An excerpt from the book, "Shuffle", by Wendall Woodall

The following is an excerpt from the book "Shuffle" by Wendall "Windy" Woodall.  Windy was an Assemblies of God missionary to Honduras.  After returning to the US, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.  The book "Shuffle" is really about his adjustment to life with Parkinson's, but, as you will see, he uses some pretty funny stories from the mission field as well!!
Well, here is Windy's take on arriving in San José for language school:

In the summer of 1990, we packed up our whole family and moved to San José, Costa Rica. Cheryl and I were both still in our twenties, and our first two daughters were three and two. Our mission? To make sure our kids lived as far away from their grandparents as possible. That’s not actually true, but we were certainly accused of it a time or two. The real assignment was to spend three trimesters at a Spanish language school in San José that had a reputation for producing fluent speakers within a year. For my wife, who grew up in places like Miami, Southern California, and the border of Texas and Mexico, it was about fine-tuning her phonetics and adding to her limited vocabulary. For me, it was more about being torn limb-from-limb linguistically fine-tuning her phonetics and adding to her limited vocabulary. For me, it was more about being torn limb-from-limb linguistically speaking, crushing my self-esteem to nothing more than dust, and then rebuilding me from scratch—one agonizing verb conjugation at a time. I remember the speech the school’s director gave on the very first day of classes. With a cheery smile, he said: “Welcome to the Spanish Language Institute. And those will be the last words that we speak to you in English this year.” By noon that same day, we were called down to the nursery area where our oldest daughter, Brittany, kept trying to climb over the fence, crying the whole time, “I don’t know what they’re saying to me.” My wife tried to get Brittany down. I tried to climb over the fence with her. It was a long year for all of us. Looking back now, I can say that it was one of the most humbling periods of my life. For the next twelve months, we became like elementary school children again: we pronounced our vowels and consonants out loud in class, tried to put embarrassingly simple sentences together on command, took vocabulary tests every day, put signs on everything in the classroom and at home with the appropriate Spanish word for each item, planned for our show-and-tell presentations, and so on. All we seemed to be missing were the smiley face stickers on our papers and coloring pages. I watched many grown men and women break under the stress and strain of that year, and it seemed that the more education they had, the greater their collapse. Now, don’t misunderstand me here. Our teachers were as kind as they could possibly be. The problem was that some of the adults-turned-kids-again just could not handle being corrected day in and day out. They were used to getting things right, being in charge, teaching others how to do things—in short, they were used to being in control. We all felt things spiraling out of control that year. A young doctor from China was studying at the institute and attempted to encourage us. Spanish would be his seventh language to conquer, he explained, and he assured us that it got much easier on the third or fourth language. We told him he might need a doctor if he continued trying to cheer us up. It wasn’t just in the classroom that we were humbled, either. To help us learn the language more quickly, the agency that sent us used a total-immersion theory. From the moment we got off the plane, we were encouraged to start learning how to survive in the new culture on our own. Familiar faces did pick us up from the airport on the night we arrived, but we had to depend on public transportation that entire year at the institute. On the very first morning, I bravely decided to go out for food and hopped on an old, dilapidated bus that seemed to be headed in the right direction. I took a seat toward the middle, excited about my first adventure. Now, if you’ve never ridden a bus in Latin America, you won’t be able to grasp how I spent the next few hours. Without realizing it, I had luckily boarded the inbound bus just as it began its route from the outskirts toward downtown. There were plenty of seats, space, and air to breathe. That scenario was rather short-lived, however. At the next stop, at least thirty people got on the bus, which put us at what I thought was fairly close to capacity. I even got up to offer my seat to an elderly lady and joined the throngs standing in the aisles. Then, we hit the next stop where maybe five people got off and it seemed like another thirty got on. I could barely see out the windows because of the people, and I was at the dead center of this growing mass. At every stop, it only got worse. The few that got off the bus each time said the appropriate words to squeeze toward the doors. Some yelled out, “Parada!” to let the driver know that they needed out at the next stop, but I didn’t learn that term until days later. In fact, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn’t know any of the correct words or phrases—either to make the bus stop or to get the crowd to let me through—much less how to ask anyone the location of the nearest grocery store. At long last, a group of hot, sweaty people disembarked and carried me along with them. Truth be told, I think I was the only one sweating. They all immediately scattered in different directions. I was left standing on the corner with a second moment of insightful awareness: I didn’t know where I was, and, worse, I didn’t know how to tell anyone where I needed to go to get home. Several hours later, I did arrive back at our rental house, primarily due to the kindness and broken English of a few Costa Ricans I met along the way. My lovely wife opened the door, saw my disheveled hair and bewildered glaze, and spoke the words she sensed I needed to hear most: “Did you get milk?” Did I mention it was a humbling year? That same day, I had another brilliant idea. Thinking it would be best to avoid the bus routes for a while, at least until I knew the city and the language a little better, I borrowed a bicycle from another language school student who lived right down the street. I should have suspected there would be trouble when I pedaled off and he was shaking his head quietly behind me. There were nuances of driving in Latin America that I didn’t comprehend just yet. They do have traffic lights, stop signs, and speed limits, and most city roads mark the lanes with bright white and yellow paint—but all of these things are considered suggestions rather than hard and fast laws. Traffic cops were few and far between, and almost all of them were on foot. They were sure not going to chase down anybody who violated the rules. And another surprise awaited me: drivers love to blow their horns. My Honduran friends would later tell me that if you only had enough money to either fix the brakes or the horn, you always chose the latter. And, so, I ignorantly pedaled into this chaotic scene and noticed much too late that the volume of traffic was increasing rapidly around me. Then the two-lane road unexpectedly became a four-lane highway—and I use those terms loosely. That’s how many lanes were painted on the blacktop, but we easily had six or seven lanes squeezed into that tight space, and nobody was slowing down. Lines were suggestions, remember? And while I had heard horns blaring sporadically around me up until then, I was now in a cacophony of sound that was literally deafening.
I know what you’re probably thinking. I’m one of those people who shouldn’t be allowed to roam free without supervision anywhere on the planet. I might have come to that conclusion as well, had I had a spare moment, but there was no time. The four lanes became six officially—and closer to eight or nine unofficially—and that’s when I saw it: a huge roundabout. This was a huge, circular intersection, easily six lanes across, fed by four main highways that converged into one giant merry-go-round of merging traffic, complete with a giant statue of an undoubtedly important historical figure sitting on a concrete island right in the center of it all. I should have gotten his name, for he would become my constant companion for the next sixty minutes or so. I’m not exaggerating. I had been following hard on the bumper of a taxi driver who seemed to know where he was going, so when he darted toward the innermost circle of the roundabout, I was on his tail. And then he deserted me, without so much as a beep of the horn in goodbye, shooting between cars to catch his exit about three-fourths of the way around the intersection. I was left behind to look for my own gap in a sea of bumper-to-bumper traffic. It was the scene right out of National Lampoon’s European Vacation when Chevy Chase gets on the roundabout with his family and circles for the rest of the day and into the night. But at least Chevy had a car. I can say this about my misfortune that day: I did feel closer to God. And He must have heard my prayers, because about an hour later a break in the traffic opened up that to my eyes was equivalent to the parting of the Red Sea. I raced across all six lanes, screaming at the top of my lungs, while right on my heels vehicles blared their horns. When I trudged through the door that afternoon, barely safe and sound but alive, I fell exhausted into a fetal position on the couch. My wife came in from the bedroom, where she had been busily unpacking our suitcases and boxes all day, and said, “So, did you get the milk?” I love that woman, but she was starting to get on my nerves. She did offer to walk the bicycle back to the neighbor’s house for me, though, and when she returned, she had a carton of milk in her hands. “Did you know there’s a little convenience store on the block right behind us?” she asked. “They call it a pulpería, or something like that. That’ll probably come in handy.” I ate my cereal dry that night. It was better than the humble pie.

Woodall, Wendall (2014-03-25). Shuffle: A Way Forward, Whatever the Challenge (pp. 36-37). Highway 51 Publishing, LLC. Kindle Edition.

I Have A Feeling God Is About To Do Something Crazy!

So, there is something very important that we have not really discussed...

Almost everything we have talked about for the last 10 months has been about our monthly budget.  Just to recap, our monthly budget provides our money to work with, money for the boys to attend a school that aligns with the US college and high school system, money for insurance, gasoline, housing, and our salary.  This money comes to us every month from churches here in the US, and individuals just like you!  Our monthly budget is about the same amount that it takes to operate a small church for a month, and has been our main focus over the last 10 months of our fundraising.  We are getting VERY close to having monthly commitments for 100% of our monthly budget (but we could still use your help!), and we hope to be done in time to join the next session of language school that begins on May 7.

But, we have another budget that we rarely talk about....

We have a cash budget that we also need to raise before we can leave!  This cash budget covers the cost of language school, plane tickets for the 5 of us to get to Central America, utility deposits (which are VERY high when you are not a resident of your host country), and a few other miscellaneous items that are one-time purchases.  We haven't talked about it becuase generally, this budget takes care of itself.  

As we travel, any excess money that comes in from our Sunday services goes toward this cash budget.  Also, any excess in what is being sent in monthly goes towards this cash amount (we live on less here than we will in Honduras, mostly because of schooling for the boys and we have no work budget... so there should be excess).  So, for most missionaries, this cash budget naturally acccrues as they fundraise... But we are not most missionaries!

Our situation is quite unique when it comes to being an Assemblies of God World Missionary.  The many apects of this uniqueness would take WAY to long for me to even highlight, but let me say it simply: The same unique situation that has lead to us raising our monthly budget faster than normal, is also contributing to our cash budget moving slower than normal (it mostly has to do with the fact that we often must travel great distances, and our Sunday offerings generally only cover those expenses, so we have very little surplus).

Let me give it to you in black and white... We need $45,000.00 in cash before we can leave (in addition to the amount that comes in monthly).  This is a pretty standard amount for a first-term missionary.  Right now, we only have $4,000.00-$5,000.00.  I guess what I'm saying is: We need a miracle!

Allow me to quickly tell you about a miracle that I had the opportunity to be on the giving-end of:

When we were pastoring, we met a missionary named Larryon Truman that was building churches in Panama.  When I heard him talk about how it only took $5,000.00 to build a church there, I decided we needed to help him.  I invited Larryon to speak at our church a few months down the road, and started praying for a miracle.  I told my wife that our church (Mt Calvary Family Worship Center- West Valley City, UT) was going to receive an offering of $5,000.00 in one day so that we could help build a church in Panama.... She thought I was crazy!!  Our church had only given a total of $7,000.00 to missions the previous year, and we often struggled just meeting the church's budget each month.  I told her that I probably was crazy, but that I had heard from God on this, and we were going to do it!

I asked our church to prepare to give an offering on a Sunday that was about 3 weeks away.  I asked if we could get 100 people to give $50 in that offering, so we could give $5,000.00 to build a church in Panama.  The people were very excited!!  None of us was rich, but we could probably figure out a way to part with $50, so we got started.  

That Sunday, after our first service, I had a man ask if he could give that day instead of waiting for 3 weeks.  I told him that was fine, and he handed me a check for $5,000.00!!!  I was truly speechless (which is a whole different miracle)!!  We already had $5,000.00 and I hadn't even told our second service about the project!

Before church the next Sunday, a lady came to me asking if she could give in the Panama offering that day instead of waiting.  I said that was fine, and she handed me an envelope with $5,000.00 cash in it!!!  God was doing something very special, and to say that the church was excited is a serious understatement!

The offering day came, and MORE than $5,000.00 came in that day from people who just did what they could!!!  No huge amounts, just everyone doing their part.  

The next Sunday, Larryon was coming to speak to us in the evening, and I was recapping the story for the congregation, and telling them to come to church that night, because Larryon had no idea that any of this was happening.  At the end of the morning service, I found out that a man that only came to our church that one time, wrote another check for $3,000.00!!!  When Larryon came that evening, we were able to write him a HUGE check, and invest into what he was doing in Panama.  When all the dust settled, just a few people who had done what they could to help, had given over $22,000.00!!!!  $5,000.00 had sounded crazy, but $22,000.00 was breathtaking...

Right now, we are looking at a $40,000 need, and it is intimidating...  Thankfully, we serve a God who has proven Himself many times!  It is fun to be on the giving-end of a miracle, but very humbling to need to be on the receiving-end...

Would you help us pray for this miracle?  Would you even consider giving a one-time gift to help us?  We are passionate about reaching at-risk children in Honduras, but this is a HUGE obstacle in our way.  Would you consider helping us remove one piece of this roadblock?  We are praying for a miracle of cooperation and provision, and we thank you for considering it!!  If you'd like to give, email me at andy@smithmissions.net, and we will figure out the best way for you to get funds to our account.  If you can't give, PRAY!!  I have a feeling God is about to do something crazy!!

(On a side note, I am constantly thankful that God came through on our Panama offering, because it makes it WAY easier for me to win similar discussions with Jen now!!  Haha!!)

Thank you for your prayer and supprt!  Thank you for helping us believe for a miracle!!  Thank you for being a blessing!!!

Small Month With HUGE Potential!

If you are reading this, you are probably well aware of the fact that my family and I are currently preparing to leave the United States as missionaries to children in Honduras. We have been in our fund-raising process since May 2013, and we are closing in on being 100% funded! If all goes well, we will be leaving for language school on May 7, 2014!!
Assemblies of God World Missionaries are given a monthly budget when we receive our approval. This budget includes several different things, like: our salary and our housing allowance (which are fixed amounts, and do not increase if we bring in extra money), medical insurance (which is not cheap, but very important because many countries will refuse to treat you without an advance cash payment of several thousand dollars, which the insurance pays on our behalf), schooling for our boys (which is not free, or cheap, if we want it to line up with the US high school and college systems), and money to do ministry work with. (If you would like to see a breakdown of our monthly budget, please let us know!) All in all, our budget is around what it takes to run a small church, and there is only 5 of us!!
In order for us to receive our final clearance to leave, we have to receive monthly financial commitments that equal the amount of our budget need. These commitments can come from churches, businesses, individuals (about 2/3 of our commitments are from individuals, like you!), or almost any other type of group. Our prayer is to have 100% of our commitments by May, so that we can be in the next group at our language school.
Right now, we have raised just under 70% of what we need! We are very excited by this, but we know there is still a lot of work to be done! We really feel like the month of February will let us know if we are going to make it into the May session of school, or if we will need to wait until September. We have some potentially large commitments that could be finalized in February, as well as some big events that we will be attending. If each of these things works out well, we could move forward a significant amount during the month of February!! If this happens, we will begin the process of closing things out here in the US, and making the final preparations for our move!
February is a small month, but for us, it has HUGE potential!! Will you please help us pray that we will see some HUGE leaps forward this month? Will you help us pray for favor with the pastors and individuals that are considering monthly support for our minstry? Will you help us pray that many of the verbal commitments that people and churches have given us will translate into official commitments during the month of February? We believe that prayer changes things, and so we are asking for you to help us pray! We need this little month to bring us a BIG miracle!!
If you have been considering monthly support for our ministry, there is no time like the present!! There are a few different ways to set up support:
1. Mail in a check or money order each month. You will receive a regular statement with a portion to detach and return with the enclosed envelope. To set that up, just click HERE.
2. Basically the same as as option #1, but with help! Just email or call us with your name, address, and the amount you would like to give each month, and we will fill out the paperwork for you! You still get the statement, and mail in the check. You can reach us at (801) 243-1282 or andy@smithmissions.net
3. Automatic payments with your credit or debit card. Payments will automatically be made for you in the amount you choose! You just need to remember to update your card info when it expires! The extra bonus here is that you don't have to remember to give, and you can even get points on your card for giving! To set that up, click HERE.
Also, remember that everything you give is tax deductible!!
With all that said, our main request here is for prayer! Will you help us pray that February is a month of progress for our ministry? We really want to close-out this process because we feel such an urgency to begin working with our students in Honduras! We are hoping that this tiny month will have a HUGE impact!!

Our Return to Billings...

I sat in my office that day a dreamed about what could be... I was 23-years-old, and had just set up my office as the Lead Pastor of Billings Praise Center, in Billings, MT. I was full of anticipation for what God was going to use us to do on the Southside of Billings. That day, God put such incredible vision and passion in my heart to reach the unreached on the Southside. I dreamed of ministry to single moms, and homeless teens, and hungry families. That was the day God put it in my heart for Billings Praise Center to become a sort of Spiritual Emergency Room for people in desperate situations. That day seemed so far away 15 months later when the church board of BPC suddenly asked me to resign... It's been over 8 years since that day, and I still have not been offered an official explanation as to why. The church was growing, and we were in the beginning stages of seeing some of those dreams and visions come to pass. We were only a few weeks away from starting a large scale food distribution ministry, and the first step would have been taken to become what I felt God had called Billings Praise Center to become. And then it all came to a very abrupt halt... We cried a lot during those days. We didn't know what we would do next, but that wasn't the main source of the tears. It hurt to have been rejected by people that you spent so much time praying for, and asking God to bless. It is almost like being asked to leave your family... For me, a huge source of the tears was knowing that the dreams that God had placed on my heart that day in my new office had just died. I knew that the people of the church would not continue the with the plans and dreams that God had given me, and they didn't. The vision to help the hurting left Billings Praise Center when I did... or so I thought... After leaving more than 8 years before, and inwardly vowing never to return, on October 5, 2013, we drove back into Billings. I never thought I would see that city again, but God allowed me to see something beautiful there, and He taught me some things about vision... When we lived in Billings, God gave me the incredible opportunity to meet a man named David Morales. David grew up on the Southside, and God had done some miraculous things in his life. He was doing ministry on the Southside for people that most churches wouldn't touch. He was reaching battered women, and women recently released from prison. He was touching people's lives in ways that traditional churches never would. I enjoyed getting to know David very much!! After we left Billings, David also went through some difficult things, and was also rejected by some people close to him. The ministry he had been doing, came to a sudden end, and the Southside was left without its Champion... But then God began to put broken pieces together again, but in a different way than they were before. David Morales became the Pastor of Billings Praise Center!! It wasn't easy for him to push through the desire of the people to control everything, but because David is like a pit bull, he was able to break through!! The church stopped holding Sunday services, and the people who had rejected me, left the church. Earlier this year, Billings Praise Center began holding Sunday services once again, and that is just one of the many incredible things we saw when we returned a few Sundays ago... Billings Praise Center now has a ministry that feeds hungry families, with a pantry full of food! They assemble and distribute kits of personal supplies to the teenagers who live on the streets in Billings!! My old office now has two commercial washers, and two commercial dryers in it, so that single moms can save the money they would use at the laundromat, and spend it on their kids instead! The house next to the church is being remodeled, and will be used to house women who have been recently released from prison, and need a safe place to try to restore things with their children. The church operates a day care for low-income families, and there was a family in church the Sunday I preached that have come to Christ through their relationship with that daycare!! The church building has been remodeled, and updated quite a bit, and the property looks great. And probably the most impressive thing we saw, was that there the atmosphere of the church was so much different than it was on the day we left. There seemed to be a genuine excitement about reaching out to hurting people. There was an honesty and sincerity in the way they talked about Billings Praise Center existing to help people in need. I almost cried like a baby when David told me that he viewed BPC as a type of Spiritual Emergency Room for the Southside!! God taught me an amazing lesson as we toured the property of Billings Praise Center. He showed me that His plans and vision never die. Situations might look hopeless, and it might seem impossible that God could ever fulfill His promise, and yet somehow He does it. I did not get to see my dreams and vision come to pass while I was in leadership at Billings Praise Center, but I did get to see them happen!! I am so thankful for the opportunity to have literally seen God's faithfulness to His promise with my own eyes. I would have never guessed that it was possible for our situation in Billings to have worked out in a good way, but God is too good to let His promise die!! As David and I have talked a little after our visit, we realized that we both really needed what happened that weekend. Our family needed to see how God has brought those dreams to pass, and David has said that there seems to be a renewed passion and a peace since we have been there. It as if something has finally and fully been reconciled. The hurt we never thought would go away, has turned to joy!! I know it seems simple, but it is so true: God is good!!! We had wondered for years about why God would have allowed this to happen to us. We had wondered why we had to endure this pain, or what we had done to deserve the things that happened. After going back to Billings, we have come to the conclusion that it wasn't really about us... We had given our lives to God and asked Him to use us, and He did. He used us to expose some of the unhealthy issues at Billings Praise Center. He basically used us to stir the hornets nest, so that the problems were easy to see. The difficult situation wasn't about us, it was about bringing His will to pass at Billings Praise Center. Now the Southside has a wonderful church that won't overlook the darkness of the neighborhood. The Southside of Billings has a church that loves the people, and is committed to reaching them!! It cost us some heartache and tears (as well as some from David and his family), but it was worth it!!

New Job, New Page Title, Same Andy

So, I haven't written anything on my blog for a while, but it's not because there has been nothing to say... The name Pastor Andy was all over this page, and I stopped being Pastor Andy (for the most part) several months ago. (The last post on this page was my resignation letter to Mt Calvary...) So basically, I haven't written anything here because I hadn't invested the time into makes the changes to the page that were necessary. Now that I have, you will notice a few things: 1. I left the old posts. I thought they'd be interesting to look back at, even though I no longer serve in the same role. 2. The new posts will be a bit different. They will have more to do with the ups and downs of life as a missionary. 3. The tone is bound to change a few more times. Soon, we will be leaving for Language School in Costa Rica, and with that life change, the posts will likely change. Several months after moving to Costa Rica, we will move to Honduras, and the tone will likely change to what our every day, Honduran lifestyle is like. Writing can be pretty therapeutic for me, and with our whole life changing by the minute, I could use a little therapy from time to time!! With all that said, I'm sure I will be posting from time to time, so I guess you will hear from me later!!

I read this letter to Mt Calvary tonight...

I read this letter to Mt Calvary tonight... Dear friends and family of Mt Calvary, We have called a meeting today to discuss our upcoming pastoral vote, but I have an announcement to make before that happens. We will still be discussing the election, but the information I am about to give you will directly influence what happens with this vote. My family and I have some sad but exciting news to share with you. This last week, Jen and I were in Springfield, Missouri for some meetings with Assemblies of God World Missions. On Friday, we received full-time appointment as missionaries to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. As I'm sure you are quickly realizing, this means that tonight I am announcing my resignation as Lead Pastor of Mt Calvary, effective April 14, 2013. This has been a long and difficult journey as my family and I have followed God's leading in this direction. The Lord began to speak to us about this several years ago, but I guess we are slow learners, and it has taken us a while to truly understand what God was asking of us. The steps that have lead us to today have taken several months, and we want you to know that we did not arrive at this decision quickly or easily. Jen and I have talked, prayed, cried and then talked and prayed and cried some more. We have come to the conclusion that God has this move in His plan for our lives. We have always seen ourselves as the pastors that would lead a church that was very supportive of missions, and took several trips to help missionaries. We never imagined that God would someday call us to the Mission Field ourselves. Even though the wheels of this process have been turning for a while, this has truly caught us by surprise. We will be working with the organization Latin America Child Care. We will help run a system of 14 schools in Honduras that offer food, clothing, and a quality, Christ-centered education to kids in very poor areas. We will have the opportunity to literally be the hands and feet of Christ, as God's love is shown to kids who are many times ignored or abused. We honestly feel that God has spent our entire lives preparing us for this ministry, and we are. Excited to be a part of it. We are also very sad to be leaving Mt Calvary. This church has been our home for nearly 8 years now. We have grown to love you as our family. We would not leave this church family if it were not for this intense leading of the Holy Spirit that we have been feeling. We know that God has incredible plans for Mt Calvary's future! A church never belongs to a pastor, it belongs to Christ. The church is His Body. And because it is His church, we are confident that God will take very good care of our friends and family at Mt Calvary. Let me be very practical about what this means for Mt Calvary: This means that there will need to be an election to choose a new pastor for Mt Calvary. Our District Superintendent, Dennis Rivera will speak to you in a few minutes to help answer any questions about how this process typically works. As for myself and my family; after our last Sunday with you on April 14, we will be traveling from church to church as we raise support for our ministry in Honduras. We have a large monthly budget to raise, and the only way it comes in is as individuals and local churches choose to partner with us and support us monthly. It will take us around a year to raise our support, so for the next year we will be traveling around and recruiting people to partner with us in our ministry. After our budget is raised, we will spend 1 year in Costa Rica for language school before we move to Tegucigalpa. We are both sad and excited to announce this to you tonight. We understand your sadness or confusion, but we hope that you also be able to celebrate with us as we follow God's leading for our family. Thank you.

I'd Rather Be Fed Than Led

If I’m going to be honest, sometimes being a leader of people isn’t much fun. There are days I would rather volunteer for dental experiments than lead people. Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of great things about being a leader, but the bad things seem to stay with you longer. I know you’re not reading this to hear me complain, and I’m not writing it to complain either, so I had better get to my point. Even though I’m a leader, I am also a follower. I am a follower of Jesus Christ! I also have spiritual leaders and systems that I follow. I have found that when I’m frustrated about something, I can usually find a similar problem in my personal life. So, when I’m having leadership issues, I try to look at where I’m being led. As I’ve been doing this lately, I’ve uncovered an uncomfortable truth about myself: I’d rather be fed than led. The good news is that God gives me some comfort in His Word by letting me know that I’m not the only one that has ever been this way. Check out Israel after leaving Egypt: 1The whole community of Israelites moved from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. 2In the desert the whole community complained about Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only the LORD had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!” Exodus 16:1-3 GWT Israel decided they had had enough of this following stuff. They were done being led, and now it was time to be fed! They didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything, they just wanted to be gratified. They wanted to be fattened. They wanted to be fed. As Christians, we all need to be fed. We all need to go to God’s Word for life, strength, and direction. We need to be fed. But, if we decide we only want to be fed, and not led, we get fat, lazy, and unable to follow like we should. I know it may not seem like it at times, but God is trying to take you somewhere. He is trying to transform you into His image every day. He is trying to accomplish eternal things through what you see as a simple life. He is trying to lead you. But He can’t take you anywhere is you’re not willing to go… I think what God has been telling me, and I’m passing on to you, is that we shouldn’t worry so much about being fed as we do about being led. If we’re following Him, He’ll take care of our feeding. Psalm 23 says He’ll lead us by green pastures, but we won’t get there if we’re not following. So, what are you waiting for?? Get up and follow Him!!! He’s trying to take you somewhere incredible! He’s trying to accomplish something eternal!! But He can’t get you there if you won’t leave the dinner table… So, let’s go! I’m right there with you! Jesus, you lead, and we’ll follow!!

Unlikely Compassion

The other day I was reading the story of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37, and I saw something there that I had never seen before and I wanted to share it. First off, let me say how incredible God’s Word is! I love how a story that I have literally heard hundreds of times can come to me with new life and fresh vision. God’s Word is never dull. It is never routine. It is never predictable. It always speaks to you in a new way if you’re willing to listen to it. It’s a pretty amazing book… I can’t think of anything else like it! So, let’s get back to The Good Samaritan. We all remember this story. I’ve seen enough flannel-graph presentations on this one that I can almost feel that white felt board if I close my eyes. But don’t let familiarity water this story down for you. Check it out with an eye to see something new. So basically, a guy gets beat up and left for dead while he is on his way to Jericho from Jerusalem, when some people pass by. The first two guys are people of authority. The priest was a man of religious and political power, and the Levite was a man of God’s Law as well as an assistant at the Temple in Jerusalem. Both of these guys could have helped the man in need. They had the money to help out. They even had authority to get others to help him. But they were too concerned with their own business, and left the guy to suffer and potentially die. Then along comes The Good Samaritan. This guy would have been seen as an outcast in this part of the world. The Samaritans were not quite Jews, and they were not quite Gentiles. They were a religious and racial mix of both. In this part of the region, this Samaritan would have been a total outcast. He would have been overlooked, ignored, despised, and reviled because he was in Jewish territory, but wasn’t fully a Jew. He was more likely to be the guy beaten and left for dead than the guy that comes along to help. So this Good Samaritan picks the guy up, and puts him on his own donkey. The Samaritan is now left to walk for the rest of the day, which I’m sure slowed him down, and maybe even made him come up short on how far he wanted to travel that day. He takes the man to an inn, cares for him through the night, and then leaves enough money with the innkeeper to nurse the beaten man back to health. He makes sacrificial moves to help. He acts in a selfless compassion. He helps someone who could not help himself. And the Samaritan doesn’t care if he was the best person for the job, or if he makes the newspaper for doing it. He does the right thing because it is the right thing to do. So, how does this relate to you? What was the new thing that jumped out at me?? When we see a person in need, we usually figure that there are people of authority that will help them. We think that the priest or the Levite passing by will give them a hand. We think the government will do it. We think the big church down the street will do it. We think the rich folks will do it. We think that certainly, if there is a genuine need, someone will help them out. We are wrong… Since when does God use the likely candidates to solve a problem or fill a gap? He uses 15-year-old shepherds. He uses 8-year-old kings. He uses camel-hair-wearing, bug-eating wild men. He uses Christian-hating Pharisees. He uses the people that are the least likely to be thought of as the right person for the job. He uses the outcast. He uses the under-qualified. He uses the middle-class and the poor. He uses the uneducated. He uses the people that most of society would over look. My guess is that one, two, or most of these things describe you. Do you know what that means? That means that God wants to use you!! That means that He can make a difference in someone’s life using whatever it is that you bring to the table. That means that no one has to think you’re capable or qualified as long as He does… And He does think you’re qualified! The Samaritan didn’t do a lot of fancy things to help. He just did what he could. He acted in compassion. He did what he could, using what he had. Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to impact the Kingdom of God?? Let God put His compassion in you. Let Him move you in kindness. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Give attention to a child from a difficult situation. Show a little love. Give someone a smile. Move in God’s compassion!! Compassion is all you need. You don’t need to have money. You don’t need to have a title in your church. You don’t need to have political pull. You don’t need to have a wall lined with degrees. Compassion is all you need. Christ’s compassion in you can make the difference. What are you waiting for?? Get out there and love somebody. It might be exactly what they need to have their wounds healed and health restored. God’s compassion is most powerful when it comes from unlikely sources, and seemingly unqualified people… And that is probably you!! Get out there and show some love!!

Beautiful & Broken

My plane has just taken off and I’m al little overwhelmed emotionally. I always leave a piece of my heart everywhere I go, and in every place I minister, but this was very different. There really isn’t enough of my heart to go around here. I am certainly leaving a piece of myself here.
The best way I can describe Haiti is Beautiful & Broken. Port Au Prince is amazingly huge, with tons of life and people. The mountains to the East and the sea to the West create a serene and majestic feeling at times. But as beautiful as it is, it is very broken…
Literally right around the corner from the house where we stayed, are two house completely flattened in the earthquake on January 12, 2010. They still lay as a pile of rubble. No rebuilding. No cleanup. No life. Unfortunately, there is still much to be done in Port Au Prince. Those two houses are just a few amongst the many uninhabitable buildings. Haiti is certainly Beautiful & Broken.
We visited five orphanages, and we saw children with fear and hopelessness in their eyes. We heard horror stories of children orphaned by the quake. We met children that had been trapped under rubble from the quake. We met children that had been kept as slaves. We met children that had been violently and repeatedly sexually abused. We met so many broken children that even as a write this I am having a hard time containing my emotions. No one ever deserves to be mistreated, but children, of all people, should never have to endure this kind of neglect and abuse. We met children that, just by looking into their eyes, you could see that they had already lived a lifetime… and they were only 9 years old. There was a terrible amount of brokenness.
Yet, there was beauty as well. Mixed into all of the mess and the hurt and the brokenness, there was life and beauty. We met children that, even though they had been given every reason to give up, they had hope in their eyes. These kids had been given love, and they had responded to that love with hope. These kids had been given the food they so desperately needed, both physically and spiritually.
I held a little girl that was given away by her prostitute mother, and no one knows who her father is. And I had so much fun playing with that girl. She had an amazing and funny personality. Despite language and cultural barriers, when I gave here a hug and held her in my arms, the beauty inside of her exploded to the surface. She had been abandoned. She had been malnourished. But she had been loved. And love was what she needed.
At that same orphanage, I met an 11-year-old girl that was the size of a 4 or 5 year old. She had been so malnourished that she became sick and simply would not grow. But once she had been brought into that orphanage, and had been loved, fed, and taught about the hope that only Christ can give, her beauty had come out. Her face was almost glowing as she smiled and hugged us.
At the very first orphanage we went to, a little girl wanted me to hold her. I was the pastor. I was there to give love to those kids. Of course I picked her up. What happened next will forever be etched into my brain. When I picked her up, she leaned into my shoulder, put her arms around my neck, and began to stroke the back of my hair like I do when hugging my children. The kids of this orphanage had only recently been rescued from the streets, and were still very fear-filled and tentative. But this little girl wanted me to hold her, not so much so she could be loved, but so she could give love. This little 3 or 4 year old girl taught me so much about love as she tenderly ran her hands through the back of my hair and pushed her cheek into my shoulder. Love is a two-way street. As much as she and the other kids like her need to be loved, they need to express love as well.
I have spent the last two days holding children, playing with children, asking their names and ages, tickling them, and pretending to bite their fingers. I gave so much love in the last few days. But I think I received so much more than I gave. I saw so much hope in the eyes of these children that literally have nothing, that I could not help but have a spring of hope rise up in me. Love is simply amazing. Love makes the broken beautiful.
This was an incredible object lesson in the mercy, grace, hope, and love that Christ gives to me. I learned in these few days, that God’s love is enough. God’s love of certainly sufficient. God’s love is amazing. God’s love can make any situation beautiful.
Haiti is broken, but God is doing something beautiful there. Where His love is being displayed, hope is rising. Where His hand is being extended in compassion, beauty is rising. Where a meal is prepared, or an orphan taken in in His name, Haiti is rising. Haiti is Broken. Haiti is Beautiful.

Radical... and Needed!

That’s what I was going to say!… But I didn’t know how to say it, and David Platt said it far better and with richer experience that I ever could have in his book, Radical
This book was like the deep part of God crying out to the deep part of me. I realize that everyone that reads Radical will be an individual, with individual preferences and experiences, but this was definitely a God-timed read for me.
I needed this. I needed to know that its okay to question the way things have been traditionally viewed and done when it comes to compassion ministry, missions, and personal finances… And trust me, this book will challenge you in each of these areas and more. This book marks an opportunity for each of us to answer God’s call to go higher and do more.
We commonly refer to Christianity as a “walk with God,” but most of the time, we are content to walk nowhere and stay right where we are. This book will challenge and encourage you to take a step forward. Hopefully, it will challenge us all to take several steps forward, and embrace a New Testament, Biblical Christianity.
Radical is not about going to church, it is about being the church. It is about each of us doing the work of the ministry to the best of our ability. Radical is a call away from passivity in the Christian church, and I know that this was a message I definitely needed to hear.
I will admit that some of what David Platt said made me uncomfortable… it made me question my Christian life… and that is exactly what I needed. Radical did not make me feel good, and I’m glad it didn’t.
I read another review for this book that told people not to read this book if you were prone to feeling guilty. I want to ask, does this book make you feel guilty, or convicted? Guilt is a bad thing, but guilt is our decision. Guilt is how we process negative information,. Its not the fault of the information!
Conviction is a gift given to us by God. Without conviction, we would have never understood our need for Christ. Without conviction, we would have never sought salvation. Without conviction, we would never grow in God… We would never move forward in our “walk.” We need God-brought conviction, and Radical is full of this type of conviction.
As far as I’m concerned, every Christian should read this book. If it makes you uncomfortable, good! If it makes you question your Christian life, excellent!! I know that’s what it did to me, and I’m thankful that God gave me the gift of being able to move forward because I read this book.

Take a look for yourself by reading the first chapter: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601422217&view=excerpt

Or, watch a video about Radical (its long, but check it out): http://www.livestream.com/waterbrookmultnomah/video?clipId=pla_a5fa3067-0103-4e5c-93fd-f95218bc8ebb

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Current Events...

So, I've been asked several times lately (especially in the last few days) what I think about the world's current events. People are wondering about the Second Coming of Christ. People want to know if I think these are the End Times.
My overall perspective on the End Times is: The only thing I can really do is give my life completely to serve God and serve others, and whatever happens, happens.
Maybe this is an overly simple perspective, but I figure that none of my calculating, speculating, or guessing is going to make things happen any differently, so I will just live my life in Ready Mode!

For a little more info about the Second Coming of Christ, check out this link:
http://ag.org/top/beliefs/our_core_doctrines/second_coming/

On it, you'll find a few videos from the Assemblies of God about the Second Coming. The first two choices are from George Wood, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God. The "Sermon Lead-In" is just a shorter version of the "Complete Teaching" video. Then there are two more options that can give you a little more info. I hope you find it helpful!
Let me leave you with the beginning of Psalm 46. It reminds us to put our trust in God, no matter what is happening around us!

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
That is why we are not afraid even when the earth quakes or the mountains topple into the depths of the sea.
Water roars and foams, and mountains shake at the surging waves.
Psalm 46: 1-3 GWT

Jeremiah 29:11, By The Numbers

I want to drop a really weird thought on you…
I was up last night to get a drink of water and I had a very strange thought. For those of you who know me well, you understand that it is not strange for me to have a strange thought… in fact, its pretty normal. But normally, I don’t have them at 3am (because I’m not actually sure that my brain works at that hour).
The scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 popped into my head as I was heading up the stairs. I wrote it down here, just in case you’re not familiar with it:
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 GWT
As I thought of this well known verse, my mind drifted to the word “plans” in a way that it never really had before. Usually, when I read this verse, I like to focus in on the fact that God’s plans for me are filled with peace, hope, and a future. I think its fair to say that most of us think the same way! Every once in a while, we get really holy, and we think about the fact that God loves us enough to have a plan for our lives…pretty cool thought! But last night, I thought of those plans by the numbers…
At the church that I pastor, the last Sunday morning count we took said we had 200 adults in the building. I started to wonder how far back God had been planning so that all of those people could be there. I started to wonder how many people and how many decisions it had taken over the years to get everyone in that building, at that time. I wondered how many people had been involved in God’s plan over the last 200 years to accomplish that group of 200 people. I started to look at Jeremiah 29:11 By The Numbers!
WARNING!! I’m about to go a little math-nerd on you here, but stay with me!
We had 200 adults here that day, but you and I both know that families come to church together. Since we are talking about ancestry here, we’re going to remove 1/3 of those people. We’re going to work with 133 as our base number.
We’re also going to say that a generation reproduces every 25 years. Some people will go with 20 years for that, but I wanted to be conservative with this so it doesn’t look exaggerated. So, that’s 8 generations over the last 200 years to get 200 adults into our church building that Sunday.
So, let’s do the math!! If it takes 2 people to produce 1 person, then our number of people doubles with each generation that we move back. So, if we take 133 and move it back 8 generations, then it took 17,024 people to produce that 133 people! That’s a lot!!
But it gets even better!! Because we are talking about separate generations, each set of numbers is a distinct group. That means that we can add each of those 8 generations together to get the total number of people involved over 200 years to produce those 200 people. Drum roll please!!… The grand total is 33,915 people over 200 years, or 8 generations!
God had worked together the plans of 33,915 people over the course of 200 years to bring 200 adults to our church a few weeks ago! That means that when we think about God’s plans for us, He didn’t just dream them up yesterday! He’s been working on them for years! He’s been working on them for 33,915 people and 200 years!! He’s been working His plan for you for longer than you or I could ever understand!! If those numbers don’t blow you away, wait until you see where we go next!
People are more than just a body. People make decisions! So, for 200 adults to be in our church, there were a lot of decisions made over those 200 years to make that happen. Let’s be super conservative and say that each person involved in this 200 year plan made 4 decision per day (we both understand that we make that many decisions before breakfast, but lets just go with 4 per day). With 365 days each year for 200 years, and 33,915 people involved, and 4 decisions per day, that means that 9,903,180,000 decisions were made to get 200 people to church. If you’re having a hard time counting commas and zeros, that’s over 9.9 billion decisions!!
God didn’t start his plan for you yesterday! God’s plan has always been in action! And YOU have always been a part of that plan! He didn’t just dream you up a few days before you were conceived. He has put over 9.9 billion decisions into getting you and 199 of your friends where you are right now. He has had His plan for you working for longer than you’ll ever know…
As impressive as it is to see how God planned to include you in His kingdom, look at what can happen when we look at God’s future plans by the numbers! If each of those 200 hundred people makes just 1 decision, they can radically effect the futures of many, many people.
If each of those 200 people makes a decision to try to bring 1 person to Christ every 6 months, amazing things will begin to happen!! 1 person every 6 months really isn’t that much, but it will take effort. It will take 1 very important decision.
If those 200 people win 1 person for Christ every 6 months, and the people who come to Christ do the same, we get some crazy numbers. If we multiply that out over 8 generation (we’re using 8 generations because that’s what we used to look back), which is only 3 ½ years, we have 25,600 people in the Body of Christ because of 1 decision made by 200 people…
The numbers show that you’ve been a part of God’s plan… All 33,915 people and 9.9 billion decisions over the last 200 years.
The numbers show that you can be a big part of God’s plan… 25,600 people serving Christ because of 1 decision made by 200 people.
You’ve seen Jeremiah 29:11, God’s plan, by the numbers. Now, what are you gonna do about it?

How GOOD is Good Enough?

If you’ve never asked yourself this question, then you’re probably doing it right now! Andy Stanley does an excellent job of giving an answer in his book, Since Nobody’s Perfect… How GOOD Is Good Enough?
This is a very short book, and a really quick read (its less than 100 pages, and the pages are TINY!), but don’t let that make you think there’s nothing to it! Andy Stanley asks the questions that few people are asking. like: How fair is fair? How good is good? Do fair and true mean the same thing? … Pretty deep stuff for a little book!
This book is written to a non-Christian, and it does a very good job of balancing the arguments, as well as asking and answering the hard questions. And even though the questions are tough, Andy Stanley manages to give some pretty simple answers. This would be a great book to give to someone who is asking questions about religion and faith!
This is also a great book for Christians! Sometimes we can overlook the basics of our faith, and then when someone asks a difficult question, we draw a blank. This book is like shooting drills in junior high basketball… You’ve got to have the basics down is you’re gonna do well in the game!
If for no other reason, grab a copy of How Good Is Good Enough just to read the last chapter (you could even skip to it, but the book is short enough that you shouldn’t have to!). The way Andy puts grace and mercy into perspective is soooooo simple, but sooooo powerful!
So now you have a choice: Finish this review and move on to checking your Facebook account (because we all know that‘s what you‘re gonna do next!), or take a second and check out an excerpt from the book. If you pick Door #2, click the link below… You’ll be glad you did!

http://www.multnomahemails.com/wbmlt/pdf/How_Good_Is_Good_Enough_Andy_Stanley.pdf
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Over The Counter Culture- Intro to the March 2011 Sermon Series @ Mt Calvary

Our new series at Mt Calvary is not for the weak. It is not for those who are looking for the status quo. It is not for those who are looking to blend in.
Over The Counter Culture is a call to rebel against the culture of the world around us. It is a call to stand against the lies that our society feeds us. It is a call to embrace the Culture of Christ. It is a call to do, and to be, something different.
In this series, we are going to expose four of the lies that our culture feeds to us. We accept these lies as an Over The Counter remedy for the problems we face. And, unfortunately, to often we swallow these lies.
In this series, we are going to approach our Great Physician, Jesus Christ. We are going to let Him write us a new prescription so we can set aside the Over The Counter Culture that we have embraced.
In this series, I will be your pharmacist. I will help you fill the prescription of the Great Physician. I will help to expose the lies of our society, and help you embrace the Counter Culture of the Culture of Christ.
You don’t wanna miss what is happening at Mt Calvary! If you can’t make it this Sunday, check out our website each week to listen to or download the audio from each message.
mcfwc.org

Ready To See The Sun Stand Still!

I just finished Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick, and all I can say is WOW!!
I picked this book the other day with the intent to get it started, but it got me started!! I read 2/3 of the book in one sitting… I literally couldn’t put it down!!
This book isn’t incredible because it is theologically deep. It’s not life changing because of the new revelations that it contains. I think what makes it amazing is that it is really simple. (I love a “deep” read, and even though this isn’t one, it won’t let you down!) This book didn’t reveal new biblical information to me. It didn’t give me deeper incite into the historical or sociological events of the Bible. It did, however, light a fire in my heart to see God make history in the world today!
Steven Furtick looks at the event that in Sunday School we called, “Joshua’s Long Day.” The day that the sun stood still so that the battle could be completed. He weaves in some of his incredible personal story, and in the end, you are left amazed at how much more capable God is that we generally give Him credit for.
Here’s an excerpt:

“This book is not a Snuggie.
The words on these pages will not go down like Ambien.
I’m not writing to calm or coddle you.
With God’s help, I intend to incite a riot in your mind. Trip your breakers and turn out the lights in your favorite hiding places: insecurity and fear. Then flip the switch back on so that God’s truth can illuminate the divine destiny that may have been lying dormant inside you for years. In short, I’m out to activate your audacious faith. To inspire you to ask God for the impossible. And in the process, to reconnect you with your God-sized purpose and potential.”

I could write about this book all day, but it would probably be easier for you to check it out. I’m attaching a couple of links so you can see for yourself.
At the risk of sounding like some kind of slimy salesman, you should definitely add this book to your reading list! Its that good!

To check out a quick excerpt:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601423221&view=excerpt

You can download the first 25 pages if you click this one:
http://multnomahemails.com/wbmlt/pdf/SneakPeekSunStandStill.pdf

Click this and you’ll see a quick video from Steven Furtick as he talks about Sun Stand Still faith:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/2010/04/26/video-audacious-faith-as-explained-by-pastor-steven-furtick/

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

A Letter To Phil

I know there are a lot of books in the Bible, and I know we all have our favorites. Some of us stick to the Gospels because we love to read about Jesus and what He did. Others of us like the Old Testament stories of war and victory, so there’s a lot of Joshua & the Samuels being read. Then there’s a group that is obsessed with End Times prophecies, so they stick to Daniel, Revelation, etc. But there are a lot of small books that we overlook… We don’t give them too much attention unless they support our point or argument. The Apostle Paul wrote one of these books (really it’s a letter) to his good buddy Phil (Philemon).
Philemon is a really short letter. Paul gets right to the point! He starts off by thanking Phil for his generosity and love, but then Paul asks for a favor. Paul asks Philemon to reinstate the membership of a wayward brother, Onesimus. Really, Onesimus was a runaway slave…. And not just any slave, he was Philemon’s slave! In those days, you didn’t just bring back runaway slaves, you killed them!! So Paul’s request is kind of a big deal!
Here’s what hit me like a ton of bricks while I read this: Paul doesn’t just ask Philemon to take Onesimus back and put up with him or tolerate him. Paul isn’t asking for mercy or leniency. Paul asks Phil to love the runaway! He doesn’t just say “Don’t kill him,” Paul asks Philemon to treat him like a brother. He asks for Phil to show him love!
Paul even goes on to say that if Onesimus owes anything to Philemon, to charge it to him! Check it out:
If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it. Philemon 18-19a NLT
Paul says that he will personally pay Onesimus’ debt!
Recently, I was in a class on childhood development, and the teacher said something that has stuck with me. She said that troubled children don’t need to be tolerated. They don’t need our patience… They need our love! They don’t need to be “put up with,” they need to be adored. They need to know that there is someone in this world whose face lights up when they enter the room. They need to be the object of someone’s affection.
I think that is the way Paul looked at Onesimus, and that is what he was asking Philemon to do.
That is the way Jesus looks at us. He doesn’t just tolerate us. He doesn’t put up with us. He is not simply patient with us. He adores us! His face lights up when He thinks of us! He loves us!! He has even said, just like Paul, “Whatever debt they owe, charge it to me… I’ll pay for it!”
What a humbling thought it is to know that Jesus loves imperfect and impure people with a perfect and pure love. We are so undeserving…. But so thankful!!

Review of SOUL PRINT

So, I've recently started a new "job." I'm reviewing Christian books, and posting my reviews online. the best part is that they "pay" me with free books to review!!
So, I just finished reading SOUL PRINt by Mark Batterson. I'm pasting in my online review below. This really is a book that everyone should read!!

SOUL PRINT would be considered typical Mark Batterson, if Mark Batterson could be in any way considered typical. I'm convinced that he could write about soil composition and keep it interesting enough to sell books!
In SOUL PRINT, Mark Batterson talks about a couple of the buzzwords we hear and use in the Christian world: identity and destiny. Even though these are pretty common terms, SOUL PRINT takes a very different look at them.
Through the life of David, we see that our identity isn't just who we are now, but it is also who we have been, and who we are going to become... And God is interested in us seeing His point of view about all three! SOUL PRINT helps us find how God wants to redeem our past, possess our present, and direct our future... He loves every part of us, and our destiny is wrapped up in understanding that!
As far as I'm concerned, every Christian should have this book on their reading list (I am a Pastor, and I am planning on buying a copy for every new Believer in our church!). New Christians and "seasoned saints" will find something for them in SOUL PRINT. This absolutely is a must read!!

Immanuel!!

Its Christmas morning, so I’ll try to keep this short and sweet…
Christmas is like no other day. Presents, food, wrapping paper scraps that you find in April… There’s just nothing else like it!! For some, it is simply a celebration of family. To others, it’s a mildly religious celebration, but a great excuse to spend money and get stuff. And to one more group, it is a day of profound meaning and blessing because of the Person that we celebrate. No matter which group you fall into, I think we can all recognize that the reason Christmas is so unique is because the One we celebrate on this day is so unique!!
There are a lot of things and people that get worshipped in our world… There are a lot of different gods. Some gods, are just things that we spend way too much time obsessing over, like money, cars, etc. Some gods are people that have done their best to be set apart from the rest of us and be worthy of worship (they’ve done the supernatural)… Then there is a group of gods that has always been in another realm. They kinda just hang out there, and maybe people bug them from time to time. But the God we celebrate at Christmas is just a little different…
Jesus isn’t just an object we obsess over (in fact, very few of us probably give Him the attention He deserves). He’s not a guy who did some crazy stuff and now we build statues in His honor. He’s not a deity that keeps His distance so that He doesn’t get easily annoyed. He is Immanuel!!
Immanuel is what the angel said Jesus would be called in Matthew 1:23, and it means, “God with us.” Our God didn’t ascend from amongst us, or sit in Heaven looking down on us… He became one of us!! He is Immanuel!!! He is with us!! He has walked more than a mile in our shoes (He even walked in our skin!). The book of Hebrews says He faced temptation and trials. He suffered the scourge of our sin, and ultimately died our death…. And He didn’t have to… He didn’t have to be Immanuel…
He could have kicked back in Heaven and let us be destroyed by our own wickedness and sinfulness. He could have let us keep digging our grave. But He didn’t! He became one of us. He then took the grave-digging shovel from our hands, and laid down in that grave. He died our death. He paid our penalty. And He didn’t have to. He had a pretty good view from Heaven, but He gave it up and became Immanuel.
Immanuel is why we celebrate this day… Don’t forget to take a few minutes to thank Him…

The Problem With Following Stars

I was camping with my family this summer when my oldest son pointed out something that I knew, but I had forgotten. He said “Man Dad, look at all the stars you can see when you’re camping!” We like in Salt Lake City, and just like any other city, sometimes you just don’t see the stars (add in the fact that Salt Lake has some of the worst air quality in the country, and you really don’t see stars!) So, the problem with following stars, is that you don’t always know where they are!
That’s what happens to the Wise Men in the first part of Matthew 2. They say they got to Jerusalem by following the star they saw rise in honor of King Jesus. But after they got to Jerusalem, apparently the star wasn’t all that apparent! So, what do you do when your star isn’t there anymore? What do you do when the plan you’ve been following isn’t giving you the answers?
As Christians, we are following God with our lives. There are many times that we feel like we know exactly where we are going and what we are doing. You’ve gotta love those days where you can wake up quoting Jeremiah 29:11 and walk out the rest of that day in the confidence of its truth. There are certainly days when the star you’re following (God’s plan that you’re following) is bright and clear.
But then again, there are those days when the star isn’t shining. There are those days when you don’t know why God loves you, or what His plan is for you. Those are those days when you almost want to find a happy Christian that’s full of purpose and plan, and punch them in the face!! Why?? Because you don’t see the star… You can’t see God’s plan or His direction for your life… You can’t figure out what to do or where to go…
So, what did the Wise Men do when they didn’t have a star to follow?? They kept on task! They continued their mission! They took up the navigating! They went around Jerusalem asking if anyone knew where they could find this new King that had been born. They didn’t let a change in the plan hold the plan back. They knew they had been directed by God. And what God starts, God finishes!!
Check out what happens! Once they’ve asked around, and they know which direction they should be going, Matthew 2:9 says that the start reappeared!!! God’s plan seemed to have disappeared, but really, His plan was for the Wise Men to do a little bit of the direction-finding for themselves.
So, what do you do when your star disappears? Keep going! Keep moving forward! Keep pursuing God’s plan!! Keep going in the direction that God has been guiding your life! You may never be certain that the direction you’ve chosen is the right one. But after you do your best to keep following God’s plan, trust that the plan disappearing actually was part of the plan!! Just keep going!!
The problem with following stars is that you can’t always see them (kinda sounds like following God!). But, when we can’t see the star, when we can’t see the plan, we need to keep pursuing the King!! We need to keep seeking Jesus!! We need to keep moving toward our ultimate goal… Just like the Wise Men did. We need to keep getting ourselves closer and closer to being able to bow down before the King in worship.

Andy's Commentary on Prayer

Someone sent me this commentary on prayer from Andy Rooney. Not only does Mr. Rooney make some great points, but any guy named Andy is a guy I will listen to for at least a minute or two! Take a minute to check it out!
Andy Rooney says (and Andy Smith agrees!):
I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.
Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.
But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.
Yes, and this is the United States of America and Canada , countries founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?
If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.
If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.
If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.
And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome .....
But what about the atheists? Is another argument.
What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humour us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!
Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.
Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.
God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.
The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, "You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honour Him. That is your right, and we will honour your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!"
God bless us one and all...Especially those who denounce Him, God bless America and Canada , despite all our faults, We are still the greatest nations of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.
Let's make 2011 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from all the wars.
Keep looking up.