to their grand opening concert, which has led to a doubling of their visits and sales in a week.

The Irish Bible Institute decided they needed to part with some of their difficult to raise funds to advertise in a new national magazine. When Ruth brought home what had been put together by people unaccustomed to advertising and graphic design, I volunteered to give them some help with the ad.

As I was submitting the artwork, the magazine offered the back cover to us for the same price as the original half page ad. The front and back cover are the only two pages every reader sees. I still have time to rework the ad in order to take full advantage of the space. It’s a great chance to connect with leaders around the country in need of quality training as they serve.

Even with my friends in town, there are opportunities to give assistance to those whose businesses are struggling during this present financial down-turn. I’ve been sitting down over coffee with a couple I’ve gotten to know this year, brainstorming with them some ways to increase business and connecting them with people I know that could benefit from partnering with them.

There  are big things being worked through at the moment as well. Things that will require months of preparation, teams of people and as much prayer as can be fit into each 24 hour day. But I wonder sometimes if the little opportunities when I’ve noticed a need and and been obedient to respond are just as important.

In the words of my former pastor Mickey Park, “Heaven will tell.”  (Matt. 25:21)

ps. The photo is of my good friends Tim Beard and two-inch tall Cedrick the Traveling Gnome