The Bombay Blessing!

I just arrived in Bombay yesterday to a sweltering heat that is thoroughly sticky and uncomfortable. In fact, that would be one word that would explain what I have been feeling since arriving here – uncomfortable. My first sight as I stepped down from the air conditioned bus by the Vasi railway station was a group of beggars, or more like a beggar family. There was one woman who caught my attention immediately because there was something hanging from her mouth. Without looking too closely I could see that it was a long line of drool, something that you would see on somebody who was extremely sick and uncared for. She was adorned in beautiful colors even though the material was dirty and unkept. The first thought that crossed my mind was, "This is demonic". The image of the Creator that was imprinted on her soul and form was so tarnished and broken, and the beauty that she possessed so shrouded by the dirt and grime. I walked past her and was immediately confronted with a beggar sitting by a bus stop who was missing an arm and a leg. His other leg had some noticeable scars and some sort of flesh disease. He saw me coming and held up his small bowl with a few scattered coins in it. I held out my hand, not to give freely to him who was in deficit, but to refuse his gesture. I kept walking and within seconds was in front of a shopping mall fitted to attract the wealthy and middle-classed of the city. Outside was a batting cage with well fed young men, batting with a cricket bat and inside, the distinct odor of materialism was as pungent as the putrid still water which lies in the canal next to my residence. I took the escalators, four of them to the top floor where I was confronted by all the food dispensaries one could enjoy including McDees, Subway, among other unfamiliar but attractive food stands. I walked around the all too familiar environment, yet for the first time in my life, I felt so out of place in the kind of place that I had come to before in my own country many times for enjoyment, fun, and a meeting point for friends. I stood looking out over the colors, the eastern faces and the white washed walls of this auditorium. I felt empty, angry and uncomfortable.

I had just finished reading through half of Sadhu Sundar Singhs biography. This sadhu/saint had denied himself the life of a wealthy Sikh family, the comfort of home and the life of luxury that his father had arranged for him and he took on self-denial setting out to preach the Gospel wherever He went. His focus was on the country of Tibet, a land forsaken by many and reached by few. The Gospel had not reached very much of this land yet and there was a yearning for him to be there often, preaching the Gospel to the unreached. It was a day of extremes for me as my eyes took in never-before-seen images of poverty and wealth in such stark contrast. My heart and mind were lingering still in the unfinished pages of the story of a man who forsook all for the Gospel, everything was laid aside and I now write this in a sort of a daze, an unfinished realization of something that is so profound that I haven’t found words for it yet. I don’t know if I ever will. I don’t know if I want to. If I continue to think about the reality of what I learned and saw today, I may be called to a way of living that begs the question, how much? How long? Is it worth it? I know the answer to each and yet, to be completely honest, my desire for escapism and comfort is begging me in the poverty of my heart with the same earnestness as the armless and legless man who I saw earlier today, to not ask the question, because it is easier to live without the answer. Yet beyond that answer, a world of freedom is calling me, a world too scant and uninformed, untravelled and unknown, ambiguous and quaint, yet it keeps calling. I feel it surrounding my head as much as the humidity of Bombay is crowding my skin. “Live in such a way to be the answer to the problems you see” is a word that I believe Ghandi said. Christ said something about doing unto the least of these and you have done it unto me. What do I say about that? Well, for now, it is easier to put it off and wait to forget that I want an answer.

This Sunday I preach about courage. Oh to know what that truly means! I know that despite this hanging reality, there is a greater reality that God does provide hope for us to truly love those He puts in our path. I guess the poverty of the soul really impresses onto our hearts that it is only Him that can minister through us and if we try on our own, without abiding in the vine, there is so little or no fruit that is born. This is what the Bombay blessing taught me. I was also taught not to see the people as they are, but to see them as God sees them, in their dignified potential image bearing state - and then to orient myself towards that beauty whether they are believers or not. As Stephanie has taught me, God always finishes with hope. Whether it starts with reality, pain or joy, He also finishes with hope. That is the Bombay blessing! Please pray with me that I would see these people through the eyes of our Savior and their loving Father and not my own truncated, cataracts, natural human view. Both are possible, one is impossible unless the Savior initiates it, but that's the one I want. To see the reality of beauty and image-bearing before I see the natural human world, and then to fight, fast, work, love and pray that "already not yet" image and beauty into existence alongside my hope giving Savior and under the influence and power of His Spirit with the Father's heart and hand guiding us.

UBS

I had the privilege of being the photographer for a Christian brother who was graduating from Union Biblical Seminary, probably the best seminary in India right now. Over 100 graduates were being launched out into a country and world that is very different and yet so similar to the world back in North America in which I have been formed and shaped. These future pastors, missionaries, etc... will be ministering in a myriad of ministries, provinces, slums, villages, metropolitan regions, Churches, countries and so many more spheres of influence. Some will be beaten, others may have their lives threatened, still others may go home early for their witness. I was brought to tears as I watched them stroll past me in their dignified robes, realizing the impact that they will have as they launch out into the world that God has placed them, the 10/40, the silk road, world of two countries, filled with a billion each and almost bordering each other with more languages, people and cultures than you could possibly imagine. God is working over here and these are the Saints who are some of the most equipped to serve the beautiful Bride of Asia. What a privilege to be here!

Unexpected Blessings

Indian trains are famous or infamous for how packed out they can be. On a trip from Hyderabad to Pune, I was ready for anything, expecting the worst, hoping for a little less than the best. Standing on the platform, I saw the biggest and widest city train I’ve ever seen. Its width reminded me of the burritos I used to order while living in Chicago compared to the Taco Bell burritos. Next our train came and again, I prepared myself for the worst. I then found out that we were going to actually be in the AC cabin with the sleeper beds. Wow! My experience with sleeper bed compartments in Uzbekistan wasn’t that great. On that 14 hour trip from Samarkand to Khiva, myself and two friends found ourselves all the way to the back with the train personnel, who were frantically waking other personnel workers up to give us their beds. I slept in the personnel cabin, next to the control box while they waited for someone to vacate a bribed bed. I finally landed my own cabin at 2 or 3 a.m. So I was ready for anything when we stepped onto the train in Hyderabad. We lugged our bags into the train car, proceeded down the tiny corridor and finally turned into the vast and spacious compartment where we were to spend the next 10 hours. I was more than surprised, I was blessed. Being blessed is an experience like grace. You expect the worst and yet receive something so much better. There were four bunks and a huge cavity for us to move around in as well as the frosty AC to enjoy. There I began to thank the LORD for this great cabin, the AC, the unexpected spaciousness and the freedom to relax and get some much needed work done. I began to list off in my head all of things I wanted to accomplish within the next 10 hours and was looking forward to redeeming the time and getting some time to myself. What a blessing and not to mention the incredible AC. I had chosen to come to India for the two hottest months of the year. From the moment I arrived until I left, it was going to be hotter than any other time in this vast and extremely populated country. So the AC was blessing allowing me to hide away from the reality of what waited for me outside. The space was blessing me, the time redemption was blessing me, the chance to rest, the AC, etc… all blessings!

Then it happened! He came ever so quickly without any chance for me to protest. Before I could make alternate suggestions or show my self-absorbed body language, he was sitting across from the busy papers on my lap and the Bible by my side. In that moment I had a choice. What would I choose? I asked him half annoyed and half inquisitive, “Is that your seat?” He said, “Yeah!” Apparently his spot was across the aisle from us but it was on the upper section and not easily accessed, so he was compelled to join us in our seats while he wasn’t lying down in his compartment. I grudgingly contextualized my thoughts and remembered, I was in India. I wasn’t in London or Chicago, where a single look can establish a greater berth of personal space and comfort. I then had to answer my question, was I going to ignore a lost soul sitting across from me and work away or would I engage him in a conversation that could result in a presentation of the annoying Gospel? I’ve learned that the Gospel sometimes really annoys me. I really want the blessings that had been unexpectedly presented to me. I mean, how am I able to enjoy these unexpected blessings, if I have to give them up for the responsibility to share the Gospel with this lost man? I then did what I rarely do, I asked God for this man, for an opportunity to share. I put my papers down and poised myself to begin or receive a conversation with my Bible strategically placed. So we started…

He was in the army, I was traveling. He was a sailor, I was a Bible student. He was a sailing champion, I was a Bible teacher. He was from Bombay, I was from Chicago where I attended Bible School. His name was Pallav, mine was Nathan. He was 24, I was 28. He also wanted to meet the girls I was traveling with and in that I was tempted to think that he really didn’t want to talk with me anyways, so why should I give the effort. We chatted and the annoying thoughts kept passing through my head and began to invade my heart. Finally after about two hours, he was off to visit some others.

Ahhh, breathing room…I was actually glad that he left after stressing about how to enter him into a conversation about beliefs, religion and Jesus. Now I could relax, get some work done and take the evangelization pressure off. I ate some supper with my traveling friends, played a refreshing game of Yahtzee and then I settled in for some work on my computer. No sooner had I placed the MP3 player on my head to listen to teachings about Church Planting, then he, and now 3 others, showed up. I scrunched back into the corner with a look of disgust hiding behind my smile. I thought to myself, “if they are here to meet the girls and I’m the bridge then I don’t know what to do – aahhhhh….” Apparently they were all sailors with the Indian military and had just come from a sailing competition or something, blah, blah, blah and we were supposed to be interested and impressed. I settled in for another annoying and most likely long conversation. After hearing introductions and some small talk, the last blessing of the night came.

If my life was a movie, this would be the time when everyone stops moving and I would turn, face the camera and begin to speak to you about what I had just learned. I would let you know what God chose to show me and how I learned it through this whole process, but I don’t have video cameras following me around and I don’t have control over space and time. I can though bring you into a glimpse of how God’s glory shone through my annoyance and moved past my self-imposed limitations of self-absorption.

He pointed to the beaten and brown Bible on the small table in front of me, “So, we would like to hear about this book, since you are a teacher of it – tell us your favorite thing about it – no tell us your three favorite things from it.” Sitting with my proverbial mouth wide open, I quickly ran through the favorite parts of Scripture that have hit me over the past year, years, month, days, etc… I quietly consented and proceeded to my favorite story in the Bible, Hosea and the prostitute. I filled the narrative account as I tried to communicate the unfailing and disastrous love of God for his nation, his whoring wife, Israel. I then was able to relate that to us and how we chase after other gods and things in our lives and yet God pursues us with relenting love that passes beyond conventional wisdom and demands the very core of what love really is. I then scrambled to Roman 6:22 where the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal through Christ Jesus our LORD. I shared with him about how grace is a gift and goes beyond what is deserved, beyond mercy and actually gives freely that which is good when the opposite is deserved. In this I was able to relate a story of grace in my own life which my father showed me. It was during a time when I deserved a regular and justified punishment as a young boy (otherwise known as a spanking) and my father instead took the punishment for me. I told them all, no religion offers this. No faith will teach you that you deserve (wages) punishment but instead are given (free gift) something good and comforting and life transforming instead. Only the faith of the Old and New Testament, the faith that follows Jesus, does this. Then we jumped to John 14:6, a difficult one for Hindus, which they eventually confessed as their religion of choice. I did tell them that this was an easy prayer, but a total and whole life commitment. My friend asked, “So then what do we have to do?” I love that question. What do they have to do? Thanks to Paul, there are no formulas but the closest thing to them, a confession. Romans 10:9 and 10. Confessing with our mouths Jesus as Lord and believing with our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. After sharing with my new friends, they trailed off into their belief that many beliefs lead to God, etc… I shared with them how Jesus wasn’t only believable, kind and powerful but that He changed my life too. I’ve been learning that that is the key lately. Telling that a personal change happened in my life because of Jesus, not just that the Bible is true, that Jesus resurrection wasn’t false, that the Bible hasn’t been altered, but that my life has been altered. In that short exchange, my attitude was altered and now the annoyance was annulled because God used my unexpected blessing to show me that His idea of unexpected blessings can at times be very unexpected. In my experience, I would it happens most of the time. Be blessed but be careful! Thank you Lord for this incredible and humbling opportunity, please “bless” me as much as you want.

The story doesn’t end with a salvation but it does with the a changed attitude, a Gospel proclaimed and a new friend made.

What a Day!

One week!

Well, it has almost been one week that I've been in Hyderabad and already, I've seen so much. This past 5 days I've had the privilege of visiting two of the Dalit Education schools run by OM India. Most of the children in these schools are from the Dalit caste, or the historic untouchables of India. The Dalit Freedom Network is an initiative set up by the AICC (All India Christian Council) to fight for the rights of this massive group of people - 250 million. Joseph D'Souza, the OM India leader, set this organization up to address the abuses against the Dalits and to advocate for them in society and government. The Dalit leaders asked Joseph D'Souza and OM to begin by educating their children, so OM has been hard at work putting together education cetners that will educate the children as well as teach them vocational skills. This allows them continually to share the Gospel through deed and word. Dalits communities have embraced a mass exodus from Hinduism because of the support it has given to the Caste system. The Church is here waiting for them and hoping that they will choose Jesus instead of revenge, Buddhism, Islam or any other religion that would offer them a way out of their hidden apartheid. The children as you can see are beautiful and of course made in the image of God, their Creator. If you are interested in supporting these schools financially or in teaching in them, please visit, http://www.usa.om.org/omindia/. I also had the opportunity to speak in a devotional in front of 60 pastors from the OM India Church planting intiative which has planted 2,000 Churches in the past 6 years. The pastors of these Churches face ever-increasing persecution because of the rise in Hindu fundamentalism. One pastor I spoke with had been beaten and tortured for sharing openly with people in his community while another had a woman in his congregation who's arm was broken by her husband for going to his Church. She continues to come when she can. It was a humbling opportunity and one that I will never forget. These men are coming with stories of beatings, persecution but also healings and many wonderful stories of God's power working amongst Indian people. Please keep the Indian Church in your prayers as it is steadily growing and making a huge impact on society. This morning I was able to visit the Good Shepherd health clinic which is here on the campus of OM India in Hyderabad. It was an interesting morning as the doctor invited me into his office. In that short morning period he treated at least 15-20 people and was constantly cracking jokes, like, "I believe in the liberty, freedom and the pursuit of making patients pay, I believe in liberty, freedom and the pursuit of money, and on and on he went about how he loved America and the way that many Americans had supported his work there along with people from Canada and Europe. He was a good man with a healthy sense of humor - if you saw what I saw, you would need the same thing along with prayer and a dependence on the Holy Spirit for daily strength and health, please keep him in your prayers. Blessings!

Where in the world?

Well..... it has been over two months since I last posted anything. I wish I could have communicated to you the reason why but now that I can I will. After leaving Tajikistan I was in a more developed nation with internet security watches and wasn't able to post anything to keep from being noticed. Now that I am out of the country I can write freely. At present I am in Hyderabad, India and will be in this vastly populated country for two months. I have four months left of this amazing year that God has given to me and I want to make the most of every opportunity as I finish up. Finishing well once again is on my heart. Please see my list of prayer requests below as I prepare for what is being finished and what will be started. Thank you for being patient with the dormant blog and I will be posting stuff much more although it will still be a bit difficult because I don't have as much opportunity to connect to the internet. Thank you for your patience and please come back for more stories soon. Blessings!

Prayer Points!

1. For continued spiritual growth and understanding of where God is calling me to.

2. For safety in travel and "being all there" in my time in India.

3. For preparing for my two months on the Doulos in Japan and South Korea

5. For my decision to jump right back into Seminary a week after I return to Chicago from two years of service with OM

6. For finances as I seek to see all my support come in for this year and as I prepare in paying for Seminary.

7. For a job that fits my school schedule and a car to get around if I need one.

8. For spiritual endurance and the love for the people that God will put in my path for the next 4 months.

9. For lasting fruit from my time in Tajikistan and Persia.

10. For wisdom on choosing where to live when I return to school.

Reflections...

I am nearing the end of my three months in Central Asia. I realized the other day that this part of the world is where I have lived the longest outside of my own continent. I have had the opportunity to play on the national level for basketball and receive second place in the whole country with my team. God has also given me the opportunity to officially teach English in a foreign country and to help launch two business enterprises while I've been here. These opportunities have allowed me to build relationships to share the Gospel with people that have never heard the simple Gospel before. That hit me hard the other day. I have shared the Gospel with individuals who have never heard the real story of Jesus. They have heard much but not the truth. I stood in a lit classroom after the working day had passed and shared for at least an hour with a Muslim friend the truth of Jesus and what He has offered to us. His question at the end was, "Can I be a Muslim and Christian at the same time?" The sad but true answer was "no". I knew I had to say it but I could see in his eyes that after hearing this News for the first time, he desired it and I wish he could have it. The difference here is that being a Muslim is not only a belief, it is a way of life and not being a Muslim anymore means much more than it would for a Catholic not to be a Catholic anymore. I've heard so much about the unreached and the difficulty of reaching them and here I was, standing in front of one such "unreached". What a privilege! I've also heard much about the "Back to Jerusalem" movement from the Chinese Church as they move into the most unreached part of the world through the old "Silk Road" route. As I traveled and lived in this region, I was again incredibly privileged to be able to share Jesus with those who are in one of the most unreached and increasingly difficult areas of the world. I count it all a privilege and my hope is that many others would have this privilege in the near future who haven't had it. What do you think? Would you count it a privilege?

What Do You Think?

I AM CURIOUS AS TO WHAT OTHERS THINK OF THIS STATEMENT.

Eedee Korbon and Mel Gibson

Well, for the Muslim holiday in which they celebrate the belief that God stopped Abraham from killing "Ishmael" after He told him to do so, we

were invited to the houses of our friends where we were supposed to eat a lot of food and pray for the house that we were visiting. The tradition goes that each house is supposed to prepare food for guests to come and eat and every house is to welcome anyone who comes to the door even if they don't know them. We could have literally walked into any home and sat and ate for at least a half hour and then prayed for the home. We did this in two homes and thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality. The holiday is a great opportunity to go to their homes and to share the truth of Jesus being the final sacrifice needed for our sin.

I recently watched the film, "Apocalypto", the new film by Mel Gibson about the Aztech empire in South America. The riveting scene in the film is when the captured Natives are on top of the sacrifice pyramid getting ready to have their lives ended by being sacrificed. The film does an excellent job of turning your stomach and causing disgust and gratitude at the same time. Disgust for what the sacrifice represented and the confusion that surrounded the scene and gratitude that we don't have to deal with the putridness of believing lies and the death that follows, specifically in sacrificing humans to appease "the gods". In the middle of thinking about this, I began to realize that in not believing in human sacrifice, I am denying my faith. As disgusting as it sounds, human sacrifice is the most important thing to the faith of any Christian. Without it we are lost. So before you detest the practice of human sacrifice in the film, realize that it is the salvation of any follower of Jesus. The only difference is that it only had to happen once, not over and over. God did need to be appeased and He was and it was and is our salvation, the Human sacrifice.

My New Year's Resolution

I made the Man of Sorrows sorry by all my foolish lies.
I drove the nails, I raised the cross
I was the reason that He died

Utterly unfaithful then I added anger to my sin
In a world already dark to me, I closed my eyes and would not see

So I may kick and I may scream, say many things I do not mean
Hold blindly to what is not true, but I will not walk away from You.

Just why I choose to disobey
I simply cannot tell

Why I blame you when I rebel and weep for wounds I give myself
Then screaming at an empty sky, I search for you and wonder why…

Though I cause you so much agony, you refuse to walk away from me

Don’t read me pointless poems friend
Don’t diagnose, don’t condescend
Though you may be right to disagree
I need someone to weep with me

I made the Man of Sorrows sorry by all my foolish lies
I drove the nails, I raised the cross
I was the reason that He died

So I may kick and I may scream,
Hold blindly to what is not true
But I will not walk away from you.

-Michael Card

Longing for true healing...

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.

The Gospel of the Kingdom has been ignored?

I recently received an email from a friend regarding the controversy surrounding Brian McClaren. She is a Native American who has embraced the idea it seems of preaching the whole Gospel. Back when the Charismatice movement came into being and was treated with much of the same contempt that the Emergent Church is receiving, they also claimed to have the full Gospel. This seemed to discredit their fore-runners (conservative mainstream) and caused a division that is only now seeming to find a "closing in". It seems possible that the same divisive rendering could take place with the mainstream Church and the more missional/emergent Church. What is interesting is that once the Charismatic revival and the Pentecostal movement of last century moved off to form their own identity, now there has been an indelible impact on maintream Churches from those movements that has almost completely changed the worship style, mode of dress and many other things, not to mention that Churches and individuals that used to be staunch cessationists are no longer so staunch. Of course, for you thought police, the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements of last century wheren't the only contributors of these changes but they were major influencers.

Anyways, the claim was that they had a Full Gospel now. There are even Churches with that name. Well, this new movement, the Missional/Emergent Church has discovered (nothing new, just not included) the push for preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, not just salvation. Being in a developing country, I can tell you honestly that if you don't focus on the Kingdom and only salvation, you will always leave half of your purpose at home. It is so obcvious that the Kingdom principles are so needed here, not just salvation - both.

Is it an even fuller Gospel with more to be considered? - a hermeneutical spiral maybe... Read this email excerpt from my friend and let me know what you think...


"I got to meet Brian McLaren in Nashville and he is just the coolest down-to-earth guy. An example of how cool he is, he was going to get a certain amount of honorarium for being a higher profile speaker, but he declined and just asked for what everyone else was getting. I was wondering what kind of crazy theology he was touting to be catching all the flak that he's been receiving from mainstream church stuff, but after hearing him speak, I have no idea why. He just preaches the gospel of the Kingdom—a holistic gospel where our actions match what we preach.
It's interesting that Rick Joyner is now speaking that the Gospel of the Kingdom has to be preached before the end will come. For the longest time, it was just the Gospel of salvation—which is necessary, but if we want the church to be the Church, it has to be whole. The hierarchy that's been around has to go and the untouchables will be the ones to touch those who are lost and find them. "

Missio Dei

Here is an excerpt from the explanation of a series of conferences that have been started by Richard Twiss, founder and president of Wiconi (Wich-on-ee) International.

"Missio Dei is a Latin term that literally means “Mission of God.” Beyond its literal meaning, however, it is a theological cornerstone in the foundation of Christianity with vast implications for global missions and the role of the church in God’s plan of redemption. Missio Dei is the overarching biblical story that clearly reveals our Heavenly Father’s embrace, affirmation and high regard for diversity – the remarkable diversity of ALL human and non-human creation. Within the mystery of God’s Threeness is His Oneness – the diverse interrelated community between God-the-Father, God-the-Son and God-the-Holy-Spirit.

Missio Dei, as a trinitarian theology of mission, serves the Body of Christ as a mutuality model; here the amazing diversity of people is seen as a primary expression of God’s triune existence. In other words, Missio Dei provides us with a theology of world missions that provides a place of belonging, equality and value for all people as divine expressions of the community of God...

I am absolutely committed to see this biblical concept - Missio Dei – become part of the everyday vocabulary and understanding of believers everywhere. This conference is the first in a series of national gatherings; pastoral and leadership seminars, symposiums and conferences over the next three years."

I am a firm supporter of this kind of movement even though there seems to be some opposition to this kind of thinking. Please check out www.wiconi.com and take a look at what God is doing through this powerful and groundbreaking ministry. God's role for the First Nation's community of North America in establishing his Kingdom on Earth is unfolding is some unusual and special ways and we have the opportunity at this point in history to esteem what God is doing and participate. Please pray for this ministry as they do face opposition and are on a path of renewal that is propelling much of the Church into new arenas of thought and contention that are re-shaping the Church in fresh and dangerous ways.

"If you have any encouragement for being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing our of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..." -Paul in Philippians.

No one gets left behind...

Another day while at Manna House, I ran into Jay. Jay was heading to Uganda as a representative of "Invisible Children". Many of you have heard of this movement. I heard about it a year ago while looking at a friend's website and contacted them. I bought the DVD, t-shirts and tried to encourage them with what they were doing. Meeting Jay was a wonderful privilege. He explained that they now have a vision for Cambodia, where there are also many child soldiers. Jay explained that many young people who don't know Jesus are getting involved as well as organizations. This is so missional in its approach because the purpose is redeeming what has been lost, justice and mercy - Micah 6:8. This may well be the theme verse for the emerging generation as many are embracing the missional vision of the Church or what one visionary is doing with a resurrected term, Missio Dei. Jay shared how many who don't know Jesus are helping to carry the load and in the process rubbing shoulders with justice and mercy loving Jesus followers who are living out their faith in a much fuller way through this initiative. That's amazing but even more than that is what they are actually doing together for the Kingdom - check out the website! www.invisiblechildren.com Please be in prayer for this amazing Kingdom work and for those who will encounter the much fuller vision of the Gospel and be challenged to encounter Justice and Mercy Himself, the discplaced child-God who had to run for his life from those who would seek to take it from Him only for Him to give it to them in the end. Pray for Jay and Emmy!

Meet Ray Lynch!

One evening before I left London to come to Central Asia, I was able to have dinner with friends at the Manna House in London, where guests can come and stay and pay a reduced fee. Check it out if you are ever through London. mannahouse@spj.om.org. While there that evening, I met Ray Lynch, the man in the burgundy sweater. Sporting his New Balance runners and a well worn smile, he shared with us his adventures as he has moved all over the world. He shared that at one point he decided to take the Great Commission to heart and go to all nations of the world to preach the Gospel and that he did. Ray has preached the Gospel in every country of the world, even when new countries were created in the midst of his travels. Now at his age you'd think he be slowing down, but it didn't seem that way. He shared that the most difficult country to access was North Korea but God arranged for him to get in regardless. It seems that when we decide to do something and persevere for the LORD, He seems to fill what we have chosen as long as it fits into his desire to save the world and have the name of Jesus lifted high. As the evening closed out, Ray asked if we could all sing a song together and he led us off into a chorus of a hymn I wish I could remember, but I don't. I do know that the memory of meeting Ray Lynch will never leave my heart, and will always remind me of the calling we each have that was given 2000 years ago. I will also continue buying New Balance shoes. If Nike's can make you jump like Mike then New Balance will make you preach like Ray.

Removing the Curse

Greetings from to you all from Central Asia. I have been here since the first week of November and am really enjoying the people and learning the culture and language. It has taken a long time for me to post a new blog because the connection speed is quite slow in our location. Since arriving I've been able to serve the NGO I'm working with by starting a conversational English class and am also helping out with another program doing athletic activities. I have also started learning the local language and have been able to share a lot about our LORD with my language tutor as she is not a follower of Jesus and seems to have a strong loyalty to her own faith. The people here are definitely hospitable and very community minded but are struggling to make it as they have one of the lowest GDP's in the world and are recovering from the disasterous effects of war. Please pray with me for this nation and for the Church here. She is struggling to find her identity in a post-Soviet Central Asian world. The evidence of the Fall stains many parts of this part of the world but God is doing something special and new.

As the last of the leaves fall to the ground, remember what we are waiting for...

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse." -John the Apostle

Tears came to my eyes and my hope was renewed as I read this last statement and then I read on...

"Behold , I am coming soon!" -Jesus

After the promise of Heaven we are told to pray like this, "...Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven..."

Check out this link, "The audacity of hope"

http://elnellis.blogspot.com/2006/10/audacity-of-hope.html

Didn't know that!

After spending two weeks in France at an intensive course on leadership developed by Wycliffe, OM and some other agencies, I met up with a good friend, Benjamin, in Paris. He brought me to this square and turned me around to see...

Notre Dame, I had no idea. It was a massive building and then I remembered the gargoyles.

I had always mused as to the reason that Notre Dame had gargoyles shooting out from the exterior walls.

Benjamin helped me discover the reason. It is because they are fleeing from the inside of the Church in which they don't belong. Huh! Such simplicity!

Wisdom of the Navajo

Sally was driving home from a business trip in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a white bag on the seat next to Sally.

"What's in the bag?" asked the old woman.

Sally looked down at the bag and, smiling, said, "It's a box of chocolates. I got it for my husband."

The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said: "Good trade."

Sabina's Story!

"As a young girl in Bangladesh, Sabina dreamt of helping her family overcome their poverty...One day an Indian woman visited their home. "She told me, 'If you come with me, I'll give you a better job. So come with me, but don't tell anyone.' The idea of having work was tempting to Sabina. 'One day, I told my parents that I'm just going out with this auntie and I'll be back very soon. I was thinking, If I can get a job, I can save money and even marry someone really good in India.'

But when they crossed the border, Sabina's 'auntie' left her with another woman, who locked Sabina in a room by herself. For the next seven days, 12 year old Sabina was beaten and raped repeatedly by as many as 10-15 men a day. When the week was up and her will was broken, Sabina was forced to work in a brothel. 'During the day I did all the housework. At night I was forced to give company to the men who came.'

Sabina endured years of abuse and torture before she finally escaped.

Every year, thousands of girls are tricked, trafficked and trapped into sex slavery. Last year, their plight became the focal point for CMS's Setting Captives Free campaign. CMS missionaries work with the Church of Bangladesh to raise awareness of sex trafficking and offer women opportunities to start businesses, so they aren't vulnerable to those who would sell them to the highest bidder." Inspire Magazine, Iss. 8, pg. 12-13

www.cms-uk.org - ...the privilege of being aware...

Is slavery over?

"Some 200 years ago there were four million slaves. By 2007, there will be over 20 million. Now is the time says CMS (www.cms-uk.org), for British Christians to fight slavery with as much fervour as they did two centuries ago. March 25, 2007 will mark 200 years since William Wilberforce and others gained a major victory in their campaign to end the transatlantic slave trade...slavery is far from over...brothels have replaced cotton fields. Galley slaves have been traded for child soldiers. And many people spend their entire lives in bonded service...most of today's slaves are women and children..." -Inspire Magazine Issue 8 pg. 12. (www.inspiremagazine.org.uk)

The last day George and I were together in England, he took me to a forest preserve in Keston. This is a very important spot in the history of the United Kingdom. It was on this spot 220 years ago that William Wilberforce spoke to the Prime Minister of England to bring an end to slavery. Much has taken place since that day and we owe so much to Mr. Wilberforce and to the great nation of the U.K.

As we stood there George and I reflected on our year together and then had a special time of prayer. It was special spot to end our year together because for me, hopelessness is the one thing that I hate the most. When I asked myself, "what do I love and what do I hate?", I found that I love hope and hate hopelessness. Setting people free from slavery, any form of it - immaturity, actual slavery, compromise, religious hierarchy, extreme poverty, sickness, forced prostitution, pride, injustice, corruption, etc... is at the heart of the Gospel. William Wallace, in the film "Braveheart", knew this reality and knew that freedom was a right that didn't have to be compromised because somebody else compromised (corrupt leaders) at my expense to just pad their own pockets with comfort. I face this struggle in my own life. If I am not growing and facing the sin in my walk and abiding in Christ, then those who will be influenced by me one day - wife, family, people in ministry, etc... will have to deal with the compromises I make. If I do not lead them into the same freedom I can receive from the hand of God, I will be in danger of leading them (by default) into short-sighted compromises with sin and an un-willingness to grow and mature through honesty. This is what I learned from George, to constantly remain vigilant in facing down your sin and pride no matter where you are at in life and who you are responsible for because, in the long run, it will benefit those you are called to love, lead and influence.

We need fathers

My heart is failing me. I have just finished reading postings on the internet for and against the Emerging Church in the western world. I myself find myself keenly identifying with the emerging ideals. It is a clear identification, something that helps me to navigate through a world that doesn't accept me because of my beliefs, the way I spend my money and Sunday mornings. To some of us that is quite a reach. There is too much banter and cutting words being passed to the emerging thoughts and ideals. Both sides are saying good things but they sound just like I did when I was a teenager and my father and I were not understanding each other. I love my father, always have, always will, but we don't always understand each other. That never takes precedent over his overwhelming love and protection for me. I know he would die for me, stand up for me even when I'm wrong and take my side against any enemy of strength, reputation or popularity. I utterly trust him with every ounce of my being and revere him. I need him. He is my umbrella, my home and with him I am safer than with any other in my life right now. I am known and still accepted. I need him. I can go home anytime and will be received no matter my condition.

There have been times when he has hurt me, because he has the ability to more than most. When my hair didn't match up to his preference, my music wasn't really music, my clothing was ridiculous, the things that my small world found great significance in because I didn't know the foundations that really define life as you grow older. I didn't know that fads were passing, I didn't know that what was important at the end of the day for him; bills, mortgages, sickness, cold weather, fear of failure, etc... were hemming him into a world that I wouldn't know or understand until later. I am beginning to understand and I feel like I am at a transition point between being a small world teenager to someday having a family and seeing life through its realistic aging eyes, eyes that understand consequences in a much deeper sense.

I feel the same about these arguments between traditional and emerging generations. They need fathers who love and accept and shepherd this emerging generation of young and misunderstood evangelicals through the maze of what is real and what isn't and in the process is open to learning something new. We don't need you to sit in your easychair that you're still paying for behind your daily dose of reality and peer past it to tell us how ridiculous our new hair color is or how you could've ripped that hole in our jeans for us instead of us paying somebody else to do it. We need fathers, real spiritual fathers, to lead us, to guide us, to listen to us muse, even if we are wrong. The danger is that if you don't, you, being the bigger man, lose the precedent that God has given to you by default to lead, encourage, mentor, teach and affect for eternity somebody that will outlive you. We need fathers who will love us, give us affirmation, be gentle with us in these difficult early years. It isn't anymore easier for a teenager to be a teenager than it is for an adult to be an adult. You should be happy we're even coming to Church, why scold us for how we do it. There is no bad guy in this; just ask a father who's son has left the Church and how he wishes he could take back some things he said. We need fathers. If you can't listen, if you can't live above the milieu of our self-discovery and you can't be patient, and you can't learn, then I feel like asking you to just please leave us alone, but that's not the answer either. What is? Well why not putting down the paper, getting out of your easy chair, coming to our room and knocking on the door and asking to come in. Please don't say anything about the mess, sit down and just start asking us what we think. We're family.

Philippians 2:1-5 "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ: ..."

ps - these thoughts are general and do not reflect a personal summation of my father and I's relationship. I love him deeply and we are good friends and he has been a good father my whole life.

Here are some links,

http://www.9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID314526CHID598014CIID2249672,00.html

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2005/04/an_open_blog_po.html

www.theooze.com

http://www.9marks.com/

Somalia!

Please pray for this most difficult of nations as it is the most lawless nation in the world right now. Many are dying, 99.95% Muslim. Christian martyrdom central. Check out the link http://www.gmi.org/ow/country/soma/overvw01.html
for more details on just how bad things are and in light of that what God is doing to bring His light, love, justice and mercy there. God has promised to build His Church.

Mountain Sheep

On a trip with my parents 4-5 years ago, I woke up in the back seat to the fact that we were preparing to stop. You know that feeling when you are riding in a vehicle and the droning hum of the road, the constant rhythm of the engine sing you to sleep. Then it all stops and suddenly you wake up. This is what I experienced as I sat in the back seat laying down, looking out through the window at the bare mountain in front of me. In my dreariness I began to scan the crest of the hill in front of me for any sign of a mountain sheep, known to wander throughout the region we were in. I thought to myself, if I focus hard enough and strain my eyes, moving them slowly across the horizon, I might catch a glimpse of one or two of these magnificent animals. You see as a child we used to pull off the road on the way to our town lake next to a massive cliff face. We’d wait there for a good while to just catch a glimpse of any mountain goat moving around along the face of the precipice. I was certain that if I focused hard enough I might just see something this time. I usually didn’t work that hard to see them, but this time would be different. As I continued to peer, striving to see what I planned to see, I suddenly hear the loud honk of cars streaming past the gas station where we’d stopped. I could hear some of them slowing down immediately and sounding their horns as if to say “Get out of my way”. I shot up from my seat and scrambled out of the vehicle to see for myself what had caused such a fuss. There standing right in front of me waltzing down the road were three massive mountain sheep. They just moved as they liked down the pavement while cars maneuvered around them, honked and sped off. Some stopped to look and admire, others impatiently careened around them. They were there for only a moment and then disappeared off the edge of the road never to be seen again. I was dumbfounded! God spoke into my heart, “What you work so hard to see and accomplish off in the distance, I have placed right behind you, up close and without your striving efforts to do so.” I have been sensing lately that God is showing me and others opportunities that he wants us to take advantage of. My first response is then to prepare myself so that I can go and do this thing and be completely ready for it. I am seeing that, though that may be the right way in some circumstances, many times God isn’t interested in us getting ready but would rather us just step into the action, the obedience, the calling without getting our “ducks in a row”. Sometimes it seems, our steps of faith don’t need as much preparation as we think they do, they just need obedience, a willingness to step out, go for it and be prepared to not always be prepared.

Lyon, France

From October 6th- 23rd I will be in Lyon, France attending a Leadership Matters Course that OM runs for missional leadership. I have had a burden for France ever since one of my professors spoke about it as one of the darkest regions of the world spiritually. In the city of Lyon, France itself there are 1.26 million people and 150,000 of them are Muslim. There is a large Catholic influence from the past and the city has been historically dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

-Protestants make up about 1.75 % of the population
-About 25% of the population place thier faith in astrology and mediums
-Over 15% of the population spend approximately 45 billion euros per yer on occult consultations

It is obviously a very dark region of the world. Please pray with me that as we spend time getting taught that we would not forgo any opportunity to share our faith in the midst of this difficult and dark city.