Our Great Shepherd

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

I think that over the last three years with all the ups and downs in church planting I am beginning to realize the normalcy with each changing day.  There is a gift that comes with the ability to look back rather than always looking to what else needs to be changed, added, or removed.  It is the ability to look back and see God’s unwavering faithfulness as the Great Shepherd.  His leadership is perfect and apart from His nearness we would have abandoned ship awhile back, but it is the clarity of His Word that causes Peter to throw the nets back into the water and realize that He is sovereign over each detail.  He is the Master Gardener who both causes water & sun to revive, and brings the sharp knife to prune, all for the good health of a fruitful tree.  

I am pleased to share that we had the opportunity to baptize a new brother (mentioned in previous blog) three weeks ago and are watching him continue to grow.  These last few months have been full of counseling, encouraging, teaching, and warning the body of believers to keep their eyes on Jesus through every storm and calm. There has been a hard shaking in the church both theological & practically.  We have had outside voices telling those inside to forsake the gathering together of the Saints, and inside voices fighting proudly for preference rather than humbly for truth that builds up. The verse above has been a rich encouragement that we are not alone in this work and we have seen God bring some incredible breakthroughs over this last month.  Please pray with us that God would continue to work in us that which is pleasing in His sight. 

We as a family are, by God’s grace, continuing to do really well.  We are tired, but thankful for all the opportunities to use our strength for His Name’s sake.  God has given us unity, grace, and conviction to keep both hands on the plow.  I am so thankful for what God has done and is continuing to do in our family. 

Please pray that God would bring a great move of His Holy Spirit upon His church in this spiritually dry land.  We need His conviction, purifying fire, power, and regenerating work to do what we are unable to do.  Please pray that God would mature, edify, and send out His church with boldness to proclaim His Gospel throughout the world. 

joy and assurance

In the midst of unrest in the Middle East, God has continued to give us joy and assurance that He is at work and will be with us to the end of the age.  He has graciously provided and protected our community.  There is always a tension when new people come. We often question their motivation and genuineness, but move forward knowing that God is in control and can break the hardest of hearts.  This month I was contacted by a man who said he is looking for the truth and wanted to know if I had the power to make him a Christian. I told Him I didn’t, but that I would love to talk to him about the One who can. He has been involved in everything we do and now calls us family. Please pray for him to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  

The church is continuing to mature and God is slowly granting us more health and unity.  We are currently walking through the Bible with the question of how to follow Jesus in a broken and sinful world. Jesus tells us that there is both a narrow door to enter and a hard way to walk. We have been searching the scripture to see where alcohol, money, time, culture, sex, etc. stand in the life of the believer and how we can follow Jesus on the hard way.  Please pray that God would give us all eyes and hears to see and listen, and a heart to follow Jesus no matter the cost.  

Praise be to God because of the generosity of Jesus’ big Church we were able to raise finances in order for me to hire help part time.  We are in the process of translating books, building an app, creating videos, networking with believers throughout the country, and designing websites that might serve as a tool for sharing the Gospel.  Those things and more are a lot of work and I was overjoyed at the opportunity to pay those helping accomplish these tasks. We hired Jacob and Arzu, a couple from our church, and couldn’t be more thankful for such a dear brother and sister.  Please pray that God would bless them, keep them, and cause His face to shine on them more and more. 

We as a family are continuing to do well in the midst of being tired.  We thankfully still love, like, and enjoy each other and are humbled that God allows us to serve Him and His church.  We are continually honored to be a part of His great kingdom.  Our language is continuing to be strengthened and our understanding of the culture grows day by day.  Please pray for God’s grace, open doors for the Gospel, strength and boldness, clarity to do what God calls us to do, and most of all that in everything His kingdom would come and His will would be done for His glory and fame.  Grace and peace, we love and miss you all. 

Galatians 2:20

“I was thinking about being Christian. What does it mean? I mean, what makes me different? Is it going to church every Sunday? Is it because I read the Bible every day? The reason I am different is that I choose to live for Jesus and I know Jesus as my Savior. I choose to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to guide my life. Lord, lead me along the path that will draw me closer to You.”

٢ مَعَ الْمَسِيحِ صُلِبْتُ، فَأَحْيَا لاَ أَنَا، بَلِ الْمَسِيحُ يَحْيَا فِيَّ. فَمَا أَحْيَاهُ الآنَ فِي الْجَسَدِ، فَإِنَّمَا أَحْيَاهُ فِي الإِيمَانِ، إِيمَانِ ابْنِ اللهِ، الَّذِي أَحَبَّنِي وَأَسْلَمَ نَفْسَهُ لأَجْلِي.                                                                          Galatians 2:20 

The above statement is from a Syrian man who we got the privilege to baptize this last Sunday.  The Arabic is a verse from Galatians. I am continually amazed and honored to be a part of God building His church in the Middle East.  

This last month I had the opportunity to travel in country and also take a trip to England for the purpose of establishing relationships with local pastors in the area. We talked about how we can network together to better serve this country.  Our goal is to serve Jesus and His Church together so that the Gospel spreads, disciples are multiplied, and churches planted.  This unity among churches is a huge step. Far too often we as churches are so focused on what we are doing personally that it causes neglect of serving Christ’s larger body and mission.  I am excited to see us pray, plan, serve, and work together for God’s great fame.  We have already begun several projects together and are starting to see the blessing of working together.

The Church locally is doing well.  My wife and I often joke that our gatherings are either feast or famine. One week the room is filled full and energetic and the next there are few and faithful, but through it all we see God at work in our lives and hearts.  There is no lack of challenges or oppositions but plenty of unending reasons to worship God through them all. He is faithfully leading and conforming us to be more like Him.  The café that we recently opened is providing an excellent place to build relationships, share the Gospel, and serve the community. Please pray with us that God will open doors for the Gospel, primarily, the hearts of those who come.

We as a family are good and tired from the season of an infant, but so thankful for what a blessing he is.  He is beginning to laugh and bring new joys into the home. For the last several months there is always more to be done than we have time to accomplish.  We are thankful for all the opportunities, but need God’s continual grace and empowerment to do all that He desires.  Please pray that God would give us wisdom on what to do and grace to do it. Please also continue to pray that God would establish local deacons and elders. 

Finally, thank you again for your support! We could not be here without your sacrifice.

Mercy

“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord”

Throughout the ME tensions are growing and fear increasing, but through it all we have been praying that the Lord would do whatever it takes to cause the Gospel to spread and His church to grow in number and maturity.  The tensions and conflicts throughout the region are terrible and evil and I would ask you to join with us in praying for the mercy of God.  However, it is also causing many people to ask hard questions about their faith and worldview and we are getting rare opportunities to share about Jesus. 

Yesterday I got to experience one of the greatest joys.  I was meeting with a local friend who we have been close to and known for multiple years.  I have shared the Gospel with him several times and been praying for him since the day we met.  However, yesterday as we were meeting, another local friend from church showed up and began to talk with him.  My friend from church asked, “Have you ever heard the Gospel?” and a quick response came, “Of course I’ve heard it I’m David’s friend,” but then the next question came, “But what have you taken from it, and do you not yet believe?” I then sat back in awe as one of our church members boldly shared one of the best Gospel presentations I have ever heard. It ended with my old friend saying, “I have never heard that in this way and I want to know more, maybe I even want to become a Christian, but give me time and tell me more.” It was such a joy, one, because I saw God working in my old friend, and two, because I saw fruit of God working in and through His church.  Please pray the Lord continues to give boldness, grace, and mercy to us all.   

Last week I met with several church leaders throughout the country and was both encouraged and devastated.  I heard that the largest protestant churches are less than one hundred people, that few of them want to work together, and that sin is rampant. For this I was devastated, but I also saw a longing to see change, a willingness to take steps, and God’s faithful mercy to keep for Himself thousands who won’t bow their knee to another.  We as a Global Church are in great need of God’s mercy and the working of His Holy Spirit to sanctify us, lead us, empower us, and conform us into the image of Jesus.  Please pray that God would have mercy on His church… 

Lastly we, as a family, are continuing to do really well and are so thankful for the opportunity to labor in God’s harvest field. Thank you for enabling us to do this great work. 

New Life

I am thankful this month for many things, but first and foremost for two births. 

The first birth was an act of God regenerating a young college age girl’s heart from death to life. She is the daughter of one of the men in our community and I have never seen him smile so much.  Please pray for Ümran. The second birth was our son and also an incredible act of God. He was born Aug 19, 3Kg 900gm, 19.5” long, and we are still smiling.  We have had many joyous opportunities to celebrate God’s life giving work with friends and family, as my parents were able to come to visit for two weeks.  We have felt so loved and cared for by so many. Thank you for all your prayers and please continue as we seek to do normal life just a little more sleep deprived.

Thanks be to God we as a church are now operating legally within our country.  This is a step toward us being able to minister publicly and even being able to establish a church building in the future.  Our first and only KING is Jesus and it’s Him we seek to please first not men, but we are thankful that, for the time being, He has allowed this door to be opened. We are praying it will be a door for the Gospel to spread.  We are continuing through the book of Colossians and will be starting a new house meeting this Thursday.  

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

In Col 1:28 Paul tell the church that He shares about Jesus(Gospel) in three different ways; he proclaims, warns, and teaches.  We have felt over the last several months that we have been proclaiming Jesus to the church hoping that their faith in Him would grow, and warning them to turn away from the world, the flesh, and the devil, but teaching how to do this has been lacking.  Our hope therefore for this small group is for the Gospel of Jesus to be understood and applied to the daily life of the church.  How can the truth of God’s Word be lived day by day? Please pray that God would be at work among us for His glory and our maturity.

Finally, thank you to all of you who daily sacrifice so that we may serve Christ and His church in the Middle East. We love and miss you all.  Please keep praying for us, we need it. 

hidden treasure

“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1:17-19

I am so thankful for the book of Colossians. We as a church having been going verse by verse through this book over the last several weeks.  The wisdom of God for a new body with new believers and lots of different views is like a poor man finding hidden treasure.  Jesus Christ is the One treasure that answers all questions, fulfills every true need, and corrects all disorder. He is the only rightful Head of the Church, and I am overwhelmingly thankful for His perfect leadership and promise that He will not leave us nor forsake us. Apart from Him we would have given up a long time ago, but praise be to God we are still loving each day of service.

The church here is in the process of attaining legal status.  This will allow us to do more ministry and continue to build upon what we are doing without being shut down.  We want to submit to our local government as long as it does not detain us from obeying the law of God.  We are thankful for this window of opportunity and would appreciate your prayers in regards to the Gospel going forth in this city.  This legal status will also allows us to open a cafe downtown for the purpose of ministry.  This cafe has been a dream of Paul (the other elder in our church) for many years.  The goal of the cafe is to serve as a tool for the local church. It will provide a second meeting place, give us a presence downtown, and be a platform for ministry.  The cafe will save NOBODY, but please pray with us that we may use it as a place to share about Jesus, the only One who can save of from our sins.     

Please pray for boldness both to share about Jesus and to live for His sake. There are so many people who have heard the Gospel, guests who have come to our house, neighbors, workers, and friends and yet they have such a fear of conversion and hesitation from what is new.  Please pray that God will break their unbelief and see Him as the greatest treasure and Savior.  

My wife is now three days past her due date and we are thankfully awaiting our new son that God is forming in the womb.  Our daughter is growing day by day and bringing much joy and laughter.  We moved into a new home three weeks ago and have settled down back in the heart of the city.  Our language and cultural understanding is continuing to grow and we are humbled to be sent out by God and His Church.  Thank you to all of you who sacrificed more than normal over these last couple months in order for us to be able to minister in the Middle East. May the Lord bless you! 

Unity

Over the last year as we have been laboring to share the Gospel and plant a church two separate bodies had began to form. The good news, in the midst of that division, was that both were growing and God was saving people. The bad news was that between the two Christian bodies there had been strife, pain, and division.  At first we thought we could do what God had called us to do and they could do what they felt God calling them to do. However, the more we looked at the Gospel the more we realized our thinking was false.  Jesus’ work reconciles us both to the Father, and to each other, and both require a miraculous act of God. It’s okay to have twenty plus meetings in one city, but for there to be division and sin among the body of Christ (with hurt and unforgiveness in the midst), this goes against what Christ died to set us free from. He was broken so that we don’t have to be.  It was with this understanding that the other church leader and myself began to pray and seek for God’s will to be done in and through His Church. 

I am thankful to say that the result was to break down the “walls” that divided us and for us to live as one redeemed body in the city. The Apostle Paul writes (1 Cor 11:18-19) to the Corinthians that divisions must come in order to show who is genuine. I understand and expect these divisions, but I am so thankful that among the few believers in this dark city God is bringing a corporate unified witness that Jesus saves. Please pray for us as we seek to be unified not simply in a room, but to have, as Paul writes, “the same mind and judgement.” (1 Cor. 1:10).  With the unifying of these two bodies we are doubling in many ways: people, gifts sets, opinions, and traditions. Please pray for us that through it all the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and that we may become more like Jesus.  Also, we know we have requested prayer for over a year now that the Lord would bring unity of heart in this city along with forgiveness between these two groups… Praise the Lord for your prayers! They have been answered in amazing ways.      

We as a family recently posted a video update on what God has been doing over this last year.  Please copy & paste (or click) the link to view  https://vimeo.com/133475272 . The password is the same one we use for our newsletter. If you do not currently receive our monthly newsletters click on the contact page and send us and email requesting to be added and we will also send you the password. Thank you to all of you who keep us in your prayers and for all the sacrifices you make that allow us to labor here in the Middle East. May God be gloried in and through all of our lives.  

Doctrine

We as humans act upon what we believe, whether good or bad, we act upon our beliefs.  We build structures in which to build our lives based upon both personal experience, our understanding of the world around us, and what we are taught.  However, many times these pillars of belief are wrong and simply don’t hold up when the storms of life come crashing down.  Jesus knew this and came to give us a structure that will stand, namely: Himself. Jesus said it this way, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”  (Matthew 7:24-25)

Life here in the Middle East is hard and ever changing. Most of the people in our church are new believers who have not only turned from an old way of life, but are also trying to learn how to live as light in a dark world. We as a church wanted to focus on the essential doctrines in the Word of God to point the people of God to the unfailing-never-changing Rock of God.  We believe that when the Bible is opened in and through the power of the Holy Spirit it not only trains our minds and focuses our hearts, but  it also leads us into a living relationship with God Himself. 

One project we have been working on is a small pamphlet, in the local language, which answers 14 of the most common questions we are asked by both new and non-believers. The first person I gave it to was a new believer in our community.  He immediately took it and began reading and teaching it to his unbelieving wife.  As she listened over the next hour she began responding, “Ok, ok, now I understand.” At the end of our time she was repenting of sins, renouncing old beliefs, and putting her faith in Christ alone. She will be baptized this coming Sunday.  I gave a copy to the men at the hotel where we meet and they were fighting over who got to read it first. We have several other projects we are working on that we hope will help us spread the good news throughout this country.  Please pray that the Lord will lead us into all truth for the maturity of the church and glory of God.

In regards to the local church I am thankful to say that God is continuing to answer prayers for unity.  We also have had a lot of favor with the hotel where we meet and they recently built us a building for the church (see picture above). We have now been meeting there for three weeks and it has been a huge gift. The church here is sometimes an emotional bumpy ride, but by God’s sovereign grace we are growing and clinging on to the promise from Philippians 1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”   

Finally, we as a family are doing great, language is progressing, and we are thankful to be laboring together in this land.  Please pray for us that we might have the strength, grace, and boldness to continue what God has called us here to do. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully supported us in so many ways. We could not be here doing what we are without you. We continue to pray for you all.  “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14) 

Serving His Body

"This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” Titus 1:5

This text has has been a perspective change for me over this last month. We landed in the Middle East over 2 years ago with a conviction to see a church planted that would make disciples and serve believers throughout the city.  It has been hard, but God has been faithful.  We are slowly seeing the Gospel go forth and people mature, however as Jesus said, “The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few.” As I read this text I am reminded of the need to put into order what remains.  I will never be able to fulfill all the needs throughout our city and church, and thanks be to God I don’t have to.  Only God can bring the needed change and He will do it through His body, by His power for His Glory.  This is a relief, God put us into a body of believers and we are all called to play our part in His great mission. Therefore, I have begun in new ways to delegate ministry while continuing to seek further Christ like maturity.  Many times mission can become the focus rather than conforming into His image or visa versa, but both are needed.  We have also started a process for eldership that I pray the Lord will use to appoint Godly men to serve His church. Please pray for wisdom and grace as we seek Godly order.

Over this last month we have begun several new relationships with other churches in our country that have local indigenous pastors and elders. It has been a huge blessing to meet these bothers and I am excited to see how we will work together.  This next week we will begin a new series on doctrine led by one of the local Pastors.  This will also provide a bit of a break for me to focus on putting things into order. There is a massive need in this country for simple Biblical resources that answer basic questions about the Christian faith.  We hope to invest time and energy for such needs.  We are also beginning a process to make a website that will answer many needed questions and serve many local believers throughout the country.  Please pray for us as we seek to serve Christ and His Church by communicating deep truths in a simple way.  This is no easy task and we are in need of the Holy Spirit to lead us. 

Unity in the church is progressing and there is a new willingness to work together.  My continual prayer has been that with can unify over the truths of scripture rather than divide over opinions. A few weeks ago we all gathered to baptize 3 new local believers.  It was a joy and privilege to be a part of what God is doing. Last week I met with all the leaders and it started cold and awkward, but ended with tears, repentance and forgiveness.  Please pray for a true revival in the hearts of God’s people.

We as a family are doing well, but we are tired.  Please pray that God would keep us sharp, faithful, healthy, and in love with Him.  Our language is continuing to progress and I started private lessons that have been a huge breakthrough. Thank you to all of you who faithfully keep us here and allow us to minister in this hard land.  May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you.

God's Order

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13

Over the years as I have reflected on this text I have been shocked at the role of leadership in the Church.  Many times I fall into the trap that I, as a pastor, have to make all the decisions, disciple everybody, and do everything in ministry.  However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I am not called to do everything but to faithfully serve those whom God has given and point to the only One who can change everything. One of my greatest joys of serving in this land is to watch the Gospel spread in families.  Ahmet, one brother in our community, began coming to services and started living life with us.  I saw his life personally starting to change. Then he began to bring his two kids. After this he brought his wife and then his brother, then his brother’s wife, and now just recently his brother’s daughter started to come. My role was not necessarily to speak to all His family but to equip Ahmet for the work of ministry in his family and in the church. My prayer over this last month has been for the Lord to put His church in His order for His glory that the Gospel might spread in our lives, families, and city. 

The discipleship camp started wonderfully, had some bumpy roads, ended early, and we all grew in and through it.  It was an absolute joy to join every morning with the saints for prayer, worship, and teaching. God exposed our hearts, grew us up, and is now putting things in order after all the shaking. This culture is dramatic, emotional, and intense which can lead to fighting, crying, laughing, and repenting. God is our Lord and Savior and is forming us into the image of His Son.  Sometimes this process is a joy and other times painful.  This camp was both and very fruitful.

We have mentioned in the past divisions within the church and the need for prayer. I am excited to share that God is slowly answering prayers.  This last week all the believers in the city and in near by villages came together for a joint service in hopes that it might be a step toward unity. I got the privilege to teach that night from 1 Cor 1:10-13.  There is also a new willingness to talk through issues and humbly seek change.  Please keep praying church that we would follow God’s process and be put in His order! The numbers in the church are slowly growing and we know that we all have a part to play in His body.  Pray that the Lord would give us wisdom and maturity. I also believe the time to add elders is quickly approaching. Please fast and pray with us. We want God’s men full of the Holy Spirit, grace, and character.    

Finally we as a family are continuing to do great.  We are all healthy and excited to see what God will do next.  It is always an adventure and in the end never disappointing. Our aim remains the same. To preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to follow Him wherever He may lead. May the Lord bless you all and keep you.