The Long Haul

My friend Willis is a great fan of OU basketball. He has season tickets and sometimes I get invited to go with him. I am always amazed at his level of knowledge about the OU players and future recruits, but he also knows about the other team; their players, the quality of their recruits and how they match up against the OU players. During the game he cheers, exhorts, complains and groans, but he does them at the appropriate time for the right reasons. He keeps a good perspective on the game at hand. He realizes that each game will have its ups and downs. It's a long game. He keeps a good perspective on how the game at hand fits into the season. It's a long season. He keeps a good perspective on how this season fits into recent history. It's a long history. He realizes that one bad play, one bad game, one bad season doesn't negate his support for the team. He is in it for the long haul.

Our life in Christ has many parallels to this. One mistake doesn't necessarily ruin a day. It's a long day. A bad choice doesn't have to wreck an entire season of life. It's a long season. Our shortcomings don't have to steal our eternity. It's a long eternity. Be in it for the long haul. God is.

Watch This!

I recommend that anyone who has time go to the Assemblies of God website (www.ag.org) and find a series of videos of Gen'l Sup't George Wood called Conversations with Dr. George Wood. These videos, about 20 minutes each show a conversation between Dr. Wood and someone with a great story. Most are pastors who have non-typical ministries. I haven't watched all of them yet, but I have been inspired by each of them.
There are so many ways to have church these days and each of them are effective if they are done in obedience to God's call and direction. I am blessed by Dr. Wood's attitude that these differences are not just to be embraced, he sees them as critical to the survival of the church. I love to see him celebrate church planters, church revitalizers, non-traditional pastors and people who minister effectively even outside of the A/G. This attitude from our highest level of leadership is an example to us all to see beyond our preferences and reach out to all who are proclaiming the Good News.

Young Phenom Now Teaching!

Young Tyler Pickens, barely one year old, is now teaching other children in the art of grandparent manipulation. Widely acknowledged among his grandparents as being possibly the brightest child ever brought into the world, Tyler has begun to hold impromptu seminars at his local mother's day out program on the finer points of getting adults to fetch, beg, and roll over on command. He can point to his early successes; rarely in his brief life has he ever had to wait more than 3 seconds before an adult has completely thrown his agenda out of the window just so he can make Tyler happy. Tyler espouses aversion therapy, but urges his students not to underestimate the power of a well-timed smile or giggle. "You can get 'em to do anything when you flash that smile while the tears of the recent tantrum are still on your cheeks" Tyler promises his students. Tyler acknowledges that growing up poses new challenges. He is now exploring the opportunities that await in the new field of walking. "I'm trying to determine how to maximize the advantages of walking while dealing with the real possibility that I will be picked up less" he says. This author is certain that he will figure it out very soon.

A Good Time Was Had By All

We had a great time on Saturday morning thanks to Donovan Dufrene. He organized a men's breakfast event at the H&H Gun Range and nearly 50 men attended to eat breakfast and then go to the range and shoot at targets while they shot the breeze. I met several men I had not met previously. I had no idea we had so many shooters in our ranks. Donovan came to me last November and asked if I thought an event like this would be okay. I said, "sure", and assumed that it would be a fun change from our standard men's breakfast. I never expected the large turnout we had. Undoubtedly, Donovan has tapped into an area of interest for our guys and we plan to have another similar event soon.
Thanks, Donovan for putting this together!

Waiting on Orders

Back in my oilfield days there were times during the drilling of a well that important decisions needed to be made. Drilling goes on 24/7 and costs thousands of dollars an hour, so every attempt would be made not to halt the process of "making hole". Sometimes, however, situations would arise that would necessitate just stopping for a while so the owners of the well could make informed decisions. At the rigsite, this time would be logged on the daily report as time spent "waiting on orders". No one liked waiting on orders because the clock continued to run, and expenses continued to mount, but there was no progress made toward completion of the well.

I feel that I am in a life phase of "waiting on orders". I have sensed for some time that God has been preparing me for some change of plans, although I have no idea what. My devotion times have been rich with the presence of God. He has been taking me deep and he has awakened desires in me to do things for his kingdom I have never had the desire to do before. I am fully committed to what God is doing at Lakeside and I am excited as I see the future that God has for us there. Maybe my new direction is there, but in a different role. But it could be that God is preparing me for something completely new. I will not rule out anything. I am God's to do with what he pleases. But I am praying that this new direction will be revealed, soon. I am not a big fan of waiting on orders. The clock is still ticking, and lost people are still dying. I am praying that the new direction will be revealed in a way I choose not to reveal to you right now, because I want to be sure I am hearing from God when the order comes. I don't want to jump out on an impulse or a good idea. I almost did that a year ago. I want to know that it is God. If he calls me to spend the rest of my life in service to Lakeside, I will be happy. If he calls me to something radically different, I will be happy. I just want to know I am doing what God has called me to do.

Tapestry

Back in my high school days Carole King wrote and recorded a song called "Tapestry". It began with the words, "My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the everchanging view." As I reflect on the tapestry of my life I see threads furnished by many people and experiences.
Of course, my parents and brothers furnished many threads, but I can think of so many who are represented in my life in ways both minute and profound. I had a dream a couple of weeks ago (I think induced by the malaria medicine I was taking at the time). In this dream there was a long bench filled with men I hadn't thought of in a long time; men who had spoken into my life at different times; men who are now dead and forgotten by all but those who were effected by relationship with them.
I awoke from the dream in a wistful mood as I recalled anecdotes from my life involving these various men. Some caused me to chuckle, some caused me to recall shame, but all were and are a part of who I am today. I am grateful to all of them.

Our Finest Hour

I believe that right now the Church (the worldwide body of Christ-followers) is poised to shine as never before. There is no other time in history where the combination of available technologies (communication, transportation and medicine) place before the believer the opportunity to reach the world as it does now. The only hindrance I see to an unprecedented spread of the gospel is our own understanding of the unlimited capacity of God to provide, protect and empower us to do what he has called us to do.

Today is not a day just to survive; it is a day to push forward agressively. Forget for a moment about executive orders and "liberal" majorities. If we, as the Church, will become known for what we are for more than for what we oppose, we will increase. If we reach out to the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner and preach the gospel, we won't have time to worry about the next Supreme Court appointment. I'm not saying these things aren't important, but they don't have anything to do with the Church being the Church. The Church is still the Church even if the government becomes openly hostile and changes the constitution to ban it. Worldwide, the places where the Church is growing the fastest are in places where there is no governmental support of it.

Our mandate is clear. Our Savior is strong. His word is living and active. Our message is relevant. The world is dying in its sin. Let's trust God to remember his promises. Let this be the Church's finest hour.

Dang

In the past week I have learned of four marriages which are in trouble. Each of these marriages involve long time believers. This saddens and angers me, but most of all it scares me to death. If these marriages could be compromised, mine could just as easily. I have been praying earnestly for these four families. But I have also been identifying the areas of weakness I have and taking steps to guard against failure on my part.

I have breakfast each Tuesday with two close friends and we have committed to ask one another a direct question each week. We will ask, "Have you spent anytime doing anything that you shouldn't have been doing this week?" We have committed to honesty in the answer and to confidentiality in our response. This accountability is designed to allow us to show our flaws without judgement or fear, so that we can pray for one another and lend strength to one another.

Also, just one word of advice- Anyone, no matter how nice, understanding, hot, or whatever excuse you use, who would encourage you to disregard your marriage vows, is not a good person.

My Stimulus Package

Much as been written and said about the current financial situation here in the U.S. President Obama just signed a bill which has the intent of getting the economy running smoothly again. Time will tell if this attempt is successful or not. A friend asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could recommend any places to put money which would be secure and give a good return. Here is my recommendation- tithing.

Tithing is one of the few guaranteed blessings of the Bible. It is unique in that God asks us to put him to the test on tithing. His dare to us is to see if he won't pour out a blessing too big for us to contain (Malachi 3). I'm not talking about "How to Get Rich and Have Everything You Ever Wanted". What I am saying is that if there were a body of believers at a local church that would unanimously trust God in the area of tithing, we would hear about it on World News Tonight. We would hear about it because that church would be meeting needs in the community; feeding the starving, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, and evangelizing the world. Without calling attention to themselves, people would see their good works and praise God because of them.

I want to be part of a church like that. To my knowledge, there is not a church that has 100% of their attenders who tithe. Nationally, 20 to 25% of pentecostal believers trust God with their tithe. As a result, we are living in a "barely enough" church economy. We just have barely enough to pay our pastor and keep up the facility. We can do just enough benevolence to say that we are doing something. There is so much more out there we would be doing if we lived as though we believe God isn't lying to us. The income level of the giver doesn't matter. What matters is the belief that God honors his promises. If God found a congregation who unanimously trusted him with their finances, it would be unbelievable what he could do through it. It would be apparent to all that God was doing something special and people would be drawn to a God who causes people to act that way.

That is my stimulus package. It needs no debate, no votes and no bipartisan support. It depends only on individuals trusting God to do what he has said over and over that he would do. It's just that simple.

Why do I do it?

I don't want to come across as harsh, because I know that people really don't know better. But I don't take young people on missions trips so they will realize how good they have it at home. I'm sorry, but I always have to take a deep breath and force myself to smile when someone makes that comment to me. I wonder, are we so shallow and self centered that we must go to a poor third world country and gaze with pity on those poor unfortunates so we can feel better about our house or car?

The reason I take young people on mission trips is so they will see how much bigger God is than they ever imagined. I often say that there are three stages someone can reach when they go on a mission. Number one happens right away. It is the "we have so much and they have so little" stage and it usually manifests itself really quickly in the evening devotion/debrief. It really doesn't mean anything and will go away quickly when the person returns to normalcy. They are just shocked at their first glimpse of poverty meaning something more than being forced to drive a Kia instead of a Honda.

If someone reaches stage two, I feel that there has been a major breakthrough. This is the "God can do great things without a lot of stuff" stage. This is the stage that recognizes that God moves in the lives of people without high tech projection systems, ipods, or even concert quality worship music. They see that God moves in a mighty way in hot churches with lousy sound systems blasting out unintelligible words and songs we don't know. They meet believers who are sold out to a God who doesn't help them find a good parking spot at the mall, but does deliver them from bandits or terrorists as they go to previously unreached villlages.

Very few reach stage three. I have met career missionaries who I don't think have reached stage three. But someone who reaches stage three will have an awesome and abundantly fruitful life for the Kingdom of God. Stage three is "Stuff is nothing. God is everything."

I hope I find a stage four.

It Was Awesome!

Those of you who have been involved in missions "on the ground" either short-term or long-term will know what I am talking about. You return from a place and you are asked, "How was your trip?" The question is sincere enough, but the answer you give is not the real answer because you know that the answer that is is expected is, "It was awesome!"

Maybe the logistics of the trip were good; the planes were on time, the hotels were adequate and the food was safe and filling if not delicious. The scenery was different and the people were nice. All the hallmarks of an "awesome" trip.

But maybe you got really messed up on this trip. Maybe God revealed things to you that you didn't expect. Maybe you feel a deep dissatisfaction with life as you have been living it. Maybe you feel a challenge to go deeper in your relationship with God and trust him to reveal himself to you in ways unknown to you before. You might be struggling with the realization that many of the things you thought were absolutely necessary are now seen as rubbish in light of eternity. Does the person asking about the trip want to know those things? Probably not, you think.

So you answer, "It was awesome!"

Competitive or Contemplative?

During my stay at the safari camp we made several game drives. This is where 5 or 6 people load up in specially outfitted cars and a local guide drives you around the game reserve to look for animals. We saw the "big five" which includes lion, cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, and rhino. We saw many different antelopes, hyenas, jackals, birds, both large and small, and hippos. It became a game to see who could spot and identify the animals first. I found myself getting caught up in the game. I was getting really competitive about it when I remembered an epiphany I had on one of my fishing trips to Alaska.

I had grown quite competitive on one of the days on the river, and I was losing. I had gotten tense and angry and it made me mad to hear that someone else had a fish on. Finally I hooked, played, and landed a magnificent rainbow trout which for most people would be a fish of a lifetime, but for me was only one of many great fish caught on that trip. As I revived the fish prior to releasing it, I had several feelings. I was relieved that I had finally caught a fish, but I was a couple hundred yards from anyone else, so I couldn't show it to anyone. Suddenly I noticed how breathtaking the scenery was. I hadn't noticed it in my frenzied attempts to catch up with the other guys in my fish count. I noticed how beautiful are the black spots on the rich green back of a rainbow trout. And I noticed that something is missing when you don't have a friend to share in a significant moment. As I released that fish, I released my competitiveness and purposed to look beyond the target and see the surroundings. I determined to bring others in on the experience, whatever the experience might be.

When I remembered that, I began to look past the rhino and see the endless grasslands fading into the mountains on the horizon. Look left of the hippo and there is the pile of rocks which hold back the water long enough for the water to pool and form the habitat for the hippos. When the water spills over the rocks, it cascades downhill in a milky froth until it reaches its resting place in the next pool downriver. What is in that next pool?

Now for me, the game drive, or fishing trip, or life itself is not so much a contest to be won as it is an adventure to be enjoyed. And shared with others.

Showing off

At the end of our trip we went on Safari in Kenya. We stayed at a really nice place and the "tents" we stayed in rivaled the best hotel rooms I have been in. One midday I was sitting and reading in a chair in front of my tent. I noticed out of the corner of my eye something moving on the ground. It was a small white bug that looked either like a small white flower, or a large snowflake, and it completed its trek across the patio. There were birds of many descriptions flitting from bush to bush and singing their various songs. A few minutes later I noticed a movement and just a few feet away from me appeared two tiny deerlike creatures called dikdiks. After they disappeared, I looked out and in the distance I saw 5 giraffes slowly making their way across the horizon. I stood to see them better. As I watched their stately movement, suddenly lightning cracked the sky. A few seconds later, the thunder rolled across the savannah and rumbled past me. I thought to myself, "Okay, God. Now you're just showing off."

Another Resume Builder

I always enjoy doing something I haven't done before. This week I got to learn how to stretch barbed wire. The compound that is being built had fence on three sides, and our mission was to get fencing on the fourth side. The compound was 150 meters by 150 meters, and the fence must discourage people from coming in unauthorized, so we strung 13 strands of barbed wireover the 6' height of the posts. We figured out how to stretch the wire using nothing but a 4' prybar. The first run of wire went pretty slowly as we figured out our technique, but when we hit our stride, we got to moving. Everyone figured out how they could help and we each found our various areas of gifting. There were stretching specialists, primary nailing specialists, secondary nailing specialists, and transport specialists. None of us had ever stretched barbed wire before, but as Nehemiah described his crew, the people had a mind to work. We had a great time.

Good People

I always enjoy meeting people, especially if they have something to say. Notice I didn't say I like people who talk a lot, I said people who have something to say. I met some people on my trip to Africa who fit this description. I met a pastor who is allowing God to use him in a significant way through a multi-site church in a part of the country not usually thought of as multi-site territory. I enjoyed getting to know him and I appreciated the things he spoke into my life. He noticed some things about me I had been wondering if any one but me could see.

I met another great guy who was a little challenged by African plumbing styles. He nearly caused an international incident when he mistook a shower stall for a toilet. However, a profuse apology and some serious scrubbing defused what could have been an ugly incident.

I got to know another pastor who spent the better part of two days slinging a grass cutting blade in the hot Sudanese sun to help clear an area for a compound. He did it with joy even when he was given the option to do something else.

When you look for good people, they seem to be everywhere. When you look for goobers they are easy to find. When you look for troublemakers, they are everpresent. It's no problem to find the kind of people you want to hang out with.

Equatorial Africa Guesthouse

Let me describe the "hotel" I stayed in while I worked in Sudan. My room was approximately 10' x 10' and consisted of a bed, plastic chair and a fan. The fan worked from 6pm to around 1 or 2am, when the generator went off. Then you used evaporative cooling, meaning you sweat and lie still enough for the sweat to evaporate. There were 14 rooms, and there was a gent's toilet room and a ladies' toiletroom, (sqatty potties and a bucket of water) one cold water shower for each gender, a urinal out in the open, and one sink. The hotel was arranged in a square, with the rooms surrounding a dirt courtyard that served as a bar for local military until the generator went off.

The people who worked there were friendly enough and tried to accomodate us as best as they could. We drank a lot of warm water and a few cool sodas. The guys in the group were great. We laughed about the things we didn't understand or couldn't change, and each of us kept great attitudes, even when we didn't feel good or had difficulty with the logistics of enduring diahrrea over squat potties. They all accepted indiginities with grace and humor, and there was not a whiner in the bunch. Good guys, all.

1st Impressions

When my daughter's mother-in-law (there should be a shorter name for that relationship) invited Carole and I to go on this trip I really didn't know what to expect. When I lead a team, I research the area in which we will work and know quite a bit about it prior to leaving, but I was just a team member this time, so I went with little information about where we were going or where we would be staying. I know that Sudan has been on my heart for several years. There have been many reports of civil war and persecution of Christians, with the poverty, disease and loss of hope which always follow such trouble.

I learned a lot about Sudan during my few days there, but the biggest thing I understand is that I have no understanding of the depth of the trouble or any possible solutions to the dilemma. I saw that Hope for Sudan, the organization I worked with , is doing their own small part to relieve suffering and bring hope to people who have received much suffering and little hope. I applaud their efforts which are compelled by the love of Christ. I don't know if they have even scratched the surface of the situation, but they are over there scratching, and that is a lot more than most of us are doing.

We will be home soon

(Written prior to departure)

We are scheduled to return the evening of the 10th. We will be beat and jet-lagged. Pray for our safe return. I'll give reports and pictures in coming days. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to get to do this and to have a wife that loves this as much as I do.

Monkeys aren't all that great

(Written prior to departure)
I have seen monkeys in several different countries in my travels. Real monkeys aren't like TV monkeys. When you see your first real jungle monkey, you think, "Cool!" But when they are howler monkeys and they wake you up with a scream from a John Carpenter movie, they really aren't all that cute. Monkeys carry disease and they tear up a lot of stuff. In most countries, monkeys are on the same level as rats, except monkeys taste better.

Sorry to bust your bubble,
Your friend,
Captain Bringdown

I haven't seen George Clooney

(This post was written prior to my departure)

The troubles in Sudan have been talked about, particularly in the Darfur region, where several celebrities have visited refugee areas. The conflict has caused thousands to be killed and raped, similar to the genocide in Rwanda a few years ago. There is also a major mess going on the the Congo, which is not being talked about much at all, even though I have received reports that the killing there will most likely eclipse both Sudan and Rwanda.

It is easy to dismiss the difficulties in Africa because they are so far away, and unless celebrities go with their entourages and photographers, it doesn't make the evening news. Devon Corporation has a great advertising theme going on now, saying, "If integrity were celebrity, our employees would be stars" or something close to that.

But we have our own stars. They are the career missionaries who are on the ground day in and day out in these troubled areas. They are sharing the message of hope and compassion and doing what they can to help. Let us always be faithful to pray for them and support them financially.

Why Sudan?

(This was written prior to departure)
We are now headed to the Dark Continent- Africa. We will be entering Africa via Nairobi, Kenya and then taking a charter plane to southern Sudan. Carole will be working with children in several villages and I will be with a building team in another village. The people are nomadic and speak Arabic and local dialects. February is the hottest month of the year in Sudan. We'll work in Sudan for a few days then back to Kenya and do the tourist thing by going on safari. I don't know what to expect from Sudan. Sudan has been on my heart for 5 or 6 years now, so I'm glad to get the opportunity to put my feet on the ground there. We will not be in the Darfur region, and I am disappointed by that. Neither will we be in the area where the majority of the persecution of Christians is taking place, and I am disappointed by that.

My good friend Matt Wilkie reminded me of a verse via facebook; Ezekiel 16:49- Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.

No mention of the sexual perversions we typically associate with Sodom. The sin of Sodom was feeding their fat face and making sure they had the best of everything while people were starving. I'm convicted.