Yeah - so I just found out that the last time I blogged was in the ides of March. St. Patrick's Day.
Five-and-a-half months.
Shameful.
Basically I've been sucked into Facebookworld. I'm approaching 1000 friends there and have found it to be a good vehicle for sharing about our work.
Buuut...
I really miss blogging. I feel it's important for me to write on a regular basis. It helps me to work through things that are on my mind and that I think are worth sharing with others. Of course that's what I think. You may have a different opinion.
So I'm setting myself a reminder on my calendar to pop up each week and remind me to blog. I do actually have a lot of ideas of things I'd like to talk about. I just need to develop the discipline to stay with it.
So maybe you'll be hearing from me more often.
To update you on our progress - we are close to 60% in our needed monthly financial support and are hoping that we can finish up our MPD (Ministry Partner Development - a.k.a. fund raising) soon, go to pre-field training and get to Ireland permanently to continue our work full-time.
Keep praying!
Aug 31, 2009
Mar 17, 2009
The Legacy of Patrick
When I think about St. Patrick, there are a few things that come to mind.
The first is - Patrick started his ministry in Ireland when he was in his 40's. That's where I'm at, and we're starting our ministry there. That encourages me.
Next - Patrick was used in amazing ways by the Lord, yet never took any credit for himself. He always maintained a spirit of humility, couched with the knowledge that "..all things are possible with God...", which I think was key to his ability to win over those he was evangelizing.
He suffered many hardships in his lifetime, but always looked for the good that would come from such suffering.
Finally, his legacy and those of his contemporaries (monks, priest, nuns) was to pass on knowledge of the Scriptures and train Christian workers to reach the world with the Gospel. In fact, the Irish are responsible for not only saving the Scriptures from disappearing from the face of the earth during the dark ages, but re-evangelizing the mainland of Europe as the Renaissance dawned.
If each and every one of us who call ourselves Christian would clothe ourselves with the same ethic that Patrick possessed - it would be a whole new world.
You may want to read Patrick's autobiography, his "Confessio". It's a short read and can be found lots of places, including here: http://www.cin.org/patrick.html
I encourage you on this St. Patrick's Day to pray for Ireland. 99.3% of the people of Ireland have no relationships with Jesus. Also, several years ago Patrick organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin decided that Patrick was too religious of a figure and should no longer be allowed to appear in the day's festivities.
We want to see the "days of Patrick" return with a renewed fervor and watch in awe as revival once again spreads across the Emerald Isle!
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
The first is - Patrick started his ministry in Ireland when he was in his 40's. That's where I'm at, and we're starting our ministry there. That encourages me.
Next - Patrick was used in amazing ways by the Lord, yet never took any credit for himself. He always maintained a spirit of humility, couched with the knowledge that "..all things are possible with God...", which I think was key to his ability to win over those he was evangelizing.
He suffered many hardships in his lifetime, but always looked for the good that would come from such suffering.
Finally, his legacy and those of his contemporaries (monks, priest, nuns) was to pass on knowledge of the Scriptures and train Christian workers to reach the world with the Gospel. In fact, the Irish are responsible for not only saving the Scriptures from disappearing from the face of the earth during the dark ages, but re-evangelizing the mainland of Europe as the Renaissance dawned.
If each and every one of us who call ourselves Christian would clothe ourselves with the same ethic that Patrick possessed - it would be a whole new world.
You may want to read Patrick's autobiography, his "Confessio". It's a short read and can be found lots of places, including here: http://www.cin.org/patrick.html
I encourage you on this St. Patrick's Day to pray for Ireland. 99.3% of the people of Ireland have no relationships with Jesus. Also, several years ago Patrick organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin decided that Patrick was too religious of a figure and should no longer be allowed to appear in the day's festivities.
We want to see the "days of Patrick" return with a renewed fervor and watch in awe as revival once again spreads across the Emerald Isle!
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
Mar 10, 2009
The Shifting Tide
You know how you're just trucking along in life -- trying to keep a handle on things, stay apprised of what's happening in the world around you, thinking you have a good broad perspective on things and then out of the blue your hit by something that either takes you by surprise, or shows you that your thinking has been way too shallow?
Well that's happening to me right now. I try to keep myself educated about things that are happening in Christendom here and abroad and how that relates to society as a whole, yadda, yadda, yadda...
In the past 4 hours, I have read two articles, brought to my attention by two individuals, that has me refocusing on my perception of the Western church and it's role in the world today.
Rather than go into a long diatribe about the content of these articles and my reactions to them, I think it would be more beneficial to simply provide you with the links to said articles and let you read them.
But before I do (I know, I just can't help myself) I must at least say that, although they both carry with them a fair amount of what appears on the surface to be "bad news", it gets me excited to think about what this really means for the overall health of the world-wide Body of Christ.
The first article is a straight-up news report based upon statistics.
The second is written from the perspective of a servant of Christ who shares his thoughts about coming changes in the evangelical church, based upon his observations, and then ends by giving us the "good news" of what it all could mean for the life of the church.
Thus said, here you go...
Religious Groups in US Losing Ground
The Coming Evangelical Collapse
Well that's happening to me right now. I try to keep myself educated about things that are happening in Christendom here and abroad and how that relates to society as a whole, yadda, yadda, yadda...
In the past 4 hours, I have read two articles, brought to my attention by two individuals, that has me refocusing on my perception of the Western church and it's role in the world today.
Rather than go into a long diatribe about the content of these articles and my reactions to them, I think it would be more beneficial to simply provide you with the links to said articles and let you read them.
But before I do (I know, I just can't help myself) I must at least say that, although they both carry with them a fair amount of what appears on the surface to be "bad news", it gets me excited to think about what this really means for the overall health of the world-wide Body of Christ.
The first article is a straight-up news report based upon statistics.
The second is written from the perspective of a servant of Christ who shares his thoughts about coming changes in the evangelical church, based upon his observations, and then ends by giving us the "good news" of what it all could mean for the life of the church.
Thus said, here you go...
Religious Groups in US Losing Ground
The Coming Evangelical Collapse
Feb 7, 2009
The calling of a place
Maybe it's just the fact that we haven't really traveled anywhere within the last year-and-a-half, but I am feeling the urge to be somewhere else. I read a description of a little tavern that's just outside the gate of an historic medieval walled town in Croatia and was immediately enamored. Ready to get on a plane and head there right now. I think Beth nailed it when she said, "You just haven't been anywhere for more than a year. Anyplace would look good to you."
For those of you who like to travel, you understand. It gets in your blood, and after you've been idle in one location for a while it feels like being cooped up in a small cabin all winter - the proverbial "cabin fever".
Well, I've hit that point again. If given the opportunity, I'd be at the airport tonight, or loading up the car for a long road trip. Come on, twist my arm...
Just got a note from a friend who is heading to Ireland in a couple of weeks. Aah!
But aside from discovering new places while traveling (which I love to do), there is something about those places you've been - those that mean something special to you. From time-to-time they will call to you, a veritable siren to your conscience.
There are a few places like that for me, but two in particular that reign.
First there is my home, where I grew up. Kansas. A lot of people have driven through Kansas with the only lasting memory that they couldn't wait for it to end. I can understand that. For hundreds of miles there is nothing but farm crops and ripening prairie grasses.
But for me - I hear music. There is music there that is just waiting to be realized. I have come to know that there is beauty to be found anywhere you are in nature. Sometimes it assaults your senses. Sometimes it chooses to call to you in subtle urgings to look longer, deeper, closer.
Every now and then, my mind will wonder to the Great Plains and get stuck there for a bit.
For those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise, but another place that calls to me in this way is Ireland. Having been there multiple times has enabled us to become familiar with it. That, and the fact that when we are there it seems so much like home, makes it hard to ignore.
In the same way that I feel rooted to the plains, I have a similar connection to the Emerald Isle. But there is something different, as well. My roots in Kansas grew naturally through my years of growing up. They run deep and strong. The roots that have grown for me in Ireland have grown quickly and are still quite shallow, but they're tenacious, nonetheless.
I enjoyed traveling from a young age, but I never had this burning urge to "get outta Dodge" (well, Pratt, actually), as some I have known. No, instead, I simply knew when it was time to go and never regretted the leaving. I look back fondly on my youth, but have no desire to return permanently to that place. Yet it calls still. I hear it call me to never forget, to always remember. It's undemanding, yet persistent.
Ireland, on the other hand, is somewhat more forceful in her approach. Eire (her true name) will often cause me to lose myself in thoughts of being there; driving through the country, exploring ruins, walking down the street, sitting in the park, engaging with people. With Ireland, I get glimpses of what could or will be, not what once was. I think that's why there seems to be more of an urgency when my thoughts are taken there; why it demands more of my mind and heart.
Ireland will be our new home, and has already begun to be so insofar as it has captured my heart. I will always have a divided heart, though. Part will always be in Kansas. A huge, HUGE part will be wherever our daughter Molly is. Part will be where we are.
Regarding Florida -- we have a home here with the people we know and love, and it will be difficult to leave them. But as for the place -- I don't expect it to call to me once we leave. After 20 years I never have felt like a Floridian. I could probably live here the rest of my days and never experience that.
All that to say... "When do we leave?"
Well, I have taken this far beyond what I had planned, and I'm sure you have better things to do, so I believe it's time to close.
Charis and Shalom...
For those of you who like to travel, you understand. It gets in your blood, and after you've been idle in one location for a while it feels like being cooped up in a small cabin all winter - the proverbial "cabin fever".
Well, I've hit that point again. If given the opportunity, I'd be at the airport tonight, or loading up the car for a long road trip. Come on, twist my arm...
Just got a note from a friend who is heading to Ireland in a couple of weeks. Aah!
But aside from discovering new places while traveling (which I love to do), there is something about those places you've been - those that mean something special to you. From time-to-time they will call to you, a veritable siren to your conscience.
There are a few places like that for me, but two in particular that reign.
First there is my home, where I grew up. Kansas. A lot of people have driven through Kansas with the only lasting memory that they couldn't wait for it to end. I can understand that. For hundreds of miles there is nothing but farm crops and ripening prairie grasses.
But for me - I hear music. There is music there that is just waiting to be realized. I have come to know that there is beauty to be found anywhere you are in nature. Sometimes it assaults your senses. Sometimes it chooses to call to you in subtle urgings to look longer, deeper, closer.
Every now and then, my mind will wonder to the Great Plains and get stuck there for a bit.
For those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise, but another place that calls to me in this way is Ireland. Having been there multiple times has enabled us to become familiar with it. That, and the fact that when we are there it seems so much like home, makes it hard to ignore.
In the same way that I feel rooted to the plains, I have a similar connection to the Emerald Isle. But there is something different, as well. My roots in Kansas grew naturally through my years of growing up. They run deep and strong. The roots that have grown for me in Ireland have grown quickly and are still quite shallow, but they're tenacious, nonetheless.
I enjoyed traveling from a young age, but I never had this burning urge to "get outta Dodge" (well, Pratt, actually), as some I have known. No, instead, I simply knew when it was time to go and never regretted the leaving. I look back fondly on my youth, but have no desire to return permanently to that place. Yet it calls still. I hear it call me to never forget, to always remember. It's undemanding, yet persistent.
Ireland, on the other hand, is somewhat more forceful in her approach. Eire (her true name) will often cause me to lose myself in thoughts of being there; driving through the country, exploring ruins, walking down the street, sitting in the park, engaging with people. With Ireland, I get glimpses of what could or will be, not what once was. I think that's why there seems to be more of an urgency when my thoughts are taken there; why it demands more of my mind and heart.
Ireland will be our new home, and has already begun to be so insofar as it has captured my heart. I will always have a divided heart, though. Part will always be in Kansas. A huge, HUGE part will be wherever our daughter Molly is. Part will be where we are.
Regarding Florida -- we have a home here with the people we know and love, and it will be difficult to leave them. But as for the place -- I don't expect it to call to me once we leave. After 20 years I never have felt like a Floridian. I could probably live here the rest of my days and never experience that.
All that to say... "When do we leave?"
Well, I have taken this far beyond what I had planned, and I'm sure you have better things to do, so I believe it's time to close.
Charis and Shalom...
Feb 1, 2009
The 3 missing points
So this morning I gave the message at Coast. It was about David and Goliath and facing the giants in our lives.
We usually have an insert in the handout with scriptures and fill-in-the-blank bullet points and the like, where those present can take notes throughout the sermon.
Well, I got off my notes and ended up skipping three important points (although the things were covered otherwise, the three fill-in-the-blank points made them easy to remember).
So, for those who were present and wondering what the three points were, here you go:
Three things that are instrumental in our victory:
1 - God's Word 2 - God's Ability 3 - Our Faith
Thank you for your attention.
We usually have an insert in the handout with scriptures and fill-in-the-blank bullet points and the like, where those present can take notes throughout the sermon.
Well, I got off my notes and ended up skipping three important points (although the things were covered otherwise, the three fill-in-the-blank points made them easy to remember).
So, for those who were present and wondering what the three points were, here you go:
Three things that are instrumental in our victory:
1 - God's Word 2 - God's Ability 3 - Our Faith
Thank you for your attention.
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