Saline International Internationally there is a growing tide of Christian doctors and other healthcare professionals who want to make a difference for Christ in their work situation and particularly to explore how they can be witnesses both effectively and appropriately in the clinical context. There is now considerable demand to take the Saline Solution conference to about sixty other countries worldwide and the time has come for a revised and reduced basic version which can easily be adapted to different national contexts with local stories and illustrations, and for a new emphasis on training national course leaders.

International Health Services, under the leadership of Bob Snyder, has commissioned Bill Peel, one of the original authors, to write a revised version in conjunction with national leaders from the USA, UK, Hungary and India. Originally the authors had no expectation that the course would be used outside America but in fact the Saline Solution conference has been used widely in different versions in the USA, UK and Hungary, and occasionally in about 15 other countries. It has been translated into Dutch and German recently, work is being done to produce a definitive Spanish version and the demand to take it further afield is likely to continue. One of the challenges is to find an accessible format for all users, as some prefer a one day, others a two day version, and some prefer to have plenty of research material on the connection between faith and health.

In the UK about 1,200 of us have been exposed to the Saline material within the last three years. I would be very interested in comments from any of you on how the material and presentation can be improved and adapted to make it more accessible to a wider range of people, how to help participants to integrate its principles into their daily practice, and how to encourage them to find local support in prayer and in practical ways, so that the impact of the course increases over time.

Confident Christianity

Much evangelism fails because it is done in monologue without opportunity for disagreement and discussion. This often leaves non-Christians frustrated in not being able to raise objections, clarify misunderstandings and have their real questions answered.

Confident Christianity is an evangelism and apologetics training course developed by CMF to train Christians in the art of dialogue evangelism. It is based on the apostles' own strategy as recounted in the book of Acts: the Gospel in words people understand, in a seeker-friendly environment, and with the opportunity for discussion. Since 1990 CMF has held over 70 Confident Christianity day conferences, with over 2,500 participants. This term we are running more. And now the whole course is available on DVD with accompanying notes and powerpoint slides so that you can use it in your own churches. For more details please contact me at kevin.vaughan@cmf.org.uk