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.

What Kind of Time?

I just had a little piece of revelation today. I was pondering two kinds of time mentioned in the scriptures (there are at least three). With my Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words in hand, I did some digging. The more familiar usage to us is Chronos time, or the time that we refer to most often measured in seconds, minutes and hours. What we commonly call "a watch" that we wear on our wrist, used to be called "a chronometer". Read the fine print on the face of a Rolex watch and you will see the words, "superlative chronometer". But I digress. The second kind of time is Kairos time or what we refer to as seasons, ages or eras. Both are time, but counted differently.

God who is ageless and eternal is not subject to Chronos time. He isn't concerned with seconds, minutes and hours as we are. These things are very important to us as we only have a limited supply of them. God on the other hand has a limitless amount, so in reality they really don't apply to Him. We are very conscience of our Chronos time, less conscience of our Kairos time.

So, with this thought in mind, think of this verse of scripture:

2 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

It's all the same to Him. Being eternal, one in terms of Chronos time is as good as another. However, it doesn't work that way with Kairos time. Consider this verse of scripture:

1 Thes. 5:1 (KJV)
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

Interesting that both "times" and "seasons" are the same word, Kairos. It is times and seasons that are most important to God. We might think of it as "at the right time."

This factors in a lot to us. While we are so wrapped up in Chronos time, we tend to think that God is late so often, that God delays unnecessarily. We want answers to prayer now, within minutes, hours or days. God moves in seasons. I know that seems terribly inconvenient to us who are dominated by the clock most of our lives, but God is who He is, I AM.

So if it seems God is constantly showing up late for your need, remember, it is times and seasons, not minutes and hours. Hard to accept, but I am thinking that is the way it is.

As a secondary side note to all of this, a further revelation occurred to me. Wives are a lot like God in this way, much more than husbands. Husbands are very bound to Chronos time. Wives are much more oriented to Kairos time, times and seasons, "when the time is right". So, when a husband asks his wife, "when will you be ready?" or when they drive up to the mall, "when will you be back?" she intuitively understands that we husbands do not relate to Kairos time and gives us Chronos time so we can have something we can understand. The wife will say, "I'll be ready in five minutes." Now she is not telling us an untruth, but since we wouldn't understand it if she said, "when the time is right", or "in season", the answer of 5 minutes conveys the message that she is not ready yet. Remember the day versus a thousand years?, yep, wives also think one is as good as another. Five minutes is as good as half an hour or more. 5 o'clock is as good as 7 o'clock. It is all within the same era or season.

Honestly, I dont' know how theologically sound all of this is, but it sure helps me understand some things better. I hope it helps you, dear reader as well.

What if....God

I have been pondering quite a bit lately about how some people can truly believe there is no God. I cannot conceive how any person who thinks (ah...maybe I've hit on something here) can embrace the idea that everything is a cosmic accident. Aside from theological arguement, which are valid and necessary, but just playing the "what if..." game leads one to see the utter impossibility of life being possible without God.

For instance, what if we just eliminate one thng from the world as we know it? What if there were no gravity? Now I know men and women live in space capsules without it, but think here and now, life would just not be possible. We coudn't drive, things would be a mess to say the least, and there would be no way we could raise children, make dinner or a million other things we take quite for granted that makes life possible. It sounds pretty silly, but really, rivers would cease to be rivers and rain would no longer fall and what would keep the oceans in their place? The more you ponder the problem, the less silly it becomes.

When one thinks of the perfect balance of everything that works together to support life, the complexity of it all leads one quickly to the conclusion, there has to be a God who put this all together so perfectly. An accident? Now that's silly.

Rev. 4:11 (NKJV)
"You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created."

A Bear-ably Nice Day

It was getting on toward the end of summer and the "bite" was on for rainbow trout on the Kenai River. This is positively my favorite time of year on the Kenai Peninsula. I "had" to use my birthday present from the church of a guided fishing trip with Jimmie Jack Guide Service. David Drake was the guide on this spectacular day.

Guide - David Drake, We watched a brown bear eating some salmon early in the day (see the attached video link for a YouTube clip) and we caught a lot of fish, silver salmon, Dolly Varden, Whitefish, and my favorite, rainbow trout. There is something very special about Kenai River rainbow trout. They are (sometimes) huge, they are spectacularly colored and speckled and they leap and fight in and out of the water with a wild frenzy that is addictive to a fisherman. We had such a day. I was blessed to have caught a beautiful specimen near the end of the day, a perfect way to cap off a great experience.

The other aspect of this day that was exciting to watch was being in the boat while Dave, the guide, witnessed to the other client in the boat, a older gentleman named, Jerry. Jerry was pretty resistant to talk much about faith the whole day, but that did not stop or intimidate Dave! Every little bit, Dave would mention Jesus or thank the Lord when we caught a nice fish.

Jerry would not respond most of the time, but through the day, he was softening up. He talked about his religious upbringing and about all of the difficult things he experienced being a soldier in the Viet Nam war. Each time Dave would say something positive about what Jesus meant to him and gave assurance of God's love for Jerry. It was a marvelous thing to watch Dave mix his professional skills as a guide with his personal witness of Jesus. You could tell this was not a special put-on because the pastor was in the boat, but a lifestyle of witnessing about Jesus to everyone he meets.

At the end of the day, Dave was telling Jerry he hoped he could come back again next year to fish with him again. Jerry said that he would need God's help to do it as he is currently battling cancer and has been advised that he may not have that much time. Dave, pulled the boat up to a convenient bank and laid hands on Jerry and prayed for his healing and for Jesus to make Himself known to Jerry.

Wow, what a great day! the personal enjoyment of my favorite fishing and being on the front row of watching someone give a persistent and passionate witness of Jesus to someone who was obviously not used to talking about his faith. Way to go, Dave! Not only for a great day of fishing, but for touching someone with a witness of Jesus!

What Really Matters

I don't kow about you, but I like to think a lot when I am working with my hands. I think about a lot of different things, What will heaven be like? Why does life have to be so hard sometimes? and recently I was thnking about, What really matters?

Maybe it was the fact that I was helping a friend clean out their garage. It was like reliving history as things stored away came out to the light for the first time in a long time. It reminded me of how life changes and things we were once passionate about are now forgotten or ignored. We put so much time and effort into things that we eventually lose interest in. We expend our resources toward things that only matter for a while and then we are off on to other things.

What really matters? My relationship to God. My relationship to my family. My relationship to those I love. When it comes right down to it, it has to be relationships. As I ponder this, I think relationships are on the high priority list wth God as well. He sent His only Son to die on the cross so that I could have relationship with Him. To send your only Son to die in my place tells me that must really matter to God.

I want to streamline my life a little more. Be less cluttered with stuff and more focued on what really matters. I know stuff can make life interesting and I have no problem with that, but neither do I want it to get in the way of the thngs that are most important. I want to love God, my wife, my children, my family, my friends. I want the expenditure of my resources to reflect those priorities. My time, my money, my attention I want to make the greatest impact in those priorities than anywhere else. Hopefully when I go to be wth Jesus there won't be much to haul away to the dump as the things I chose to put my resources into are eternal. I pray that for you too.