God Is Busy...

For those of you who don't know yet, my family and I are moving to North Central Ohio. The bulk of our move is complete, Denise and Tabitha and all of our belongings are there in Ohio now. I'm back in Arkansas to complete our transition. It's been our prayer that God will allow us to sell Dad's Place so that our ministry here in Monticello will continue. As of now, that has not happened. There is so much that our family is experiencing through God's grace that I can't wait to write it down and tell you all about it and about our new ministry...that time will have to wait a little longer.

There is something that happened last week that is a concrete reminder that God is at work in our new community. The small SBC church that we will be serving from had their regular VBS last week. The church is a small congregation, predominantly an older congregation. Having that said, last week during VBS, the church had 28 adult workers...43 children. Now here is the staggering part...11 of those children accepted Christ as their Savior. ELEVEN! That's a whopping 26% of the total enrollment for VBS! My family and I are VBS guru's and we've NEVER seen those types of conversion rates. I believe with all our heart that God is seriously at work in our new community. Pray for us as we make this massive transition.

If you would like to know more about our new ministry, stay tuned...there is lots to come. If you would like to know more on a personal level and find out how YOU can help in our new ministry, please email me and I'll be glad to tell you what great things God is doing.

Hmmmmmm......

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DP is back OPEN!!

Dad is back and Dad's Place is back OPEN! Drop by and see me!!! I've missed you!!

Spec Ops...The Finale...

Simply by appearance, they look like the unlikeliest of applicants. Some, barely able to comb their hair…others, obviously color-blind by looking at their clothing. One would seriously have to wonder how these recruits could even tie their shoes, much less serve on an elite tactical team. But then, I made eye contact with one of them. Then another…and another. Slowly it became apparent by the look in their eyes, just how serious each one was, and just how much each one belonged in this unit. A look of determination, a look of courage, a look of willingness, a look of compassion. A new breed indeed whose motto could honestly be termed, ‘Failure is no longer an option.” This is a Unit that has been tried and tested throughout the years with little success. Flirting with failure simply because the leaders believed the traditional methods were superior. But now a new breed of leader is emerging, and his focus has changed. Same target, new method…new squad.

Millions of lives hang in the balance whose eternal destiny lies in the hands of this new group of misfits. Willing to forsake the established traditions that had previously been set in stone, just for a chance to make a difference in someone’s life and eliminate the target that has taunted them for a lifetime.

The scenario described earlier, is not entirely what you think. It would be easy to picture that same sequence of events played out in the deserts of the Middle East or in some remote part of the country. We see this type of action brought to life each and every day on prime time TV, in theaters, and even on FoxNews. So it’s common place to imagine a team that’s arrayed in camouflaged paints to blend in with their surroundings for the sole purpose of being able to get off a clean shot from a high-caliber sniper’s rifle that would kill an individual who had been determined to be the ‘bad guy’.

But instead, it is a typical scene that could be at a local coffeehouse or maybe a park, even at a sporting event, maybe a café. The target is not someone who is simply profiled as one of Middle Eastern descent, a young professional with an Arabic dialect. Inside the coffeehouses and cafés of America, a new war is being waged. These new spec ops teams are the covert units that are being deployed to eliminate an enemy whose sole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. The war of evangelism has a new face, and millions of souls are being snatched from the gates of hell like never before. No longer are the traditional methods of ‘cold calling’, ‘surveys’ and the like, accepted as the only ways to share the gospel. The foolish religious conception of ‘if we build it, they will come” is finally being exposed as just that, a foolish religious conception. Churches have to realize that just because we have these fancy ‘sacred cows’ that we meet in each week doesn’t mean throngs of people will be magnetically drawn to attend our rehearsed and choreographed Sunday routines that is filled with religious jargon and make-believe empathy. If that were the case, then it would be ‘standing room only’ in every church of every denomination and race across this country, each and every time a ‘church service’ is announced. But it’s not…

It is time that Christians pop this ‘christian bubble’ in which we live and step out into a real world where people, just like you and me, are searching and waiting to get to know the ‘real us’. Relationships are, without question, the spec ops unit of evangelism. The elite of the elite, willing to face excruciating circumstances…willing to sacrifice everything just so that lives will be changed. When we take the time to get to know someone, someone outside the church, and be able to be ourselves and to show what Christlikeness and Christ’s love is really all about, then we will see lives changes, souls saved and the landscape of America will be eternally altered. We have a Biblical mandate to ‘love our neighbor’, and the best possible way to fulfill this directive is to willingly be a friend to the friendless and to love the seemingly unlovable.

Sharpen your weapon skills and listen very close to your spotter.

There is a new Unit being deployed and is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. The Commander-n-Chief has given the ‘go ahead’ order. And He’s still looking for recruits…

Spec Ops...

Rangers…Green Berets…Seals…you know their names…the Special Forces Units of our military…the elite of the elite of our fighting forces. Units such as these also exists in the FBI, the CIA and the Secret Service. When all other attempts have failed and the mission is soon to be aborted, the Unit is called in. In certain situations when normal, traditional methods and planning will not work, the Unit is called. Nameless individuals working alone or as a team, willing to face excruciating circumstances…willing to sacrifice everything for the completion of the mission. Silently waiting on the ‘go ahead’ order. Standing ever-so-ready for any and all obstacles that might arise. Shadows that quickly disappear in the night…

The order had been given. The Team was now in position. Camouflaged by the night, each one was waiting…waiting for the target to arrive. Using secret codes to communicate on an ‘as-needed’ basis, it didn’t take long to realize this mission would take longer than expected. A sniper was in place but just couldn’t get a clean shot. All attempts to move the target into position had failed. The spotter remained focused, “Two clicks left.” he said. And immediately, the sniper made his adjustments. “Three clicks right.” The adjustments continued. The target was elusive, skilled in his own right…a master of deception. Still not a clean shot, but the Unit remained steadfast. Finally, a new order was given. “Stand down”, was heard in the earpieces, and immediately the members of the Unit disappeared into the night. Additional planning…Additional preparation. Another day…

Traditional troops have been deployed for years, looking for ways the enemy could be conquered. Initially, these methods worked. And worked great. But times have changed, and changed drastically, and we now live in a different world...a world where evil lurks and our enemy is steadily gaining strength.

Now, a war plan is being reactivated and a new Unit is being assembled…

...to be continued.

Read 'The Finale' Here.

CPR...

Another great quote from Shane Claiborne from his book, "The Irresistible Revolution".


"For even if the whole world believed in resurrection, little would change until we began to practice it. We can believe in CPR, but people will remain dead until someone breathes new life into them. And we can tell the world that there is life after death, but the world really seems to be wondering if there is life before death."

What have you done in the way of CPR today?

Climbing Out Of Windows...

I'm currently in the middle of a great read that I would encourage each of you to take the time to read and digest. But this is also one of those that will challenge your core beliefs...you really have to be ready. The name of the book is "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. Jeff did a great review of this same book a while ago. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"I was asked to speak at...(my university's) graduation ceremony, and to the chagrin of the dean, I told the story of how some friends and I were busted for rappelling out of the windows of one of the dorms. The dean had written us a warning that said, "Can you please enter and exit the buildings through the doors, like everybody else?" So my graduation message, "Crawl Through The Window," went something like this: 'The doors of normalcy and conformity are dead. The time has come to give up on the doors and find a window to climb through. It's a little more dangerous and may get you into some trouble, but it is a heck of a lot more fun. And the people who have changed the world have always been the risk-takers who climb through windows while the rest of the world just walks in and out of doors.'

We were ready for something new."

I guess the question of the day would be, "Am I ready for something new? Are you?"