Making And Training Disciples Of Christ Using The Pursuit Of Life... To The Full As The Catalyst For Mission In High Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church

Task In the Spring of 2012, the High Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church had about 29% of its membership active in ministry, meaning these members were involved in ministry activities outside of Sabbath morning or they served in leadership responsibilities during Sabbath school and worship time (i.e. I did not consider mere attendance as active in ministry ). Approximately 9% of the membership was missionally engaged, meaning they were participating in activities through service to others outside of our denominational affiliation (I considered serving people within our church membership as active in ministry not missionally engaged ). The goal of this project was to increase the number of church members who were missionally engaged as a result of pursuing the life . . . to the full (John 10:10, NIV) Jesus came to give us. Method Using the iFollow Roadmap for Discipleship Assessment (available on the web at http://www.ifollowdiscipleship.org/index.php?id=92) I established a congregational baseline for discipleship maturity, which was used to consider the congregational impact of my intervention on missional thinking and acting after two years. To mark the beginning of the project period, a three-part preaching series was given about living life . . . to the full (LTTF) with Jesus through practicing three vital behaviors. These behaviors were promoted through a weekly (or biweekly) nine-month long small group commitment focused on the common pursuit of LTTF in Jesus. I was the group facilitator during each of the two project years. The three vital behaviors of LTTF living that were promoted in my groups, and to the entire church family through my sermons and handouts, were: 1. daily, book by book Bible reading to get God’s word into people’s minds and hearts often; 2. small group participation during the week to encourage people to keep reading their Bibles, to discuss how God intends them to live life . . . to the full, and to keep praying for and encouraging each other toward fullness as the group practices being Christ’s body on earth between Sabbaths; and 3. asking group members to partner up in same-gender pairs to be missionally engaged in a context of their choosing outside of their denominational associations, using Christ’s method, as described by White (1905, pp. 143-144). Results At the end of the project period 3% more church members were active in ministry through their participation in the second year LTTF discipleship group. From the beginning of the second year two non-church-member young adults became active in my LTTF discipleship group in addition to becoming regular attenders in Sabbath school and worship services. A third non-church-member young adult joined our LTTF group as a result of our recruitment cookout. Most participants reported that belonging to our weeknight LTTF discipleship group increased their Bible reading frequency and helped them to be more active in praying for each other, they sought to represent God well in their day to day contexts (which was what LTTF with Jesus meant to them). A comparison of the iFollow Roadmap for Discipleship Assessments that were given at the beginning and the end of the two-year project period revealed the following outcomes. There was at least a 10% increase in the use of people’s free time to help others who have problems or needs; Often true (down 9%), Almost always true (up 3%), and Always true (up 16%). There was more than a 12% increase in people devoting time to Bible reading and study. When asked to respond to, I seek out opportunities to help me grow spiritually, there was a 6% increase in those indicating Almost always true and a 9% increase in those checking Always true. There was a positive shift across the spectrum in people perceiving themselves to be less critical. There was also a noticeable shift across the spectrum of people becoming more accepting of themselves, with a 14% decrease in the number of people who marked Always true to the statement, I have a hard time accepting myself. In fact, no one checked the Always true answer for I have a hard time accepting myself in the 2014 survey. Conclusions Believing our ability to join God on mission is predicated by our ability to love others as we love ourselves, the congregation’s increased sense of self-acceptance and decreased sense of being critical of others seem to be significant indicators of movement in a missional direction. While there were ups and downs across the spectrum, the iFollow Assessment tool indicated the church as a whole had moved in a positive direction toward missional thinking and activity between 2012 and 2014. I believe the positive iFollow Assessment results were more indicative of individual mission thinking and acting, not group or partnership actions, which it was not designed to distinguish between. Neither of my two LTTF discipleship groups, nor any of our discipleship partners, became regularly engaged in mingling and serving activities in the community during our nine months together, but group members self-reported becoming more regular readers of their Bibles, more committed prayer partners for each other, and felt their lives were enriched by a sense of increased hope and support in their pursuits of a life of fullness in Christ at home and on the job, and in all their relationships. Pursuing LTTF together for my second-year group of men was for us to encourage and pray for each other, in the context of guided Bible reading and dialogue, toward becoming better representatives of God with their families and on their jobs. My learning was that being missional starts in our homes and on our jobs and will move to the community from that starting point. What can be said is that the pursuit of LTTF with Jesus has been a catalyst for thinking and acting in ways that represent Christ well among those who are nearest to us throughout the day. Future Development In future groups I would keep encouraging the three vital behaviors as the foundations of experiencing life . . . to the full with Jesus while giving much more attention to mingling and friendship building with the unchurched in third places (Frost, 2006) using Christ\u27s method alone (White, 1905, p. 143-144), asking God to reveal to us what he is already doing around us and how we can join him. As a follow-up to deepening the spiritual lives of group members, I plan to move our gathering place from disciples\u27 homes into the community, to assign mini mission challenges for group members which will require mingling, friendship-making, and service-providing. I will challenge them to look for opportunities to overcome evil with good, (Rom 12:21) and make and execute plans with me to do so. I plan to seek out our person of peace (Absalom, 2014) to see how God might use this person to help us set our agenda for joining God on his mission. Bible reading and study will be encouraged in order to resource us for the mission of revealing Christ through what we do, and where we do it, as his body on earth, making going on mission together our first priority

Inter-aviary distance and visual access influence conservation breeding outcomes in a territorial, endangered bird

Funding for setting up the housing database was provided by the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; grant BB/G023913/2 to C.R.).Species extinctions are becoming a global crisis, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services, with island populations being particularly vulnerable. In response, conservation managers are increasingly turning to ex situ conservation breeding programs to establish assurance populations and provide a source for release and re-establishment of wild populations. The 'Alalā (Hawaiian crow, Corvus hawaiiensis) is a critically endangered and territorial island corvid that became extinct in the wild in 2002, following a severe and prolonged population decline during the late 20th century. Surviving individuals of the species were brought into captivity to establish an assurance population to serve as a source for reintroduction, which commenced in 2016. We analyzed the extent to which a range of captive housing conditions impact 'Alalā reproductive success, using 19 years of breeding program data. We found that reproductive success was most strongly affected by the distance between aviaries and their closest neighbors and whether breeding pairs had visual access to other adult conspecifics. Pairs located in aviaries that were more spatially isolated and without visual access to conspecifics were more likely to produce fertile eggs than pairs housed in aviaries that were closer to others or those with visual access to other birds. Our results have direct management implications relevant to the design of conservation breeding centers geared towards the recovery of endangered, territorial bird species. Moreover, since suboptimal housing conditions can increase stress levels in captive birds, our findings are also relevant to improving animal welfare for 'Alalā and other species in conservation breeding programs.PostprintPeer reviewe

What is the value of wild animal welfare for restoration ecology?

The restoration community continues to discuss what constitutes good environmental stewardship. One area of tension is the extent to which the wellbeing of wild animals should inform restoration efforts. We discuss three ways that the perspective of wild animal welfare can augment restoration ecology: strengthening people's relationship with nature, reinforcing biotic integrity, and reducing mechanistic uncertainty. The animal welfare movement elevates sentient animals as stakeholders and explores how environmental context directly impacts the wellbeing of individuals. Viewing wild animals through this lens may encourage people to think and act with empathy and altruism. Second, we incorporate animal welfare into the concept of biotic integrity for ecological and ethical reasons. Restoring ecosystem processes may enhance animal welfare, and vice versa. Alternatively, there may be a trade‐off between these factors, requiring local decision‐makers to prioritize between restoring ecosystem function and promoting individuals' wellbeing. We conclude by discussing how welfare can impact population recovery, thereby adding insights about mechanisms underpinning restoration objectives. Ultimately, restoration ecologists and proponents of wild animal welfare could enjoy a productive union

The effect of α- or β-casein addition to waxy maize starch on postprandial levels of glucose, insulin, and incretin hormones in pigs as a model for humans

Background:Starch is a main source of glucose and energy in the human diet. The extent to which it is digested in the gastrointestinal tract plays a major role in variations in postprandial blood glucose levels. Interactions with other biopolymers, such as dairy proteins, during processing can influence both the duration and extent of this postprandial surge.Objective:To evaluate the effect of the addition of bovine α- or β-casein to waxy maize starch on changes in postprandial blood glucose, insulin, and incretin hormones [glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1)] in 30 kg pigs used as an animal model for humans.Design:Gelatinised starch, Results:starch gelatinised with α-casein, and starch gelatinised with β-casein were orally administered to trained pigs (n = 8) at a level of 60 g of available carbohydrate. Pre- and postprandial glucose measurements were taken every 15 min for the first hour and every 30 min thereafter up to 180 min. Insulin, GIP, and GLP-1 levels were measured in plasma samples up to 90 min postprandial.Starch gelatinised with α-casein had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower peak viscosity on pasting and resulted in significantly lower glucose release at 15, 30, and 90 min postprandial compared to starch gelatinised with β-casein. During the first 45-min postprandial, the area under the glucose curve (AUC) for starch gelatinised with α-casein was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that for starch gelatinised with β-casein. There was also a significant (p < 0.05) difference at T30 in GIP levels in response to the control compared to starch gelatinised with α- or β-casein. Significant (p < 0.05) increases in several free amino acid concentrations were observed on ingestion of either α- or β-casein gelatinised with starch at 30 and 90 min postprandial compared to starch alone. In addition, plasma levels of six individual amino acids were increased on ingestion of starch gelatinised with α-casein compared to ingestion of starch gelatinised with β-casein.Conclusion:The presence of casein fractions (α- or β-casein) in gelatinised waxy maize starch affects swelling characteristics, viscosity, and subsequent in vivo digestion as determined by glucose levels in blood postingestion

The influence of pair duration on reproductive success in the monogamous ‘Alalā (Hawaiian crow, Corvus hawaiiensis)

Conservation breeding program practitioners select potential mates in an attempt to maximize pair compatibility and maintain genetic diversity. Therefore, pair duration, or the number of breeding seasons that individuals retain the same mate, is practitioner-determined in these settings. There is a critical need to evaluate whether pair duration influences reproductive success in ex situ assurance populations, particularly for socially monogamous species. The ‘Alalā (Hawaiian crow, Corvus hawaiiensis) is a monogamous forest bird that is currently extinct in the wild. Today, ‘Alalā exist only in human care for intensive conservation breeding. We analyzed breeding program data from 2018-2021 to determine the effects of ‘Alalā pair duration and age on reproduction (nest building, egg laying, hatching, and fledging). We found that pair duration does not influence reproductive outcomes, and thus practitioners can be more proactive when re-pairing birds. Female and male age, on the other hand, influenced the probability of nest building, clutch production, and overall reproductive success. Nest building and clutch production probabilities were high (near 1) and stable as females aged from 2 to ~ 12 years old, declining sharply thereafter. In males, overall reproductive success (from building robust nests to rearing at least one nestling to fledge) increased with age from 2 to ~ 9 years old, peaked and reached an asymptote with males ≳ 9 to ~ 13 years old, and decreased in males ≳ 13 years old. Thus, integrating age into the pair selection process will increase the likelihood of achieving conservation goals. To our knowledge, we are the first to utilize empirical pair duration results to provide specific management recommendations for mate selection in an avian conservation breeding program. Our findings have critical utility for guiding ‘Alalā pairing decisions, and more broadly underscore the importance of evaluating mate retention and selection protocols in other conservation breeding programs

Mitigation-driven translocations: are we moving wildlife in the right direction?

Despite rapid growth in the field of reintroduction biology, many lessons learned from scientific research are not being applied to translocations initiated when human land-use conflicts with persistence of a species. Mitigation-driven translocations outnumber and receive better funding than science-based conservation translocations worldwide, yet their conservation benefit is unclear. As mitigation releases are economically motivated, outcomes may diverge greatly from releases designed to serve the biological needs of species. Translocation as a regulatory tool may be ill-fitted to biologically mitigate environmental damage wrought by development. Evidence suggests that many mitigation-driven translocations fail, though application of scientific principles and best-practices could likely increase success. Furthermore, lack of transparency and documentation of outcomes hinder efforts to understand the scope of the problem. If mitigation-driven translocations continue unabated as a part of the growing billion-dollar ecological consulting industry, it is imperative that the scale and effects of these releases are reported and evaluated

A hypothetico-deductive approach to assessing the social function of chemical signalling in a non-territorial solitary carnivore

The function of chemical signalling in non-territorial solitary carnivores is still relatively unclear. Studies on territorial solitary and social carnivores have highlighted odour capability and utility, however the social function of chemical signalling in wild carnivore populations operating dominance hierarchy social systems has received little attention. We monitored scent marking and investigatory behaviour of wild brown bears Ursus arctos, to test multiple hypotheses relating to the social function of chemical signalling. Camera traps were stationed facing bear ‘marking trees’ to document behaviour by different age sex classes in different seasons. We found evidence to support the hypothesis that adult males utilise chemical signalling to communicate dominance to other males throughout the non-denning period. Adult females did not appear to utilise marking trees to advertise oestrous state during the breeding season. The function of marking by subadult bears is somewhat unclear, but may be related to the behaviour of adult males. Subadults investigated trees more often than they scent marked during the breeding season, which could be a result of an increased risk from adult males. Females with young showed an increase in marking and investigation of trees outside of the breeding season. We propose the hypothesis that females engage their dependent young with marking trees from a young age, at a relatively ‘safe’ time of year. Memory, experience, and learning at a young age, may all contribute towards odour capabilities in adult bears