Four Questions

The next time you have a conversation with someone, and they make an assertion that is "extra-biblical" or attacks the Faith, use these questions to expose the falsehood. These are great questions to use anytime, not to be combative, but to bring clarity to the issue and allow all to objectively weight what is being said.

1. What do you mean by that?
2. How do you know that to be true?
3. Where do you go to get your information?
4. What if you are wrong?

*From "One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven", by Mark Cahill

Shepherding

I attended a Missions Conference last weekend. In one of the seminar, we focused on what it means to be a shepherd. Looking at Psalm 23, Ezek 34:1-24, and John 10:1-18, the Scriptures gives us a good picture of what God considers a good shepherd. He is one who provides for, protects, and guides his sheep, in that order. The leader of the seminar then asked us whether we thought the American church was doing a good job in shepherding its flock. Are the leaders of the church spending time with their people, getting to know them, encouraging them on a personal basis, like a shepherd looking after his sheep? Is the American model of the large church working?

In order to facilitate a change where shepherding can happen, there needs to be an emphasis towards small groups, and leaders discipling their under leaders. Wisdom is taught and caught. It cannot happen in a classroom alone. It has to be on a personal basis, in the process of living life.

Theology for who?

Theology is not just for intellectuals, seminary students, or profs. We ask theological questions all the time. We may not think of God when we ask ourselves these questions, but it is through knowing God that we begin to know ourselves. Have you ever asked: Where did I come from; Who am I; Where am I going in life? These questions are meant to be asked, and answered by God, through His Spirit and His Word.

Pictures from India

Here is the link to the Flickr site where I have put photos of the Asian Christian Academy campus, people, students and countryside, taken during our trip this August to Bangalore and Hosur-Tamil, India.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41714354@N07/sets/72157622114581980/

Back in Austin

After leaving the George's home in Bangalore, we were dropped off at the airport. When we tried to check in, we found out that our flight had been canceled. Fortunately, the airline carrier booked us on another flight of a different carrier, leaving an hour later than our original itinerary. We successfully arrived at Delhi. We had 4 hours to catch our next flight to Chicago. It took almost the whole 4 hours to get ticketed and processed, go through security and take a bus to the international gates, with only a 15 minutes to spare. Our flight from Delhi to Chicago took about 14.5 hours. We arrived at 4:30 and had to wait on the plane until immigration opened at 5 a.m.. Finally, after transferring our luggage to the domestic flight area, we were flown 2.5 hours to Austin. Our son Benjamin picked us up. What an eventful ending to an eventful trip!

Last class day at ACA

This is the last day of the seminar on Celebrate Recovery that I have been teaching at ACA. I have had some great conversations with the students and staff. I will miss being here. Its such a beautiful place. God is using ACA is so many mighty ways in Christian outreach, service, and training. The U.S. could benefit from this place. Deonne and I should be arriving in Austin on Sunday morning. We look forward to see you soon.

India - Asian Christian Academy

Good news! Deonne is in India. She flew in this morning, really early. I was able to meet her at the Bangalore airport. She was waiting. Boy, does she have some stories to tell of her adventure. I have stories too. My teaching/lecture time has gone well. Many students have come up to me to tell how they appreciate the material being taught, and that they will use the notes handed out in their ministry.

Deonne went right to work in the High School helping Leela George teach the students. Her first assignment is to tell the story of Joseph when he was sold into slavery. Thank God that we have been set free in Christ. More later...

From India and London

Deonne is still stranded in London. She has gone to the India Consulate on Monday and Tuesday, expecting to receive here visa and passport. For some reason, they have not come in. So she is making the best of a bad situation, patiently waiting for the India Consulate to provide her what she needs to travel. She has a hotel room, but is basically alone.

We trust that there is a reason God has postponed her arrival to India. It is not clear why, but both of us are confident that whatever it is, its important. It is hard to be separated like this. It is especially hard on Deonne who first had the dream and desire to travel to India and serve at the Asian Christian Academy. Please pray for us, that Deonne will join me in India on Thursday.

Sitting at the fountain in front of the palace gates in London. Taken on Monday.

Update on our travels

Today is Saturday, at 11:15 am. I arrived in India 3 days ago, on Wednesday. Deonne is still in London waiting to get her India visa. Hopefully, passport and visa will be delivered to the India Consulate on Monday so she can fly out on Monday. It has been a long week for both of us.

I have taught the prepared CR material to about 115 students, usually twice a day. It has been well received. I gave my testimony last night. That was very helpful for the students to understand I am teaching out of experience as well as the principles. Next time, I will start the series with my testimony.

The food is good, the hospitality is great, and its cooler than Austin :-). The accommodations are really nice. I received our luggage yesterday, so I was able to exchange the clothes I had been traveling in since last Friday for some fresh clothes.

REMINDER TO SELF: pack lightly, and bring a change of clothes in carry-on.

Please pray for Deonne. She has been alone in London for about a week now. We really miss each other. God is doing something in our lives with this experience. But for now, it is painful to be apart. This re-emphasizes what I have been teaching, that we are not in control. We need to depend on Jesus Christ for the power and strength to handle all situations. Please pray for me, that I communicate in clear, understandable terms the message of each lesson. I need to slow down my delivery and clearly describe each concept.

I will try to update this blog more frequently. My computer is still inoperable. I am using one of the campus computers over dial-up.

To God be the Glory.

So, how do we tell you about our trip so far. Our flight from Austin to Dallas was fine, but our flight out of Dallas was rain delayed 1.5 hours.

We arrived in Heathrow on Saturday, but we missed our connecting flight to Bangalore. We were rebooked to fly out of a different airline in the evening. We used a voucher for dinner, and after dinner, when Deonne went in to use the bathroom, someone stole her travel purse from the bathroom stall with her passport, money, ipod, etc. And from there, it just goes downhill.

We missed our flight out to Bangalore because we were waiting for the police that did not show up. Though we were 15 minutes early to board, the plane was already sealed. We were supposed to be there 1 hour early. But as it turned out, we couldn't fly anyway without a passport and visa.
Fast forward to today (Monday). Deonne did get a replacement for her passport, but the Indian Visa is a different story. Its too long to descibe here, but please pray that the authorities at the Indian consulate will grant her a visa before the end of this week. If not, she will return to Austin. That is not our plan. We can only trust God in His sovereign grace that there is a purpose behind all of this. But for now, we sure feel whipped. We did get to see London together. I will continue to Bangalore on Tuesday. My hope is to see Deonne this weekend.

PS: The Mac computer is broken. It too stopped working at the Heathrow airport. We found an Apple store in London today, but the earliest they could look at it was Thursday. The guy at the store said this was a busy time of year for them. A lot of travellers coming in with Mac problems.

Short Term Mission Trip

We have been aware of the Asian Christian Academy (ACA) located in Bangalore, India for over a decade. Could we be a part of that ministry? The time is now! I graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary this past May with a Masters in Biblical Studies. Deonne and I have planned to go overseas on a short term mission to ACA at the beginning of August. The quick timing of this trip is to work around Deonne’s nursing classes this summer and fall. I will be teaching the 8 principles of Celebrate Recovery to the seminary students at ACA. I have been the Celebrate Recovery training leader at Grace Covenant Church for the past 2 years, and have experienced a transformation in my own life working the 12 steps of CR.

This seminar will be taught over a 2 week period, explaining the purpose of the ministry, how it works, and why it should be a part of any church ministry. My goal is to communicate the biblical underpinnings of the ministry. It is a tool that can be used to help people who are struggling with fears, addictions, and/or pain, anything that is holding them back from living an abundant life in Christ. Deonne will help at the hospital that is within the walls of the ACA compound. Currently Deonne is a nursing student. She will graduate in 1 1/2 years. During the last 3 years she has been working as a patient care technician at St. Davids Hospital.

Our purpose for going to ACA this summer is to see whether the overseas missions arena is the area God is leading us. This short term mission will allow us to serve the Christian community with the education and gifts God has given us. For the long term, we want to serve together at a church or on the mission field. My desire is to move into full time ministry in order to teach biblical studies along with discipleship. This trip will help clarify where to serve in the future.

We are going as Grace Covenant Church missionaries, representing the church with Christ’s love. Though we are just 2 people going over to a culture that we know little about, we are hoping to you will come over with us, in your prayers and in any financial support. We cannot do this on our own. We’d love to have you on our team and consider it a blessing from the body of Christ. Would you consider prayer and support? If you’d like to talk to us further we’d be happy to visit with you over the phone or in person to explain our vision and plans for this trip.

Discipline or Warfare

There have been times where I have heard a brother or sister in Christ attribute a bad situation or string of negative circumstances as a result of spiritual warfare from the evil one. Other times I have heard Christians talk about the discipline of the Lord they are or have experienced. And sometimes there are circumstances that happen because of sin in the world. My question, or rather my thought is, since God is sovereign over all creation, is he not in control? And if he is in control, can we not say that when we experience things that do not go our way, that we don't automatically call it a spiritual attack, but maybe it is a lesson to learn, a suffering to persevere under, a test of our faith, or an endurance to run? I am not saying that there is no such things as spiritual attacks from the evil one, (see Job, and Ephesians 6) but maybe it is that God is allowing an uncomfortable situation to happen in order to attract our attention back on him, and not ourselves? Your thoughts?

New Beginnings

My middle son was married this weekend. It was a great celebration.
I will be starting a new job on Wednesday. A week ago I didn't have any prospects, and my last day of contract was Thursday last week. But by God's grace, I was recommended by the manager to an agency. The result is a new job doing similar work for the company's website I was previously at work. Praise God.

Desire to go teach and serve

Deonne and I plan to go on a short term mission to India this August or the following January, depending on Deonne's classes. We are excited. She has been interested in this mission field since coming to Austin, and hearing a speaker from the Asian Christian Academy who spoke about India in a Sunday school class we attended. I know of professors and pastor who have gone to teach in India. I look forward to graduating from this May with a Masters in Biblical Studies and using the skills I have received to teach. Deonne will be able to serve at the clinic or hospital. Please pray for us. Thanks.

Motivation

"Love is the strongest motivator to please, to do good." That statement was made in a class I recently attended at DTS. We were going through the epistles of Paul. I do not remember what epistle we were studying at the time, but this phase really hit me. Motivation by any other means just does not work. Fear only motivates because of self-preservation. Wealth motivates for a short time, but gets bored, or always asks for more, never being satisfied. But love is the truest, strongest motivator to please. Out of a grateful heart comes commitment and the willingness to serve. Response to love is love.