A New Ministry in Wichita

Four weeks before Kim and I went to California, I started a men’s small group comprised of recent converts and their spiritual fathers (all around my age, the oldest being approx. 29). We decided that we would study the book of Mark taking a chapter a week and do some memory work along with our study. Well, last night I finally was asked the question I had been waiting six weeks for: “do you guys want to get together and do some kind of service for the kingdom?”

For weeks I (being the facilitator of the group) taught about how we need to be Step-in-Step with Jesus when it comes to healing the lepers of our day, guiding people to a better understand of God’s will for their lives, and, last night, how to reach the demoniacs of today. After last night’s lesson, they couldn’t keep it in: what can we do to put this into practice.

Now I had been teaching them how they could touch the spiritual lepers and teach new Christians about God’s will and how to confidently confront the demoniacs, but last night the lights went on and we brainstormed about doing some kind of service in the kingdom. After about 30 minutes of ideas, we finally decided on holding services at a local nursing home. I know some of you have had experience in this kind of thing, so if any of you have any advice about starting a ministry like this, it will be greatly appreciated.

A New Sister in Christ (tomorrow)!

Pray and rejoice! Reva Kubisiak has decided to give her life to Christ, and will be baptized tomorrow (Saturday). She was a flood victim, and the first conversion from our flood relief efforts (that we know of).

Lydia??

Hey Guys,

The Church here in Great Falls did a program for a long time called "Heart to Heart." I guess it's a publication that can be sent out to anyone in a community (??) I'm not sure. Anyway, they never really got a response from it, so they discontinued it.

Recently my mentor, Chris Crooks (one of the ministers here) got a call from a lady who was curious about what she had read in one of those publications! Laura Poitra "and all her household" (her husband, daughter and daughter's husband, and two kids) had recently broken away from the Catholic Church because they realized it wasn't right.

They all finally showed up to Church about a month ago and have not missed a Sunday since! Chris, being the evangelist that he is, had no problem setting up an initial Bible study with them two Mondays ago. I went with him, and we studied with the whole family for about two hours. It was quite an amazing experience, as they asked Chris a lot of questions about the Bible, baptism, etc. They are interested in what God has to say to them. We have it set up with them to study every other Monday night now, so please pray for this family and for Chris and I as we try to lead them to Christ!! It's probably the closest thing I've ever seen to Acts 16:14-15, 31-34!!

In Him,
Justin White

A Little God Goes a Long Way

And I don't mean that God is little.

Thank you to all of you who have been posting. It has been very encouraging to hear how you all are doing, and how God is working through you. Keep posting, let's share ideas, and let's be as effective as we can be.

I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what happens when you help flood victims and then try to evangelize to them. We were able (with the help of Tim Brumfield and a team of SIBI students) to visit about 150 families. Most of these have received appliances from us, and all received some kind of help (except the neighbors and references we talked with who God put in our paths as we went to see flood victims).

The greatest victory so far: nobody shut the door in our face! In fact, all but a few (meaning 2-3) were happy to see us, very grateful for how we've already helped, and more than willing to chat a little bit. And, the others may have just been grumpy because we have a lot of people around here who work nights and sleep days...maybe we woke them up? Oops. They need a wake up call, anyway.

That campaign was two weeks ago. We had about 15 studies set up, although only 5 or 6 are still going regularly now. But, there are still several people that we need to follow up with to set up a first study, several that discontinued because of things going on now, but seemed interested enough to begin again another time, and about 300 more families that we need to make our first follow-up visit with (I think that's improper grammar, but I'm sure you won't mind...except maybe Dwight). Of the studies I am personally conducting, I know of 3 ladies that I am quite confident will be baptized...just a matter of time and a decision to commit.

Please pray for these ladies, for others that we are studying with, for this community as we try to introduce the gospel to them, and for our congregation. Especially pray for the church. Some are glad to help, some need a little "Christian coercion," but many just aren't interested...yet. I'm doing everything I know to change that: teaching, preaching, hinting, asking, praying, encouraging, etc., etc., etc. So, that means I need your prayers, too.

Preach the word and God bless.

Clint

A New Prospect

Last night Kim and I had a bible study with a young man (19) named Alphonse. Alphonse came Sunday morning to services and was looking for someone to study with. So Justin Abraham, one of the Northside elders, came and found me. Last night was our first study together.

When we first sat down and started getting background information, Alphonse believed he can have visions. He says he's been to heaven and hell and seen the devil (who is taller than the twin towers) and even told me that Judgment would take place in 2045. So after I had some background to work with, I went to work and established some key things: the bible is the word of God, it is infallible, it is all we need, we don't listen to anything or anyone but the bible. Alphonse had no problem with any of this; he ate it up. About that time, I opened up with new visions and revelations: do we need them? He had a tough time letting that go, but I took him to Gal 1.8-9 and told him the story about Joseph Smith and how he received a vision from an angel and when I explained to him what condemnation means, I could tell his grip on new visions was slipping. So finally I took him to 1 Cor 13 and the thing about visions ceasing and perfect/imperfect stuff. He finally got the point.

But I did not want to discredit his experiences entirely: I told him I believed he experienced something, but if it were an angel what does the bible say? I also said it could be the devil lying to him and trying to get Alphonse to follow him. We just said what the text says: "His divine power has given us everything for life and godliness." The word is all we need and Alphonse got it.

Alphonse really has no real concept about religion at all so I praise God that I more or less have a clean slate to work with and he already believes the core truths about God and his word. It felt so good to sit down and explain to someone the bible; all this study I have poured into the evangelism class and all the advice and tips and coaching I have been giving to my class for when they sit down with someone came to a head as I opened God's word to Alphonse and began explaining the divine plan for our lives. He is eager to learn and I am eager to teach. Please pray for Alphonse and me as we search and dig in God’s word together.

I am not sure exactly what it is that is going on. I feel so strange, really I do. I realized today that I still do not completely understand or grasp all that God has done in me, to me, with me... I struggle to understand what some rough, brash guy like me is doing preaching. This blog is not about how I feel though, or maybe it is. No it is not. It is about the growth that I am seeing in some of the men that I am studying with and getting to know. The neat thing is that they are moinistering to me as much as I to them. God has blessed me with men that are real and DEMAND the same from me. They do not let me hide behind a title or a desk or a podium. They call me out and do not let me back away. Today we had a frank discussion. Very frank!!! After leaving them I had this feeling of letting them down, like the things that I had brought up were not enough. That they were simply some trite, idealistic, simplistic thomes that held nothing. Instead, I found out later that they were the exact words that they needed to hear. This is what amazes me the most! At the times that I feel the most inadequate, is the time that people seem to get the most out of it. It is like when I get smaller, God gets bigger. How big??? As big as we need Him to be! God fulfills ALL needs. God enables all men who will allow Him to use them. This is good to know, but FANTASTIC to witness.

WAR CRIMES

"We refuse to accept that wounded are shown no mercy, children massacred, women raped, prisoners tortured, victims denied elementary humanitarian assistance...populations illegally displaced and countries laid to waste." Thus reads part of a declaration issued at the end of a three-day conference on improving protection for war victims. Held several years ago in Geneva, it was another of those conferences long on rhetoric and short on action. U.S. delegate to the conference, Warren Zimmermann, reflected, "The conference is not going to have any major specific results." The conference was held almost a decade ago and it turns out he was right.

As I reflected on Zimmermann’s words, several things came to mind.

I realized how familiar this all sounds. It reminds me of our church conferences, seminars and lectureships. Gather up the greatest communicators, the best experts, the most accomplished achievers and put them in an auditorium and let them talk on any problem. When they finish, the problem is better understood, more widely recognized, but not solved.

We get downright ludicrous when we call these gatherings "workshops," when the only ones working are the communicators, experts and achievers. International Committee of the Red Cross president from 1987 to 1999, Cornelio Sommaruga made an obvious point in his closing speech, "We must find a way of putting an end to the grave, deliberate breaches we have witnessed."

"We must find a way," he said, and he's right. Reality dictates that until a way is found, nothing will change. Well, Senior Sommaruga, look no further, the way has been found! The real solution to such problems is the way of Christ.

It is one thing to know that, however, and quite another to do something about it. Our dilemma is finding a way to channel the energy we spend talking into action. We talk about the Christian lifestyle, but we must practice it in our families, schools, businesses and other associations. We talk about fulfilling our mission and purpose, but we must pursue it before the talk means anything. We talk about Christian values, morals and ethics, but until we are ready to weave them into the fabric of our conduct, we'd best keep it to ourselves.

The real crime is to see the problem, talk about it, reflect upon possible solutions and then return to the status quo.