Apostles: That's What Changed

 

Some years ago, my father sent me the above text on my birthday.   Linda and I left Louisiana in 1972 immediately after our marriage to live in Alaska.  We lived there about 40 achingly wonderful years.  We had learned to thrive in cool and cold weather.  Hot weather was not on our radar.

 

There was no criticism implied.  It was just an honest question.  We had recently moved to become part of the Bethel movement, which has its roots in Redding, California.

 

I had come to adult faith in my mid 30s.  Linda has been a Jesus follower most of her days.  We had in our years in Alaska some great, and a couple of not-so-great experiences, with churches in Alaska.  

After I thought about dad's question for a while, I replied with a very long message. 

 
What changed was, in a word, apostles.  The three apostle-led church communities of which we have been a part since going to Sweden (Word of Life Church in Uppsala, Anchorage City Church, and now Bethel) have changed the course of our lives.

When we took off for Alaska in 1972, it was to pursue a dream of a place and a way of life.....Alaska was the land of our dreams.  In the months before our marriage, we talked much about Alaska.  We read and looked at pictures.  And then we came to Alaska, and it was for decades living inside a dream.  The experiences we had there, the friendships we forged are bright in our memories....and if truth be told, a little painful today, because we miss them.

And then, unexpectedly, we found ourselves in Sweden, at a controversial (to many Swedes, anyway) church that operated in great faith under the leadership of an apostle, Ulf Ekman.  Apostles as a current force in the Church was a new concept to us then, until that time thinking of them only as a part of Biblical history.  What a sea change in our spiritual lives that was!  By the time we left Sweden, our dreams had changed from a place (Alaska) to a mission (the Kingdom).  We almost stayed, you know.

Back in Anchorage after five years of coming and going to Sweden, we connected with  Anchorage City Church, another church led by an apostle, Richard Irwin.  That was another powerful experience and great time of spiritual growth, and a time of intensive pastoral service.  In 2011 Richard turned the church over to his son, Rich, a fine young man with fire in his bones, a leader and a shepherd. 

About that time we were becoming more and more aware of the move of God in an unlikely (to us) place: Northern California.  So......we came here for a one year sabbatical....which turned into something else!

 

This church, Bethel,  also is led by an apostle, Bill Johnson, and interestingly, by a prophet, Kris Vallotton.  The entire five-fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11) is in powerful operation here.  Miracles are common here......real miracles, including cancer being completely healed.  Prophecy is common, even sometimes very accurate foretelling prophecy.  People come to the Lord every week at our church services.....about 10 at the 8am service alone last Sunday.  People are showing up here from all over the earth to be part of this movement.....a few we have met didn't even know about Bethel......they just know the Lord told them to go to Redding......and then they discovered the church.

Today, the church is about 9,000 people, but even more significant than the large numbers is the global reach of the church: thousands of churches are influenced by the ministry of this church, and if you count the ministry of music and praise song writing, the influence in the lives of men and women reaches into the millions.  Bethel Music songs are some of the most popular in churches around the world today.  

So....what changed is the influence of apostles in our lives.  Living in the context of apostleships changed our dreams from an amazing place (Alaska) to an amazing Kingdom.  Our dreams now are of the increase of His government and His Kingdom which brings all the good gifts of Heaven to Earth for all people.

It DOES feel strange to me sometimes to be in this seasonally very hot place.  But I know why we are here.....and the powerful impact this apostleship has had not just on Linda and I, but also in the spiritual lives of our family.

It also feels like the favor of God that the really hot days are relatively few, and even they begin with lovely mornings in the 70s.....and 2/3 of the year is generally pleasant.  And then there is this beautiful natural landscape of Northern California with wild country abounding, waterfalls, tall mountains, rivers, wildlife, friendly people.....we didn't expect it, but we love it!

You started this, you know.  It all began when you invited me at the turn of the century to go to Sweden with you and mom to see the land of my ancestors.  :)

I know you weren't asking for a treatise....but THAT is what changed.

Martin Luther's Spark and an Explosion that Changed the World

October 31st is the day that we remember as the beginning of the Reformation — the day 500 years ago that the corruptions of the Church of that day began to be exposed for all to see. 

Lucas Cranach's painting of Martin Luther

Traditionally, October 31 was the day that Martin Luther “nailed his 95 theses to the door” of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. 

It was the beginning of a powerful change that restored to Christendom Jesus’ message of faith as the pathway to God, rather than the stony and impossibly uncertain path of works. (Romans 1:17) 

Eric Metaxes puts it this way, “the reason the story of Luther is unlike any other, is that he felt that after tremendous and agonized searching he finally—by God’s grace—had found that thing for which every human since Eden had pined. He had found the hermeneutical lever with which the whole world could be raised to the height of heaven. This had been the principal problem of all humanity—how to bridge the infinite abyss between imperfect mankind and a perfect God, between earth and heaven, between death and life.” (Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World) 

The reformation was many things, not just a few changes in how we are the Church. Metaxes again: “the quintessentially modern idea of the individual—and of one’s personal responsibility before one’s self and God rather than before any institution, whether church or state—was as unthinkable before Luther as is color in a world of black and white; and the similarly modern idea of “the people,” along with the democratic impulse that proceeds from it, was created—or at least given a voice—by Luther too. And the more recent ideas of pluralism, religious liberty, and self-government all entered history through the door that Luther opened to the future in which we now live.” 

It is safe to say that the reformation made possible the democracies of the West, with their vast advances in civilization. Freedom of religion, and even the freedom from religion, that we experience in the West today springs from the changes sparked in those momentous days half a millennium ago. 

And it’s not over. The recent explosion of the Gospel across the earth, the rising again of apostles, miracles and prophecy, and a great growth in love in the Church are a few of the signs of world-changing seasonal shifts happening in our day. 

The best is yet to come!

Leadership in Christian Communities

Jesus told us how it should be with leaders among His followers. It's a way we can gauge those who lead in our Christian communities.....and a guide for our own leadership.

Here is what the Lord said: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28 ESV)

Put another way:

1. Christians don't lead as is the norm in our culture
2. Christian leaders are servants
3. Great Christian leaders are the best servants of all

As I look back over my own leadership history, I know that I have succeeded in this at times.  But I also know that I have often failed badly....even as I have led in the Church.

It's oh-so-easy to bring the top-down leadership patterns of the culture in which we live into our own personal leadership.  I know that because I have done that.

In the Kingdom of God, top-down leadership is a poor choice.  Good leaders in the Kingdom do the hard work of figuring out how to lead their community with love and service.

Train Up a Child in the Way She Should Go.....

Solomon was trained from childhood to choose wisdom above everything else. Is it possible that he was the only one God gave this choice of a lifetime to because he was the only one we know of who was trained to make the right decision? I think it is highly possible. If that is true, then what are the parallels for us as we teach the next generation? What are we drawing into the lives of our young people through our faith-filled training? In what manner are we raising the generation to come? Our prophetic decrees over them might actually attract opportunities from God. God is the ultimate steward, opening doors where they will be walked through the most.

When my children were growing up, I put them to bed by repeating these two charges night after night: `Remember, you are part of a team that is here to change the world,' and, `When you go to sleep tonight, ask God if there is anything that is impossible that He wants you to do.' It was my effort to raise children who know no limits.

This excerpt is from The Power that Changes the World: Creating Eternal Impact in the Here & Now a recent book by Bill Johnson.

Normally I quickly fall asleep. But, after reading those words last night, sleep came slowly. My heart was on fire with the implications of those words.

What if we trained our children from their earliest days that they are beloved sons and daughters of the King of Glory.....and that the King is in a good mood?

What if we trained them to believe they can have the righteous power of princesses and princes in the Kingdom of God?

What if we trained them to turn their ears to wisdom and apply their hearts to understanding as for hidden silver?

What if we trained them that it can be on Earth as it is in Heaven more than we have ever seen in the history of the Church?

And what if we trained them to believe they can be so very important in making that happen?

My heart is pumping hard with hope and expectation.

John G. Lake: The Power of God Displayed

The evangelistic and healing ministry of John G. Lake was like a bright meteor that burned across the sky of the early 20th century, leaving a lasting impression and impact in the lives of people of the day. But just as importantly, Lake’s pioneering healing ministry left in its wake rediscovered foundation stones of the Gospel, on some of which now rest healing ministries and revival in our day.  The red threads that pass through Lake’s and other healing ministries of the modern era lead back to Jesus, of course, and it is fascinating to see them passing now through the ministry of Bethel and other revivals rising around the earth.

John G. Lake: His Life, His Sermons, His
Boldness of Faith

Reading this book (John G. Lake: His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith, 548 pp) has had a much more profound impact on me than I expected as I began to read. It was initially a difficult read, as it is largely the product of transcribed sermons. Sermons delivered over the podium do not always translate effectively into an easy-to-use text form. And, the century-old cadence, style and language of the book take some getting used to.  But it is most definitely worth the read.

I think I was most profoundly affected by Lake’s authority and power. I often wondered in the reading of the book what must one do to wield that level of authority and power for God’s glory. I believe he possessed an unusual level of healing gifts (1 Corinthians 12:9), but even so, the text implies that throughout his ministry he directed the ministry of others whom the Lord used powerfully as well. And that suggests that I am a candidate for more authority and power than I now use. And that confronts me with the question of what separates me from it, and how I break through to the next level. 

In that connection, I am most confronted by Lake’s sermon “Sin in the Flesh” (pp 384-398). I am confronted as I compare myself and my spiritual maturity with Lake and those around him. Fortunately, He loves me just as I am, even while gently encouraging me to seek more of His Kingdom and of love. 

Two seeming lacks in this powerful ministry were longevity and Kingdom extension in America.  While the ministry continues revitalized today, with others following Lake’s example even now, the fire kindled by God through Lake and his ministry in America seems never to have spread broadly here. The situation in Africa seems to be different, with tens of thousands of new Jesus followers of the early 20th century contributing over this century past to the vast shift of the center of mass of Christianity to the global south (i.e. Africa, India, China, Latin America, etc) 

Finally, I will say that the way God used Lake speak powerfully to me across the ten decades since he lived. If I and a legion of others of our day will pursue his Godly path, using gifts of the Spirit, like healings and miracles, to display God’s real power and glory to an ever-more-cynical world, hundreds of millions can be swept into the joy of the Kingdom and eternity with the King. And if we can use our gifts to steward this and other revivals that are now growing around the world, the greatest harvest and transformation of the souls of men in the history of the earth may well be upon us!

An earlier version of this was originally written as a book report as part of the requirements for the 2nd year Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.  

Read more in this blog about Bethel and our experience within this community.

What is it about Bethel: Thoughts on the Revival at Bethel / Redding

The revival going on at Bethel Church in Redding California has been a subject of growing interest to many Christians in America and around the world since the late 1990's.  It is a long-lasting revival by any measure, and continues to grow in impact.  Linda and I relocated to Redding in September 2012 for personal revival and to get a much more intimate view of this church and its culture.  We have graduated from 1st year of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, and that shapes our viewpoint, of course, but the culture of the church shines through everything Bethel does.  This is my perspective on the church as I see it today.

Worship at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.  The first
year school is held at the Redding Civic Center to allow space for
the 1,100+ students.  

It is easy to see that something extraordinary is going on just by visiting a church service: if you want a good seat in the main auditorium, plan on arriving about an hour early for the 10:30 AM Sunday service.  If you want any seat at all in the main auditorium, don't be late.  Lines form outside the auditorium to get in and claim a good seat.  The church has added an additional campus a few miles away to serve the growing membership.  A much larger campus will be completed not far away by 2020.

Furthermore, people move to Redding, a Northern California community, just to be part of this church.  We have met several couples who sold out, uprooted family, and moved here to be part of what God is doing. We know from conversation that  many have come in just this way.  We will be in their number this year.  We are in the process of selling our home in Anchorage, Alaska and moving to Redding where we are enrolled in the 2nd year ministry school, and where we intend to live until we know it is time to move again.

The Bethel ministry has global impact.  Bethel leaders travel frequently all around the world.  Thousands of churches are in relationship through the Bethel Leaders' Network.  

There are number of characteristics of the revival that has filled Bethel with holy fire.  Probably the most significant from my perspective is a powerful emphasis on seeking more of the Presence of God.  Senior Leader Bill Johnson, a sixth generation pastor, made a vow at the Toronto Blessing in 1995: "Lord, if You touch me again I will never change the subject".  He has kept the vow, and so has the church.

The Presence of God is valued above all else. While there are obviously tensions in church service timing, I have no doubt that in the event of a Holy Spirit move at any given church service, Bethel leaders would make space for Him and let everything else work around what He is doing.

Revival is the main Kingdom push.  Everything supports revival and/or flows out of revival.  There are MANY ministries in the church with MANY talented workers covering every aspect of the work of a local church.  But revival remains the main thing.  The signs, wonders, miracles and healings, for which Bethel is widely known, support revival, and flow from it.  The Church leadership team is working diligently to create a culture that will facilitate this present revival to continue and spread indefinitely.  Jesus is preached, not the Bethel way. Kingdom is what is important, not Bethel culture. 

Love undergirds the ministry.  The surpassing, unalloyed love of God is a major theme and is very visible in how people treat one another. The very visible culture of honoring one another is a practical outworking of God's kind of love.  Because of honor, Bethel relationships are low control and high accountability.  The church works hard to love and honor the Redding community in practical ways.   Bethel culture is highly relational.  Relationship has priority over structure.  Spiritual fathers and mothers are important; both broadly (e.g. Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker) and personally with individual relationships.  Family is key.  Children are celebrated and actively trained, not warehoused.  

The entire five-fold ministry is powerfully in operation.  The five-fold ministry is led by a strong apostle (Johnson) and a gifted prophet (Vallotton).  There are also: strong pastors (Silk, Backlund and many others)  exceptional teachers (Farrelly and others) and gifted evangelists.  Johnson and Vallotton have worked together for over 30 years, and have been in covenant working relationship since 2001.  This long term, covenant relationship, and other strong, decades-long relationships are a large stone in the foundation.  The apostle has transferred day-to-day decision making in the local church to his son, Eric Johnson.  Senior Bethel leadership is in relationship with other like-hearted ministries through the Revival Alliance.

The Bible School is focused on inner transformation pointing to a revivalist lifestyle.  Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) is designed to bring students to a place of understanding their identity as believers, and their place of significance in the Kingdom of God.  Practice of Kingdom lifestyle is emphasized more than learning Bible facts, although Bible reading and intense study is required, and principles for understanding the Bible are strongly taught. Activation is key.  BSSM1 focuses on identity, core Kingdom values, and practice.  BSSM2 focuses on Kingdom practice, ministering to others, and leadership.  BSSM3 places graduating 2nd year students in intern positions at Bethel and in other ministries.  There will be around 2,000 students in all three training years in 2013-2014.  More than one-third of the students come from overseas; most from Europe, but also from Oceania, South America, Asia, and Africa.

Prophecy is celebrated. Prophecy is thoroughly taught, modeled and practiced.  It is seen as a way of bringing God's heart from Heaven to earth, and of edifying or "calling out the gold" in those around us.  It is one of God's calling cards and is taught as powerfully useful in evangelism and the everyday Christian life. In mid-winter, our daughter visited a Bethel 4th grade class with her baby.  The teacher asked if they would like for the kids to pray and prophesy over them.....and they did. 

Taking risks is encouraged.  Throughout the church, risk taking is encouraged.  BSSM1 students are told that they cannot graduate unless they make at least three mistakes.  "Messes" are not encouraged particularly, but they are expected as a necessary side-effect of risk taking.  Johnson says, "Any rule in the church that prevents a Judas from arising will also prevent a Peter or a John from arising."

Women and men are equal partners in ministry.  Bethel teaches that women can fill any role in ministry.  While women can be found in senior leadership positions of this ministry, the most visible leaders remain men. Nevertheless, the real intentionality test of this teaching is what is happening in junior levels of leadership, because these leaders are the future of the ministry.  What we see here is gifted younger women and men both rising rapidly into the roles that their gifts support.

There is more to report, of course.  And I am hardly an unbiased observer.  Nonetheless, I hope this will give you some useful insight into one of the powerful centers of revival that are rising around the earth in the early 21st century.

What have you heard about the revival at Bethel, and what do you think is its global impact?  Your comments are welcome below.  

Read more in this blog about Bethel and our experience within this community.

Our friend Dani posted these perceptive thoughts about Bethel on her blog:

Seasonal Change

I have found in my life that sometimes things move along for months or even decades with little change. At other times, things change very quickly, even things that I didn't think would ever change. 

Being Alaskans is something that I thought would be a constant in our lives. The Swedish national song says, in part, "I will live and die in the North". As recently as last summer, as I listened to that, I thought that applied to us: that we would live our lives in Alaska. 

Flags of nations fly along the Bethel Church main campus entrance
road in Redding, CA.  The building at right is the prayer chapel.

And I thought as we left Anchorage last summer for a school year in California we were going on a sabbatical.  When we took off from Alaska in mid-August 2012, I left with the idea that we would almost certainly be back in a year -- two at the most. I called it a sabbatical, and believed that is what was happening. But it has become something different.

But I think it finally hit me with certainty that the end of a very long season in our lives is coming to an end as I read again the word of the Lord to Abram in Genesis 12: Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you." Linda and I have lived in Alaska for nearly all of our adult lives. We were barely out of our teens when we came north 41 years ago. That we might ever live somewhere else was a foreign concept for most of that time....I was sure that we would live and die in the Far North.  (See also the post Thoughts on Leaving Alaska)


But today we find God's word to Abram applying to us. It is time for us to go "to the land that I will show you." We will be moving to Redding in Northern California at the end of summer 2013. When Abram left his country and his family, he must have left behind the place he fit. It was his geographic territory, but it also must certainly have been the place of his security, comfort and influence. It was the place of molding his identity. That is what Alaska has been for us. We don't have any of that in Redding, but we are already seeing the beginning of God's supernatural provision for us here. 

I think we had some glimmer that change was coming even a year ago when we came to Bethel for a conference. But it has taken our hearts a long, long time to be emotionally able to leave Alaska, to leave amazing friends, and to leave a warm church family and leadership team that we have been so happily a part of.  

Linda is thriving here physically and spiritually. She is engaged and happy. Her balance is better, she has sometimes walked several steps without electric stimulation, and she has begun to lift her left leg a little. None of this worked a year ago. And, the climate is quite a bit easier on her....although it gets REALLY hot here in the summers.

I am thriving here too. I never knew I could prophesy, but I am doing so now. I am more of a spiritual father than ever before. These are just a few glimpses into what is going on in us. Our hearts are full of the ongoing revival at Bethel and the rich texture that entails, and there is more ahead.

We don't know how long this season will last. Perhaps it will be five years, or ten. Maybe the tent pegs we pound into this soil will not be pulled up by us. God is good, and He will guide our steps. 

 

Women in Ministry

It is time for the Church to completely open its doors to women in ministry.  In order to fulfill the Great Commission, the Church needs men and women serving in every role their gift and character opens to them in local churches and church networks.

In some parts of the Church, women already serve in the same ministry roles as men.  But in much of the Church, the issue is far from settled, or a men-only practice continues with little discussion.

Much has been written about the rightness of women in ministry leadership and teaching roles.  Men and women much better equipped than I am to find answers from scripture have staked well-researched, thoughtful positions on both sides of the question.  I respect their hearts to serve faithfully and their diligent scholarship.

But I suggest a simple way to cut through the differences:   just decide that the cost of failing to use gifted women in strategic ministry roles is far too high, and the cost of doing so in error is low.

In a recent team-building exercise in our church community, a group of us tried to accomplish one simple task keeping in mind one simple rule.  To our shock we initially did exactly the opposite of the task.  We had tried to balance the task and the rule, and it turned what should have been a two-minute task into ten minutes.  Once we began to focus on the task, we were able to quickly finish.

On the issue of women in ministry, I would say that the Church has tried to accomplish the task (the Great Commission) while significant parts of the Church have been obsessing over what has seemed like a rule.  In this case, "the rule" would be the seeming Biblical prohibition in the letters of Paul against women in ministry.....or maybe just tradition.

Right doctrine and right practice are important.  On key issues of faith, the Church cannot be flexible. But the issue of women in ministry is not a key issue of faith.

From my perspective, we have misunderstood Paul's intent in writing about women in the Church.  I believe Paul's words were bound to the culture or cities he addressed and do not relate in the same way to us today.  And I believe a male-leaders-only tradition has blinded us to a significant opportunity to advance the Kingdom.

If the Church is wrong in permitting women to enter strategic ministry roles from which they are now excluded, the cost of that error is low.  No one's salvation is threatened.  The key doctrines and creeds of the Church are not contravened.  If we are found to be wrong, our gracious Lord will restore right practice to the Church, as He has done before.

Brothers, where we do not already, let's clear paths for women to come into every role of ministry...and not only clear those paths, but actively encourage gifted sisters to walk them.

Sisters, we need you like Barak needed Deborah.  Together we will win victories that the Church can lay at the feet of the King, victories that it could not win without you.  I am so deeply sorry we have delayed you and held you back.  But for the Kingdom's sake, join us now!

Now that you have read this, men, what are your thoughts on this issue?  Women? How about you?  Your comments are welcome below.

The Mission has a Church

We who are Christians in America often talk about “missions.”  The word brings to mind  missionaries laboring lovingly in foreign lands among people with difficult language and strange customs.  

And the overseas missions movement has produced incredible fruit as the rapidly growing number of Christ followers in places like China, Africa, South America, and India attest. The movement has been so successful that Christians in these regions are now sending missionaries back into Europe and the United States!

But let’s bring our focus back to the reason for missions....the original mission.  Let’s read again the words of Jesus:

...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8 ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matt 28:19-20 ESV)

There are some key pieces in the above for Christ followers who call Anchorage, Alaska home:  First, what we do will be Holy Spirit empowered.  Second, we will be witnesses in Anchorage (=Jerusalem), Alaska (=Judea), North America(=Samaria), and all the world (=end of the earth).  Last, we are to make disciples. Converts are not disciples, although they can become so.  In other words, the mission is more than helping people find Jesus.  The mission is to reproduce the Jesus-following life in people in all nations - starting with our own city.

I read something recently that has impacted me quite a bit: “It’s not so much that the church has a mission but that the mission has a church. Church follows mission, not the other way around”. As we see above, Jesus articulated the mission before the Church was born on the Day of Pentecost.  

The point is this: we are all individually on mission, not just the church acting as a group sending missionaries. This means we are all missionaries (witnesses in the language of Acts).  A few of us will serve as overseas missionaries, but most of us should see ourselves as missionaries at our schools, our jobs, among our friends, and everywhere we come in contact with humanity.  America is steadily becoming “de-churched”, and most of us have the mission opportunity to help people find Jesus.

Mission can be as simple as being filled with the Holy Spirit and “leaking” the fruits of the Holy Spirit on those around us (joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, etc).  It can be sharing the Good News with a friend at the right time.  In Anchorage City Church mission projects, it can be serving homeless people at Beacon Hill or our Emergency Cold Weather Shelter, or feeding the hungry via the Food Shelf.  It can be helping prisoners reenter society, or helping young people graduate through New Direction, or serving Alaska communities by training leaders, as Beyond Borders does.  You can even start your own mission project! The possibilities for being on mission with the love of Jesus are many.  

As we celebrate the birth of the Savior at Christmas, it is a perfect time to commit ourselves again to missio dei, the mission of God.  Jesus came to redeem us, and because of that we have the amazing privilege of being on mission to share that amazing story of redemption with those that God places in our paths.  

This was originally published in December, 2011 in City Life, the newsletter of Anchorage City Church. It has been modified slightly for this blog.

Revival Groups

There are many students at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) -- about 1,200 in the first year class of 2013.  That's a larger group than nearly all US churches.  The problem in any regular gathering of Christians this size is pastoral care.  BSSM has a novel solution to this: revival groups.

Linda and I attended our first revival group gathering yesterday at a Redding yogurt shop.  I'm sure the shop owners were delighted with our "flash mob" -- there must have been 30 of us.  The excitement of young people from all over America and as far away as England and Switzerland meeting for the first time was palpable!

Revival groups at BSSM consist of around sixty students, a pastor and a third-year student intern.  Surprise: one of our interns is Mariah, the daughter of former Anchorage City Churchers Steve and Kelly!   (Ask me privately if you want to know the family name).  Our group pastor is Abi, another focused young woman..

Our next meeting will be....at the lake.  Sometimes the best thing we can do is develop relationships with other believers.  Thanks, Abi.

I like the name: revival groups.  It gives an instant and important focus to these groups.

I love small groups and understand at a personal level the significance of them in the lives of individual Christ followers and churches of which they are a part.  There are also small groups at BSSM and the local church here at Bethel/Redding.  I'll cover this more in the days and weeks ahead.  But perhaps something like revival groups could play a role in larger churches.  I'm going to give that more thought.

Sabbatical

On August 19th, Linda and I are going to head down the road toward a nine-month Sabbatical in northern California.  Our plan is to return in mid-May, 2013.

From Cruise

The idea of Sabbatical springs originally from God's command to the people of Israel to take a weekly Sabbath rest. (Deut 5:12)  Jesus put Sabbath into new covenant perspective when He told us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), which means that Sabbath is a gift of God for us!  Interestingly, God even commanded the Israelites to give their farmland a rest every seventh year (Lev 25:4).

This time of Sabbatical rest is largely about renewal for Linda.  With the loss of most of her mobility, and not infrequent debilitating pain, these past few years have been particularly difficult.  We are purposely simplifying our lives and moving into a season of intense focus on Jesus and the Kingdom, and our part in it together.  

There is more to it than renewal for Linda, of course -- we pray the Lord will use this time to draw us closer to Himself, and to equip us even more for fruitful ministry.  We want it to be a "re-boot" for both of us.

I am tempted to think that being in our early sixties, this may be poor timing. But every time I touch this in prayer, the Lord does not seem to notice.  And I still feel young, and my bride does as well, excepting only the multiple sclerosis.  

Even though the enemy intended to maim her with it, we believe the Lord will continue to turn it to good.  The Lord has spoken healing promises in Linda's heart and we hope and expect they will soon emerge into the visible realm.

I have found in my own life that I need weekly Sabbath rest, I need vacation time, and I have been thinking that  Sabbatical is going to be significant as well.  When we were at Word of Life Church in Sweden 2001-2005, our capacity for ministry increased substantially.  I believe we will find this to be the case as we spend time in Redding with Bethel Church in the School of Supernatural Ministry.

Anchorage City Church is and has been a community full of joy and growth for us.  The leadership team and staff are made of men and women of spirit-led vision, great heart, and committed faith.  The church family is full of friends who are committed to drawing closer to the Lord, building His Kingdom and serving the City. The Lord has given the church favor and momentum.  Exciting plans for Kingdom advance are moving forward.  It will not be easy to leave the church staff at the end of June and Alaska in late August because the church is full of friends on staff, in our small group, in our leadership connections, the elders, people we love that we see on Sundays and other days of the week.

When we return to Anchorage for the long term, whether in May 2013 or 2014, I hope we can continue in ministry at City Church in some way.  But one difference is that whatever endeavors Linda and I pursue going forward, they will be together.

Some have asked whether we will actually return.  My response is always this: it is our intention to return to Anchorage.  We have been Alaskans for 40 years and it feels as if we still have work to do here. We are keeping the house that is a gift of God.  Katie and husband Steve and their daughter Ellady will live there in our absence.  Still, we have found the words of Solomon true: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." (Prov 16:19)  We are opening our hearts to whatever the Lord has for us.

Update, spring 2013: The sabbatical has turned into something else. Here is an explanation of what is happening in our lives.

Here is an account of our trip down to Redding

Posts that relate to Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry

Crossover of Faith

Nearly every Christian parent has dreams for the life of faith that his child will follow. No matter whether we are evangelicals, mainline protestants, Catholics or others, we want our kids of follow Jesus.

According to a 2008 Pew Study nicely summarized by Michael Bell here, most do, but there are interesting changes along the way for some of them. What really makes this information really accessible is a fascinating graph he developed that accompanies his review:


The "spaghetti diagram" (see a clearer image here) shows movement between Christian faith traditions very clearly. At the top is the faith tradition in childhood, and at the bottom the same people as adults.

Snatching men from the very jaws of hell

"Christ's call is to feed the hungry, not the full; to save the lost, not the stiff-necked; not to call the scoffers, but sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and artistic musical performances, but to raise living churches of souls among the destitute, to capture men from the devil's clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of hell, to enlist and train them for Jesus, and make them into an Almighty Army of God. But this can only be accomplished by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered Holy Ghost religion, where neither Church nor State, neither man nor traditions are worshiped or preached, but only Christ and Him crucified. Not to confess Christ by fancy collars, church steeples or rich embroidered altar-cloths, but by reckless sacrifice and heroism in the foremost trenches..."

CT Studd, Missionary to China

Help and Hope for Haiti

It is good to provide help for hurting Haiti. But perhaps it is better to provide help and hope? World governments, aid agencies, the Red Cross, and many, many organizations are pouring help in the form of relief supplies and personnel into the disaster area. It is inspiring to see the world rushing to the aid of these stricken people, among the world's poorest.

For myself, I am sending aid to the church in Haiti. My money to a large international aid organization would be a good thing, but I am expecting with my money to contribute to a great thing!

I'm not so concerned that church buildings be rebuilt, although that will be helpful in the long run. My interest is that the churches, God's people, be strengthened and enabled to help those around them, and that leaders be trained and sent out across the nation. In addition to immediate needs, it is the hope of the Good News of Jesus that Haiti will need for the weeks, months and years ahead as people rebuild lives and communities. It is Christianity that can be the foundation for a stronger and more economically viable Haitian society.

I talked by phone yesterday to Darrell Damron, Vice President of Haiti Arise. Damron told me that the first priority for the organization is to provide immediate aid and medical care for those around them, and then rebuilding of the structures they are using for educating and training. Haiti Arise also sponsors a Bible School and for the third year year this year, sponsored a large conference of Haitian pastors.

A team from Ministers Fellowship International (MFI) had just returned to the USA from the 2010 conference at Haiti Arise when the quake struck. Hundreds of pastors had been together at Haiti Arise in Grand Goave for days of teaching and encouragement. MFI is the relational body of church leaders of which my community, Anchorage City Church, is a part.

MFI churches are being asked to support Haiti Arise because of this relational connection and because of its work to build the church in Haiti. Founders Marc and Lisa Honorat are MFI members.

Pastors Marc Driscoll (Mars Hill Church) and James McDonald (Harvest Bible Chapel) have established another great way to send hope to Haiti through a new organization, Churches Helping Churches. Driscoll and McDonald traveled to Haiti to better understand the situation and are asking their church families to contribute to rebuilding the church through this new organization.

McDonald puts it this way:

The waves of humanitarian aid are washing ashore in Haiti and beginning to meet this massive need but I can’t escape my sense that little if any of this medicine will soothe the sores of the suffering church. The country will be rebuilt in time, but so little of that aid will go to my brothers and sisters and I feel I must do what I can to help them. But I really have no idea what that help would or should entail.


Galatians 6:10 says, “and let us do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of faith.”


Without question the priority of the ‘church helping the church’ is commanded by Paul in scripture and modeled by Paul in his crisis care for the Corinthians and the church in Jerusalem. If Paul were alive today there is no doubt his first concern as a church planter and leader in the body of Christ would be for the family of God in Haiti. How can the priority Paul lived and taught not be mine as a Bible believing Christian?

Please join me and others sending help and hope to the hurting Haitian church, so it can offer the great hope of Jesus to the hurting nation all around it.

Sunday School Fun

Linda and I took the opportunity to teach Sunday School for a large group during the second service today, teaming with our friends Ed and Danielle. This was our second week on the job....this week perhaps only 50 in the class!

It was actually quite a bit of fun; even more than the previous week. Last week, we had to work hard to maintain control because the kids naturally came in and sat with their buds.

Ed asks the kids questions for Bible
tic tac toe with Danielle in the background.

We nipped that in the bud [:)] this week by having the kids count off by sevens and then having them move to the the table with their number.

That did not fill them with joy, but once they were away from their friends, it was easier to reach them.

We sang with them, went over last week's story (Jesus' miracle feeding of the 5,000 at the Sea of Galilee) and told them a new story (how God used Gideon for the miraculous defeat of the Midianites with only 300 Israelis). Then we gave them a snack and played a game. The hour and some went quickly.

We had them participate in the story....asking questions and bringing it to their level. They had lots of ideas.....and two main stock answers to every question: "Jesus" or "God".

"What was Gideon doing in the winepress?"

"God"

"How many soldiers did Gideon have when Midian was defeated?"

"Jesus"

They had some good answers, too, but I'm chuckling in retrospect with their stock answers.

Getting them engaged in the story worked well. They were able to answer questions easily at the end....they "got it!" We even ran into one young fellow and his family at the restaurant later in the day and I asked him "what was our story about today" and he said "GIDEON!"

Ed did a great job with Bible tic tac toe. He split the kids into boys and girls and selected a captain in each group. He would ask them questions and then the kids would huddle for an answer. The end result was a draw, but a tie-breaking question led the girls to seconds on muffins. The kids loved it.

Another friend later said she heard one youngster say to her mom, "we had FUN in Sunday School today!" It's music to a teacher's ears....especially when it's combined with the fact that they "got it."

Four Lethal Misbeliefs that Minimize the Impact of Believers in the Workplace

Here is strong medicine from evangelist and missions strategist Ed Silvoso. These commonly held beliefs are like cold molasses around the feet of Christians who would do the work of the Kingdom in the marketplace:

1. There is a God-ordained division between clergy and laity
2. The Church is called to operate primarily inside a building often referred to as the temple.
3. People involved in business cannot be as spiritual as those serving in traditional Church ministry.
4. The primary role of marketplace Christians is to make money to support the vision of those "in ministry."
   

(From Ed Silvoso, Annointed for Business quoted in C. Peter Wagner, Changing Church)

How much have these non-Biblical attitudes cost in the growth of the Kingdom of God? I believe they have cost plenty.