Exciting Times!

I had to opportunity to reconnect this past weekend with two former youth group members from the last youth group I pastored some 21 years ago. I hadn't seen them in all that time so it was especially fun and interesting to reconnect again. How did we reconnect? Facebook, how else?

Well, the opportunity came in the form of an invite to join them (they are brothers) in their last fishing expedition for the year. Now, it is cold in October, especially in the morning and especially on the river in the morning. The bite is slower but the prospects of larger fish (we were hunting for rainbow trout) are generally better. So, given the opportunity I thought it would be a great way to see my friends while doing something we all enjoyed.

What a fabulous Alaska day it was! We saw moose, eagles, a spotted seal (yes, in the Kenai River), bears and some extradinary rainbow trout. The temperature never really warmed up above 40 degrees and it was lower most of the day. All in all, it was a great day of reconnecting and seeing the outdoor things we all enjoy seeing.

At the end of the day, we were hoping to see some brown bears we had seen earlier but had run off when the sound of our motor was heard. So, we shut off the motor to float by more silently and take some pictures. This worked well and we were able to see the bears and take a picture or two. The only problem was, we ran aground on a sand bar since we were not under power. I was the only one with boots on so I jumped over the side and began pushing the boat into deeper water. When it was floating again and time for me to jump back on, I don't know how to say this...I missed. Yes, I missed the boat. You hear a lot about missing the boat and I actually did. It was a combination of being very cold all day and not being able to move well, and general clumbsyness I guess. So, I fell into the water was soaked to the waist in about 30 degree temps.

Yes, it was cold. Fortunately the trip to their cabin did not take long and they even had a working dryer there. While I thawed out at the wood stove, my jeans were drying in the dryer. How nice was that? Well, that ended a memorable day, everyone seemed to have had a great time, some of it at my expense. But who could blame them?

09 Kenai Peninsula Minister's Institute

Yesterday, 16 credentialed ministers of the Peninsula Section, plus other church staff and interns, our District Superintendent and the AKSOM leadership team all gathered at Peninsula Christian Center for the 2009 Peninsula Section Minister's Institute. Rev. Mark Zweifel our DYD (District Youth Director) was our presenter on the subject of "Build A Winning Team". I asked Mark to present on this subject as I have watched him do that very thing very well in our district in the 9 short months he has been here.

I observed Mark already demonstrating what he was going to be teaching us before he taught it. Mark has a great gift in pulling people in, building them up and turning them into great leaders. There was a lot of great practical ideas shared as well as the philosophy and mindset of the person who endeavors to build a winning team.

We also were priviledged to host our District Superintendent, Bill Welch and his wife, Dori. Bill shared news from around our District. The diverse challenges and logistics of serving a district as large as the state of Alaska are immense. One of the great needs of our state is to have pastors in many of the villages and small towns off the road system. The lack of employment opportunities, the remoteness, the inability of a very small congregation to support a full time pastor are huge obstacles to overcome. We also need to better resource our camping facillity, Little Beaver Camp. What is the answer? The Lord of the Harvest!

The AKSOM leadership team also shared about the fantastic growth of this equipping and training traveling Bible School. Lattis Campbell shared that his goal was to have 50 students enrolled this year. As of this meeting, there are now over 170 students enrolled. It seems to grow every week. The momentum AKSOM has gained is propelling it to new venues and more students. It is obvious that this has the approval of the Lord on it! After many other attempts to accomplish the same objectives as AKSOM over many years with much smaller results, this seems to be the answer to the unique needs of our immense district.

We ended the day with a great dinner at Froso's. With all of the spouses and ministers, we nearly filled the banquet room. There was lots of happy sounding conversations going all at once as each one enjoyed their dinner. It was a long day, but a good one. It is awesome to be part of a great organization like the Alaska District of the Assemblies of God!

The Destiny of Nations

Psalm 33:12 (NKJV)
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Without attempting to sound negative or doomsdayish, I have been keenly aware of how our country is declining in influence and losing its standing in the world. Now I know that America has long had its detractors and enemies, ever since we were a nation it has been so. But this current situation is different. Before, the world needed America. They may not have wanted us, but they did need us. We were the economic engine of properity of the world. American inventiveness, work ethic, honesty and positive attitude simply made us the indespensible nation on the planet. We have been "the arsenal of democracy", the winning element of world wars and the exporter of goods and services. What we are seeing take place daily before our very eyes is the nations of the world coming to the realization that the USA is no longer needed. In fact, we are a weak, bloated, impotent, unwanted weight on the world in the eyes of more and more nations each day. Pathetic tin-horn dictators can swagger and denounce the USA, flex their newly found muscle in defiance of our best interests without any repercussions. Since we need them, for their oil and their immigrants to fill our needs at home, we can't do a thing about it.

It was recently observed that the destiny of nations could be traced to their missionary furvor. In the 19th century, Great Brittian was the bastion of missionary activity. The majority of missionaries were sent from there as well as an enormous amount of resources to build churches, schools and industry. Before Great Brittian was Europe. Following Great Brittian has been America. As each nation in turn once lead, powered by the churches robust support of missions, each nation declined as the church cooled in its interest and support of the Great Commission. In the 20th century, "The American Century", America held the torch for missions high. No other country on earth has ever done as much as has America in the past 100 years. However, the signs of our decline are beginning to show. The church in America despite the number of "mega churches" which are very visible and influential, is in decline. In America it is measured that the net closure of churches annually is 3000 churches. Most of those churches were once lively, vital congregations but eventually lost interest in missions and the Great Commission. They began to decline, young people ceased to replace the elderly and soon there was nothing left to save.

The point of all of this is, from the local church to the health of the nation, missions must be in our blood. The Great Commission must be a focal point for each church to exist. This is true in the macro and micro sense. Our nation needs us to maintain our vitality and support for missions around the world. God gave us the wealth of the world in order to do this. If we turn away from Him to pursue our own interests, if we become inward and selfish with our resouces, overspend and plunge ourselves into debt, God will simply move on to the next nation that will carry out the Great Commission. We will find ourselves the very mission field we once supported. Great Brittian is now more of a mission field than Africa. Fewer people attend church in Brittian than ever before.

Our decline seems to be taking place before our very eyes. The momentum seems to be with Asia. The rise of China first, but looming greatly just behind them is India. The wealth of the world is leaving America, we are the largest (by far) debtor nation on the planet. Our prosperity is but an illusion. I recently read and was warned, that people my age (50) and younger should not count on Social Security when we retire. There won't be any Social Security. What I have paid to the government all of my working life has been squandered. They still keep taking my money but tell me I won't get it back when I need it. What has been our way of life for generations is slipping out of our hands. The answer to this is simply with the individual believer. We must personally have a vital interest in and support of the Great Commission. If we lose interest and support, God will move on to those who will eagerly take our places and experience His blessing on them and in turn their own nation

I encourage you to evaluate your own missionary support and how interested you are in the cause of missions. How keenly do we feel our need to evangelize our neighbor and friends? By no means do anything out of guilt, but out of conviction that the right thing is what we must do. With God's help we can.