The Incredible Power of the Jesus Film

The most recent issue of Mission Frontiers, the publication of the US Center for World Missions, included an article on the amazing effects of the Jesus Film, which I reproduce below. The entire issue was great; I was especially fascinated by Ralph Winters article on "The Future of Evangelicals in Mission." Follow the links and you will not be disappointed.

By Rick Wood

In the history of the modern mission movement,few organizations have succeeded as brilliantly
as The Jesus Film Project. Started in 1980 as an evangelistic effort of Campus Crusade for
Christ using a recently released film called the Jesus Film, which chronicles the life of Christ from the Gospel of Luke, its efforts have gone from simply amazing to astounding and earth shaking.

For at least a decade or two it has remained the most translated and viewed film in the history of film making. When we featured the Jesus Film and its mind boggling goals in the November-December 1997 issue of Mission Frontiers, they had translated the film into 419 languages and had exposed the film to over one billion people. Now as of the end of June 2007, they have translated the film into over 1,000 languages and achieved the incredible
milestone of exposing over 6.2 billion to the film with some having seen it more than once. The one million speakers of the Lanka Kol language of India are the recipients of the 1000th translation of the Jesus Film.

Even more significant is that over 201 million people have committed their lives to Christ as a result of viewing this film and hundreds of thousands of
new churches have been established...

Steve Steele, formerly of the DAWN Movement which promotes church planting has said, “Of the 1 million churches started in the last decade (1992-2002) 75 percent used the Jesus Even more significant is that over 201 million people have committed their lives to Christ as a result of viewing this film and hundreds of thousands of new churches have been established...

It took 17 years from 1980 to 1997 for the Jesus Film Project to reach 419 translations and one billion viewers. In just the last 10 years they have completed over 581 more translations and reached an additional five billion viewers. This is just the beginning of their plans to plant churches and expose as many as possible to the life saving message of the gospel of Christ.

In terms of translations, their ultimate goal is to translate the film into the heart language of every person. But their intermediate goal is to translate the Jesus Film into every language with over 100,000 speakers. Th ere are currently around 1,500 such languages, so the Jesus Film is two-thirds of the way towards that goal. With a new translation completed almost once a week, they should reach this goal within the next 10 years.

The accomplishments of the Jesus Film Project are not theirs alone. They would be the first to admit that. Their success has been largely due to the strategic partnerships that the Jesus Film Project has built with hundreds of mission and church organizations around the world. Currently they have active partnerships with 1,500 organizations that are using the Jesus Film
in their evangelism and church planting efforts. The film is shown to people around the world in some of the most remote locations by thousands of teams of missionaries and volunteers. The success of the Jesus Film is really the success of the global church in coming together to use an effective media tool.

...As the Jesus Film approaches the end of its third decade of ministry, its leaders recognize that they need to adapt the film to the needs of an increasingly sophisticated media audience,
especially in Western countries. The younger generation of 15-25 year olds will likely need new versions of the film in order to communicate the message of the gospel to them in a meaningful
way. This will involve the creation of completely new films in order to reach this and following generations of young people. The focus is not on the Jesus Film itself. It is merely a tool. The focus is the development and distribution of the most effective media tools to communicate the gospel to various types of audiences. One size or tool does not fit all.

...The Jesus Film Project is always looking for new ways to convey the message of the Jesus Film and the gospel. Currently, the Jesus Film is available to view online in any of 800 different
languages. You can also download segments of the film onto your iPod for on-the-go viewing. As technology and the mission of the Church around the world advances, you can be assured that the Jesus Film Project will be actively involved in helping to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to every tribe and tongue.

Second Temple Quarry Found

Report: Herod's Temple quarry found

By SEAN GAFFNEY, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 24, 8:00 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Israeli archaeologists said they have discovered a quarry that provided King Herod with the stones he used to renovate the biblical Second Temple compound — offering rare insight into construction of the holiest site in Judaism.

The source of the huge stones used 2,000 years ago to reconstruct the compound in Jerusalem's Old City was discovered on the site of a proposed school in a Jerusalem suburb.

Today, the compound Herod renovated houses the most explosive religious site in the Holy Land, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims.

"This is the first time stones which were used to build the Temple Mount walls were found," said Yuval Baruch, an archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority involved in the dig. Quarries mined for the massive stones, each weighing more than 20 tons, eluded researchers until now, he said Sunday.

Baruch said coins and pottery found in the quarry confirm the stone was used during the period of Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount in 19 B.C.

But researchers said the strongest piece of evidence was found wedged into one of the massive cuts in the white limestone — an iron stake used to split the stone. The tool was apparently improperly used, accidentally lodged in the stone and forgotten.

"It stayed here for 2,000 years for us to find because a worker didn't know what to do with it," said archaeologist Ehud Nesher, also of the Antiquities Authority.

Nesher said the large outlines of the stone cuts indicated the site was a massive public project worked by hundreds of slaves. "Nothing private could have done this," Nesher said. "This is Herod's, this is a sign of him."

Herod was the Jewish proxy ruler of the Holy Land under imperial Roman occupation from 37 B.C. Herod's most famous construction project was the renovation of the Temple, replacing a smaller structure that itself replaced the First Temple, destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

Stephen Pfann, president of the University of The Holy Land and an expert in the Second Temple period, said the discovery was encouraging.

"It would be very difficult to find any other buildings in any other period that would warrant stones of that size," said Pfann, who was not involved in the dig. He said further testing of the rock is necessary to confirm the findings.

The Second Temple was leveled by Roman conquerors in A.D. 70. The Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews, is the best known surviving remnant.

Atop the adjacent compound, where Jews believe the Temple once stood, now stand two of the holiest sites in Islam, the al-Aqsa Mosque and the gold-capped Dome of the Rock.

The site is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming the area.

Israel captured Jerusalem's Old City from Jordan during the 1967 Mideast war. While retaining security responsibility for the site, Israel allows Muslims to handle day-to-day responsibilities there.

"And that is what some of you were" (1 Corinthians 6:11)

The Bible clearly tells us (see reference above) that people can be delivered from same-sex attraction affliction. New research backs that up. From Crosswalk.com...

Changing Sexual Orientation Is Possible, New Research Says

Randy Hall

Staff Writer/Editor

(CNSNews.com) - The results of a three-year study challenge the idea that homosexuals cannot change their sexual orientation and that attempts to do so are harmful. But an opponent of "ex-gays" dismissed the findings as the result of "a deceptive sham" perpetrated by "right-wing therapists."

While writing their book, "Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation," researchers Stanton Jones of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., and Mark Yarhouse of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., chronicled the experiences of 98 people who contacted Christian ministries in an attempt to become heterosexuals.

"What we found by following these subjects over time is that not everyone is successful, not even a majority is successful, but a very substantial group of people report fairly dramatic change," Jones said while discussing the research during the annual conference of the American Association of Christian Counselors last Thursday in Nashville, Tenn.

"Fifteen percent of our sample of about 100 claimed to actually have changed from homosexuality to heterosexuality," said Jones. "It needs to be said that this process is not like flipping a light switch. Life is still complicated for these people, and some still have some residuals of their homosexual attractions."

"However, they report being able to function as heterosexuals, they're happy with their marriages, and they feel that their lives have changed dramatically," he said.

The study also examined the question of whether or not attempts to change were harmful to the subjects.

"We administered a standard psychological inventory that measures distress to our subjects at every point along the way," Jones said, adding that they found that there was "essentially no change" in the participants' emotional well-being.

Because both of them are from Christian colleges, Jones and Yarhouse addressed skeptics of religious researchers who deal with matters of science.

"We are evangelical Christians committed to the truth-seeking activity of science," they said in a joint statement.

"In conducting and reporting this study, we took seriously the words of one of our heroes, C. S. Lewis, who said that science produced by Christian persons would have to be 'perfectly honest. Science twisted in the interests of apologetics would be sin and folly,'" the researchers said.

Initial reaction to the research has varied dramatically along social and cultural lines.

Alan Chambers, an ex-homosexual who serves as president of the Christian ministry Exodus International - which was the source of many subjects in the study - praised the survey. In a Friday news release, he praised the work as "the first longitudinal, peer-reviewed, scientific research of its kind on this topic to date."

"Finally, there is now scientific evidence to prove what we as former homosexuals have known all along - that those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attraction can experience freedom from it," Chambers said. "For years, opponents of choice have said otherwise, and this body of research is critical in advancing the national dialogue on this issue."

Mat Staver, president of the Christian group Liberty Counsel, said in a news release of his own that the study is "groundbreaking" and would have "profound reverberations for counselors."

"The debate about homosexuality has too often been driven by political rather than scientific considerations," said Staver. "The American Psychological Association (APA) and other, similar organizations may no longer silence dissent."

The APA responded to the research by pointing to a recent statement made by the organization on its Web site: "Efforts to repathologize homosexuality by claiming that it can be cured are often guided not by rigorous scientific ... research, but sometimes by religious and political forces opposed to full civil rights for gay men and lesbians."

However, former APA President Nicholas Cummings praised the research methods of Jones and Yarhouse. "This study has broken new ground in its adherence to objectivity and a scientific precision that can be replicated and expanded, and it opens new horizons for investigation," he said.

Nevertheless, Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, which describes itself as "a non-profit organization that counters right-wing propaganda, exposes the 'ex-gay' myth and educates America about gay life," called the study a "deceptive sham with the goal of making it appear as if science backs fundamentalist beliefs on homosexuality."

"It comes as no shock that anti-gay 'researchers'" would produce a study claiming "you can pray away the gay," Besen said. "I suppose their next study will provide support for Pat Robertson's theory that homosexuality causes meteors and hurricanes."

Besen also criticized the size of the study sample as "unusually small" and asserted that people "should be extremely skeptical of such a mockery of the scientific method."

The 414-page book "Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation" is being published by InterVarsity Press and will be available to the public in October.

Make media inquiries or request an interview with Randy Hall.

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THE PERFECT POPLAR

My son is going to college in downtown Los Angeles, so a few mornings a week I race up Baldwin Avenue to Foothill and on to the Sierra Villa light rail station. Although my bleary eyes dislike zipping along Foothill at 6:20 AM, I started to notice one certain tree in the median on the western edge of Arcadia, just before the Pasadena line. Many of you have no doubt seen the same tree. Although there are several poplars in that area, there’s one that seems to have been made by an artist. The trunk is perfectly smooth and the greenery is spread at a jaunty angle.

It is indeed “the perfect poplar.”

Why is it that I see that tree as so perfect? Why do I identify it as beautiful? Is it possible that I am hard-wired for beauty?

In his excellent book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Make Sense, New Testament scholar N.T. Wright speaks of what he calls “echoes of a voice.” Specifically, we hear the echoes of a voice for justice (right and wrong, fair and unfair), spirituality (“we were made for more than this”), relationships or love and the echoes of the voice of beauty.

Wright tells a parable: a musical manuscript is discovered that proves to be a genuine work of Mozart. However, the music is only that of the piano part of what appears a concerto. Long pauses are in the piece, but we have no clue what other instruments Mozart had in mind. We have evidence of a beautiful intelligent composition, but an incomplete view of that beauty.

So also when we look in the creation, we see beauty, but we cannot see or even perceive it all. It is “exquisite, yet leaving us unsatisfied.” It not as if we get to the point of ever saying, “Enough, I’ve seen all the beauty there is.”

Slowly it dawns on us that the reason that all the beauties of earth leave us unfilled is the realization that they are reflections, echoes of a greater beauty. “Heaven and earth are full of glory, a glory which stubbornly refuses to be reduced to terms of the senses of the humans who perceive it.”

There are the few who stubbornly refuse to see the glory behind the beauty. Our idea of beauty, they say, is an evolutionary adaptation. But the vast majority of the world’s peoples see the divine hidden behind the beauty. The beauty and glory of God is reflected and expressed in the beauty and the glory of His creation. Like the Mozart masterpiece, from where we stand we have only a portion of the manuscript.

Wright points out that the Biblical writers never try to gloss over the miseries and deficiencies of this world, and at the same time they stoutly maintained that the creation is good, and the good creation of an infinitely good God. They tell “the story of what…God has been doing to rescue his beautiful world and put it to rights. And the story that they tell…indicates that the present world really is a signpost to a larger beauty, a deeper truth. It really is the authentic manuscript of one part of a masterpiece. The question is, What is the whole manuscript like, and how can we begin to hear the music the way it was intended?”

Beauty is a clue placed both in the creation and in the human heart by God himself as breadcrumb to follow to seek the road home. The perfect poplar, the Grand Canyon, a white sandy Hawaiian beach, a stunning desert vista, Victoria Falls—all clues placed here to remind us of the deeper beauty that can be seen if we look hard, and the echo that can be heard with cupped, expectant hands. Listen!—God is calling.

Half-Mile Tunnel Discovered Beneath Jerusalem

It seems remarkable that in a city like Jerusalem, which has been a central focus of archaeologists for a long time, major finds are still being made. The most recent: two weeks ago, Israeli archaeologists discovered a massive tunnel, believed to be around a half mile long and as much as ten feet high. The tunnel was built for drainage, but has been long sought in part because of its historical role as described by Josephus:

[W]hat makes the channel doubly significant is its role as an escape hatch for Jews desperate to flee the conquering Romans, the dig's directors said.

As the [Second] [T]emple was being destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., numerous people took shelter in the drainage channel and lived inside it until they fled Jerusalem through its southern end, the historian Josephus Flavius wrote in "The War of the Jews."

Pottery shards, vessels and coins from the First Century have been found inside the tunnel. Here is the tunnel:

And some artifacts from the tunnel:

No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets

In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. As heir to the Borden Dairy estate, he was already a millionaire. For his high school graduation present, his parents gave 16-year-old Borden a trip around the world. As the young man traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he felt a growing burden for the world's hurting people. Finally, Bill Borden wrote home to say, "I'm going to give my life to prepare for the mission field."

One friend expressed surprise that he was "throwing himself away as a missionary."

In response, Bill wrote two words in the back of his Bible: "No reserves."

Even though young Borden was wealthy, he arrived on the campus of Yale University in 1905 trying to look like just one more freshman. Very quickly, however, Borden's classmates noticed something unusual about him and it wasn't his money. One of them wrote: "He came to college far ahead, spiritually, of any of us. He had already given his heart in full surrender to Christ and had really done it. We who were his classmates learned to lean on him and find in him a strength that was solid as a rock, just because of this settled purpose and consecration."

During his college years, Bill Borden made one entry in his personal journal that defined what his classmates were seeing in him. That entry said simply: "Say 'no' to self and 'yes' to Jesus every time."

During his first semester at Yale, Borden started something that would transform campus life. One of his friends described how it happened: "It was well on in the first term when Bill and I began to pray together in the morning before breakfast. I cannot say positively whose suggestion it was, but I feel sure it must have originated with Bill. We had been meeting only a short time when a third student joined us and soon after a fourth. The time was spent in prayer after a brief reading of Scripture. Bill's handling of Scripture was helpful. . . . He would read to us from the Bible, show us something that God had promised and then proceed to claim the promise with assurance."

Borden's small morning prayer group gave birth to a movement that spread across the campus. By the end of his first year, 150 freshmen were meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer. By the time Bill Borden was a senior, one thousand of Yale's 1,300 students were meeting in such groups.

Borden's outreach ministry was not confined to the Yale campus. He cared about widows and orphans and cripples. He rescued drunks from the streets of New Haven. To rehabilitate them, he founded the Yale Hope Mission.

Borden's missionary call narrowed to the Muslim Kansu people in China. Once that goal was in sight, Borden never wavered. He also inspired his classmates to consider missionary service.

Upon graduation from Yale, Borden turned down some high paying job offers. In his Bible, he wrote two more words: "No retreats."

William Borden went on to graduate work at Princeton Seminary in New Jersey. When he finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. Because he was hoping to work with Muslims, he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead.

Was Borden's untimely death a waste? Not in God's plan. Prior to his death, Borden had written two more words in his Bible. Underneath the words "No reserves" and "No retreats," he had written: "No regrets."

Batting Down Rumors About TransMin

Although this was posted some time ago (see the tag on the end) it might be good to review and to, as Dr. Salico says, to, "set the record straight."

Setting the Record Straight

Dr. Dale V. Salico

False reports are being circulated about Transformation Ministries, bringing confusion to pastors and congregations. Numerous pastors have reported the allegations being made against this ministry. My only purpose in responding to these false reports is to set the record straight.

False Statement #1: “Transformation Ministries is financially weak and cannot offer significant services to churches.”

The Facts: In the past seventeen months God has blessed Transformation Ministries financially beyond anything we have seen in the past decade. Because of God’s grace and the generosity of the Lord’s people, we are now in the strongest financial position we have been for the past fifteen years!

• In the past month we have hired two new administrative staff members.

• After years of deferred maintenance, because of a special gift we have re-roofed and painted our office building. More repairs and improvements are being scheduled to make the Church Resource Center more user friendly.

• We have upgraded our publications.

• Significant improvements are being made at all three of our camps.

• In the first four months of 2007, financial support for Transformation Ministries budgeted ministries has exceeded 2006 giving by 19%!

While we need the continued faithful support of congregations and our financial partners, this ministry is growing, not shrinking!

False Statement #2: “If your church stays with Transformation Ministries, they will want your property and 30% of your church’s income.”

The Facts: Transformation Ministries will not ask any church to surrender the ownership of its property to this Ministry. The Board of Directors of Transformation Ministries is working through our property files and, on a case-by-case basis, offering to eliminate or change old loans and property agreements. The final decision about property arrangements between individual churches and Transformation Ministries will be made by the churches.

Transformation Ministries does not ask for a certain percentage of a church’s income. In the Covenant of Transformation Ministries Churches, congregations state, “We will give a ‘faith share’ to support this mission.” A “faith share” is defined as follows: “By agreeing to give a ‘faith share’ to support our mission together, congregations are saying that they will support this ministry at a significant level.”

False Statement #3: “If your church is a member of Transformation Ministries, there will be no emergency assistance available for your pastor or pastoral family.”

The Facts: The churches of Transformation Ministries have contributed over $25,000.00 to a “Pastors Emergency Fund.” Combined with other donations, the Transformation Ministries Pastor’s Emergency Fund now has a balance of over $100,000.00! A team of pastors has been appointed to oversee the Emergency Fund ministry. Already, several pastoral families have received assistance.

False Statement #4: “Two hundred churches in the Pacific Southwest are standing firmly with the ABC.”

The Facts: While many Transformation Ministries churches have withdrawn from the ABC, the majority of churches have not yet notified the ABC regarding their intentions. Many will eventually withdraw. Others will be members both of the ABC and Transformation Ministries. In the first week of April, churches received the final printed Covenant of Transformation Ministries Churches. We are receiving signed Covenants almost every day at the Church Resource Center in Covina. [Ed.: see the current data at www.transmin.org.)

If you have heard other confusing or troubling reports about Transformation Ministries, please communicate them to us so we can bring clarification. Rumors and misinformation not only cause confusion, they can lead to disconnect. Every congregation is important in this movement of churches. Our goal is for every congregation to be stronger because of its relationship with every other congregation.

Transformation Ministries provides a robust connection between churches, not a marriage of convenience or a phantom relationship. Built on a solid foundation of Biblical convictions and core values, Transformation Ministries strengthens churches now, and prepares them to withstand the intensifying storms blowing out of a post-Christian culture that are assaulting Christianity.

God is blessing this movement of churches, under-girding its ministry and expanding its influence.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:2-3

05/29/07

The War on Christianity in Laos

From Religion Today, August 17, 2007. I have a special interest in the church in Laos due to...reasons that cannot be published here.

Laotian Government Efforts to 'Eliminate Christianity'

Elizabeth Kendal

August 17, 2007

AUSTRALIA -- A Presbyterian missionary first brought the gospel to Buddhist, animist Laos in 1885. Whilst the ethnic Lao were resistant, the ethnic minorities were not. Thanks to Gospel radio and indigenous missionaries, the 20^th century saw revivals amongst the Hmong and the Khmu which sometimes involved whole villages turning to Christ. During the second Indochina war the Hmong, who live in the hills that straddle northern Vietnam and Laos, joined with the American forces against the Communists. But by April 1975 the Americans had been driven out and the Communists had won. This left the Hmong in a dire situation as an ethnic and growing religious minority under vengeful Communist regimes. According to Operation World, some 90 percent of all the Laos Christian leadership were forced to flee the Communist advances, reprisals, purges and persecution of 1975.

The Laos government, still one of the world's most severe abusers of religious liberty, has explicitly declared its intention to 'eliminate Christianity.' The government not only severely persecutes Christians, it is also pursuing a genocidal war against the restive Hmong, using military means which include gross barbarity, chemical weapons ('yellow rain') and starvation. (See note and links below).

In early June, ten people were arrested in California, USA, and charged with plotting a coup to overthrow the Laos government. The ringleaders of the alleged plot were Harrison Jack (60), a former US Army Ranger who led covert operations and worked with Hmong fighters during the Vietnam War, and Gen. Vang Pao (77), a prominent member of the Hmong community who emigrated to the US in the 1970s. The BBC reports that Vang Pao, as a Laotian general, led CIA-backed forces against Communist guerrillas before they seized power in 1975. According to the BBC the group is said to have spent millions of dollars on weapons and explosives.

The events in the US have triggered a major persecution against Christian Hmong in Laos, where it is assumed the Christians have US links. Compass Direct (CD) reported on August 7 that Lao government soldiers and police had killed at least 13 Hmong Christians in the previous month and that some 200 members of a 1900-strong Laos Evangelical Church in Ban Sai Jarern (north-western Laos) were imprisoned. One source told CD that police are shooting on sight Christians they are searching for intensively in rice fields and mountains. Vietnamese police and soldiers have crossed into Laos seeking Vietnamese Hmong.

The authorities are accusing the churches of being linked to Gen. Vang Pao and that the pastors are preparing their congregations to participate in the coup. The churches however flatly deny the charges and maintain that they are good, loyal, law-abiding citizens. Exploiting the situation, Communist village officials and committee members and other anti-Christian elements are agitating for a purge of Christians. Numerous church leaders have been seized. Police are pursuing others who are on the run.

On top of this, the Thai Prime Minister announced on August 6 that Thailand would return some 8000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos despite their claims they face persecution in their homeland. World leaders generally are indifferent to what they know is happening in Laos, which will apply for membership in the World Trade Organisation in 2008.

Please Pray Specifically for God to...

• protect and sustain his Church amidst this terrible persecution, especially the Christian leaders - so vital for the Church - who are being specifically targeted by the authorities.
• speak comfort and love to the hearts of the Christian believers amongst the traumatised Hmong fleeing through the jungle or who are refugees in Thailand, so that they will not lose faith or hope; may he draw them to prayer and deliver them from their enemies. 'From the Lord comes deliverance.' (Psalm 3:8 NIV)
• turn the hearts of world leaders from indifference to indignation that leads to action (Proverbs 21:1).
• pour out his Spirit mightily on the majority Lao people, emboldening the Lao Church and opening Lao hearts to receive the gospel.

Note and Links

Rebecca Sommer, a German-born New York-based filmmaker and human rights activist, has produced a film 'Hunted Like Animals' that shockingly exposes the severe trauma of the Hmong.

'Hunted Like Animals' may be purchased as a DVD or watched as Quicktime clips from Rebecca Sommer's site
http://www.rebeccasommer.org/documentaries/Hmong/index.php or as a series of YouTube clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmSWXk1nFRc&mode=related&search .

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the WEA RLP(Religious Liberty Prayer) mailing list. Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.

The Pursuit of Happiness

A brief break from missions postings. This is the monthly column I write for Temple City Life, our local Chamber of Commerce publication.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Lately I've been thinking a lot about happiness. What is happiness? How do you get it? How do you keep it?

A few months ago, my wife Lynann and I saw the DVD of “The Pursuit of Happyness” with Will Smith. (The misspelling is intentional and is part of the story.) It's the inspiring story of Chris Gardner, a man who broke through barriers of race and poverty by dogged hard work to become a stockbroker with E.F. Hutton in San Francisco.

No one could doubt that when Gardner “made it” he was a lot happier than when he and his son was sleeping in a shelter—or a locked public bathroom, or even a BART train running all night.

At the same time, his material success is no guarantee of real happiness. Name ten celebrities, chances are that nine are miserable. Happiness cannot be guaranteed via a bank account.

So what is happiness? As Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy at UCLA points out, every great thinker must give his account of “the good life”--we might say, the happy life. Jesus of Nazareth is no exception. His description of the good—the happy—life is called The Sermon on the Mount.

He turned the pursuit of happiness upside down. He launched His explanation of the Good Life with a series of statements we've come to call the Beatitudes. Here they are in The Message translation:

“You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:3-10)

Until Jesus, everyone assumed that real blessedness (which is just an inch away from the meaning of real happiness) meant freedom from insecurity, the accumulation of things, self-confidence and triumph over circumstances. Jesus' vision is very different: He says that real blessedness/happiness is found when we are entirely centered in God.

So for Jesus (and in the rest of the Bible for that matter) happiness can be defined as a loving, joyful contentment in God and in God's Kingdom. For example, in Isaiah 26:3, we read, “You [God] will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Perfect peace—real happiness—is found in a heart that is fully set upon God—His love, character, deeds and purposes.

In Philippians 4:12-13, Paul echoes this theme of perfect peace through a whole-hearted love and focus and commitment to God: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

The pursuit of happiness: I know where real happiness is to be found. It is in a vital, real, loving, worshipful, delightful, joyful connection of my life to God through Jesus. Are you happy too?

Some Thoughts on World Missions, Part Two: An Historical Road Not Taken

Many years ago, I recall J. Christy Wilson saying, “Islam is the unpaid debt of the church. If we had been faithful and evangelized the Arabian Peninsula, think how differently history would have gone.”

With that in mind, let’s imagine a different timeline, where Islam never even came into being…

BY THE LATE third century, Nabatean missionaries had brought the gospel as far south as modern Yemen, the ancient Kingdom of Sheba. Most of the Arab tribes in the Hejaz region were at least partially evangelized. In the early seventh century a self-styled prophet named Muhammad arose briefly, a cult of radical monotheism and bloodshed (jihad), but his movement died out within a generation of his death.

Arab missionaries fanned out to the south and east, establishing churches as far away as India and even Indonesia and as far south as portions of East Africa. The Parthian Empire embraced Christianity as its state religion in 759 and the Parthian Orthodox Church became the driving agent in the evangelization of central Asia and portions of Southeast Asia. Parthian missionaries established a missions presence in China by 1050 and in Japan and Korea by 1300.

Catholic missionaries arrived in India and China often to find that they had proceeded by Arabs and Parthians. When the Reformation arrived in Europe in the 16th century, Arab evangelization of Africa and Parthian evangelization of India, China and the east continued unabated. Unfortunately nationalistic ambitions and an abortive war of conquest of Arabs by the Parthians slowed this process. Internal forces and Mongol invaders brought an end to the Parthian empire. However, in a manner similar to the Goths and Rome, the Mongols had at least been partially evangelized by Nestorian monks.

By the early 18th century, the Eastern Reformation swept through both the Arab Christian and Parthian-Mongol Christian world. So-called Eastern Protestantism was initially slow to resume missions work, but by the mid-19th century began to vigorously evangelize Africa, India, China and even as far away as some South Seas islands in the Pacific….

Some Thoughts on World Missions, Part One

Earlier this summer, I took the class that was developed by the US Center for World Missions called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Years ago I wanted to take the class but told myself that the best place to take it would be at the US Center in Pasadena, but how would I ever do that.

Then, in 1999, God plopped me down eight miles from the USCWM.

One of the things that amazed me most was that I was the only Senior Pastor taking Perspectives course! Not only that, I was the third oldest person there!

So why did I take the class?

Well, I have been a “missions enthusiast” for years. It’s not like this was all new to me. I was mentored by the late J. Christy Wilson, Jr. back when I was at Gordon-Conwell in the early 80s. I’ve led the charge for missions giving and missions going. I even have the first edition of the big “Perspectives” reader!

I came to reenergize a personal commitment. It never hurts!

I came for “fresh ammunition” to teach and make the case for world missions.

I came because the key staff person at our church for missions has moved on (to become Dean of Students at San Diego Christian College). His approach was very much centered on missions trips (to the Navajo reservation, to Thailand and to Tijuana). I have the suspicion that that approach has run its course; we need a new approach and a fresh start.

I came because at this stage of life I am more and more concerned about passing things on. I want to be certified to coordinate the course.

I came because of a new era in our church connections. Our church was formerly part of the American Baptist Churches USA. Our region (formerly the ABC of the Pacific Southwest) voted last year to separate from the nation body. It’s now called Transformation Ministries. One reason I’m here is a burden to help steer TransMin in a new direction when it comes to missions. We are doing like most TransMin churches—continuing to support connections with ABC missionaries we have strong ties to (such as Mike Mann in Thailand). But eventually “something has to give.”

I came to network with people with a common vision, and to establish ties with the missions community here at the USCWM complex.

In this Biblical phase of the course, I found myself in 99% agreement with the interpretations emphases made by the speakers—and have often made them myself. One conviction that caught me early was that if missionaries are to be the “pathfinders” in world evangelization, what are US based pastors called to be? The world “pacesetters” comes to mind. I realized it’s been quite a while since I’ve been on the field (six years ago, in Mexico, and only briefly) and much longer since I lead a mission trip (1991 in the Dominican Republic).

I think we need a new policy, starting with me: all full time ministry staff must go to an international mission setting every two years, minimum. Such a policy will make it clear: this is a PRIORITY, the ultimate priority: making Christ known to all peoples.

Still Answering the Same Questions

A letter from a couple who moved away a number of years ago including the question--just what is this Transformation Ministries? Is FBC Temple City still an American Baptist Church? This was my email answer:

Dear (Mr.) and (Mrs):

K. A., our office manager, shared your letter with me. Thank you for your donation. We are delighted to send you The Tower [our newsletter]. If you wish, The Tower can now be sent to you via email.

Regarding Transformation Ministries, TransMin is the continuation of the Southern California Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Churches of thePacific Southwest. In April, 2006, delegates at a specially called meeting of ABCPSW voted by a 4 to 1 margin to disaffiliate from American Baptist Churches USA. Our church supported that decision (by a 6 to 1 margin), so as of Nov. 1, 2006, we were no longer affiliatedwith the ABCUSA.

This decision was not made lightly. Valley Forge for years has pursued a policy of compromise with the world in matters of moral values, all done in the name of "soul liberty." We along with the region came to the conclusion that that constituted an inversion of values, and that Biblical authority must hold a higher place in our values than soul liberty.

We are free to more boldly proclaim Christ--and Christ alone, not a denomiantion! We remain a cooperative church--now, through TransMin, and through the National Association of Evangelicals. May God bless you,

Dr. Glenn Layne

Senior Pastor

First Baptist Church of Temple City

PS: Seeing the monstrosity of meeting with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in DC in June, I am more than ever convinced this was the right move.

Making History

Some the function of a blog is just to be a tugboat to bring out wonderful things from elsewhere. This is from www.historymakers.info and was mirrored on You Tube:

On the Left, Pennings is Right

The New Baptist Covenant meeting set for next January has decided that same-sex affirming outfits like the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America that they cannot become affiliates of the North American Baptist Fellowship. Therefore, they cannot be official participants in the event.

First of all, it's been known to many that the Baptist Peace Fellowship and AWAB are overlapping, interlocking organizations (you could throw the Roger Williams Fellowship in there too). They are all devoted to a view of Christianity that is in essence anti-nominian (under the cover of being anti-legalistic). New Testament Christianity is as recognizable in their midst about as much as at a Papal enclave.

When the news of the exclusion hit, Ken Pennings of AWAB thereupon threw a fit, and for once I agree with him. Excluding the BPF and AWAB only makes sense as a strategic move, not one moved by principle.

“This is not a rejection of either organization or the people in those organization[s],” wrote Alan Stanford, general secretary of the NABF, in an e-mail alerting leaders of the two groups to NABF’s decision. “It is a recognition that we can not hold together the large coalition of Baptists needed to create a new Baptist voice in North America and address the issue of sexual orientation at the same time. We ask for your forbearance and understanding.”

...Although the Baptist Peace Fellowship and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists will not be official participants in the celebration, individual members and participating churches of both groups will. Both Pennings and Evelyn Hanneman, the Peace Fellowship’s interim director, noted that the vast majority of their partner congregations are affiliated with national denominational groups that are member bodies of the NABF and BWA.

“In fact, three Baptist Peace Fellowship members are part of a planning committee” for the celebration, Hanneman said. “So, they’re interested in keeping us off the table for our stance on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues, and yet we’re already at the table in some ways.”

(Source: http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=6630)

Trouble is, I can't fit a piece of paper between the core beliefs of the leaders of the New Baptist Covenant people and the AWAB/Peace Fellowship people. Pennings is right: the Covenant gang should own up to their far theo-left views. And Baptists who regard Biblical authority as central should have nothing to do with this transparent, politically-motivated gathering.

Only God Brings Us Out

An American Baptist Pastor thanking God for taking her OUT of homosexuality bondage? Interesting...I wonder what those AWABers think. Thanks with a tip of the hat to Glenn Wade for bringing this item to my attention...

Venus Magazine - Cover Story

Only God!

Reported by Charlene E. Cothran
Images by Kristen Swartz

There is nothing new under the sun. I’m pretty sure that gay folks have been around since shortly after the beginning of time. But what I’m just realizing is that God has been DELIVERING gay folks for just as long! For such a time as this, He has called out, sanctified and planted some incredibly powerful and wonderful people. One such person is the Rev. Carla Thomas Royster, founder and pastor of Blessed Redeemer Church in Burlington, NJ. An educator in one of New Jersey’s finest school districts, Royster also holds a Master of Divinity which prepared her for the work given her by divine appointment.

The 6’ 4” former college basketball star immediately strikes you as a no-nonsense disciplinarian. Then she smiles and her love for God and people fill the room.

A seven year pastor to a growing congregation, Royster enjoys a sterling reputation both locally and throughout the Northeast via the American Baptist association of churches where she is often featured as a speaker. She and husband Mark are raising two beautiful boys. With all going so well, why would she bother to expose herself to a congregation who knew nothing of her previous life as a lesbian in a tell-all book? “To set people free,” says Royster who withheld her original manuscript for nearly five years. “I finally obeyed God.”

VENUS: The book title describes your testimonial experience as a 'struggle' with a lesbian spirit. In this age of sexual liberty explain the word 'struggle' as it pertains to your experience. Was the 'struggle' between choosing gay/straight or heaven/hell or happy/unhappy, purpose/no purpose?

ROYSTER: The struggle was the traditional struggle between the Spirit and the flesh, for all that my flesh desired and fed, was immediately convicted by my spirit. It was a struggle with my inner self and my outer self. That Is why I heavily identify with Apostle Paul's testimony found in Romans 7: 18-20 "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good, I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

VENUS: Your writing style works incredibly well. It dances between the 'THEN' [in a lesbian's voice] and the 'NOW' [in the voice of an experienced pastor who has been delivered from being lesbian] Why was it important to separate these voices?

ROYSTER: God Bless You. The separation of the voices is empowering for me, for it is symbolic of Gods delivering power in my life. For years I was so entangled in my inner and outer life (that is: the Carla that I was within, and the Carla that I presented to other people) that even I could not predict what would trigger my lesbian desires. When I began to get into my Word and seek clarity in prayer, I found that one of my most powerful strongholds was the inability to separate my lesbian voice, from my delivered voice. I was ashamed, and worried about allowing that voice to speak in my delivered life, because whenever it had spoken in the past, it would initiate a hostile take-over. But today I write in two voices, one that reflectively reminds me of my life before Christ, and one that humbly basks in the knowledge of Gods delivering presence in my life today. I feel like Paul who wrote: I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 3:13-14

VENUS: When and how did you begin to recognize God calling you out of homosexuality?

ROYSTER: I began to sense God calling me out of a variety of things as soon as I truly began to get into His presence. By that I mean studying His Word for myself, praying, meditating, fasting, tithing (giving my time talent treasure to the work of the kingdom). In short, the call from homosexuality came for me as soon as I ceased to be conformed to this world, but decided to be transformed by the renewing of my mind in Christ Jesus. Romans 12:2

VENUS: When and how did you begin to answer your call into the ministry and pastoral calling?

ROYSTER: I knew that God had blessed me with spiritual gifts from childhood...but being unchurched, I did not understand what that meant, or how they would ever be translated into something that would be a blessing to anyone, even myself. Romans 11:29 says: the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. I did not understand this until I was deeper in God's Word. I interpret it as meaning that our gifts can be used or abused (abnormally used). For instance, a gift of prophecy can be used in fortunetelling, witchcraft, or palm-reading (same gift -different uses) My call was always upon me, I was the captain, president, or spokesperson for every club, team organization I ever joined, the gift and the call to leadership, discernment and exhortation was just being abused for the first 20 or 30 years, but now the gifts are being multiplied for His Good! Once I grasped all that I could alone, and in Bible study, I applied for and was accepted into a Masters Program at a local seminary, and from there I was anchored in my passion for His Word....and as I began to minister, sing, preach, teach and lead worship, His anointing began to unfold....and next came my graduation, examination, ordination, calling to plant churches, and the pastorate. Thank God for grace!!

VENUS: What were your initial fears regarding publishing this book? Have those fears proven right or wrong?

ROYSTER: My initial fear was that the publishing of my book would hurt and expose those that I loved and cherish the most. I held it in complete manuscript form for over 5 years, until God sent a prophet into our midst to liberate my heart, mind, soul and spirit in ways I never imagined. Our family, like many other African-American families is immersed in secrecy, and we tend to be closed especially as it relates to pain, and suffering, –although our pain has constantly and generationally expressed itself in passive-aggressive ways that I have found to be far more destructive than just dealing with it out front. So for me, my greatest fear was that my truth would trespass on the territory of those who had not yet embraced their own truths.

Yes, my fears were proven right, because even though my self-exposure has helped thousands of others gain deliverance in areas that sometimes involve sexuality, but often did not, many pivotal people in my life have not yet read the book, and I respect the fact that everyone is not ready for this level of disclosure.

VENUS: What stands out as the most adverse reaction to your coming out story?

ROYSTER: The uncensored, descriptive, unapologetic, raw, nature of my testimony has caused more concerns than anything else. I find that people say "we want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" but the whole TRUTH is wanted in a way that is palatable, and easy to digest or it is not wanted at all. People in and out of my religious circles are not prepared to hear that "my first love was a woman," or that "I had an abortion", or that "I was abused", because it is not comfortable. It is almost as if some people want me to go back and live my life over, so that it can be easier for them to digest, but I can't change the past...and if it is difficult to read, try having to live it! So my answer to those who are offended is "I am sorry if my testimony offends you...but It is what it is." The other concern is that many people want to argue with me, about whether I was ever lesbian, while others feel obligated to say to me, I knew you were gay!! But God has me in a place of peace so I do not argue or debate, I just respond by telling them that "the half hasn't even been told"..and "my testimony is what it is."

VENUS: What has been the most supportive or positive reaction or outcome?

ROYSTER: My husband and my first and only heterosexual girlfriends, and my church have been 100% supportive. I did not bring it up to them until I was about to publish and their love, and support for me has not changed. Struggling with what I call my lesbian spirit has also been my husband’s struggle, because when I struggle so does he, because we are one in the spirit. I was concerned that my congregation would ask me to sit down or kick me out, or that my denomination would call me into counsel. But God always knows what He is doing because the release of my book has served to deepen my relationships on every level...and I love and Thank God for each and every relationship He has deepened.

Also I have been blessed to meet wonderful, courageous, Holy Ghost filled women like you, Sister Cothran. It is so wonderful to be able to talk to someone without having to over-explain and fill in the blanks. I 've had some very negative expressions shared with me over the months with people calling me "a liar," "homophobic" and the like...and I am okay with feedback that is negative and positive, because it is in our differences of opinion, and experience ...where the dialogue lies. But I have also heard testimonies, offered counsel, and prayed for people, as I have been blessed to witness the deliverance of the Lord manifested in a variety of ways.

The greatest positive is that I would not have been a part of a conversation that has deepened my understanding, my relationships and my faith, unless I had first allowed "my truth to set me free" (John 8:32) and a portion of my truth can be found in: Only God Brings Us Out Of The Closet: An Uncensored Testimony of One Woman's Struggle With Life and a Lesbian Spirit. www.onlygodbringsusout.org

The Real Civil War in the Mideast

It is often asserted that the conflict in Iraq is actually a civil war (an assertion which I believe to be factually inaccurate). The real civil war in the Mideast is among the Palestinians, with Fatah in control of the West Bank and Hamas in control of Gaza. Here's an angle you won't here about from the MSM (mainstream media): Gaza and the gospel.

Christians express concerns over their future in Gaza

Public Christian Library run by the Gaza Baptist Church

Gaza (MNN) -- Christians in the Gaza Strip expressed concern about their future after Islamic militants of Hamas took control of the Palestinian territory.

Open Doors' Carl Moeller says Hamas' takeover brought weeks of violence to an end. But having Hamas in charge may not necessarily be a good thing. The social and economic infrastructure has totally broken down. "Hamas will rule in Gaza, and if that's the case, Gaza will be cut off from any aid from the outside world. We know that there are also Christians locked into that same place, there in Gaza. We're praying for them, and we are asking the Christian community to provide resources."

The international embargo and boycott has worsened, and Gaza border crossings have been sealed, preventing supplies from reaching Gaza's 1.5 million residents, 80 percent of whom live under the poverty line.

Militants have reportedly been targeting everything that is against their view of Islam. Several sources with Open Doors have confirmed the firm grip of fear created by Muslims militants over the society. They say that especially believers from a Muslim background are afraid to be discovered and killed by militant forces. Not many have the courage to have contact with other Christians. Fear is trying to creep in everywhere.

Moeller says there's a few hundred evangelical believers trapped in Gaza. These people are caught in the crossfire, without supplies, unable to leave, but determined to share the hope of Christ. "They're caught between radical Islam on the one side and Israel on the other, and they're trying to follow after the Lord's admonition to be peacemakers in the middle of that violent place."

Pray that the political tension will cease and that a government will be established that enables the whole church to prosper.

Random Thoughts

A few random thoughts....

FAREWELL this week to one of the church's great ladies, Ruth Bell Graham. I urge everyone to read his bio here. Also read here.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, but I asked for it. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I'm taking the Perspectives course at the US Center for World Mission. In a class of 46, 43 are younger than me, and I feel like my years and training (under the late J. Christy Wilson, Jr.) give me an unfair advantage.

I have the first edition of the HUGE (about 1000 pages) Perspectives book, and it's interesting to see how how it's changed. In a word the course has become "Piperized"--that is, the direct and indirect influence of John Piper has changed the course--mostly to the good.

DR. DAVID SCHOLER. I read the LA Times story about David Scholer via Dennis McFadden's blog . Dennis knows Dr. Scholer from his time as Interim Pastor of FBC Pasadena; I knew him as a seminary professor at Gordon-Conwell. (I had the very last class he taught at GCTS; we was packing his formidable library each night and gave us a blow by blow account of the process.) Be sure to read the Times story.

A Father's Day Message

When Fathers Pray: The Ultimate In Homeland Security
June 17, 2007

Here’s a moment every father can relate to, from a dad named Scott Taylor. He writes,

A few years ago on a lazy Saturday morning my son Philip, then 5, invited himself into my bed. After about 5 minutes of intense tickling, wrestling and laughing, we collapsed together on the now coverless, pillowless bed. It was just a few seconds later that he raised his head from my chest, looked into my eyes, and said, "Dad, your the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world." And then, before I even had a chance to sample this precious morsel of parental affirmation he added, as he lay back down beside me, "And you’re a buggar-head!"

Here are some words that most dads have said at some time or another to their children.

This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.

Quiet. I’m watching the ball game.

Don’t forget to check the oil.

Bring back all the change

Who changed touched the thermostat?

Where is the remote control?

Do I look like I’m made out of money?

If you don’t quit, that I’m going to call your mother.

If you don’t tell mom neither will I.

Just wait till you have kids of your own.

Another son wrote home to his dad. He said, "Dear Dad, Please let me hear from you more often, even if it’s only a five or a ten."

Did you hear about the children who begged their parents for a hamster and after the usual fervent vows that they alone would care for it, they got one. They named it Danny. Two months later, when mom found herself responsible for cleaning and feeding the creature, she located a prospective new home for it. The children took the news of Danny’s imminent departure quite well, though one of them remarked, “He’s been around here a long time—we’ll miss him.” “Yes,” mom replied, “But he’s too much work for one person, and since I’m that one person, I say he goes.” Another child offered, “Well, maybe if he wouldn’t eat so much and wouldn’t be so messy, we could keep him.” But mom was firm. “Its time to take Danny to his new home now,” she insisted. “Go and get his cage.” With one voice and in tearful outrage the children shouted, “Danny? We thought you said, ‘Daddy’!”

Many dads have abandoned their calling from God, and many wonder if we even need dads. Maybe we can just get rid of dad, like a messy hamster. This morning I want to take on that attitude. I want all dads to both understand and embrace what God has placed them here to do.

In summer, 2001, the term homeland security had no meaning whatsoever. But that changed on 911.Not long after 911 President Bush created a new cabinet position for homeland security. America has an enemy – an enemy the for the most part remains hidden in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Homeland security is not cheap. The bill this year is nearly 40 billion dollars. When the homeland is threatened it is time for the leaders to step up to the plate. It is time for them to protect their people – it is time for them to use the best resources that they have at their disposal.

If you have your Bible, turn to 2 Chronicles 20. I want us to read a passage that will show us what a leader of Israel did when his homeland was threatened. I want us to see what, the most powerful resource we have to protect our homeland, is.2 Chronicles 20:5-9

5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.'

What did Jehoshaphat do when his homeland was threatened? He prayed!

Prayer is - coming into the presence of God; it is entering the throne room of the KING of kings and LORD of lords; it is communicating with the creator of the world; it is bringing our questions to the one who has the answers; it is connecting our lives with the ALL knowing, ALL present – and ALL powerful KING of kings… Prayer is coming near to God…

I love what Moses told the people in Deuteronomy 4:7; “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way our Lord is near us whenever we pray to him?”Prayer can do anything, because prayer is partnering with God, and as Jesus tells us, “With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Prayer can do anything but we have to ask! When the church prays, things happens, wonderful things…

When the church prays:

We become united

We receive divine guidance in important kingdom decisions

We unleash the power of God

The word of God comes alive

People get saved

And when the church prays – the church prays more…

I want us to think about a different homeland that needs security. I want you to think about an enemy that has declared war on the church and on your home. An enemy that scripture says is like a lion just want for the right moment and the right person to attack. An enemy who like, America’s enemy is usually unseen and hidden… An enemy that has great power and will stop at nothing less then totally destroying us. America is not the first homeland to be threatened…

God has always had a homeland security plan. A major component of the plan is Fathers—men, and not just any kind of men. They are praying men. Men who are spiritual leaders, real spiritual warriors.

E.M. Bounds in talking about the great leaders of the past like Paul says:

“They were leaders for God because they were mighty in prayer. They were not leaders because of brilliancy in thought, nor because of the exhaustless resources, their magnificent culture, or their natural endowment; but they were leaders because by the power of prayer, they command the power of God…”

Do our homes need protection? Do our kids face any dangers?Are there forces out there that seek to hurt our spouses?To destroy them?To lead them astray?To steal away – their innocence? Purity? Self worth? Hope? Value? Future? Freedom?

I want to look at three praying dads of the Bible. It is my pray the we can learn something from them… About both, protecting our homes… and praying for our kids…

Prayer is battle – to pray is to go to war. To pray is to ask Almighty God to engage His heavenly army.The things that these dads brought to God – on behalf of their kids, are the same things that we need to bring before God on behalf of our kids.

Job’s Lesson: Pray For Their Purity

From Job we learn that we should pray for the purity of our kids…

Read: Job 1:1-5“There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.”

These are good qualities for us to have as well. These are qualities of a righteous man that helps our prayers to be powerful and effective.

“He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, 3,00 camels, 500 teams of oxen and 500 female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was in fact, the richest person in that entire area. Every year when Job’s sons had birthdays, they invited their brothers and sisters to join them for a celebration. On these occasions they would get together to get and drink. When these celebrations ended and sometimes they lasted several days – Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular practice.”Note that he sought to “purify his children.” He got up “early in the morning” to do this. And this was his “regular practice.”

All of these are principles we can take and make a part of our lives today.Is their reason to be concerned about the purity of our kids? On a daily basis our kids face an unrelenting onslaught of temptation, through music, television, movies, the Internet and their peers. Like Job – on a regular basis we need to rise up early each morning. Every morning we need to pray that God will protect their purity; that he will keep images and people that would steal that purity away… If our kids our in a relationship we need to pray that it will be pure in the eyes of God. We need to pray that our kids will desire to keep their purity and realize that it is Satan who is trying to steal it away. We need to pray that God will surround then with other kids who also desire purity.And we need to pray that they understand that there is always forgiveness if they fail from God and from us.

If you made a regular practice of praying for the purity of your kids, do you think it would make a difference? James 5:16 reminds us that “The pray of a righteous man is power and effective.” Of course it makes a difference!

Abraham’s Lesson: Pray For Their Future Spouse

The next dad that I want to look at is Abraham. Abraham teaches us to pray or our son and our daughter’s future spouse. In Genesis chapter 24 we see Abraham who at the time was a very old man, doing something that is an awesome example for dads today. Abraham was living in a pretty bad neighborhood and he did not want his son Isaac to marry any of the women there because they were not godly. So he prayed that God would find a wife for Isaac far away from there, back at his hometown. Abraham knew that there, there would be a godly woman for his son. And not only did Abraham pray about this, he also sent a servant there to bring back a wife for Isaac. It’s a beautiful story – God answered that prayer and Isaac and Rebekah are married.

Do you pray for the your son’s future wife? For you daughters future husband? Do think that this is a prayer worth praying? We need to pray that our kids will marry godly people. We need to pray that they have a strong and unyielding desire to marry someone who loves Jesus and His Church. Someone who believes the truth of the Bible. We need to pray that they will marry people that will ‘complete’ them. That will help them become, all that God desires them to be. That will love them with God’s kind of love.We also need to pray for their future husband or wife – that God protects them, protects their purity, protects them from all harm, that they are growing each day in the knowledge of and love for God.

Parents are you praying for your children’s future spouse? Will you start to pray this prayer on a regular basis? Do you think that it would make a difference?And, like Abraham are you, will you – take whatever steps you can to make sure that they do?

David’s Lesson: Pray For Their Desire To Obey God

The next dad I want to look at is David – and in 1 Chronicles 29; David is very old and he prays for His son Solomon…

Look at vs. 19: “Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, decrees and principles, and to build this Temple, for which I have made all these preparations.” We need to pray that our children will have a strong, a consuming desire to obey all the commands of God… and to be actively involved in building His church and advancing God’s kingdom.Why? Because their obedience is how Jesus said they show their love for him…Why? Because God’s word will light their path and led them on the road to true life…Why? Because obeying God’s word will keep them from all the things that happens when they don’t…Why? Because obeying God’s word will make them successful and joyful in life…

Consider what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:9:

“Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study the book of the law continually. Mediate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Do you believe that praying for you son and daughters to have a wholehearted desire to obey all of God’s word – would make any difference? Do you think that’s an investment that will come back to bless you?

Bill Cosby wrote, "Now that my father is a grandfather he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for 50 cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 AM and walked 23 miles to milk 90 cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents. The result was...I never got my 50 cents.”"But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, ‘Well, let’s see how much money old Granddad has for his wonderful grandkids.’ And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I take it away from them. BECAUSE THAT IS MY MONEY."

Dads, I don’t know about taking the change that grandpa wants to give your kids. But I do know that praying for your kids will change them, and change their future and will bless you and

your family forever. That I do know.
PRAYER
END

A Day at the US Center for World Missions

Today was Day One for me at the US Center for World Missions in Pasadena. I'm taking the famous "Perspectives" course at the USCWM, which is about 8 miles from my church. I'll be blogging some of what we're doing over the next three weeks. For today, let my refer to these links: www.uscwm.org and www.perspectives.org.

One of our assignments involves designing a missions strategy for a Middle Eastern people group. While this information can be gleaned from a web search, I will not use the specific name on the blog for security interests.

Watch this space for further news...

HOW WUDE!

This is my July column for Temple City Life, the local news monthly I write for.

HOW WUDE!

One of the least endearing (translation: too much like a Saturday morning cartoon) characters in the Star Wars epic is Jar Jar Binks, who seems a cross between a vaudeville comic and a tall frog. Jar Jar's verbal ticks includes the inability to pronounce words with the letter R. So at one point he protests the bad behavior of another by indignantly saying, “How wude!”

I was thinking about rudeness recently because of an experience I had—setting up our daughter at college in central Florida. We spent several days there in May and one night over dinner I asked her what her impression of Florida was. “A lot like California,” she said. “Only less rude.”

It was undeniable. People smiled and waved more. They waved you through when making a turn. Sales people in stores were more helpful. I wonder why?

Some people would say, well, that's just the way Southerners are. And there's something to that. Some of the nicest people in the world are from the South. But why aren't people from Boston or Minnesota also known as nice? How did that happen?

As I said, I was thinking about this and realized that big urban areas tend to encourage rudeness. Los Angeles County has the same population as Michigan in a fraction of the area. In a densely populated area, the chances of meeting the same person at random is fairly low. So we can indulge our worse nature with a fairly low chance of having to pay for it sometime down the road.

Go to the other extreme: a small town of a few thousand in Kentucky or Idaho. Chronic rudeness gets you a community-wide reputation pretty quickly. There really are few secrets in small towns, and that's a good thing. That kind of transparency encourages us to good behavior.

Bill Cosby likes to remind us that when he was growing up, even in his Philadelphia neighborhood, that if he misbehaved in the street, there was always an adult nearby who could say, “Boy, I know where you like and I know your parents.” That accountability encourages the best from us.

So, sorry to say, I had the same impression my daughter did about Winter Park, Florida. People were just nicer. And it did remind me of California: palm trees, warm weather, and a salsa-flavored population. But they were just nicer.

So how do we import some Florida niceness to Temple City? I have three simple suggestions: look around, be accountable and look up.

By look around, I mean just because we live with so many people and maybe we can get away with rudeness doesn't mean we ought to. The Golden Rule applies despite any population trend. “Treat other people the way you want to be treated” is always applicable.

By be accountable, I mean the fact that a lot of rudeness loses its grip when we have a community that we will have to face. We have a lot of distinct ethnic segments in Temple City, and its easy to hide within our segment and in effect ignore people with limited English skills, or, if we're part of the immigrant community, it's also easy to stick with “our own” and pretty much ignore the native-born people. To both, I say, “How wude!” It's rude to ignore someone—just as rude as being mean or short-tempered.

As a Christian pastor, one of the transforming things I've seen again and again is a person who's led a relatively isolated life who comes into the church. Over the course of months, it's fascinating—and delightful—to watch them change and connect up with others on a level they never dreamed possible. Part of that connection is a discovery of the positive power of accountability.

Finally, look up. There's an old story—from the South, “I reckon”--about a father and son team of thieves. The father decided to make off with some melons at harvest time and posted his ten-year-old as his look-out. When he had his sack full, he asked the boy, “Anyone to the north?” The answer: “No, pa.” “South?” “No, pa.” “East?” “No, pa.” “West?” “No, pa.” “OK” says the dad. “Let's go.” The boy answered, “You forgot one direction. Up. And ma says God sees us.”

Sure, you could get away with being rude. You can get away with a lot—if you only care about the points of the compass. Look up as well. Don't be “wude”; nice never hurt anybody, did it?