Telling God’s Story

As you may already know, Marlene and I are passionate about sharing God’s Great Salvation Story with others. The Bible is not just a collection of isolated stories. It is a purposeful, flowing narrative of God’s workings in human history. It really is an amazing story that comes from many human authors writing under Divine guidance from different times and places in history. To understand well the individual stories of Scripture it is important to catch something of the panorama of the whole story. That is best done by carefully reading the Bible through chronologically, paying attention to the threads that stitch the whole story together.

I would also like to recommend a book I just finished reading, which I found very helpful in recognizing these threads that run through the Bible. The title of the book is ‘Telling God’s Story’ written by Preban Vang & Terry Carter. If you share in this passion to make God’s story known to others I believe this book can help you.

A Week In Saint Louis

I have had a full week here in Saint Louis, teaching a course called ‘The History of Christian Missions’. I taught it in front of a video camera for our on-line three year training course called the Trilogy Project. Spending hours talking into a lens was a new experience for me I must say. Even though I had taught this material before I found my heart being stirred afresh as I spoke about the lives of those in church history who gave themselves to walk with Jesus in his mission. Their hearts beat with a passion that people from all nations would come to know the joy of Christ’s great salvation and they dedicated their lives to carrying the Good News to them.

As I think afresh about Patrick and the those amazing Celtic Monks, Raymond Lull in North Africa, the Moravians fanning out into many nations in the 1700’s, William Carey, Hudson Taylor and scores of others, I can’t help but think of the opportunities we have in our generation to take this wonderful message to people everywhere. The baton has been passed to us!

If you would like to know more out the kind of people I mentioned above, may I recommend the text book I use for this missions course, 'From Jerusalem To Irian Jaya' by Ruth A. Tucker? It is not dry reading! It is full of the stories of real people with all their strengths and weaknesses who committed their lives to doing all they could do to make Jesus known in all the earth. Check it out.

Prophetic Ministry Can Help Shape What We Do

I have been reflecting recently on how prophetic revelation can shape the church. For example the first mention of prophets serving among the churches in the Book of Acts is in Acts chapter 9. Here is a team of prophets from the church in Jerusalem traveling down to the new church in the city of Antioch. One of these prophets named Agabus prophesies that a severe famine was going to devastate the country. The church there took hold of this prophetic word in faith and began to lay plans to raise money to help their fellow Christians who lived in the region around Jerusalem. After raising the offering they sent it in the hands of two of their leaders, Barnabus and Saul, to the elders in the church at Jerusalem. The effect of the prophetic word was encouragement to take a positive step of faith.

This story involves a known prophet named Agabus along with a team of prophets coming to serve and strengthen the young church in Antioch. It is clear here that Agabus was a ‘team player’. He doesn’t come off as a bigger than life ‘super-star’. He is not isolated and aloof. He flows in the grace of God working in his own life and uniqueness but he does so in the context of relationship with others. I believe this is a healthy posture for all Christian ministries.

The church in Antioch was significantly shaped by these visiting prophets. I’m sure the church followed the New Testament injunction to first weigh the prophecy to see if there was truly the confirmation from the Holy Spirit that it was to be received. (See 1 Cor. 14:29) Having received confirmation in their hearts they adjusted their plans and programs in response to the prophetic word. Their ministry of giving to the poor, which in principle was a mandate to all the churches, was shaped in practice by the prophetic word.

A current example of this in our own lives recently has to do with our time spent in Zimbabwe over this last year. A prophetic word came during a leadership prayer meeting that the churches in Zimbabwe would be like Jacob’s prophecy to Joseph, ‘a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall’. (See Gen. 49:22) As a result the leaders there made a decision to lay plans to help the poor in that nation using Farming God’s Way as a means and at the same time sharing the Gospel in city after city across the nation. Many churches from around the world got involved with this plan by gathering a large contribution to help resource this prophetically inspired plan. We believe it will bear lots of fruit in that nation and beyond.

What was happening in the Book of Acts is still happening today. That’s something to rejoice about!

Follow-up on Ukraine Trip

I want to thank everyone who prayed for us while I was in England and the Ukraine. It was a very fruitful trip. The schedule was quite full but I was very aware of being strengthened by the Lord's Presence. Since a primary purpose for this trip to the Ukraine was to 'fan the flame' of prophetic ministry in the churches we are in relationship to there I was really looking to the Lord for his help in ministering prophetically to the people. God was so faithful! In meeting after meeting his presence came to confirm his purposes for whole churches and individual church members.

Thanks again for praying.

I’m Off to England and The Ukraine

Tomorrow morning I will be flying to England to attend the Newfrontiers International Forum. This is a gathering of key leaders of Newfrontiers from different nations. These times are very significant for us as a family of churches. It is time when we share together of what God is doing within the various spheres and cultures where we are working. There are always powerful times of prayer together which often become quite prophetic in nature as we lift up to the Lord the needs and challenges among us. This is also a time where we hear from Terry Virgo and other leaders in our movement regarding issues that are pivotal to what we are doing together at this time in our history as a family of churches.

Directly after the Forum I will be traveling on to Eastern Ukraine to join with Andrey Bondarenko to minister in the circle of churches that he relates to there. Andrey leads the apostolic team the serves a number of churches in that region. I have had the privilege of serving Andrey in the development of his team leadership. Through this we have become dear friends with him and his family. Our focus on this trip is to fan the flame of prophetic ministry in some of the churches he serves. I will be in Eastern Ukraine until March 27. From there I will travel to the region of Crimea in Southern Ukraine to minister to some Newfrontiers churches in that region as well. I plan to return home on April 2.

I want to ask you to pray for us as you think about us over these next weeks. Marlene will not be joining me on this trip due to the constant travel and intensity of schedule involved. I know that this is a right decision yet I certainly much prefer it when she travels with me. I ask you to pray for both of us at this time. It is always difficult to be apart. Also pray that all the churches we will visit will be strengthened and encouraged through this journey. Thanks!

Let God’s Story Burn in Your Heart!

Starting January 25, we here at New Community Church in Tacoma are going to embark on a journey. It is a journey through God’s Big Salvation Story in the Bible. We will begin in Genesis and about twenty eight weeks down the road we plan is finish in Revelation. Of course we will not be able to tell every single story there is to tell in the Bible during this time since there are around 500 of them! We do plan to encounter main scenes from this story God tells about his plan to have a redeemed people who know him, love him and will spend eternity with him.

It is important that we understand that the Bible is one Grand Story. Tom Steffen said in his book, ‘Reconnecting God’s Story to Ministry’, “The Bible is not just a collection of isolated stories; it is God’s unified Storybook. While each of the 66 documents that comprise the sacred Storybook has its own beauty and value, the eloquence of each is maximized when taken as a collective whole." Lesslie Newbigin, a favorite author of mine, said “The dogma, the thing given for our acceptance in faith, is not a set of timeless propositions: it is a story. Moreover, it is a story not yet finished, a story in which we are still awaiting the end when all becomes clear…” (From ‘The Gospel In A Pluralist Society’)

This amazing story is rooted in history. It involves real people who struggled with the realities and limitations of life in this present world. People who had to grapple with their personal frailties, sins and failures as well as the sins and failures of the culture they lived in. Yet they found themselves being caught up in a much bigger story than simply the personal struggles of trying make it through life with all its difficulty. They found God, who was there, who was speaking and active in their world drawing them into relationship with himself and setting them on his mission to draw others into that same relationship.

Jesus stands as the central character and hero of this Great Salvation Story. The Apostle Paul said, ‘for by him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.’ (Colossians 1:16) Not only is Jesus the main focus of this drama, he is also the Master Storyteller. On the Sunday of his resurrection from the dead two of Jesus disciples were walking along the road to a village called Emmaus about seven miles out of Jerusalem. As they walked along Jesus joined them on the road but they were unable to recognize him at that point. He asked what they were so intently discussing as they walked. They said they were talking about the death of Jesus and how they had so hoped he was the promised Messiah (Savior). Now after three days it appears his body is missing from the tomb! This had them confused. Jesus knew that they hadn’t seen “the Big Picture” yet, so he began telling them the story. He started out in Genesis and traced the story right through the Bible and explained how he was the main character in the story.

A little later, when he sat down to eat supper with them in the village, he took the bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. Those two disciples suddenly saw that he was Jesus, with that he disappeared from their sight. (He did this kind of thing quite a bit after he his resurrection.) However the thing those disciples continued to mostly talk about after this encounter with him was not the phenomenal disappearance but the fire they felt in their hearts as they heard Jesus tell the story on the road that day. (See Luke 24:13-35)

My prayer is that every one of us will experience this same fire of the Holy Spirit burning in our hearts as we hear and re-tell this amazing story. It is a story that each one of us is invited to be a part of!

A Gift Idea For Christmas

As we are in the Christmas season, a time of rejoicing together in God’s great generosity towards us through the Gift of his Son who came into our fallen world to give us new hope, I find my mind dwelling on our many dear friends in Zimbabwe. Marlene and I have spent considerable time in that nation during this last year. It has been a genuine privilege to have stood side by side with them. Their faith in the midst of very difficult circumstances has had huge influence upon us.

Here are a few of the situations they face daily. The annual inflation rate is well over 200 million percent per year. Almost half the population is in danger of starvation by the first part of next year. Now there is a cholera epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives and thousands are infected because of a breakdown in basic water and sanitation services. There is a lack of basic medical supplies and services to treat those who are sick.

In the face of this crisis these leaders and churches are declaring that there is hope for that nation through Jesus Christ. Their words are accompanied by action. Marlene and I were privileged to be present at a meeting where the leaders there began to lay plans to unite the churches across Zimbabwe to proclaim the Gospel and to set into action a plan to feed many in the nation through Farming God’s Way, an amazing farming method developed within the Newfrontiers churches there. Through this method they have been typically producing yields 10 times higher than the conventional farming methods. They are now carrying out this plan. They have mobilized teams to train those desiring to participate in Farming God’s Way across the nation. They face great needs as they are taking these steps of faith.

There are many Christians and churches that plan to participate with our friends in Zimbabwe during this Christmas season by giving a financial gift to help them in this mission. Would you like to join them? You can learn more about how you can participate by visiting the Newfrontiers-USA website at 'www.newfrontiersusa.org' and click on Zimbabwe Crisis Appeal for more information.

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!