At the midway point

We are now almost at the halfway point of the SOFM.  I apologize for the silence, things have been so busy I haven't had time to sit down and collect my thoughts.  We have an amazing group of students going through the program this time.  Hopefully in the coming weeks I will have a chance to give you a taste of what we have been focusing on during the school.

The Starting Line

The time has arrived.  Our fall 2013 School of Frontier Missions kicks off this Sunday evening.  This is an exciting season as it is our largest school in quite a few years.  Please join us in praying over the next three months as these students prepare for the calling Father has on their lives.  I hope to have weekly updates on what the school is doing.

Million Dollar Baby

A little over a week ago Sage took an accidental dive off of Lyla's top bunk.  A trip to the Emergency Room later, we were back home with no ill effects, aside from a shiner that would make a prize fighter proud.  During this time we as a family were reminded of how much Father watches over us. Thanks to all who covered her in prayers.

Joyous Occasions

One of the things I love about being involved in YWAM is getting to walk alongside people as they discover the journey God has called them to.  This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of two friends who met during their DTS.  It has been so great to see how Father brought them together and how he is preparing them for the calling He has on their life.  It is such a joy walking alongside young people as they grow into the people God has made them to be.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from James Calvert.  This quote came to mind the other day while helping to prepare the staff for the SOFM this fall. Rev. Calvert was an Australian missionary sent to work with a cannibalistic tribe on the Fiji Islands. Before disembarking the ship's captain attempted to dissuade him saying, "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages."  Calvert's reply was simple and powerful.

"We died before we came here." James Calvert

 

Thangka Project 4

Today we come to the conclusion of the Hope Project Thangkas.  If you recall, the third thangka ended with the crucifixion of Jesus.  The fourth one starts with the resurrection and ascension.  It continues on to Jesus sending the Holy Spirit and then shows how the Gospel is for all peoples, not just the Jews.  You'll notice our nomad friend has joined with the circle of believers.  The bottom of this thangka depicts the second coming of Christ.   I really love how this traditional art form was used to communicate things in a way the audience could easily understand.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from David Livingstone.  It is slightly longer than our usual quotes, but no less powerful.  I love the attitude that Livingstone displays.  It goes very counter to the attitude that a lot of people have towards cross-cultural ministers, at times pitying them for all they've had to give up to be involved in ministry.

"People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice." - David Livingstone

Tongue Twisters

While there are many barriers to bringing the Gospel to the unreached, one of the more difficult is linguistic differences.  There is no better way to reach people than in their own language. As Cameron Townsend, the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators said, "The greatest missionary is the Bible is the mother tongue.  It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner."  I feel that this concept also applies to any sharing - it is best received when someone hears the good news in the language they grew up speaking/hearing. To illustrate the challenge presented by languages click on the map below.  It shows a breakdown of the different languages just within the Middle East and Central Asia.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week is in honor of Lyla's return to school.  I must say I don't agree completely with this quote, as I love spending time with my girls, but I do find it quite humorous.  I also realize it is August and not September :p

"Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day.  It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken." - Bill Dodds

 

Happy Birthday

Today is our sweet little Lyla's 6th birthday.  She is such an amazing blessing to our family.  We feel blessed to be her parents. 

Quote of the Week

Our quote today comes from an unknown source.  I wish I knew who had said it so I could shake their hand.  I think this applies in more areas than just missions.  From my point of view, people should be able to look at followers of Christ and see something that draws them.

"The reason some folks don't believe in missions is that the 

brand of religion they have isn't worth propagating."

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from Canadian pastor Oswald J. Smith.  Dr. Smith was a huge proponent of the missions movement.  These words may sound extreme, but are in line with stats showing that 40% of the world's population live within "unreached people groups." An unreached people group is one that has such a low percentage of Christians that it is unable to reach itself with the Gospel.

"We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first." 

Oswald J. Smith

Oswald J Smith

  

Communication

This past week, Vanessa had her first opportunity to teach in one of our schools.  Over the next couple months, she will be teaching from time to time in our phase 2 training about communication.  This will cover all forms of communication; spoken, written, visual, etc. I talked to several students after Friday's class and they all gave rave reviews.  I'm so proud of Vanessa stepping up and using her gifts to help others grow in that area. 

Phase 2

This week our summer Phase 2 kicked off.   Phase 2 is a secondary training we offer here at YWAM Jax Beach that mixes our staff training with intense leadership training.  We're looking forward to seeing what Father has in store for these 17 students.  Many hope to come back and join us on staff, and others will be participating in the School of Frontier Missions that I will be leading this fall.  Please keep them in your prayers over these next eight weeks.

Some of our Phase 2 students

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from our old friend C.H. Spurgeon.  I love how he just says things without sugarcoating them.  I want to clarify though, that to me, this response he speaks of should not be driven by a sense of duty.  Rather, it should be an overflow of our gratitude and love for all God has done for us through Jesus.

"If He gave His all to me, which was much, should I not give my little 

all to Him?" - Charles Spurgeon 

Charles H Spurgeon

Thanks

Today I want to say a big thank you to everyone who plays a role in what we do at YWAM Jax Beach.  Especially those who support the ministry through financial support and prayer.  We could not do what we do without you.

Family Time

I love what we do here in Florida and enjoy our life here, but there's always something special about visiting "home." Home being the place I grew up and being able to spend time with siblings and, as time goes by, nieces and nephews.  This past trip to Michigan, it was so great to see Lyla and Sage interacting with their extended family.  I think one of the benefits of living so far from family is that we're not able to take for granted the ability to spend time with family.  As we began our drive back to Florida we discussed our individual highlights from the trip.  When it was Lyla's turn to share, I expected her favorite part of the trip to have been attending a parade, having a sleepover, or something along those lines, but her answer surprised me.  She said, "My favorite part of our trip was spending time with grandma."  I love that my children treasure time spent with family.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from Robert Shannon.  This speaks to me because many times I think people feel bad for people working in missions.  There seems to be an idea that missionaries are missing out on a "normal" life, or are sacrificing the good life to suffer in a third world country.  So, hearing things like this encourage me.

"Never pity missionaries; envy them. They are where the real action is - where life 

and death, sin and grace, Heaven and Hell converge." - Robert C Shannon

Sage Jennie

Last night we made it safely back from Michigan.  It was a great time seeing family.  The girls loved spending time with grandpa, grandma and cousins.  I'll share more later, but for today here are some pictures from a photo shoot Sage did with my sister Faith.

Ten Years

Today marks Vanessa and my 10 year wedding anniversary.  These past 10 years have been an incredible journey filled with many joys, some sorrows, and incredible memories.  To even begin to jot some of them down would fill this page beyond readability.  Instead, here is a visual journey of us through the years.

The first photo of us - not even dating yet

2003

Our Wedding

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Current

Commands of Christ

One of the things cross-cultural workers often struggle with is deciding what the most important things are to teach to new believers/churches.  One of our goals in the School of Frontier Missions (SOFM) is to help students strip away the things our culture has attached and discover what, at its simplest, someone must do to be a disciple of Jesus.

The best teaching resource I've found comes from George Patterson.  George worked in Honduras and has been a pioneer in the area of planting churches cross-culturally.  On a side note, I love having George speak in the SOFM because, even in his mid 70's, he's jumping off chairs and teaches with a passion I haven't seen from many people. George stresses that the most important thing to teach new believers is obedience to Christ.  You might say, "Duh! But how does that look?"  Patterson teaches that everything Jesus commands in the gospels can be boiled down to 7 basic commands*. I've listed them below with a few references.  He says that these are the ABC's of both discipling and church planting.  I'd encourage you to evaluate your own obedience in each of these areas.  

1. Repent and Believe (Mark 1:15)
2. Be Baptized and continue in the new life it initiates (Matt 28:18-20)
3. Love God and neighbor in a practical way (Matt 22:37-40)
4. Celebrate the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:17-20)
5. Pray (Matt 6:5-15)
6. Give (Matt 6:19-21, Luke 6:38)
7. Disciple Others (Matt 28:18-20)

George Patterson

*taken from the article "The Spontaneous Multiplication of Churches" by George Patterson

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from Samuel Zwemer, a man nicknamed "The Apostle to Islam." I've always felt a sort of kinship to Zwemer, who was born in Vriesland, MI and graduated from Hope College, both of which are close to my childhood stomping grounds.  Through the years I have seen people who match this description and I pray that more are raised up.

"The great Pioneer Missionaries all had 'inverted homesickness,' this passion to call that country their home which was most in need of the Gospel. In this passion all other passions died; before this vision all other visions faded; this call drowned all other voices. They were the pioneers of the Kingdom, the forelopers of God, eager to cross the border-marches and discover new lands or win new empires" – Samuel Zwemer

Samuel Zwemer

Road Trip

This weekend we will be piling in the car and making our way up to Michigan.   We are looking forward to spending a couple weeks with family and friends.  If you'd like to hang out, use the contact button to shoot us an email.  We'd appreciate prayers for safe travel.

CCMA #4

Today for your viewing pleasure, here is the fourth and final installment in the Cross-Cultural Misadventures.  This episode takes a light-hearted look at some cultural faux pas in China.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from author Patrick Morley.  I love this quote because I think too often we hear the words of Matthew 28:19-20 without considering the power and promise behind them.  I think if we truly grasped the power behind the mandate, we would be much more likely to step out and, as William Carey said, "Attempt great things for God."

"If the Great Commission is true, our plans are not too big; they are too small." - Patrick Morley

Patrick Morley

Short-Term Outreaches

One of the things I think every follower of Jesus should be involved in is short-term outreaches.  I see a couple of benefits of being involved in these programs.  The first is to the participant.  Taking part in short-term outreaches, especially cross-cultural ones, gives the participant a bigger view of the world, and a look at what Father is doing and how He is moving in different parts of the world.  The second benefit is to the long-term worker.  Short-term workers who come through can provide great blessing and help to the long-term team.

I have seen both of these at work in my own life.  As I was growing up Father really used my experiences in short-term trips to prepare me for what we're doing today.  It started with trips to inner-city Detroit and then grew steadily as I took trips to Mexico, Romania, Chili, and then SE Asia in my DTS.    Then when we were living overseas it was such a blessing to have a short-term group come through who was willing to serve and help in any way.

To help facilitate any interest in trips next summer, I will post about YWAM Jax Beach's Summer 2014 STO program once we have it set.

Playing with kids in the Philippines

Our SE Asia team

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week is actually a story taken from Carl Madeiras' book Speaking of Jesus. I won't go into too much detail, because we talked about it when reviewing that book, but I really like making sure the emphasis is on Jesus, and nothing else.

"I remember hearing a story about Charles Spurgeon debriefing his young intern preacher after he delivered the sermon.  Dr. Spurgeon told the young man that he did a great job, but that he missed one key element.  The young preacher asked what that was was. "There was no Christ in your message, son. We preach Christ here at New Park Street Church."  The intern was shocked. "But, sir," he replied, " I was preaching from the book of Ezekiel."

Spurgeon responded, "Son, until you can find Christ in Ezekiel

 you will not share my pulpit again."

 

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from Edward Lawlor.  Mr. Lawlor was a former superintendent general of the Church of the Nazarene.  I love this quote because it addresses a mindset that I see very often here in North America.  That mindset is one that rests in the idea that America is "blessed by God," or is at least one of His favorites, so what happens in the rest of the world doesn't really matter.  I think this quote offers a good challenge to stop our navel gazing and join Father on His mission.

"If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere" - Edward Lawlor

Thangka Project 3

Today we'll explore the third thangka from the Tibetan version of the Hope Project.  To recap, this project utilizes a series of four thangkas (Tibetan "poster" art) to walk oral learners from creation through the ascension.   On this thangka listeners are introduced to Jesus.  The stories on this thangka begin with the birth of Jesus.  Continuing on it deals with His baptism, temptation, ministry and the last supper.  The bottom two sections tell the story of Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion.  You'll notice that the curious nomad (from the previous thangkas) is in the crowd watching the crucifixion, seeing that the promises God made were being fulfilled.

Promo Video

Check out the most recent promo video for YWAM Jax Beach.

Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from a pioneer in the protestant missions movement.  In my personal opinion, if more believers would dig into the Bible, they would see God's desire to see his fame spread throughout the whole earth.  This would lead to more people working alongside Father to fulfill the great commission.  

"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map." - William Carey

William Carey

Son of Hamas

One of the things I like about international travel is that airports and airplanes are great places to get some reading in.  One of the books I read this past trip was Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef.  This book quickly had me hooked and I had trouble putting it down.  It is an autobiographical look at the life of a young Palestinian man whose father is one of the founding members of Hamas.  The book follows his journey from being a young dedicated follower of Hamas, to becoming an agent for the Israeli government, and finally his journey from following Islam to following Jesus.  I found this book very interesting and insightful, regardless of one's views on the Israel/Palestine situation.

How the Time Flies

This past week marked the end of Lyla's school year.  It's hard to believe our little girl has completed kindergarten.  Vanessa and I are so proud of her.  Realizing how quickly time flies has been a good reminder to me that I need to enjoy every day and not get caught up in the things that don't really matter.

Speaking of Jesus

I recently finished Carl Madeiras' most recent book Speaking of Jesus: the Art of Not-Evangelism.   Going into it I was a bit uncertain about how I would feel about the concept.  Carl tends to be on the cutting edge (or controversial side) of reaching out to Muslims.   With that in mind, I was mentally prepared to disagree with a large portion of what he had to say.   Much to my surprise, I found I agree with most of what Madeiras discusses.   In essence, he is challenging people to return to the sole focus of the Gospel - Jesus.   Too often, Madeiras says, we focus on trying to sell people Christianity or convince them that our theological way of thinking is better than theirs.  When approaching evangelism from this angle, we frequently leave out the most amazing and polarizing aspect of the Gospel message, which is Jesus.   I found this book to be very refreshing.  I especially like how he drew not only from his experiences working with Muslims, but also from everyday experiences with people here in America.   I would definitely recommend giving it a read.