The vast majority of Canadians arent buying all the horror stories about the millennium bug, a newly released study indicates.

The nationwide poll was conducted by Environics Research Group to probe the level of Canadian anxiety and awareness about Y2K. It found that a clear majority of respondents were confident they would not be affected by possible computer problems when clocks pass midnight on New Years Eve. And even those who did feel threatened werent in a mad rush to prepare.

Guy McKenzie, who heads the Year 2000 Project Office, said concern over the millennium bug has been decreasing as Canadians receive more information. "Canadians are in a good state of equilibrium," McKenzie said. "They are taking it seriously, but they arent panicking."

The poll indicates that most Canadians are aware of the potential for Y2K-related computer problems, but 57 percent did not believe that they or their families would be personally affected. Forty-one percent thought they would be affected in some way, but only 6 percent said they were very concerned that the changeover will bring mass disruption to public services.

Source: "What, me worry?: Poll shows most Canadians dont fear millennial disruption," by Chris Cobb, The Ottawa Citizen, August 5, 1999.

Do you need training to talk about your grandchildren? You love them so much that you cant stop spreading the good news and new pictures with everyone who will listen. Do you need to attend workshops to talk about your hobby? Your collection of Beanie Babies or Barbie dolls is always on the tip of your tongue, ready to go tripping off at the drop of a hint of interest. Evangelism doesnt require training. Evangelism requires love. Lack of evangelism means lack of love. Leonard Sweet, author of Soul Tsunami Source: Soul Tsunami, Zondervan Publishing House, 1999.

Is society losing its ability to really talk and its interest in personal conversation? Yes, says author John Locke. The sheer proliferation of electronic gadgets and high tech servicespalm pilots, faxes, e-mail and voice mailallows people all over the world to "communicate" without ever really knowing the person on the other end of the machine.

In his book, The De-Voicing of Society: Why We Dont Talk to Each Other Anymore, Locke addresses just that. He credits a variety of reasons for the lack of real talk: the growth of cities, suburbanization, banking and shopping by computer, working from home, gated communities, talk radio, television talk shows and many others.

What does it mean for Christians? "Christian America had been de-voiced long before the computer age arrived," Jack Smith, Soul-Winning Evangelism associate for the North American Mission Board, told On Mission. "Years ago an independent survey we did showed 3.1 percent of resident church members leading people to faith in Christ, according to their pastors. I see the computer age providing a voice for many thousands of quiet, even shy Christians to express their faith. People so shy that they would never go knock on a door can respond with follow-up encouragement to a new believer on the Internet, or send people to evangelistic websites like www.thegoodnews.org."

Source: The De-Voicing of Society: Why We Dont Talk to Each Other Anymore, by John L. Locke, Simon & Schuster, 1998; Soul-Winning Evangelism Unit, North American Mission Board.

American pastors spend 15 hours a week using a computer. About 90 percent said they use a computer to help prepare sermons, Bible lessons and courses, according to a survey by Your Church magazine. Forty-six percent of the pastors in the survey used Bible software such as reference Bibles, concordances and commentaries to research and write sermons. About 60 percent have access to the Internet but only 20 percent use it for ministry, the survey said.

Source: "The Wired Pastor," by John C. LaRue Jr., Your Church, May/June 1999.

Canadians indicate that they are searching for meaning. Its not necessarily an everyday, pressing thing but, from time to timeperhaps when facing a birth, an illness or the death of a relative or friend, perhaps when coming to terms with a career or marital change, maybe when hitting "a decade birthday" of 30, 40, 50 or 60the questions are raised.

Nine in 10 Canadians say they find themselves asking questions such as "What is the meaning of life?," "Why is there suffering in the world?" and "Can I find true happiness?"

Source: Transforming our Nation, edited by Murray Moerman, Church Leadership Library, 1998.

Okay. So theres no sign that says "More than 2 billion served," but it doesnt matter. The fact remains that more than 2 billion people worldwide have seen the JESUS video. The video has been a large part of many evangelistic outreaches, including 1998s Crossover Salt Lake City and this years Arms Around Atlanta, both geared toward sharing Christ with people in host cities for the annual Southern Baptist Convention.

The video, with its script taken directly from the Gospel of Luke, has been used by 821 Christian agencies. Thanks to its wide distribution, 87 million people worldwide have indicated decisions to follow Christ after viewing it.

Source: The JESUS Film Project, www.jesusfilm.org.

Alex de Tocqueville, in his classic Democracy in America, wrote that he didnt know why America was great until he entered her churches. America would cease to be great, or even good, according to de Tocqueville, when her churches faltered.

Now, a recent Barna poll shows that more than 8 million Americans have left the church during the past 18 months. A related survey conducted by C. Peter Wagner found that the majority (57 percent) of pastors spend less than 20 minutes a day in prayer, and another 34 percent spend less than an hour.

According to the same study, Korean pastors average 90 minutes a day in prayer. Korea is largely believed to have the fastest growing Christian population in the world.

Source: The Georgia Family Council Bulletin, March 23, 1999.