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How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? – Romans 10:14

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. – Romans 1:16

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The African Venture Grows Up - Comments (0)

Category: Behind the Lines,Venture in Africa
Author: John Malone
Date: 21st June, 2006 @ 04:27:34 PM

The joint venture we started with the JKUAT was inconveniently called “The JKUAT-MMS Information Technology Centre.” We didn’t mind the second billing because, despite the fact that MMS provided the main manpower and funding for the curriculum development, and the initial computer and software capital, it was the JKUAT that was providing the brand for the education, and that was very important.

Additionally, the university supplied a couple of broken down buildings (scarcely more than concrete huts) – which we shared with a university program – and the dirt between and around them. The university – actually, professors Thairu, and Vice-Chancellor Ratemo Michieka – helped the venture succeed by keeping money-grubbing faculty away from the funds being generated, and out of the classrooms.
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My African Joint Venture (J/V) - Comments (1)

Category: Behind the Lines,Venture in Africa
Author: John Malone
Date: @ 03:19:39 PM

I became an investor in Kenya, in east Africa, in 1993. I started a company named “Diamond Systems, Ltd.” and we began, as our motto said, to deliver “World Class Computers at World Market Prices.”

We became something of an overnight sensation in Kenya, especially Nairobi, because we conducted ourselves in a nearly unprecedented way: (1) we did not pay bribes (sitoi kitu kidoogo); (2) we did pay customs taxes; (3) we advertised our prices in the newspaper (so that owners knew what their employees actually paid for computers).

Almost overnight, we became very well known, and attracted the attention of one of the most influential educators in Kenya, Professor Henry Thairu, the equivalent of the Dean of Faculty at the only national technical university in the country, the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Professor Thairu and I became known to each other, and agreed that the future of Kenya, in part, rested in technical training in information technology. We also discovered that each of us was a believer is Jesus Christ, so we had that in common, and our relationship found a bond of trust and communication that facilitated our working together.

Our joint venture, springing from our discussions, envisioned a poor country’s Leland’s farm (Stanford) with a technology park associated with the campus. That park would be in Phase II of our venture. The primary work was to get a curriculum in place to certify, give diplomas, and degrees to students who were not able to be enrolled in the university due to lack of seats, despite having qualified by test score.

The joint venture was duly drawn up. When countries (Kenya) are involved, the proper document to accomplish this is a “Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).” Professor Thairu, notably an honest and competent administrator in an environment not known for such traits, had the document drawn up, and guided it through all the bureaucracy of the university for approval.

The finished MOA was a 50-50 partnership between my company (Micro Mini Systems, Inc.) and the university (JKUAT), with the stipulation that the operation would be managed by Diamond Systems, Ltd. of Kenya.

The venture was launched at the beginning of 1997. It was an unbridled success from the outset.

The “Immigration” Problem - Comments (1)

Category: Applied,Articles
Author: John Malone
Date: 16th June, 2006 @ 03:31:02 PM

I was in Washington, D.C. to visit my US Senator – Chuck Hagel – when the buzz about “Illegal Immigrants” was peaking.

Set aside for the moment the fact that, although I had an APPOINTMENT AT HER REQUEST with Senator Hagel’s Chief of Staff, she tried to have me arrested by the Capitol Police.
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The Lord’s “deposit” to you. - Comments (3)

Category: Articles,Doctrine
Author: John Malone
Date: 26th May, 2006 @ 03:20:30 PM

The Lord committed both a {dispensation|Eph 3:2-5;Col 1:25-28} and a {deposit|2Ti 1:12} to the apostle Paul.

Today we would call Paul a “driven man.” This is certainly not a pejorative, as we learn that immediatly after the Lord’s baptism, an Irresistable Force drew a willing Subject – Our Savior – {into the wilderness to be tested.|Mark 1:12}

Paul issues forth his {modus operandi|Phi 3:7-14} in a late epistle, and then claims that he is the {prototype follower|1Ti 1:15-16} of our Lord Jesus Christ, cutting a pattern (as tentmakers must do) for the rest of us to follow.

In his discourses, the apostle imparts an institutional form which churches should follow. There is not much to this form: a few ordinances {(traditions)+Traditions+the Lord’s supper, baptism, and the head covering of the woman}, {four symbols+Four Symbols+1. The head covering, 2. the cup, 3. the loaf, and 4. immersion in water}, and a lightweight {ruling structure+elders and deacons+Elders and deacons (ministers) were found both in Jewish synagogues, and Gentile city structures.} sanctified and borrowed from a commonality between Jewish synagogues and Gentile cities.
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An Addendum About Oil & Wine - Comments (3)

Category: Articles,Doctrine
Author: John Malone
Date: 1st May, 2006 @ 02:31:26 AM

Revelation 6:6 “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beats say, ‘A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see that thou hurt not the oil and the wine.'”

The previous article addresses these conditions more fully, but a few more thoughts may be helpful.
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Oil Shortage? No Way! - Comments (2)

Category: Applied,Articles
Author: John Malone
Date: 20th January, 2006 @ 04:25:50 AM

If we are paying attention, we can hardly miss the 30 years of daily hand-wringing concerning the “energy crisis” and “fossil-fuel shortage” complaints and alarms that are in our ears (and wallets) every day.

Some of the impressive attributes of these alarms we hear are the contradictions and ironies – and the ignorance – that are implicit in them.
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Faith vs. “Make Believe” - Comments (3)

Category: Articles,Doctrine
Author: John Malone
Date: 20th September, 2005 @ 05:20:37 AM

I think we are all guilty, at one time or another, of “make believe.” Another term for “make believe” is willing self-deception. I will admit to my own share, and perhaps then-some.

We are perverse creatures indeed! I don’t REALLY know why we elect to deceive ourselves into thinking things are such-and-such a way when clear evidence leads to a contrary conclusion, but THAT WE DO is something we simply need to discern, and deal with.
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