Continued

The mission trip is going great. This morning's post was a little hurried so I wanted to catch up on a few things - but first the good news, we had 34 decisions for Christ during VBS this morning! Praise the Lord His great work. I'll share more about the activities of the day later.

Yesterday we spent most of the day in the city of Antigua. It is the oldest city in Guatemala and at one time was the religious and political capitol for all of Central America. It was the home base for Catholic Missions and was the capitol for Guatemala until the early 1970's. It's a beautiful city nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. At one time there were 38 catholic monasteries in operation in the city and the surrounding area. In the early 1700's sever floods damaged many of the churches. An earthquake in 1972 nearly destroyed the city and the capitol was moved to Guatemala City.

Antigua is a tourist city and we saw people of many nationalities. We spent most of our time in the open market in the city center. We would think of it almost as an upscale flea market. There were hundreds of merchants with beautiful products. You could purchase just about anything. They even had an open air meat market, but we didn't visit it. The people were very friendly and generous. We were warned about picpockets and we had a guide with each group, but we never felt unsafe.

Traveling to and from our destinations is a different story. There are not many "road rules". I've seen a few traffic signs but once you get out of the city, there are almost none. One phenomena that we've learned about is "painted trees". We noticed that many of trees in the countryside that were close to the road had white paint on them. We learned that the paint is reflective paint so that cars can see where the trees were at night.

Another phenomena is cattle along the side of the roads and the medians. Farmers tie their cattle to posts or trees alongside the roads to graze. Since most of the countryside is mountains, there is not a lot of places for cattle to graze.

I wanted to catch you up on some of the cultural stuff in this post. I'll update you more on ministry in later posts. Thanks again for the prayers.

On the Field

The Internet has been sporadic at best so I haven't been able to post. We arrived Saturday about 8:30 Guatemala time (10:30 Talbott time). When we arrived at the airport we soon discovered that most of our luggage did not come with us. Out of 26 bags, we had only 9. Fortunately most everyone had a change of clothes in their carry-on, so we survived. Luggage finally arrived Sunday; we got the last bag about 9 pm last night.

After breakfast yesterday (Sunday) we went to a mountain overlooking the city of Antigua. There is a giant cross, and that's where we had a worship service. We sang a couple of hymns and Mike gave a devotion from 1 Corinthians on using our spiritual gifts to serve the Lord.

After church we went to Antigua to get acclimated to the culture. We had lunch at McDonald's ( I know, right?). They have a little different food on their menu. They had Apple Pie, but they also had Pineapple Pie and fried Cheesecake. I'm planning to petition the American McDonald's for these wonderful treats!

After lunch we spent a few hours at the local city market improving the Guatemalan economy. The market was like an upscale flea market where you could bargain with the merchants. It was a great experience to interact with the people.

We had a great supper at a local restaurant called Las Palmas. Antigua is a tourist town so many of the resraunts were good for us to eat at.

We returned to the mission house and got our luggage organized. Mike Heffner led in devotion from 1 Corinthians 15. After a time of prayer we organized supplies and got ready for the next days work.

I'm posting this on Monday morning and hopefully I'll have some more to write after a day of VBS and construction in the Village of San Miguel. Thanks for your prayers.

First Stop

Our mission team is on the way. We left Magna View this morning about 8 am and are currently in Atlanta awaiting our flight to Miami. From Miami we'll fly to Guatemala, and arrive there around 8:00 pm Guatemala time (10 pm our time).

Several members came out to see us off this morning. We greatly appreciate the prayers and encouragement. We've been praying for the opportunity to touch a lot of lives for Christ, and we anticipate it will be a life-changing event for all of us.

Thank you to everyone who has had a part in this trip. Many people donated supplies and money for our mission. Many more have been praying for our safety and success. Though we will be the "boots-on-the-ground" in Guatemala, all of you are on mission with us through your generosity and prayers. I pray God will bless you for all you have done for the work of His Kingdom.

Mission Trip 2010

Tomorrow begins a great adventure. Thirteen people from our church will be leaving for Guatemala. We'll be working with missionaries Mike and Carla Parker and Clubhouse Guatemala ministries (check them out at www.clubhouseguatemala.com). We'll be meeting up with a team from Mt. Pisgah BC in Niota, and a couple of guys from Union BC in Knoxville. We'll be leading VBS for kids, providing school supplies for teachers, working in a feeding center, building chicken coops for families, and most importantly sharing the Good News and loving others in Jesus name.

Our church has faithfully supported this trip with financial donations, supply donations, encouragement and prayer support. One of our team members, Tonya, also received support from the school where she works. Teachers and students donated school supplies, clothes, backpacks and money to go to the teachers and students in Guatemala. One student raised $600 by herself for this project. God has faithfully provided through his people, PTL!

I can't wait to get the trip started. I'm most excited for my youngest daughter Abigail. This is her first "out-of-the-country" mission trip. She has been asking for a couple of years about when she would be able to go on a mission trip. When the Lord began to stir our hearts about going, she was determined to be on the team. She saved her babysitting money and paid for her passport herself. A few weeks after we decided to go, she rededicated her life to Christ. I can't wait to see what the Lord does through this little girl!

As much as possible I'll be blogging about the trip. It will depend mostly on computer and internet access, but I'll do the best I can.

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” 1 Timothy 3:1

I’ve been teaching on leadership in the local church and working through Paul’s first letter to his apprentice Timothy. Chapter three really stirred me up. Paul begins saying, “This is a faithful saying.” It’s the equivalent to Jesus saying in the Gospels “Truly, truly or Verily, verily.” When Jesus said those words He was saying, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!” That is what Paul is doing here as well. Then he says, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”

The word “desire” really jumped out at me in this passage. It appears twice in my translation, but it is actually two different words in the Greek. The first word translated “desire” literally means “to stretch oneself” or “to reach out for.” The image is that of a child reaching out for his mom or dad. The second word translated desire means “to set your heart upon.” It has to do with the inward emotions and this word is also translated “covet” or “lust after.” So the Bible says, it is a good thing to "stretch yourself" and "set your heart" on a place of service for the Lord.

In the tradition I have grown up in, those who served the Lord were those who received a specific calling to serve. It’s still part of our tradition – you ask people about doing things in the church and you may get the response – “I haven’t been called to do that.” That is a legit response and we shouldn’t force people into positions they are not qualified for nor passionate about. But it is also a response that is often abused. The next question to ask is, “What have you been called to do?” and the answer may be, “I don’t know?” It seems it’s easier to identify what we’re not called to do than it is to identify what we’re called to do.

What do you want to do in the church? Many Christians don’t want to do anything; they don’t have the desire to serve the Lord. I want to say, “Do you believe Jesus died for you and saved you so you could do nothing for Him? Do you believe God brought you to a church so you could ‘do nothing’?" It’s good to have a desire to serve the Lord; it’s good to stretch yourself and reach for a place of service in the Body of Christ. Our general calling is to serve the Lord in some capacity. That’s the spiritual principle this verse teaches and it applies to all of us.

Recently God has been pushing me to get out of my comfort zone. I'm a really "hands-on" guy. I grew up with the these words being drilled into my head: "If you want something done right, do it yourself." As a result, I want to do everything myself. So God has been working to reprogram my thinking for leadership. Leadership is not doing everything yourself. Leadership is empowering others to do what God has gifted and called them to do.

I've been studying Simple Church, and one of the keys to a successful church is leadership development. In the Scriptures it says that God gives leadership to the church so that the members are equipped to do the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). God always begins with leadership - people who are called to influence others for Christ.

You may be the leader God wants to develop to do something great for His glory. Most of the great leaders we read about in the Bible didn't think of themselves as great leaders: Moses made all kinds of excuses; some of the first words God said to Joshua were "Be strong and courageous" (He said it three times in one conversation); Gideon was hiding out in the threshing room when God called him; Paul was working to destroy the church. None of these guys seemed like candidates for "Leader of the Year." But when they surrendered themselves completely to God, He used them to move His people to victory and for His glory.

You may not see yourself as a leader, but God sees something in you that is greater than you can ever imagine. Would you be willing to let God have a shot at doing something great through you? The first step is to say "Yes, Lord", and then get ready for a great adventure.

Transitions

Recently our Leadership Team (staff and Deacons) met for breakfast and to discuss making some changes to our church and ministry. We're reading together the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger. The crux of the book is that every church needs a simple process (key word) which enables disciple-making. (Maybe that's not the intended crux, but it's what I've gotten from it.) The simple process evolves around four concepts: clarity - movement - alignment - focus. We're in the very beginning stages, so we're focusing on clarity. The title for Chapter 5 of the book is "Clarity: Starting with a Ministry Blueprint."

During our Saturday meeting we talked about the importance of developing a simple process that can be (and will be) easily communicated to the rest of the Body. Again, we're in the very beginning stages of this process, but it was abundantly clear that clarity in communication can be difficult sometimes, and that not everyone understands everything the same way. Even among our Leadership Team there was discussion about what was meant by certain words or statements. There was some great discussion, and in the end a common agreement that we are moving in the right direction.

In an effort to help communicate clearly, I'll be posting some things here about Simple Church, about our discussions and the process we are going through. You'll be hearing about it in sermons and small group discussions as well. I'm excited about what the Lord is doing.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim 1:17 (NKJV)

Great Bible study last night! We talked about “A Leader’s Passion”. Paul was passionate about truth, about Jesus, and about relationships. He was especially passionate about Jesus. As he was writing to Timothy about what Christ had done in his life and what Christ meant to him, he broke out in the wonderful verse of praise above. He was so moved for his love by Christ, he couldn’t help but praise him, even in a letter.

What are you passionate about? When was the last time you were so overwhelmed by the grace and goodness of God that you broke out into a song of praise to Him. May our hearts be hot for Jesus, the Savior of our souls and the redeemer of our lives!

We welcomed Lilli Roberts to our family of faith last night. Lilli prayed to receive Christ as her Savior a couple of weeks ago at a First Priority event at her school. Her dad, Trevor will baptize her this coming Sunday morning.

I can’t wait for Sunday! Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, worship and praise and a word from the Lord! A few years ago one of our former Youth Pastors preached a sermon on Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). He titled it, “When You Show Up, God Shows Out.” Often all God is waiting on to do something great, is for His people to show up. I wonder how many miracles we’ve missed being a part of just because we didn’t give God a chance to work.

I hope you’ll show up in faith expecting God to do something supernatural this weekend. God is just waiting to show you how great He really is.

See you Sunday!

I’ve been studying 1 Timothy as I am teaching from it on Wednesday nights. I’m blown away by the passion of the Apostle Paul. He wrote this letter later in life, after he had served the Lord for many years and had given his all for the cause of Christ. Yet he is as “fired-up” about the work of the ministry as he ever was. How was he able to maintain his passion and his fire when some of his fellow workers had given up or fallen away? One simple answer – Paul never forgot what Christ did in his life. His salvation experience was fresh on his heart in the latter years of his life as if it had just happened.

In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul writes, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Notice he says “I AM chief.” Paul was still a work in progress; he never saw himself as being better than a sinner. He knew the Gospel still applied to his life. He was passionate about serving Christ, because Christ was at work in Him!

Many of us today have lost our fire for serving the Lord because we’ve forgotten what the Lord has done for us. We’ve forgotten what it means to be saved. We’ve considered the task at hand greater than the God who saved us.

As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, and as we remember those who paid the ultimate price or our freedoms as Americans, I want to challenge you to also remember the One who gave His life that you would not only go to heaven when you die, but that you would have the power and the passion to serve Him till you die.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

KIDS DAY

Great day of worship yesterday. The kids did a great job leading the worship. Our two young speakers did an amazing job; very evangelistic. We've got a bright future @ MVBC!

Seeing the kids yesterday fueled my fire for VBS. We're just two weeks away from our biggest outreach event all year. Saddle Ridge Ranch is going to be a blast! We're going to be "Rounding Up Questions and Driving Home Answers!"

We need all hands on deck for a great VBS:

• We need prayer warriors to be praying now for children to come, hearts to be open and lives to be changed!.
• We need floaters to be available to help out where needed. We won't know all of our needs till the week begins, so we need people just to show up with a "how can I help" heart!
• We need ENCOURAGERS who will love on our workers and our kids. Encouragers are kind of like the oil in a car engine, they keep things running smooth.

Our goal for VBS is to help kids connect to Christ and then help them and their families to get connected to the community of faith. Don't let the enemy keep you from being involved in God's great work!

Big thanks to the Wilmoths and the Ellis's for a great Spring picnic last night. We had about 120 people out at Cedar Pond Farms and it was a blast. We have some very serious Cornhole players - we may have to start a league (BTW, there is an American Cornhole Association - www.playcornhole.org) Thanks for coming out. One of the best things I heard last night was, "I got to know some new people tonight." That's one of the main reasons we do these things - build relationships in the Body of Christ. Thanks again to everyone who came out.

Tested Hearts

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts. Prov 17:3 (NKJV)

The writer of Proverbs draws a parallel between an activity of the Lord and a process used for refining or purifying precious metals. In his day, a silversmith (or goldsmith) would use a metal pot over a hot fire to purify the precious metal. He would heat the melted metal until the dross or impurities would rise to the top where he would sweep them off. He would then increase the temperature and repeat the process until all of the impurities were removed from the metal and he could see the perfect reflection of his face in the melted metal. The process separated that which was of no value from that which was of greatest worth.

As the fire tested the purity of the metal with increased intensity, so the Lord tests the purity of our hearts. He does so by allowing the circumstances of our lives to be “heated-up.” We may find ourselves faced with a temptation or a crisis; we may be facing a difficult decision or a troubled relationship. In each instance we have the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to remove the dross or impurities in our hearts in order that the image of the Savior may be seen more clearly. God’s goal is always to help us become like His Son Jesus, therefore everything He allows into our lives is for our good (Romans 8:28-29).

I was about three-fourths of the way through writing this devotion when there was a power surge and the computer shut-down. My initial reaction was … well … in the flesh. But then I realized God was just illustrating for me what I was hoping to convey to you – that He is at work in all the circumstances of our lives to bring out and remove those “fleshly” impurities so that we can be more like Him. It was a small “test”, as many of them are, but a test none-the-less. As the old song says, “He’s still working on me…”

GO VOLS!!!!

Just watched the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team defeat Ohio State to move into the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history. It's been an amazing season. I was also glad to hear the commentators making some positive comments about the team (these were CBS commentators, not ESPN). One of the men talked about the team being very talented; he's the first one I've heard say that outside of our own commentators and sports casters.

The other commentator talked about how the team had come together after going through some difficulties earlier in the season. On Jan.1 four of the players were arrested on drug and weapons charges. Three of the players were suspended for several weeks and one, who some said was the best player on the team, was kicked-off. Nobody gave them much of a chance after that, but they proved them wrong. The team really did pull together and it seemed like each game a different person stepped up to contribute to a win. They really began to play as a team rather rely on one or two players to make all the plays. Now they've gone farther than any TN team in history.

There's a great life lesson here - when going through difficult times, pull together, play like a team and you will survive and advance in life. I've seen too many families where, when things got tough, family members bailed out instead of pulling together. The family ends up broken and miserable. I've seen it happen in churches as well. Instead of pulling together and working together as the Body of Christ, members turn on one another and then bail out. It leaves the church broken, hurting and struggling.

Fortunately Jesus never abandons His Body. He is faithful and will see His family through. Praise be to the Lord!

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's one of my favorite days of the year because it honors one of Christianity's greatest missionaries. Some people believe Patrick was Irish, but actually he was Welsh. He was captured by Irish raiders as a young boy and taken as a slave to Ireland. After he escaped a few years later, he felt the call of God to go back to the people who had held him captive to share the Good News of Christ with them. This passage from the book of Hosea was significant for Patrick, Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place it was said to them, You are not My people, they will be called Sons of God. Patrick spent his adult life evangelizing and discipling the people of Ireland.

If you would like to learn more about Patrick and his life and ministry, here is a brief but good article from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: http://ow.ly/1nouy . Thomas Cahill's "How the Irish Saved Civilization" is also a great resource about the evangelistic work of Patrick and his fellow missionaries.