Friday, October 8, 2010

Wheres Your Faith?

First I must apologize to those who pray for the work that is being done in Sebewaing on a regular basis. It is amazing how quickly time goes by and as I logged in to post today I realized that over 4 months have past since I last posted.
The reasons for that are numerous including various summer activities that did not allow me to get to Sebewaing and my internship which has reduced the number of hour I have available to get to Sebewaing. However the one element that has probably been the biggest factor in my failure to post is simply frustration.

Last spring our group in Sebewaing had grown in number and spirit. It was easy to be excited each week as we came together to learn and grow in the Word. When summer came with all the demands on my schedule and others in the group it really seemed like the momentum that we were experiencing came to a crashing halt. After canceling a week here and there over the summer because of scheduling conflicts it seemed like we could not regain the momentum we had enjoyed last spring as summer ended and fall began. I have talked to a number of Pastors whose experience this last summer seemed to be much the same in their local churches. I must admitted that I was beginning to doubt what we were doing and was thinking "alright should we be scrapping what we have been trying and go another direction." My faith in our growing in Sebewaing project was really beginning to wain.

Then a few weeks ago on a Thursday night when it was only John, Rhonda, and myself who were there, and I was not so sure that John and Rhonda would have been there except it was at their house, we decided that the best thing we could do was forget the planned learning and simply take the time to pray. So we spent time praying for the people who had been part of the group and for others who might become part of the group. As we finished that night I had a peace that came over me as I was reminded from Matthew 16 Jesus telling Peter "on this rock I will build my church".

Over these last few weeks God has shown His faithfulness. People began to filter back and last night not only was a large part of the group from last spring there but also some others who were new to the group. There seems to again be a growing momentum building, Praise be to God!

Again to those who have been faithfully praying I apologize for my lack of keeping you posted. One of the great difficulties in the human spirit and my own spirit is that we always want to share good news, but are less enthusiastic about sharing our concerns despite the fact that God calls us to do that. I realize that when my concerns were at their highest I was not sharing that with the body and that is my fault. We are seeking your prayers for wisdom as we go forward and encouragement when we are discouraged.
These days I am feeling a little like the father in Mark chapter 9 who brought his son to Jesus to be healed and the disciples failed to heal him. When Jesus shows up on the scene the man's response to Jesus is "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" I praise God for His faithfulness even when mine is weak

Your Servant in Christ

Brian

Saturday, May 8, 2010

International connections in Sebewaing

Thursday night I received a reminder of the surprises the Kingdom of God always has in store. Let me explain.
Normally on Thursday nights before the group gets together Deb and I have dinner with John and Rhonda. On this occasion John had two guys who were at his shop waiting on the finance company they were dealing with to finish the process of their loan so they could buy a truck. These guys had been stuck in Sebewaing for three days waiting on paper work. Since they were in town they went out to dinner with us.
During dinner I found out that these guys were originally from Kenya Africa. They were now living in Georgia. They were a real delight to visit with! Since they were stuck in Sebewaing we invited them to join our group that night. The lesson for that night centered around Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness and His temptation. We had a good conversation and time of learning together. We then spent an extended time in prayer. It was during that time that these two men surprised us by taking part in the prayer. One of the men prayed that he now understood why God had had them stay these extra days in Sebewaing.
It was obvious that these men both had an understand of scripture and loved God! I felt like these men may have at one time been involved in church on a regular basis and that our time together reignited a fire! What a great picture of how God uses all things for the good of those who love Him.

Your Servant in Christ

Brian

Praises
What God continues to do in our group! New opportunities!
Disciples are being made where once they were followers!

Prayer Concerns
The next few months as we look to the future What does
That God would continue to bring new people to the group
That God would pour out His wisdom in my life.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Living with Passion

Recently in our Thursday night group we have we have had a guy join our group who had just been through an Emmaus Walk. During this three day spiritual retreat he rediscovered his passion for the Lord Jesus. In conversations with one of the members of our group Ron said something like "I need to find a place where I can really learn about Jesus." Dennis then told him of our group and invited him in. After a couple of weeks Ron opened up and told me how at first he was not sure about coming to this group because he didn't know as much about the Bible as some people, yet he was feeling real good about how we were going and I could see his excitement growing each week as we looked at the life of Jesus.
Last night he came in early to talk. his excitement just continues to grow. Ron reported that he had just had a conversation with his daughter and she had told him how proud she was of him for wanting to learn more about Jesus. He told us that he has been gathering the family each evening for times of sharing and praying. He said I just watched how we have been doing it each week and decided that my family could share and pray in the same way. That is what a disciple does! They learn, and then they do!
Later that night Ron shared about a friend who is going through some difficult personal times. we talked about the situation and then I encouraged him to walk beside this man. Ron told the group that he is going to maybe invite him along some time because as he shared "this is a time when I get my battery recharged."
Another of the couple who have been part of our group for a year or so, Frank and Margret, just took a job as house parents in Indiana. They begin on Monday. We will miss them but even in that God is at work. Yesterday I went to help Frank load some things. I met his neighbors a young couple who came to see what was going on and help load for a while. Last night Frank told the group that he talked to them more later in the day and there may be some interest on their part to become part of our group!

Praises:
The weekly sharing and learning taking place in our group! God is good.
The recent additions in our group
The testimonies of several of the group members and the in roads that they are making in the lives of friends and family by following the examples of Jesus

Concerns
Frank and Margret as they begin this new job
John and Rhonda as they travel to Moldova to their son' wedding
The future as we consider other possibilities for meeting additional needs

Your Servant in Christ
Brian

Friday, March 12, 2010

Not there Yet

How does a month go by so quickly? can't believe it has been over a month since I posted. Please forgive me and thank you for those of you who continue to pray for me, now on with the show.
Last Thursday I had one of those incidents in which I realized that I am not there yet when it comes to sharing Christ. Let me explain. I left for Sebewaing a little earlier than normal thinking I would stop and have coffee before I met Kevin for breakfast. About a mile from my house I saw a guy pushing his car. I pulled on to a side street and jump out to help him push. I assumed that he was pushing it on to that side street or maybe into a driveway. When I ask where we were going he said "to the gas station on the corner." So what started out as a quick help ended up in about a 5 minute "cardiac" exercise. When we pushed the car up to the gas station he thanked me for my help and I started walking back to my truck. After a couple of minutes, when I caught my breath and my heart rate slowed back to normal, I realized that I had not even really engage in a conversation with the man. God gave me a opportunity and I blew it!
As I reflected on why I missed the opportunity I came to the conclusion that while I am trying to be aware of the people God puts in front of me when I get tired or distracted I fall back into my old self. I am not where God would have me to be yet. I miss things around me because I sometimes first think of myself. As I have been studying Christ life more and more I see how He always had an eye and hear out for the situations around Him no matter what His circumstances were. I need to get there.
Speaking of studying the life of Jesus, I have some good reports from our Thursday night group in Sebewaing. As we have been studying Christ's life one of the big things that has come out is that Jesus suffered his entire life, not just in that final week. As we have been working on that reality, God is making us aware of things in our lives that need to be changed. One member of the group shared last night how God was revealing Himself in all new ways to him and the profound effect that was having. Another member of the group shared about some difficulty in her work place and sought the groups advise on how to handle some co-workers. After some discussion I believe she left understanding that these people were opportunities to "reveal" the gospel. Also one of the couple came and ask if it would be alright if another couple joined our group. Praise be to God for all He is doing and His grace and patients with me!

Praises
What God is doing in the lives of the members of the group in Sebewaing.
Possible new people joining our group.
Praises for the 35 people from 5 churches who took part in the Live 2:6 seminar in Elkton three weeks ago! Looking forward to what God will do in each of those churches as the people follow His lead.

Concerns
Over these next few weeks my schedule will not allow me to have some of the contacts in Sebewaing. Pray that God will empower those who are stepping up to lead.

That I would be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as I consider the situations in front of me.

Thank you for your faithful service to Him as you pray for me.

Your Servant in Christ

Brian

Friday, January 29, 2010

From Agony to Elation

I was pretty sure that the Lord was pulling a cruel joke on me. Two days before I was in Florida enjoying 70 degree weather while golfing and hanging out at the beach. Now on this morning it was 10 degrees with a wind chill below 0 as I was preparing to start my prayer walk time around Sebewaing. The mountain top experience of two weeks of vacation in Florida was over, and it was time to get back into the valley and do some ministry. But why did the valley have to be so cold!

As I walked I began to focus less on the cold and more on another thought. While I was on vacation I read through the book of Leviticus as part of my Life Transformation group. Now in the past when I have read through Leviticus it has almost been like my walk that morning started out, a struggle that I had to get through! But this time Leviticus seemed so different. God was showing me new things in this portion of scripture that were making sense in new ways, and shedding new light on the gospels. It was exciting and all of a sudden my walk became a pleasure.

Working through hard, difficult things seemed to be a theme for the day. Later when I was having a conversation with Rhonda she told me that an older gentleman whom she and John had taken under their wing had passed away while I was gone. This man, Frank, had gone to church with them off and on for the past several years, but never seemed to truly have the peace of the Lord in his life. Rhonda related to me how she had the opportunity to spend a good amount of time with Frank in his last days and to share again the truth of the gospel. She shared with me how maybe for the first time in his life Frank seemed to truly reconcile to Jesus and a peace came over him. Frank's concern seemed to switch from himself and dying, to getting his son to church. I could see the joy in Rhonda as she shared this story, and also I heard from both John and Rhonda how they will continue to reach out to Frank's son. What a great joy to hear and somehow again it seemed not so cold.

The day ended with all 12 members of our group together that night at the Elenbaum's. My wife could not be there but we had Anna there, as we continued our journey through the Live 2:6 materials they had started two weeks ago. I am just so excited about this group and hearing the interactions and the praises as we worked through lesson 2 in our Knowing Him manual.

When the evening ended and I stepped outside, the cold that had greeted me that morning was still there. But somehow it did not seem like agony. There was a heavenly elation in the air! Ministry in the valley has its rewards!

Praises:
Frank's home going with salvation assured!
The great start that our Live 2:6 group is off to
The growing and bonding of our group

Prayer opportunities:
Be in prayer for Jim, Frank's son, for comfort and salvation
Our upcoming Sonlife seminar at Elkton Missionary Church. Praying for a good showing of people. If you would like to attend let me know.
The possibility of starting another group with some younger couple

Your servant in Christ,

Brian

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Good Day

In my 18 years of full-time Christian ministry, there have been days that have not gone well. During those kind of days I have often had the feeling like maybe I should have stayed in the pizza business, where I was for 13 years before I started in ministry. I am convinced that God gives you those kind of days to test you and check your perseverance. Then there are days where the Lord just opens doors, and you feel like this is perfect. Today here in Sebewaing is one of those kinds of days, though it didn't start out that way.

As I was driving up this morning I got pulled over by the police because the officer felt like a turn I made was a dangerous one. He let me off, but I was late for my Life Transformation group and I hate to be late. My group time with Kevin went so well! We attempted to read 30 chapters a week for group. We are starting over in the Bible planning on reading through the Bible, and both of us had actually read more than 30 chapters.I finished Genesis, and Kevin was right behind me. We both commented how we just wanted to keep going. We had a great time talking about the things God was revealing to us in Genesis even though the book is so familiar to both of us. I felt like God had turned my day around!

After that I spent time doing my prayer walk. I needed to make a phone call to the local YFC chapter and I needed a number, so as I passed the village offices I decided to go in and ask for a phone book. Ya, I know it was an old fashion way of doing it. Any way the clerk was glad to help me. It was someone I knew. After that we started a conversation, and she asked me about my ministry. I told her I had been ordained and was working in Sebewaing on a disciple building/church plant. I also told her how that I was working on a Masters in Counseling these day and reaching the end of that. She asked me if I counseled with families and children. I told her that I had some experience in that area, and we ended up setting up a time for me to get together with her daughter and grandson to deal with issues from a divorce. I had an opportunity to pray with her there, and then I was on to my next appointment. I was growing more excited about what God was showing me!

I next met with a former student of mine who had Face booked me asking if we could get together. In our contact time before we met today I asked her if she has been in the Word at all. She confessed that she had not, and I told her I was starting a read through the Bible and invited her to do the same. When we met she had started that process. God blessed our time together, and we are going to set up a time to regularly meet to help her stay on track. Again I felt like, wow God, this is why I love ministry!

All of these encounters before noon! I still have tonight when we are going to kick off our Sonlife Live 2:6 group. The idea behind the 2:6 groups comes from 1 John 2:6 which say "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." The study is designed to take place over a two year time period and to really study Jesus' life. I am excited about this group and study! Thanks for your prayers.

Your Servant in Christ,

Brian

Monday, January 4, 2010

Looking Forward

Since I have not posted in the last couple of weeks because of the holidays, let me just give two quick encounters that I had during that time during visits to Sebewaing.

The first came the week before Christmas. I went in to visit the Alternative Ed class that I help in each week, and they were having a Christmas party. Students were hauling in all kinds of food, and it really began to look like a church potluck. While they were waiting for the last of the students to arrive, the high school principal came down to talk to the teacher about some things. As they finished up, one of the students declared it was time to eat. The teacher, who had introduced me to the principal as the class pastor, told the students that since this was a Christmas party as long as it was alright with everyone he was going to ask me to pray. So in this public school with an administrator present, I had the privilege to pray for, and with this group of students. Thanks be to God!

The second encounter I want to share happened during my Life Transformation group meeting. One of the guys was talking about 2010 being the year that we will turn fifty. We started to talk about what that meant in the scheme of things. I then had the opportunity to share with him a recent encounter I had with the parents of one of my best friends growing up.

Even though I did not grow up in a Christian home, God gave me the opportunity to know what that should look like through this family. They lived out the scriptures everyday and there was always a faith displayed that at times was hard for me to grasp like when their daughter passed away from cancer. Anyway when I visited them a couple of months ago, he is now 82 and she is 80, I was again amazed at their faith. They talked about having their grandson killed in a car accident earlier this year. Yet in the middle of all they have seen and been through, they talked of the faith of God and always looking to the future with great anticipation about what God would do next.

As I shared these thoughts in my group, each of us began to talk about the faithfulness that we have seen God display in our lives. We also came to the conclusion that no matter how old we are we need to continue to look forward to what God will do and how He will show himself.

Please keep our Live 26 group in prayer. I ordered materials today for 5 couples to begin this Sonlife study through the life of Christ.

Also keep in prayer the Sonlife seminar the Thumb LEAD Team will be conducting with Don Roscoe as facilitator February 26-27.

Brian