Apprentice 2 Jesus

Prayer

  • True crisis

    We insist on panic in areas that don’t need it. Ebola in America, for instance. We have completely ignored the heavier issue of West Africa… but what is that to us? While we panic over a handful possibly contracting the virus, we continue to ignore larger issues. ISIS is still tearing through Syria and Iraq… Read more

  • Why pay attention to ISIS and the Middle East?

    Sometimes we can reason out the current Middle East situation with logic that says, “Let’s back away from the region and let them work it out… or battle it out.” What would be wrong with that? First of all, it’s incredibly difficult to say WHAT to do… but to do nothing has some scary consequences.… Read more

  • It’s hard to kill a dead man

    I’ve met several missionaries who are part of the “Live Dead” teams being raised up to go into the hardest places of the world. They have been to my church. I’ve sat with them at lunch. They are incredibly determined people. Meeting one in context is somehow a very different story. Sitting in another country,… Read more

  • The deck is stacked

    Last night in our prayer group we were catching up on the past two weeks. As I talked about what God was speaking to me concerning Ethiopia, I was listening to what God was saying to people in our church while I was away. One phrase that stuck out as we talked was, “The deck… Read more

  • The season of opportunity

    This is no longer a season of standing “at the threshold” of opportunity. We are no longer in a place of being “right at the door.” We are through the door. We are not at the opportunity. We are IN the opportunity. It is time to walk on and work hard. The power of the Spirit is abundantly present.… Read more

  • Three Days to Ethiopia

    In typical fashion, just before a trip it gets the busiest. This week leading up to the trip to Ethiopia has been insane.  I wanted to take a moment to simply say again THANK YOU to all who gave so generously toward this trip to Ethiopia. It has been so amazing to see this all… Read more

  • Seven Days to Ethiopia

    I am leaving for Ethiopia in a week. A prayer I’ve had for two years is coming to its next step in seven days. It’s only a next step.  The two week trip will be a teaching assignment at Addis Bible College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. But this is also a prayer trip. Two years… Read more

  • How to get God “back in our schools”

    It’s not like he ever left… but at any rate… We have a great relationship with our schools where our church is located. It started when we decided to bless instead of curse.  When I first arrived at the church as pastor I went all around town and introduced myself. City hall, police department, fire… Read more

  • Can we let up in prayer?

    We have had some BIG things happen in prayer this year. As a church, we have prayed intensely for great needs. Missionary friends in extreme need. World situations.  We cannot let up.  Three requests guarding cancer, and one is personal.  Would you intercede for my dad who is going through some tests? We would LOVE… Read more

  • Can we “break” prayer?

    I am in and out of a book by James C. Wihoit called, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community.  He gives some challenging thoughts on prayer that are good reminders for me. Prayer is an experiment in partnership with God. Prayer is such a powerful tool that I need… Read more