Our reason for going to Brazil

Yesterday was our first day in Brazil. People have been asking why we came here. Most assume it's a mission trip, many ask who else is going with us. But it's just Lacy and I. And it's not a mission trip, at least not in the traditional sense. You might say we are on vacation, though it won't be much of mental rest for this introvert. 

More than anything we are here for spiritual renewal and encouragement. For me personally, every time I have come here I've felt built up in my faith. I find clarity here from the Lord both in my calling as a minister and more importantly as a disciple and disciple maker. 

That's not to say I don't have encouragement at home. I do, and I love where God has placed us at North Side and wouldn't trade it for anything. But at home I still deal with personal stress and insecurities and sometimes doubt about what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. Here I can take a break and reevaluate things. And, as has happened in times past, I expect to return to Weatherford with a renewed sense of purpose and calling. 

Streamline

One of the definitions of the word streamline that relates to meteorology: On a weather chart, a line that is tangent to the flow of the wind.


This morning I was contemplating our study of Malachi and how it relates to my life. In Malachi 1 we see God rebuking the people of Israel for offering up animal sacrifices that were cripple, lame, stolen, and blemished. They were basically giving to God something that cost them nothing. And God says He'd prefer that they shut the doors to the temple rather than sacrifice half-heartedly to Him.


This made me think of the things that I do for the Lord that are only half-hearted or less. Do I give my best to God in everything I do? No. Why not? First of all because I can be lazy. I have to fight this frequently in order to give God the best of what I can give (what He's already given me). But a big reason is also because I'm busy. I've got too much going on and God gets the leftovers. 


I love this word streamline, and I feel that in order to give God my best I need to streamline my life so that it flows with His will, His Spirit. What are those things I've got going on that don't relate to what He is doing? What are those things in my life that aren't tangent to the flow of the Holy Spirit? Those are the things that have to go. And when I give the best out of everything I do - the things He has called me to - then my will will be flowing with His and I'll be best able to follow where He is taking me. 

What not to do in Jordan

I arrived in Jordan and I figured Amman, being an international city, would have a little more substantial transportation signage for tourists. I was clearly wrong. I had received an email from a travel agent about what to do, but that didn't help at all. I got in a taxi with Hammed and Omar, two Jordanians both somewhere in their late 20s.  Neither of them spoke good English and my arabic is limited to "salaam" and "jihad". We worked out a price that I though was a bit high. I went to the bank to ascertain the exchange rate and thought it high but acceptable. About 2 minutes after we leave the airport I realize this is definitely not a legit taxi. First we stop to get coffee, then gas and they ask me to pay. I tell them that all I have in cash is the amount they told me the fare was and they were ok with that. I start to get pretty nervous, and just in time my cell phone starts working. I open up my maps and notice that we are headed to the middle of nowhere. My heart is almost racing at this point. I looked up the number to the hotel and called just to make sure before I jumped out of car and ran for my life-leaving my bags behind. Turns out, not only were we going in the right direction but we had two more hours to go (or so I was told). The ride was interesting. We had limited conversations about family and work. I even told them I was an Imam for Jesus and they kept calling me friend. We stopped again for candy and once for an outdoor bathroom break. About 5 miles from the destination they noticed they had a deflated tire and then got lost trying to find a place to air it up. When we finally arrived at the hotel I gave them the fare they had asked for minus what I gave them for gas. They told me I didn't pay them enough and I told them again that I had no more cash. They went in to the hotel with me to ask the clerk where the nearest ATM was. To get more cash we would have to go back into town where they got lost. So at that point they quit calling me friend. I told them that I had already paid them what I said I would and that I would not go back into town to get more money. They cussed at me for about 20 minutes in the hotel lobby while the clerk attempted to translate. I finally walked away to my room, glad that I hadn't been taken advantage of. But then I thought about Jesus' words in Mt 5. If anyone sues you for your tunic, give him your cloak as well. Would the right thing to do be to go ahead and give them the extra $30? Was it a bad idea for this "imam for Jesus" to take up a posture of standing up for himself?  These are just some questions I'm pondering after such an eventful day.

Day of Action

One of my most memorable Thanksgivings was the year I spent as a missionary in Chile.  It was my first Thanksgiving away from my family, and there were very few around me who understood the holiday.  But being away from family and outside the United States brought a special meaning to this day of giving thanks.

I was a little caught off guard when people from Chile would ask me about Thanksgiving. They had no clue, but it gave me a chance to explain it a bit and therefore understand it better myself.  Perhaps it’s what they called the holiday that taught me the most: Día de Acción de Gracias. Literally translated that means “Day of Action of Thanks.”

I used to think of Thanksgiving as a time when I would tell God how thankful I was for His blessings, and tell others how thankful I was for them. But now during this time I realize that being thankful should be accompanied by words and actions.  In both the Old and New Testaments, when we read the word thanksgiving many times it is meant to involve a sacrifice to the Lord that flows from a thankful heart. 

My prayer for this Thanksgiving is that we will express our thankfulness both with words and actions; that we would count each blessing that God has given us and show Him and others how thankful we are.

Dry Mouth

As of Monday, I've been put on vocal rest for a few weeks, until the doctor says I can sing again. I'm glad I can still talk, but I'm trying to do less of that too.

So I don't know that being asked to give up something by your doctor can legally be considered fasting. But it many ways it is much like fasting. It is a very difficult thing to do, and for me I can only do this by the power of the Spirit.

This has all kinds of spiritual significance for me. The first being worship. In my head I've been able to say that worship does not equal music. I know that worship is a lifestyle and I must worship God through my every day actions. But now I'm being forced to live this idea out.

I often like to sit down and write songs to the Lord to express my gratitude, or just something I've learned. But that doesn't happen now. And I've not found that it is easy to write what I am feeling without expressing it musically. I used to be able to sing my thoughts while playing guitar or piano, but now all the musical expression I have is to play on a guitar or piano.

This "fast" is helping me to realize the extent at which music plays a part in my own worship. It makes me realize how much I have taken music and my own musical talents for granted. The good thing is, I'm going to discover new ways to express worship to the Lord. And I'll have to let the Holy Spirit speak for me at times. I am looking forward to this journey - and I'm a little nervous about it too.

Will Power

I'm not much of a blogger. Especially not a daily one. I've definitely failed this past week.

A couple of weekends ago I did a DNow for North Richland Hills Baptist. Those kids are cool. I'm amazed by their maturity in Christ and their freedom to worship the Lord. On Saturday night after the worship service many kids got together in groups of 2 an 3 and prayed for one another. It was one of the those nights where you just know the Holy Spirit is there.

I realized that weekend and this past week that the focus of my fast has for sure been in the wrong place. I am a pretty strong willed individual and sometimes I like to test my own determination. I think that was the focus of the fast at first. But this is not about my will power - it's about Christ. And in week 2 of this fast I've tried to focus more on prayer, both for myself and others. And I love/hate what comes of that. All the junk rises to the surface - I've once again realized my depravity and God has brought some stuff to my attention that I need to work on. I just hope I don't try to bury it in the back yard like I normally do.

Tonight we are meeting with the singles group again to pray for one another and talk about what God has for us as individuals and as a group. I'm excited to see what He has in store.

Day 3

Today is day 3 of the Daniel fast. Feeling ok today. I had a headache this morning, but that slowly went away. The cravings aren't too bad. Somebody brought some pumpkin bread to the office today and I do have to look the other way ever time I see it. And I would definitely like a coke, but water still tastes good.

Last night I bought some whole grain wheat crackers - which I normally run away from. Surprisingly, they were incredible! I love wheat crackers! One thing about this fast - I've learned to enjoy wheat crackers. And I've probably come to appreciate other simple things as well. Simple things like writing down my thoughts here, despite the lack of eloquence.

And today I'm rejoicing for what God is doing here. I'm rejoicing for others who have joined the fast because they want to grow closer to the Lord and see what amazing things are in store when we trust and obey. I'm encouraged by the conversations, emails, and text messages from those who are sharing this experience. This is cool! (No, I can't yet use the word incredible like I did for the wheat crackers). Still struggling, still working, still pressing on towards the prize. The End will surpass all expectations.

To talk or not to talk

Fasting is usually a big secret for me. The Bible seems to say that when you fast - don't talk about it. Especially don't whine and complain. So, in trying to honor that I don't really talk about what I'm doing - even though sometimes you just feel like sharing it with someone.

But this time it's a corporate fast that I am doing with the North Side singles group. So, since other people know I'm doing it, I feel a little more free to talk about it, and I hope that whoever might read this (maybe 2 people) might be encouraged a little.

This is a Daniel fast, not a complete fast. So my days are spent craving sweets, meets, and caffeine for sure. My plan right now is to write down my fasting experience here on this blog.

Day 1 (one day ago)

Not a good day. Missed my morning coffee, but put some natural juice in the microwave and it felt a little bit like java, didn't really taste like it. Headache came in the afternoon. Made me realize I drink way too much caffeine and consume too much sugar on top of that. Detox is going to be fun. I felt hungry much of the day, but nothing too terrible. I felt sleepy all day, which was probably worse. I even took a nap during my lunch break. Not sure why I went to a late movie with some friends, but I did and even fell asleep during that.

Day 2 (today)

I think fasting makes all the junk in your life rise to the surface. I woke up this morning angry, frustrated, about stupid stuff that happened a couple of years ago. One of our prayers during the fast is supposed to be for healing. I'm asking God to heal me of the bitterness that I tend to hold on to sometimes. I'm asking God to help me forgive those who have done me wrong.

Fasting is not fun, it's not supposed to be. But I can tell that it is a meaningful and useful discipline. And God will use this. I'm enjoying hearing from friends who are sharing this experience with me. It's good to know I'm not alone.

Today was our last full day of work here in Brazil. We met the children of Sao Camilo early this morning in the church building.  We had a fun time of eating breakfast with the children and entertaining them. 

The Bible story was about Jesus. The people here have done most of the work in teaching the kids and have done an incredible job. We got into groups and talked about Jesus with the children.  Some of them prayed to receive Christ! We also gave them the prayer bears that the children of North Side made for them. They really enjoyed that.

We came back to the church building that night and had our worship service. Many of us got to help lead in worship and Randy preached.  Several children from Sao Camilo came back tonight and a few even brought their families to worship.

We had to say goodbye to a lot of people tonight - even though we will see most of them tomorrow. These people have been extremely gracious and hospitable to us. I am constantly overwhelmed when I think about all they have done for us and taught us.  I do pray that we will be able to communicate what we've learned when we return home to Weatherford.

House Churches and Slums

Wow. It was quite an eventful day in Jundiai. We got up earlier than normal and met the kids from Sao Camilo for breakfast. We talked through the story of creation, did crafts, played ball, and hung out with the children.

When it was over we took the children back to their homes in Sao Camilo. From there we invited kids to come back tomorrow, and we invited their parents to come to the church service we're having tomorrow night. It was great going in the second time, people seemed more friendly and comfortable with us being there. However, we were told that going in 3 days in a row would wear out our welcome.

After a full day of VBS with kids and walking around Sao Camilo we went to various house churches of the church. The one we went to was really amazing. There were about 30 people packed in there of all ages and backgrounds. One family brought their 9 year old disabled adopted son. At first I thought he had cerebral palsy, as he didn't seem to have any functioning motor skills. But I later learned he was beaten so badly as a baby that he had had brain damage. It was amazing to see how much the church loved on Lucas. His mom brought him, but different people in the church took turns picking him up and putting him in their laps or holding him. They all loved on him because he belonged to all of them. And today they celebrated his recent birthday - the 6 or 7 children that were in the house church meeting all circled around him and prayed for him - out loud. It was an incredible sight to see how comfortable these kids were praying for their friend.

Tomorrow we go back to the church building to work with the children of Sao Camilo. Please pray for strength and wisdom as we share the Gospel with them. Pray that their parents would come to the worship service on Sunday night and hear the Word of God.

I hope you know that we all appreciate your prayers! Keep going!

Let's Go to Sao Camilo!

It's difficult to find words to describe what we did today. I'll do my best here.

Most of the morning was prayer and instruction. We prayed for Sao Camilo and prayed for our team. After lunch we were prepared to go. We packed up our pockets with New Testaments and soccer ball keychains, we separated into our teams, and we started walking up the hill to the slum. As we approached the entrance to Sao Camilo we saw three police cars with all their lights on. We were advised by all the Brazilians to turn back and avoid the neighborhood. This was disappointing news for us all. For many of us the highlight of the trip last year was going into this slum, and this year we may not be able to.

We turned around and went back to the church building. We found ourselves on our knees once again praying for Sao Camilo. This time it was more heart-felt, more intense. We prayed for the neighborhood, we prayed for our team and safety, we prayed for the Brazilians as they continue the work there even after we leave.

The minute we got up from praying Dairson walked in the building and said, "Let's go to Sao Camilo!" Everything was then clear for us to go. Why the wait? Maybe God wanted to make sure we were totally dependent on Him.

We carefully walked the streets of Sao Camilo going to houses of the children who are part of the program the church has every Saturday. We got to talk to many children and some adults. Some of us were able to go in homes and others walked up and down the street inviting them to come.

For the next two days we will be working with these children. On Sunday we'll give them the prayer bears Tamra and the preschoolers at North Side made for us. We'll also get to go back with them to their homes and tell the family members about Jesus.

Tonight we had a worship service with the senior pastor of the church. He challenged us to think about the mystery of Christ which is the Church (Eph 3:4). We continue to be challenged and touched here by the kindness and hospitality they show us. I can't really say enough about what they have done for us, and how they've been Jesus to all of us.

Please pray tomorrow as we do VBS with the children of Sao Camilo. Let us be the hands and feet of Christ. Let us love on the children and show them the love that is shown us.

Today we spent the majority of the day in Sao Camilo.  I know for the past year we've talked about Sao Camilo as a drug infested place that was not safe to enter.  You can imagine how we felt when we were told we would be going door to door there. But when we got there we realized there was a safer part of the neighborhood.

Our seven groups walked the streets telling people about Jesus. We had several people pray to accept Christ, many of them children. We did a program in a park late in the afternoon and afterwards were able to share Christ with many around us.

Tonight we split up and had dinner in people's houses. People from the church here invited their friends to dinner and we were there to share our testimonies about what God had done in our lives.  Our group met with a group of house church pastors and it was a great time of sharing and encouragement.

Please continue to pray for us. After 3 days of work we've become tired and even distracted. Please pray that God would give us new strength. Pray for us tomorrow that we will be able to talk to people in the slums of Sao Camilo. Pray that people in that community would come to know Him.

Day 3

Today started out with much uncertainty. Since we've been here they've had storms in Brazil that they usually don't see in July and August. It was pouring all night last night and into the morning and we were praying that the rain would stop. 

By the time our crowded bus pulled up to the house church in Novo Horizonte the rain stopped. We were able to go out into the neighborhood and share Christ.  The Americans got into groups and went down the street talking to all who would listen to us.  We had several people accept Christ, were able to pray with some, and made many contacts for the house church.

The Brazilians went out looking for kids and invited them to an event we had for children at the house church. There were close to 40 kids packed on the patio of the house. We teamed up with the Brazilians and did VBS type activities. I believe we really planted some seeds there with children and their parents.

Tonight we went back to the church building and had a worship service with the young people from the church. It was a very powerful time of worship. We heard from a guy who is an American and a pastor of a Brazilian church. He spoke to all of us about this generation must love God more than the pleasures of this world. The prayer time afterwards was truly amazing and hopefully prepared us for tomorrow. 

The pastor of the church here has invited us to fast tomorrow morning. If you are reading this I would like to encourage you to do the same. Tomorrow after lunch we are going to Sao Camilo. This slum has been on the hearts of the church here for 3 years now and has been a very difficult place to reach.  We're praying that God would break the chains that bind this place. That they would see the light of Christ through us and others who go there to share of His salvation.

This was a great day in Brazil! We did some prayer walking this morning. Some of us walked by Sao Camilo - the slum area where we will go on Friday-Sunday. The church has a real burden for this place plagued by poverty, drugs and crime. We are praying their hearts would be open to the Gospel and that the church could make a lasting impact on this community.

This afternoon we went door to door in Novo Horizonte telling people of the good news of Jesus Christ. There were several who began to trust Christ as their Savior today! The purpose of being in this neighborhood is so we can share Christ and point them to a place where they can go to study the Bible. The church members who host this Bible study were saved about the time we came here last year.  This year they are inviting everyone around them to come to their house where they are leading the Bible study. It's amazing to see them passionate about reaching their neighborhood for Jesus.

Tonight we did our program with some music and drama. It rained a little bit, but that didn't stop the right people from coming. After the program we dispersed to share with people in the crowd. From this several people came to know Christ, and many others heard the Good News.

Tomorrow we go back to Novo Horizonte to work with children. Please pray for us as we prepare for this work and that children and families would come to know Christ through what we do here.

Sharing

Sitting here with Randy, Matt, and Ruan the translator drinking tea and eating....again. This place is amazing.

We met tonight with our team and the Brazilian team to talk about what we are doing this week.  The next two days we will be working in Novo Horizonte. Tomorrow night we'll be focusing on ministering to adults and families, doing some door to door witnessing and some Gospel presentations in the streets.  On Wednesday we'll focus on activities for children. Please pray that God would give us wisdom as we share with the people of Brazil.  Pray that God would constantly remind us that we are here to further His kingdom through sharing of His grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Brazil day 1

We finally made it to Jundiai, Brazil.  We arrived about an hour after we were scheduled to, but all is well. We are now in our host homes getting some rest after almost 24 hours of travel. Tonight we will join in worship with our Brazilian team members and talk about the schedule for the coming days.

Please continue to pray for us. God has been working in this place and we want to be a part of it. There is a great need here for people to leave their lives of trying to please  

If you would like to receive more play by play updates you can join us on twitter. www.twitter.com/nsbcbrazil. 

Justice and Righteousness

Van threw a magazine in my office today. I'm not even sure if he read any of it. But the cover reads "canned worship". Maybe he's trying to tell me something? I usually put that stuff in a pile of magazines I want to read. It would have gone right on top of Relevant Magazine and the latest Musician's Friend catalog. For some reason I read this one immediately.

The article from the cover was written by David Ruis, and my head is still spinning and processing what he wrote. What stands out most in my mind is basically that there is no authentic worship without justice and righteousness (Amos 5:23-24). If we do not care for others, we cannot worship God.

Reading this I thought about this time last week when we had the youth rally in Vermont. I've never seen our kids worship like that. I've seldom been in any worship service like that. And the reason the worship was so incredible was not because of a great band or a "worshipful" atmosphere. It was great because we were a room full of people who that week had been whole-heartedly devoted to serving God through caring for those around them.

Too often we come to worship wondering what we're gonna get out of it. We hope the band plays the song we like, or we hope they play that old hymn that reminds us of way back when. But the truth is that true worship will not happen unless we devote ourselves daily to serving Christ and serving others. If half the people that sit in our sanctuaries would focus on worshipping God all week through service to Him and through loving people then our corporate worship would be amazing!

So think about that next time you're sitting in church wondering why you just can't connect with the worship. Ask yourself if you've done what God has called you to do in the way you treat others. Maybe if we all do that then our corporate worship will be better than we can imagine. And I think God would like it more, too.

Vermont report

I was fortunate enough last week to go to Vermont and be with the students from North Side. It was an incredible trip! I saw God move in so many ways.

I would have liked to have blogged while I was there, but I can't figure out this blogger thing on my blackberry and I was too tired at night.

What prompts this blog is the fact that I left church on Sunday morning feeling a little empty. It seems that no one here understands what we went through there in Vermont. Nobody knows how we experienced God, how we all grew in Him and with one another. I realize from many experiences that this is a normal feeling after a mission trip, but this time was different.

First of all, let me say that the response in Vermont was very slow. It was disappointing to see how much people didn't care about what we had to say. Of course, what should we expect in Vermont? But we did come across several people willing to talk to us about matters faith and even hear what we had to say.

There was close to 0 people who sat and listened to us in the park on Monday night, but several people came close and listened for a while. And several conversations were started with people about Jesus and why we had come from Texas to share with the people of Vermont. I personally learned a lot that night about the place where we were.

On Tuesday night we did a concert in the mall and there were a few contacts we had made during the week that came to hear us - that's nothing small! Many people heard the message of Jesus as they walked by. Some even stopped for a while.

Wednesday night we shared with a church full of young people. Only two families of kids were from "church families". The rest were kids whose parents are not Christians. There was a group of kids in the back that were doing their best to disrupt the incredible Spirit-filled worship. But those same kids stayed after to hang out with our kids and to hear more of what we had to say. AND 5 TEENS CAME TO KNOW CHRIST AS SAVIOR that night!!! Thats not small!

Thursday night we did a concert at a different church and some of those kids came to hear us again. The church was blessed, and our kids sang more in the Spirit that I've ever heard.

My prayer is that adults in our church would hear about what the kids did and do likewise. I feel sometimes that our kids are leading the way into missions and this shouldn't be. We need to learn it from adults. Mission trips are not just for the young, they are for all. As Dillon Phillips shared in one of the services on Sunday, the Bible says "GO!" It doesn't say pray about going or go if you feel led. It says "GO". I understand we all can't go to everything that is offered but if we've made up our mind that the "going" isn't for us then we are mistaken and we are missing out on all the blessings of obedience God wants to give us.

And while I'm rambling, I would also like to say that North Side has the most incredible group of kids I've ever seen. They were 100% willing to walk up to people they didn't know and start a conversation about Jesus. They have a love for God and a love for others, and each other. None of them had to be told what to do, they just did it.

That's my report. I hope we go back to Vermont. The workers there really are few.

The Cross

This morning I was preparing for our Easter services and decided to go ahead and move the cross out of storage to the sanctuary. I really didn't expect it to be so difficult.

There were several crosses in our storage shed across the street. One was tall, and pretty flimsy looking, another was just small. The one that looked most life-sized was thick and splintered - it looked most like what my perception of the cross must have been like.

The cross was awkward to carry. It may have been 70-80 pounds, not light by any means, but doable. I looked at it for a few seconds trying to figure out how to maneuver it without getting more splinters in my hands and arms than I had to.

I carried the cross about 15 feet to the back of my truck. At first I thought about all the people who saw me from North Main. What did they think about the guy carrying the cross? Then my mind jumped to something completely different. I started thinking about the few times in my life that I felt like I gave everything to someone or a group of people only to find myself completely rejected and shunned by them. As I hoisted the cross in the back of my truck I thought about my own sin, how too many times in my life I've treated Jesus the same cruel way some others had treated me.

My thoughts then turned to Matthew 16:24 where Jesus tells me I have to take up my cross and follow Him. I've been trying to wrap my mind around that for a while, but today I grasped it a little bit more. It involved a lot of effort in carrying a cross - even if it was just for 15 feet. It involved getting splinters that will be annoying for a couple of days to come. It also involved some sympathizing with the emotional pain Jesus went through as he "endured the cross, scorning it's shame."

I don't in any way want to compare what took me 15 minutes this morning to what Jesus did for us on the cross. But I feel like this morning I've been reminded in a very tactile (even though miniscule) way of what Jesus went through for me.

When I got back to the church Daryl, a new employee of North Side, ran up to help me carry the cross to the sanctuary. Yes, the wonderful thing is that Jesus does not ask us to carry the cross alone.

Our first Brazil meeting for 2009 (and some other stuff)

I'm sitting in my office right now, listening to the youth choir sing some Toby Mac stuff, and trying to prepare for the Reality study tonight. I figure if I'm going to keep up with Van on this blog thing I better start writing.

Let me just say I loved today. I love leading worship in the 9:40 service.  It gets pretty intense in there sometimes and I really feel the presence of God. I just hope for all of us that the way we worship in the church building translates into how we live our everyday lives. 

Tonight we had our initial meeting for all interested in the Brazil mission trip. Man, I was encouraged! We had 25 in attendance and several people who have already expressed interest were not there. 16 who were there had never been to Brazil before.  As I've prayed for this trip my desire has been that the people who go will be able to come back and communicate that excitement of what God is doing there in Brazil.  And that our church can develop that passion for what God is doing beyond our nation's borders.  North Side has an incredible missions presence in our community and nation, but I'm praying that God would also give us a heart and desire to reach the nations for Christ. I see this happening, and I praise God for the people He is bringing together to be a part of this adventure.

So, if you're reading this, please take a moment to pray for Jundiai, Brazil and the Christian Missionary Community Church there. Such amazing things happened last year, and even more will happen this year.

Now I've gotta go teach some high schoolers about experiencing God. This crisis of belief stuff is challenging - but that'll have to be in another blog.